Apocalypse: Apparently, I Can See Zombies

Chapter 11- Someone Broken

Huff… Huff… Huff…

Seo-joon knelt over Jin-woo while breathing heavily. He looked down at Jin-woo who was on his back, his face bloodied beyond recognition. He then glanced at his bloody knuckles, a frown appearing on his face as he was finally feeling the pain after his adrenaline wore off.

After shaking his hands to relieve the dull pain, Seo-joon leaned down and started taking out Jin-woo's contacts. However, Jin-woo who was somehow still conscious weakly grabbed his hands in an attempt to stop him.

"*Tsk…* Even in this state you're still resisting? Hold him down."

The two lackeys who had been watching from the side moved forward without a word and held down Jin-woo's hands. Not long after, Seo-joon took out Jin-woo's contacts before getting up and heading to one of the stalls. The sound of a toilet flushing could be heard before Seo-joon walked out.

Walking over to Jin-woo, Seo-jun looked at his wrist and saw the watch. His brows instantly creased for some reason when he laid eyes on it. Bending down he took the watch from Jin-woo and pocketed it without a word. After that he started patting down Jin-woo's pockets. He even opened his blazer and searched its inside pockets.

However, even after searching all of Jin-woo's pockets, he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Looks like you already took it. "

"Hyung, I saw a small bag on the sink."

"Hm?"

Seo-joon raised an eyebrow upon hearing Lackey One's words. He got up and looked around the sink. Sure enough, he saw a small clear white bag on one of the sinks' edges.

Seo-joon picked up the clear white bag and said annoyed.

"He really took it. Seems like I got here too late."

Seo-joon threw the clear white bag over his shoulder before looking down at Jin-woo still sprawled on the ground. He tilted his head in thought before saying.

"Take off his clothes."

Amused expressions appeared on the two lackeys' faces and they took off Jin-woo's unbuttoned blazer. They were then about to take off his white shirt, but when Seo-joon saw that they were about to rip the buttons he stopped them.

"Whoa, whoa, unbutton his shirt first. Do you know how hard it is to sew buttons back on? Even I'm not that cruel!"

Seo-joon crouched down in front of Jin-woo after saying this before taking out a cigarette to smoke.

The two lackeys did as he said and began unbuttoning Jin-woo's shirt. This action seemed to trigger Jin-woo as he began to struggle again, this time more fiercely. However, it was useless, he could barely feel his arms and his head was so fuzzy that he could barely coordinate those arms.

It didn't take long for the two lackeys to unbutton Jin-woo's shirt, but as they pulled it open to take it off him, their hands paused momentarily when they saw the bruises and cigarette burns on his torso.

They didn't remember hitting him in the areas where they saw the bruises, and neither did they put out their cigarettes on him, even in the past when they picked on him, they never thought to do something like that.

Seo-joon's actions before likely weren't serious.

Though rather than bullying, the two lackeys would call this sort of thing a sparring match, since Jin-woo wasn't so weak as to allow himself to be bullied. It had even become some sort of rivalry for them to fight at least once a day to varying degrees, sometimes they'd win and sometimes they'd lose.

If they really went and did something like put out cigarettes on him, then he might corner them when Seo-joon wasn't around, which they naturally dreaded.

Even Seo-joon paused smoking his cigarette when he saw those bruises.

"You guys head back to class first."

Seo-joon suddenly broke the silence between them.

The two lackeys glanced at each other and hesitated, but Seo-joon calmly said.

"Did your ears stop working all of a sudden or something?"

Even though Seo-joon wasn't looking at them, nor was there anger in his voice, the two lackeys' hearts skipped a beat.

"Then we'll see you in class, Hyung."

Lackey two said as he and Lackey One got up and left the bathroom.

Silence then fell in the room and Seo-joon smoked his cigarette while looking at Jin-woo who was starting to move.

After what felt like forever, Jin-woo made his way to the wall nearby and propped himself against it.

He ignored Seo-joon's presence and with trembling hands tried to button up his shirt.

Seo-joon only smoked his cigarette and watched him silently trying and failing to even get one button done.

Suddenly, Seo-joon snickered and strangely suggested.

"Let me help you with that."

