DAY 784

One day after his night watch with Y/n, Jimin finds himself waking up. He glances at the wall clock in the room and sighs. Eight o'clock. He's early. Jimin yawns and stretches, brushing the braid that's still in his hair back a bit. He doubts he'll be taking it out anytime soon. Even when he showered last night he didn't bother.

He glances at the clock again. Wow, so they have batteries too? Jimin shrugs it off. Batteries are probably the last thing people grab when scavenging. Slips their minds that batteries can be useful for things like this; instead they go for the basic needs like food, water, and medicine. Putting one battery in that clock can last a year. Jimin's guessing they've had to change twice. It's been a little over two years since the apocalypse happened. Amazing how sometimes it feels like yesterday. Yesterday when he was sitting on the couch with his family, watching the news. Then everything changed.

There's a knock on the door. Jimin groans. "Come in." It opens, and in comes a pad of paws and the little kid Jimin saw before. "Ves, right?" Jimin asks.

"That's me," he replies, petting the German Shepherd next to him. "Jungkook sent me. Something about not wanting you to miss breakfast."

Jimin blinks. "It's eight o'clock."

"Oh that clock's off, we've been meaning to fix it. It's actually ten." Jimin jumps up, throwing on a shirt so he's uh, not shirtless in front of the little kid, and brushing around the braid in his hair. Ves raises a curious brow. "Y/n did that for you?" Jimin hums, in a hurry to put his beat up shoes on. Ves notices and snorts. "There's extra shoes in the empty rooms down the hall. You're kind of in the empty hallway, so feel free to search the whole place. If there's someone in it, their name is scratched on the door. Otherwise, it's all yours."

He glances at Ves, slowing down his movements. "Thanks."

There's a few beats of silence while Jimin gets ready and Ves pets the dog. "You know, she normally doesn't braid that much," Ves says.

"Oh yeah?" Jimin asks, focusing on grabbing his backpack.

"Honestly, the only time she does hair is when someone asks her to." He goes still. "I don't think I've ever seen her do nails before either, not even her own." Jimin stares at the ground with wide eyes. So he's not imagining it after all.

"Where's Jungkook?" Jimin asks instead of replying.

"Outside, probably with Katherine."

Jimin turns to Ves. "Are they...?"

"Dating? Doubt it," Ves says with a shrug. "I know Jungkook likes older girls, but Katherine's thirty and he's twenty-four, doubt he'd go six years older. Doesn't seem like the type."

Jimin eyes the kid. "You know, for someone so young, you don't act it."

"I grew up in the apocalypse. I know it's only been a little over two years, but Y/n always tells me that it's enough to mess me up for life."

"She says that?" Jimin asks.

Ves waves the air with his hand. "No. She tells me that it makes me more mature. Learning how to be quiet, to put survival over what I want."

"And what do you want?"

Ves tilts his head back and forth, considering the question and petting the dog some more. "To be a kid."

Jimin softly smiles and approaches, kneeling in front of him and the dog. "Well, petting the dog helps," he says.

Ves returns his smile. "Yeah, yeah it does."

Jimin stands and ruffles his hair. "How old are you anyway?"

"Thirteen," Ves replies.

"Really? You look ten."

"Apocalypse?" he asks.

Jimin nudges him and chuckles. "I don't think the apocalypse helps with puberty, but hey, good for you. Means that when you're in your thirties, you'll look not a day over twenty-five." Ves giggles, Jimin motioning to the door. "Care to take me to Jungkook?" Ves agrees and brings him out of the room, the pair trotting outside with the dog following. Jimin spots Katherine, seeing Jungkook next to her. He recognizes him faintly. It's not like he talked much to the doctor after seeing him with Y/n the first day they met. Two days ago. Jimin puts on a smile. Time to impress the best friend.

"Thanks for coming to get me," Jimin says.

"No problem. I'm gonna go play with Sky."

"Sky?"

"Another thirteen year old. Her and I are the youngest. She doesn't go out as much though," Ves says.

