The dorm was chaos the moment the lights cut out. Screams, footsteps, the clang of metal against bone—it all blurred into the suffocating dark. Jiji had wedged herself into the corner behind one of the bunks, heart pounding, breaths slow and shallow. She was waiting it out, waiting for the frenzy to pass.

Then she heard it—the sound of a body slammed against the wall, a sharp grunt she recognized instantly.

Sae-byeok.

Jiji’s eyes adjusted enough to catch the sight: #101 looming over her, a knife flashing dim in the chaos. Sae-byeok’s arm shot up to block, but she was cornered.

Jiji didn’t think. She launched herself from her hiding spot, colliding into #101 with more desperation than strength. The impact threw him off balance, but his elbow caught Jiji hard across the face. She stumbled, dazed, before he shoved her down and her ribs lit with pain under his boot.

By the time the guards’ gunshot echoed and the worst of the violence stilled, Jiji was left crumpled on the ground, chest heaving, blood at the corner of her mouth. Sae-byeok was beside her in seconds, grabbing her arm to pull her up and drag her behind one of the bunks.

“Stupid,” Sae-byeok hissed, though her voice shook more than it should have. She pressed Jiji down to sit, her hands surprisingly gentle as they brushed hair out of Jiji’s face. “You didn’t have to—”

“You’re welcome,” Jiji cut in, wincing when Sae-byeok dabbed at the blood with the corner of her sleeve. Her voice was soft, weak, but teasing enough to make Sae-byeok’s jaw tighten.

Neither said anything after that. The night grew quieter, bodies shifting into uneasy rest, fear lingering in the stale air.

Sae-byeok stayed right beside her, shoulder pressed against Jiji’s, their knees almost touching. When Jiji shivered, she felt Sae-byeok subtly shift closer, sharing her warmth.

“You should sleep,” Sae-byeok whispered, her breath brushing against Jiji’s ear.

Jiji turned her head just slightly, close enough to catch the faint silhouette of Sae-byeok’s face in the dark. “Can you?”

The silence stretched. They both knew the answer.

Jiji’s pulse refused to steady. Every inch of her body ached, but it was the nearness—Sae-byeok’s steady breathing, her hand brushing Jiji’s when she thought she wouldn’t notice—that kept her wide awake.

They lay side by side, eyes open to the dark, pretending rest while tension hung heavy between them, tighter than the silence of the room.