Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Monday 10am

Walking around a new college environment is probably one of the most embarrassing things to Soobin, but maybe he’s just overthinking it. Whether or not people can tell he’s lost and confused doesn’t quite matter to him. He still feels as if everyone around him is boring holes straight into his skin.

This is Soobin’s second Community College, since he bailed out on the first. His original dream was to become an archer, probably not Olympic worthy, but a boy could dream. The dream however was thwarted by his coach when he was told in order to get anywhere, he’d have to learn to team build.

Now, he’s not an anxious person, he doesn't get panic attacks when interacting with others; he’s just a little nervous and basically socially inept. However, in Soobin’s opinion he was practically inept at everything besides archery. So here he was, at a new community college, starting fresh in hopes that this coach would be a bit more understanding of his situation. If not, well he guesses he could probably be a teacher’s aid; if the teacher taught a bunch of children that is.

Soobin looked around the smaller campus and was grateful that he never tried to go to a University, considering that even though this campus is smaller, he was already lost.

“Um, excuse me?” He meekly whispered to a passing student; who, as expected, completely ignored him.

Immediately giving up on asking for help, Soobin quickly picked up his pace and started looking for any type of directory that would point him in the right direction. All the while making a list of things he needed to change in order to have a different outcome in this college. Being more social is a big one on that list. He doesn't need a best friend or anything, he’d be fairly pleased with even just an acquaintance he could occasionally say hi to.

Soobin finally came across a map and saw another student silently observing it. He was still pretty hesitant but it was now or never. He lifted his head, straightened his back and opened his mouth.

“Are you lost too? I’m new here, so maybe we can help each other out?”

He might’ve been shaking, heart pumping but he felt so proud of himself for initiating a conversation. Now, if only the conversation wasn’t so one sided.

“Hello?” Soobin asked nervously, picking at the split ends of his recently dyed hair.

Once again, he got absolutely no response.

Soobin nearly yanked his hair out from pure embarrassment, his mind running though all the reasons that he would be ignored.

A low gruttled hum came out the person in front of him, their head falling on their right shoulder. With their head tilted, Soobin was able to see their wireless headphones sticking out of their ear, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He could just pretend he never said anything and walk away before they even notice he was there, so that's exactly what he does. He quickly walked in the opposite direction and sighed a breath of relief once they're out of sight.

His relief however, was short lived when he remembered that he forgot to check the map.

First day of fall classes and already Soobin had missed one. He tries to not blame himself, instead he just lets it roll off his back. Since he had promised himself that this semester would be different, and that included not stressing about every little thing like he usually would.

So now, here he was near the college’s field waiting for his archery class to begin. He didn’t see anyone in sight yet, even though he had been waiting for twenty minutes already. He supposes he could wait a few more minutes before leaving. If this was Soobin from yesterday, he’d probably be panicking a little. The new and improved Soobin however, was laid back, taking it one day at a time. Though truth be told, he was eagerly hoping no one showed so he could just head home and start over again tomorrow. Actively avoiding people while being simultaneously lost drained a lot out of him. When 5 minutes finally passed, Soobin picked up his archery gear and headed back to the student parking lot eager to get home and enjoy a nice well deserved meal.

Soobin still lived with his parents at 20 years old; it was a plus being the youngest in his family. He could live his life leisurely while his siblings were the ones to maintain their family image. Though Soobin wouldn’t consider himself rich, just more well off than others. His parents owned their own business, his mother did a few modeling gigs, and he didn’t have to work to provide for himself since they would pay for his cost of living. However even with the money provided to him to set him up for life, Soobin still wanted to pursue archery. He didn’t want his parents to help him out when it came to his own future, he wanted to be able to work for something on his own.

When Soobin arrived in the parking lot, he was surprised to see that the lot was still full of cars. The campus had seemed rather empty when noon came around, and he hadn't heard the normal hustle and bustle sound that had surrounded him in the morning. Maybe there was an assembly that he had completely forgotten about.

Just as he was about to pull out his phone to check, he saw a girl limping towards him from a distance. He looked around to see who this girl was heading towards looking so determined, but saw no one. He wondered if he had done anything wrong to warrant such a hatred filled look from her. As she got closer, He saw that her shirt was torn and covered in red, her shoe was missing and her leg was severely bleeding.

“Um, Are you okay? Do you need help? I can call an ambulance.” He nervously spoke out to her.

The girl responded with a loud snarl and began to quicken her pace as best she could with an injured leg. Soobin wasn’t a cautious person by nature, but he felt that he probably shouldn't let this girl get too close to him. He decided to just get into his car and lock the doors, lest the girl be a murderer. He could just call the police from inside the car anyways.

He took his phone out of his pocket and felt a bit of relief of having his phone back in his hand after 4 hours without it; another casualty he has to suffer in order to become this new Soobin he strives to be. His relief however was short lived as he looked at all the missed calls and messages lined up on his lockscreen.

6 missed calls from mom
10 missed calls from dad
‘soo , are u at school? You need 2 come home now’
‘Bin come home now’
‘Bin pls call us bak’
‘Dont let any1 near u’
‘Pls b alive’
‘Dont come home.’
‘Run far, find shelter’
‘We love yeou’

Soobin felt his heart drop, something had happened and he had no idea what.

A bang on his window startled him out of his thoughts as he let out a scream. The girl was right up against the window, trying to bite against the glass and rubbing her face on the window. Soobin watched in fear of the girl in front of him, staring right into her bloodshot eyes, the veins almost protruding out, her iris turning a red brown color almost like dried blood.

Soobin’s phone vibrated in his hand, turning his attention away from the sickly girl. His face paled as he read the message, his hands became clammy and bile threatened to come up.

Warning: Evacuation Notice
Due to a large quickly spreading disease, the CDC is implementing a city wide evacuation. You will be examined before leaving to confirm that you have not been in contact with the infected. Effects take place 30 minutes after initial infection, people seem to fall into a trance like state before becoming dangerously hostile. As of right now, infection is currently known to spread through bites only. More information will be released soon.

____

He wasn’t panicking, it was probably some elaborate hoax his city decided to do, or maybe his college was pranking new students for their student film center. Yet even though he tried to console himself he couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat on neck as the girl continued to smash her face against his window. Soobin had never been so grateful for his car till right now. He supposes he should head toward the evacuation center, it was about 4 hours away from his school. Putting a reasonable amount of distance between the city and the safe zone he guesses; not that it helps since he doesn’t even know what he’ll encounter on the way there.

His hands tightened against the wheel. What about his family? Were they safe? Did they manage to get out? Maybe that's why they weren’t answering, because their phones were confiscated in the quarantine zone.

He’d seen plenty of movies of this very occurrence, he knew what to do and what not to do. For instance, he should move out of this parking lot before this girl breaks into his car or calls for others like her. So that's what he does: puts his car into reverse, slowly backs away; trying not to cause too much attention toward him, and tries to ignore the girl limping desperately after his moving vehicle. He knows that as much as he wants to go home and make sure his family is safe, it was not the smartest idea. In movies it would usually end with either him dead due to self sacrifice or one of his family members. Plus, as hard as it was for Soobin to admit to himself, he wasn’t one of god's strongest soldiers. So he should probably just leave the saving to actual heroes.

With that in his mind, and with his clammy hands and racing heart, Soobin left the parking lot and headed in the direction of the evacuation center.

________

Soobin thought there would be riots as he drove closer to the inner city, so he was very surprised to still be driving in dead silence. The road looked eerily empty for a Monday afternoon. Still he didn’t stop to let his curiosity get the best of him, he knew how that usually ended up in the films. He was going to just keep driving until he got to where he needed to be, no stops, no being a good samaritan, no food or pee breaks, he just needed to drive. Although with the silence that enveloped him now he couldn’t help but feel that it was foreboding some type of omen.

Boy, did Soobin hate to be right.

He pulled into a smaller street hoping for a shortcut through the main shopping areas, but it seemed that he had forgotten one major thing. He was still new to the area.

Soobin refused to stop and redirect himself so he just continued to drive though the smaller street, feeling his hairs stand as he neared large gated buildings. He hadn’t known there was a high school this close by, and he wished he stuck to the original route when he saw some infected teens walking around the buildings. He wanted to zoom past them, but he didn’t know the layout and didn’t want to attract a horde or get stuck in a dead end. He looked over to his bows and arrow in the backseat as he began to approach the main entrance, preparing himself for an onslaught of sick teens running at him. What he did not expect was a gray haired boy and his taller friend running at him, bats in hands, and shouting at him to stop the car; a group of infected running after them.

Soobin should ignore him, he knows how this plays out, he saves them and then they hijack his car and leave him for dead. Teens were ruthless, and being one of them only a year ago he’s pretty sure he has an unbiased opinion on the matter. But as the kid comes closer with his big eyes, Soobin can’t help but think about his family, and how he hoped that someone had saved them from the infected.

He makes up his mind, he’d give them a minute to get to the car and if they didn’t make it in time, then he’d hightail it out of there. He couldn’t help but turn his head away from them as they got closer, his foot lifting off the break and his car slowly moving forward. A bang on his passenger window quickly brought his attention back to them. The boy who shouted at him now stared angrily at Soobin. He really did regret stopping for them, he was about to lose his car and probably his life.

“Open the damn door!” The gray haired kid shouted at him, his taller friend looking back towards soobin with pleading eyes.

Soobin quickly unlocked the door as he saw the group only a few feet away. The two teens quickly entered the car, catching their breath. Soobin couldn’t help but stare at them, this was the first time someone other than his family had been in his car.

“What are you gawking at? Hurry up and drive damn it!” The shorter kid shouted at him, turning his head away from the oncoming infected to glare at the driver.

“O-Oh r-right sorry.” Soobin stuttered out nervously, at this point he was probably more afraid of them then he was of the group outside the school.

“Sorry about him, as you can see it’s been a rough Monday.” The taller boy in the backseat spoke. “Thanks for saving us back there. Me and this bundle of joy are grateful .”

“Oh, um, you’re welcome.” He croaked out, looking anywhere but the two strangers in his car.

The latter teen looked at Soobin with distrust, his eyes moving from the college boy to the bow and arrow that was thrown behind him. “You were going to leave us.” He states matter of factly.

Soobin gulped. Oh boy, he really did kinda regret his little hero decision.

Chapter Text

Monday 12:30pm

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the day was perfect for an outdoor excursion. A trip to the park, a little ice cream, and some well deserved bonding with friends. Sadly for Hueningkai, he was stuck in a small classroom, with 8 students instead of the usual 20. Which meant that he couldn't even catch a little break in said classroom, since the teacher had a direct view of him, continuously calling on him. He was ready to jump out a window and run home, maybe even just lock himself in the janitor's closet for the rest of the day. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he had baseball practice as soon as class was over with his middle school best friend, Taehyun. Thinking about it, he was going to try to convince Taehyun to ditch the rest of the school day with him. They deserved it, they were in their last years after all, a little rebellion never hurt anyone. He began to pull his phone out of his pocket but before he could even get it halfway out, he was caught.

“Mr. Huening, are you so bored in my class that you're taking your phone out so desperately instead of waiting 10 minutes for the bell to ring?”

“Yea- I mean no!” Hueningkai quickly corrected himself, “I meant no, I just wanted to check the time is all.” He tried to finished off cooly, ignoring the exasperated faces of his fellow classmates

His teacher stared at him blankly for a second before pointing up at the analog clock hanging up above his head. “Really Huening, I would expect your lies to get better the older you get, but it seems your aging is just making you lazier.” He sighed, extending his hand forward. “You can come and hand me your phone. Actually since you seem to be so concerned about the time, I’ll go ahead and email your coach and let him know you’ll be late, so you can replace the batteries on the clock.”

Hueningkai groaned and moped back into his chair, trying to gain any type of sympathy, besides knowing that this teacher would never budge. He just had to be so unlucky to have the same teacher as his first year. Said teacher bore holes into Hueningkai in unamusement and clenched his hand to enunciate his demand for the phone. Hueningkai sighed at his classmates snickering and did as he was told, wishing he could just meet up with his friend already.

___

Taehyun wasn’t always a studious kid. Up until he moved into the small city he was about as troublesome as they come, picking fights and ditching classes. He had told himself that in the new school he was going to be different. He wasn’t going to repeat any of his past mistakes, he was going to take the opportunity and flourish with it. It’s not like he was ever dumb to begin with, he’s always been more intelligent then average, he just didn’t utalize it as he should’ve. When he transferred at 14, he focused on his studies and ignored everything else. He fixed himself to a single routine and it worked just fine, until he met Hueningkai. Sitting right next to the class clown was never Taehyun’s ideal sitting arrangement, but the teacher seemed to think that he could settle the kid down. Instead, the two became an inseparable pair .Much to the schools dismay it ended with Taehyun busting Hueningkai out of sticky situations and Hueningkai influencing Taehyun not to kill himself over academics.Taehyun still hadn’t received a grade lower than an B, but nowadays he sat right next to Hueningkai in the office more often than not as his undesignated lawyer. Like now, Taehyun had already finished his assignment and now sat staring out the window as his teacher rambled on about the usages of math. He just wanted to go to the baseball field already. Hueningkai had gotten him to sign up and he’d been a fan of batting ever since, with his large eyes, he was amazing at tracking the ball and hitting it out of the park. His eyes drifted to the sun and clear sky and sighed, Huening would probably want to ditch today, to enjoy the weather. He was about to turn his attention back to the professor when he caught a quick movement on the ground below. A girl was running away from a lanky guy, Taehyun was disgusted at the smaller man's advances and was about to excuse himself to help her, when the girl fell. The man limped toward her before diving and biting her extended leg. Taehyun gaped in surprise as he saw the red liquid drip pour from the wound.

“Kang Taehyun, is there something more interesting than my lesson?” The professor reproached. “Whether you finished your assignment or not, you shouldn’t blatantly ignore my lesson.”

“There's this girl outside who’s bleeding. She needs help.”

The teacher walked toward Taehyun’s desk quickly, looking out the window and scoping the scene, his head physically turning to make sure his eyes captured what Taehyun had told him before he sharply turned his head to Taehyun, his eyes disapproving.

“Mr.Kang, maybe you should stop hanging around Mr. Huening so much, or at the very least, don’t joke about something so serious.”

Taehyun gaped at him before turning his head to look out the window, only to see nothing there. He glared at the empty space where the girl had fallen. Catching red on the pavement right before the grass began. His skin tingled, he knew what he had seen and he knew that whatever it was, was going to affect the rest of his day.

Taehyung sat there in his chair, his leg impatiently shaking as he waited for the bell to ring. As soon as clock struck 1 he launched himself out of his seat and ran out the door. Ignoring his teacher’s shout and the striking of the bell, he ran towards the stairs before the student traffic began. Cautiously and quickly he made his way down the three flights of stairs. As soon as he stepped outside he began looking around for any traces of the pair. He walked over to where he saw the blood and just as he expected, there was a small pool settling between the cracks. He saw a smear of blood leading away, along with droplets towards the back of his classroom’s building. He approached the small alleyway between the two adjoining buildings and stopped dead in his tracks, quickly hiding behind the corner of the wall. His heart began to race and his hands roughly shook.
“This is a joke.” He whispered quietly

Behind him in the alley stood a handful of students tearing into the flesh of the girl, their hands forcefully ripping her apart and stuffing her remains into their gaping mouths. Like a starving dog on the streets, they didn’t even stop to breathe, just quickly swallowed her body before immediately grabbing for more.

Taehyun wished this was a joke, he wanted to walk away and pretend it was. But Taehyun knew what a dead body looked like. He remembered the sickening smell of blood. He knew this was no joke. He immediately walked away quickly trying to not make noise so the beasts behind him didn’t come for him next. He pulled his phone out and called Hueningkai, his heart racing with fear when it went straight to voicemail. All he could do was hope that his friend was already at the baseball field.
_

When he reached the baseball fiend, he immediately went to the equipment locker and pulled out two bats. He took a deep breath preparing himself for what was sure to come and striding back outside.

“Taehyun! What are you doing? Why haven’t you changed out yet?” His coach shouted towards him, quickly approaching him in confusion.

“Is Hueningkai in the locker room?” Taehyun abruptly asked, cutting off his coach’s questioning.

“No, He was held back in Mr. Yang’s room. Something about fixing his clock because he’s the only one who can reach the-'' The coach responded, cutting himself off when Taehyun speeded right past him. He quickly caught up and placed his hand on the teen’s shoulder, stopping him from walking any further “Taehyun, go return those bats and change, I don’t know what's up with you today, but this is an order.”

Before Taehyun was able to respond, a scream echoed across the campus. He tore himself free from his coach’s grip and ran toward Hueningkai’s building. He’d never been so happy to have been forced to memorize each other's schedules until now. He can only hope that the monsters hadn’t made their way into the building. He skids to a sharp turn as he entered Hueningkai’s building, running past the concerned student gossiping about the scream. He slammed open Mr. Yang’s door. Shocked and surprised expressions fixated on him.

“Taehyun, as romantic as it is for you to come save me, I was just about to head out.” Hueningkai giggled cheekily, “I know you miss me, but you couldn’t have waited a couple minutes?”

“Mr. Kang, just what do you think you're doing?”

Taehyun walked toward his friend and yanked him forward, pulling him out of the classroom. Hueningkai’s smile twitched in confusion, wondering if Taehyun was upset with him? They briskly walked past the classrooms and next to the staircase before Taehyun stopped and faced him, shoving a bat into Hueningkai’s hand

“What? Why’d you bring this out of the field? Coach is going to make us run laps!” Hueningkai whined, waving the bat over his head.

“KAI! Shut up for just a second.” Taehyun said, covering Hueningkai’s mouth. “This is going to sound nuts, but I need you to trust me.” He said quickly, waiting for Hueningkai’s nod before continuing, “There's some kids, somethings wrong with them. I don't know what, but they were eating this girl's body.”

Hueningkai’s eyebrows raised in alarm, before going back to their confused position. He pulled Taehyun’s hand off his mouth before smiling, “You mean, like zombies?” He laughed

Before Taehyun could defend himself, he was stopped by screams that sounded from downstairs. Hueningkai’s eyes widened along with Taehyun’s and they rushed to peer over the ledge, seeing their classmates run over each other as a horde of zombies rushed them, biting any piece of flesh their mouths could land on. Taehyun began to hyperventilate as Hueningkai pulled them back away from sight and into a closet where they both collapsed.

“Taehyun just breathe. It's okay. We’ll be okay.” He tried to soothe

“What about this is okay? We can even leave, they've blocked the doors.” Taehyun gritted

“Well, there's another way.. There’s a shipping container outside Mr. Lee’s window.” Hueningkai helpfully supplied, rubbing his friend's stomach in order to calm him. Then again, maybe it was more to calm himself.

“Attention Hybe Students, there has been an outbreak of a type of infection that causes the sick to become highly volatile and aggressive. We recommend student’s to lock themself in a secluded classroom until authorities can arrive.” Their principal's voice echoed on their speakers, tearing through the screams of the school.

“Are you ready? We have to head out before they start making their way upstairs.” Hueningkai said softly, so as not to spook his friend. Taehyun nodded solemnly and stood up, clenching his bat in his hand tightly.

“Stay close to me.”

They both slowly exited the room, Hueningkai leading the way toward the window he spoke of. They both began to quicken their pace as they heard the screams begin to quiet and footsteps resounding on the stairs. Hueningkai smashed the window open with his bat, clearing the glass on the edges to avoid getting cut, turning around to face Taehyun.

“You go first, I’ll be fine.” Taehyun said confidently, even though his shaking body gave him away.

Hueningkai nodded before throwing his bat out and lowering himself down to the shipping container below. He picked his bat off the container, looking around to make sure it was clear he gave Taehyun a thumbs up. Taehyun sighed in relief but before he could Hueningkai shouted at him.

“Behind you!!”

Taehyun quickly turned, swinging his bat directly into the figure's head with all his force. His heart came to a stop when he recognized the figure laying on the floor. The girl from earlier laid there, her body mangled and twisted, her stomach torn and bare of any needed organs. Even now, with a swing that would kill anyone else directly to the head, she laid on the floor twitching, trying to stand.

“Taehyun!?” Hueningkai shouted out worriedly. His voice snapped Taehyun out of his fear. He looked up and saw more bloody student’s rushing toward him. He immediately tossed himself out, his bloody bat tight in his hands.

“Run.” Taehyun gasped out as soon as he got his footing, before Hueningkai could question him and check to make sure he was okay.

They both ran, making a break for it toward the front gates. Their noise alerted a small horde as they ran right behind them, chasing them down. Taehyun was terrified out of his mind, his long legs beginning to burn under him. As he saw a small car slowly coming up on their school, his legs were renewed with energy. Hueningkai saw it as well, as he began to wave his bat in the air.

“Stop the car!!” Hueningkai shouted, trying to see the driver.

Taehyun shouted along with him as they approached the front gate, he felt relief flood in him
as the car came to a stop. However before he could let out a sigh, the car began to slowly move forward. Taehyun gaped at the driver who was about to leave them. The male didn’t even have the courage to look them in the face as he left them for dead, his head turnt to the opposite side. The anger bubbled in Taehyun and his speed picked up, reaching the car and banging on the window.

“Open the damn door!”

Chapter Text

Monday 4am

Though Yeonjun already knew Beomgyu was going to be running late today,like always, he couldn’t help but look around the empty cafe worriedly. He knows he just opened the place a minute ago and that it’s a Monday morning, but he really didn’t expect to be the only one here out of 5 openers on schedule. He’s aware that one of them was going to visit their sick grandmother, so maybe she caught the flu. The other two are usually diligent when coming to work, so he’s not sure what held them up. He decides it’s better to just get to work and prepare for the usual Monday rush instead of dwelling on it.

As always Beomgyu arrives 30 minutes after the store opens.

“Yeonjun! Yeonjun!” He yells as soon as he swings the door open

Yeonjun peeks up from behind the kitchen and glares at Beomgyu. Making sure his annoyance is known.

“Yeah Yeah, I know. ‘Beomgyu I can’t keep covering for you when you come in late’” Beomgyu said, hands on his hips intimidating Yeonjun. “But this is important! Did you check Twitter last night?!”

Yeonjun sighed in annoyance, “No Gyu, I didn’t check Twitter. I was busy sleeping so I could get to work on time.” He finished, his tone ending on a sarcastic note

“There's a video of a guy biting some paramedic outside some apartment complex!”

“What? Dude thats fucked up.” Yeonjun said, looking at him disgusted

“Yeah for sure, but like here's the kicker!” Beomgyu said, hands outstretched looking at Yeonjun. “The cops came and shot him 5 times!!”

“Well that's a bit of an overkill for someone who was just high off their mind.” the elder interrupted

“Wait! I’m not done yet.” He replied annoyed with the interruption. “The cops shot him, and the dude kept standing. He was like invincible.”

“Well drugs can do that to a person.” Yeonjun passively muttered

Beomgyu hummed in agreement and then looked around the shop in surprise. He walked around the counter to the back and peeked through all their little doors before going back around and looking at a confused Yeonjun.

“Where is everyone?”

“Well, they’re probably sick with that stupid flu thats going around.” Yeonjun sighed.

“Sick hmm?” Beomgyu looked around the empty cafe and hummed in unusual agreement.

They continued to get ready for the morning rush, talking about nothing in particular. They talked about how Beomgyu was ready to drop out of school and become a full time influencer; at which Yeonjun mockingly laughed at him, squashing the dream quickly. As they conversed they opened up shop, getting ready for the backlog of orders they’d soon receive.

Weirdly it was a slow day.

“I'm Bored.” Yeonjun whined, his head slamming against the counter.

“Hi Bored, I’m grateful for a slow day when there's two of us and you should be too.” Beomgyu side eyed him from his position at the register

“We’ve already cleaned the place over and over, I’ve made less than two drinks in an hour and we ran out of things to say, considering you live a boring dull life.”

“Well if you're done insulting my life, we can always talk about the Twitter video.” Beomgyu said, swiping through the said app.

“I’d rather not talk about a drug addict.” Yeonjun pouted, “Don’t you have any drama in your life, any spice?” Yeonjun sighed

“Well, I do have this new video game I’ve been playing”

“I guess I’ll listen to your new game since there's nothing else better to do.”

“Well, it’s about zombi-”

BANG

Tires outside screeched to a halt and a small crowd began to form near the street. Beomgyu immediately ran to the front of their little coffee shop peeking through the windows. Across the street in the intersection lay a man on the floor, his limps badly disfigured with blood seeping around his body. Next to him a car, that by default had to have been the one to hit him. The driver of the said car rushed out and tried to explain himself. Shouting that the kid ran in front of him and no one could've been able to stop the car fast enough. The door to their cafe opened, a lady yelling at them to call the police. However Yeonjun had already been on hold since the car had first struck the pedestrian.

“The police are backed up with phone calls.”

Beomgyu tensed at his words, his hands became numb, almost like he was holding on to his game controller for too long.

Now Beomgyu wasn’t always too sure about things, not that he minded. He liked living life day by day, he went to college and didn't focus on finding a career path or anything, just took whatever classes interested him. Yeonjun was a bit more of a studious type. Older than Beomgyu but a freshman just the same. Said he wasn’t able to start college due to some family thing and was trying to play catch up. Although they were both opposites they had clicked together fairly well and had even begun rooming together until they both got accepted to work in the new cafe.

As of right now though, Beomgyu was sure of two things. One, Yeonjun was stuck with him forever. Two, the flu was not really a flu.

“Yeonjun. Yeonjun, Hang up the phone.” He murmured

Yeonjun glanced at him quizzically and continued to try to calm the now distraught lady. Beomgyu felt his patience run thin, with all the commotion inside and out, he just wanted to collect his thoughts fully.

“Yeonjun, Hang up the phone and shut the doors!” Beomgyu snapped

Now he had Yeonjun’s full attention, as well as the lady who looked at him like he was insane. Well maybe he was, but insane not Beomgyu really needed Yeonjun to listen to him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you Choi Beomgyu?” Yeonjun demanded, his phone gripped into his hand and away from his ear.

“Okay, so this is probably going to sound crazy,” Beomgyu began, “but you know how I was talking to you about my game? Well it starts almost like this, calm and then BANG zombies.” He ranted.

“You’re right, that's not crazy at all.” Yeonjun replied with his tongue seeping in sarcasm, “That's completely a sane and logical thought process you're having. Comparing your new video game to an accident instead of trying to help the situation.”

“Well, I mean if you believe-”

“Beomgyu, if you don’t shut your mouth, I will shut it for you.” Yeonjun seethed, before turning his attention to the older lady and apologizing profusely

Beomgyu huffed and looked outside to the dwilding crowd of people, returning back to their daily lives, since the police seemed preoccupied. His fingers began to wiggle, anticipating something, anything to prove himself right.

It didn’t take long before a scream echoed down the street.

Yeonjun glared at Beomgyu, visually threatening him to keep his mouth shut and not to add on to the scene. In response, Beomgyu pretended to zip his lips and toss the key. Yeonjun rolled his eyes, before proceeding to follow the woman outside to see what the commotion was about.

“Yeonjun, dont-”

“Shut up and stay inside, I don’t need you and your theories right now.” Yeonjun hissed, leaving the shop and running outside to help however he could.

Yeonjun prided himself on being level headed, besides when dealing with Beomgyu. He never jumped to assumptions and always tried to find a solution to any problem he’d encountered logically. He was a powerhouse of a human and held himself accordingly. Which is why he was surprised at how fast he froze at the scene before him. A few feet away, Yeonjun was witnessing a man on the floor yelling for help and fighting to shove a petite woman off of him. The woman seemed to have blood dripping from her mouth, her shirt torn and her hair messy. Yeonjun blamed the sweat coming down his neck on Beomgyu for putting silly thoughts into his head. Although that was until, the small woman tore into the man's throat with her mouth. Maybe Beomgyu wasn’t so silly after all.

“Hey! Get off of ‘em!!” The woman who was standing by Yeonjun yelled out, beginning to approach them. Before Yeonjun could get a word out the petite girl screamed a raspy sickening scream in response. She got up and quickly hobbled to the women. Yeonjun, still frozen in fear, stared straight into the girl's dark red eyes, transfixed.

“Hey, Stay there! Don’t come near!” The older lady yelled, putting her hands up in an attempt to stop the younger from getting close. The girl quickened her pace to a light jog and tackled the lady to the ground, tearing into her flesh. Yeonjun could only stare in shock, the woman's pleas for help muffled in his ears. Before he could come to, he felt a tug on his arm and got yanked back. Watching in fear as he saw the man from the car accident slowly stand up, eyes red.

___

Now Beomgyu wouldn’t say he was right. He’s honestly currently freaking out about the fact that he was right, though he was a little proud of himself. However this wasn’t the best time to say anything about it. It’s not like he’d be able to either way with Yeonjun’s hand covering his mouth.

Hiding behind their little bar was probably the worst idea they could've had. Beomgyu would have run until he was able to get to supplies, like they did in the movies. Yeonjun however seemed to have snapped out of his little trance with just enough time to pull Beomgyu into their stupid little store and hide until they got eaten. Beomgyu really wished he didn’t come into work right about now, especially remembering that Yeonjun had forgotten to lock the doors, which were currently about to be pushed in if the little bell chimes were anything to go by.

“Fuck, I forgot to lock the doors.” Yeonjun muttered, looking around for any chance of an escape. Beomgyu rolled his eyes at Yeonjun’s obvious statement.

Yeonjun slowly peeked over the table seeing both the man who got run over and the initial petite girl inside the shop heading toward the counter. He quickly ducked down the table and covered Beomgyu’s mouth again. Beomgyu felt nervous from Yeonjun’s reaction and shut his eyes to help calm himself back down. Yeonjun rattled his brain for a way out before he remembered that Beomgyu lived close by.

“Beomgyu, how’d you get to work today?” He whispered, eagerly awaiting his friend's response. Beomgyu ripped Yeonjun’s hands away from his mouth to look at him confused.

“I rode my bike. Parked it out by the backdoor.” Beomgyu muttered, before shouting “The backdoor!” Immediately the two creatures screeched in response knocking over items in a rush to find where the sound came from. Yeonjun quickly covered Beomgyu’s mouth again, glaring at him.

“We have to distract them, otherwise the door to the kitchen will alert them.” Yeonjun said in a hushed tone.

Beomgyu nodded his head toward the blender tucked underneath nearby. They could easily connect the plug by crawling on the floor to not be seen. Using the blender as a distraction could give them enough time to rush to the kitchen and to the backdoor. Yeonjun quickly understood his idea and got to crawling toward the blender before the creatures got to them. He plugged the blender using one of the lower plugs away from the door and looked over at Beomgyu to make sure he was ready to run. Beomgyu, who was already on his knees ready to launch toward the door, nodded at him. Yeonjun gulped and felt his hands go sweaty, he was more fit than Beomgyu which is why he went to turn the blender on. He had a longer distance to run. He took a deep breath in and out and turned the blender to the highest setting. The creatures immediately screeched in response, jogging toward the noise. Yeonjun and Beomgyu both ran to the kitchen door before they could reach them. They slammed the door and held it shut with their bodies. The creatures banging against it trying to force their way in.

“Go bring the bread cart, we can place it in front of the door to buy us some time.” Yeonjun said, moving over to fully cover the door with his body and pushing Beomgyu forward. Beomgyu quickly went over to grab the cart, pushing it over and replacing Yeonjun with it.

“Quickly let’s go!” Beomgyu shouted, grabbing Yeonjun’s hand and pulling him toward the back door, as the creatures began to shove the door open. Yeonjun allowed himself to be yanked but pulled back to grab a knife off the kitchen counter. They quickly went outside and hopped on Beomgyu’s bike, Yeonjun taking the front while Beomgyu sat on the uncomfortable metal backseat. Yeonjun peddled out of the back alley only to come across a group of people getting tackled and devoured. He halted in shock, fear overwhelming him. Beomgyu slapped the back of his head, “Hurry up, before any of them notice us.”

Yeonjun snapped out of it, his sweaty hands gripping the handles tightly and peddled like his life depended on it. Which it did.

Chapter Text

Soobin isn’t too keen on trying to make some false sense of conversation. He can tolerate the occasional correction on his driving. As much as he hates awkward silences, he’s almost a hundred percent sure he hates forced conversations even more. Which is why he’s trying his best to keep his responses short and to the point.

“So, why did you decide to come to this college when you're so far from home?” The taller boy asked.

“For a change of scenery.” Soobin curtly responded, trying to ignore the piercing eyes on him.

“Weird place to choose for a change of scenery…” He hummed, “Oh! All this rambling about school and I completely forgot to exchange names!” He shouted excitedly.

Before Soobin could get a word out, the smaller of the two grunted out in disagreement.

“No names, we shouldn’t use names since it’s been proven that it causes attachment.” He says, his eyes piercing into his friends. “I don’t think we’ll stay long together anyways, we’ll split off once we reach the quarantine zone.”

“How about at least a nickname, we can’t communicate without having something to call each other.” The taller one argued, his eyes pleading toward his friend until he gave up and resentfully nodded his head in agreement.

“R-right,” Soobin stuttered out nervously, wondering how a kid younger than him could make his body shiver in fear. “Um, My names Bin then?”

“Pft, okay Bin” The taller one laughed mockingly “My name's Kai” He said which earned him a glare from his friend.

“My name is Tae.” He mumbled, crossing his arms and looking out at the window.

The silence seemed to creep up on them and Soobin decided he liked the forced conversations more, because he was definitely feeling suffocated now. Luckily Kai seemed to have felt the same way.

“So how old are you anyways?” Kai asked, leaning over to place his hand on the passenger seat.

“I’m turning 21 this year.” He answered before remembering to try and keep the conversation going, “,and you?”

“I’m 19! I started school a little late so I’m older than most people in their last year.” Kai explained, looking at his friend expectantly. When he received no response or acknowledgment he continued. “Tae is also 19, he was held back. It’s one of the many reasons we’re really close.”

“Oh that’s cool.” Soobin responded, wanting to slam his head into the steering wheel for sounding so lame.

“Why is it cool?” Tae suddenly spoke up, turning his head to glare at him “Do you feel better knowing you were about to leave two adults to die rather than two children?”

Soobin turned his head from the road to gape at him, “What? I-” He looked for any source that hinted that it was a joke, “I-”

“BIN LOOK OUT!” Kai shouted from the back. Leaning forward to grab the wheel causing Soobin to screech the car to a halt.

Soobin stared at the barricaded fence in front of him. The tables behind it turned over with blood splattered across. Flyers floating in the wind and laying on the red pavement. The whole drive to the zone was quiet. Nothing had looked out of place, Soobin had forgotten about the infection. Until now.

“There's a sign zip tied to the fence.” Tae said, his voice monotone and seemingly disinterested, but Soobin could see his eyes quivering in fear.

Soobin looked at them and momentarily regretted his past hero decision. However, since he had played the hero already, he figured he might as well keep up the pretense.

“I”ll go check it out, you guys stay in the car and be look outs. Please.” He mumbled, trying to control his breathing to seem much more put together then he actually was. Tae and Kai looked at him with a mixture of shock and relief and nodded.

Soobin closed the car door quietly and walked toward the sign that seemed to be trying to rip free from its restraint that it was messily tied to. Soobin quickly looked back at the car when he realized that he had left the car keys in the ignition. He could easily be left behind. A sigh of relief escaped when he saw that the two hadn’t moved an inch. He didn’t want to risk it, he had to be quick. He turned the sign around to face him and read.

ATTENTION: DUE TO OUTBREAK WE WILL BE RELOCATING
The compound will be relocated toward the exit of the city. We will be quarantining individuals who exhibit any signs of blood or symptoms of the virus. Military force will be used to deter any infected individuals. To limit the ease of the virus spreading we will limit entry times into the compound. From noon to 4pm we will allow access and open doors. Anyone arriving after or before will be forcefully removed. No large crowds will be tolerated, so please plan accordingly. We recommend staying home and barricading to avoid risk of infection.
The infected are partially blind, and rely on sounds. However they seem to be able to see bright colors and are attracted to them. Currently the virus is spread through bites and saliva entering the bloodstream. However tests are inconclusive on whether infected blood will also spread the virus, therefore please try to avoid all contact with infected.

+++

Taehyun was annoyed the whole drive. He knows he shouldn’t judge a person on the first meeting. However, being at the end of the world changes things, Taehyun personally feels like a human being’s true self comes out when their life is put in danger. He’s experienced it first hand after all, even people who you can grow up with can leave you if it meant they would survive. Regardless of his past, the man was going to leave them. So yes it irked him that Hueningkai was talking to him as if they were friends. Even more when he would receive a kick to the back of his seat in order to try to pressure him to speak. No way. He wouldn’t keep up the pretense that the man saved them, if anything Taehyun felt like he was the one who did the saving, considering he’s had to continuously point out that the driver was taking the wrong route to the quarantine zone. So yes he quickly put a stop to Hueningkai’s idea of sharing names. He knew that this guy would leave them in a heartbeat and he didn’t want Huening to be hurt when he did. The guy was handsome no doubt about it, he had cute bunny features and overall seemed like a frightened puppy. Really, it would be just his luck to be stuck with two dogs. But just like dogs, once you name them, you can’t get rid of them.
He tried to hold his ground to Hueningkai’s eyes peering into him. Sadly, he was weak to puppy eyes, and he hesitantly gave in. He glared at Hueningkai when he used his actual name as a nickname. Huening Kai Kamal, Taehyun would roll his eyes if he could. But he had to think of his own nickname to give out. He decided to keep it simple and just shorten his name to Tae.
Now Taehyun generally contained his anger fairly well, he wasn’t prone to fits or bouts of yelling. But there was something about Bin that got his blood rising. So he couldn’t help but bite out the fact that Bin was probably relieved that he wasn’t going to abandon children. He’s probably eager to leave them behind now that he knows their real ages. He glared at the stuttering man, ignoring the road in front of them until Hueningkai leaped over the seats and pulled the wheel away from crashing into the gates near them. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in the abandoned tents, trying to ignore the shivers he felt when his eyes landed on the splatters of blood. He was terrified.
“I”ll go check it out, you guys stay in the car and be look outs. Please.”
Taehyun had never felt so grateful before when Bin volunteered to step out. He knew the older was shitting himself, he could see it in the way his body shook and his eyes watered. He heard it in the way the elder barely whispered out please. If he hadn’t been so affected by the elder he honestly would have driven away as soon as he got the chance. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who thought that since Bin quickly whipped his head to check on them.

“Why are you being so mean to him? He saved us.” Hueningkai mumbled

“He gave us a ride, I highly count that as saving us.” Taehyun scoffed in return.
“Yeah, but he could’ve kicked us out right here.” Hueningkai argued, but before he was able to continue his argument his friend cut him off quietly.

“He still could.”

They came to a tense silence and both continued to watch Bin as the boy fumbled his phone out to take a photo. Taehyun would laugh if this was any other scenario. How could this clumsy man be considered a hero. Bin tried to put his phone back into his pocket but missed his pants and dropped the phone. It wouldn’t have been noticed any other day, but today was different. It was silent. And the phone left a thundered echo.

_______

Soobin gasped when he heard his phone fall to the floor, he quickly bent down to pick it up. His ears ringing with the sound. He berated himself for being so stupid that he hadn’t heard the sounds of footsteps running toward him. A large cracking sound reverberated above him before a body fell in front of his phone. He was roughly pulled up by his hood shaking him from his shock when he met Tae’s panicked eyes.

“Get your phone and run to the car. Now.” He whispered, even though the pretense of quiet was long out the window. Soobin nodded quickly, but didn’t move.

