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The End is Near [Part 1]

Pairing: Jung Yi-hyun x Japanese!OC

Word Count: 1725

Part 2

When the COVID pandemic swept through South Korea, it became an unspoken rule to wear a mask in the presence of Se-hoon. He was careful to the point where many might find it to be overkill, but Hirano Yuki appreciated his devotion to stay healthy.

Yuki grew accustomed to his peculiarities. She had moved into the building a few months before the outbreak. Her job was fortunately unaffected as she worked in the building she lived in; a perk of the job.

She stood a good six feet away from Se-hoon as they both waited for the elevator. As the numbers above the elevator ascended, she felt the presence of two individuals approach their still bodies. She threw a quick glance and discerned it was a man and woman she was unfamiliar with.

She knew there was a new resident in the building. She had been informed to conduct a thorough examination of their apartment before they had been allowed to move in.

When Se-hoon noticed the woman, he greeted her with a slight bow, "Did you look into the t-shirt? The large t-shirt?"

The woman shifted her weight from her foot to foot. "I was busy today. I'll bring it next time." She promised.

He sighed before bowing his head and turned away. He was finished with the conversation. Yuki knew he wasn't the most sociable person and that's probably why they meshed well together. They didn't have to force any social interactions with one another. They simply allowed the silence to envelop them.

The elevator door opened revealing the two residents of apartment 502: a little girl, Shin Seo-yoon, and her mother. It would be a tight fit like sardines crammed into a small container.

Yuki would be the first to enter with her gaze fixed on the floor. Her heart sped like she had just run a mile. She inhaled as the elevator began to ascend. There was a faint hum of machinery that only amplified the tightness in her chest. She willed herself to focus on the constant rhythm of her heartbeat. It was thrashing against her chest so vigorous it ached.

"Are you okay, Ms. Hirano?" Seo-yoon questioned. She said it in a whisper, but to Yuki it might've been shouted into the rooftop. The girl was observant. Yuki noticed she had a tendency to notice things that the adults tend to overlook.

A deep sense of shame washed over her. Was she so easy to construe that a child had recognized she was slowly unraveling? She furrowed the top of her face to appear like she was smiling, "I'm alright, Seo-yoon."

Seo-yoon seemed to accept her answer and whirled her attention to her mother. She gripped onto her mother's sleeve and said, "Mom, Sae-bom is the SOU officer who lives across the hall."

Her mother pulled her mask down past her lips. "Seo-yoon told me how you took care of her. Thank you."

Se-hoon cleared his throat once he noticed Seo-yoon's mother wasn't wearing her mask all the way. She promptly apologized before adjusting it quickly.

The elevator halted on the first floor, but no one was waiting by the entrance. Just as the doors were about to close a hand shot out from just out of sight.

Yuki shifted the majority of her weight to her right leg as her prosthetic was slightly punching the skin of her stump. All she wanted was to finish her work and lay down to rest.

Her focus drifted to the new arrivals. Oh Joo-hyung, the resident doctor from unit 601, and a woman who worked as a manager for his and his wife's firm. Yuki knew they were having an affair. There was no reason why their manager should ever visit Joo-hyung in his home while his wife worked.

Yuki tried to ignore the growing discomfort as they too stepped into the elevator. She mentally cursed at her unforeseen misfortune. She should've just taken the stairs.

"Sae-bom, if you ever need repairs done in your unit, contact Ms. Hirano. She's one of our best maintenance workers." Seo-yoon's mother added. "The maintenance work is free of charge. The building takes care of it."

"Really?" Sae-bom said as she and the man she stood next to glanced at Yuki. "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Hirano. Thank you for taking care of the building."

Yuki nodded.

"Ms. Hirano doesn't really like to talk." Yuki could hear Seo-yoon whisper to Sae-bom. "But she's the best at fixing things. She fixed my music box."

The following day proceeded like clockwork. It was her day off and she was back at the store to pick up her monthly order of non-perishables. Earlier that day, a warning text was sent out to everyone and from how empty the store was, she concluded many in the residential buildings didn't take it too seriously.

Yuki made her way to where she knew the product demonstrators were stationed. Every week they would be showing off new products that she would eventually buy because they were delicious.

As one of the ladies noticed her approaching, she beamed, "Yuki!"

"I see you're doing well." The other exclaimed as she grabbed two untouched cups. She handed one of the cups over to the other lady before the two of them began filling the cups to the brim.

Yuki nodded as she heard her stomach let out a low growl. Her small breakfast wasn't as filling as she hoped.

She reached for the small utensil as one of the cups was handed to her. The first thing she noticed was the bright red coloring of the sauce. She could smell the spices coating the sample.

Her first bite was tasty. It was the right amount of spice with the perfect texture of the rice cake. She was definitely going to buy it. In her utter delight, she didn't notice the new resident springing to the stand, but the sample demonstrators did.

"Have a taste." One suggested.

"Okay." Sae-bom relented gleefully.

"Do you want one?" The question was directed to Sae-bom. They already knew Yuki's decision.