He then fixed the cigarette between his lips before he got up and walked over to Jin-woo. After crouching next to him, he pushed Jin-woo's hands away and then began buttoning his shirt.

Jin-woo didn't react to Seo-joon's strange actions. First was because this wasn't the first time Seo-joon did something like this, and second was that in his current state, Jin-woo couldn't even stop him if he wanted to.

"There you go…"

Seo-joon said and patted Jin-woo's right cheek after finishing buttoning his shirt. He then got up and walked over to the sink to wash his bloody knuckles. While looking at the blood being washed from his hands, he spoke again.

"It looks like that old man of yours is kicking your ass at home. You're getting beaten up at school and home, you have a sad life Jin. I almost feel bad for you… Almost."

Jin-woo didn't respond, no, he wasn't even listening to Seo-joon.

"That bastard, what's his deal?"

However, that didn't stop Seong from voicing his current thoughts. He was glaring at Seo-joon as he sat next to Jin-woo and leaned on the wall with him.

"Hey, are you okay Jin? Don't listen to that guy, he doesn't know anything. If I wasn't like this, I would have-"

"Just shut up. I said you're not real so stop talking like you are."

Jin-woo said cutting off Seong. However, even though he was muttering, Seo-joon had heard him. He paused washing his hand at Jin-woo's first sentence, and he planned to turn around to continue where he left off beating him, but upon hearing Jin-woo's next words his head snapped up and he looked at him through the mirror.

Seo-joon stared at Jin-woo as if waiting for him to speak again, but after seeing that he was staying silent with his head down, he looked away.

"Freak."

Seo-joon muttered before he flicked his finished cigarette into the sink and walked out of the bathroom. However, he said something aloud as he left.

"We'll be seeing each other for the entire year, see you tomorrow friend-killer~"

Jin-woo's body visibly jerked at Seo-joon's words.

Seo-joon's laughter echoed right after and lingered in the bathroom for a moment before fading away.

It took nearly an hour for Jin-woo to regain the strength to stand up. After cleaning up his appearance the best he could, he left the bathroom and headed for his classroom to grab his bag.

The first years who had come for their Entrance Ceremony were already leaving after lunch. Lunchtime was already over so the halls were devoid of people as Jin-woo headed for his classroom.

After reaching Class 1A, Jin-woo slid open the door and entered.

No one was inside.

Jin-woo walked to his desk and picked up his bag. As he was about to leave the classroom he reached into his bag and took out a mask. He then left the classroom after wearing it and walked down the empty halls to leave school.

At the front gate, there were still a few kids loitering around laughing and chatting. Jin-woo walked past them and stopped at an empty spot just outside the school gate.

Seong who had been silently following him had begun fading away after passing the gate.

Seong gazed at Jin-woo's back as he opened his mouth and said.

"See you tomorrow, Jin."

After that, he completely disappeared.

Jin-woo felt a bitter feeling rose in his heart.

Seong died at the start of the winter break, merely three months ago. It took his mother forcing him to go to school to take the Entrance Exams that he left the house for the first time. But it was then that Seong suddenly appeared for the first time, and he had a panic attack in front of everyone.

He was able to calm down and eventually take the exams, but news had already begun to spread about him seeing his dead friend before freaking out. But that wasn't even the end of it as rumors started going around about how he was the reason Seong died and that's why he had become crazy.

His once stellar reputation had drastically changed. The people who had once looked at him with admiration for his athletic ability and felt sympathy when they found out about his condition now looked at him with caution and disgust.

Seong had been like a mediator between him and everyone else in the world. He had helped him, hid him from prying eyes whenever he had an episode. It had even gotten to a point where Seong could pinpoint potential triggers and shield him before they affected him. If he wasn't able to stop it before his episode happened, he would be the only person who could calm him down.

Seong made him feel normal when he wasn't.

However, he had become dependent on him and now without him, without a mediator between him and the outside world, everyone was free to see who he really was… someone broken.

Jin-woo's grip tightened around his bag straps as he walked off. His mother was the one who usually picked him up from school, but that was in the past.

Jin-woo fitted his hands inside his pocket and decided to head to a nearby bus stop to get home.