“I’m scared.” He admitted, his voice shaking. He hadn’t seen a dead body before, let alone hear someone get their skull bashed in. Everything had him frozen in fear.

“I know, I am too. But we have to move quickly before others come.” He said, grabbing onto Soobin’s hand. “ I have a bat so I’ll be right behind you to protect you okay.”

Soobin looked at him warily, “I thought you hated me..”

“Now's not the time.” Tae curtly replied, pushing Soobin forward as he swung his bat toward whatever creature was behind him. Soobin yelped in fear but ran as he was told. He got in the car and opened the backdoor, shocking a scared Kai.

“Stay in the car.” Soobin ordered his voice leaving no room for argument, as he leaned over and grabbed his archery gear.

He quickly set himself up and aimed at the infected that was leaning over Tae trying to get past his bat. It seemed that Tae had tripped on the corpse that he initially killed. Soobin exhaled and calmed himself, though his heartbeat was still trying to break out of his chest. He aimed at the infected and shot. He didn’t need to look to know he got him, and quickly turned his arrow to the new group that was beginning to emerge from the building. He took the closest one down before he felt his arm get pulled. He looked down at Kai in surprise then annoyance. Before he could say anything he was yanked into the backseat and the car was screeching off.
“What the-” Soobin began, wondering who just carjacked him, only to be met with a bloody Tae looking at him through the rearview mirror.

“You know how to shoot?” Tae asked him

“Yeah, I wanted to make it into the olympics.” He mumbled, trying to examine Tae and see if he was at risk of infection.

“Good. We’ll need that.” Tae nodded, paying attention to the road and leaving Soobin confused with the finality of his words. He felt his arm being pulled and looked over to see Kai holding on to him with admiration in his eyes.

“This means you're stuck with us.”

Chapter Text

Yeonjun was a sweaty mess. He was scared, anxious, and a tad bit irritated. Beomgyu had been consistently smacking the back of his head to give Yeonjun directions and tips on how to maneuver the bike. Any other time Yeonjun would’ve tackled Beomgyu down already, but considering he had to focus on moving around dead people, that wasn't an option. Beomgyu was sure that their government would make an announcement on where their shelter would be. So when an emergency broadcast was sent out via phones, Yeonjun couldn't help but be in awe of Beomgyu’s sudden future telling skills. However when Yeonjun asked him why they couldn't just head straight there, he was greeted with another smack to the back of his head.

“We can’t go where they first set up shop. It's bound to fall and get overrun by zombies!!” He scolded

“That’s stupid and irrational.” Yeonjun scoffed, “This isn't a video game Gyu, the government will know what to do.”

Beomgyu tightened his hold on Yeonjun’s shoulders and whispered shakily, “Please Jun, trust me on this.”

Yeonjun was always weak to Beomgyu when he acted his age, just a 20 year old college freshman practically new to the world. So, he hesitantly agreed and petaled in the opposite direction of the base.

“Well you have to figure something out, cause my legs are killing me and I don't know how much longer I can go.” Yeonjun huffed, the exhaustion beginning to hit him as his adrenaline ran out.

“There's a gas station less than a mile from here, it’s farther past downtown so we should be safe enough to get some food and plan.” Beomgyu replied, looking down at the map on his phone.
__

Yeonjun arrived at the nearly empty gas station and was almost overwhelmed with joy. Giving a half hearted shout of glee. The joy was short lived as he was soon staring down a bow and arrow.

When he first arrived he didn't think much of the small car, he was so relieved to give his feet a rest he didn't even realize that three men had stepped out of the said car. He didn't notice the smaller of the three mumble something to the tallest, he didn't notice the hesitancy lurking between all of them like prey backed into a wall. He really didn't even notice the arrow initially being pointed at him until Beomgyu pulled his shirt to catch his attention.

“Look, I don’t know what you guys have been through.” Yeonjun began hesitantly, “But, we’re just passing through, we don't mean any harm and we aren't zombies or anything.”

The archer slowly began to lower his bow, glancing over at the other two. He locked eyes with Yeonjun and furrowed his brows.

“Zombies? Really?” He asked sarcastically, exasperation in his tone

“Well, just repeating what my friend told me is all.” Yeonjun replied

The taller one kept his grasp on his bow tight but he seemed to be more relaxed than before. The smallest still looked uncertain and untrusting of them and the other smiled warily at them. Beomgyu placed his hand on Yeonjun’s shoulders and gave him a meaningful look.

Yeonjun knew what Beomgyu was thinking, and was surprised they were finally on the same page.

“If it isn't too much of a bother. Can you take two more?”

The tallest widened his eyes in surprise and glanced at the smallest with lost eyes. He reminded Yeonjun of an oversized puppy.

They seemed to have a discussion in their gaze, before the smallest shook his head. Yeonjun felt his heart seize. He didnt know what they would do if they couldnt go with them. His legs couldnt take bicycling any longer and he didnt want Beomgyu to take over because then both of them wouldnt be in their prime if the worse came. However before Yeonjun could begin to spiral in his thoughts he was interrupted.

“We can.” The tallest spoke, his voice deeper then Yeonjun had expected, “Take two more that is.”

“Than-”

“Before you get all excited you need to prove that youll be useful, we can’t handle any dead weight.” The smallest cut off, ignoring the weak glares from his group

“Well, what do you need us to do?” Beomgyu asked, deciding to finally chirp in

“Go to the shop and grab some supplies, we’ll need enough for at least 3 days.”

Yeonjun looked at Beomgyu, who shrugged his shoulders before nodding. Yeonjun sighed and agreed. He took his knife out and walked toward the gas stations shop. Beomgyu followed close behind.

“This is so stupid.” Yeonjun muttered

“I consider this a sidequest, ya know bump up our skill level and all that.”

Yeonjun glared at his friend before opening the door, unaware of the chiming bell above them.

A large snarl. Beomgyu’s shout. Then a loud thud. It all happened so fast that Yeonjun couldn’t even fully process what had happened. He could only stare blankly at the dead body in front of him. An arrow sticking out of their head.

He glanced back and saw the tallest with his shaking bow in his hand smiling nervously back at him.

“My savior” Beomgyu swooned, waving at him

“Shut up, lets just get this over with.” Yeonjun huffed, more alert then before.

It seemed that the gas station attendant was the only person there. They were able to bag some chips, bread, and anything else that wouldn’t go bad.

“Why are we only looking for non-perishables?” Yeonjun had asked “They said only three days.”

“Just trust me. Its better to be over prepared anyways. Less stops and less worrying on the way.” The younger waved him off.

Beomgyu continued to walk down the aisles, looking for anything that could be of use to him. He glanced back at Yeonjun and his knife and gave a small huff. He wouldn’t need constant protection if he had his own weapon. He went into the back staff room much to Yeonjun’s annoyance and began to scurry around to look for any type of weapon. Yeonjun’s impatient foot taps echoing behind him.

“Aha!” Beomgyu shouted

“Why the fuck are you screaming?? You scared the shit out of me.” His friend replied, gripping his chest in an attempt to slow his racing heart.

“I found a pole.” He smiled triumphantly in response
__

They walked back outside surprised to see that their savior was waiting by the doors for them.

“I’m sorry. I just want to apologize for the whole, ya know. Threatening you and all.” He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

If Yeonjun was in a different time he probably would’ve already been doing anything he could to get this man's number. Alas, this was definitely not the right time.

“It’s alright, maybe if we can get your name we’ll call it even.” Beomgyu said, not having any problem trying to flirt during an apparent zombie apocalypse. Yeonjun couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the attempt.

“O-oh, my name's So” He began, his face turning red at all the sudden attention.

However before he was able to finish his sentence the smaller of the bunch placed his hand on his shoulders, making the tallest jump in fear. “Tae?”

“Sootae?” Beomgyu asked in confusion

“His name is Bin. We shouldn’t use our real names and we also shouldn’t stay here any longer.” The smaller man stated, leaving no room for argument. He turned around on his heels, grabbing onto Bin’s arm and dragging him along with him.

Yeonjun glanced over at Beomgyu, raising an eyebrow at the kid's attitude. Beomgyu shrugged in response. He didn't want any trouble, so he figured they should just listen and follow for now.

After they settled into the car, Bin driving with his handler sat in the passenger seat next to him. Beomgyu sat awkwardly in the middle of the backseat.

“Shouldn’t the smallest sit in the middle?” He whined under his breathe, receiving a glare from Yeonjun and the front passenger.

“I’m Kai and the bundle of joy sitting up front is Tae.” The taller kid spoke up, trying to break the tension in the car.

“Right, codenames and everything.” Beomgyu supplied, looking over at Yeonjun, trying to figure out a nickname for the elder.

Yeonjun glanced at him warily, already knowing that Beomgyu would choose horrible names for them. He decided to be quick and spoke up before his friend could.

“Im Jun and he’s Beom.”

“Beom, like tiger?” Kai asked curiously, trying to make room for more conversation

“Yeah, cause I’m feisty.” Beomgyu replied, catching Bin’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

Bin quickly averted his eyes and looked away, focusing on the road ahead. Tae looked annoyed about the interaction. Yeonjun couldn’t help but reciprocate the feelings.
_______________

Now Hueningkai wasn’t the best at holding together his emotions. He was, after all, a romantic at heart. He liked to believe he told it how it was just like Taehyun, but didn't hold back his emotions like him. So when he saw Bin handle that bow and save his best friend's life he couldn’t help the way his heart swooned and became attached to their savior .

The ride to the gas station was quiet, more so due to the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off of the older man sitting next to him enough to make a proper conversation.

Taehyun seemed to solve that problem by clearing his throat.

“We’re nearing the gas station, you and Kai can go get some food in the store while I fill up the car.”

“O-Oh. Yeah okay.” Bin replied, looking back outside the window his ears tinted red at the onslaught of attention

“Bin, I want to thank you again for saving Tae’s life back there.” Hueningkai stated, trying to bring back a conversation to life.

“It’s no problem, he saved mine first. So if anything I owe him a lifelong debt.” He replied, scratching the back of his neck

“Life long debt huh?” Tae scoffed from front seat

They quickly arrived at the gas station and exited the car, eagerly ready to do their tasks and head back on the road.

They all froze at the sound of a cheerful voice.

“Bin, your bow.” Taehyun stated, glaring at the two people, waiting for an altercation

Hueningkai glanced at the elder and nodded, supporting Taehyun’s command. He knew that some people could take advantage of the world going to hell and he didn't want to risk losing the two people he cared about. Bin looked at them nervously but did as was asked.

Hueningkai listened to their small banter, relaxing a bit when he realized that the two didn’t seem like much harm. Even if they were dressed like they were a part of a rock band. When they asked for a ride He couldn’t help but feel nervously excited at the prospect of having more friends.

“Bin, we can’t handle a bigger load.” Taehyun mumbled, shaking his head.

“It can’t hurt, plus it would benefit us if there were more people who could help us out if we were to get stuck.” Bin mumbled, surprising both of them by speaking back.

Hueningkai couldn’t help but feel a rise of pride in his chest, Bin truly was a genuine person at heart. No matter what Taehyun tried to tell him, he just knows that Bin wouldn’t have left them back at the school.

“I agree with Bin, it couldn’t hurt.”

After Bin allowed them to join their group, Taehyun had to add conditions, irritating Hueningkai and Bin. Hueningkai could understand his friend's thought process, but he couldn’t help but feel that it was unnecessary. The poor guys only seemed to have a knife as a weapon anyways.

As the two began to walk toward the entrance, Bin began to follow after. Taehyun quickly halted him.

“Where are you going? Playing hero again?”

“They only have a small knife, they can’t do much. I just want to make sure they're okay. I won’t go in with them if that makes you feel better.”

Hueningkai watched in awe of the boy, though his hands were trembling he was ready to help out a couple of strangers.

“You have an arrow, you can aim perfectly fine from right here. You suck at handling close distance encounters.” Taehyun argued, leaving no room for debate.

Bin nodded and proceeded to turn around and aim his arrow. He was right on time. It seemed a zombie was alerted to the boys once they opened the door. Bin took care of it quickly, immediately lowering his bow and head. He looked nervous and nauseous, and Hueningkai couldn't help but place his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him, startling the boy.

“They're not human, not anymore.” He reassured him.

Bin nodded in acknowledgment. Rolling his shoulders back, he smiled at Hueningkai and began to walk toward the store. The action caused both high schoolers to reach out in an attempt to stop him.

“I’m not going inside. Just going to wait for them to make sure they're okay.”

They glanced at each other before they let him walk to the entrance and stand outside. Although Hueningkai was nervous about Bin being far from them, considering last time it didn't turn out so well. It seemed he wasn’t the only one.

“He’s idiotic. A complete coward yet he thinks he can play hero whenever he wants.” Taehyun spit out

“He saved your life. Twice.” Hueningkai argued, “I’d think you’d be a little nicer.”

“He saved my life once, after I saved him.” Taehyun protested, glaring at his friend before immediately looking back toward Bin. “ He doesn’t just get a free pass now.”

“No, but it seems that for someone who told me I shouldn't get attached. You're looking at him like you're afraid he’ll disappear.” Hueningkai teased.

“We need his archery skills, that's it.” Taehyun huffed, before giving a half hearted smirk at his friend, “,besides you seem to have already caught yet another puppy crush even though I warned you.”

Hueningkai laughed, “Well the heart wants what it wants.”

They both dropped the conversation once the two males came out of the store and approached Bin. They couldn’t hear what was being said but could see Bin’s ears redden. Before Hueningkai could save him, Taehyun had already begun swiftly walking toward them, mumbling how idiotic the situation was.

As they walked back, Hueningkai couldn't help but catch his friend’s annoyance at the newcomers. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was more behind what he had said about Bin. As Bin took the driver's seat, he glanced over toward the passenger seat, Hueningkai could tell he was nervously waiting to see who would be his passenger out of the 4. He didn’t need to wait long, as Taehyun smoothly glided past the new members and sat himself in the front. Hueningkai gave a small huff. He hadn’t even had a chance to get the seat.

As they all bundled into the car, Hueningkai initiated introductions again. They all became quiet soon after. It seemed no one wanted to address the elephant in the room. The world was ending and now were now stuck with strangers.

Chapter Text

They drove in silence for a bit before Hueningkai could see his new friend drumming his fingers in nervousness. He felt a bit bad for Bin. He knew he was shy, but he also picked up on this little fear of loneliness? He wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but he could tell that if he let the silence carry on for a little longer Bin was going to lose his mind.

“Where did you two come from?” Taehyun spoke up, shocking Hueningkai in his willingness to speak to people he seemed so adamant on rejecting.

“We came from near the university, we were on the clock when…well you know.” Jun replied, waving his hands as if he was just talking about something he saw on the tv.

“We managed to escape before everything went crazy. We got on the bike and took off.” Beom continued flippantly.

“How come you guys came in this direction and not toward the evacuation center.” Taehyun asked, looking at the backseat passengers tensely.

Hueningkai glanced over at Bin to see that while his hands had stopped drumming they were both gripping the steering wheel tightly. Even he himself had seemed to have tensed up at the mention of the blood stained environment they had encountered.

“Well, that..” Jun began, glancing over at Beom uncertain. “I just listened to Beomg- I mean Beom. I’m still not sure if it was the right call or not.”

“It was.” Bin mumbled, ignoring the concerned glance that Hueningkai gave him.

“It’s common sense that the initial post will fall, especially under a situation they’ve never trained for. The amount of panic and confusion of the people wouldn’t help rectify the situation either.” Beom stated as if it was the most basic understanding.

“Well, not everyone received that memo.” Taehyun bit back, obviously trying to hold back any other comments that would arise to an argument. Hueningkai had to admit he commended his friend for biting his tongue.

“We went.” Hueningkai further explained. “Bin was heading there when he passed by the school and saved us.”

“Picked us up.” Taehyun interjected.

“Saved.” Hueningkai rebutted, before continuing, “We went there and it was a mess, practically deserted. But they’ve secured a compound 4 hours away. That's where we’re heading now.”

“Unless you think you have any ideas as to why we shouldn’t.” Taehyun said, twisting his head to glance at Beom.

“No, if it’s a compound it should hold long enough for us to collect our bearings.” He shrugged, ignoring the elbow pushed into his side from Jun. “But I recommend not being the first to set foot in there, maybe we should find a place to hole in before. Just to make sure they have their shit sorted out.”

“You want us to stay in a 5 star hotel or something?” Taehyun rolled his eyes, “There’s not much availability when it comes to places to stay.”

Beom didn't seem to look offended at Taehyun's tone of voice, which relieved Hueningkai. If anything, it seemed that he took the words in stride.

“We can go to Jun’s place, it seems to be toward the direction of the compound. He lives away from the city, so it should be fairly quiet there.” Beom shrugged, ignoring the glare of his friend.

“Why would we willingly follow you to your place when we barely know you? This could be a set up for all we know.” Taehyun glared, turning his body to fully look at the long haired man in the center.

“I agree with your suspicions.” Beom hummed before smiling and pointing a finger into his cheek, “but who was right about the evacuation center.” he finished cutely.

Everyone stared at him blankly, in disbelief. Minus Bin.

“How did you know?” Bin spoke up softly, “about the center I mean.”

If not for the silence beforehand, Hueningkai probably wouldn’t have even heard him.

“He has this obsession with things like this. He just likes planning ahead.” Jun spoke up. Hueningkai couldn’t help but feel like he was leaving some things out, and he wasn’t blind to the hand Jun had on Beom’s leg, squeezing.

“Yeah, you know me. Big doomsday prep kinda guy.” Beom smiled, putting his hand on Jun’s and squeezing just as hard.

“Well that's the thing, we don't know you, do we?” Bin replied, glancing toward the backseat from his rearview mirror. “But.” He looked at Taehyun hesitantly,

Hueningkai barely knew Bin, but he knew that he was looking for confirmation before continuing. Taehyun crossed his arms and looked away. So that was a yes.

“We’ll go to Jun’s house.” Bin finished quickly looking back to look into Beom’s eyes. “Please don’t screw us over.”

_______________

Beomgyu was a bit annoyed at having to lie to their new group. Another thing he learned from all his gaming and movie watching was that lies will always come back up and tear whatever friendship they have apart. Which is why he tries to be as brutally honest as he can be. Yeonjun however, seemed to think that it was a safer bet to lie. Holding eye contact with Bin while he asked them not to screw them over had affected Beomgyu more than he’d like to admit. He felt this urge to protect his new group.

When they pulled up to Yeonjun’s small apartment townhouse, Bin and Tae both seemed to flip a switch. They both held their weapons close to them, ready for any sort of attack. Beomgyu couldn’t help but feel a bit lackluster next to them. Nevertheless he took his metal pipe and stood by their car ready.

Yeonjun lived in a well off building, a bit in the middle of nowhere. He told Beomgyu it was because he liked the quiet and didn’t mind the bus ride to the college. But Beomgyu thinks it's just because he’s not much of a people person like he pretends to be.

Beomgyu nodded as he made eye contact with Bin, holding back his urge to wink. As much as he longed to liven the mood, he didn’t want them to think he wasn’t taking things seriously. He waited until all of them were out of the car before they followed after Yeonjun cautiously. The streets were quiet and, save for 2 other cars besides theirs, were practically empty. Beomgyu would count themselves lucky, if he hadn’t played any games that is.

“Watch out and step slowly and cautiously.” He whispered, as they rounded a corner in between the buildings

“There's no one here.” Yeonjun rolled his eyes at him and walked forward confidently. “Honestly Beom, don’t get your head so inflated- “

An arrow flashing passed his head stopped his steps and his sentence.

Beomgyu wasn’t too surprised, he knew there would be something looming around the corner. He was surprised that Bin was the one to heed his warning and take action. They all stood frozen, while Bin seemed to be breathing heavier. Beomgyu couldn’t help but stand closer to him, ignoring the glance he received from the other two. Slowly a man came limping toward them, an arrow jammed into his knee. If not for his bloody shirt and bloodshot eyes, he would’ve looked like just a random healthy person, the blue in his veins barely darkening. Ah he must’ve just turned, Beomgyu thought. Bin however must’ve thought something else as he immediately dropped his arrow and rushed into the bush near them, throwing up whatever was left in his stomach. Tae even seemed stricken in disbelief, simply stepping backward away from the creature instead of taking care of it. Beomgyu released a sigh and stepped forward.

“You should close your eyes.” He spoke aloud, to anyone who was listening. Before he slammed the pipe into the man's head. Once to get him down on the floor, and another to make sure he stayed down.

“That was Tim.” Yeonjun mumbled, “He was always a nosy bastard.” He laughed in disbelief, shaking his head.

“I..I-I’m sorry.” Bin whispered from his position in the bush, staring at his feet as Kai rubbed his back affectionately.

“It’s not your fault he turned.” Yeonjun warily smiled at him. “Anyways this is the second time you’ve saved my life. I'm practically indebted to you now.”

“No, I didn’t. It was just an instinct .” Bin muttered. His body quivering, catching everyone's eyes.

Beomgyu flicked his pipe as much as he could to remove any excess blood before taking his apron off and laying it on the deceased man.

“Well, instinct or not.” Beomgyu started, walking up to Bin, “Thank you for saving my friend. His cockiness will be the death of him.”

“The pot calling the kettle black” Yeonjun scoffed, causing a small half-hearted smile to appear on Bins face.

“We should get a move on before any more come.” Tae spoke over, his grip on his bat tight.

Beomgyu glance at the two high schoolers and nodded. He was now an older brother with thoughts that he should protect these children from danger. He couldn’t help but feel a sort of pride in finally being older than someone.

“Alright come on kids, I’ll lead the way.” He announced, with his chest puffed.

Both high schoolers gave each other a confused glance, before Kai snickered, causing Tae to roll his eyes.

They continued down until they reached Yeonjun’s upstairs unit. Beomgyu glanced at the three new people and saw the hesitation on their faces.

“Don’t worry, There's an escape route outside his bedroom window if it comes down to it.”

“Great.” 3 monotone voices replied

Yeonjun took the lead up the stairs with Beomgyu and Bin right behind. He started digging through his apron and pockets for his key. At first nonchalant then quickening his pace. Looking flustered while rechecking the same pockets.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Bin mumbled, standing behind Yeonjun with his bow loaded facing the stairs.

Yeonjun blushed, “Alright listen, I didn't think to grab my keys while running for my life. So excuse me” He huffed.

“Smooth Shift lead Jun Really smooth” Beomgyu sang out. He knew it wasn’t the time at all but he really wanted to burst out laughing at the look of embarrassment on Yeonjun’s face.

Tae gave an irritated sigh and he moved up the stairs, “Move out of my way.” He gritted out towards Yeonjun. He glanced back at Yeonjun and held out his hand expectantly.

“I don't have the key.” He scoffed, annoyed at having to reiterate himself

“The knife dumbass.” Tae spoke back, his eyebrows raised as if daring Yeonjun to try him.

“What do you need the knife for?” Yeonjun said, his untrust toward them making itself known.

“Please just do as he says, I really don't want to be standing by the bottom of the stairs like a sitting duck much longer then I have to.” Kai spilled out, his grip tight on the bat he held.

Yeonjun glared at Tae before glancing at Beomgyu, who shrugged his shoulders in response. He slowly gave his knife up to the shorter male.

Tae yanked the knife away and began to work it into the door. Causing Yeonjun to release a small gasp of worry.

“Dont fuck up my door!” He almost yelled, before Bin grabbed his shoulder and hushed him.

Tae smirked, before bending the knife just a bit and hearing a click. He raised an eyebrow at Yeonjun and pushed the door open, while pressing the knife flatly against his chest.

“I didn’t know children could be such delinquents.” Yeonjun gasped in shocked pretense, receiving a roll of eyes in response.

“Well are you going to lead the way, it is your home after all and we don’t want to intrude suddenly.” Bin asked, looking at anywhere but the people in front of him.

“Don’t worry, Binnie! It’s practically my house so I’ll allow you in.” Beomgyu smiled, grabbing a hold of his hand and pushing through the smaller males to make room for him to enter.

Beomgyu did his best to ignore the questioning tones of ‘Binnie??’ from behind him. If they had a problem with his nickname of the cute archer then they would simply have to put up with it. He quickly sat Bin on the small couch centered in the room and rushed to the kitchen to pull out a cold bottle of water.

“You must be tired of driving us around, and everything else ya know, like saving our lives multiple times.” Beomgyu sheepishly stated, holding out the bottle of water in front of him and offering it to the taller man

“O-Oh, thanks.” Bin whispered, trying to look around inconspicuously, however not doing a good job of it in Beomgyu’s eyes. “I wouldn’t say I saved lives, just reflexes maybe.”

“Well reflexes or not you’ve saved just about everyone's life here at least once.” Kai spoke up, startlingly both Beomgyu and Bin. They hadn’t even noticed when the other three had entered the house.

“Hopefully we won’t have to, but I’ll make sure to repay the favor if you ever need help.” Yeonjun agreed

“Yeah you’ve saved us but we haven’t had a chance to save you!” Beomgyu laughed, before realizing his words, “I mean, I hope we won’t have to and even if we did I’m sure you're amazing enough to save yourself, and even if you couldn’t we would save you. I know we barely know each other but truly we would, or at least I would save you at least. And- AH!” He startled to a halt

“Alright he gets it, you're stressing him out so shut up.” Yeonjun scolded, holding up a cold beer up against his friend's warm cheek.

“Thank god someone shut him up.” Tae mumbled from the kitchen, earning a snicker from Kai in response.

They all fell into a comfortable silence, or at least what Beomgyu had considered comfortable. Bin apparently didn’t however, as his leg began to rock in a self soothing motion. Beomgyu was about to reach over and place his hand on his thigh in a comforting manner when he heard a resolved sigh from the kitchen.

“Well since I’m sure we won’t be having home cooked meals for a bit.” Tae started, rolling up his sleeves. “I’ll do us a favor and cook.”

“I can cook, you guys are my guests after all.” Yeonjun began walking toward the kitchen before getting stopped by Tae’s hand.

“I’m sorry, but I’d rather not die by poison in an apparent apocalypse. Seems like a weak way to go.” He passively explained, causing Yeonjun to grit his teeth.

“What he means to say, is that we aren’t really guests! You opened your doors to us in a time of need and we should at least contribute by feeding everyone.” Kai exclaimed, stepping in front of the two dominant men.

“Technically, I opened the door.” Tae muttered, walking back toward the kitchen, causing Beomgyu to laugh at his friend's look of betrayal.

“This..” Bin began, catching the attention of Beomgyu, ”This is going to be an interesting few days isn’t it.”

“Chief, a few days?” Beomgyu questioned before putting his hand on Bin’s shoulder firmly, “Your stuck with us now, or atleast me, so you’ve got your whole life of interesting days ahead of you!”

Bin smiled gratefully at Beomgyu in response.

“We can play a boardgame while the manly men cook for us” Beomgyu joked, enticing Kai to settle on the couch with them.

“I love board games!” Kai squealed excitedly.

Beomgyu looked at the two of them with the background noise of bickering and couldn’t help but feel like he was meant to be with all of them forever. He definitely wasn’t getting rid of them or letting them get rid of him anytime soon.

Chapter Text

Soobin was conflicted. Ever since he sat on the couch and allowed himself a second to take everything in; he really took everything in. He began looking around the apartment once Beom had left to go fetch games. Quickly he started feeling everything all at once. He was scared of what was going on in the world. Anxious, at having to survive with a bunch of people that didn’t even know his name. Confused, as to why he also felt some type of joy in his current arrangement. He’d been a rather nervous boy since a young age and had always kept to himself. To put it simply he had no friends growing up. If he thought about it he’d never been in anyone else's house besides his family, and even then had never slept over with his cousins. So here he was, 21 years old and having his very first sleepover. It was embarrassing to feel giddy at the prospect and he was disgusted at himself for finding this small piece of joy when he was surrounded by others suffering. After all, he was now practically considered a murderer. He killed two people, infected or not, there could have been a cure that he wasn’t aware of. And murderers don’t deserve to have a piece of joy. He started shaking at the thought of Jun’s neighbor, Tim, he didn’t kill him, but he shot at him without any hesitation. The first movement he saw from around the corner and he shot. It could’ve been a healthy uninfected person, he could have ruined their chances of survival. It could’ve been a child. The thought repulsed him and he felt ready to throw up what little his stomach had. But before he could excuse himself to the restroom he felt a tight pressure around his waist. Kai had wrapped himself around Soobin and was pressing himself into him. A hug. He had never received a hug from someone who wasn’t related to him either. This was all too much for him. I don’t deserve this. He couldn’t help but shed a few tears, as he leaned into the hug and pressed his head into Kai’s. He could hear the kitchen arguing fall to a halt, a thick layer of silence covered them all. Soobin knew they were also mourning for their past lives now lost.

“Woah, I leave for one second and the vibes are totally lost.” A voice broke through the silence

“Truly how could we ever do without you, it’s as if the world becomes a desolate void.” Jun drawled out sarcastically in reply to his friend.

“Am I interrupting something?” Beom asked him, ignoring his friend and catching Soobin’s attention. “, and if I’m not, do you think I can join this cuddle session?”

Before Soobin could answer his question, Kai had released him with a little pat and caught his eyes. Kai also had unshed tears looming in them. Soobin felt like a nuisance, here he was crying on a high schooler when he should be the one comforting them. Some hero.

“Bin?” Beom asked, recalling his attention back to him

“S-Sorry, It’s fine.” Soobin replied, looking at the long haired boy now kneeling before him. Beom didn’t seem convinced, placing his hand on Soobin’s knee. “I’m fine” Soobin corrected

“It’s okay to not be, it's been a long day.” Beom smiled, squeezing his knee before standing up and getting the board games that he had sat on the coffee table behind him. “Okay so we have Scrabble, Twister, and Jenga.”

“No to scrabble, I got enough of that in school.” Kai immediately spoke up

“Yeah, I’m going to have to agree. I don’t think I have the brain power to spell right now.” Soobin agreed, giving Beom an apologetic smile.

“Yeah, okay. I was thinking the same exact thing.” Beom replied, nodding his head as he tossed the game off the table. Ignoring Jun’s squawk of anger.

“No to Twister.” Tae spoke up in resolute manner

Beom huffed and turned to look at him annoyed at his sudden rejection.

“And why pray tell is that? It’s the funnest game in this pile.” Beom pouted, glancing over at Soobin and giving him a quick wink. Soobin blushed in return, trying to ignore the innuendo casted toward him. He’s just being friendly.

“Well the name is called Twister, and we don’t want to risk actually twisting a limb in this current situation now do we. I don’t plan on carrying dead weight with me. Especially since we won’t be staying here long.” Tae said, not taking his eyes off the food he was cooking as he spoke to Beom like a child.

“Yeah, I agree that it would put us at risk.” Jun said distastefully, as if it was disgusting to agree with the younger boy. “Plus I don’t think I want to witness you trying to grope Bin and excusing it as just playing the game.”

“I don't think anyone wants to witness that.” Tae mumbled

“Party Poopers.” Beom mumbled, before looking over at the now red Soobin. “Regardless, I would never do anything to make you uncomfortable. So please tell me to stop if I begin to.”

“Stop.” Tae, Kai, and Jun all spoke out, each giving Beom their own coded look.

“It’s okay. I think.” Soobin cut in, trying to ease the attention off Beom. “I’m just not used to the attention I guess.”

“A god like you?? Not used to attention??” Beom gasped, looking absolutely scandalized.

“Gotta agree there.” Kai nodded, crossing his arms and giving Soobin a doubting look.

“Leave him alone.” Tae grumbled from the kitchen, “You guys are going to fry his brain and we actually need him sane.”

“Okay, so Jenga then?” Kai smiled brightly, confusing Soobin with the sudden change in attitude.

The three of them crowded along the table, each taking their turns as the others continued to cook. Soobin continuously made the tower fall, and he was getting flustered and embarrassed. How could he tell them that he had never played the game before? His family only played chess and scrabble, games that stimulated the mind, as his mother said. The other two looked so confident in their choosing, and always managed to get their chosen block out of the tower without making it wobble. He couldn’t help but feel like a petulant child, and it irked him. He tried pushing a block out with small taps, and once again the tower fell. This is so embarrassing. I gotta play it off.

“Sorry, it's been awhile.” He lied, this game seemed like a game everyone knew and he didn’t want to start the night with them pitying him.

“It’s okay, I’m sure college must be a busy time for you.” Kai smiled, as he set the tower back up again.

“Wait, you’re in college?” Beom asked, looking over at Soobin with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen you around HB, do you take night classes?” Eager to gain more information on the cute boy.

“Yes and no. I’m enrolled in the sister community college.” Soobin mumbled lamely, his ears tinting red in embarrassment. It’s not like he couldn’t get accepted into the university, simply that it was too big and overwhelming for him.

“Oh, that's cool, What’s your major?” Beom pushed, leaning over the table to peer at Soobin over the growing Jenga tower Kai was building.

“It’s Archery but I’m majoring in Anthropology as well.” Soobin said, staring at the tower instead of Beom’s eyes.

“Wow a double major, how are you hot and smart at the same time. It should be illegal.” Beom sighed, placing his hand over his head dramatically

Soobin turned bright red, he assumed Beom had hinted at flirting but he had never been called hot before. He was so overwhelmed that he practically blew a fuse in his head.

“I told you not to break him and that’s exactly what you did.” Tae scolded, placing his hand over Soobin’s shoulder and leaning down to sit beside him.

Soobin quickly got out of his stupor when he saw that Tae had sat so close to him. Especially when the kid was so clear that they weren’t going to be friends at all.

“I’ll help you beat these two, since you’ve done a decent job at protecting everyone, you deserve a chance.” Tae grumbled next to Soobin’s ear

In a second Soobin almost fell into another stupor from the closeness but managed to squeal out a thank you instead.

With Tae’s help, Soobin won the next three rounds, much to Beom’s dismay.

“The food is ready, I've never had this many guests over so I hope everyone is okay eating in the living room.” Jun announced, carrying over two different large plates of food to the coffee table.

“Oh, let me help you with that!” Soobin squawked upon seeing Jun’s full hands.

“It's okay bin, you've done a lot , just relax” Jun said, smiling sweetly at him. He then turned to his friend and glared at him, “Beom on the other hand could probably stretch his legs and assist since he seems to know where everything is.”

Soobin nodded and sat back down on the couch, looking down at his hands. He felt himself begin to spiral into his thoughts again. Had he done a lot? He didn't really feel like he had accomplished anything. Besides murder some people, he really hadn't done much.

“Don’t relax too much, still need your head out of the clouds.” Tae said, elbowing Soobin’s arm

“What he means is, you can talk to us Bin, I know we just met today and all, but I hope we can be friends.” Kai responded, latching on to one of Soobin’s fingers

Soobin was filled with delighted surprise. They want to be friends with him? Willingly? This day just kept on confusing his feelings. But he decided to allow himself some selfishness.

“Okay, I’d like that too.” He whispered toward Kai

He tried to distract his quick beating heart by watching Jun set the food around the coffee table, an arrangement of meats and vegetables. He couldn't help but wonder about rationing. It seemed that he wasn't the only one, with the way Tae was eyeing the dishes.

“This seems like more than I initially set out to cook.”

“I thought we all needed the extra strength after everything. I feel like we deserve it.” Jun shrugged. “Anyways, I have some meat frozen in the freezer that’ll last us longer.”

“Mr. Tae, aren't you the one who told us that this is just a pit stop.” Beom hummed teasingly, “You shouldn't be worried, we’ll have to keep going soon either way.”

“We will?” Kai asked nervously, gripping onto Soobin. “We can’t just stay here, it’s quiet, wouldn't we be safe?”

“Nope, trust me, if we get too comfortable we’ll be in big trouble.” Beom sang out and stuffed a chunk of meat into his mouth, as if Soobin wasn’t currently freaking out about the prospect of going back outside.

“Anyways, Let's not talk about this while we eat, I won't be able to digest my food probably if I'm stressed out.” Yeonjun stated, passing plates along to the three sitting on the couch as he sat on the floor near Beom.

They finished their food relatively quickly; with how hungry they were after their little excursion of survival. Beom kept the air light throughout the meal, to Soobin’s and Kai’s joy and Tae’s and Jun’s chagrin. Once they finished Soobin immediately took the empty dishes and practically ran to the sink, to wash them before Jun could stop him.

“I can wash and you dry?” Kai question, surprising Soobin with his silent approach

“If that's what you’d prefer?” Soobin asked, not wanting to step on any toes, “ but honestly I can just do this myself and you can go relax.”

“I may be the youngest, but I can do things.”

If not for his teasing smile Soobin would’ve felt bad for implying that Kai couldn’t wash dishes.

“Okay, then you wash.” Soobin smirked teasingly, causing a small blush to appear on Kai’s face.

They washed dishes quietly, washing and drying to their own little homemade beats. Soobin really regretted being bad at conversations. He worried that Kai would soon realize how boring he was and take back his desire to be friends. He didn’t have to worry for long. Kai called his attention and Soobin was met with a bubble beard and mustache on Kai’s face, causing him to burst out in a squeak, laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.

When he finished laughing, he wiped what little tears formed on his eyes and saw a red faced Kai. He sobered up quickly and was just about to ask if Kai was having an allergic reaction to the soap when he felt hands around his waist.

“You should do that again.” Beom spoke from behind him. “I swear fairies were just born from your laugh just now.”

“I think you’ve saved my life 3 times now.” Jun spoke up from the living room, a similar red tint in his cheeks, glancing over at a starstruck Tae.

Soobin was overwhelmed and blushed brightly at all the attention. He was definitely going to hold back his laughter next time. Embarrassing.

_______

Yeonjun was taking out all his spare blankets from his bedroom closet. Trying to get his new guests situated. As much as he longed for his bed, he and Beomgyu had unanimously decided to sleep in the living room together, for safety. Although the way Beomgyu had found himself next to Bin seemed to be more of a plausible reason. He sighed and tried to release the stress in his shoulders. He was still having trouble processing everything that had happened. He was known for his amazing ability to adapt to situations but this, this just seemed straight out a horror movie. He didn’t understand or find any reasoning for it and it stressed him to no end. He stared into his closet and wondered how he was going to get him and Beomgyu somewhere they would be truly safe. He liked the other 3, even the hardheaded Tae, but he knew he had to have his priorities. If it came down to it, he’d choose Beomgyu every time. He believed Tae had the same priority towards Kai. He pitied Bin, who seemed to be stuck on his own when they would separate. Although now that he thought about it; Beomgyu would probably try to keep him. Regardless, Yeonjun knew that he shouldn’t get attached to any of the new people he met.

“Excuse me, Jun?” A voice softly spoke out along the knock of his bedroom door.

Yeonjun turned and was surprised to see Kai of all people peeking through the crevice of his open door. Yeonjun tilted his head toward his room, signaling for Kai to enter the room.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need any help, and if you were okay.” Kai smiled, entering the room and walking toward Yeonjun

“Um you can grab some pillows off my bed, We might as well sleep comfortably.” Yeonjun joked half heartedly, reaching up into his closet to collect the blankets he’d been staring at for the past minutes.

“Okay!” Kai smiled pleased. He walked toward the bed and grabbed the pillows. Kai began to walk toward his bedroom door before he stopped, and without turning asked, “But are you okay?”

Yeonjun couldn’t help but meet his question with a stifling silence. Was he okay? Well, were any of them okay really? None of them even knew if anyone outside the 5 were alive, he would have to be uprooted from his newfound home to a military run facility, and he was stuck with 3 strangers now having to fight for their lives. So no, he wasn’t okay. But he couldn’t tell that to a kid. Kai looked a bit older than most high schoolers, but as far as Yeonjun knew, Kai was just a kid. Yeonjun had to be strong for him, even if he wasn’t going to be with them for long, he owed them that much.