"Why's that?"

"She's not like me," Ves explains. Jimin hums and backs off. "She can still take care of herself and everything, she's not like a bad survivor, she just didn't adapt as fast as me."

Jimin kneels again, chuckling and offering the kid his hand. "High five, little man. Looks like you're making progress. More than I could at your age." Ves high fives Jimin and beams. "Go play, maybe we can eat together later. Dinner?"

Ves almost bounces up and down. "I'd like that, but only if Y/n can come."

"She like your mom?"

"Closest thing I've ever had to one," Ves replies, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "But that's not the reason. It's because she likes you."

Jimin practically chokes on air. "L-Likes me?"

"Mhm, like I said, she doesn't do nails or braid hair unless someone asks, and I'm guessing you didn't ask." Jimin sheepishly smiles and nods. "See? She likes you already. Not like, like-like, but she likes you enough."

"Enough?" Jimin asks.

Ves smiles. "Enough." Without another word, he walks away.

Jimin watches after Ves, knitting his brows together. What did any of that mean? Enough? Is that a bad or good thing? Based on Ves's mannerisms, Jimin's guessing a good thing. But right now, he has other priorities: talking to the doctors on campus. 

Maybe if he gets on their good side, it'll help down the line. Jimin hates thinking like that, but he needs to have a backup plan in case this group goes sour. Backup plan: make everyone like him enough to save him. Make them like him enough that they'd save him over other people. A lot of other people. Self-preservation is a basic human instinct, especially when Jimin doesn't know any of these people except for Y/n. He'd gladly put his life on the line for the kids, but not the others. Not yet. He can save the moral high ground bullshit for later, for when he's attached to people.

He paces over to Jungkook and Katherine, the two peeking up from their spot at the tiny table. "Jimin, nice to see you," Katherine says. "Do you need any medical supplies or anything? We didn't really give you a checkup when you got here."

He shakes her off. "Didn't need one. Perfectly healthy, no chronic diseases, no illnesses, no bites - nothing."

"Not like we can treat any of those that well anyway, but good to know," Jungkook jokes with a soft smile. "I don't know if I formally introduced myself. Jeon Jungkook. Please sit."

Jimin obeys. "Park Jimin. I hear you're besties with Y/n."

"Since childhood." He trails off, eyeing the braid in Jimin's hair. "She did that for you?" Jungkook asks, although it's more of a statement.

"That and my nails," Jimin replies, showing off the black polish.

Jungkook snickers. "Ah L/n, what's your game here?"

"What's that?"

"Nothing, just wondering what the hell she's doing painting a stranger's nails. She won't even paint mine when I ask. She's never braided my hair before either. Looks like your charms won her over. Good job, now let's see if they'll work on me."

He leans forward, Jungkook and Katherine watching closely. Jimin flashes them an eye smile. "I think I fit in already, don't you?" Jimin asks, waggling his brows.

"Don't get cocky," Jungkook says.

"I won't, but my smile sways hearts. My mom always told me I could be a supermodel one day."

"Oh lord," Katherine says with a grunt. "I can already tell you're gonna be fun."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jimin replies, leaning back.

Jungkook eyes him for a moment. "If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

"Same place everyone else's is. Heaven, hell, afterlife - whatever you believe in. Shit, not even the thirteen year old's have parents. Can't imagine that." Somehow he manages to hide the pain in his tone.

"I can't disagree. Namjoon give you a job yet?" Jungkook asks.

"Night watch with Y/n, scavenging whenever they need me. Not much else I can do other than be an extra man and perform some dance moves."

"Dance moves." Katherine whistles, chortling after. "Nice to know we finally have some entertainment. Man, I miss Netflix."

"Right?" Jungkook says. "I remember staying up all night with Y/n watching the dumbest things we could find. Gosh, those were the days..."

Jimin chuckles. "I had a girlfriend a few years ago, we watched nine movies in a row on Netflix. Good times."

