He remembered the very first time he saw you. The lecture hall was crowded, noisy, filled with students still adjusting to university life. You had taken the seat next to him only because it was the last one left, and from the very first glance, there had been tension. He thought you were too sharp-tongued, too quick to challenge his ideas, and you thought he was too smug, too sure of himself. It wasn’t hate, exactly, but it was far from liking. And then the professor had announced group projects. His name was called. Yours was too. He almost groaned aloud when he realized you would be his partner.

The first few meetings were rocky: snappy comments, disagreements over details, long silences when neither of you wanted to back down. But somewhere in the middle of drafting late-night reports and building presentations, the walls began to crumble. He noticed the way you rubbed your eyes when you were tired, how your laugh came unexpectedly when he made a dry joke. You noticed that he always stayed a little longer than necessary, double-checking the work because he wanted it to be perfect — not for himself, but for both of you.

By the time the project was finished, you weren’t rivals anymore. You were allies. Friends.

Friendship became late-night walks back to the dorms, study sessions that turned into long conversations about everything and nothing, and coffee breaks that stretched longer than they should. He found himself thinking about you even when you weren’t around, and he saw the same shift in your eyes when you looked at him. When the day finally came that he blurted out, awkwardly, that he liked you — he had braced for rejection. Instead, you smiled, soft and sure, and he knew he wasn’t alone in his feelings.

Years passed. You both graduated, stronger and closer than ever. Moving in together was natural; your toothbrush next to his, your laughter filling the apartment, your warmth tangled with his every night. Life wasn’t always easy, but with you by his side, it was bearable — good, even. He loved cooking dinner with you, waking up late on weekends, the quiet comfort of just being near you. He thought his life was finally steady, finally perfect.

And then came the outbreak.

You had been in the kitchen that morning, getting ready for work. He had been teasing you for taking too long, brushing his hair back in the mirror. Then the sirens wailed, the loudspeakers blared orders, and the entire building shifted into chaos. But both of you were not ordinary civilians. Trained in special forces, you and Chan quickly organized the residents, taught them how to fortify the building, and went out on dangerous runs for food and supplies. Side by side, you fought back against the waves of the undead, his hand always brushing against yours, his voice always steady, grounding you in the storm.

Zombies. He never thought he’d say that word outside of fiction. But it was real. Too real.

He was grateful then, more than ever, that both of you had trained in special forces. It gave you a chance. You became leaders, protectors. Every day was a fight, but you were side by side, and that made the impossible possible.

Weeks passed, and the chance of evacuation grew nearer. He had let himself believe, just a little, that you would make it. That you would walk out of this nightmare together.

Until that day.

The attack had been sudden, a breach from the lower floors. You both had rushed into the chaos, clearing hallways, guiding terrified residents back to safety. He had been a step behind you, covering your back, when it happened. A blur of movement, a snarl, teeth sinking into skin.

He heard you gasp. He turned and saw it — blood, too much of it.

“No…” his voice broke as he reached for you, pulling you close, his hands pressing desperately against the wound as if sheer willpower could erase it. “No, no, it’s just... it’s just a scratch. You’re fine. You’re fine.”