Sae-bom nodded with food still jammed in her mouth, "Yes." She held the now empty cup and asked, "Do I leave this here?" There wasn't a trash can in sight. The ladies nodded and Sae-bom reached for the bag filled with rice cakes.

Yuki reached for the second cup and began devouring it as well. Straight away she could tell it was eomuk bokkeum. There was a sweet and spicy flavor that complemented well with the eomuk's initial sapidity.

As she finished her second cup both bags were given to her. "Have a nice day, Yuki!"

"You as well." She answered before strolling towards the register line. Lee Bo-ram was ringing up Sae-bom's overflowing cart. At least, someone was taking the warning text seriously.

She managed to catch a snippet of their conversation. "We get them all the time now. We can't react to every single one. Except for Ms. Hirano, every month she orders a ton of non-perishables. Although, if a few people die and thousands get infected, I feel people would hoard again." Mentioned Bo-ram.

"Do you need these delivered?" She asked as she continued to scan items.

Sae-bom looked at her cart and added, "Only the rice and bottled water."

"Okay." Bo-ram quickly halted scanning before searching for a clipboard. She opened a drawer to pull it out, double checking it was the correct form, before handing it to Sae-bom with a pen. "Please write down your building and apartment number and we'll deliver it shortly."

Sae-bom scribbled on the sheet before handing it back to Bo-ram. She waited awkwardly as Bo-ram proceeded to scan items and another worker began to put away Sae-bom's groceries in one of the rolling carts. Sae-bom left shortly afterwards.

Bo-ram greeted, "I see the sample demonstrators got you again, huh?" She didn't expect a response as she scanned the two items.

"Yeah." Yuki replied.

Bo-ram called upon a different worker and asked him to bring out Yuki's order. She dug out a list of items and handed it to Yuki. "Please check for all the items you'd ordered."

Yuki inspected the list thoroughly before nodding. She browsed through each basket. They were loaded with products she'd purchased and mentally checked off each and every one of them as her eyes glanced over them.

"The water and rice will be delivered shortly." Bo-ram stated.

Yuki muttered, "Thank you."

Both hands gripped on the handles of each basket as she strolled into her building. There stood Sae-bom, the resident representative Oh Yeon-ok, exchanging a heated conversation while Na Hyun-kyung stood there awkwardly.

"You can keep the door shut, but not blocked or locked." Sae-bom educated, "The no one can evacuate either."

'The decision was made by the fire marshal." Yeon-ok explained.

"Excuse me," Hyun-kyung interjected, "The fire marshal is someone who works for the company we hired. Do you mean to say you're following their opinion?"

"Who are you?" Yeon-ok was the type of person to only concern herself with the permanent residents of the building. She and many others liked to distance themselves from the renters.

"I'm in Unit 401."

"Ah. Public rental..." Yeon-ok paused. "You know the doctor in Unit 601, don't you? She says random visitors are giving her a hard time. Her husband says she's so sick and stressed out, she can't even see patients."

"They said that?" Sae-bom asked. "After making loud banging noises at night?"

"Miss," Yeon-ok said in a condescending voice, "You can't pinpoint the origin of a sound when it's through walls. What I'm saying is that you can't be sure who's making the noise."

"Stop fighting and come to church." Two older ladies handed out pamphlets to them. "The Lord knows everything. The lady from Unit 601 must be having a hard time. She could get a lot of peace if she were to believe in the Lord."

Or if she had a better husband. Yuki thought.

"She had her husband, so I'm sure she'll be fine." Yeon-ok said before turning her attention toward Sae-bom once again, "You damaged the steel door, but I'll make sure you're not held responsible."

Sae-bom gave her a false smile, "I am so grateful."

Yeon-ok directed her piercing gaze towards Yuki, "Be sure to fix the door."

Main Masterlist

𝕭ᥲᑲᥡ, і𝖿 𝗍᥆ᥒіgһ𝗍 іs 𝗍һᥱ ᥣᥲs𝗍 ᥒіgһ𝗍

𝕮ᥲᥒ’𝗍 ᥡ᥆ᥙ ᥲᥴᥴᥱ⍴𝗍 𝗍һіs ᥣ᥆᥎ᥱ, ᥱ᥎ᥱᥒ і𝖿 і𝗍’s ᥴһіᥣძіsһ?

𝕵ᥙs𝗍 ᑲᥱᥴᥲᥙsᥱ ᥡ᥆ᥙ ᥴrᥱᥲ𝗍ᥱძ 𝗍һіs ᥕᥲі𝗍іᥒg ᥲᥒძ ᥆ᑲsᥱssі᥆ᥒ

𝕯᥆ᥱsᥒ’𝗍 mᥱᥲᥒ 𝕴’᥎ᥱ ᥒᥱ᥎ᥱr һᥱᥣძ rᥱsᥱᥒ𝗍mᥱᥒ𝗍 𝗍᥆ᥕᥲrძ ᥡ᥆ᥙ

Nature - Girls (2020)

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