"Were you actually watching any of the movies?" Jungkook asks.

"We watched a good six out of nine."

"I walked into that one," Jungkook grumbles.

Katherine nudges him. "Yeah, you really did. But at least Jimin over here can make a good joke. I missed dirty humor too. Hard to be an adult when we have so many teens and kids."

He turns and peeks over the front yard, observing Ves and who he assumes is Sky rushing around the area. "It's good to see them being kids though. This apocalypse has taken too much from us," Jimin says.

"Couldn't agree more," Jungkook replies. "Does anyone even know how this apocalypse started? My parents were doctors like me, but they were gone before they could even tell me what was happening. Something about a man in Louisiana getting sick, same with his whole family."

Jimin taps his finger against his chin and turns back to face them. "I heard a rumor that it came from the air."

"The air?"

"Yeah, like someone got too close to a different kind of spore and got infected. Direct contact with the spore gave it to the people who got too close. They started biting others and next thing you know, an apocalypse happens. I wish the military did more," Jimin mumbles the last part. Most people don't know, but Jimin does. His father was a military man. His father told him about how hesitant the government was to use full force, worried that the people could be saved. They resorted to using less violence and more strategy. Only the strategy didn't work, and by the time they realized that, the zombies evolved to Howlers and everything fell apart. Everything.

"So if it's airborne, wouldn't that make us infected?" Jungkook asks.

Jimin furrows his brows. "Wait... just how many people have you lost here?"

"Around ten," Katherine says. "Why?"

"Have you ever had to put them down?"

They both shake their heads. "Always lost on missions, why?" Jungkook asks.

Jimin almost laughs, but it's not out of amusement. "So you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"We're all infected. Every one of us. If you're bit or not, you still turn after you die. Have to be shot in the head. Destroy the brain, even partially. If I had a heart attack right now, two minutes later I'd wake up as a zombie. I stay infected long enough, I evolve, probably to a Deadbait or Runner."

The two stare at Jimin with wide eyes. "Since we weren't directly in contact with the spore, we didn't go crazy, but there's a dormant part of the virus in our veins. When we die, it activates and takes over our brain like a parasite. The doctor I was with, the one who told me all this, explained that there's a chance we can see what's going on as zombies. A chance we can understand the basics. That there's still a human inside. So no matter what, if your friend turns, please put them out of their misery. Don't let them suffer. If there's even a one percent chance they're still in there, you should put them down," Jimin says.

Jungkook and Katherine lean back in their seats. "You know a lot about the apocalypse," Katherine mumbles.

Jimin doesn't disagree, then shifts to Jungkook. "When did you and Y/n come to this school?"

"Ah, only like two months after the apocalypse started. Why?"

"That explains a lot. I hopped from group to group. I saw underground tunnels, communities built on rooftops, cities overtaken by Divas and Runners. I know the outside world better than anyone here. That's how I'll help. Information. Experience. That's what I have, and I'll use it however I can to help. I know things about the zombies you don't, meanwhile you know things about this area that I don't. Like the Ranglers. I didn't even know they existed."

"What, are you proposing a symbiotic relationship or something?" Jungkook asks in an amused tone. Jimin's blank stare tells Jungkook that 'joke' isn't really a joke to Jimin. Jungkook's teasing smile falls. "Oh shit, you're serious."

"I need to prove my worth, right? Dancing for you guys is nice and all, but that has nothing to do with survival. I already told you guys a valuable piece of information, imagine how much more I know that can help you. I should speak to Namjoon, ask him if he has any questions," Jimin says.

To his surprise - both of them agree. "Yeah, I think that'd be a huge help," Jungkook replies, Katherine nodding.

"But first, I think Mr. Jeon sent a kid to check on me to make sure I wouldn't miss breakfast. Is that right?" Jimin asks.

"Uh oh, maybe I'm regretting it," Jungkook says, softly smiling. Jimin returns it. Today's been an interesting day so far, but, there's one thing to remember.

At least he's getting along with the best friend.