“Yeah.” He said, his voice cracking a bit, before he considered that maybe he shouldn’t outright lie to the kid, “, I’ll be alright, just been alot to take it yeah know?”

Kai turned to look at Yeonjun with slightly misty eyes, before he blinked them away. “Yeah, I get you. But I’m sure we’ll get through this and it’ll all be over soon.” He smiled, giving a sense of optimism that was too bright for Yeonjun. Kai gave a resolute nod, as if confirming his own words before leaving Yeonjun to stare into the closet again. It has to be all over soon, this is all just a bad nightmare.

Yeonjun grabbed his blankets, after taking a few minutes to compose himself, before going back into the living room. The first thing he noticed was that his new little group had pushed the couch and table aside to make more space for all of them to lay on the floor. The second thing he noticed was that they were separated in pairs. Bin was staring at his black television, standing close enough to crawl into the screen. His face was pale and his body was shaking. Kai was right next to his side, holding onto his hand to support him, looking equally pale and worried. However he was looking toward his friend instead. Kai’s optimism that he had carried seemed to be dwindling right before Yeonjun’s eyes. He glanced over to the other two and saw them hunched over whispering near the kitchen; he could see in Beomgyu’s stiff shoulders that he was upset and arguing over something. He considered going to Bin and Kai to comfort them, before he reminded himself that Beomgyu was his priority and walked toward him, throwing the blankets in the center of the living room in the process. When he arrived he was surprised to see Tae looking, flustered? Ashamed? He didn’t realize that the strong headed kid was able to feel those emotions, since all he'd seen is annoyance or lack of interest on his face.

“You should’ve known what was going to be on TV.” Beomgyu scolded, shaking his head. “Regardless, even if you didn't, you shouldn’t have just turned it on. We could’ve been put in danger if the volume was too high.”

“The internet went down everywhere, so I couldn’t use my phone. I wanted to see if this was worldwide. I had logical reasoning as to why I did it.” Tae spoke back, his cheeks flustered in embarrassment but his tone unfaltering, which in turn seemed to anger Beomgyu more.

Yeonjun decided to step in before it got more heated, he knew his friend couldn’t speak quietly when he was riled up.

“What's going on?” Yeonjun asked, surprising both of them.They seemed so focused on each other that they hadn’t realized he was standing right next to them.

“The award winning genius high schooler here decided on his own that he would turn on the tv.” Beomgyu snarked

“Okay.” Yeonjun nodded, trying to ease his upcoming headache. “Why is that such a bad thing, that you scolding him?”

Beomgyu looked at him, exasperation written all over his face.

“Becauuuse,” He drawled out before taking his hand out to count the wrongdoings, “He didn’t check to make sure the sound from the TV was off or lowered. He could’ve practically invited some unsavory people or infected here. Two he turned it on without realizing that whatever would be on the TV could be negative and affect others here. Three, he used your TV without even asking you, which is just wrong in my opinion.” He finished off with a deep breath

“What was on the TV?” Yeonjun asked, realizing that it was probably the cause of the current emotional Bin and Kai in the living room.

“It was a weatherman who had stayed behind while everyone else had evacuated. He broadcasted the death toll and infection rate. He proceeded to say the lower southside half of the city has been sealed off and currently no rescue missions will be held.” Taehyun muttered, looking down at his feet.

“The nearest withstanding compound to us is 2 days away.” Beomgyu continued, glancing at Tae before locking eyes with Yeonjun. “That's what he said before he was attacked by a group of infected and the screen was cut off.”

“Oh, well that lengthens our journey for sure but we can still get there with Bin’s car.” Yeonjun said, trying to channel his inner Kai.

Tae shook his head before looking up at Yeonjun. He looks like he's giving up the fight already.

“The screen cuts to an emergency broadcast, telling us what we already know. Before it went back to the same living weatherman.” Tae spoke, his voice cracking when talking about the weatherman.

Living? Wasn’t he attacked? Shouldn’t he be infected? He's alive? Yeonjun felt a swell of hope bubble in him. But before he had a chance to stop it, Beomgyu cut him to the chase.

“It’s on a loop.”

—

Yeonjun layed on the floor counting each individual lump in his popcorn covered ceiling. Continuously replaying the conversation he had, while trying his best to fall asleep. They had told him that they didn’t know if the distant compound was also overrun, since they didn’t know how long the news report had been cycling. If the virus had struck hard and fast in the northern cities as it had with them, then the report could’ve been initially recorded earlier in the day. A lot can happen in 4 hours. Yeonjun tried to shake away his negative thoughts, but he couldn’t. Bin, Tae’s and Kai’s families were surely dead. It was wrong for him to think, but he knew these to be facts. He wasn’t the only one, since Tae and Beomgyu had both stared at him silently when he had carefully voiced his thoughts. Tae had informed him that he stayed with a distant aunt that he wasn’t close to at all so he wasn’t affected in the slightest, which is why he focused first on getting Kai out. Yeonjun knew that Beomgyu’s family lived farther up north and both seemed to have hope that the infection hadn’t spread up there so soon. That his family would have had some time to prepare. Yeonjun himself had no family. So he didn’t have anything to worry about really, besides Beomgyu and himself. That leaves Bin and Kai.
When Yeonjun had finished talking to them he had taken a glance at the silent duo. They had laid the blankets out like a makeshift bed large enough for the 5 of them. Bin was laying down curled into a ball and Kai was wrapped up behind him, as if he was shielding him from the cruel world. Yeonjun hadn’t even gotten a word out before Tae had told him that Kai had family but wasn’t too close to them. That they were strict and distant but loving nevertheless. Yeonjun couldn’t imagine the feeling Kai had knowing that even if his family had somehow survived, they wouldn’t be rescued. So he let them be, hoping that when they wake up they would be in their own beds and that it would all just be a nightmare.

Now if only Yeonjun would just be able to sleep.

He heard the soft snores of the other 5, and tried to focus on them instead. Still to no avail. He wasn’t sure if he couldn’t sleep because the world ending, or because he was sleeping next to 3 strangers or maybe it was just because he wasn’t in his own bed. He was on the edge of their makeshift bed and was lying next to Beomgyu who in turn was next to Bin, then Kai and Tae on the other edge. Yeonjun closed his eyes and tried to envision waking up for work tomorrow and scolding a late Beomgyu. He tried to picture his regular customers and fresh new faces. He tried and had almost succeeded in lulling himself into a false dream before he was snapped out of it by shuffling and footsteps. He tried to ignore it before he was woken completely by sniffling coming from his bedroom. He gave a small huff before quietly getting up. He didn’t want to wake anyone else up, no matter how jealous he was that they were able to sleep soundly. He walked toward the room without checking to see who was missing from their pile, already assuming.

“So Kai’s grip on you loosened up enough for you to escape?” Yeonjun said, his voice barely above a whisper

Bin seemed to jump from the sudden noise before turning away from the window and smiling sheepishly at Yeonjun before nodding, rubbing his wet eyes dry.

“You were gonna leave?” Yeonjun asked, surprised at seeing his window slightly ajar. Bin quickly shook his head, face going pale at the idea of abandoning them.

“N-No. I just needed some fresh air.” Bin whispered. “Anyways, I left the keys on the table so you guys would be able to take my car.”

“Why in the world would we go without you, pray tell?”

“I just, I was thinking of going to find my family.” He mumbled, ignoring Yeonjuns gaze to settle on looking outside.

“Bin..” Yeonjun said mournfully. He hadn’t considered Bin’s family. He didn’t even bother to ask. He assumed Bin realized his family was gone just like everyone else.

“I know.” Bin choked out, his body quivering before dropping to the floor with a thud loud enough to wake the others.

Yeonjun closed his door quietly before going to the window and shutting it as well. He looked down at Bin, who was shaking trying to hold back his tears. He kneeled down on the floor in front of the taller man before yanking him into a hug. He rubbed his back as Bin openly sobbed into his shoulder, making himself smaller to fit into Yeonjun’s arms.

“Do you want to tell me about them?” Yeonjun asked after Bin’s breaths evened out.

“They were great parents. I’ve always been a shut in, and they never minded it. They were fine with me living and staying at home forever.” Bin lightly chuckled before continuing, “I’m the baby of the family, I was coddled by my brother and sister as well as my parents. Their all I’ve ever had.” Bin said, his voice getting softer.

“I’m sorry.” Yeonjun said, because he had no other words to say. He never had a family, so he didn’t know how to comfort someone who did.

“I don’t know if I made the right choice.” Bin muttered out, his voice almost muffled completely by Yeonjuns shoulder. But before Yeonjun could ask him what he met he was met with soft snores.

Yeonjun knew he couldn’t let them stay in that position near the cold window so he lifted Bin up and placed him on the bed. I guess keeping up with my workouts is going to come handy. Turning to leave, he felt himself pulled back. Looking down he saw Bin’s hands holding his shirt in a tight grip.

Yeonjun’s eyes drifted to the tear stained face of his savior and decided to stay with him. Owe him more than this but I’ll do what I can I guess. He laid down in the bed next to him and allowed Bin to move closer to him, tucking his head back into Yeonjun’s neck. Yeonjun ran his fingers in between the others' hair before feeling his eyes droop and allowing himself to fall into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, he was surrounded by 3 irritated men. Beomgyu’s glare seemed especially pointed, a look of betrayal settling between his eyes. Before he could question the little posse before him a small groan caught his attention. He looked down and saw Bin in his arms, both of them wrapped around each other with little to no space in between. It seemed it got colder in the night and they leaned into whatever warmth they could find.

“I thought we were all supposed to sleep in the living room, for safety reasons.” Beomgyu whispered as he smiled eerily

“I was cuddling Bin first..” Kai huffed out childishly

Before Yeonjun had a chance to explain himself he caught Tae’s guarded eyes. Unspoken words seemed to settle between them before Tae gave him a hesitant nod. He proceeded to grab the other two and led them out of the room with the pretense of having to cook breakfast. Before walking out himself, he gave one last look to the sleeping man next to Yeonjun. When he was finally left alone to his thoughts all he could wonder was if it was the bed or the large bunny next to him that let him fall asleep so soundly.

Chapter Text

 Taehyun was almost at his limit. He commends himself for being able to last 2 whole days with the bunch he was currently stuck with, minus Hueningkai of course. Sitting down in front of his sweetened coffee nursing yet another oncoming headache as the reason for his turmoil, sat in front of Jun’s legs, excitedly playing jenga. Bin, just the name made his eyes twitch. Not that everything was his fault of course. Beom being a close second with his overall joyful personality. It was like having an extra cheeky Hueningkai jabbering on whenever he got a chance. He took a long sip of his coffee before trying to think back on how he got stuck in his current predicament. 

After the first night that they all slept together, Taehyun and the others seemed to be a bit less on edge with each other. Taehyun can only assume it's because none of them tried to kill each other throughout the night, showing that the group was a bit trustworthy compared to what they could’ve been stuck with. Not to say that Taehyun still didn’t have his doubts. He still doesn’t trust Bin, who almost abandoned them. Nor does he trust Jun or Beom, both pushing for Taehyun and the others to stay in their place. It just rubbed him the wrong way, but maybe he was just overthinking it. He seems to do that often. Overthink. Like now for instance, he was overthinking the position in which Bin was leaning against Jun. He couldn’t help but feel prickly all over. What were they planning, were they going to ditch us and take Bin with them? Taehyun felt a bit nervous at that idea. He was aware that the first night Jun had helped soothe Bin to sleep, something he was grateful for, because they couldn’t risk Bin being sleep deprived if they were to need him. He was also aware that Bin wouldn’t really be able to survive on his own just from the days he spent with him, but regardless he seemed to be able to hold up his end. Bin was without a doubt a perfect ally to have on your team due to his archery, and Taehyun did not want to risk losing him. So now that he seemed to get closer to Jun, taking to sleeping with the elder the previous night as well, he couldn't help but feel a bit on edge. 

He glanced over at Hueningkai and was surprised to see his friend looking right back at him with a questioning glance. Taehyun needed a plan. I need him just at least until we reach a shelter.  He nodded his head, beckoning his friend over to the kitchen, grateful that Hueningkai received the message and went right by his side without hesitation. Taehyun ignored him and turned around to wash the dishes left in the sink. The boy sidled up right next to him and began to help his friend in silence, waiting for Taehyun to speak.

“What's wrong?” Hueningkai asked, taking a quick side glance at his friend. “,You were looking at us like we murdered your cat or something.” 

“I was just thinking that Bin and the others seem to have gotten closer.” Taehyun mumbled.

“Well yeah, haven’t we all?” Hueningkai questioned, confusion showing on his face before he glanced over to his friend, furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips. “But between you and me, I think Jun is trying to steal him or something the way they’ve been attached at the hip.” 

“So it’s not just me?” Taehyun sighed, glad he wasn’t being overly reactive again. “I feel like they're trying to take him along in their group and leave us behind.”

Hueningkai stopped washing dishes at his friend's words and looked at him shocked. He opened his mouth, unable to form words as a response. He quickly shook his head and pressed his lips together. Taehyun knew his friend would disagree but he had hoped that his friend would allow him to explain himself. The silence seemed to be the chance for him to do so. 

“I know what I sound like,” He started, taking a breath before glancing back at the other 3 continuing to rebuild their jenga tower. “,but think about it. We haven’t really shown them what we’re capable of, we don't know anything about them nor them about us. They have Bin wrapped around their fingers it seems, and he doesn't look like someone who could stand their ground, so most likely he’ll follow along with whatever they say. All they need to do is wait for us to sleep or be distracted and boom we’re stuck.” He ranted, trying to keep his tone leveled and quiet.

Hueningkai hummed as he took in his friend's words and nodded thoughtfully. He seemed to really consider Taehyun’s words which relieved him before Hueningkai’s face looked exasperated. 

“Taehyun, do you really think that scenario is possible?” He sighed, putting his attention back on the dishes. “I mean even if you were somehow right, how would they even manage to steal Bin away? I’m by his side almost 24/7, even last night I stole Beomgyu’s spot and slept on the other side of him and Jun.” He stopped rinsing the dishes and looked at his friend with a look that Taehyun couldn’t decipher. “,and when I’m not with him it seems to me like you can’t take your eyes off of him.” 

Taehyun looked at him dumbfounded. “Well yeah, he’s currently the most valuable ally right now. We kinda need him, for both his car and archery.” He ignored his friend's weak glare and dried his hands, looking back over at the person in question. Bin seemed to have felt the stare because he glanced at Taehyun and looked at him curiously. 

“Well, anyways we should try to resolve your worries before they become an issue.” Hueningkai smiled, breaking Taehyun’s eye contact and pulling him back to the living room.Taehyun could only gape at his friend as he was dragged to sit right across from the 3 on the floor. 

“So it’s been 2 days together and we know nothing about each other.” Hueingkai began, ignoring the glare that Taehyun was shooting his way. “I think we should get to know each other, at least the basics.” 

Taehyun wanted to strangle him.

“Well, sure that seems fine with me.” Bin muttered out, surprising everyone with his compliance to talk. “How would we go about it though?” 

“I was thinking maybe a fun little game?” Hueningkai suggested, smiling at Taehyun. “It was actually Tae’s idea, so maybe he should lead?”

Taehyun decided that he would actually strangle him.

“Well what's the game then?” Beom asked, looking at him expectantly. His eyes were shining with excitement.

“Well, something simple, how about-” 

“It better not be something boring like 20 questions.” Jun spoke up, looking at his nails like he didn’t just interrupt Taehyun from finishing his sentence. Maybe I’ll strangle both of them tonight. Taehyun thought as he clenched his jaw.

“What amazing non boring ideas do you have, oh wise one?” He asked sarcastically.

“How about we each write 3 random different questions and put them into a hat and then each person gets a random question. That way there's no question that seems targeted or pressured toward someone.” Jun shrugged, running his hand through Bin’s hair before looking at Taehyun with a raised eyebrow. Taehyun wasn’t sure why but he felt like it was a challenge. 

“Okay. Sounds like a plan, hope it isn’t boring.” Taehyun forcefully smiled back, ignoring Bin’s eyes on him. 

After grabbing the supplies they all separated from each other to write their questions without the peering eyes of others. Taehyun stared at his 3 little sheets of papers and felt his headache coming back up. He should’ve kept his mouth shut. Then he wouldn’t be stuck in this mess of trying to come up with non invasive questions targeted toward people he would rather know nothing about. He shut his eyes and pictured each person; Jun seemed just as hard headed as he was, Beom seemed just as open booked as Hueningkai was, and Bin seemed like he was in his own world half the time. He glared at the papers before deciding that he didn’t really want to do this at all. So he decided to ask questions that he could already guess the answers to, it’s not like they would know it was him anyways. 

First, what was your occupation before this? 

Second, how old are you? 

He looked at the last piece of blank paper before his eyes unwillingly drifted to Bin sitting alone in the living room, tapping his mouth before quickly writing down on his paper.

What were your dreams?

_________

Hueningkai quickly wrote down his questions then saddled up to Taehyun as soon as he was done. He knew his friend was probably annoyed with him. He had to have been, especially after confiding in him. However, Hueningkai knew that something had to have been done. His fellow highschooler would let things sit and marinate in his head until he recklessly confronted it all on his own. It usually didn’t end well. Taehyun wasn’t a delinquent but he was never against fighting for what he believed in, whether that was physical or not, and Hueningkai wasn’t sure if fighting with the only people they had left was a very good idea. 

“Are you mad at me?” Hueningkai pouted down at him, before leaning across the table island and looking up with large eyes.

“If you were anyone else, I would’ve choked you out by now.” He glared down, rubbing his fingers down on the folds of the paper repeatedly. Hueningkai would’ve guessed he didn’t want anyone to be able to open it. 

“Aw come on, you know it was for the best. This way we can get to know each other, just enough to have some form of a connection you know?” He tried to reason, smiling innocently at his friend before pouting once more, “Since you don’t even want us exchanging names with each other.”

Taehyun gave him an unimpressed look before sighing, “I’ve told you this several times already. We can’t risk any type of attachment, it's for the better.” Hueningkai watched as his friend got a distant look in his eye again, “We never know what the future will bring, it's to protect us, protect you, from any harm.” He finished, looking back at Hueningkai and placing his hand on his head and patting it lightly. 

Hueningkai wouldn’t admit it, well not without a playful context at least, but he loved being babied by Taehyun sometimes. Even though the other was only a few months older than him, he felt secure knowing that he had someone's attention since his family never really seemed to mind him. Yet moments like this, when Taehyun wanted to take a martyr role or thought he knew what Hueningkai needed, always rubbed him the wrong way. If Hueningkai was honest with himself, It really pisses me off.  

“Well, I think I’m old enough to protect myself. If what you’re implying is what I think it is” Hueningkai began before he could think about his words properly. “,then I should make sure I’m not attached to you either. Since the future seems so unclear.” 

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hueningkai regretted it immediately. The look on Taehyun’s face looked more taken back then the usual passiveness he gives to Hueningkai’s comments. 

“I’m sorry.” He immediately blurted out before feeling a hand on his forehead. 

“What are we apologizing for?” Beom’s voice cut through the stifling air, leaning over the other side of the island, as if he could lean close enough to absorb the gossip.

“Nothing.” Taehyun snapped, before glancing at Hueningkai, “It's nothing.” He repeated more calmly than before and Hueningkai knew that it was a deliberate voice towards him. For him to drop the topic. 

He hadn’t fought with Taehyun often. They usually talk it out and come to an understanding. But they always talked it out. So Hueningkai couldn’t help but feel restless at the cut off. The need to resolve it tingling under his skin.

“Is everyone done already?” Taehyun asked, looking back at Beom and raising an eyebrow at him, challenging him to try to push his way into a conversion that didn’t involve him.

Beom glanced between the two, before humming and nodding. Hueningkai hoped that he would drop it and not upset Taehyun any more than he already was. 

“Yeah, we’re just waiting on Bin to finish up.” Beom answered 

“He’s still not done?” Taehyun asked incredibly 

“Sorry. I don’t mean to hold everyone up.” Bin answered, overhearing Taehyun. 

“Don’t worry Bin take your time!” Jun butted in, giving Taehyun a pointed look.

Hueningkai looked over at his friend and could almost see his annoyance radiating off of him. He would normally pat his back or distract him. But he wasn’t sure where they currently stood.

“I’m gonna kill him.” Taehyun mumbled at the same time that Bin announced that he finished. Hueningkai prayed that Beom hadn’t heard him.

As they all gathered back around the small coffee table and placed their folded up papers into Jun’s bucket hat, Hueningkai couldn’t help but feel itchy and stifled. Before he could begin to scratch his arm, a hand rested on his leg and gave him a reassuring pat. He looked at the familiar hand before looking up at its owner. Taehyun gave him an apologetic smile and nodded at him. Hueningkai wanted to hug him immediately but gave a wide smile instead. They were alright. 

“So who wants to go first?” Beom asked, clapping his hands and startling all of them but Hueningkai. 

“Well, since you're so eager, why don’t you go first.” Jun scowled, holding his ear as if Beom had deafened him. 

“Well okay, here I go.” He sang out, pulling out a neatly folded paper. “The question is, What's my favorite hobby? Okay simple, I like it.” 

Hueningkai knew that it was meant to be anonymous but he couldn’t help but look over at Bin who was turning red, looking at his hands instead of Beom. He gives himself away.

“Well whoever asked such a brilliant question, I tend to switch up my hobbies a lot. I like to try everything my hands can reach. But I think the two that I’ve kept up with are playing my guitar and video games.” Beom looked at Bin, Hueningkai assumed he also figured out who the writer was.

“Okay so my turn I guess.” Taehyun mumbled, pulling out a haphazardly wadded up paper. “Are you interested or currently dating anyone?” He gave a peeved side eye toward Beom and rolled his eyes, before tearing the paper. “No, and considering our current predicament, I don’t plan on either. Next.” 

Hueningkai tried to stifle the laughter inside as he watched Beoms face of horror when Taehyun pulled out the paper which proceeded to turn into one of pettiness when his question was ripped in front of his face.

“Well, I guess it’s my turn then.” Hueningkai smiled, excitedly pulling out a loosely folded paper. “How old am I?” Hueningkai pouted, turning to give his friend an irritated look after recognizing the handwriting. He felt annoyed that his friend chose such a simple question, and more annoyed that it was him that received the question. 

“I’m 19, but I guess Beom and Jun would be the only ones who didn’t already know that.” He smiled sheepishly, before giving his friend a light hearted glare. 

“19? But aren’t you still in high school?” Beom questioned, looking surprised at the sudden knowledge

“Yeah, my parent’s got the timing wrong and put me in school a year late.” Hueningkai explained, “Taehyuns 19 too, he was just held back.” 

Yeonjun snickered behind his hand, “Held back?”

“I’m sure that held back or not, I hold more intelligence than you.” Taehyun bit back glaring at Hueningkai for giving up information, “Considering you couldn’t even open your own door.” 

Yeonjun gaped at him and was about to bite back another comment before Bin spoke up.

“I’m turning 21 this year!” He exclaimed, causing everyone to turn to him, “I just thought I’d share that willingly since Tae shared his.” He mumbled, brushing aside that fact Taehyun did not willingly share his.

“I’m 20, so I guess that you're older than me.” Beom smiled, looking over at Bin teasingly.

“Well I guess I’m the eldest of this group then.” Jun dramatically sighed “I'm 22.” 

Taehyun snickered, mocking Jun, “22, practically a senior at this point.”

Jun glared at him, but seemed to try to take the higher road by reaching into the hat and pulling out another lazily folded up paper. 

“Anyways, this question is, what was our occupation before.” Jun looked at the paper scrunching up his eyebrows, looking as annoyed as Hueningkai felt from his question. “Well I’m sure you guys already knew this from when we first met, but I’m a barista at a cafe. I’m a lead, but I do just about everything a supervisor does without the pay.” 

Hueningkai nodded enthusiastically, he wanted to work in a cafe after high school, he loved the calming environment and would love to be involved in it.  “You think you could give me a job?” He asked without thinking.

“A job? I can try, but I’m not sure.” Jun drifted off, giving Hueningkai a pitying look, “With everything going on and all.” 

Huneingkai looked at him, embarrassment showing on his face. Of course, how could I forget, we’re still in the whole apocalypse situation. Before he could dwell on it, Bin quickly reached into the hat.

“My question is-” Before he could finish it a starting cry was heard from outside, causing them to freeze.

Hueningkai and the two baristas quickly stood up, their eyes darting everywhere. The other two were frozen on the floor, eyes wide and sweat beading on their forehead. Hueningkai’s eyes quickly found his bat perched up against the wall and he immediately walked toward it and grabbed it. His hand tightening around the slim base of it. He looked over to see Beomgyu also grab his pipe and looked over at Hueningkai before placing his finger over his mouth in a silencing gesture. He nodded and saw that everyone else had nodded along with him. They had to wait. 

A minute later the scream turned into words. They were closer. Their voices were heard clearly even behind the closed doors and windows.

“Help please!” 

“Anyone, please my sister needs help!” 

Hueningkai felt his heart hammer in his chest. He thought about his sisters, how he could only hope they were okay. He hadn’t seen them in years but his memories were always fond. He could picture them in the situation outside. His sisters running down a street pleading for a strangers helping hand. How he would wish someone would save them if it was them. 

He felt a hand tighten around his wrist. He looked back and saw Taehyun looking at him angrily. He hadn’t even noticed that he had begun to walk toward the door. 

“Are you insane or just stupid?” Taehyun whispered angrily at him. “Do you have a death wish?”

“We have to help her. We can’t just leave them out there.” He argued back.

“Sorry but I have to agree with Taehyun. We have no idea what the situation is out there and we could be risking all of us over some people who may not even have a chance.” Jun spoke softly, approaching Hueningkai as well, to hold him back. 

Beom nodded from behind him, looking mournfully at the situation, and clenching his fists as another cry for help rang out.

“We have to try, we can’t just do anything.” Bin spoke up, getting up from the floor and looking at them determined.

Taehyun looked at Bin as if his words were unfathomable, before his face turned to one of complete anger. He marched to him and pulled the taller’s shirt down, placing Bin’s face right in front of his own. 

“You're really pissing me off, with your hero complex.” Taehyun gritted out, “You’re not some shining white knight. You're meek and clueless, get that through your head.”

The others, Hueningkai included, looked at the scene with wide eyes. All of them ready to break them up before a yell seemed to echo throughout the room. 

“PLEASE HELP SHE’S JUST A LITTLE GIRL!” 

Before Hueningkai could collect his thoughts, he whipped the door open and rushed outside down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. 

“Over here!” He yelled, waving his hands.

The girl, who seemed not much older than Hueningkai, looked over at him and ran back toward the building, a little girl holding her tightly around her neck, with her face buried between. Hueningkai felt a rushing urge to protect this duo from any harm. However before he was able to run toward the girls, he was harshly pulled back. 

“What the fuck are you doing!” Taehyun cursed at him, yanking him back toward the building. 

Hueningkai yanked his arm free from Taehyun's harsh grip before he was roughly grabbed by his other arm. He turned to look and met the eyes of an angry long haired barista. 

“You’re doing everything we need to avoid, you idiot!” 

The two joined together in pulling Hueningkai back. Managing to get him 4 steps up the stairs before the girl turned into the complex, panting. 

“Please help us.” She panted, catching her breath. “It’s my little sister, she's hurt.” 

“Sorry but you need to go.” Beom said forcefully, continuing to drag Hueningkai, who was now fighting against the hold. 

“Can you please help, I'm begging you. We don't have anywhere else to go!” She yelled angrily, “She's just a little girl!” She began to step forward toward the stairs.

Hueningkai ripped free from Beom’s hold but before he could break free from Taehyun’s as well, the little girl screeched.

They all stood there in horror, as the little girl raised her head, before slamming her head back into her sister's neck, mouth extended. The elder screamed out in pure agony as her little sister proceeded to yank out a chunk of her skin, blood spurting out and her screamed being muffled by the blood pouring into her mouth. The little girl seemed to chew her flesh thoughtfully, returning back to her neck for more. Beom grabbed the two youngest and tried to snap them out of their fear induced shock. The movement called the child’s attention as she hopped off her sister, screeching louder than before, and moved toward them quickly. She launched herself at Hueningkai, who was the closest to her. Right before her hand was able to reach him, an arrow struck her shoulder, causing her to fall back off the stairs. As she collected herself the three rushed back up the stairs and darted back into the building, pulling a frozen Bin in right behind them. Jun quickly closed the door right in front of her face, getting an angry screech in response.

They all fell to the floor, all shocked and horrified at the scene that they all had just witnessed. The girl’s screech rang in their ears as she continued to bang against the door. Beom was the first to collect himself, looking at the four of them before his eyes settled on Hueningkai. 

“It isn’t your fault. There wasn’t anything you could do.” He spoke, offering him a hand to get up.

Hueningkai didn’t want to take it. He risked all of them. For nothing . Bin had to fire an arrow at a little girl for him. He didn’t even want to look at him, he was sure he’d be met with a pained or harrowing expression. 

“Kai, it was bound to end up like this. Trust me.” Beom said, giving him a sorrowful smile. Which quickly turned into a grimace as he heard faint screeches echoing outside, almost hidden behind the prominent ones the little girl was releasing against the door. 

“We have to move now, before more get here.” He declared, grabbing Hueningkai’s hand and forcing him up against his will. “I know it's the last thing any of us want to do, but we would’ve had to do it soon anyways.” 

Jun seemed to snap out of it at Beom’s words and nodded, reaching down to help Taehyun to his feet and repeating the action with Bin. 

Both of them are silent, standing closely to each other. Hueningkai could only assume that it provided them some form of comfort, and longed to stand next to them as well. I don’t deserve to. 

“Pack necessities and non perishables. From here on out there's no more safety net.” Beom said solemnly, walking toward Jun’s room and tossing a different bag toward each of them. 

“Be quick.” 

Chapter Text

Yeonjun had felt this before when he was younger. The need to pack and run. The survival instinct rose in him as he rushed around his house getting his valuables. This would be the first time he had to be preoccupied about others though. It was always more of a dog eat dog world back then, so he couldn’t help but be irritated at two of their group members that were just dazed and lolling around when there was no time to spare. He felt empathy for them of course; Bin had just shot an arrow at a child, and Kai had just barely survived an attack. However, he knew that They need to harden their minds.  

“Kai!” Yeonjun barked out, jolting the youngest out of his rumination “You need to get a move on, go pack some non-perishables in the kitchen with Tae.” 

Kai dutifully nodded, his face still pale and forlorn but the color seemed to be coming back into his cheeks. Yeonjun could only assume it was because he was given a way to distract himself. As the younger walked toward the kitchen Yeonjun didn’t miss the way he tried to completely avoid Bin who was still staring at the front door. He wondered if Kai was upset that Bin had shot at a child, and it riled him up a bit more. Bin had saved his life and did what he had to do, Kai should be grateful but Yeonjun had yet to hear even a murmur of thanks. 

He huffed out and went up to the taller boy, placing a hand on his shoulder and startling him.

“Bin, come on. We really have to get going.” He said gently, trying not to make his annoyance clear

“Y-Yeah, I'm sorry. I-” Bin began stumbling his words as tears began to water into his eyes. “S-sorry. I'm sorry.”

“Bin stop.” Yeonjun interrupted, grabbing onto Bin’s shoulders and shaking him, “We really need your head here with us now, I'm sorry but you need to shove all these emotions and thoughts into the back of your head. There’s no time for them.

Bin nodded, looking so deeply affected that Yeonjun really felt sorry for snapping at him. But he knew that babying him would only make things worse. He knew that when the time came to split up, he would be doing Bin a favor by trying to harden him. He wouldn’t stand a chance alone in the world if he stayed the way he was. Both in the real world and the current nightmare they were in. 

He pushed the small dusty blue backpack into Bin’s hands, taking the taller by surprise. Before he could even question Yeonjun as to what he was supposed to do with the bag, he was cut off.

“Go around the house and place anything you think might be of importance into the bag.”

“But, I don’t want to intrude on -”

“Bin, Please shut up for a second.” Yeonjun cut him off again, exasperation clear in his tone. “Look around, this isn’t even my house anymore and who knows if I’ll ever be able to return so go ahead and ransack the place. Make a hole in the wall for all I care, just do it after you fill this bag.” He ordered, before swiftly turning away before Bin would be able to say anything else to him.

Yeonjun passed by the kitchen and saw the younger two dutifully rummaging through his cabinets looking for any items that they’d be able to carry. 

“Pack several canned foods too.” He ordered, seeinging Tae place them to the side to favor putting lighter items in his bag. 

“The weight of them is going to slow us down. We can’t carry this much on us without risk.” Tae spoke, not even glancing up toward Yeonjun as he kneeled down to go through his lower pantries.

“We just need to carry them long enough to the car, then we can leave them in there.” Yeonjun argued back, his annoyance causing a dull headache to begin forming. 

“We don’t know how many of those things will be outside, I say we still don’t risk it.” Kai mumbled out, in favor of his friend's perspective.

“Well if you quicken up the pace, we should be able to make it without dying.” Yeonjun snapped, turning away from the duo and heading toward his bedroom where Beomgyu was last seen.

“Beom, are you done?” Yeonjun asked, striding into the room with confidence that he didn’t fully feel. 

“Yeah just about, I was just checking out your vantage point.” His friend replied, staring out the window. “I’ve seen a couple heading this way, but it seems they don’t have any sense of direction. They're just blindly following the sound.” 

“So the little girl’s screams then.” Yeonjun gritted out, “Why don’t we just kill her then, give us some more time.”

“Well for one, her sisters probably turned by now. Two, I doubt any of us are ready for close combat nor is Bin ready to shoot a kid in the face.” Beomgyu stated, turning to Yeonjun with his two digits raised up as he counted. “Three, I think this is going to work in our favor.” 

Yeonjun looked at him confused. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend how calling all the nearby dead toward their location was going to help them at all. It was just setting them up for an untimely death in his opinion. 

“We can use them as a distraction, as long as we stay quiet and hidden. We’ll escape through your fire escape and speed to the car.” Beomgyu said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. “They obviously have poor vision, probably due to the red bleeding into their eyes or something like that.” He shrugged

“How?” Yeonjun looked at him incredulously, "How are you so confident in this shit mess?”

“I was reeeally good at horror video games.” Beomgyu smirked, “Maybe if you watched my live streams every now and then you’d know.”

“Fuck Beom, How many times do I have to say this shit.” Yeonjun scolded, approaching his friend angrily

Beomgyu quickly put his hands up defensively, “I know, I know. It’s not a game.”

Yeonjun huffed before looking at the fire escape and the ladder that still needed to be brought down fully, lest they jump off the last 5 feet to the floor. He really didn’t want to risk anyone hurting their ankle by landing wrong, couldn’t risk anyone slowing them down.

“I’m going to get a head start and lower the ladder.” He stated, looking back at Beomgyu. “Go help the others since you’re so wise in everything.” 

“Yes sir!”  Beomgyu nodded and gave him a mocking salute, before turning on his heels and walking away.

“Beom!” Yeonjun shouted, making his friend stop in his path. “Don’t ask any questions. Go into the cabinet next to my restroom door and open the safe, the code is 0304 you’ll know what to grab.”

Beomgyu shrugged his shoulders at his friend's little requests and exited the room, leaving Yeonjun behind.

Yeonjun glanced down once more, before opening his window all the way and pushing the screen out. He took a deep breath and steadied himself. You got this Yeonjun. You’re the only one who can do this. He walked out onto the small fire escape and began to climb down the ladder.

He quickly reached the end of the current length and tried to use his weight to expand the rest of the five feet. 

“Come on, you stupid piece of shit.” He cursed, “I didn’t pay this much fucking rent for this shit not to work properly.” 

He reached up to grab a bar above and pulled himself up before slamming himself down against the last rung on the ladder. The force allowed the ladder to unstick and come crashing down to the floor, the metal legs clanging on the concrete. The echo of the ladder resonated through the small alleyway between his building and the next. The only other sound that would’ve been able to drown it out were the shrieks of the two girls at his front door.

Yeonjun held his breath. The sound really was louder than he had originally anticipated. Please, My luck has never been good but just this once. Please.

Yeonjun heard a low gurgling sound near the right of him. He looked down at his feet and sighed slowly, his breath stuttering out. He looked up and glanced at the dead mailman eyeing his prey. Yeonjun could see his bloodshot eyes and the smear of red spread all across his body. He knew he didn’t have many choices. He could climb back up the ladder but he didn’t know if they could climb it as well. That option would risk everyone.  He could also run down the left, it placed himself farther from the car, but it gave the others a better chance. He really wished he wasn’t such a good person. 

Fuck it

Yeonjun clenched his teeth, and ran. 

_____________________

Beomgyu wasn’t quite sure why Yeonjun suddenly decided to be cryptic. It didn’t rub him off in a bad way at all. Regardless of what could be in the safe he decided not to worry too much about it. He knew Yeonjun for awhile now, and while he was riled up easily, the elder didn’t have a single mean bone in his body. Beomgyu always thought Yeonjun was a bit foxlike, sneaky and sly but hyper and ready to take on the world. But just like a fox, he would catch glimpses of his friend shying away and hiding when questions of his past would arise. Regardless of his past, Beomgyu knew the current Yeonjun and that was all that really mattered to him.

He turned into the small hallway and was surprised to see his newfound beauty digging through his friend’s bathroom medicine cabinet. He tilted his head in confusion, I would have never taken Bin for an addict. 

“Hey there pal, Watchu lookin’ for?” He whistled, sliding up to the elder.

Bin jumped in fear, Beomgyu could’ve sworn he saw even his feet leave the floor in his jolt of surprise.

“O-Oh hey Beom.” Bin sighed in relief, placing his hand across his chest in a weak attempt to soothe his beating heart. 

Beomgyu ignored his greeting in favor of reaching out and grabbing the pill bottle clenched in his other hand. He read the bottle, Cefazolin. He looks at the date of the bottle, it was prescribed to Yeonjun the day they removed all his wisdom teeth a couple months back. 

“You know this isn’t really going to give you a high right?” 

Bin looked at Beomgyu in shock, as if he had said something utterly scandalous. 

“I’m not using them to get high!” He scolded, surprising both Beomgyu at sudden change of personality. It seemed it must’ve also surprised himself as well when he suddenly flushed a deep pink and cleared his throat. “I’m bringing them along just in case any of us need a form of antibiotics.”

“Oh, sorry for assuming.” Beomgyu smiled, partially glad that his crush wasn’t going to need a detox in the distant future. “Still kinda surprised you're looking through Jun’s things like this though.”

“I’m not,” Bin pouted, ignoring Beomgyu to continue looking through the pills that Yeonjun really should’ve thrown out by now. “Jun said I could look through his house for anything I thought could be useful.”

“Really? Well my apologies once more.” Beomgyu smiled slyly. 

Beomgyu had to admit, he really wanted to be on Bin’s good side. He thinks he could honestly develop a crush on this lanky anxious man. However, seeing him flustered and a tad annoyed kinda pleased him. He’s sure he’s the first one to see him like this. It felt like he had an advantage in his silly little imaginary competition. 

“You’re fun to tease.” Beomgyu hummed out, before turning his attention back on the cabinet in front of him. He opened it and bent down to the black safe tucked into the bottom shelf. He could feel Bin’s curiosity placed on him and almost wanted to give him a show, just to see him riled up again, but decided against it. Now wasn’t the time after all, he needed to complete his fox’s mission request. He imputed the code that he was given and opened the safe. His eyes widened at the sight before him. He could hear Bin gasp behind him. He reached in and pulled out a small black Glock handgun. 

