Part 2

The days after meeting Jihyo had been tough. The group tried their best to help her, but they knew they couldn’t stay in one place for too long. Supplies were running low, and the constant threat of walkers closing in around them meant they had to keep moving.

Leaving Jihyo behind had been one of the hardest decisions they had ever made. She refused to leave the spot where she’d been waiting, convinced that her wedding was still going to happen. They told her they would return, but the grim truth of the apocalypse weighed heavily on everyone’s minds. They left with the hope that Jihyo would come to her senses, but in the back of their minds, they all feared the worst.

A week passed.

The group found themselves walking back through the dense woods, retracing the steps they’d taken to the clearing where they had left Jihyo. The air felt thick with the tension of the unknown, each member of the group anxious about what they would find. Would she still be there? Or had she succumbed to the dangers of the world?

As they approached the clearing, a dreadful silence hung in the air. The mist had cleared, but the atmosphere felt heavy, as if the earth itself mourned for the girl who had waited for something that would never come.

When they reached the spot where Jihyo had stood, they froze.

There, in the same place, stood the figure of a woman in a wedding dress—but it wasn’t the same Jihyo they had met. She wasn’t alive.

Her skin had taken on a deathly pallor, and her once-perfect gown was now tattered and dirty, stained with the filth of the world. Her eyes, once filled with hope and confusion, were now vacant and dull, staring into the distance. The soft veil had fallen to the ground, a stark contrast to the horror before them.

Jihyo, or what was left of her, was now a walker.

A chill ran down everyone’s spine as they stood frozen, unable to move or speak at first. It was as if time had slowed, and all they could hear was the distant moan of walkers, the sound of the world continuing to crumble around them.

Sasha, who had always been tough and practical, was the first to speak, her voice shaking with disbelief. “No… this can’t be happening. Not her…”

Abraham, ever the soldier, stepped forward, his hand hovering over his weapon. “I don’t like this. I don’t like this one damn bit.”

Rosita’s face twisted with sorrow and frustration. “She was just… waiting. She couldn’t understand…”

“She couldn’t understand the world had changed,” Hershel said softly, his gaze sorrowful. “She was a victim of her own grief.”

Glenn, feeling the weight of the moment, spoke with a shaky voice. “She was so innocent. She didn’t deserve this…”

Daryl, usually so composed in the face of danger, looked away. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her vacant eyes. “We left her,” he muttered, regret flooding his tone. “We left her behind.”

Carl, who had seen too many things in his young life, felt his heart tighten in his chest. “I don’t understand… Why her? Why did it have to be her?”

Beth, with her soft heart, covered her mouth as she fought back tears. “She was just a girl who wanted to get married. She didn’t know this world.”

Sophia, who had grown up in a world full of violence and loss, looked at Jihyo with pity. “She thought everything was still normal… She was waiting for something that was never going to come.”

T-Dog sighed, his usually calm demeanor shaken. “We all got people we’re waiting for. I just didn’t think she’d be one of us.”

Eugene, ever the scientist, swallowed hard, his voice full of hesitation. “She… she wasn’t ready for this. None of us were. The world isn’t what it used to be.”

Abraham’s face hardened, and he shook his head. “Damn walkers… they don’t care. They just take.”

Rick stepped forward, a heavy sorrow settling on his shoulders. “She didn’t deserve this. We can’t undo it, but we can end it. For her, at least.”

The group gathered around her, the weight of the decision pressing down on them. They had been through so much, and each loss was another scar in their already broken hearts.

Jihyo’s form swayed in the breeze, her body still as a stone. The walkers around them hadn’t noticed the group yet, but it wouldn’t be long before they did.

“Let’s put her to rest,” Rick said, his voice heavy with grief.

With a sharp nod from Daryl, he lifted his crossbow, his hand trembling ever so slightly. He aimed at her head, his breath held tight in his chest.

The arrow flew, and the world seemed to hold its breath as it found its mark. Jihyo, the girl who had once been full of hope and dreams of a wedding day, collapsed to the ground, her body falling still.

The group stood silently, the air heavy with sadness. There were no words that could ease the pain, no comfort that could undo the weight of what they had just witnessed.

“We did what we had to do,” Rick said softly, his eyes closing in grief. “But that doesn’t make it easier.”

Everyone nodded, their hearts heavy with the weight of the loss. They had seen too much death, too much suffering, but Jihyo's innocence, her tragic hope, left a mark that none of them would ever forget.

As they turned to leave the clearing, no one spoke. They walked in silence, the sounds of the apocalypse continuing around them. The world had changed forever, and they would carry the memory of the bride who waited for a love that was lost in time.

End