Metallic jabs thundered over your head, the entire (quite brittle and rusty) car you were sitting in shaking under the weight of the monster climbing on top of it.

Your heart was racing, hand clammy while you were trying to shrink yourself into the uncomfortably moist backseat of the untrustworthy vehicle.

Warning gurgling evoked from the prowler above you, horribly long limbs wrapping around the entire car as the monster was searching for you.

It had chased you all the way here, having lost sight of you once you'd hastily jumped into the car - big mistake, as you were now cornered inside the vehicle. The prowler would need to just throw a single glance through one of the windows and you'd be spotted in an instant.

You pressed further into the seat when the monster shifted atop the roof, the smell of old water and rottenness biting.

Suddenly, one of the limbs wrapped around the car pierced through the window on your right, making you shrink away, hands pressed against your lips to not make any sounds. There were glass shards covering the seat besides you, mixing with the repulsive liquid oozing from the prowler's body.

He'll see me now. I'm done for.

Those were always the impulsive thoughts invading your fear ridden brain in moments like these.

Then, without a warning, the prowler emitted a throaty scream and another, far louder, metallic thump hollered above you, leaving a little crate in the roof of the car.

You could practically hear your heartbeat, teeth biting down onto the inside of your cheeks while you were waiting for the next thing to happen.

But it stayed quiet, only

"Hey, Chickie!"

"AHH-"

You fell over backwards when Jungkook's face suddenly appeared in front of the window right next to you, upside down as he was pretty much sitting on the car roof from where he'd just saved your ass.

"Don't you EVER do that again!" You groaned loudly, clutching your poor racing heart.

He cocked his head to the side, face slowly turning red as the blood flowed into his head from this position, "I shouldn't safe you from tricky situations like this?"

"No! Just don't appear right in front of my nose like this so suddenly. God, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Jungkook cackled as his face disappeared from the window and he swiftly jumped off the vehicle, landing in front of it elegantly (and a little dramatically).

He opened the door, behind which you were still like frozen, making an inviting gesture, "After you, m'lady."

You snorted, "You're an idiot, Kook."

He ruffled your hair grinning, "Love ya too, hot stuff. Let's go back, 'kay?"

You shrugged, caught a little off guard but enjoying Jungkook's new found passion for sudden confessions and even sillier nicknames nonetheless.

"By the way, Chickie," He started, as you made your way back to your current hideout, "-where're we going now? Didn't you have like, a goal in mind or something?" There, he was right.

"Ilyang." You mumbled, thoughtfully.

He blinked, "Who's Ilyang?"

"That's not a person, stupid. Ilyang is a smaller airport on the outskirts of Seoul - it solely contains smaller machines for hobby pilots."

"Hobby pilot? That's a thing?"

"If you have enough money for owning one of these one to four person planes, yes. You can get a license and train at Ilyang - these kinda planes are often used for races and stuff like this, but you can also travel some distance with 'em. I'll just have to figure out how to use them."

"Nahh, I'll do it." Jungkook waved it off, "Can't be that hard to steer these things."

"I think I've heard these words before," You narrowed your eyes at him, "-and then you almost drowned."

He coughed embarrassed, "Let's not worry about this yet. How long does it take to Ilyang?"

"At our current tempo, about two days?" You nibbled your lip thoughtfully as you followed Jungkook inside, your hideout this time being the tiny flat above an old bookstore. Seeing all these precious books in such terrible condition had broken your heart, but at least it was warm and dry up here.

A single room plus bath was actually pretty convenient for your causes - and made if far easier to snuggle up with Jungkook in the nights.

"You hungry?" He waved a package of chili ramen in front of your face, still not trusting your choice of food.

"No, I'm good." You sighed, before climbing in your improvised bed.

He shrugged, "Alright then." Before following you, wrapping you up in the blanket like a cocoon and then pulling you up into his arms until you could pretty much not move anymore. He liked to do that in the evenings and you were a little confused about where this habit of his was coming from.

Not that you were complaining.

___

Jungkook looked down at the little Y/N cocoon in his arms, feeling all sorts of fuzzy butterflies inside of him.

It was hard to believe that all his shitty life of killing and being killed had come up to this - sure a lot of fucked up things happened to him, but he also did a lot of fucked up things to others. He probably didn't deserve any of what he earned through the apocalypse. Not that he cared.

"You still awake?" Jungkook whispered into the darkness.

"M-hm." She hummed sleepily.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think I... deserve to be this happy?"

It was very silent for a long while, "Mh. Probably not. But you know, the first time we met you saved my life, without any obligation. You just did it. Granted, it was a little stupid of you, but you chose for yourself to safe me."

"So?"

"Your First decision-" She whispered, "Concerning another human being, was to just risk it all and safe their live. All the other things you did to others up to this point weren't your own decisions. They aren't what defines you. Only your own decisions are. So who knows. If you'd always been free like this, what kind of person would you have become?"

He thought about it for a moment, let the words sink in slowly. Then he smiled, leaning down to press a kiss against her forehead, "Maybe you're right."

"Of course I am." She grumbled sleepily, turning around in her blanket cocoon as her way of saying 'now leave me alone, I'm tired'.

God, he never wanted her to leave.

___