“Damn, didn’t know your friend was into illegal activities.” 

Beomgyu looked up quickly at the new voice and met eyes with an amused Tae. He looked at the gun like it was exactly what he was expecting. Like his point was just proven. The glance back and head tilt at Kai was all the conformation he needed to confirm that Tae thought badly of Yeonjun. It irked Beomgyu, how could someone he barely met be so judgemental of his friend when he wasn’t even here to defend himself.

“You don’t know why he has this, He could’ve just found it somewhere and locked it up for safety.” Beomgyu defended. 

“I know he could have reported it to the police, especially if he found 4 boxes of ammunition along with it.” Tae sneered, getting bristly. 

“Enough!” Bin shouted, startling the group of irritated men. “We don’t have time for this, you guys can snap and argue all you want in the car. But we need to go, NOW” Bin commanded

He quickly kneeled down and collected the ammo into his small bag before looking at Beomgyu with kind eyes. He extended his hand toward him and opened his palm, silently asking for the gun.

Beomgyu looked down at the offered hand and glanced at his shaking ones, he hadn’t even noticed how upset he got over the situation. It was stupid really, he spent days shooting guns on his computer. Hell, he even knew the make of the current gun in his hand, but to see the real thing in their country where guns were prohibited was something else. He seemed to have forgotten that foxes were predators. That they have teeth that can tear through flesh just like the gun he held.

“Beom, I think I should hold on to it. I’m the only one with long distance experience.” Bin explained softly, before glancing up at Tae and giving him a withered look.

“Yeah, of course.” He replied, placing the gun into the taller’s hands. 

Bin stood up and offered his other hand to Beomgyu to stand. Loud banging pounded through the walls. Screeches resonated from the front door, more than the original two that they had put in the back of their minds.

“We need to get a move on, now.” Tae grunted, lifting the bag of cans over his shoulder and gripping his bat tightly. He moved forward toward Yeonjun’s room, Kai following quickly behind. 

Beomgyu glanced toward Bin and saw the boy's face pale, all of the past confidence drained in the sounds of the dead trying to break their way in. 

“Come on chief, you’ve got the gun so you’re in charge of us.” Beomgyu teased, grabbing him and pulling toward the room, “You’re the de facto leader now.”

Tae stood by the window looking out and checking the coast. He glanced back at the three of them, before holding eye contact with Beomgyu. “Who goes first?” 

“I will, because I know the apartments better.” He spoke up, lifting the bag he placed by foot of Yeonjun’s bed onto his back.  “Bin and Kai will be in the middle, and you at the end, until we meet Jun. Then he’ll take the rear.” 

Taehyun looked unsettled by the idea, Beomgyu could see the hesitance on his face. He could see his own fear mirrored back at him. They were both bullshitting their confidence after all. He knew they were all equally terrified of leaving the little comfort they had managed to find. None of them were prepared for anything like this, and now they had to make a journey to find safety that wasn’t even a promised guarantee. He felt bad for them, for himself, for his lone fox that was still outside waiting for them to get a move on. They really needed to get a move on, before the situation worsens or before Yeonjun got mad at them; especially at Beomgyu.

He had to think of something to get the kid’s ego back and kick them in high gear.

So he did what he knows best, pushed some buttons.

“I mean unless you’re scared or something. I know you and Kai are still little kids. So Bin can hold up the rear.” Beomgyu snarked, pushing past Tae and Kai and letting his foot out the window. “You guys settle it, but settle it soon because Jun’s door isn’t met to hold up to much force. It’d be pretty lame if you guys died before even trying to survive.”

He walked onto the thin fire escape and winked at Bin, “See you down there, hero.”  He then made his way down into the cleared alley.

Chapter Text

Taehyun glared at the balcony that Beom had just descended. He could feel his blood pressure rising at the taunt he was left with, or maybe it was rising because of the darkening blush forming on Bin’s cheeks due to those words. He wasn’t sure why everyone continued to call Bin a hero when he was anything but that. He knew that the tall boy was just as scared as Taehyun, if not more.

See Taehyun was never good with fear and horror related things. The only reason that he was able to sit through and watch horror movies was due to his mindset of being able to pick the flaws out. To find the inconsistencies that reminded him that it was just in fact a movie. But try as he might, currently it was getting harder and harder to find things to keep him grounded. He knew that if he looked down he would see his arm covered in goosebumps. Especially after almost losing Hueningkai. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t think he’d be able to hold up the rear on his own. But he really didn’t want to prove Beom right. 

“I’ll take the rear.” Bin spoke up, his voice taking a tone of confidence that Taehyun would've never have expected to hear from him.

“Why?” He asked, because as much as he wanted to take Bin’s offer he was well aware that no favor came without a price.

“I have the gun and bow, I have a better chance at watching over everyone and can react better if you are all in front of me rather than behind.” 

Taehyun couldn’t believe his ears. How could this fearful squeamish man ever think he should be in charge of protecting all of them. After Taehyun had to hear his whimpers due to nightmares and lay awake staring at the ceiling wondering what it was he was dreaming about. After he froze when he shot a dead girl's shoulder. After he saved his best friend's life, when all Taehyun could do was stare. How dare he.

“How many times do I have to say this shit to you? You’re weak!” Taehyun shouted frustration covering his tone. “You’re no better than us, You're no hero.” 

“I’m not a hero, I’m not trying to be.” Bin spoke gravely, his fist clenching by his side. 

Taehyun could feel his own anger being overwhelmed by the others' increasing one. He could practically see Bin’s anger in the air rising and pushing back against his own. He almost regretted his words. Almost.

“Then why do you want to be in the back so badly?” Taehyun spat, “It’s like you're looking for hero work, like you want us all to owe you.” 

“Did you ever consider that it’s because I don’t trust you?” Bin spat back in return, no longer avoiding eye contact, holding onto Taehyun’s own glaring gaze

“What?” Taehyun asked, taken back by his words

“You nitpick everything I do, you practically hate me. I can feel your contempt towards me anytime you even glance my way. So why in the world would I trust you to cover my back for me.” Soobin spoke, with a hardened finality to his words. Like his words held true and nothing would be able to prove them to be false.

For once Taehyun was rendered speechless. 

“Both of you need to stop. I’ll go last and watch the rear. End of story.” Hueningkai spoke up, catching both of their attention as they gaped at him in surprise. If Taehyun thought about it, he had honestly forgotten where he was and who he was with.

However he was quick to recover when he thought about Hueningkai leading the rear. 

Taehyun almost lost him. He wasn’t about to lose him again. But before he was able to rebuttal, movement from the window caught his attention.

“We need to go now. I don’t care what you decided.” Beom rushed out, sweat evident on his panic stricken face. “Jun is gone.” 

_______

Soobin was pretty pissed off if he was being honest. Although it didn’t take much to get him mad if he was being even more honest. Just another reminder that he’d been a shut in all his life. He’d never had to argue with anyone because he’d never really interacted with anyone long enough to. If he really thought about it, besides his siblings, he’d never fought with anyone and due to their age gap even they would give in to his demands rather quickly, resolving the fight almost instantly. So to be standing in front of an equally hard headed boy and trying not to launch himself at him is quite the struggle. He had to count his blessings when he received them however, such as when Beom broke up the tense atmosphere with his harrowing news. Soobin definitely felt guilty for feeling joy at the way the argument was completely dropped. Even more guilty when decided to use it to his advantage. 

“He’s gone?” Tae asked confused, “Are you sure he didn't just move and hide somewhere?” 

“No duh dipshit, I just ran down the alley and he's not anywhere near. But I couldn't really check since I was alone down there.” Beom replied, with more panic in his tone of voice rather than malice 

Tae must’ve noticed as well since he didn't bristle up with anger like he usually did, he took it in stride and brushed it off. 

“Okay, we’ll look for him on the way to the car but we can't risk going out of the way.” 

That however seemed to anger Beom as he looked at Tae with complete disbelief and disgust.

“You’d leave him to die?” 

Soobin felt the anger returning to the room and decided that it was now or never to act on his plan. 

“Alright enough, no one is leaving anyone. If we have to whip back we will. But Tae is right, we can't wander the complex with all these bags. We need to drop them off.” 

Beom stared at Soobin, in what Soobin felt could only be a test. He assumed he had passed when Beom grunted in bitter approval and made his way back down. 

Soobin took a breath before he shoved Tae and Kai toward the window, taking advantage of their current predicament. He knew that it was cruel to use Jun’s disappearance as a leeway to guard the back but he had to. He knew Tae was scared and Kai himself had just gone through a traumatic event. He couldn't bear to separate them again anytime soon, so as to make sure of that Soobin wanted to make them stick next to each other on the way to the car. If worse came to worse they would still have the other to stay by, and Beom seemed like a kind hearted person so he knew they wouldn’t be abandoned by him either.

wow, maybe I am a bit self sacrificial..

While he was pushing them out the window he could feel Tae’s pushback, trying to dig his heels into the carpet. 

“What do you think you're doing?” He hissed out, turning his head back to glance at a determined Soobin

“We have no time, Jun could be in danger.  We have to look for him.” Soobin grunted out, glancing at Kai in hopes of getting help. 

Kai seemed a bit distraught but received the memo regardless, grabbing on to his friend’s arm and pulling him forward. 

“He’s right, we have to go now.” 

Tae glared at both of them but complied as he made his way out the window and to the alleyway below. 

“Please stick right behind us, we cant afford to lose you.” Kai whispered, not turning around to look at him. “Thank you for saving me again earlier today but let us help you too.” 

Soobin held his breath and nodded before quickly realizing that Kai couldnt see him. Before he could verbally reply Kai had disappeared out the window as well. 

Soobin stood alone in Jun’s room. Goosebumps covering his arm as the snarls and banging on the door rang back in his ears. He felt lightheaded and queasy at the thought of being back outside with those things. Although maybe he felt even worse at the thought of having to shoot more of them. He felt his eyes prickle and the sight of the room turned fuzzy before him. 

He was scared. He was so scared.

The sound of wood breaking was the only thing that was able to push him into gear, and have him rushing out the desolate window.

When he got to the floor of the alleyway, Kai was waiting alongside the ladder. Soobin gave him a grateful smile and was rewarded with a sorrowful smile in return. Before he could think too much of it, instructions were thrown in his ears.

“Okay, we’ll make our way to the car but we aren’t leaving without Jun.” Beom whispered, giving Tae a pointed look

They all nodded in return. 

“We will be following down the alley with our backs along the wall, while we can assume they cant see we don't want to risk being wrong” Beom continued on

“Follow close behind so we don't split up and remember to avoid making any type of noise, that includes with the cans you guys got on your back.” He gave the younger ones a pointed look. 

He glanced over at Soobin, raising an eyebrow at the new positions that they found themselves in. Soobin could only hope he wouldn’t also be upset at him for staying in the back of their makeshift line.

“Bin you’ll need to make sure you stay close behind and stay extra vigilant. Don't fire the gun unless it’s a major emergency and it's the only option left. Stick to your bows or ask the boys for help if needed.” 

Soobin gulped as the other two gave him an unsettling glance. He couldn’t even decipher what the glance could mean at the moment because all he could picture was getting stuck in the situations that Beom was hinting at. 

“O-Okay.” He meekly replied

Beom stared at him a little longer and Soobin could feel himself start to feel squirmish under his gaze. He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for in Soobin because he gave a little grunt and nodded. 

“Tae will be directly in front of Bin.” He said before leading forward down the alley. 

Tae glanced back at the elder and gave him a sharp glare causing Soobin to flinch in response. Tae gave a small huff and reached a hand out towards Soobin’s face. He quickly shut his eyes, expecting Tae to hit him at least once before they depart. 

He hadn’t expected a gentle pat on the top of his head. He looked down and saw Tae blushing lightly and looking away from him. 

“We’ll be okay. Just stick close.” He mumbled, before looking up at Soobin and removing his hand. “No hero shit this time. I mean it.” 

Soobin could only stare at him confused as he walked away to follow behind the others. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts and followed right after. 

Soobin kept an arms distance away from Tae and tried to ease his mind by focusing on the stiff posture of the boy ahead of him. It was a reminder that he wasn’t the only one scared, he had to try to distance himself from his own fear. I can’t be a whiny little brother foreve r. As soon as the thought crossed his mind he remembered that he was in fact, no longer a little brother at all. The oncoming tears sprung into his eyes and distorted his vision enough to not notice the body stopped in front of him.

“Bin.” 

He could feel careful hands cup his face and wipe his tears, but before he could let out a whimper at the comfort offered to him he saw Tae place a finger in front of his lips. Looking both sorry and frightened at the same time. Soobin glanced behind him and saw Beom and Kai both frozen in place watching a limping mailman passing them. 

Beom glanced back at them quickly and Soobin caught the quizzical side eye given. He felt himself flustered at the fact that he was about to break down outside, where they were vulnerable. Even worse that the younger of the group had to comfort him, after he had made such a big commotion about protecting them. 

He took a step back and smiled gratefully at Tae, a light blush flushing his cheeks. Tae gave him a look that Soobin wasn't able to identify, before grabbing Soobin’s sweater and yanking him forward. Soobin fell forward, unable to catch himself as he fell into Tae, who in turn caught him in his arms.

“Don’t turn around.” The smaller whispered with panic

Soobin froze up as he heard the drag of a body coming up behind him. He could feel his body shaking as Tae’s arms tighten around him. 

He almost fainted when he felt the brush of the creature-the human brush up against him. 

He shut his eyes waiting for the end, but opened them when he felt Tae’s release of air. He wasn't the only one who had held their breath. In front of him he saw Beom and Kai gripping each other's hands, their backs tightly pressed up against the building. Kai using his other hand to cover his mouth, his eyes squeezed shut.

The person continued to limp past them, seemingly completely unaware of their presence. Their clothes, a red pajama set, seemed to be covered in more red than the pajama originally had.  Soobin’s confusion covered over his fear as he couldn’t take his eyes off of them. Until they bumped into the mailman while crossing between buildings. In the afternoon sunlight he was able to capture the person's face as they turned around to snarl at the mailman. He immediately understood why Tae had told him not to turn around. 

The person in front of him had no eyes, just pure black holes that had darkening red cascading around the edges, nail marks carved across their face. He couldn’t tell if it was done after or before they had turned. He could feel his stomach churning again. 

“How are you guys holding up?” Beom whispered, approaching them along with Kai. 

He glanced toward the long haired male and nodded, the image ingrained into his head.  He glanced over at the youngsters who were enveloped into a tight hug, before turning back to Beom who had reached for his hand gently. 

“I’m sorry, I froze up.” He apologized, lowering his head 

“No you're all good. Honestly it’s better to avoid any confrontation if we can.” Beom argued softly, before glancing at the other two for their attention “You’ll sneak around the corner once the mailman gets ahead. The car should be straight down but you’ll be in the open, so you’ll have to rush. I’m going to go look for Jun once you turn the corner.”

Before the three could protest the separation, a shout was heard nearby. A familiar voice.

“Over here, winner winner gets the dinner!!” 

Chapter Text

A twist around the corner here, a squat there, and Yeonjun had managed to escape the undead that followed him from his home. He led it towards the end of his complex before hiding from the creature to save himself. Now all he had to do was go in the opposite direction to avoid the zombie and still be able to meet up with the guys, but as he squatted between a bush and the building he couldn't help but feel dejected. He knew Beomgyu wouldn’t leave him behind but he also knew that his loveable coworker idiot was dumb enough to scour the whole complex looking for him. Which ultimately would screw them all over more than not, especially when that Tae guy was constantly glaring at him and looked ready to ditch him in a second. His only light in the dark was Bin, he seemed level headed enough to get things done, even if he was meek and a huge crybaby. Yeonjun took a deep breath to calm himself, he couldn’t just leave Bin alone to babysit after all, he needed to get back to them soon. 

A large bang shook him from his thoughts, causing him to yelp and jolt from behind the bush. He reluctantly turned around to see the cause of the noise and was met with another undead child slamming her little hands into the window. She wore a lopsided birthday hat and a sash around her dress that proudly announced coming into a brand new 10 years of age. Her body luckily seemed unharmed minus a head wound and a bite to her upper arm. Yeonjun could only beg to whatever gods were there that the child had gone quickly and without pain. He turned back around and hurriedly made his way around the building before the child's noises alerted any more undead to him.

He peeked around the corner before making his way toward the park, it was the quickest route to the car without going around the whole complex. Although he should've just ran around and risked it because his eyes landed immediately on the group of creatures dawdling around the grass. He could only assume the birthday party didn’t end so well when his eyes focused on a group of children wearing party hats and feasting on the remains of an adult. He felt his stomach clench at the sight, queasiness overtaking him as he leaned back toward the wall and covered his mouth. He was no newbie when it came to death and blood, having to do things he wasn’t proud of at a young age, but he didn’t think he’d ever encounter anything as gruesome as what he had just seen. 

Come on Yeonjun, get it together. 

He tried to hype himself up enough to come up with a plan that didn’t involve throwing up or soiling himself. He felt like he had already wasted a lifetime just trying to escape the last single individual zombie; he had no idea how he was going to escape this whole horde without risking his life or the others in case the bastards followed him to the car. Yeonjun prided himself on never giving up and even considered himself to be fairly hard headed when it came to things, but he couldn’t help but feel completely helpless at his current situation.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to glance at the time, maybe he didn’t take as long as he thought he did and could make it to them in time if he went back around the apartment complex. He felt his heart drop when he realized that he had been gone for around 30 mins and he had no choice but to go through the park to get to the car if he wanted to end up with the group. Although he was surprised that Beomgyu wasn’t already shouting off the rooftops for him.

Beomgyu…shouting… That's it!

Yeonjun thought excitedly as he gripped his phone, sweat beading on his neck in fear and exhilaration at what he was about to do. He knew this idea would be all or nothing, but it’s something Beomgyu’s insanity and game obsession would have told him to do. He just knows it. He opened his voice recording, double checked to make sure his phone volume was all the way up and softly cleared his throat. 

I must be fucking insane

He took a deep breath and rapidly screamed into the mic, “Over here, winner winner gets the dinner!” He tossed the phone diagonally from him into a pile of bushes and crouched down, listening to himself repeat his taunts consecutively from the phone. As he expected the children snarled their way toward the phone first, diving into the bush and fighting amongst each other to locate the noise, then the adults followed right after as they limped over and bit the children thinking them to be creators of the sound. Yeonjun stayed crouched down and once again peeked around the corner. Only two stragglers were left behind, one with a missing leg pulling himself forward and the other being the one the children were disemboweling, trying to pull himself away from the lower half of his body. Yeonjun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his mind before squatting into a runner’s position. He pushed himself off of the ground and from the bushes and hoped that his audio recording would cover the noises from the bush as he ran away from the group and through the small open park, back toward the covering of the buildings once again. He quickly made it to the other side but he didn’t stop running when he noticed he had a clearing with no zombies around. He felt his heart in his throat as he recognized he was getting closer to where they had left the car parked. He smiled widely and was filled with joy that he had actually made it back to them. 

The joy was cut short. He felt his blood run cold and heart stop as he got yanked back into another alley. 

“Fuck!” He cried out in frustration, his eyes ready to burst at the seams. It wasn’t fair he had done all he could do to escape and now he was going to die so lamely. 

A hand covered his mouth quickly and he was overcome again with joy. The tears running down his face originally from frustration now pouring out in happiness. 

He knew that hand. 

“Will you shut the fuck up, you crazy bastard.” Tae scolded him looking around them worriedly, fear evident in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Beomgyu asked, slowly removing his hand from Yeonjun’s mouth once he realized that Yeonjun wasn’t so panicked.

Yeonjun quickly gripped Beomgyu’s shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug, before pulling away and pouting moodily at him. His emotions running rampant through him.

“Why aren’t you guys in the car yet?” He asked looking over toward Beomgyu and Tae, before realizing the other two were gone. 

“Well-” Beomgyu began before he was cut short by his friend, causing him to pout in return

“Where's Bin and Kai?” He cut in, concerned and hint of attitude in his tone of voice. He didn’t think they would leave them stranded but he’s known that people would do anything to save themselves. So he wouldn’t be surprised if they had, considering he doesn't quite know them as well as he’d like to think he does.

Tae seemed to read his mind because he immediately glared at Yeonjun and rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to answer him before a couple of footsteps had all of them turning their heads toward the end of the alley.

Kai and Bin walked quickly toward the pair, both looking like a weight was lifted off their chests. Upon reaching them, Bin quickly tucked himself in to hug Yeonjun before releasing him and stepping back. Yeonjun couldn’t help but miss the warmth he received. It was over too quickly in his opinion. Although the slight blush on Bin’s face placated him.

“Oh thank god you found him.” Bin smiled, relieved “I’d rather we not all be separated again, that was kinda terrifying.” 

Yeonjun couldn’t help but laugh at his honesty before a familiar hand slapped his mouth again.

_______

As they walked back to the car Hueningkai couldn’t help but feel more at ease than he knew he should’ve. More than he felt he deserved. He’s the reason they had to flee after all. If he had just listened to them they’d be at Jun’s house eating a nice warm meal and playing games. He didn’t even get to hear Bin’s answer to the question he chose. Maybe the question was one of his own. He glanced behind himself and made eye contact with Bin as they paused around the last corner they had to turn down. Bin smiled warmly at him and he felt his eyes water.

Earlier when they had heard Jun’s shouts, Beom was ready to run in his friend's direction before Bin had grabbed his arm and stopped him. He had persuaded Beom to allow them to help look for him as well. Making Beom realize that the audio was muffled and repeating itself after the initial yell. Hueningkai could see the surprised look on his face when he realized that Bin had actually made valid points. Taehyun seemed taken back as well as proud. But it didn’t last when Bin offered up the idea of splitting up to cover more ground. 

“You made such progress, but here come your stupid ideas again.” Taehyun had scolded before Beom jumped in to defend. 

“He makes a point, it’ll be faster that way. If Jun tossed his phone we don't know how far he’s gotten from it or which way he went.” 

“He’s right, I’ll go with Bin.” Hueningkai said, surprising himself.

If Hueningkai thought back on it, he’d probably say that he chose Bin because of how much he admires him, but he knows that it also had to do with the fact that he wasn’t quite ready to be fully alone with Taehyun after what he did. 

So when they separated and Bin had asked him straight on if he thought he was to blame for their current predicament, he was so taken back that he answered honestly. 

“You’re not. I know it won’t matter what I say though. But I know Tae doesn’t blame you either, I don’t even think he’s mad at you honestly, I think he’s just happy you’re still by his side.” Bin had spoken softly before lightly grabbing onto his hand 

“You're my first friend, and I'm happy that you're still by my side too. So let's just make sure we all just stay together.” He continued

“Even Beom and Jun?”

“Yeah of course, otherwise who else would piss your bestie off and get him off my back for me.” Bin teased, bumping his shoulder against Hueningkai’s.

Hueningkai swears he felt his heart swell more than the grinch in that moment. He nodded and smiled at the elder getting lost in the pink dust on his face. He kinda felt like this little crush he had might be more than any others he’d have before. The moment was cut short when Bin had alerted them that they had found Jun and pulled his hand away to walk faster toward the group. 

So getting a reassuring smile from Bin basically made Hueningkai feel like he could fight 100 zombies and win. He felt confident as he walked closer to Taehyun and linked hands with him. 

Taehyun glanced back quizzically before smiling in relief as he squeezed his hand. 

Hueningkai felt like the tides were turning, although he still felt like it was his fault that everything went wrong. 

He looked back at Jun jokingly jabbing Bin to hurry up and causing the taller one to blush and then proceeding to look forward at Beom smiling back at him and Taehyun; he couldn’t help but feel a little more content at their situation.

They made it to the car without any more hitches besides a pause here and there to let a zombie pass by them. Hueningkai almost fought for the passenger seat before remembering they weren't out of the woods yet and he needed to hurry up and get in. However it seemed not everyone received the same memo as him.

“Stop being an idiot and get in the back.” Taehyun harshly whispered.

“Do you even know where we need to go?” Beom shoved Taehyun away from the passenger door in an attempt to steal the front seat.

Hueningkai rolled his eyes at the fight. He really was happy to have met new friends and even though they aren’t in a cozy home anymore due to him. He has to admit that he feels grateful that they still have each other, like Bin had said. Plus, Hueningkai prided himself on not being such a negative nancy like his friend has been known to be. So he felt like he had to make sure to look on the bright side of things. Even if he knew he was at fault for the negative.

“Alright babies, since you both want to act up.” Jun stepped in, yanking both of them back by the back of their shirts, then proceeding to step forward and sit in the passenger seat as they gawked at him. “You can both be the kids you are and sit in the back.” 

Beom looked at Jun annoyed, “You don’t even-”

“I know exactly where to go, plus you take way too many car naps to be able to properly lead.” Jun interrupted, holding a hand up in front of Beom’s face.

“Well, Bin needs someone competent in the front seat. You don’t seem the type.” Taehyun grumbled.

“Well, Bin what do you think?” Jun turned to look at the driver and batted his lashes at him.

While Bin had a slight pink dust on his face he still managed to look annoyed as he huffed out, “Well it doesn’t matter at all, can you all just get in the damn car before those things come.” 

Beom and Taehyun shared a dejected look that had Hueningkai covering his mouth to keep his laugh silent. Taehyun however must have noticed the look on his friend because he swung his door open and pushed him to the middle seat. 

“Since you seem to be in such high spirits, you can enjoy the middle and share your mood with everyone.” He smirked, taking Hueningkai’s window seat.

Hueningkai quickly tried to exit the car so he could try to push the middle seat onto Beom. However it seemed he was a lot easier to read then he ever thought when Beom raced to the other side and shoved his body back into the middle seat. He sat down and closed the door, sealing Huneingkai’s fate into the middle seat. However it seemed his angel was watching for him when he spoke up in his defense. 

“Hueningkai is too big to sit in the middle, I can’t see above his head.” Bin said, turning around in his seat to smile at him.

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you like him.” Beom pouted out. 

Bin gave him a halfhearted glare and rolled his eyes. “Yes I’m choosing favorites right now, while we are running for our lives. You are so right.” He said sarcastically.

Hueningkai couldn’t help but stare wide eyed at the elder, along with the others. He’d never heard Bin act any other way besides upset and scared. It was refreshing to see him breaking out of his shell. It seemed Bin noticed the stares when he looked around at the car of wide eyed people, minus Beom who seemed to be smirking happily at being able to poke Bin’s nerves. 

“Oh sorry..” Bin replied flustered, but before Hueningkai could interject he was beat to it by the front seat passenger.

“No need to apologize, Bin. Beom needs his ass put in place here and there, otherwise he’ll step all over you.” Jun looked back at his friend, “Now, since you wanted to input, you can sit in the middle.” 

Beom widely smiled, placing his hands up in an act of surrender before leaning forward and letting Hueningkai scoot in the seat by the window's side. Beom splat into the middle seat, making an exaggerated noise of discomfort, and wiggling in false pretense to get comfortable. Before he squealed in pain, causing everyone to look at him.

“He pinched me!” He yelled, pointing at Taehyun.

“I was merely reaching for my seatbelt, perhaps all that moving around made the buckle pinch against you.” Taehyun huffed, though Hueningkai knew he was lying through his teeth.

“Besides, maybe the car was simply putting you in your place.” He continued to mumble

A bang on the car trunk startled them all, and stopped whatever was going to leave Beom’s mouth. They looked back and saw a limping figure trying to climb the car. Causing all of them to glare at Beom. 

“See what you did.” Jun scolded, reaching back and hitting his friend's knees.

“Oh it's not like we weren’t leaving anyways.” Beom shrugged, making direct eye contact with Hueningkai as he said it. Hueningkai received the memo loud and clear.

It wasn’t his fault, they were going to take off anyway. It was always part of the plan. 

Bin agreed with Beom and peeled off, causing the zombie to lose whatever grip he had and fall away from the car. As he looked back at the limping zombie trying to catch up to them, Hueningkai couldn’t help but wish there was a save option on life just like in video games. 

Chapter Text

Soobin wants to say he’s getting used to all of this. 

He really wants to say that. 

“Scoot over, you’re all up in my ass!” 

“Oh dear Tae, you wish I was in your ass. Sorry but I’m saving myself for a hero.” 

Soobin in fact, is not sure he will ever get used to it. 

“Can you children back there calm the fuck down! You’re distracting Bin.” Jun yelled into Bin’s ear as he twisted his body to pinch his friend's leg.

“Ow! Why do I get pinched? Tae started it! Shouldn’t he be the one punished.” Beom whined loudly, rubbing his aching leg.

“Trust me, sitting next to you is punishment enough.” Tae mumbled, looking up and catching Soobin’s exasperated face. It seemed that the gods were on Soobins side when Tae sighed and relented, “Fine, I’ll play nice.” 

“Didn’t know nice was in your vocabulary.” Jun mumbled, genuine surprise on his face.

“Jun, please.” Soobin mumbled, not sure if his head could take a whole new argument between the three. If a new argument popped up one more time he’s sure he’d pull over the car and threaten to turn it around. 

Soobin had only been driving for two hours and yet he could practically feel white hair popping up all over his head from the stress of it all. He was generally used to quiet car rides, being friendless and all. Even when he began picking the pairs up, the car was never quite this loud. Besides the forced conversations or the occasional question about each other. But to Soobin, this just seemed like a cage match. He knew Tae would be prickly about being placed in the back but he didn’t think the kid would willingly start fights. The only saving grace in the whole situation was Kai. Sweet innocent Kai who hummed to himself and occasionally gave Soobin a warm smile when their eyes met in the rearview mirror. Maybe Beom was right, Soobin did have a favorite. 

“Kai, I’d like to personally thank you for being a saint this whole car ride.” Soobin smiled, ignoring Jun’s squawk of offense and Tae’s mumbled insults.

“Of course Binnnie, I wouldn’t want to add to your stress at all.” Kai smiled, leaning forward to grip Soobin’s shoulder.

“Suck up.” Beom huffed.

“I haven’t done anything either! Why does only he get praise?” Jun crossed his arms and pouted.

“Because he hasn’t been yelling into my ear.” Soobin replied calmly, “Thank you for trying to break up fights but can we please solve this nicely and quietly.” He patted Jun’s leg in an effort to placate him and Jun smiled, placing his hand above his. 

“Well maybe this all could’ve been avoided if I had just sat in front like always.” Tae hastily and loudly cut in, getting weird looks from both of his backseat companions. Soobin was a bit shocked at his outburst, removing his hand from Jun’s lap to turn in his seat and look at him. 

“Alright calm down killer, it’s just a seat.” Beom raised an eyebrow at him before a teasing smile grew on his face. 

“Beom-” Soobin tried to cut in before another argument started.

“It’s not the seat but the preference of the person. You want to sit next to Binnie too.”

Soobin rolled his eyes at Beom’s teasing and focused back on his driving. He’s not sure how, but Beom managed to make him feel this weird semblance of ease. Like the world wasn’t currently falling apart around him. Like it was okay to make all these jokes and play around.

“Anyone is a preferred preference to you.”

“I see you're also weak to Bin’s aura. Yet another challenger.” Beom continued, ignoring Tae’s comment.

“Challenger? What the fuck are you-”

“Children please. Can we bring this conversation to a halt? The sun is setting and you’re both ruining the vibes.” Yeonjun spoke calmly, turning to look at them with a glare before turning to look at Soobin with wide questioning eyes. It reminded Soobin of a dog waiting to be praised. 

“Could probably do without the ‘ruining the vibes’ but I’ll take it.” Soobin warily smiled. 

“Not to get my best boy card removed or anything. But without them fighting I’m going to get bored really fast.” Kai whined.

“Pause, we never gave that title away.” Beom shook his head, “I deserve fair judgment for this. I’m practically the best boy.”

“Well, in Binnie’s eyes I'm currently the best.” 

“I never said that.” Soobin huffed, trying to avoid yet another argument.

“Well you never not said it.” Kai smiled.

Soobin pursed his lips and ignored the comment. It’s not like he was able to contradict him, Kai wasn’t completely wrong anyways. When he glanced back through his rearview, he could see Kai sticking his tongue out at the other two. 

 “Well now that it's settled I’m the best boy.” Kai smiled pleased by the development, “I’m bored.” 

“Well..” Soobin mumbled, biting his lip. He had an idea but he didn’t want to sound stupid or childish. Forced or not, he wanted to be able to consider this new group of people as friends and he was still worried about their perception of him. 

“You have an idea, big boy?” Beom asked, leaning forward to poke his cheek.

Soobin side-eyed him and continued shrugging, “Not really? It’s just something I did with my family.” His voice cracked a bit at the end, at the reminder of family. The loss of them.

The car air grew cold and silent for a second but it felt like an eternity to Soobin. Why’d I bring up family, stupid stupid He mentally berated himself. He was starting to feel like he was the downer of the group. They were probably already frustrated with him. 

“Well we’re all ears. Just tell us the rules.” Tae said breaking through the thick air

Soobin cautiously looked in the rearview to glance at Tae. He was surprised to see the boy looking out the window. He didn’t look bothered at all at the choking silence that surrounded them. Soobin wasn’t sure if he was emotionally inept or his savior for not making a big deal out of it.

“There’s not much to it.” Soobin began, focusing back on the road, ”It’s eye spy basically but instead you find something that starts with the letter A and point it out so at least one person can confirm. Then whoever reaches the end of the alphabet first wins.”

“So if I say I spy an asshole.” Beom motioned toward an irked Tae, “I get to move on to B.” 

Soobin gave him a warning look before sighing; giving up on making them play nice, “I mean, I guess. As long as you can have someone confirm it.” 

“I’ll confirm it.” Jun smiled teasingly, ignoring the indignation sprouting out of the boy behind him.

“Okay then I spy an angel.” Kai smiled innocently, pointing at Soobin’s back, before dropping his hand down quickly when Soobin glanced back curiously at him. 

“Who-” Soobin began before he was cut off by everyone agreeing. Surprising Soobin, he’d never consider the thought of Tae agreeing with the baristas.

They continued to play the game with both insults and actual objects they found well into the night. Jun being the overall winner barely beating Tae with a zombie they narrowly drove by. The moonlight was high in the sky when everyone in the backseat had finally knocked out. Leaving Soobin once again to his thoughts. 

“Bin.” 

Soobin jumped in his seat, swerving the car a bit from the surprise of the sudden noise next to him. Beom grumbled in the back at the sudden movement before he rustled back into sleep. Soobin made sure everyone was still asleep before he turned to quickly look at Jun looking at him. It was pretty quiet once everyone had fallen asleep that he had thought Jun had fallen to his slumber as well.

“Y-Yeah?” Soobin asked, looking back at the road hastily. Jun’s eyes felt like they were piercing into his soul with their fox slant.

“We haven’t really had a chance to talk since that first night.” Jun gently prodded. “Don’t feel forced to tell me anything at all. But how are you holding up?” 

Soobin stared into the empty back road and felt his grief creep back into him. Well maybe not back into him. It was always there. In between the seams of his skin. Behind his words and actions. The constant reminders that he was all that was left of his blood. Since the night of the newscast. When everything felt like a final weight slammed on his chest, trying to force him further into the panic of the inevitable. That this was an apocalypse and there was no guarantee he’d live let alone his family. The last sent text messages to him, the phone calls he had ignored. He felt like he was already forgetting their voices. Why hadn’t he turned on his phone earlier. Why didn’t he pick up the phone so he could hear them one last time?

“Bin?” 

Soobin caught himself gripping the steering wheel tightly in his palms, the car slowing with his thoughts. He didn’t even know how long it had been since Jun had initially asked the question. He wanted to lie and say he was okay. After all he’s sure that they lost family too or people they cared for. He knew Kai had, in the grip and tears that fell on his shoulder when they held each other after hearing the news. Yet Kai seemed okay. Is he okay? Is he lying too? Soobin decided to talk to him when they had a chance to be alone again. He didn’t want Kai to be like him, left alone to his thoughts eating away at his spirit. Then decided that he wouldn’t want Kai to lie to him and hold back his feelings so he wouldn’t do that disservice to Jun either.

“I don’t know. Not good, probably.” He managed to squeeze out, his voice gruff with emotion and wavering at the end.

“I thought so.” Jun whispered, “I don’t know you well enough. But you’ve been getting lost in your thoughts more often than you did the first day I met you.”

“I do that.” Soobin agreed, before clarifying “Get lost in my thoughts, that is.” 

“I can tell, you're an overthinker.” Jun softly laughed, “I’d rather you let me know what’s on your mind though. Even if we don’t know each other well, it doesn't mean we shouldn’t get to.”

“Get to know each other?” Soobin asked, “Tae would kill us if we ever exchanged names, not sure how he’d feel knowing we were opening up to each other.”

Jun rolled his eyes, “Tae doesn’t want to get attached. I know it. I’ve seen it before, been through it before. Beom was my first friend since I was a kid and helped me get over the fear of losing people when he forcefully entered my life.”

“You were scared of losing people?” Soobin asked cautiously, not wanting to overstep.

“Well, I still am, I guess.” Jun shrugged, “I just don’t let it get in between me being able to meet and open up to new people.” 

“Oh.” Soobin dumbly nodded, unsure how to continue from there.

“That’s why I want you to be able to open up, atleast to one of us. I know what it’s like to feel alone, and I wouldn’t want you to feel that way.” Jun continued, sensing Soobin’s unease, “How about we ask each other 3 questions, it can be anything with no rules or grudges. If you’re open to it.” 

Soobin thought about it. He guessed this is what real friends would do with each other, right? He considered Jun and how helpful he’d been since that night. How Jun had held him without Soobin having to even ask. How Jun had such a powerful aura to him that Soobin felt, feels, so at ease with him. That he could trust Jun to protect him if need be. He makes his decision and nods in agreement. 

“Okay, I’ll start this easy. What's your real name?” Jun asked.

Soobin glanced at him, then at the sleeping Tae behind him. “You love pissing him off don’t you.” 

“Yes I do. But that's neither here nor there.” Jun smirked, before making a continue on motion with his hand.

Soobin gave a small huff of laughter, “It’s Soobin.” 

“Soobin, that’s a cute name.” Jun smiled, “Mine’s Yeonjun.”

“It suits you. Your name.” Soobin mumbled, rolling the name into his head. Wondering what the other’s names were short for, since it seemed 2 out of three had just shortened their name rather than make a whole new alias. It wasn't until Yeonjun cleared his throat that Soobin realized he hadn’t asked his question. He worried and bit his lip as he hoped it wasn’t too invasive. 

“Why do you fear losing people?” 

Yeonjun smiled softly, looking at his hands. “Well, I grew up in a not so good environment. Dog eat dog kinda world. I had to do a lot of things to survive and I didn’t have a family to fall back on. That included losing people I thought I had cared for.”

Yeonjun turned his head to glance at Soobin, “I guess that's why, I feel that if I lose people. I’ll be back in that position again.”

“Is that why you have a gun?” Soobin blurted out without considering his words. He immediately clenched his teeth, “I’m so sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”

“No apologies Soobin, but this counts as your second question. Deal?” Yeonjun waited until Soobin nodded before continuing. “Well, I won’t lie, I was kinda hoping to only have to explain this to Beom, but if you know about it I'm assuming everyone else does too. I just don’t want you guys to see me as this evil person. Just know I had to do stuff to survive.” 

