January 6, 2023, 6:02pm, Daegu, South Korea.
An hour has passed since Zeke and Jihyo beat the gigantic snow creature. They're now in the safety of a convenience store stockroom, recovering from the injuries they sustained. As Zeke sat on the floor trying not to wince in pain due to his wounds, Jihyo was trying to get a signal for her phone.
She paces around the stockroom, checking every nook and cranny if there was at least a little bit of signal, but there was none-- not even one bar of it. She gives up and sits again in front of Zeke, letting out an audible sigh. She sees him sitting quietly, looking absolutely tired. It must've been a really hard day for him.
"Hey, uh... Thanks again for saving me earlier, Zeke." Jihyo said, breaking the silence.
Zeke looks at her.
"Uhm, No worries." Zeke replied. "Still couldn't believe we made it out alive, though."
Jihyo looks at him and smiles a bit.
"Yeah. We got lucky. If the generator hadn't been working, we'd be heading towards a very sticky death." She replied.
Zeke nods. "Seems about right."
"And besides... I wouldn't look cool." Jihyo continued. "I held an iron hatchet that was teeming with electricity just earlier, you know... I felt like I was Thor for like.. a few seconds or something. I'm proud of that." Jihyo said, raising her arm as if she's holding a hammer, trying to imitate the God of Thunder.
"Whoever possesses the hammer, if they are cute, shall wield the power of... Park Jihyo! Pow, crackle, snap!" she said, making thunder noises.
Zeke chuckles. "That's not how the saying goes..."
"Well, I'm just tryna cheer you up, you know?" She replied.
"I'm currently laughing, as you can see." He replied. Jihyo laughed because of his witty comeback.
Their laughs died down after a while.
Jihyo sees Zeke looking away, and realizes he's too shy to look her in the eyes again, just like the first time. He begins to blush.
"Zeke..? Are you alright?" Jihyo asks in worry.
The obviously blushing Zeke slowly turns to Jihyo. "I- I'm fine," he says.
"Really? You sure?" Jihyo said.
"Yeah.. It's just that... It's actually sinking into me that you're in front of me. I'm glad I'm able to meet you in person, and I should be freaking out right now... but... I didn't expect it to be in a time like this. I should be screaming or something. But then again, I can't. Not sure if I should be happy about this." He said.
She looks at Zeke. "I get you. I mean.. this is an apocalypse, after all. These are confusing times, even for me." She chuckles.
"Yeah." He chuckles as well.
Silence followed for a few minutes, but Jihyo breaks it as she opened up a new topic.
"By the way, do you live here in Daegu?" Jihyo asked.
"Oh, no, I don't live here.." Zeke answers. "I'm just here for a 2-week vacation because I needed to get away from things back home... And to meet you girls while I'm at it. You know, the Incheon concert festival."
"Oh riiiiight. I forgot about that, we were supposed to be a big guest there. Lotsa games. Songs. Interviews. Not just us but alot more groups are going to be there." Jihyo chuckled. "But... you're aware that this concert festival was supposed to be our only activity for this year, right?"
"Yeah.. I've kinda noticed. You've been absent since late October last year, too, following your performance stages." Zeke replied.
"Well.. There's a reason for that..." Jihyo took a deep breath. "We're actually taking a long break from making music for now, and yes, even individual activities and brand deals. These past few years, starting from 2021, were tough, I had to admit. We we're proud of our achievements and we love our ONCEs, but then we decided that we should focus on ourselves first. We just wanted to spend time with our families and friends... and go around the country to just unwind for a year.. much like you, I guess. So.. after mulling it over with JYPe last December, we had an agreement that we can take that long break, provided that we attend the Incheon concert first, since it was a big event. And that's also where we were supposed to announce our temporary hiatus."
Zeke just nodded.
Jihyo continued. "So, while we were waiting for the event to come, the other TWICE members decided to go on their own separate adventures to pass time. Some, like Jeongyeon and Nayeon, decided to go on a roadtrip, going from place to place, while others like Tzuyu and Chaeyoung stayed behind. I didn't know where the rest went exactly, though. Mina and I just recently decided to go to here to just spend time shopping for outfits for that concert."
Jihyo's face suddenly drops.
"And then... That weird cube happened.. and.. and Mina.. Mina was taken by some powerful creatures... I... I wasn't able to do anything.." She said as she shut her eyes tight and lowered her head.
"Powerful creatures....?" Zeke thought. "So this isnt really a regular apocalypse..."
Zeke looks at her with worry. He wanted to ask what happened to Mina, but he thought that he wasn't close to Jihyo to ask such personal questions. He remained silent.
"I'm sorry. I.. well, that's enough about me. I don't wanna talk about it anymore." Jihyo said, seemingly wiping a tear from her eye. "Let's talk about something else.
She takes a few deep breaths as she regains her composure.
"So... Mr. Zeke... If you aren't from Daegu.. where do you live...?" Jihyo said as she changed the topic.
"I'm not actually from this country.. I'm from the Philippines," Zeke answered. "Manila, Philippines."