Soobin kept an open mind as he listened to Yeonjun explain his past life. How the elder had to scrap for food after his parents up and left him. How he was picked up by this shady gang of people. The way he had to physically fight for his rank in their group and how it included robbing innocent stores and beating people in order to keep it. Yeonjun admitted to him in the silence of the car that he had killed someone, someone he trusted with his own life. That he had no choice after they betrayed him and turned their gun on him first. How in the struggle for the gun he had shot and killed him. That the gun Soobin was currently carrying was that same gun, and how he still carries it as a reminder of what he’d done. 

“I’m sorry.” Soobin whispered, feeling the weight of the gun in his waistband heavier than ever.

“No apologies. I told you when we started this.” Yeonjun tensely smiled, “Though, I hope you won’t abandon me on the street after this.”

“What of course not.” Soobin looked at him flabbergasted, “You did what you needed to survive, plus it seems like you're not who you used to be. I mean I don’t know much but Beom doesn’t seem like the type to hang out with this serial killer you make yourself out to be.”

“Beom doesn’t know, not really. At least not any specifics.” 

“Regardless, he seems to feel vibes. And your vibes are good.” Soobin smiled, trying to focus on the road and not the blush on his cheeks, “You make me feel safe, ya know. Like I can trust you.” 

“You trust many people, Soobs?” Yeonjun gently teased.

“Not really, I don’t talk to people.” Soobin hesitantly replied before remembering the point of this was to get him to open up to Yeonjun. “I don’t have friends. I get really nervous when I talk to people. It’s just really hard to do, my family did most if not all the talking for me growing up.” 

“Truly a baby of the family.” 

Soobin smiled widely and nodded, “I mean, I would’ve liked to overcome this shyness at a young age but getting coddled didn't quite help the situation.”

“Well you can talk to us just fine.”

“It’s kinda a life or death situation. Doesn’t mean it won’t take alot for me.” Soobin shrugged, “I mean I’d like to be able to join you guys more but I just don’t know how to?”

“There’s no set rules for this Soobs, you just..Well be yourself, as cheesy as that sounds.” Yeonjun joked.

The silence that overtook them was a comfortable one. As comfortable as Soobin expected a silence to be after opening up. He looked over at Yeonjun who was looking out the window before whispering.

“I’d like to save the third question for a later date. If that's okay?”

“Of course it is. I was thinking about saving mine as well.” Yeonjun replied without taking his eyes off the side of the road. 

Soobin nodded and went back to driving. He wasn’t sure if it was the ease of opening up or if the stress of the day was catching up, but he could feel himself drifting more and more. Not to his thoughts but to his rest, and he assumed Yeonjun caught him once or twice because soon after a hand was placed on his thigh giving it a squeeze he wasn’t used to. He still wasn’t sure how to deal with all this new contact. 

“Hey, how about I give driving a go? You’ve done enough today, you need to rest.” Yeonjun calmly spoke, almost lulling Soobin to sleep right then and there. 

“But who will be your copilot? You can’t push yourself to navigate and drive?” Soobin yawned.

“I will.” A voice spoke, startling them both enough to jump in their seats.

Yeonjun sighed dramatically and then turned around to face Tae, a look of annoyance crossing his face.

“Must you?”

“Well, I can give Bin a certain amount of trust. But I’d rather not push my luck and trust you to your devices all alone.”  Tae huffed, before yawning and stretching out as if he was awaken prematurely from his slumber.

“If that's okay with you?” Soobin turned to look at Yeonjun, “I trust you, I just don’t want you to be awake alone if anything were to happen.” 

Yeonjun smiled at Soobin and shrugged, “Yeah it’s fine with me. Just pull over here and we’ll all switch out real quick.”

As soon as Soobin parked the car, the three rushed out and went into their designated seats quickly and quietly. Soobin got snug in his new backseat position, trying to fold his long legs up, before Tae had pulled his seat up forward, allowing Soobin more space to stretch.

“Thank you” Soobin mumbled, receiving a grunt in response.

He leaned on the window as he felt the car start back up and continue on its way. Beom latched onto his side not long after and felt himself relax into the hold. The warmth he gave off felt like a blanket being poured on him. He considered that maybe he could get used to this, before he fell into a deep slumber.

Chapter Text

“So how long have you actually been awake for?” Jun asked once they could hear Bin’s soft snoring to indicate he was fast asleep.

“Long enough to know you love pissing me off.” Taehyun replied, before adding on “Yeonjun.” for good measure

“Well since you decided to eavesdrop, isn't it only right that I get to know your name too.” 

Taehyun rolled his eyes and decided to ignore him and look out the window instead of answering. He really didn’t want to be sitting next to Yeonjun of all people. At least with Beom whenever he was in direct contact he tried his best to avoid any conversations that didn’t involve bickering. But he had a feeling Yeonjun was going to force him into one anyways. Seemed to be one of the noisy types to Taehyun.

He quickly found out that Yeonjun was in fact the noisy and pestering type of person. With the way he hummed the same tune over and over again, never continuing with his song, just looping the same part, and not even easing into the transition. It was tearing at Taehyun’s seams, as he grinded his teeth to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t long before he broke. 

“It’s fucking Taehyun. Now can you please shut the fuck up and drive in silence.” 

“Wow your last name is fucking? That's just crazy.” Yeonjun said, whistling in astonishment “That kinda explains your big ‘ole potty mouth though.” 

“Please stop talking.” Taehyun groaned, slamming his head against the window glass and resting it there. Hoping that the coolness of the glass would cool him down enough to not turn around and strangle their current driver.

“I like to talk though, it keeps me alert and awake. Wanna join in and play 3 questions too?” Yeonjun pouted

“Then you should’ve let me drive or woken up your bestie back there.” Taehyun grumbled, ignoring the pull of curiosity to be able to ask Yeonjun anything he wanted to know.

“My bestie huh? Well here I was thinking that he was your bestie now with the way you guys were cuddling back there.” Yeonjun teased

Taehyun felt the heat rise up from his neck to his cheeks as he remembered the position he was in when he had initially woken up. Beom was facing his direction and was wrapped tightly around his waist, Taehyun himself had his head resting on top of his, and even snuggled into the long hair just before waking up and remembering where he was and who he was sitting next to. It was more horrifying for Taehyun to know that he had been seen in that position by Yeonjun of all people no less. 

“When you're sleeping you have no real control over your body. Trust me when I say none of that was willingly and I’ll toss you out before we even get to the safe zone if you tell anyone about it.” He decided that Yeonjun knowing was already bad enough he didn’t need Beom finding out and making this little road trip hell. 

“I’m vaguely surprised you haven’t tried to ditch me and Beomie yet.” Yeonjun lightly joked

“Not for the lack of trying…” Taehyun mumbled

Yeonjun’s fingers twitched on the wheel and Tehyun couldn’t help but feel a hint of satisfaction at being able to affect Yeonjun’s little joy. To peeve him enough that he’d hopefully drop any semblance of the false friendship he so desperately wanted from the younger. Sure they’ve managed to keep each other alive but that didn’t mean they were all tied to the hip by anything other than the will to live. When it came down to it Taehyun was well aware it was him and Hueningkai over the rest. Even if the others occasionally kept him entertained, that wasn’t friendship, and he would be damned if Yeonjun would take his lack of animosity as it.

Yeonjun was a stubborn one, much to Taehyun’s annoyance. Rolling his shoulders back, he kept the conversation going, seeming to not take offense to Taehyun’s comment. 

“Well good thing Soobin likes us then.” He smirked

“Don’t say his name like you guys are best friends. You shared two questions that you both should’ve kept to yourself. That doesn’t make you guys buddy buddy.” Taehyun snapped

“Jealous?” Yeonjun teased, irritating Taehyun as he felt Yeonjun completely missed his point

“None of us are friends, besides me and Kai and you and Beom. People who we’ve known before all this shit happened. Any semblance of friendship your thin head has conjured up is nothing but your mind trying to find any type of normalcy in this situation and grasping on.”

Yeonjun whistled in appreciation and nodded in approval.

“You’re not wrong, but that doesn’t mean that we couldn’t make an effort to make friends. Being trauma bonded and all that, makes a pretty good opportunity to be a kindred group of people.” 

Taehyun stared at him astonished that he could manage to turn Taehyun’s argument to work for him. He felt weird, Hueningkai tended to not argue back with Taehyun unless it was absolutely necessary that Taehyun knew he was in the wrong. So to have an open argument or daresay a debate on equal footing, was a bit. Therapeutic. 

A silence passed between them for a couple minutes before Taehyun sighed and did what he thought Huenginkai would be proud of him for. 

“Why do you want us all to be so friendly with each other? Given your past?”

Yeonjun looked at him with surprise written on his face before turning to the road. 

“What happened to not getting to know each other?”

“What happened to playing that stupid question game? It’s still 3 questions isn’t it?” Taehyun retorted, trying to be nonchalant about the situation he willingly placed himself in.

“Alright, fair.” Yeonjun hummed for a beat before answering, “Like I told Soobin. I don’t want my past to affect me anymore than it already has. I can’t live glued to the past traumas and hope I’ll grow. I’ve always wanted friends. Honestly, I was a snot-nosed kid who didn’t have anyone his age to hang out with. So it’s kinda like I won the lottery to have 3 friends fall into my lap.” 

Taehyun scoffed at his flippant response and looked back out at the window. Trying to locate something that wasn't there, some kind of excuse to stop himself from continuing their little bonding exercise before Yeonjun was able to ask him any questions in return. 

“No siblings either then?” he said instead, feeling a sense of dread as soon as the question left his mouth. 

“No, I didn’t have any family.” Yeonjun said, clenching his jaw and staring at the black bare road in front of him. “Do you have any siblings?” 

Taehyun knew he didn’t have to answer, he knew Yeonjun would drop it if asked. But maybe Taehyun liked to suffer a little, or maybe he didn’t want to give Yeonjun the satisfaction that he was bested in this stupid made up game. Or maybe he felt the need to answer, because he knew that if he didn’t it would mean he was still affected by it, that he, unlike Yeonjun, was still glued to the past. 

“I had a sister. She was murdered when I was 10.”  

Yeonjun stayed silent, Taehyun knew he was waiting to see if he would continue talking, delve into the story like some newscaster of his past life. But Taehyun wasn’t Soobin, he would state the facts and leave it at that. If Yeonjun really wanted to know he could use another one of his questions to ask about it. 

“And don’t say sorry either.” Taehyun muttered after a second thought 

“Wasn’t planning on it, I know all too well that sorry won’t change anything, much less from someone who had no involvement in it.” Yeonjun shrugged, “What’s your favorite color?” 

Taehyun turned his body around to face Yeonjun, confusion written all over his face. He didn’t understand how Yeonjun just ignored his answer without bugging him for more. He knew Yeonjun had to be curious, most people were, even Hueningkai had pestered him about his feelings when he had initially found out, just to make sure that his friend laid his burdens down. 

“You aren’t going to ask more?” 

“No, why would I waste a question on something you probably don’t want to talk about?” Yeonjun replied glancing over at him

“I don’t care, we can talk about it if you’re curious. It happened a while ago.” 

“Even if it happened a while ago the pain might be dulled but it's still a pain felt. We’re already going through this parade of pain, so why would I make you indulge in more unnecessarily.” Yeonjun said earnestly 

“Why would you even care about how it would make me feel?”Taehyun asked, unsure. He was fully aware that people weren’t nice unless they had a hidden agenda, Hueningkai excluded.

“Why?” Yeonjun turned to look at him, “Cause we’re friends.” He smiled

Taehyun huffed and turned to look back at the road which was now beginning to be illuminated by the rising sun. He tried his best to ignore Yeonjun’s humming again.

“Yellow.” 

“Mines purple. Don’t worry that extra information won’t cost you a question.” 

Taehyun rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the slight smile that forced itself onto his face. 

“You’re an idiot.” 

Yeonjun gave a small huff, opening his mouth to retort before the car gave a slight jolt and began to slow its speed. 

“Shit.” Yeonjun said, slapping his hand against the wheel.

“What? What’s wrong?” Taehyun asked, the panic slipping into his voice. They weren’t far from the city, but he wasn’t sure if the distance would help or hurt their predicament. 

“I think the car is overheating. It’s an older model and I don’t think it’s ever been run this long.” 

“So what are we doing?”  Beom voice cut through, his tone serious 

Taehyun jolted at the sound of the new voice but tried to ignore him to glance at Yeonjun instead. 

“I think we’ll have to pull off the road for a bit, give the car time to cool down, maybe even have to find some coolant.” Yeonjun mumbled, “There’s this hotel near the freeway, we can head there.” 

“Drive slower, don’t force the engine. Taehyun, be more aware, since our speed will leave us at a disadvantage if anyone wants to try something.” Beom ordered. 

Taehyun scoffed at his tone, annoyed that Beom assumed he hadn’t already known that, and turned to tell him exactly that when he was halted by the sight of him and Soobin curled into each other. Soobin, as big as he was, somehow managed to curl into Beom, his head laying directly on his chest. Beomgyu’s arms covering him with one hand running through his hair gently. They almost looked like they had been a type of couple for several years. It irked him.

“What? Wish you could be me?” Beom smirked at him.

“No one in their right mind would ever wish to be you.” Taehyun retorted. 

Yeonjun sighed, “Why can't we go back to when you two cuddled each other, it felt like the world was at peace.”

“We cuddled?” Beom questioned, smiling at Tae and placing a hand in front of his mouth as if he just received a load of scandalous information.

Taehyun was ready to kill someone. 

___________

The ride to the motel felt like ages when Yeonjun knew that it was only a little over 10 minutes. With the way the younger two were bickering, Yeonjun felt like he was going to lose his mind. He couldn’t help but miss the calm docile Taehyun from before. Sure he still wasn’t the nicest person, but Yeonjun felt like he tried to be and that was enough, the Taehyun he had now however..

“Is that the motel? We should have Beom go out first and scope the area since he seems to be a master of knowledge at this thing.” Taehyun offered

”I wouldn’t say I’m a master, but I’m definitely more knowledgeable than you.” Beomgyu smiled, “But then again that isn’t saying much.” He continued, glancing at his nails like he didn’t just insult the gray haired boy.

“Guys…it’s like 5 in the morning.” Soobin whined from his sleep, trying to tuck his head deeper into Beomgyu’s chest, as if that would shelter him from the noise. 

“I’m surprised these two animals didn’t bug you sooner, Bin.” Yeonjun sighed, wishing that he was in Beomgyu’s shoes instead of feeling on edge as he pulled into the parking lot. 

Soobin must’ve felt the change in the streets or the cars, because as soon as Yeonjun pulled in, the boy instantly sat up, his hair messed up on a single side. 

“What happened? What’s wrong??” He asked rapidly, his face pale with fear. 

“Relax baby, the car needs to rest so we are going to pull in here for a couple hours, before we go into the city.  

“BABY??” Beomgyu and Taehyun exclaimed, both of them looking equally upset by the blush rising on Soobin’s cheeks. 

“Oh relax you two. It’s just a pet name.” 

“How do you even know if Bin is comfortable with that? It’s rude for you to just assert things on people.” Taehyun huffed

“He doesn’t mind, do you sweetheart?” Yeonjun smiled, parking the car and looking over his shoulder for Soobin’s reaction

“No, it’s okay.” Soobin mumbled, “just not used to it is all.”

“So can I call you mine?” Beomgyu smirked, pulling Soobin back into his arms and causing the poor man to turn red. 

Yeonjun shook his head at his friend‘s antics. Before taking a breath. He hated to be the one to break the mood, but they couldn’t just sit defenseless in the car for long.

“We’ll have to wake Kai up, he needs to be fully awake and aware before we go out. It seems that there’s only two cars here, but-”

“Being so close to the freeway anyone could’ve come here on foot to avoid any mayhem that may have happened due to traffic.” Beomgyu finished for him

“Exactly. So we’ll split into two teams and go through the rooms we can and around the premises. It's a fairly small motel with only 30 rooms here so it should be quick.”

Beomgyu nodded and gently shook Kai awake, the boy seemed resolved to not budge.

“Just shake him, he could sleep through an earthquake if you’d let him.” Taehyun shook his head, Yeonjun would think he was annoyed at his friend if not for the small quirk of his lips that could only indicate his fondness for the boy.

Beomgyu did as he was told and Kai woke up with a shout, “What happened!?” He held his hand onto his chest, his eyes wide and darting side to side. 

“Relax Kai, the car needs to rest and so do I. So we’re gonna find a room to stay in for a couple hours.” Yeonjun smiled, unbuckling himself to full turn in his seat to calm the boy down.

”Oh, Kai doesn’t get a cute nickname? And here I thought you were just handing them out like candy.” Taehyun mused

Yeonjun turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised in question, “Did you and Beomie want a nickname too? Hmm Taebie?” 

“Actually I’d rather take my chances with the undead.”

”That’s what I thought.” Yeonjun smiled sweetly, “Anyways we can’t stay here much longer, so Kai if you’re awake and ready we can head out. I’ll go with Bin and head to the main office to grab a set of keys.” 

“Wait two things, Do we really have to check every room? I mean we’ve already established that they can’t open doors in their state of mind or we’d be dead already.” Beomgyu questioned. ”and two, why can’t I go with Bin?”

”Well one of those questions sounded reasonable.” Taehyun added.

”It was the Binnie one huh?” Beomgyu smiled proudly

Kai answered Yeonjun’s sad deluded friend with a buzzer noise and the cross of his arms.

“Bingo, Kai.” Yeonjun agreed. 

“You see my deluded friend, you’d be so mesmerized by Bin’s beauty that you’ll get distracted and in turn distract him and you’ll both be in worse shape for it.” He continued

”Yeah in a way Jun’s basically saving your lives.” Kai nodded, giving Yeonjun a thumbs up

“And what makes you think he won’t be distracted when he eventually messes around to piss me off.” Taehyun argued

“Silly little Tae, I thought ahead and that’s exactly why Kai is going with you guys. He’s in charge basically.” Yeonjun smirked, returning the thumbs up to the youngest.

“Not to sound rude…” Soobin’s small voice came out, causing everyone to look at him, “But shouldn’t we really get a move on. We’re practically sitting ducks here.” 

“Yes, an astute observation.” Taehyun sarcastically replied, causing the other three to give him a quick glare.

”Of course. So we won’t check every room, only the rooms surrounding the one we’ll choose. Which will be the corner room to give us a better chance to escape if need be. Everyone get your things and be ready for anything. Absolutely no unnecessary noise.” Yeonjun finished off, giving the fighting duo a pointed look.

”Don’t worry Jun, I got them.” Kai reassured.

”Okay then. Let’s go.” Soobin sighed 

They all rushed out of the car at the same time, only taking a small bag each and leaving the rest in the car. Yeonjun held his knife out and tried to lead Soobin. He wanted to look cool and confident on his first little solo trip with the younger, but if Yeonjun was being completely honest with himself, he was ready to pass out. He didn’t think his stomach would be able to handle another gruesome scene like the one at the park. He glanced back at Soobin and noticed that he looked a little less pale then he usually did when his bow was loaded. However, Yeonjun wasn’t sure if it was better for Soobin to become accustomed to shooting at people or not. Looking past Soobin he saw the other three turn the corner around the motel to make sure the back was clear. 

Soobin turned around quickly when he noticed Yeonjun was staring behind him a bit too long and saw nothing. He turned back to glare at Yeonjun, surprising the elder

”Don’t do that, you scared me.” Soobin mouthed, making sure his annoyance was shown on his face since it couldn’t have been heard on his voice.

Yeonjun gave him an apologetic grin and turned back to continue walking to the office, on the way they stopped in front of the parked cars to peer inside. Both seemed to be abandoned, much to their relief. 

As they approached the office door Soobin yanked Yeonjun’s shirt before he was able to enter it. He gave Soobin a questioning look which was met back with him pointing at himself then at the bow and arrow in his hand. Yeonjun wasn’t comfortable having Soobin in front, knowing that the boy could potentially freeze up, but he knew that it would be better because he could shoot anything that charged at them before they got too close. So with a resolved sigh, he nodded and stepped back allowing Soobin to enter the room.

Soobin rolled his shoulders back and took a deep breath in before pushing his way forward with Yeonjun right behind. He pointed his bow side to side as he took in his surroundings of the small lobby. He turned to Yeonjun and nodded at the manager's door behind the main desk that was open by a meager sliver. Yeonjun searched Soobin’s face for any doubt that he wouldn’t be able to handle what was behind the door but couldn’t find it in himself to actually push him aside. As much as it pained the elder, he knew that Soobin needed to stand on his own, that even if he wished he could protect this sweet boy he’s come to know, he needed to make sure that he could survive. Needed to know that he wouldn’t lose yet another one of his friends to a preventable death. 

He nodded and allowed Soobin to push in.

Just as Soobin opened the door a screech was heard behind Yeonjun, both of them turned weapons ready but taken off guard when Yeonjun’s feet were pulled out from under him before they could even identify their attacker. Yeonjun’s back fell back onto the hardwood floor unable to capture his bearings all he could do was listen to Soobin fearfully yell out his name alongside a scuffle of feet and the slamming of the door reverberating next to him. He felt his legs grasped tighter and his body was pulled toward the table, he quickly sat up and teared his feet away looking down at the upper half of an older woman. The bullet wound that pierced her cheek, and the chewed up lower half that laid next to her seemed to convey a story that Yeonjun really wanted no part in. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of pity wash over him when he thought about the nice older ladies that would come into the coffee shop and dole on him and Beomgyu.

Soobin’s shouts and the tussle from the manager's office quickly shook him out of his reverie as he slammed his knife into the women's frontal lobe, yanking it out and ignoring the gush of blood that had squirted on him. He rushed to open the door to find it barricaded on the other side, slamming his shoulder into the door several times, shouting out Soobin’s name in hopes that whatever was in there would leave the younger alone and shift their focus onto him. He felt his eyes tear with frustration as he heard Soobin give out a yelp of pain.

“Yeonjun!” Beomgyu’s voice tore through the noise, his friend coming alongside him to slam his shoulder into the door 

“Both of you, Move!” Taehyun shouted desperately, Yeonjun turned to yell at him when he saw Kai running toward them at an alarming speed. Yeonjun quickly pushed Beomgyu and himself out of the way just as Kai slammed his full force and broke the door off its hinges. 

Yeonjun expected to see a bloodbath or worse in the room but was surprised to only see Soobin holding his bruising cheek trying to escape a large muscular man that towered over him. 

“You just couldn’t wait your fucking turn.” The man growled at them, turning to look at the four who stood frozen by the door. 

“Get the fuck away from him or else.” Yeonjun gritted through his clenching teeth, stepping in front of the younger three protectively 

“You think you can kill me??” The man gave a haughty laugh, raising his arms up “I’m a fucking god kid, Nothing can kill me.” 

Yeonjun felt his shirt pulled and he glanced back at Taehyun mouthing the word, “Arm” 

Yeonjun focused on the man's raised hands and saw the bite marks on his arm and the deep red in his eyes. He’s infected? But he’s logical isn’t he? At Least more so than the others. Yeonjun’s thoughts buzzed.

“Don’t worry, I will test you all to give you the chance of redemption like the one given to me.” He smiled, “You could be just like me, you could be my loyal subjects, unlike all the others I have tested.” 

“You sick son of a bitch!” Beomgyu yelled angrily, causing Yeonjun more confusion

“He’s been trapping survivors and infecting them on the slim chance they are immune.” Taehyun explained, his voice lack of emotion.

“What?” 

“You kids will understand, it's for the sake of humanity that we are cleansed. We needed this.” The man nodded eagerly, turning his attention back to Soobin, and yanking him up by his collar, ripping down his shirt and forcing Soobin to expose the nape of his neck. “Now I’ve never tried to pass the gene like this, but I do believe you killed my friend back there, so there's no choice.” 

Soobin wailed in his grip, he was tall but his strength was no match for this bodybuilder of a man no matter how much he fought against the hold and tore his shirt more trying to free himself. Yeonjun saw red, and without thinking he turned and ripped the bat out of Taehyun’s hands giving a warcry. He battered the man’s head while his attention was on Soobin. The man caught off guard, dropped Soobin and grabbed his head as a way to protect himself while the other tried to reach for the bat. 

Yeonjun’s anger was overwhelming as he struck the man repeatedly, before the bat was yanked from his hand. The large man towered over Yeonjun, bloody and angry with the red in his eyes spreading by the second. He shot his hand out and tightly gripped Yeonjun’s neck, raising the other hand holding the bat above his head ready to strike down. 

Yeonjun closed his eyes ready for the worst when a large bang resounded along the walls of the room and warm liquid was splattered along his face. He felt the grip on neck release and the thud of the body hit the floor. He felt his body quiver. Scared to open his eyes. Scared to see who would now carry the burden of the gun with him.

“Wait, don’t open your eyes yet.” Taehyuns voice cut through the eerie silence

He felt fabric press against his face, cleaning the blood off his face, mainly around his eyes and mouth.

“Thanks.” He whispered, once he felt the pressure off. He opened his eyes and immediately darted down to the corner floor where Soobin was being held protectively in Kai’s arms. He looked for the gun that he assumed to be in Soobin’s possession. A whistle called his attention to the side, where Beomgyu smiled sheepishly at him, the gun swinging in his raised hand. 

“Sorry. I may have been a bit naughty earlier today.” He half heartedly joked. 

Yeonjun stared at his friend before rushing forward and shoving him against a wall.

“You fucking idiot.” He whispered the pain evident in his voice. Beomgyu looked at him with eyes that seemed to cover all the emotions Yeonjun was feeling. Anger, fear, and sorrow.

“Let’s just go to the room. We need to bathe and collect ourselves, and staying in this room won’t do us any good.” Taehyun said, pulling Yeonjun away from his friend. 

Yeonjun nodded and stuck his hand out for Beomgyu to place the gun into, which he did with no hesitation. He turned to help Soobin to his feet with Kai’s help and followed Taehyun and Beomgyu out to the room that they should’ve already been relaxing in. 

Once they arrived Taehyun pushed Soobin and Yeonjun to the side and unlocked the door. The younger three did a full sweep quickly before Yeonjun even got the chance to stop them. When it was declared all clear, the elders entered cautiously and dropped themselves on one of the beds.

Yeonjun sat up, leaning on his arms and his eyes widened as he took in the appearances of the younger three standing in front of them, who were all also splattered with red.

“What the hell happened.”

Chapter Text

Beomgyu normally would have joked around a time like this. This time however he couldn’t find the right words to say. The mood that was surrounding them was practically entrapping him.  Forcing him to keep his focus on the ugly feeling that was welling up in the pit of his stomach. He really wanted to joke, wanted to lighten the tension, save himself from drowning in the emotions he hated the most. 

Though he knew that no matter what he joked about, Yeonjun was right. This wasn’t a game. Not anymore. 

“When we went around back there was.. um some people chained up. They were turned already but it looked like they didn't even have a chance.” He answered honestly. 

“A couple of them managed to yank off some cords that held them back and ran at us.” Tae continued, “We weren’t that prepared due to the shock of the whole situation that we let them come fairly close before we were able to kill them.” 

“Hence the blood and everything, we’re all fine, no injuries or anything. And Tae made sure that nothing got into our eyes or mouth.” Kai finished, before looking at Bin sorrowly, “Just in case, ya know.” 

Beomgyu looked at his friend who took all this information in silence, his eyes never seemed to leave him. Beomgyu normally would wink but while he didn't know much about Yeonjun’s past he can assume that the gun was a sensitive situation and he didn't want to push the elder. Lest he end up with a black eye to top the shitty day off. 

“Did you guys…put the other ones..” Bin spoke up softly, clearing his throat as if it would help get his words out.

“Yeah, they won't be a problem.” Tae replied swiftly. If Beomgyu didn't know better he would assume that Tae didn't bluntly say that they killed all of them to protect Bin’s current sensitive state. 

“How are you holding up, Binnie?” Kai gently pushed, hesitant to walk over, though Beomgyu could see his fingers itching to reach for him.

Beomgyu could feel the same sense of protectiveness run through him when he looked at Bin’s state. Somehow his small crush fell into this sort of affinity toward the elder like he was born to be attached to his hip. This shy boy managed to worm his way into his heart that now felt like breaking due to the way the boy was trying to halt the shaking of his body as he laid on the center of the bed. 

Bin hadn’t moved from his position since they received the all clear to walk in, he laid flat on his back and stared at the ceiling, his arms pressing down on his chest in what seemed to be an attempt to self soothe. However to Beomgyu it seemed more along the lines of how dead corpses were placed in their coffins, and it made him immensely uncomfortable to think about Bin in that situation. Besides his earlier question, the only action that proved that Bin was indeed not a corpse was the silent tears falling from the side of his face.  

“Im sorry.” Bin mumbled out

Beomgyu didn’t even think before quickly stepping forward to assure Bin that there was no need to apologize but before he was able to, he was beaten to it. Bin’s words seemed to shake Yeonjun out of his stupor as he quickly turned around and leaned down to wipe Bin’s tears. 

“Soobin, baby. Why are you apologizing??” Yeonjun sadly cooed

“I should've been able to defend myself. I got us all in a terrible situation and Gyu had to shoot someone just to save us.” Bin sobbed, reaching up to cover his eyes as water poured out, his fist clenched together and pressed down on each of his eyes in a poor attempt to stop the onslaught of tears.

At the reminder of what he had done, Beomgyu felt a cold chill run through his body. He stood frozen before a hand was clasped tightly around his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to see Tae smiling sadly at him and with a resolute nod he released his grip and began walking toward Bin, who somehow already had Kai wrapped around his side with his neck tucked in his shoulder. Once Tae was on the other side of the bed, standing in front of Bin’s head he reached over and pulled Bin’s hands away from his face staring down at him. 

“Gyu wouldn’t have done that lightly. It was something that needed to be done regardless of you. Not to say that he wouldn’t, since it seems he’s obviously obsessed with you.” Tae smiled gently at Bin, appeasing him with a small joking tone before turning to look at Beomgyu’s eyes. “He needed to do what was done because that man would have done worse to us, and anyone else who would have come here looking for refuge. Gyu saved all of us, including future travelers.” 

Beomgyu’s mouth fell open as his heart’s weight lessened a bit, the honesty in Tae’s eyes spoke through all his ugly thoughts and he couldn't help but agree and fully believe in him. Here he was tearing up because his arch nemesis was comforting both Bin and him. It was an odd situation that he never would’ve thought. So odd that he couldnt help the bubble of laughter that came out. 

Everyone, including Bin looked at him confused or worried. Which in turn made him laugh harder. 

“Beoms, What's wrong?” Yeonjun asked, getting up and reaching out to him

“This is funny, like everything is so unreal.” he manged to say through his laugher, “Like Tae defending my actions? like we didn't just threaten to push each other out of the car a couple hours ago? or-or Bin’s name is Soobin?? Like what was the whole point of codenames anyways. Or the fact that Kai managed to tear a whole door down that also had a chair blocking it, like he's just a baby. It’s gotta be the best joke I’ve ever heard honestly!” 

He wheezed out a final couple laughs before looking up and seeing the other four smiling at him or chuckling along. 

“Youre a joke.” Tae rolled his eyes, but the smile on his lips gave him away 

“Wait a second, how come Jun got to know your name first!” Kai demanded, pouting at Soobin, “I thought I was your favorite.” 

“In our defense, Taehyun also knows it.” Yeonjun spoke matter of factly

“What!?” Kai screeched, looking at his friend with betrayal, “You told him your name too?? You’re the reason for these stupid nicknames to begin with!” 

“Well, I didnt expect to stick around this long. It was bound to come up sooner or later anyways.” Taehyun defended, a light blush grazing his cheeks at the callout. 

“Well if anyone cares, I’m Beomgyu. Nice to officially meet you.” Beomgyu chimed in, walking toward the bed and throwing his body on top of Soobin and Kai’s

“Everyone calls me Hueningkai, but honestly Kai’s my real name.” Kai giggled, while Taehyun gave a loud sigh along with a roll of his eyes. 

“Yeonjun.” Yeonjun said proudly, pointing a finger into his cheek, before he plopped on top of Beomgyu. Causing the three to groan at the added pressure. 

“My names Taehyun. Since we’re all introducing ourselves again.”  Taehyun said, looking down at the pile of bodies laying in front of him. 

“and I'm Soobin.” Soobin wheezed out, trying to shove the bodies off of him. “and I’d be grateful if you didnt join this pile Taehyun.” 

“I might. Just to spite you for spilling your name even when I told you not.” Taehyun smirked, placing his hands on Yeonjun’s back in a false pretense to hop on.

“Pile up! Pile up!” Beomgyu chanted edging the younger one on. 

Soobin groaned, but gave a small smile up at Taehyun. He slid his hands out from the pile and placed them on top of Taehyuns. Turning to look at the pile on top of him, Beomgyu saw the change in Soobin’s face, the hint of fear and the overwhelming hesitation. 

“Yeonjun get off real quick.” Beomgyu ordered, and at his tone the elder obeyed quickly, along with Hueningkai. Beomgyu kneeled beside Soobin and looked down at him, “Hey it’s okay, what's wrong?” 

“Nothing.” Soobin hiccuped, failing to cover his oncoming tears. 

“Baby, we won’t judge you or anything, just tell us what's wrong and if we can help we will.” Yeonjun pushed

“I mean everything’s wrong but also I feel like-“ Soobin stopped and looked away shamefully, “A small part of me is glad this happened, I would've never met any of you, and I know that we literally just learned each other's names but.” He sat up and leaned back on his arms and looked at each of them, “You guys are the closest friends I’ve ever had.”

Beomgyu couldn’t help but feel his eyes well up once again due to Soobin’s honesty and when he glanced around it seemed that no one else could either. 

“Well my only friends if I'm honest.” Soobin awkwardly chuckled

“Awww Soobs!!” Hueningkai whined before throwing his body back on Soobin in an attempt to hug him wholeheartedly. 

Taehyun ran his hand through Soobin’s hair and scoffed, “That's not saying much, but I guess if I had to be stuck in an end of the world scenario I’d rather be with you four.” 

Beomgyu looked up at Taehyun and gave him a wide smile, “Even moi, Taehyunnie?” 

Taehyun rolled his eyes and shrugged mockingly in reply. Causing Beomgyu to laugh and leap toward him to hug him. 

“Great! I was kinda getting tired of constantly fighting with you and not knowing if you actually hate me or not.” He laughed, “Now I can push your buttons and know we are still besties!!” 

“We aren’t ‘besties’ now get off of me. You reek.”  Taehyun replied trying to shove Beomgyu off

“Speaking of reeking, I think we should take advantage of the hotel and wash up. I don't know if I want to sleep covered in blood.” Yeonjun cut in, “,and I'm not sure when the next time we’ll have this opportunity once we get in the city.”

The other members glance at him a bit dejectedly. Beomgyu gave a dramatic sigh. He didn’t quite want a reminder that they would have to go back out and do it all over again. At least not that soon, but he knew Yeonjun was right. They needed to get to the shelter and if they had encountered this already who knew what else would come up during their journey. 

“Soobin, you can go ahead first.” Yeonjun said, reaching for his hand to help him stand up off the bed.

“Oh. Me? I should go first??” Soobin said, looking down at his feet. Beomgyu got up and reached out to lightly grip Soobin’s shoulders for moral support, knowing that the elder had something to say.

“Well this is going to sound stupid.” Soobin scoffed, and hesitantly looked at Beomgyu before taking a deep breath and looking at Yeonjun. “Do you mind showering with me?” 

Beomgyu immediately released his grip and stared at Soobin with wide eyes. 

“Why are you asking him??” Beomgyu said flabbergasted 

“Well I don't think it's fair if I go first, especially considering what you all had to go through. Plus your covered in um. well you probably need the shower more then me.” Soobin explained and raised his hand to cut Yeonjun off so he could finish his speal “I know you wouldn’t go first if I told you to because it seems I’m stuck with hard headed people, minus huening, and the main reason I’m asking you to go with me is because I really don’t want to be alone right now.” 

The other three stared at him, as if they were expecting his head to explode at any second. 

“Wow Soobs, you can really talk huh?” Hueningkai teased 

“I still think I should be the one to go, I’ll wash your back for you and everything.” Beomgyu whined, clinging to Soobin’s back

Taehyun made a gurtled noise of protest in his throat, startled by Beomgyu’s hidden innuendo. He turned to glare at him, “We’re wasting time, I want to shower too, so hurry up and get on with it.” 

“Get on with it??” Beomgyu whined, “Can’t you use better words?? I don't want them getting anything on!” 

“Can you stop talking for once!” Taehyun flustered and jumped on the bed to try to tackle Beomgyu. 

“Come on Binnie, lets so shower then.” Yeonjun smiled, ignoring the fact that his best friend was being choked in front of him “Wouldn’t want your big speech being wasted.” 

Soobin blushed and nodded, grabbing his bag and following Yeonjun to the restroom. Just as they were about to close the door, Beomgyu saw the flash of an object rush past his face as it made a loud contact with the wood. Yeonjun quickly pulled the door all the way back open and glanced down at the shoe that had hit. If Beomgyu didn’t know he was about to be blamed he’d laugh at the terrified jolt that visibly ran through his friend at the initial contact. Yeonjun looked up from the shoe on the floor before giving Beomgyu a displeased look, opening his mouth to scold him. Beomgyu quickly put his hands up in a display of his innocence and pointed over to Taehyun who had his hands crossed over each other avoiding Yeonjun’s eyes. 

“It’s best to keep the door open, just in case.” Hueningkai chimed in, looking like the mastermind of the whole situation in Beomgyu’s eyes. “Gotta be safe, right?”

Yeonjun eyed him wearily, “Right..”

After all the members had bathed, they rested on the bed farthest from the door. They barely fit on the queen sized bed, but due to Soobin’s and Hueningkai’s insistence of being alone and the struggle of finding pairs they had all laid there together. The elders and the youngest quickly fell asleep with their homemade security blanket. The pressure on top of them comforted them enough to sleep without worries.

“We could’ve easily divided the beds between me and Hueningkai and you and Yeonjun.” Taehyun mumbled to Beomgyu who laid on top of the other members alongside him. 

“Yeah, but Bin would’ve definitely come to lay between me and Yeonjun, how would you have felt about that.” He retorted 

Taehyun’s silence seemed to please him as he smiled and hummed gleefully. Even with the lights off Beomgyu could feel Taehyun’s glare piercing through him. 

“Good night bestie” Beomgyu yawned before cuddling into Soobin and taking advantage of his outstretched hand to hold in his own. Beomgyu could feel his heart skip a beat when Soobin’s hand squeezed around his while he slept.

Beomgyu drifted off to sleep and just as he was about black out he heard Taehyun whisper goodnight, bringing a smile to his lips.

Chapter Text

Taehyun woke up startled, the jolt of fear still running through his veins.

He turned to stare at Beomgyu’s undeterred sleeping face and sighed in relief. He wouldn’t consider Beomgyu as the group’s protector necessarily but he would be an idiot to put aside Beomgyu’s knowledge on how to handle these situations. So if the long haired boy was soundly sleeping he knew they were currently okay. Though he didn’t quite grasp how the elder knew these things, he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He glanced around at the members laying underneath them, trying his best not to move too much as he laid on them, he didn’t think he could do any one on one socialization after what transpired the day before. He could see a hint of daylight peeking its way through in the room, and although he would never admit it, he longed to stay in the safety of the room with his newfound friends. So his chest filled with dread at the realization that this small pocket of piece would be removed very soon. 

He glanced over at the bane of his existence and the man he laid on top of. Soobin, it was weird knowing that he was getting attached to the same man who thought about leaving them behind a few days ago. He swore he would get what he needed from Soobin and ditch him as soon as Hueningkai and him found better opportunities. He was so adamant about not getting attached and here he was wishing he had taken Beomgyu’s place instead. He glanced at their interlocked hands and felt a simmer of heat pool in his gut. 

To fucking early for this..

Closing his eyes he drifted off, imagining his hand enveloped in that same warmth that seeps out of Soobin.

_________

The next time Taehyun woke up was on the bed alone, his eyes greeted by the ceiling. He wasn’t sure if he was disturbed or simply surprised that he had managed to sleep despite everyone getting up. Not only getting up but they had apparently begun planning without him as well, if the murmured voices was anything to go buy. 

Turning his head to look at the three upset looking men sitting on the opposite bed. 

“Planning should be a group activity, don't you think?” He drawled out, his voice hoarse as if he hadn’t used it in days. 

Yeonjun jolted from the sound of his voice while the other looked back at him sheepishly. Yeonjun put a hand on his chest trying to ease his heart from the scare.

“Jesus Taehyun can’t you warn a guy before you jump in like that. Thought you were knocked out still.” Yeonjun whined, still keeping his voice low. 

“Why are you all whispering?” Taehyun asked, ignoring Yeonjun’s complaint

“Shh.” Hueningkai waved, crossing his hands rapidly in front of his face. “Soobins showering with the door open, we don’t want him to hear.” 

Taehyun raised his eyebrow. Understanding that they weren’t purposely keeping him out of the loop but Soobin instead. He hadn’t even noticed the running water until now. 

Lifting himself off the bed he walked the two steps to the opposite bed and flicked his hand at Beomgyu. Beomgyu gave him a look of annoyance before rolling his eyes and moving over to allow Taehyun space to sit between him and Hueningkai. 

“So what's gotten you guys in a little secret meeting then? Deciding on who gets to wed Soobin?” He teased, trying to ease the tensions in their shoulders.  

“It’d be me obviously no need for discussion,” Beomgyu raised his hand against Yeonjun’s mouth to silence his protest, “but no sadly that was not the topic of conversation.”

“We need to go back into the main office.” Hueningkai muttered, fiddling his fingers as he looked between Beomgyu and Yeonjun. “We know Soobin will be against the idea so we need two to go and two to stay back and distract him.” 

“You don’t think he’ll be able to handle going back? I don't think he’s that weak.” Taehyun started, getting annoyed at their assumption. He knew Soobin was emotionally weaker than the rest of them but if it was for something important he felt sure that Soobin would do what needed to be done. “Anyways, why would any of us want to go back there?” 

“We need to see what's there, that guy was bit and yeah he was crazy but he seemed to be immune. What if he left any information there? It's like he was experimenting, so I’m sure he wrote something down, right?”

Taehyun was once again left surprised at the amount of information Beomgyu had let out. It was all rational thinking, that he knew he’d be able to figure it out as well, but definitely not as soon as Beomgyu had.

“Yeah, if he was turning people then it would make sense that he jotted down their progress at some point otherwise he would’ve just infected them and let them run off, not tie them down to posts.” Taehyun agreed before remembering the topic at hand. 

“But why can’t we all just go check, wouldn’t it be faster if we all scoped out together?”

“You didn’t see him last night. In the shower, those few seconds that he was locked in the room were rough.” Yeonjun whispered, his fists clenched, “He tried to hide it but his body was riddled with bruises just as deep as the one on his face, he was probably thrown around like a ragdoll.” 

“We aren’t sure how he’ll react if he goes in, and we know if we tell him to stay back he’ll be against it. So we have to keep this hidden.” Hueningkai stated nodding in resolve

“Fine. Me and Huening will go then.” Taehyun said, crossing his arms, “We’re the only ones who weren’t that affected by what happened. Who can go in with a clear mind.”

Yeonjun raised an eyebrow at him, “That's a bit obvious, Soobin is fragile but he's not stupid. He’d easily put two and two together.”

“Well what was the original option?” 

“Me and Kai were going to go, I was the least affected and Kai would be back up if need be.” Yeonjun shrugged

“But I think he’s being an idiot. I wasn’t affected as much as he thinks, plus you both are bound to miss something. I could do a much better and faster sweep than the others.”

Taehyun looked at Yeonjun and the clear irritation on his face and then toward the determined frown on Beomgyu’s. He’d be stupid to agree with Yeonjun when he had an overwhelming sense of trust in Beomgyu's instincts. While he doesnt know how Beomgyu seems to always be right, he has always been right. So far at least . 

“I’ll go with Beomgyu.” Taehyun said, staring down Yeonjun, “it’s better for two critical thinkers to go down there, get stuff done and head out before nightfall. Hueningkai could get distracted and you might get riled up again. It’s simpler this way.”  

“You think Beomgyu is a critical thinker?” Yeonjun asked, looking completely astonished, “I don't know what lies he's managed to tell you, but he’s like a kid.” 

“A kid in college who's been keeping your ass alive since this started.” Beomgyu hissed out, clearly at the end of his rope.

“Enough!”  Hueningkai yelled, silencing them all. Taehyun looked at his friend, surprised at the irritated look on his face.  “We aren’t kids, none of us are. We’re all adults and we can all carry our own. Me and Beomgyu will go. Hopefully after we do the job right you guys can see us as your equals and not a couple of kids your babysitting.” 

Yeonjun and Taehyun looked down. Feeling scolded and with Hueningkai leaving no room to argue they simply didn’t. Both just nodded their heads in agreement. 

“What happened?!” Soobin panted out, his clothes haphazardly placed on him, looking damp like he simply put them on without drying themselves.

“Sorry Soobs, We were fighting over who gets your hand in marriage first and Huening over here got upset cause he was losing.” Beomgyu teased, glancing at Taehyun with a smirk. 

Soobin’s face lit up red, “Don't. Don't be stupid Beomgyu. I thought something was, I-I thought something was wrong.” 

“Oh no, everythings okay here baby.” Yeonjun chimed in. “You didn’t even dry off? I'll come in and help you, Hueningkai and Beomgyu are going to check out the car and make sure everything’s good to head out soon.” 

“You don’t have to help him.” Taehyun grumbled, “You’ll help me pick up our stuff around here, and Soobin can go back and properly dry himself.”  

He looked back at the other two and nodded his head toward the door, “You guys can go to the car now, take your weapons in case.” 

“Shouldn’t we go as well? To be safe?” Soobin asked nervously.

“Baby you're all wet, you’ll get sick if you don’t dry yourself. Weren’t you telling me last night that you get sick easily?” Yeonjun lightly scolded. 

Soobin pouted but nodded in agreement, “I guess.” He mumbled before walking back into the bathroom and almost closing the door; leaving a sliver of a gap open.  

“Hurry up and be quick then, before Soobin notices, we can’t distract him for long.” Taehyun ordered, getting up from the bed and stretching.

“Oh, I have ways to keep him distracted.” Yeonjun hinted, raising his eyebrows suggestively 

Beomgyu stuck his tongue out at him and grabbed Hueningkai’s hand pulling him off the bed. Grabbing both their pipe and bat they waved bye to the other two and disappeared out of the door. 

Leaving Taehyun and Yeonjun once again alone with each other. 

“Wanna have another heart to heart.” Yeonjun teased

Taehyun flipped him off, “Fuck off and help me sort this room out so that way we are lying to Soobin twice.” 

Yeonjun rolled his eyes at Taehyuns snark and leaned down to pick up the bloody clothes they had tossed into a corner the night before. 

“Not sure why we’re cleaning anyways. It's not like we can take our clothes to wash.”

“Just gives us something to do. What else would keep Soobin in the room while they went exploring.” 

“Yeah our besties in shining armor, gotta have their backs while they investigate and junk” Yeonjun smiled, “Gotta admit, surprised Hueningkai spoke up like that, didn't think he'd have it in him.”

“Neither did I..” Taehyun grumbled

Yeonjun looked over at him in surprise, “What for real?”

“He’s always been more docile and kind then other people, not that he won’t stand up for what he believes in. Trust me he will.” 

Taehyun looked down at Hueningkai’s bloody shirt held in his hands.

“It’s just, he usually doesn’t speak like that to me.” 

“Well, I guess it's like you said.” Yeonjun shrugged, taking the shirt from Taehyun’s hand and putting it in a bag. “He stands up for what he believes in. So I guess we just gotta believe in him.” 

“Okay I'm done.” Soobin’s voice cut through the room. 

Taehyun looked over at him and felt his cheeks flush a bit at Soobin’s pushed back hair and pink face, probably from roughly drying himself quickly. He didn’t really look at him after their shower the night before, due to him just wanting to sleep and end the night. Now however, he was able to see Soobin's glowing face from the sunlight peeking through the closed curtains. He wouldn’t lie to himself. Soobin was a handsome man. 

“You should see him with his shirt off.” Yeonjun whispered in his ear teasingly

Taehyun snapped his head to glare at the eldest and stood up in hopes that Soobin wasn’t paying much attention.

“Where’s Beomgyu and Hueningkai?” 

“By the car.” Both Taehyun and Yeonjun simultaneously replied

Soobin eyed them suspiciously, walking over to the curtains to open them. Taehyun widened his eyes and immediately rushed forward to block him. 

“Shouldn’t we pick up the room? We wouldn’t want to just leave everything the way it was.” 

“Shouldn’t we check on the others? They've been gone for a bit.” Soobin pushed Taehyun aside, “Anyways, why are we cleaning anyways? It’s not like the hotels in business now.” 

Taehyun could feel Yeonjun’s piercing glare and haunty ‘I told you so’ ringing in his ear. He bit his tongue as he tried to come up with a reasoning that wasn’t a total lie. 

“We aren’t animals, Binnie. Think about it. If someone was to come here to rest and choose this room, you think they’d be comfortable in another room covered in blood?”  Yeonjun spoke in, coming forward to clasp his hands on Soobins shoulders.

“I-I guess.” Soobin frowned, locking eyes with Taehyun, “Are you sure they’re okay though?” 

“Yeah, I peeked out not that long ago. They were messing around by the trunk.” Taehyun nodded, trying his best to give a reassuring smile to the taller.

______

Hueningkai was feeling bad about the way he yelled at the three of them. As he and Beomgyu slowly made their way over to the office it was all he could think of. He never liked raising his voice in anger. If he’s being honest he never liked taking things seriously in general. Not that he wasn’t aware of when it was okay to fool around and when it wasn’t. He just liked being able to lighten the mood and cheer people up, he didn’t want to be the one to make everyone upset or bring down the mood. But he couldn’t help but feel like he just had. 

However, he knew speaking up was the right thing to do. He wouldn’t regret it. Because Beomgyu was just like him.

The older one wanted to be happy and playful, in just the short span of getting to know him, he knew that Beomgyu was similar to him in that aspect. But he knew that meant that the others would look down on him, just as much as they looked down on Hueningkai for being the youngest. 

“Thanks Hueningkai.” Beomgyu voice interrupted his reflection

“What for?”

“For standing up for us back there. I mean I had it covered of course, but you definitely stamped the end of that conversation.” Beomgyu grinned 

“Oh yeah, of course.” Hueningkai smiled, stopping in front of the door to the main office and looking down at his feet. “You don’t think they're upset or anything do you?” 

“Yuup!” Beomgyu chirped gleefully, surprising Hueningkai, “,but that's a good thing, you're not a baby and maybe this will help show them this. Even if they get a little upset, they’ll get over it.” 

Hueningkai smiled at him and nodded before fully turning to glare at the door, 

“Okay, let's do this.”

Hueningkai pushed open the door and walked in first, scoping out the front office of anything that seemed different or moved around from the first time they entered. Before letting out an annoyed sigh at the realization that he wouldn't have noticed any difference anyways. When they had rushed in the day before, their focus was on helping Yeonjun break open the door, not the interior.

“Nice try detective, but just stay on your guard.” Beomgyu snickered, noticing Hueningkais attentive eyes when he walked in and his deflated look soon after. 

“Roger that chief.” 

Beomgyu led the two of them toward the manager's office, both of them avoiding looking at the mangled corpse underneath the table. Opening the door and walking in the first thing they saw was the man splayed out on the floor where they had left him. 

Hueningkai glanced at his new friend and noticed the way his shoulders shook. He couldn't tell what emotions Beomgyu was currently feeling, all he knew was that he was feeling. 

“You okay?” He asked, placing his hand on Beomgyu’s shoulder

Beomgyu shook his head to snap himself out of whatever thoughts had overtaken him and smiled at the younger. 

“Yeah, sorry. Just..” Beomgyu looked back at the dead body, “,fuck that guy.” 

Hueningkai nodded in agreement before walking toward the corpse and leaning down. 

“Huening wait-”

“It's okay, you got a headshot. He’s not coming back anytime soon.” Hueningkai responded trying to quell his worries

Beomgyu propped himself next to Hueningkai and reached into the man's pockets, digging out a pair of keys. 

“Keys?” Hueningkai asked, “How’d you know he’d have them?” 

“Can’t hide a secret without a lock and key.” 

They got up and began to search the room for any hidden items that seemed to clue them in on what the man was doing. They focused first on the bookshelf and found nothing of importance. Until Hueningkai walked toward the desks and saw paperwork thrown around the table. 

“Hey Beomgyu, come check this out.”

Peaking the elders interest, they both leaned down on the desk and saw haphazard scribbles written on scraps of paper. Large bold words of failed, X marks, with notes written on the side. 

“Guess it wasn’t that hidden after all.” Beomgyu hummed looking down at the guy. “Wonder what the keys are for then.” 

Before Hueningkai could respond, a rush of footsteps heading their way froze them in fear. 

“What the hell are you two doing!?” Soobins voice bellowed, both frightened and angry 

Hueningkai and Beomgyu looked at each other fearfully, before grabbing the papers and rushing out of the room to see Soobin being held back by Yeonjun and Taehyun. 

“Heey Soobie.” Beomgyu waved

“Are you two out of your mind? Coming here without us?? Who knows what could’ve happened!” Soobin scolded, pulling himself out of their other loosing grasps. 

Soobin rushed forward and pulled the two into a tight hug, Hueningkai felt bad feeling Soobin’s erratic heartbeat pressed against him. 

“Sorry Binnie, I thought. I thought it’d be better if we did this fast. and we didn’t want to bother you.” Hueningkai muttered

“Not fast enough.” Yeonjun grumbled

Soobin turned to glare at the eldest, “I’m not that weak. I can handle this. I can make myself handle this. I don't, I don’t appreciate being lied to.” 

Hueningkai’s eyes widened in realization. They were treating Soobin just as he himself didn’t want to be treated. He felt shame fester in him at the hypocrisy of the whole situation. Soobin turned back to the youngest, his eyes softening. 

“Kai, I appreciate that you guys considered my emotions. But, just talk to me next time. No more secrets.”

“We knew you’d try to force yourself to join even if you couldn’t handle it.” Yeonjun frowned, “We just wanted to help. We didn’t mean to offend you Soobin.” 

Soobin sighed and nodded, “You're right, I would have.” He pulled Beomgyu and Hueningkai’s hand toward the other two and aligned them to face him. 

“I promise to tell you guys if I can’t do something, if you can promise me to at least ask.” 

They all nodded in agreement, Yeonjun and Hueningkai nodding more eagerly than the others. 

“Good now let's get the hell out of here.” 

Chapter Text

Soobin watched the boys flank him as soon as they stepped out of the office and couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation. He knew that his words went through their ears and out the other. Although he had to admit that he appreciated it, being the youngest and most protected in his family it was an easy role to settle into, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t ease his nerves and fears. To be protected is what he was accustomed to, but he knew that he couldn't lean into that anymore, he had to break out of his shell if he wanted to survive. If he wanted his new friends to survive. He was quickly becoming aware of the need to hurry up and stand on his two feet, to prove his worth so they could focus on themselves and each other.

He looked forward where Beomgyu and Taehyun huddled in front of him, Beomgyu was using his hands expressively to explain a story or something that Soobin didn’t catch while he was in his thoughts. The glimmer of keys however caught his attention.

“Hey Beomgyu, what are the keys for?”

Beomgyu turned to look at Soobin, cutting off his story quickly and smiling proudly, puffing his chest out like he was a hero saving the day.

“Well my dear Soobinnie, while we were investigating I thought of checking the dick’s pockets and found these little keys”

Soobin looked at him and could practically see a dog wanting to be praised, his eyes glimmering up at him with a figurative tail wagging.

“Well? What were the keys for Sherlock?” Yeonjun drawled, coming up to stop besides Soobin

Beomgyu shot him a dirty look at the interruption and sighed, “Honestly, nothing in there needed a key to be unlocked, the info we needed was just thrown on the table.”

“And technically I found the papers!” Hueningkai chipped in eagerly, coming up to grab onto Soobin’s arm. Getting a sarcastic eye roll from his search partner in response.

“So why do you still have them?” Soobin asked curiously, getting back to the matter at hands before they could divert the topic with another argument

“Because I probably should. Might come in handy in the future.” Beomgyu shrugged, “Plus it was meant for me, look!”

Beomgyu showed Soobin the charm on the key, bright and shiny reading ‘lucky dog’ on a maltese with swirls its eyes and cheeks.

“Is that dog supposed to look drunk?” Yeonjun asked, raising his brows at his friend, “Hmm, didn’t know you were a drunk.”

“I’m not, I think it's the name of some touristy bar in the city.” Beomgyu took the keys back and placed them in his pockets, “Anyways! I was talking about the name. I’m lucky and I’ve always been told I hold dog features, cute and friendly.” He smiled, poking his cheek to appear cute and winking at Soobin.

Soobin rolled his eyes at the attempt and tried to hold back his smile. He was learning that any attempt to humor Beomgyu would send him on a roll. He wasn’t really interested in dealing with that yet.

“I’m sure that's not what they meant when they called you a dog.” Taehyun scoffed

“Ha Ha” Beomgyu laughed sarcastically, “You didn’t deny that I’m lucky though.”

“Lucky I haven’t kicked your ass maybe.” Taehyun snarked

“As much as I’d like to see Beomgyu’s ass handed to him, we really should take a move on before it gets late. We aren’t too far from the warehouse.”

“Warehouse? It’s not like some mansion that sells drugs?” Hueningkai asked

Everyone turned to give him an exasperated look, Soobin included.

“A mansion in the city?” Taehyun shook his head in disbelief

“Well I dunno how the underground is.” Hueningkai defended

Yeonjun gave him a halfhearted smile and a pat on the back, “Let's get a move on and I’ll catch you guys up in the car.”

They all agreed and went back to the hotel to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind. Soobin couldn’t help but pay attention to Yeonjun’s mannerisms. He was biting his lips more than usual and tugging his hair here and there. In Soobin’s opinion he looked nervous? Scared maybe. He knew the other had his harsh past, the reasoning behind having a gun, but he couldn’t help but feel worried that there was more than what was said. Especially if the elder was nervous like that. It made him uneasy, like he was suddenly in a cage with a lion.

The younger three loaded in the car and Soobin could tell that Taehyun was hesitant. The younger's eyes flickered from Soobin to Yeonjun. Seemingly agreeing with what Soobin was thinking or maybe giving him a sign to talk to him. Either way Soobin knew he would have to do something about it. Soobin nodded and flicked his head for Taehyun to enter the car along with the others to give them a chance to talk.

Yeonjun was fiddling with something in the trunk when Soobin came up behind him.

“You okay?”

Yeonjun jumped and held his hand on his chest, “Jesus Soobin.”

Soobin rolled his eyes at his dramatics and repeated his question. Yeonjun looked down, biting his lip and shrugged with uncertainty. Soobin was surprised he wasn’t trying to evade the question. His eyes held this faraway look, as if he was trying to be someplace else but when he looked back at Soobin he looked prepared for questioning. It made him even more nervous, which he hated immediately. This was the guy who let him sleep on his bed alongside him, a complete stranger, to help ease his nightmares and now he was what, Scared? Of his closest new friend? He was upset, more with himself now then Yeonjun, and he wanted to make it right.

“What's on your mind?” Soobin asked, focusing on Yeonjun’s twiddling fingers. A sure sign that while Yeonjun acted confident he was just as nervous as Soobin, it strengthened his resolve. So he prodded, “Yeonjun?”

Yeonjun squeezed his eyes shut and released a deep breath, “Nothing, just getting in my thoughts.”

“What thoughts?” Soobin pushed, before remembering their past conversation in the car. Yeonjun’s little game that helped Soobin open up and deepen their bond. “It’s my third question.”

Yeonjun looked at him quizzically before his eyes widened in realization and a scoff of laughter puffed out his mouth. “Okay, third question.” He sighed

“I just, I did bad things Soobin. Practically ruined lives.” Yeonjun mumbled before turning away to look at the motel they were leaving behind. “I know Hueningkai was joking about the whole drug thing, but he's not wrong. I helped sell them, got people hooked and sent some physical messages to people who didn’t pay. Whatever you’d expect from a gang or mafia in those shitty movies I probably did them.”

“But you said you had only kill-”

“I have. Physically I’ve only killed one person, regardless of self-defense. I'm a murderer for that and I’ll burn in hell for it too. But I also killed all those people who I sucked into that lifestyle. Who I pressured, who I offered the drugs to.”

“You did what you had to.” Soobin said, reaching out to place his hand comfortably on his shoulder.

“Did I? I have nightmares sometimes and in them I look like I’m enjoying myself. I must’ve had some joy to want to climb that disgusting food chain.”

“But they're just nightmares, you said it yourself. Nightmares, not dreams but nightmares.I think you calling them that yourself shows you had no joy, just a boy who did what was expected of him.”

Yeonjun looked down to the floor and squeezed his eyes in what Soobin recognized as a feeble attempt to stop tears. He felt his heart clench at the action, at how small the elder looked. Soobin knew that no matter what he said Yeonjun would carry this guilt for his life. He was no therapist and the burden was too big to be removed by a few simple words.

“Third Question.” Yeonjun said, his voice eerily empty of emotion. Lifting his head to stare into Soobin. His tears barely being held back as he tried so hard to look tough. “Are you scared of me?”

Soobin looked at Yeonjun, at his watery eyes and how this man who he had felt could protect him from anything, looked like he was the one that needed protecting now. He looked into the eyes of a killer and of a friend.

“No, not anymore.”

“Who could be scared of a little ol’ barista?” a sarcastic voice spoke up, spooking both of the elders

They both turned to see all three sticking out of the car, two of them with watery eyes. Taehyun, the owner of the voice, smiled gently.

“You had a bad past but you were given bad cards to begin with. You worked with what you were handed. That doesn’t dissolve your past actions, but you’ve changed and have done better and that's who we see. Barista Lawyer in Training Goofy Yeonjun, not some gang leader.” Beomgyu ranted, his voice going wobbly at the end. He leaped the rest of the way out of the car and ran into Yeonjuns arms to hug him tightly.

Soobin looked on as Hueningkai joined in on the group hug before opening his arms up and yanking Soobin into it. Soobin hesitantly hugged back and looked up to lock eyes with the shorter male still standing by the car. He smiled with his eyes and motioned with his head for Taehyun to come over. Getting only a shake of a head in response.

“Taehyun, bestie. If you don’t get your ass over here, I’m cuddling you for the rest of your life.” Beomgyu threatened, his words still choked up by tears.

Rolling his eyes, the younger man came up and hugged the group, shocking Soobin when he made the effort to reach his arms over towards him to squeeze his shoulder. Soobin knew they were on better terms but he couldn’t help but still be put off by Taehyun’s kindness at times.

“Alright, let's get a move on.” Yeonjun sniffled, “It’s not far, and I’ve been gone for a while so I’m not sure what we’ll find. I’m sorry.”

“Well whatever we find, won’t have anything to do with you. You’ve been gone for what, 9 years?” Beomgyu smiled, pulling away from the hug and gripping Yeonjun’s shoulders to push him towards the car. Yeonjun nodded and began to head for the driver's seat, the other four followed behind, Beomgyu naturally placing himself into the passenger seat.

“Sorry for taking your spot passenger princess.” Beomgyu teased, glancing back at Soobin once they all got settled in the car.

Soobin rolled his eyes and leaned into Hueningkai’s side. Trying to make sure that Taehyun had enough space on his side. While they were getting better, he didn’t want to push his luck.

“It doesn’t matter to me, I am wondering why I have to sit in the middle when I’m the tallest though.” Soobin complained, resting his head on Hueningkai’s shoulder.

“So that way both me and Yeonjun can stare at your pretty face when we miss it.”

“Shut it.” Soobin grumbled, his cheeks getting pink as Beomgyu laughed at him

“That doesn’t mean you have to be all in Kai’s ass though.” Taehyun grumbled from his side

“I don’t mind!” Hueningkai smiled, resting his head on top of Soobin

“Of course you don't.” Taehyun rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning on the door.

Soobin sighed in defeat. Even giving Taehyun enough space still managed to annoy him. Soobin closed his eyes and prayed that the oncoming headache would go away in the 30 minute drive to the warehouse. With his eyes closed he couldn’t help but picture Yeonjun from the past. A quirk of his lips as he teased someone before beating them. The feral look in his eyes. Wiping the blood off his face and smiling at the beaten person below him. He could feel his face heating up at the thought. He felt disgusted with himself for finding attractiveness in what would’ve been Yeonjun’s worst time in his life. His thoughts moved over to Yeonjun the night in the car when they talked, the Yeonjun he had woken up to in the early mornings and the Yeonjun who fought to save his life just the day before. He knew his face had to be red now.

“You sick Soobinie? or do you have someone in your thoughts?” Beomgyu teased.

Soobin cursed under his breath before deciding to bite the bullet just to make sure Beomgyu didn’t connect any dots or push the subject. “I was just thinking about you.” He teased back

He looked up from Hueningkai’s shoulder and was happy to see a gobsmacked Beomgyu, red faced and finally out of words.

“Cat got your tongue?” Soobin continued to tease

“More like a bunny.” Yeonjun laughed loudly, reaching over to hit his friend as he laughed.

Soobin tried to ignore the blush rising up after hearing Yeonjun’s laugh. Turning his head and making eye contact with Taehyun who seemed to know exactly why his face was red. Soobin could practically feel Taehyun’s disappointment, and he agreed. It really wasn’t the time to develop a crush.

As they pulled into a street, it opened up into a small little district that seemed dedicated only to warehouses. The buildings were simple, dull, large and gray that could only be told apart by the differentiating logos placed on top. Large trucks littered alongside the streets, bloody handprints and splatters on some of them showed Soobin that this place wasn’t spared from the virus either. Though it was eerily quiet. Soobin could already feel his heartbeat racing just being in the proximity of where they were going.

“Alright, we’re here.” Yeonjun spoke, all joy in his voice leached away by the circumstances.

“Which one is the warehouse?” Heuningkai asked, looking at the buildings that seemed to blend into each other.

“It's down the street, but I don’t know if anyone stayed behind to watch over the stuff. I don’t want to risk our only ride getting hijacked.” Yeonjun mumbled, looking embarrassed by the possibility

“They’d steal our ride?” Beomgyu asked surprised, “Aren’t they rich and shit??”

“They’d make sure we had no way to leave. At Least this way we aren’t announcing our arrival. As a safety measure.” Yeonjun explained

Soobin felt his nerves seizing him up. What in the hell were they doing there? They were about to risk going into a drug den unarmed for some weapons? They’ve been fine with what they had, haven't they? Soobin couldn’t help but feel that the cons completely outweighed the pros of this stupid little sidequest.

A hand latched on top of his shaking ones. He hadn’t even noticed he was shaking in fear. His leg bouncing and practically moving the whole car.

“So what's your plan here? Or are we going to die by gang rather than the undead.” Taehyun asked, completely ignoring the fact that his hand was still on top of Soobin’s own

“I-I left 9 years ago. But that wouldn’t have been possible if someone hadn’t gotten me out.” Yeonjun sighed “The group was almost at their peak and they would’ve killed me to make sure there were no loose ends. But due to her I’m untouchable.”

“Cool, what about us?” Taehyun asked, his fingers now fiddling with Soobin’s own.

If Soobin wasn’t close to throwing up due to the situation he would’ve laughed at Taehyun’s own nervousness and maybe even teased him as payback for all his past rude comments.

“If you guys are with me you’ll be fine. She’s higher up in the ranks so no one would dare challenge her.”

Everyone seemed to glance hesitantly at each other before exiting the car and following Yeonjun. Weapons out and ready for the undead or the living. As they walked everyone slowly flanked around Soobin again, though he did try to move towards the back of the group to better protect everyone. He couldn’t help but wonder if they did it unconsciously.

“That ‘no one touches you’ rule, is it still covered under a zombie apocalypse.” Hueningkai nervously asked, moving from behind Soobin to infront of him by Taehyun’s side.

Everyone continued to walk as Yeonjun slowed his pace just a little at Hueningkai’s question. Soobin could practically see the nervousness seeping from his body before the elder straightened his back and confidently walked to the front to lead them to their destination.

Soobin followed along towards the back with his arrow ready and tried to pretend he hadn't heard Yeonjun mutter I hope so.

Soobin looked up at the plain building and wondered if this was what his siblings meant when they joked about how daunting Soobin probably was to others even though he was as simple as you can get. If Soobin were unaware of what the building held he would probably pass by the building without batting an eye. Which as he thought of it, was probably exactly what they wanted. Something inconspicuous and a place to launder their money on. Two for one kinda deal he supposed. As they waited for Yeonjun to settle his nerves, Taehyun came up next to Soobin.

“No hero shit.”

Soobin replied with a mocking salute.

Yeonjun cleared his throat and nodded for everyone to follow him through what seemed to be a front office. Soobin looked at the clothing brand, not well known he supposed, but he wasn’t knowledgeable in fashion to begin with. Beomgyu gave a small hum, nodding at the fashion logo with the models propped behind it.

“This explains how you're so fashionable. Makes sense, I knew you had to have help somewhere.”

Yeonjun rolled his eyes at his friend's jab before placing a finger over his own lips, “From here on no speaking unless absolutely necessary.”

Soobin smiled at Beomgyu when he gave Yeonjun the same salute he had given Taehyun. As Yeonjun turned back around to lead them through a set of double doors, the younger one stuck his tongue out. Soobin covered his mouth to stifle the laugh that threatened to rise up. A bump against his shoulder had him looking down at Taehyun’s tight frown, showing his disapproval before walking forward. Soobin decided to do the same as Beomgyu and received a thumbs up from the other for his deed.

Yeonjun led them further into the building where it seemed the workers would ship out the clothing items. With racks of clothes and boxes stacked in towers. A conveyor belt running through the building next to empty shipping stations. While the building didn’t look too big on the outside, Soobin saw endless space inside. There was no sign that the world seemed to be ending, just an empty warehouse. He tightened his grip on his bow and arrow, ready to launch. He wasn’t an idiot. A huge space like that with no sign of life, or the undead, was harrowing omen. Beomgyu seemed to think the same, Soobin noticed his smile and joy dwindled more the further they got in. Yeonjun stopped by a door labeled manager, and gave them all a once over. Soobin felt like he was taking them in just in case it would be the last time he saw them. He didn’t like it.

“There's an elevator that leads underground, it's where everything is. I can only assume that they went down to protect the products. So be careful and have your weapons ready.”

Soobin took a deep breath and nodded, following the others inside and closing the door behind him at Beomgyu’s request.

“Better to leave things as they were to not draw attention. Don’t want anything following us and trapping us.” He explained

Yeonjun leaned down in front of a large metal door and yanked it open, causing a loud screeching sound that made all of them flinch. Everyone seemed to stop breathing and awaited their impending doom. Someone,something had to have heard if they were nearby. Seconds that felt like eternity passed until Beomgyu released a deep breath of air, allowing everyone else to settle. Once he knew they were okay, Soobin was able to take in the old school elevator placed in front of him. With metal grates that were used as the door and surrounding walls in the small box rusted and frayed with time, the wooden floor and panels that wrapped around the bottom edges of the elevator that seemed to keep the grids in place. He no longer felt the fear of the undead, but the fear of the death box they would have to step into.

“Is that going to hold us?” Taehyun asked nervously

“Yeah, she's stronger than she looks. Don’t worry.” Yeonjun appeased, opening the grated doors and stepping inside.

“Doubt that.” Hueningkai muttered before following him in.

Everyone walked inside minus Soobin who couldn’t help but feel worried that the machine would buckle and fall from the total weight of them.

“Shouldn’t we just go in pairs?” He asked

“Come on Binnie.” Yeonjun smiled, holding his hand out for the younger to grab. Soobin felt some worry diminish as his hand was tightly grasped and allowed himself to be yanked in. He smiled nervously at Yeonjun as he adjusted to the smaller space.

“Yeonjun.” Beomgyu’s serious tone had everyone turning their heads to him, and then toward the direction of what he was looking at. Soobin felt the chills cover his body. On the control panel lay a bloody handprint.

“Be ready.” Yeonjun said, releasing Soobin’s hand to lay it on the red print, pushing the stained button and beginning the elevator's descent.

Soobin knew he was shaking from fear of the unknown. The thought of having to shoot a living person overwhelming the thought of encountering more infected. He knew Yeonjun joined the group because of his childhood, and how many others joined for the same reason. How many others were just victims and stayed behind to live, how many would he encounter here? How many would he have to kill? A pinch on his arm had him jolting in pain, erasing his thoughts to focus on the pain. He turned to see who had the gall to pinch him in their current situation and was surprised to see Taehyun frowning at him. Before he could get a chance to ask the boy what his problem was, the younger one pointed at his lowered bow.

“Get ready to shoot.”

Soobin opened his mouth to ask why but was stopped when loud moans echoed from beneath them. The elevator continued to lower in the darkness and at the first sight of light they were met with several zombies heading in the direction of their elevator.

“Soobin start shooting now!” Beomgyu yelled

Without thinking Soobin aimed his arrow between the large gaps of the elevator and shot the zombies closest to them, aiming for their head and trying his best to imagine a dartboard's bullseye instead of the arrow shooting through their actual eyes. He tried his best not to see them as humans, he tried his best to take down as many as he could before the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. He tried to keep standing as the other four pushed past him and charged at the zombies he didn’t have time to get rid of. All he could do was try.

He raised his bow and arrow up and began to shoot any zombies that charged toward his friends while they were preoccupied. He knows he shot 2 or 3 when they came down the elevator but luckily it seemed he had taken care of the faster ones since the ones that were approaching were slower.

He saved Beomgyu as Beomgyu saved Hueningkai, swiping his pipe on a zombie's legs to halt their pursuit on the younger and proceeding to stab the pipe into their head. Beomgyu turned when he head the fall of a body behind him, looking at the arrow and smiling at Soobin,

“Thanks Binnie!”

Soobin felt frustrated at his words. Thanks? Thanks for what? He was standing off to the side shooting only when he had a chance while the others were in the fray getting bloody and risking their lives at such close combat. Hueningkai and Yeonjun moved closer to each other and helped each other out by using Beomgyu’s past technique, Hueningkai breaking their legs with a bat and Yeonjun charging forward to slam his knife into their eyes. The amount of creatures heading toward them was quickly dwindling and the others noticed it too, relaxing their postures at the upcoming end. Soobin too felt that he was able to breathe a bit more, until he turned to see Taehyun relaxing too much and staring at him instead of the zombie rushing toward him. Before he could realize what he was doing his feet ran toward Taehyun and shoved him toward the wall away from the dead creature. He jumped up to drop kick them, falling to the floor in the process. He lifted his back off the floor groaning in pain just in time to see Beomgyu finish the zombie off. Beomgyu offered his bloody hand to him, Soobin gratefully took it. He looked worriedly at where he had shoved Taehyun and saw Hueningkai and Yeonjun surrounding him already.

“Swear you love to piss me the fuck off.” Taehyun hissed as soon as Soobin got near.

Looking down at Taehyun holding his arm in his hand in pain. Soobin felt his own blood drain.

“Did they- Did- Did they get you?”

“No you idiot you got me.” Taehyun rolled his eyes, releasing his arm to show Soobin the gash on the side of it. “You pushed me into an exposed broken pipe.”

Soobin could feel the tears well up in his eyes. He was trying so hard to provide for the group and yet once again due to him they were put in danger. Taehyun was hurt because of him. All because he played hero even when he was told not to.

“Relax, it’s not your fault.” Taehyun sighed in annoyance, “Yeonjun you guys should really get an inspector down here before I shut this place down for hazards.”

Beomgyu laughed and threw his arm around Taehyun’s shoulder, ignore the others small grunt of pain.

“My boy, where did that humor come from? I never knew you had it in you.” Beomgyu wiped a fake tear from his eye, “You grow up so fast.”

“Get your hands off me before I show you what else I have in me.”

Yeonjun sighed at their antics and grabbed Soobin’s shaking hands.

“Binnie, you saved his life, whether he likes it or not. You’re a natural born hero. You killed like what 6 of these things?” Yeonjun praised

“And dropped kicked another!” Hueningkai added, coming behind Soobin to wrap his arms around him and rub his belly soothingly

“Hey if we’re talking about killing count, I think I’m first place. 7 Kills and no assists.” Beomgyu said, propping himself into a hero pose.

“There were only 20, you didn’t kill that many.” Taehyun corrected

“Anyways!” Yeonjun interrupted, “You saved us Soobin again. So don’t feel too bad about an accident.”

Soobin took in the dead bodies and his still alive mostly uninjured friends and nodded. He still felt that he should’ve and could've done more, but for now Yeonjun’s words were enough. Plus he felt that if Beomgyu and Taehyun were still able to bicker, then his arm couldn’t hurt that bad.

“Okay, the weapons room is just down this hall, we should be fine since the noise should’ve led them all to us.” Yeonjun said, releasing Soobin’s hand to lead the way.

They all walked down the empty hall, passing by closed doors that Yeonjun made no attempt to explain. Which Soobin felt grateful for, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what secrets lay behind them. Though his mind did wander to the idea of drugs and other illegal activities. Yeonjun halted in front of a door and entered a passcode into the keypad attached to said door. It chimed as it unlocked for him.

“What idiot doesn’t change the code for 9 years.” Taehyun said astonished

Yeonjun pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by a zombie who lunged at him. Yeonjun seemed to have seen this coming as he stabbed his knife into the dead’s eye and twisted, kicking the body back and detaching both his knife and the eye. He walked in and stared at the body laid before him.

“This idiot.” Yeonjun stated, kicking the body before looking up at the surprised faces of the other four.

Soobin didn’t know what to focus on. The obvious resentment Yeonjun held for the dead man or the large room full of an array of illegal weaponry.

Chapter Text

 Yeonjun stared angrily at the man that laid in front of his feet. The urge to kick him again was quickly overcoming him. While he currently didn’t have any evidence, he could only assume that the bastard had gotten bit and still tried to only save himself, allowing all the rest to get infected and locking himself up with the weapons in an attempt to protect himself. He just knew from the day they first met that the man wouldn’t have changed and would stay self-centered even toward his deathbed. 

“So I assume you knew this one personally.” Taehyun’s voice drawled from behind him.

“I just thought he was pissed ‘cause the zombie scared him.” Hueningkai added, trying to lighten the mood and Yeonjun had to admit it lessened his anger just a bit.

“He was the one who got me into this.” Yeonjun admitted, his eyes refusing to move from the unmoving ones on the floor. “He called himself Sam, Super Amazing Man, is what he used to brag about.”

“I’m sorry, and you followed him?” Beomgyu laughed, “I know this is a touchy subject, but there's no way you followed that cheezy gross line.” 

“He didn’t tell me his name was an alias until I was in, and once I was in,” Yeonjun sighed and shook his head, closing his eyes. “I was in.” 