"Oh!" Jihyo's face lights up. "Manila.. We've been there.. Yes, yes, I remember, 2019! TWICE Lights Manila... Probably one of the best concerts I've had in my life. And I guess the girls agree as well. The people there were really energetic and happy." She said. "Haven't explored much of it though since we were only there for the concert. Well.. That and my vacation to Cebu. That was solid, the place was filled with culture... Were you at the concert, though?
"No. I wasn't." Zeke replied. "I wasn't a fan before. It was 2020 when I started to be a fan. But my sister was, ever since your debut. She talked about it so much that my Mom and Dad actually learned each of your names."
Jihyo chuckles. "Really? That's amazing. What's her favorite song?" Jihyo asks.
"I think it's Feel Special," Zeke replies. "You know because it makes her feel spe-"
"I know where this is going, so I'm going to stop you right here. " Jihyo interrupted him. She frowns, then laughs. Zeke laughed as well.
"How about you, Zeke? What's your favorite?" She then asks.
"Well... I haven't thought about it, but I think it's I Can't Stop Me. And.." he then blushes. "Your cover of A Late Night of 1994.. which helps me sleep at night."
"Oh." Jihyo smiles. "I see. No need to be shy about it, you know. I Can't Stop Me... I'm glad you liked that. We worked extremely hard for that particular comeback. And the cover I made.. well, I'm glad that it actually helped you somehow." Jihyo said.
"I suggested them to Aria, too, and now she can't sleep without it as well," Zeke said, chuckling. He then looks down.
Jihyo sees that his eyes drowned in sorrow.
"...Do you miss them?" Jihyo suddenly asked.
"Who?" Zeke looks at Jihyo.
"Your family back home." She replied.
Zeke took a deep breath. "Yeah. I do. I mean.. I'm here in a place I don't even know, and I have no way to contact them. It's a bummer." He said in a sad tone. "I just want to go home and see them again."
"Me too, Zeke. Me too." Jihyo said as she took a deep breath as well.
Jihyo then stands up and walks around the stockroom. She rummages over some boxes filled with assorted candies, chips, and other snacks.
"You want anything to eat? There are some snacks here." Jihyo looks at him.
"Sure... But I don't know any good snacks here in South Korea, though." Zeke replied.
"I'll pick one for ya." she smiles as she rummages the boxes for her favorite snacks. She finds a few of them and hands some to Zeke.
"Thanks..." Zeke said, opening the bag of chips and immediately muched away.
"...So.. what do you plan on doing right now?" Zeke then asked.
"Well.." she sighed as she opened a pack of candies. "Just like the apocalypse in movies, I think we gotta prepare for the stuff that's lurking outside? You know, get supplies, use survival skills, help people along the way, and so on... But.. my true objective is to find my members then head back to Seoul to check up on my family. Probably stay there until all of this is over... Well, hopefully... How about you though?"
Zeke thought about it for a good while. He knew he was going to be stuck here in South Korea for a good while, possibly even permanently. Even if he tried getting to the airport, he wasn't sure if any flights were going back home considering it's a goddamn apocalypse-- he's not even sure if he'll make it out of this alive before he gets there. He doesn't want to risk tagging Jihyo along for that, either. It was too huge of a gamble, and Jihyo had other concrete plans for herself. He couldn't figure out what to do or where to go.
Zeke finally answers. "I want to get back home soon, of course, but I don't know South Korea on my own, since this is my first time here." He said. "I don't want to be a burden to you by tagging along, so that's out of the options. I think I'll just stay here and wait for the military or something.."
Jihyo's eyes widen. "Oh, no, no! I don't treat you as a burden! You can definitely tag along with me for now. I understand you have nowhere to go. It's too dangerous to be alone, and besides, it's better if we stick together for a while till we get to our own goals. So it's fine." Jihyo said to him.
Zeke blushed. He couldn't believe he's getting these words from none other than one of his favorite idols, Jihyo. It's surreal.
"Look, don't think about it much for now. Let's just figure things out soon. Right now, we gotta rest up. My whole body hurts still. I bet you do, as well, considering you got flung out pretty bad. Alright?" Jihyo said.
"Yeah." Zeke slightly smiled. "It hurts like absolute hell."
Jihyo and Zeke then took deep breaths and positioned themselves to rest.
"Rest well, Miss. Ji-- I, um, Jihyo." Zeke said. "Sorry, I'm still not used to it.."
"It's fine." Jihyo smiled as Zeke shut his eyes and immediately fell asleep.
"Goodnight, Zeke." She said, as she silently chewed on her remaining candies at hand.
She then stood up and looked on the window of the stockroom. The snow was still falling, and she could hear the wind blowing. For some reason, Jihyo felt calm. But she knew it was only a temporary feeling, one that she should be cherishing every time she gets it.
She has gone through a lot in just nearly two days. She had to admit-- she was about to give up. There was little chance she would've survived, and there was no way she could've endured all that pain and struggle that long. But somehow, she made it.
Then, there's Zeke.
She looks at him. He was sleeping away, but he did seem a bit disturbed. He was probably really that tired-- apart from sustaining physical injuries, he was probably hurting inside, too. Being stuck in a supernatural phenomenon, far from his family, in a land he's not even familiar with.
Jihyo sighs, hoping that things will turn out for the better for the two of them, eventually. She continued to peek at the window, slowly getting lost in thought, wondering, questioning, pondering.
"What in the world is going on, actually...?"