“So what's he doing in here then?” Soobin asked. Yeonjun wished he wouldn't; he just wanted to grab what they came for and leave.

“Saving his own skin like always. I think he thought if he had all the weapons he could defend himself, then pussied out and ended up turning anyway.” Yeonjun shrugged, finally turning around to face his companions.

He looked at their faces, taking his time to observe the emotion on each one. Soobin looked sad for him and Yeonjun didn’t need or want his pity. Hueningkai looked uncomfortable and he almost laughed at the fact that the kid couldn’t or didn’t try to cover it up. Beomgyu looked just as disgusted at the man by his feet as Yeonjun did and he felt some comfort to know his anger wasn’t unwarranted. Taehyun however, Yeonjun couldn’t place the emotion on his face at all. Taehyun seemed almost unfazed. Like this whole situation bored him. It irked him just as much as Soobin’s face had, however he could deal with Taehyun. Taehyun didn’t try to pry or pretend he could sympathize and right now he felt like he needed that, needed something to keep him stable. He wasn’t the leader of their little thrown together group, but he was the eldest and as the eldest he needed to keep a level head. His earlier breakdown was embarrassing and he really didn’t want a repeater. So he decided to just keep his focus on the younger. 

“Let's just get this over with and get out of here.” He sighed, “Grab a weapon, but only the ones you can conceal.” He took a step over the body and walked into the room to look around. 

The other members followed him inside and he could tell some of them look hesitant. Minus his friend it appeared. He walked over to where Beomgyu was eyeing a large gun, one that he knew he had seen in Beomgyu’s stupid games. He came up behind him and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“I said something small.” Yeonjun scolded, trying to pull him away.

“Technically, you said something you can conceal.” Beomgyu scoffed, pouting at the gun he was being pulled away from.

“And where do you think you could hide that? Besides your empty brain or big mouth.” Taehyun mumbled as he walked past them to observe the smaller guns on the lower half of the wall.

“Preferably I would’ve liked to shove it up your ass, but it seems there’s already a stick in it.”

Taehyun turned his head sharply toward Beomgyu, no doubt about to make another comeback or maybe he had finally decided to punch him. Yeonjun loved his friend, but he had to admit he’d given Beomgyu a pinch here and there due to the younger’s love for bantering. But he didn’t want to add their arguing onto his growing migraine.

“Shut up. Both of you.” Soobin huffed, practically reading Yeonjun’s mind. “Just hurry up and grab what you need and let's get out of here.”

Everyone seemed to be silenced from shock. Yeonjun turned to look at Soobin who had his arms crossed as his face slowly flushed red from all the attention now pointed at him. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. Just like seeing you in a position of power is all.” Beomgyu teased.

Soobin rolled his eyes at the comment and waved the younger off with his hand. Yeonjun had to admit he also liked that Soobin was getting more comfortable talking to them. Even if that meant he was going to start sassing and talking back. Nevertheless the younger had a point, so he quickly turned back around and helped Beomgyu and Taehyun with a choice of gun. He chose a bulkier revolver for Taehyun, though the ammunition in it was limited, it was easier for Taehyun to wield and this way he wouldn’t use it unless he absolutely had to. Yeonjun really hoped he wouldn’t. Beomgyu on the other hand got a semi automatic pistol, much to Yeonjun’s annoyance. His friend had recognized it from one of his games and instantly claimed doubles, grabbing a shoulder holster to hold them both as well. Hueningkai stayed waiting with his eyes wide as Yeonjun helped the other two learn the basics of their weapons. He could practically feel the younger vibrating with anticipation. He felt bad but-

“Sorry Huening, but you’re going to go without one.”

“What?!” Heuningkai gasped.

“You’re too young.” Yeonjun shrugged.

“Young? Taehyun’s the same age as me!” He whined, pointing at his friend who was currently examining his gun. 

“Yeah, but your mentality is young, ya know? Even if you’re technically an adult. You’re baby.” Beomgyu jumped in, scooping into Hueningkai’s side to pinch his cheeks.

Hueningkai swatted him away. “I’m not a child, I can pull my own weight and I’m not an idiot. I know how to properly use a gun and the responsibilities behind it.” 

“It’s not that, even Taehyun’s getting an older simpler gun with less bullets specifically because he has no experience.” Yeonjun explained.

“Besides It’ll be safer if we have at least one person without a gun who can handle close combat.” Soobin jumped in, placing his hand on the youngest shoulder. “Let's be real, you’re the strongest one out of all of us and you seem to have a higher stamina. We need you to be focused on keeping us safe from a closer range.” 

Yeonjun smirked at the blush forming on Hueningkai’s cheeks at the elder’s praise. He knew the kid had a small crush on the elder and while he felt bad, he was glad that it could be used to his advantage. Although, he had to admit Soobin wasn’t wrong with what he said. Hueningkai could probably kick all of their asses, minus Yeonjun’s.

“Don’t worry. I have plans for your bat as well as Taehyun’s.” Beomgyu chimed in.

Yeonjun worried for them both, but decided not to question it as he went back to the wall and picked up a similar gun to his, only with a silver trim on top. He walked back over to where Soobin was rubbing Hueningkai’s shoulder with a smile, which quickly dropped when Yeonjun presented the gun toward him. 

“What's that for?” Soobin mumbled, dropping his hand from Hueningkai’s shoulder, but not reaching for the weapon.

“For you. I’ll carry my gun, but you’ll still need one of your own.” Yeonjun explained.

“I don’t need a gun. I have my bow.” Soobin knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

“You never know when you’ll run out of arrows and if you do, you’ll need a weapon.”

“I-I’ll just get a bat or pipe like Hueningkai.” He argued.

“Soobin, you want to be a hero so badly right?” Taehyun’s voice cut in, “Take the fucking gun, you have better aim then us anyways, besides maybe Yeonjun. So if we need you, you’ll be of better help to us this way.”

Soobin frowned as he glanced back and forth between the two before hefting a heavy sigh.

“I guess.” He grumbled, taking the gun from Yeonjun’s hand hesitantly.

Yeonjun looked back at Taehyun and smiled gratefully at him. Taehyun scoffed and turned his head away in return, but Yeonjun saw the glimpse of red on his face. As much as Taehyun loved to be impartial to them, Yeonjun knew they were officially in Taehyun’s good book. The eldest got up and pulled two sets of daggers and leg harnesses off the vast wall before making his way back to their group who were patiently waiting for him outside the door.

He looked down at Sam one last time, deciding that one more kick wouldn’t hurt anybody. He couldn’t stop smirking at the man who swore that Yeonjun’s life mattered less than his own and felt a sense of triumph that he had outlived him. Yeonjun rolled his shoulders back and smiled at his newfound friends, his new future, as he walked away feeling like he could finally leave his past behind.

“Sooo not to make our stay here any longer than need be..” Hueningkai mumbled, pushing his index fingers together nervously.

“Just say it, we won’t bite.” Yeonjun smiled, feeling lighter than he did a couple minutes ago.

“Well, we're in a clothing warehouse, and I don’t know about you guys but I’m desperately in need of clean clothes.” He said, opening his arms to showcase the blood soaking his shirt.

“Yeah, you have a point there.” Yeonjun hummed, suddenly aware of the sicky feeling of the blood around him. He looked at the rest, and besides Soobin who only had blood on him from when he fell, they were all equally soaked. So he knew they were all in the same boat. A plus side was that he got to rob from the shady company, even if it was only a few articles of clothing. 

“Well just grab anything you like, no more pit stops, so just grab it along the way.” Yeonjun said, looking at Beomgyu specifically when he mentioned the pit stops.

“What if I can’t find something I like within our walk out the door.” Beomgyu huffed, crossing his arms, “Or it’s not in my size.” 

“Then you’re shit out of luck and you need to give up that lucky dog charm.” Yeonjun smiled in warning, which seemed to have no effect as Beomgyu rolled his eyes and shoved past him to enter the elevator. 

“Ugh, this thing again. I had almost forgotten about it.” Soobin groaned.

“You can hold my hand if you're scared, it’ll help ease my worries too.” Hueningkai smiled, reaching for Soobin’s hand as they entered side by side, followed by a frowning Taehyun carrying Soobin’s arrows. Yeonjun entered last, taking one last look at the bodies around them and trying to see if he remembered any of them from the past. Luckily he could say he didn’t. He shut the grate behind him and started up their descent.

“Hueningkai’s smarter than I thought, I should’ve played that card.” Beomgyu whispered to Yeonjun. He then turned to Taehyun and eyed the arrows he gripped tightly in his hands.

“What's up with the arrows?”

“Since Soobin here doesn’t want to use the gun, I thought it would be best to conserve as many arrows as we can so that way he doesn’t have to.” Taehyun replied, looking at Soobin’s held hands. 

Beomgyu nodded slowly, seeming to be slightly taken aback by the information. 

“Well chief, I do believe we’re falling behind.” Yeonjun whispered to his friend.

The elevator shook as it finished its ascent. Everyone seemed to relax their tense shoulders as soon as Yeonjun opened the grates to exit. It seemed while Soobin and Hueningkai were verbal on their dislike of the elevator, the rest of them weren’t too fond of it either. He watched as the two exited out of the elevator still hand in hand. 

“You can let go of each other now.” All three of them said at the same time, surprising each other.

“Oh my bad, it just felt so natural I had almost forgotten about it.” Hueningkai smiled sheepishly, releasing his hold on Soobin, “Thanks for holding my hand Soobie.”

Soobin blushed lightly from the nickname and nodded. “Anytime.”

From behind Soobin’s back, Hueningkai smirked at the three and mouthed Soobin’s word back to them mockingly. Yeonjun rolled his eyes at the action before sticking his hand out toward Soobin.

“Well I’ll hold your hand through the building, it’s not fair if only Hueningkai holds it.” 

If Soobin was pink at Hueningkai’s comment, he was practically red at Yeonjun’s. Taehyun clicked his tongue disapprovingly and walked into Yeonjun’s hand forcing him to lower it. 

“Weren’t you two just bugging about getting out of here.” He scolded, before leading the way back into the warehouse.

“Maybe later then.” Yeonjun smiled.

Soobin nodded shyly and that was enough for him as he followed Taehyun out the door. They walked back into the warehouse and although the silence was still enough to creep them out, it felt better knowing that they had practically got rid of all the zombies hidden away. Yeonjun wasn’t too concerned of anyone else popping in unexpectedly since he’s sure the regular employees were sent away to get rid of any excess future troubles. He slowed his footsteps more so that way the others had time to glance though any hanging clothes or packed boxes. While Beomgyu was the one to complain about wanting to go through the whole warehouse for an outfit, he was also the one to grab something first; a dark gray cardigan and a plain black t-shirt. Hueningkai was next, grabbing a hoodie with a small white cat embroidered on the corner of his chest. Taehyun grabbed a simple gray shirt without even giving it a second glance. Yeonjun himself grabbed a black tee and zip up sweater, an outfit that could keep him comfortable with the ability to maneuver himself. As they all changed into their new clothes Yeonjun realized that Soobin hadn’t chosen anything. It seemed he wasn’t the only one when Beomgyu had called the elder out a second later.

“Oh um, I guess I’ll grab this.” Soobin lifted up a bright red shirt with an obscure logo. 

Instantly all of them made a face of disgust, including Taehyun who didn’t seem the type to get bothered by fashion.

“You can’t read the vibes?” Beomgyu questioned, moving his hands in a gesture to show everyone's dark outfits.

“Well Yeonjun said I could choose anything.” Soobin huffed, affronted by his choice of style, “Anyways, this way if I get blood on it, it won’t really matter. Right?” 

Yeonjun's eyes widened when he realized that Soobin was gesturing at him to answer his question and side with him. While he knew there were many different outfits Soobin could choose from, he had told them they could grab anything they wanted, and he wasn’t going to back out on it just because his tastes were different. Even if he wanted to grab that shirt, burn it and make Soobin wear a matching outfit with him. 

“Yeah for sure Binnie, wear whatever you want.” 

Soobin smiled as he turned around and took off his dirty shirt and replaced it with his new one excitedly. Yeonjun glanced at the smooth milky skin of his back and turned away with a blush, and seeing Hueningkai and Beomgyu so obviously gawking at him, while Taehyun looked at a shirt indifferent even though the faint blush on his face was a dead giveaway. Soobin turned back around and spread his arms proudly.

“Well, you’re cute so I guess you can pull anything off.” Beomgyu hummed, nodding his head in approval causing Soobin to blush.

“Okay let’s get a move on then.” 

The group finished making their way out of the warehouse and through the set of doors that opened to the main lobby and stopped in their tracks. Through the glass windows they could see rain pouring down heavily. 

“Goodbye to these outfits.” Beomgyu pouted.

“What? Why? Can’t we stay here until the rain stops?” Hueningkai asked.

“No, We’ve already been here too long for my comfort. We don’t know when they'll send people to check the warehouse for any items or weapons and we don't want to be here if they do.” Yeonjun sighed, “A little rain won’t hurt, I know a place nearby. We should be able to settle there for the rain to end.  We can dry our clothes off too.” 

Everyone nodded, though Soobin looked a bit hesitant on the idea. Yeonjun didn’t question it as he walked out first and led everyone outside. The rain poured over them harshly and the sound of the drops pounding away at the pavement reverberated in their ears. Yeonjun shook his head and almost laughed. A few feet ahead were three zombies, unaware of them as they rocked back and forth to the tune of the water. He turned to look at Beomgyu and saw all four of them also zoned in on the undead. Once Beomgyu turned his eyes to Yeonjun, he nodded forward. Yeonjun wasn’t too sure of moving forward and attracting their attention, but he knew Beomgyu had yet to fail them so he trusted him and continued moving. They slowly walked back toward the car, Yeonjun knew he wasn’t the only one holding his breath. Once they were on the other side of the creatures, Yeonjun was able to make out their torn up faces and their wide bloody mouths, not even the rain could seem to clean the blood off their bodies. One seemed to limp more on his right side, while another seemed to sniff at the rain thoughtfully, Yeonjun could almost play them off to be someone like them, uninfected. Yet when he thought about it, that's what they were a couple days or even hours ago, and Yeonjun could be just like them in the same amount of time he supposed. When he turned his glance to the final one, his heart sank to his feet, because that one seemed to be looking right back. He stopped moving in an instant, causing the others to crash right into him. They stumbled just a bit, and Yeonjun felt his sweat soak him alongside the rain, the zombie glanced over him and toward the rest. He overlooked all of them, but zeroed in on Soobin. Soobin raised his arrow shakily, waiting for one of them to tell him to shoot, but before they could the creature released a loud screech that put the sound of heavy rainfall to shame. Yeonjun barely blinked when all three creatures began to run toward them. He raised his gun to defend himself when he realized they ignored him and were heading straight toward Soobin instead. Even with Hueningkai right beside Soobin, they only aimed toward him. Hueningkai swung his bat as the closest one reached a hand toward Soobin, shaking out of his fear-ridden state to defend him. The zombie fell but even from the ground, they reached up their hands toward Soobin. Yeonjun looked up as the other two were held back by Taehyun’s bat and Beomgyu’s pipe. Soobin stood behind the two frozen, but even then while he wasn’t moving and the dead had two living people right in front of them, their focus was solely on Soobin. Yeonjun looked over all of them to see what the difference between them was, when his eyes latched onto Soobin’s red shirt. 

“Soobin! Your shirt!” Yeonjun yelled, running behind him to rip the fabric off of Soobin. As soon as the shirt came off he tossed it to the side and watched as the creature's eyes followed it blindly. Giving the other three enough time to slam their weapons into their heads roughly, anger of almost losing a beloved member to them rushing through their veins.

“Enough!” Yeonjun yelled, trying to hold Soobin to both cover and soothe his nerves. “We need to go now!”

“But we need to get Soobin another shirt!” Taehyun argued, “We aren’t far, I can run ba-”

“No! The rain covered most of the noise but we don’t know how many of those things are nearby nor do we know if anyone else is close either. We have weapons, but we can’t risk a brawl, especially not now.” Yeonjun scolded, glancing over at a panic stricken Soobin. 

He took off his wet sweater and gave it to Soobin, “It’s wet so it won’t do much, but it’ll cover you up for now.”

Soobin grabbed the sweater in a daze and nodded, covering his chest before Beomgyu huffed in annoyance and stepped forward to help the elder into it. Glaring at Yeonjun for his lack of help. Yeonjun felt a bit ashamed that he had just tossed the jacket to him and not helped him into it, but he was also frazzled and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. He was having a hard time digesting everything they had just gone through.

“Let's go.” He muttered, pushing ahead quickly and hoping the others were keeping up to his speed.

They got to the car without any more issues. Yeonjun got into the driver seat with Taehyun as his passenger while the other two chose to sidle next to Soobin, squeezing him into the center of the car and trying to warm him up with their own body temperatures. Taking one last breath, Yeonjun began to drive to another place he assumed he would never return to.

When Yeonjun pulled into a little back alley, he couldn't help but feel the stress seep off his shoulders. The drive there was short, a little less than 10 minutes going through back streets to avoid any turmoil in the inner city. The owner of the place liked to be close to the heart of it all, but far from the noise, which worked in their favor. They had only encountered a couple zombies on the drive, but due to the heavy downfall and the slow roll of the car, they paid them no mind. Once parked he looked in the back and saw the other two each holding onto Soobin’s hands. He glanced at the side toward Taehyun and gave a small smile, which the other rolled his eyes to. Yeonjun knew he meant that they weren’t in the clear yet so as not to relax too much. The elder frowned at the reminder and sighed.

“Well at least it’s still raining, we should be able to get inside with no problems.”

“Inside where exactly?” Taehyun asked, looking out the window at the brick walls which surrounded them in the tight alley.

“She has a backdoor a little more up, I just didn’t park right next to it. Just in case.” Yeonjun explained, “If what's inside is a group of undead, I'd rather have time to reach the car than to get surrounded before we even have a chance to get some distance.”

Taehyun hummed thoughtfully while Beomgyu whistled impressed. Rolling his eyes, Yeonjun took the lead as he guided the others toward the door, before he was going to open it a hand pressed against his chest to hold him back. 

“You said I’m better at close distances, so I better go first. Just in case.” Hueningkai smiled.

Yeonjun was going to argue before he felt another hand reach out and grab his wrist. When he glanced back at who grabbed him, he was surprised to see Taehyun frowning at him, shaking his head. Yeonjun wasn’t too sure about the situation, but he knew how close Taehyun and Hueningkai were, so if Taehyun trusted the youngest he would too. Yeonjun stepped back to allow Hueningkai enough space to lead them and swing his bat if need be. Hueningkai opened the door and found it locked, he looked back at Yeonjun asking for permission to enter regardless. Yeonjun nodded since he didn’t bring any keys to unlock the door himself. The younger slammed his shoulder into the door and once again Yeonjun was thankful for the heavy rainfall as Hueningkai repeated himself two different times before the door budged and they were able to forcefully push the door open. Just opening the door took a couple of hands to push, and when they managed to squeeze through the opening they created, Yeonjun was able to see why. Behind the door laid a bookshelf with things thrown across it in hopes of weighing it down. Yeonjun smiled and hoped that the old lady was alright then. 

“Old lady?” Yeonjun called out.

He was met with silence before he called out once more. Nothing seemed to make any sound in return. He pouted in confusion, he assumed she would still be here if she barricaded the door. His heart dropped at the idea that he might just find her body in here, maybe like the corpse he saw at the motel. Before his thoughts could spin out of control a hand tightly gripped his shoulder. 

“Let’s look around first. Don’t jump to conclusions.” Beomgyu’s voice calmed him a bit more and helped ease his racing heart as he nodded and walked forward into the bakery. Shades were drawn down in the front half, thick metal both protecting them and keeping them hidden from anyone or thing that could lay outside on the main street. The bakery itself looked untouched, and if Yeonjun didn’t know any better he would just assume it was a regular day after closing. But he did know better, and again he wished for this all to be some sick dream. He nodded his head toward a staircase that led to an upstairs living room. Stepping into her home, he felt a sense of melancholy take over. He hadn’t wanted to leave this place, but she had forced him to pursue his dreams, and helped him move and pay for school even though she had done so much already. 

“Yeonjun, over here.” Taehyun called out.

Yeonjun went to the kitchen where Taehyun had called out for him and saw him looking at a note placed on the fridge. 

       Dearest Junnie,

I do hope you're alright. If this note finds you I assume you stopped for a break on the way to the compound. Stay safe, I boarded up everything to make sure this place was safe for you in case you returned, but please don’t stay too long, I know how comfortable you can get. Hope to see you soon, 

   best wishes, your Old Lady

Ps. I left some food in the fridge for you to heat up, along with extras in case you aren’t traveling alone

Yeonjun teared up and before he knew it, his tears wet his drying face. He was so glad that she got out safe, but couldn’t help but feel ashamed that once again she was helping him out.

“She’s the one who got you out of that gang shit, huh?” Beomgyu deduced.

 “Yeah she’s the main boss’s mom, so she has overall say on everything since he’s a momma’s boy.” Yeonjun nodded.

“Some gang being run by a momma’s boy.” Taehyun mocked.

“Trust me, she was ruthless when she wanted to be.” Yeonjun shuddered, “I should have some old clothes here that you guys can shower and change into. I’ll put our wet clothes to wash and dry for later too.”

Hueningkai laughed, causing everyone to turn around at him confused, even Soobin who seemed to barely be getting out of his panicked state looked at him quizzically. 

“Even now, you seem to be giving us some type of sanctuary. It’s unbelievable really that a former gang member has been the reason we’re still alive.” Hueningkai laughed.

“I don’t know about that, I think we’ve all saved each other plenty of times.” Yeonjun blushed.

Chapter Text

Looking around the small apartment, Beomgyu wouldn’t have even considered that it belonged to the mother of a gang leader. He would have expected the place to be fancy, or atleast bigger. He hadn’t expected the downstairs area to be a bakery either. If he was the parent of a gang leader, he wouldn’t be still working, that's for sure. So it struck him odd that this ‘old lady’ was even running her own bakery with her small home upstairs. A home that Yeonjun had shared with her, if the pictures of the two of them were anything to go by.

“She has more photos of you than her own son.” Taehyun commented

“Yeah, that's not for her lack of trying. He didn’t want any pictures of evidence tying them together in case he got in trouble. He wanted to keep her safe. Changed his name and birth certificate just to be sure that they had no ties.”

“Wow, he really loves her.” Hueningkai smiled, holding up a photo of Yeonjun and an older woman in a photobooth. The first two pictures of her looking confused and taken off guard, probably unaware of what a photobooth was.

“Yeah.” Yeonjun sighed, before clapping his hands to catch everyone’s attention again. “So who’s going first.” 

“Soobin should go first, the warm water should help ease his nerves a bit.” Beomgyu said, before anyone could beat him to it. He knew they were all currently worried about the taller, he had just come out of a life or death situation and no one seemed to want to talk about it. At least not with Soobin in the room, but he knew they had too; after all they had just gotten valuable information.

“C-Can I um Can I-” Soobin stuttered looking at the four of them nervously, “Can I leave the door open? I just um, I'm not sure I want to be alone.” 

“I can join you if you want?” Hueningkai jumped in, before Beomgyu had even had the chance to. “Is that okay with you? It’ll be quicker that way. Ya know if we go in pairs, since we’re all wet.”

Soobin sighed in relief and nodded at Hueningkai’s request. Beomgyu felt a pang of pity for him, he knew Soobin was trying to be stronger for the group so he didn’t directly ask but Hueningkai asking instead must’ve really meant alot to him. He watched as the two taller ones took Yeonjun’s old clothes and followed Yeonjun to the bathroom. Immediately after they left his vision he decided it had been a minute since he bugged his new friend, quickly turning to face the younger.

“So you wanna be my partner?” Beomgyu turned to ask Taehyun, raising his eyebrows suggestively 

“I’d rather get pneumonia.” 

“Bummer, I really wanted you to wash my back the way Huening is probably washing Soobin’s” Beomgyu jabbed, knowing that Taehyun seemed to be prone to jealousy.

“Shut up, I’m just glad you're not the one in there, pervert.”  Taehyun sneered

“Oh so you're okay if Soobin chooses Hueningkai.” 

“What??” Taehyun looked upset at the idea,

“You want him to choose you then?” Beomgyu goaded

“I-I don’t know what youre talking about. I could care less. You should be more focused on staying alive.” Taehyun frowned, crossing his arms and looking over Beomgyu’s shoulder to await Yeonjun’s return. 

“I leave you two for one second and you’re already messing with him.” Yeonjun’s voice came behind from behind Beomgyu

Beomgyu turned around and smiled widely at Yeonjun before shrugging his shoulders to show the older man that he didn’t care. Yeonjun frowned and gave his cheek a dramatic pinch in an attempt to settle him.

“Okay so outside,” Yeonjun began, releasing Beomgyu to focus on both of them.

“They couldn’t make any of us out, but they centered in on Soobin.” Taehyun cut in

“Because of his shirt, it had to be. He was the only one wearing a bright color.” Beomgyu deduced

“But Hueningkai’s been wearing his white hoodie, same with my undershirt.” 

“Maybe it's the tones? Like more bright and unnatural? Like you don’t see that bright red on a daily basis.” Beomgyu hummed “We shouldn’t go around any bright colors regardless, just to make sure we don’t risk it.”

The other two agreed and Beomgyu couldn’t help but wonder what other information they still didn’t know. He knew there were people who could be immune and that the creatures couldn’t see well and relied on sound. He now knew that they could definitely see bright colors and that as long as they stayed away from those colors they were practically safe in the rain. But he felt like there was something else he had noticed before they attacked Soobin. The high that ran through his system hadn’t let him fully process it, and when he tried to think back on it, all he could remember was the fear of losing a close friend. 

“Well no offense to Yeonjun here, but Soobin isn’t going to be able to squeeze into his high school outfits here. And we didn’t really pack clothes from his apartment either.” 

“I’m sure the clothes wont be that tight on him.” Yeonjun spoke, and just as he did Soobin walked back into the living room blushing with a giggling Kai right behind him.

“I don’t assume you have anything a size up?” He asked, glancing down at himself, his shirt riding up to show his belly and the pants, while baggy, were tightly cinched around his waist putting emphasis on his hips as the three ogled at him.

“I think it looks nice!” Beomgyu smiled widely, turning to Yeonjun to give him a thumbs up in appreciation and receiving an eye roll in return.

“Sorry Soobs, I left here when I turned 17 so all the clothes I have here are from back then and I was a bit smaller than now.” Yeonjun smiled sheepishly 

“I dunno I kinda like it, I never would’ve tried this but I think we look hot!” Hueningkai spoke up, coming up to lean against Soobin and placing his arms around the elder’s exposed belly.

Beomgyu glanced over to see Taehyun looking at the floor with a slight flush on his cheeks and an annoyed look on his face and smiled widely. He wasn’t planning on giving up on Soobin any time soon but seeing the younger deny his own feelings, he couldn’t help but want to push Taehyun toward acceptance instead.

“Can I get some clothes, I’m fucking cold and I want to shower.” Taehyun scoffed, ignoring the clingy taller couple ahead of him in favor of glaring at Yeonjun.

_

Beomgyu laid on the living room floor, going through all the horror video games he had ever played. While he always hopped around with his interest, video gaming was something he had always stuck with. His parents were very lax with the way he was raised and allowed him to explore his dreams with no restrictions as long as he stuck with something by the time he turned 30. It was something he was always grateful for. He had backpacked for a summer, joined a band, and was even a tattoo apprentice before he joined college to see what else the world could offer him. That's where he had met Yeonjun, and even with Yeonjun’s recent backstory reveal he couldn’t help but feel that he had made the right choices in his life to lead him right where he was at. If this was a game he wouldn’t have gone back to change his choices and he had a gut feeling that this pathway was going to lead him to a good ending. He turned to look at the other four who lay sleeping on his right, Hueningkai right next to him followed by Taehyun, Soobin, and then Yeonjun. He had lost the rock paper scissors and while Taehyun had wanted nothing to do with it, Beomgyu could see the shine in his eyes when he tied with Yeonjun. Even laying down he could tell that the two were latched onto Soobin’s side, whether they were aware of it or not. He could see Soobin’s chest rising and falling quickly and could hear his breaths struggling. A small cough coming out. Beomgyu assumed it was a nightmare, after what Soobin had gone through he would have nightmares too. As he closed his own eyes, he wished he could take Soobin’s nightmares himself to allow the older a much needed rest.

_____________

When Taehyun opened his eyes he felt an abundance of heat on him. He turned and almost yelped in fear when he saw Soobin’s face inches from his own. He took in Soobin’s red face and the puffs of breath that left his lips and stroked Taehyun’s cheek. Soobin was curled into Taehyun, wrapping the younger in his arms and from Taehyun’s limited view he could see that Yeonjun was latched onto Soobin’s back in turn. He was so flustered at the closeness that it took him a second to realize that the heat he was feeling wasn’t coming from him at all. Soobin was hot, in a literal sense. The taller one was burning up and it caused Taehyun to shoot up in concern. Which caused Soobin to whine in discomfort which then turned into a fit of coughs yet he stayed sleeping. He placed the back of his hand on the other's forehead, knowing he didn’t need to since he could tell just how hot Soobin was by the sweaty hair soaked onto it. The rosy cheeks and his puffs of breath were cute but were another giveaway. Soobin was sick. Very sick.

“Shit.” 

Taehyun leaned over Soobin to roughly flick his finger against Yeonjun’s forehead, causing the elder to release Soobin quickly and cover the injured area in protection. He let out a low groan of pain before Taehyun shushed loudly. Yeonjun looked over to the younger one who had disturbed him. Discontent and annoyance seeping from his pores.

“Are you shitting me? What now? Couldn’t stand me cuddling up to him or what.” Yeonjun muttered quietly, trying not to wake the others.

“No you idiot,  He’s burning up. I need to make some soup or something and I need you to look for any medicines your old lady might have around.” 

Yeonjun’s eyes widened in realization and Taehyun felt a sense of dread that the other knew something he didn’t. Taehyun knew this was serious, someone getting sick could raise some potential issues, but Yeonjun looked like he was just told that Soobin was dying. 

“Tell me you have the medicine he needs.” Taehyun looked at him angrily, his nerves rising up at being left in the dark.

“The rain, I- Well Soobin has pretty bad asthma. He said he’s been managing to control it, and I guess he has since he hasn’t had an episode but-“

“Having him in cold wet clothes lowered his temperature drastically and the ongoing stress has exacerbated it. Him having asthma also puts him at a higher advantage of getting pneumonia.” Taehyun finished off remembering how his parents had treated a girl with asthma from his past often.

“Yeah, how do you know all that?” Yeonjun asked, “And I thought it was a myth about getting sick in the rain.” 

“There's some truth to it, but if Soobin got this sick already, it wasn’t because of the rain he must’ve already had a virus and his immune system weakened enough to take over.” 

Taehyun looked over to Yeonjuns face and saw the elder biting his lips with a guilty look drawn onto his face. While he did want to make the elder feel guilty especially when he refused to let Taehyun grab a change of clothes for Soobin. He knew it wasn’t the time to argue and if he thought about it enough he wasn’t comfortable blaming Yeonjun for something he didn’t cause.

“Trust me. My parents were doctors, I don’t know much since I was like 10 back then but I know that you didn’t cause it. He would’ve gotten sick regardless.” Taehyun assured him with a sigh

“Oh…okay.. Well I think she has soup cans, I’m not sure about ingredients but I can look.” Yeonjun nodded, not looking to confident in Taehyun’s reassurance

“Chicken preferably but if Soobin has a virus we need antibiotics and some cold medicine to help relieve his symptoms while he fights it off.” 

“He’ll be alright though? When it tides over?” Hueningkai’s soft voice cut through

Taehyun jolted and turned around to see his friend propped up looking at them dazed. His hair messy and a small residue of drool still on his chin. But even half awake Taehyun could see the worry in his eyes. 

“He should be. But like I said I’m not a doctor, it’s just what I overheard when my parents treated this.” 

He turned around to glance at Yeonjun and was surprised to see the other was already gone, noises in the kitchen giving Taehyun an idea of where he had gone. Taehyun was usually perceptive but it seemed that Soobin getting sick was getting to him more than he’d like. 

“In Soobin’s bag there's some medicine. He grabbed some stuff when we left Yeonjun’s place. I’ll check the lady’s cupboards for anything too.” Beomgyu yawned, which caused Taehyun to jolt in fear at the new voice

He hummed in agreement and heard the blankets rustle behind him, followed by Hueningkai’s more awake voice volunteering to help. Taehyun didn’t pay them much mind as Soobin’s coughs worsened, causing the elder to frown in pain while he slept. Taehyun reached out to gently run his fingers across his frown lines then toward the pronounced bags under his eyes. He never really noticed them before, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the man had always had them or if it was just the couple of days that had taken its toll. Before he could remove his hands, Soobin released a soft sigh. His eyes opened up to stare directly into Taehyun’s own wide ones.

“T-Taehyunnie?” Soobin sighed questionly, leaning his head more into Taehyun’s hand 

Taehyun felt his heart race a mile. He knew Soobin was sick and wasn’t thinking right, but the softness that came with his name and the trust in Soobin’s eyes was undoing him. He shook his head in an attempt to shake his thoughts and released Soobin’s face from his wavering hands. Causing Soobin to frown and hum in confusion as his face attempted to follow the receding hands. 

“‘My head hurts” Soobin whined, and Taehyun had to agree that he felt like his own head was hurting

“You’re sick Binnie.” Yeonjun’s voice answered the unasked question, “But don’t worry Taehyunnie here is a doctor.” He teased

“I am?” Soobin groaned, looking over at Yeonjun who stood nearby with a bowl of soup, then moved his eyes back toward Taehyun, “You are?” 

“I haven’t even graduated high school, Yeonjuns just being stupid.” Taehyun scoffed, standing up and removing himself from the situation to find Beomgyu and Hueningkai. 

The apartment wasn’t big, since it was more of a connecting loft to the bakery downstairs more than its own unit so it didn’t take long for Taehyun to find the two rummaging around. One in the bathroom and the other in the room. Taehyun looked at Beomgyu’s scrunched up face and decided to go into the bedroom instead of helping his friend. 

“Whats up?” Taehyun asked, leaning against the wall

“We haven’t found anything in here besides some over the counter pain medicine.” Beomgyu sighed, standing up from where he was digging into the woman’s bedside drawers. 

“That should still help him for now. It’s better than nothing so let's just hope that Soobin packed some decent medicine.” Taehyun replied

A small silence enveloped them and Taehyun shifted his legs uncomfortably. He wasn’t sure why he was still in the room. It’s not like he was needed. Beomgyu yawned and threw himself backwards onto the bed. 

“So if your parents were doctors, how in the world would you know that much at 10 years old?” Beomgyu's asked, whistling a tune as if his question didn’t cause Taehyun’s nerves to rise up. “‘Cause as far as I know 10 year olds aren’t allowed to be in the hospital, especially while they treat patients.”

Taehyun turned to glare at the other and huffed in resignation. When he thought about sharing his information it didn’t seem that far fetched anymore. No one to call him a kid with a wild imagination or to tell him to keep that information to himself. Nor call him a bad person for thinking the way he did. After all, Yeonjun was practically the people his parents had cared for. 

“My parents had their own personal medical office in our home. Wasn’t legal or on any maps. They dealt with people like Yeonjun’s group and anyone else who couldn't attend an actual hospital for reasons like cops or fear of hospitals, or if they just didn’t have the finances to cover the million dollar charges.” Taehyun stated, trying to keep his tone as neutral as he could. Trying to just stick to the facts and keep his own opinion on it out.

“Crazy, I’m running around with felons at the end of the world.” Beomgyu gasped dramatically 

“One, I’m not a felon, my parents were. I was literally a kid. Two, It’s not yet known whether it’s the end of the world or just this country. so let's not jinx it.” Taehyun corrected

“So why were you living with your aunt then? Didn’t want to follow your family's business?” Beomgyu prodded

Taehyun closed his eyes and tried to calm his rising emotions from his past. His nails dug into the center of his palms in his attempt to ground himself. He could feel his body begin to shake.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep or anything you really don’t have to say anything.” Beomgyu rushed out, getting himself off the bed and walking to put his hand on Taehyun’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. 

“It's fine. It's just- It's the past so it shouldn’t even rile me up this much.” Taehyun spoke from his clenched teeth before sighing and placing his own hand on top of Beomgyu’s  “They’re dead so my only living relative was my aunt who never wanted kids. And I won't be following in their footsteps, I know they were kind and had wonderful hearts who wanted to save people who couldn't be saved. But they had a kid t-too.” Taehyun’s eyes watered  

as his words faltered.

He felt another hand on his other shoulder and looked up to find Hueningkai giving him a reassuring smile and a nod to show him that he was okay to keep going. He was safe with them.

“They got killed, helping the wrong sort of people. They should’ve stopped their business as soon as I was born but they kept going knowing the risks. So I won't be like them. I won't be self-sacrificing when I know that I risk leaving others to suffer in my wake. And don’t tell me they were doing it for the better good, ‘cause I know. I know they were good, and they had so much love to give so judge me ‘cause I’m the asshole for wanting them to love me more than the world.” Taehyun said, his once heavy chest feeling lighter as he spoke words that he had been keeping in for years. “So no I won’t be like them. I will choose my loved ones before a couple of strangers anyday as they should have!” Taehyun angrily yelled 

Taehyun stared at his feet as he watched teardrops land on his toes. A shuddering breath released as he tried to soothe himself but before he could be given the chance he was brought into a tight hug. 

“You're stronger than I thought, kid.” Beomgyu teased, his own words choked with emotion

“Wish you opened up sooner Tyun, I wouldn’t have judged you at all.” Hueningkai sighed, resting his head on top of Taehyun’s own

“Well thanks. I guess.” Taehyun scoffed, feeling more like himself than he had in years. “We should go back to the others before Yeonjun tries anything while Soobin’s sick.” He continued in an attempt to move on from his embarrassing breakdown

“AHA! so you are jealous.” Beomgyu smiled, taking Taehyun’s olive branch. Releasing Taehyun to run back to the living room. 

“You can talk to me about anything Taehyun, from your past to your current crush.” Hueningkai smiled, moving to hold Taehyun an arms length apart. “Even if I’ll have to break your heart when he chooses me instead.” He winked 

Taehyun rolled his eyes and smiled at Hueningkai. He didn’t know why he never told Kai about his past, he knows he should’ve but the other was always so kind hearted that Taehyun feared that his selfishness would push him away. He should’ve had more faith in him.

“Let’s go then.” Taehyun hummed walking away before pausing to turn to look at his best friend. “Although if I lose I’d only be okay losing to you.”  He teased

When they got back to the living room, Soobin was sniffling, leaning his head on Yeonjun’s shoulder. Beomgyu was latched onto his other side, his arms wrapped around his waist and head on the shoulder. Both of them humming a soft tune. 

“I mean, we could always share.” Hueningkai whispered. 

Taehyun scoffed and walked forward to the pile of bodies before kneeling down in front of the sleeping Soobin. 

“Soobin, how are you feeling?” Taehyun asked gently, reaching out to shake him awake. 

The two on the other side gave Taehyun an annoyed look but stopped humming Soobin to sleep. Yeonjun going as far as to jostle his shoulder in an attempt to help wake him. 

“Hmm?” Soobin hummed in question, before a coughing fit woke him up fully. “Taehyunnie? Are you okay? I heard you yelling.” 

Taehyun couldn’t stop his eyebrow twitching in irritation. Soobin was once again more concerned about him and not his own self preservation. It seemed Soobin had caught annoyance on his face as the elder pouted and looked away dejectedly. 

“Sorry. I don't mean to pry.” Once again coughing 

“It’s fine. It was nothing to be concerned about. I’m sure Beomgyu will spill soon anyways.” Taehyun sighed, glancing at Beomgyu who conveniently looked away; whistling in a fake attempt to seem distracted. “,But I need to know where you put the medicine. I have to check to see if you brought antibiotics. Anything to help.”

Soobin shook his head, trying to hold back his coughs. “No. I’ll be fine. We can use those for any actual infections. I always get sick. I’ll get over it.” 

“You have asthma. It’s risky to just let it ride over. You need medicine.” 

Soobin glance at Yeonjun warily, “Snitch” He teased before coughing 

“You didn’t say I couldn't share that. Plus our dollar store doctor needed that information, right Taehyun?” Yeonjun pouted

“Yeah sure.” Taehyun waved him off, “We need to get you medicine Soobin, before it gets worse.”

“Give me a day please. A day and half to try to get better. Before you waste any medicine.” Soobin begged, leaning forward to grasp at Taehyun’s hands. “Please Taehyunnie, trust me.”

Taehyun couldn’t look away from Soobin’s desperate watery eyes. The small cute pout on his lips that wobbled dramatically. He looked at Soobin’s warm large hands surrounding his own and knew he’d regret the decision. 

// 3 days //

Taehyun had been making Yeonjun cook Soobin whatever kind of soup he could make with the ingredients in hand. Having Hueningkai and Beomgyu go out to the car for the food they carried as well as the medicine that Soobin took from Yeonjun’s place. He had been giving Soobin some of the expired medicine as soon as the day he promised was up. He knew there was a risk the medicine would do nothing or cause stomach issues but he knew that something was better than nothing. But it didn’t seem to do anything at all. 

Soobin was laying his head on Taehyuns lap, with a cough so strong Taehyun was sure a lung would come up alongside it. Just the previous night, they had to run an ice bath for the taller. It hurt them all to hear him cry in pain and beg them to let him out. Taehyun couldn’t take it and had to leave the room, Beomgyu right on his tail. Hueningkai and Yeonjun carried out that punishment. Both seemed more tired after it as well, and Taehyun didn’t envy them, even if Soobin latched on to them the rest of that night. It had only been 3 days and they were no closer to helping Soobin. 

“Hyunnie” Soobin whined, trying to bury his face that was scrunched in pain into Taehyun’s lap.  

That was the other thing Taehyun was having trouble with the past 3 days. Soobin being sick had made him so desperate for human contact. He assumed it was because he was doted on when he was younger but now they needed to designate a Soobin babysitter just to coddle him. Not that any of them really disagreed, Taehyun included. He just wasn’t used to how his heartbeat would quicken at Soobin’s nicknames or skinship. 

He sighed and ran his hands through Soobin’s drenched hair. 

“Here, this one should stay cool for a while.” Hueningkai whispered, not wanting to wake Soobin up

“We need to go.” Taehyun mumbled, taking the frozen rag that Hueningkai held out. 

“Go where?” Yeonjun asked, his eyes looking at Taehyun suspiciously 

Taehyun looked at him and glared, he knew Yeonjun thought he was saying to leave Soobin. A week ago he would’ve. As soon as Soobin got sick or showed he couldn’t move on, he would’ve taken Hueningkai and the car and left. But now, he thinks he would consider all of them a part of his team, his family so to say. So he wouldn’t be leaving any of them behind. Not anymore. Not for anything.

“We need to plan a trip to a pharmacy.”

Chapter Text

Hueningkai looked at the two staring each other down. He wasn’t sure which side to choose since the others had just about picked theirs already. 

“You’re staying here. You’ll be a nuisance if we take you.” Taehyun restated, his fist clenching in annoyance.

“No I won’t be, you won’t even notice I’m there. Anyways you need me! Who else can shoot arrows like I can.” Soobin coughed, trying to keep his voice composed, even though Hueningkai could tell he longed to raise it to get his point across. 

“He’s right, Soobinnie. Since you've gotten sick, half of the time you’re not mentally with us. You’d be too dazed to keep up, let alone shoot. We can’t risk you getting hurt.” Yeonjun added, his eyes pleading for Soobin to understand

“Well you are risking yourselves!” Soobin finally yelled, before he delved into a coughing fit. Hueningkai leaned into his side and rubbed his back in an effort to soothe the elder. “You're going to a pharmacy for me aren't you? So why shouldn't I help out since it’s because of me that you’re all deciding to be so fucking reckless” 

“Don’t be stupid. Most of the medicine that you grabbed has expired anyways and we’ll need more regardless just in case. We are going to the pharmacy because we have to do it for everyone's sake, not just yours.” Taehyun scoffed, though Hueningkai knew he was lying through his teeth.

“Bin you should just stay here and rest, it’s to keep you safe. Trust us.” Beomgyu whispered, leaning forward to try to hold Soobin’s hands. However as soon as his hands tried to grasp Soobins, the older tore his hands away. Hueningkai could see the hurt look on Beomgyu’s face, as he put his head down and leaned back to stand alongside the other two.

“If you care so much about keeping me safe, then you wouldn’t leave me in a place I don’t know surrounded by zombies with no chance of protecting myself if something happens while you’re gone.” He spat through gritted teeth, “For someone who hates when people play heroes, you’re doing a shitty job of pretending to be one.” He finished, turning to look at Taehyun bitterly.

“Soobin..” Hueningkai reached out to hold the elders hand, and was relieved when the other didn’t move it away. He didn’t want Soobin to be mad at them, even if he felt that Taehyun was starting to prod him to anger. He knew Soobin had a point and Taehyun was just being overprotective like he was prone to doing. He didn’t mind it, he had to admit that he honestly liked being shielded and protected more than not, but even he had his limits of being treated weaker just because he was younger. So he understood Soobin’s frustration that no one was taking him seriously.  He glanced at Soobin and was surprised that Soobin was already staring at him with big wide eyes helplessly, practically begging for Hueningkai to side with him. To have someone, anyone, be on his side.

“He’s right. He can’t be alone so far away from us. If something were to happen. We wouldn’t know and we wouldn’t make it back in time regardless.” Hueningkai spoke, his tone leaving no room for argument. Taehyun looked at his friend with betrayal and opened his mouth to dispute, Hueningkai was quick to cut him off. “, and vice versa, if something were to happen to us. How would Soobin know? How would he live with himself and how long would he wait here waiting on us? It’s beneficial in the long run if he comes along.”

“Why can’t someone just stay with him?” Taehyun crossed his arms, surprising Hueningkai that he wasn’t riled up at his friend's hindrance and not shutting down his idea like he tended to.

“That would weaken us overall. We’re better as a group, if we’re down two people it won’t be good. Especially if we are going further into the city.” Hueningkai said, knowing that he won by the twitch on Taehyun’s eyebrow.

“AGH Fine. But he’s staying in the car locked and tucked away until we’re done.” Taehyun said, trying to find a compromise. “He can’t go in with us, he’ll slow us down. But that way he’ll be right outside if he needs us or if we need him. The windows are tinted so as long as he stays quiet and covered he should be okay. Happy ?” He glanced at Soobin bitterly

Soobin looked at Taehyun as tears fell from his eyes and he nodded, giving the members a wide smile, “Thanks for putting up with me.” He sobbed

Hueningkai enveloped him in a hug before the other members joined in and surrounded them. 

“No one’s putting up with you Soobin, we just love you and want to make sure you're safe.” He reassured

“Alright pack some stuff just in case we can’t come back here to regroup. We can just take off from there if need be.” Yeonjun said, “We’ll head out in 30.”  

Hueningkai felt everyone move away from the pile as they went on to do what Yeonjun ordered. While he stayed behind to settle into Soobin’s warmth.

—

It didn’t take long for everyone to pack up. Hueningkai had stayed by Soobin the entire time, Taehyun had grabbed his stuff for him as Yeonjun had packed Soobin’s bag. He was grateful that they weren’t mad, not that he’d ever think they’d leave them for dead, but it was still nice to know that they cared. Taehyun had dropped his bag by his feet and glanced at the two. Any other time Hueningkai would probably rub the fact that Soobin was practically wrapped around him in his friend’s face but his friend was looking at him wistfully. While he loved to tease he didn’t have the heart to do so. 

“I was going to have you carry your bag along with Soobin’s as punishment. But he doesn’t look like he’s very much awake right now.” Taehyun frowned

“He fell into another one of his fits a little bit ago, he should be fine to wake up.” Before Hueningkai could attempt to wake the older, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Taehyun shaking his head at him. 

“Leave him be. I’ll carry your bag and have Yeonjun carry Soobin’s.” Taehyun said with pout

“Why?” 

“I know you're strong enough to carry Soobin and still be in a defensive position. We aren’t sure how many are out there, and it's safer if we rush.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” Yeonjun's voice came from behind. “I’ll help you get Soobin on your back and then we’ll have you in the middle of us three, Beoms in the front and me in the back.” 

“What am I, chopped liver?” Taehyun scowled 

“Noo of course not sweetie, I know you can’t be too far from your bestie or Soobinnie so you’ll be by their side.” Yeonjun teased, waving a finger in front of Taehyun’s mouth with an air of fact. Hueningkai watched Taehyun attempt to bite him, and smiled. Feeling the air of normality slowly return. 

“Can I help put him on Huening’s back?” Beomgyu’s hesitant voice jumped in, cutting off the two who had begun bickering. 

Hueningkai was surprised at Beomgyu’s unusual reluctance and nodded along with the other two who also seemed put off by his demeanor. Hueningkai pried Soobin’s sleepy hands off of him with Soobin grumbling the whole time. As he knelt down and leaned forward, Beomgyu had grabbed Soobin’s waist and lifted him up slightly to lean him on Hueningkai’s back. The moving around waking the older.

“Huh? Whats-?” Soobin mumbled before trying to pull himself off Hueningkai, “I can walk, It’s okay.” He protested

“No can do, it's faster and safer if Huening carries you. But since you're awake, you can help us out. Grip onto him so he can use his bat just in case.” Beomgyu spoke so softly that Hueningkai almost had to strain to hear him. 

Soobin gave a low grunt in acknowledgment and judging by Yeonjun’s shrug at Beomgyu he could assume the elder was dejected at Soobin’s short reply.  

Only after he felt hands wrapped around his neck and feet locked around each other did Hueningkai stand up. He could tell Soobin was trying to support himself on his own by the small trembles that also shook his body. He walked to the door and everyone stood by waiting for Hueningkai to give them a nod. Thankfully it seemed that zombies that lingered the day before had cleared out. He couldn't help but be worried that all this luck was going to run out soon. He turned around to look at Yeonjun and when he saw a mirror reflection of his own conflicted face, he knew he wasn’t alone in his thoughts. 

As he turned back around to look forward he noticed that Beomgyu was frozen in place, his shoulders tight as if waiting for a bomb to drop. It seemed that Taehyun was the only one to actually just take the luck in stride, as he walked forward and gave a small jab to Beomgyu’s back with his bat. The elder turned to give him an annoyed look before walking forward toward Soobin’s parked car.  

They had left the door unlocked so as to not attract any undead by an unnecessary car alarm or even just the beep that would ring out when they unlocked it. He knew Taehyun didn’t like the idea of leaving it unlocked but he didn’t argue with it because he knew that the reasons were valid. Hueningkai knew Taehyun’s upbringing caused his distrust in others but he couldn’t help but wish that one day he’d open his heart to these three more easily. 

Beomgyu helped him get Soobin into the car before sliding into the passenger seat quietly. Hueningkai wasn’t sure what was going on with him, but after their duo investigation at the motel he couldn't help but feel a bond between them. He didn’t want Beomgyu to dwell in whatever thoughts had settled into his mind, so he made the decision to bug him as soon as they were alone. With him and Taehyun sidled up next to Soobin he couldn't help but curl into the older, cozying up to his body heat and feeling immense joy of being alive with the others. 

“Don’t get close to him, you’ll catch what he has.” Taehyun grumbled from the side. 

“After all the cuddles Soobin’s gotten out of us, not sure that's a concern. I think Soobinnie just got sick ‘cause of his immune system, not a disease that's going to infect us.” Yeonjun added, glancing back at Taehyun with his eyebrows raised, trying to edge Taehyun on to argue. 

“Regardless.” Taehyun huffed, turning to look outside and away from Yeonjun and Hueningkai’s knowing stares. 

“The pharmacy isn’t too far down, it's like 20 mins walking distance so we should be there in 10.” Yeonjun said 

“Don’t you mean 5?” Hueningkai asked, wondering why it would take half the amount in a car and not less

“We won't be able to drive too fast, just in case the noise of the motor has zombies coming over. We’ll roll the car over, like we did when we came, so that way we can park without worry.” 

—

The car ride was quiet as they rolled through the alley and back out onto the streets. Yeonjun knew of some backways but had let them know that they would have to go on the main streets for a bit before going back into an alleyway. All Hueningkai could do, all any of them could do is hope that luck was still on their side. 

Rolling through the daylight they could sense the unease consuming them whole as the streets were calmer than they had ever anticipated. Hueningkai had come to this city before with Taehyun. They used to take the city bus to explore the city on the days they decided to ditch school with nothing but his parent’s credit cards. Now the bustling city was quiet. If not for the broken windows, cars abandoned haphazardly in the roads and blood splattered on some walls and sidewalks. It would've seemed like the infection hadn’t even reached the inner city. Like everyone simply vanished. 

“They're probably in stores.” Taehyun mused

“Let's not jinx anything alright.” Yeonjun grumbled

Yeonjun slowly stepped on the gas pedal to allow himself more leverage to weave through the strewn cars. Hueningkai scrunched his face as the engine of the motor picked up but allowed himself to relax once they rolled into another alley that was wide enough to get the car through. They drove in silence again feeling a bit more at ease in a smaller area. 

When Yeonjun parked the car, dread washed over Hueningkai. They were farther away from the store than they were when they had stayed at the old lady’s place. To top it off, it didn’t seem like the stores on either side of them had doors. Only two exits, back down the alley where they came from, blocked off by some type of apartment complex and onto the main streets where the stores were.

“Yeonjun.” Taehyun grumbled, a protest ready to form on his lips

“He has to park this far. Depending on what we encounter we need a farther distance to make sure we don't lead them to this car before we can get in. Plus the farther away we park from the street the safer Soobin will be.” Beomgyu mumbled, cutting off any disagreements before they could come out of the younger ones. 

Hueningkai fidgeted in his seat, trying to see the logic. “I just want to make sure Binnie will be okay here.” 

“He will be, one of us will stay behind to watch him.” Taehyun stated

Everyone looked at each other and Hueningkai was glad that no one objected to the statement.

“Well, I can-”

“No.” 

Everyone turned to look at Soobin, who seemed like a disgruntled rabbit, as his lips formed a deep pout and his eyes were bleary with sleep. He closed his eyes tightly, and forced them open, Hueningkai could tell his head was pounding and he was trying his best to look like he was okay. 

“That wasn’t the deal we made.” Soobin's scratchy voice filled the car, “You all go together to make sure you all make it back. I stay here tucked under a blanket. Hidden and safe until you return.” 

“You don’t expect us to actually follow through, do you?” Taehyun scoffed, “You can barely stay awake, let alone sane. What if you start crying or moving around and trigger the alarm.”

“I won’t sleep. I’m wide awake right now. I feel like shit sure but I’m awake. If you’re worried I’ll fall asleep, don't lock the doors.” Soobin argued

“He’s right.” Beomgyu jumped in, startling the other two. “Soobin will be fine, and if we don't lock the door it’ll also be easier for us to get in. Plus if Soobin does fall asleep, he’ll be covered with a blanket and there's no one around anyways. We’ll be quick regardless so he won’t be alone for long. We can even keep the car running so that way we don’t attract anything when it starts up.” 

Soobin smiled gratefully at Beomgyu’s input and Beomgyu eagerly returned it tenfold. Hueningkai had a feeling Beomgyu’s mood was due to the argument with Soobin, but seeing the relief fill the elder settled it. Once again, he didn’t have the heart to disagree.

“Well, let's get a move on kids. Soobin isn’t going to be up for long, so let's hurry before he falls asleep and then we won’t even have to worry about it.” Yeonjun clapped

Soobin gave him a halfhearted glare but nodded in agreement.

They all exited the car, giving Soobin reassurance that they would be back soon, as well as a threat from Taehyun to stay safe and hidden. While they walked away, Hueningkai turned back and waved one last time at Soobin, who smiled and waved in return before covering himself and tucking down into the seats.

Yeonjun peeked out from the corner to see the main street and nodded at them to confirm that the coast was clear. Warily and one by one they all turned the corner of the alley to step on the sidewalk. Hueningkai felt the goosebumps creeping onto his skin once it was his turn to quietly tread onto the empty city. It was one thing to cruise by in a car and another to feel the silence wrap around his whole body. He knew he wasn’t the only one feeling unnerved in the situation, looking over at the other three’s tense shoulders and scrunched eyebrows. Hueningkai picked his pace a bit to follow Yeonjun closely behind,in hopes of moving everything along faster, before immediately slowing down once he realized that if his nerves were shot then Taehyun was probably terrified. He decided to walk behind his friend instead, in hopes of bringing some kind of relief to him. Taehyun eyed him warily as he made his way behind him but didn’t try to argue. The way his shoulders relaxed just the slightest, he knew he had made the right choice. All that talk and raised hackles that Taehyun pushed out but he knew his friend was still as much of a scaredy cat as he’d always been. It was really cute, Hueningkai thought. Looking at Yeonjun’s tense body, Hueningkai could only assume that Taehyun was not the only one. The elder was leading confidently, with his knife in one hand while the other was raised in a defensive position. If you paid attention like Hueningkai was, you’d see how often he was brushing his hair behind his ear in worry, how he continuously kept glancing back to make sure he wasn’t alone, the small tremor in the knife, and his tongue that kept peeking out to meet his lips. Normally, most people would feel that having someone who wasn’t scared leading would be better, but Hueningkai knew that Yeonjun being on edge was for the best, since he wouldn’t overlook anything out of fear. 

They arrived at the Pharmacy fairly sooner than he would’ve expected. All four of them stood side by side and stared at the broken glass windows. With no issues encountered during the walk, even as they passed a few stores, he was definitely on edge. There was just no way everything was working out in their favor. 

A weight was dropped on his shoulder and he jumped at the sudden impact. Yeonjun smiled at him, an easy going smile that Hueningkai could tell was fake. He looked over to Taehyun and Beomgyu who were whispering to each other, cupped palms to filter their already hushed voices. 

“They want us to go through the broken glass windows, because we don’t know if the door has a bell attached to it. Anything that could cause a loud noise and alert those things.” Yeonjun whispered near his ear. 

Hueningkai tilted his head in a quizzical manner. He didn’t want to risk whispering if it wasn’t needed, but luckily Yeonjun seemed to understand his confusion.

“They're worried we might make noise stepping on the broken glass, or getting injured so they don’t want us to all go in at the same time. But if we do that, it’s risky.”  

Hueningkai shrugged, he thought that either way was going to be a risk. But if they were going to risk something then it’d be better to go through the glass then the door, since the unknown was the poorer option. While they could try to control the noise from the glass, they wouldn’t be able to control whatever noise could come from the door. Peeking around Yeonjun and making eye contact with Beomgyu as he pointed toward the window, it seemed they had reached the same conclusion. It was just a matter of who would go first. 

Yeonjun took a deep quiet breath and started to walk forward, choosing himself once again to endanger. Hueningkai reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him, feeling that it shouldn’t be his responsibility to put his life on the line simply because he was older. The elder looked back at him in uncertainty, before looking toward Taehyun as if he needed confirmation. It peeved Hueningkai off, so before his friend could shake his head in disagreement, he took two steps forward and stood right in front of the window. The holes were wide enough for a human to fit through pretty comfortably, which was a given since it was probably broken into for looting. He took a deep breath before holding his bat to make sure it didn’t hit anything on his way in, due to his long legs he didn’t have to hold on to the window pane to get in, just had to extend his legs and use the tip of his toe to reach the other side. He bit the inside of his cheek and stepped on the glass covered floor with his full weight. The noise was small and he knew it was barely anything, but in the silence of the shop it felt like fireworks were popping. He allowed his other leg in and repeated the process and stared back at the other three who also seemed to be holding their breaths. Taehyun with his pinched eyebrows stepped forward and followed right after. While each one stepped in, Hueningkai stood off to the side, with his bat ready, just in case they were heard.

Yet again they got lucky.

Once they were all in the store they immediately headed toward the back where the prescribed medication was kept at. Taehyun had circled his finger as he pointed at the store ceiling, in a way that told Hueningkai that he wanted to explore the store but Beomgyu immediately made an X with his arms. They were here for one thing and one thing only, to help Soobin. Beomgyu pointed at Taehyun to follow him as he slowly climbed up on the counter to get to the other side. Hueningkai saw that there was a door off to the side to get in but knew that even if he mentioned it they would still choose to jump over the counter since it was another unknown variable that no one wanted to risk. 

As soon as both were over the counter a loud tinkly bell resounded. Followed soon after by a screech.

Hueningkai looked off to the side as the door he had just seen was pushed open. A man in his now muddy red doctor’s coat emerged erratically. His mouth was wide in silent scream, eyes wide and red as he glanced around looking for the cause of the noise. Hueningkai was frozen as he looked at the organs that seemed to pour out of this man's stomach trailing on the floor alongside a thick rope that came up wrapped around his bent neck. He felt like throwing up.

Yeonjun reached for the back of his hoodie in an attempt to pull the younger back toward him. Hueningkai nodded and took one step back in an attempt to get closer to the elder but stopped as soon as he did. The dead man’s eyes bored into his. The second felt like an hour. The scream that sounded out from the man’s mouth seemed deafening. 

“Huening run.” Yeonjun shoved the younger man down the aisle as he took off running too. 

Hueningkai tried to look at where the elder was going, but needed to turn back around to swing his bat at the man who reached him sooner than he would’ve thought. Before he could, the man grabbed his bat in his desperate attempt to grab the younger.

“Shit man, we gotta go!” He heard a distant voice yell before the bell to the front door dinged once more. He turned his head in an attempt to see who it was but felt the same desperate force of the dead pushing harder on his bat to reach him. He turned back to look at the eyes of the man and pushed back against him, in that single large push he was able to shake the man off the bat. He could hear more noise being made down the aisles along with Yeonjun’s own grunts of effort. Before he could attempt to turn to help the older man was right back on him, Hueningkai cursed under his breath as he found himself in the same position. He pushed back once more to shake the man off. The man stumbled back, Kai quickly used the bat to bunt the man as he would a baseball. The man's entrails seemed to have wrapped around his foot in their struggle as he fell back on the floor once the bat made contact with him. Hueningkai took a deep breath before slamming his bat down on the man's head in one swooping motion. Loud and bloody, he had finished him off.

“Kai behind you” Taehyun’s voice broke out

Hueningkai turned just in time to swing his bat at a woman, his bat making perfect contact with her skull and killing her before she could fully grab him with her manicured nails and bite on him with her bloody teeth.

“The noise is attracting more here, we need to go.” Yeonjun said, coming back down from the aisle. “You and Beomgyu need to grab what we need and go. Hueningkai and I will hold fort.” 

Taehyun nodded, not arguing against leaving his friend alone. Hueningkai stood in defensive positions as they heard the bell of the door as strays wandered in due to the noise. Two distinct chimes of the bell.

“We need to try to kill them swiftly, the less the noise the less we attract.” Hueningkai mumbled. 

“Dark Souls.” Beomgyu whispered to himself, causing the other three to turn to look at him in confusion

“Dark Souls.” He repeated in confidence. “Hueningkai, jump over the counter.”

The younger immediately followed the order, and Yeonjun followed as well before Beomgyu stuck his hand out before he could fully jump over the counter to their side. “We’ll have the zombies come to us.” 

“Are you crazy?” Taehyun hissed 

“Listen, we’ll have a sword and shield approach. Me and Huening will use the pipe and bat to push back against them and Yeonjun can drive his knife into their heads from the counter. They're dumb so they should only pay attention to us if we’re the only things moving, so YJ stay as still as you can until you know you have a clear shot to kill them.” Beomgyu rushed out quickly, as the sounds of footsteps came closer toward them. 

Hueningkai stood side by side with Beomgyu, their weapons positioned in front of them as a small frail bloody lady waddled to the counter with her twisted leg. A small rattle of pills had Hueningkai jumping, looking back at the noise to see his friend holding the bottle near the two to attract the creature to them only.

“I’m leaving to look for the meds then.” He mumbled once the woman turned to make a beeline toward them. 

Hueningkai held tight as the woman tried to reach for them over the counter, walking into the wood rather than climbing over to reach them. As if she didn’t know that jumping over was even a possibility. Beomgyu kept her upper body away from leaning toward them with the end of his pole, pushing her back; but not far enough to where Yeonjun couldn’t get to her.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yeonjun tiptoed on the counter and lifted both his hands in order to slam the knife into her head. Just as he did he jumped back as Beomgyu patted the table to attract another woman who immediately ran towards him.

Hueningkai pushed his bat into her mouth as she angrily snapped at him. Her single eye glaring at him. At her missed meal. Her other eye dangling from her eye socket in a weak attempt to hang on. Hueningkai felt his bile rise up again. From the corner of his eye he saw another one run at Beomgyu. This one was a teen, his face torn up in repeated bites, as if an old lady had taken her threats of biting his cheeks to literal. When he had seen the undead before, he was always full of adrenaline and so focused on living and protecting that he had never paid much mind to their appearances but now. 

Now he was definitely going to throw up.

Yeonjun, his shining knight, seemed to have read his mind, because immediately the boy fell on top of the counter and slid to the floor, and soon after the grotesque lady in front of him as well. Yeonjun, covered in splatters of blood, panted as he looked at the equally dirty pair below him. Beomgyu smiled at him and raised his finger to his mouth. Hueningkai sat in their created silence. Minus the quiet rustling where Taehyun was digging through the medication, it was back to being eerily quiet. 

“I think we just attracted the zombies from the store nearby, we got lucky again.” Beomgyu whispered

“Let's just get the hell out of here.” Taehyun spoke up from behind them

Walking out seemed just as simple as when they had walked in. Excluding the dead bodies that now laid on the ground. They now walked in pairs, Yeonjun and Beomgyu in the front and Hueningkai and Taehyun right behind. Knowing that they were okay on the way to the store made things easier walking back, especially since the noise they made would’ve attracted whatever was nearby earlier.

Taehyun bumped his shoulder as they turned back down the alley they came from. The younger looked over at him and was met with his friend’s smiling face. They were out of the worst of it, they just needed to get to Soobin and find a place to rest until the medication worked before heading to the compound. Everything was working just f-

Hueningkai fell to the ground after bumping into something hard.

Looking up, he saw Yeonjun and Beomgyu frozen in place.

“What's wrong?” Taehyun asked, before freezing as well.

Hueningkai looked up to see who they were all staring at, or rather the lack of who they were staring at.

The car they had left parked was gone. Soobin was gone.  

Chapter Text

It was hot. Unbearably hot again. The rough movement and turns of the car wasn’t helping. The way his large body was squeezed between the front and back seats wasn’t helping, nor was the feeling tingling in his legs as the movements began to wake them up from their sleep. He knew that they were in some form of trouble if Yeonjun was driving this erratically, but he couldn't find it in himself to wake up enough to call them out on it, wake up to ask, wake up to make sure everyone was okay. I need to make sure that everyone is safe and together. With that last thought lingering in his mind; Soobin managed to squeeze an eye open.

“What happened?” He slurred out, leaning forward to look at the driver's front seat.

“Oh Shit!” an unrecognizable voice yelled out

“W-who are you?” Soobin asked, his voice a mix of fear and anger. 

The man gaped at him before turning around fully to look at Soobin's long bent form. He leaned over the passenger seat and mumbled something before turning to look back at Soobin with a wicked smile.

“Hey there kid, you're okay. Just go back to sleep, we'll be somewhere safe soon.”

Soobin gaped at them and felt his stomach tense. He felt sick, sicker than he normally felt. The sickest he’d ever felt in his life. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the flu or the fact that he was in a car with complete strangers with no idea where his friends were. Perhaps it was because he could feel hands caress through his hair and could no longer tell who it was; a stranger or a friend. He tried to clear his mind but the sick fog began to take over again. Suddenly the fingers that ran through his head felt like the strong fingers of his newfound friends. He looked up at the empty backseats and didn’t see emptiness but his youngest. Hueningkai smiled down at Soobin, his words melodic and kind.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. Just rest.”

_

He broke through the fog one more time when he felt his body jostled and placed into arms. He could feel fingers grip him tightly. It seemed more out of anger and fear rather than comfort or concern. He felt like the fingertips would leave bruises on his skin, more so than any injury he’d received so far. It was as if whoever was holding him was more worried about him running away rather than him just falling out of their hold. He tried to open his eyes but once he did, it was still dark. He gingerly reached up and felt a thin fabric wrapped around his head.

“Hey there buddy, you’re really hot.” A voice spoke out from above him, the vibration from the deep voice irritating his painful headache.

“Both literally and metaphorically.” Another voice snickered

“Shut up, don’t you see he’s sick.” The original voice snapped

The familiar annoyed tone of voice  alongside Soobin’s own foggy mind making a correlation in his desperation to figure things out. Another one of his friends spoke like that. Before long, he looked up and Taehyun was the one looking down at him. 

“You okay there?” Taehyun asked, smirking

“Taehyunnie? Where are we?” 

“Taehyunnie? Oh wow you're really sick or really popular.” Taehyun laughed, “Don’t worry, we’ll fix that.”

Taehyun repositioned him in his arms and walked into a run down building. He wasn’t sure what type of building it was, only that it smelled bad and seemed to be rotting from the inside out. Not necessarily in the zombie overrun way that other buildings seemed to be, but rather one that has been tossed to the side for years.

“I’m scared.” He whimpered, grasping Taehyun’s black shirt and burying his face into his chest. Taehyun smelled different, maybe he was sprayed with something or got dirty in the pharmacy but he smelt, like the dead.

“Hey there cutie, Why don’t you come lay over here. I have some medicine that can help you feel better.” 

Soobin looked up toward a long haired boy that patted the floor, blankets strewn around haphazardly with a pillow tossed on the edge. Soobin smiled at Beomgyu. 

“Beommie!” He cheered, asking to be put down, before running toward the shocked ‘Beomgyu’

“I’m sorry I was mean to you Beoms, I didn’t mean it. I hope you can forgive me. I just wanted to make sure you guys were safe. I'm sorry.” Soobin cried, rubbing his head in between Beomgyus neck.

“Beomgyu?” Beomgyu whispered confusedly

“Just go with it. He’s out of it and it’s easier for us this way anyways.” Taehyun grumbled as he made his way toward them.

“I forgive you. I know you meant the best?” Beomgyu hesitantly spoke, before clearing his throat, “Hey buddy, open your mouth. We have some medicine for you.”

Soobin nodded eagerly and opened his mouth the thick bitter familiar liquid making him hum. It reminded him of the medicine his mom used to give him. It reminded him of her worries and her soothing hums. He hummed her tune. Feeling a blanket drape over him he easily fell back to sleep. 

_

Soobin woke up sporadically. He wasn’t aware what time it was nor what day it was. He was shrouded in dark and confused but every time he woke up he was hushed by his friends. Sometimes it was Beomgyu or Taehyun, even Yeonjun had given him his medicine in a timely manner. He was so grateful that all his friends were okay and alive. They had made it and he was so proud of them. He was worried for no reason. He did feel bad, maybe he should have trusted them more, maybe they could've gone back to Yeonjun’s old lady’s home instead of whatever decrepit place they were currently in. 

“Look Vance, He’s getting his color back.” A voice chippered through his thoughts

“Yeah give it a day and he should be in decent shape enough to run through.” A deeper voice chuckled “We got lucky, whoever he’s dreaming of must’ve been taking good care of him, so with the extra boost of meds he’ll come to.”

“Oooh with his build, it’s going to be such a good show. We got really lucky~” another voice whistled

Soobin furrowed his eyebrows at the new voices. While they did sound similar, he knew they had no idea who they were. He was curious as to the new members his friends had brought into their group, but with the medicine working in his system he had no choice but to continue sleeping. He felt better, He could breath easily again and his headache and fog had dulled to a bare minimum. With the soups and constant around the clock care he knew he’d be better soon. He was so excited to be around his friends again. 

The last time Soobin woke up, he was in pain again. He didn’t know why since he knew he wasn't sick anymore. His headache was gone, his body was no longer sore and his fog was nonexistent. Yet this pain was coming from his arms. 

His arms that were currently tightly wrapped behind his back. He struggled against the rope, feeling it scratched his skin, burning into him.

“Help!!” He yelled, his heart pounding. His thoughts only on his friends, and where they had gone and if they were okay.

“Well, don’t freak out now. WIth all the boyfriends you have, I thought you’d be used to a little rope.”

Soobin glanced up to glare at two strangers. Two familiar strangers, he searched through his fogged up memories and remembered the taller of them from the car.

“What did you do to them?” Soobin growled, anger rising in his usual mellow voice

“Wooah not even gonna deny that you got 4 boyfriends?” The smaller man with long hair whistled, “That’s crazy. Not even me, but I’ll give you props.” 

“Where the fuck are they!?!” Soobin screamed

“Fuck if I know. Sorry to break it to you sweetie but they’ve never been here. They probably did themselves a solid and left your ass.” The taller one laughed

“Now enough with your hissy fit. We’re gonna have some fun.”

—__________________________—

He stared at a family photo; a pair of parents alongside their three children. Yeonjun could only hope that they made it to the sanctuary. Just like he could only hope that Soobin was okay.

“Fuck!” Taehyun yelled, pushing down the items that were abandoned on the kitchen table. “I Fucking Told Him!” 

“Calm down, you’ll attract them to us again .” Beomgyu mumbled, pinching his nose in what Yeonjun could assume was more so to chase away his headache rather than in annoyance.

“He’s right Taehyunnie.” Yeonjun tiredly breathed out

“Don’t fucking Taehyunnie me.” Taehyun angrily spat out, glaring at Yeonjun before redirecting his eyes to Beomgyu in what Yeonjun could only assume was pure hatred. He knew Taehyun was pushing all his anger out on his dear friend because he couldn’t blame his own. Yeonjun knew he would never blame Hueningkai. 

“We should just try to sleep for now. We’re all too heated and we won’t think clearly like this.” Yeonjun said, stepping into Taehyun's heated line of sight, in an attempt to keep it off his friend. His friend who still seemed to be shaking with a million emotions that even Yeonjun couldn’t read. 

Taehyun looked at Yeonjun incredulously before shaking his head in defeat. “Fine.” He gritted out.

“I found us some blankets and pillows we could use..” Hueningkai whispered from the hallway, stepping into the awkward room with a handful of mismatched bedware. 

“Thanks Kai.” Yeonjun smiled tiredly, knowing that it was useless when everyone could tell it was fake. Any smile that came across their faces would be fake; there was nothing to smile about.

They heavily laid the blankets down in silence, minus Taehyun who stood off in the kitchen refusing to help. Yeonjun wanted to yell at him, hit him, shake him to his senses. Yeonjun felt anger simmering behind his deep sorrow. They had all lost Soobin, they had all failed him. If Yeonjun was honest with himself, he thought that they were all at fault. Even if both he and Taehyun had been on the side of keeping Soobin at home, they should've pushed harder, or forced him. Even if it meant Soobin would hate them. He would’ve been safe, and still with them. 

They all laid down; a large space between each of them, long time friends included. Yeonjun wasn’t sure if they had done it on purpose. Both pairs of friends had been split on opposite sides when it came to Soobin’s safety. Perhaps he did blame Beomgyu and Hueningkai as much as Taehyun did. He didn’t want to think that way though. As the eldest, it wasn’t fair to have that mindset. Though he selfishly wanted to push the blame on the others, he continued to remind himself that they were all devastated by the loss. Perhaps that was the real reason they all kept a large space open between them. They were all leaving a spot for Soobin to return to. They were all hoping that they would wake up and see Soobin laying right next to them. Staring at the egg white ceiling above him, Yeonjun’s thoughts began to drift.

“What Did I Fucking Say! I Knew This Would Happen!” Taehyun shouted at the empty spot where Soobin’s car used to sit.

Yeonjun felt his heart stop as he stared at the scene; if the choking silence that came after Taehyun’s outburst was any hint, he knew he wasn’t the only one with his stomach in his throat. 

They hadn’t even been gone that long. He didn’t know how everything could be going so smoothly and now it was like one of his lifelines was stripped away. He knew he had a little crush on the younger boy, but now-

Now that he was gone, Yeonjun had never longed and ached for someone this badly.

The soul crushing silence felt like forever to Yeonjun as they all stared at the pavement, Taehyun’s heavy breaths being the only noise to even threaten to break the silence. Perhaps it was all of their breaths. Yeonjun couldn’t tell. He could barely hear the rough and dragging footsteps that echoed in the large alley. The groans that seemed to offer Yeonjun a reprieve of the pain he felt. 

“Shit. We gotta go now.” Beomgyu whispered desperately 

“Go where? How? You fucked this all up so figure it out.” Taehyun hissed back, his eyes wide in what Yeonjun would assume was fear. 

Yeonjun stood there hearing the groans and their bickering became desperate. The noises melded into one large cacophony. It sounded the same to Yeonjun, it felt hopeless. How could he ever think he could help care for Beomgyu, for this group. He deserved whatever was coming for him. He could sacrifice himself, he should. Maybe he could redeem himself that way, maybe Soobin would forgive him if he took care of the younger ones for him. Maybe-

“Yeonjun!” Hueningkai’s voice deafened the painful noise inside his head

Hueningkai yanked Yeonjun’s arm forward toward the large group of oncoming zombies that seemed almost inches away from them. Yeonjun felt fear freezing his veins at the thought of dying to those things. He felt disgusted with himself to even think about sacrificing himself for the others, it's not what Soobin would want. If he was going to do anything right; redeem himself, he’d have to be alive for it. He yanked Hueningkai’s arm away from him before the youngest could pull him down another smaller thinner section of the alleyway that he never noticed before. Yeonjun hastily pulled out his gun, shooting a bullseye to every head that was coming too close to them. 

“Go! I’ll catch up.” Yeonjun shouted, his words almost drowned in the groans and growls of the large group that seemed to keep coming.

“Beomgyu has a plan, just hold on.” Hueningkai urged, unshed tears in his eyes as he braced himself and took off running toward wherever the other pair had run off too.

Yeonjun stood in the branched off section of the alley, staring straight into the red eyes of the undead. He felt his heart pounding again, the sudden rush of blood back into his body as his will fight came back with vigor. He smiled crazily at the group that seemed to be nonstop no matter how many he shot. He knew he was running out of bullets. He’d have to try to use his knife, but with the amount that was going to surround him, he knew he wouldn’t last long like that.

“Yeonjun! Stop shooting! Hide!!” Hueningkai’s voice rang out in the alley from above. 

Yeonjun didn’t question the youngest. If Beomgyu had a plan, it was bound to work. He hadn’t failed yet. Yeonjun ran away and resounding crashes echoed near the other end of the alley where Soobin’s car had been. The thought of Soobin’s missing car had a flare of anger rise in him when he remembered that it was also Beomgyu’s idea to let him wait in the car alone far from them. That plan had failed. The groans and shuffling quickly changed direction and headed toward the onslaught of noises snapping Yeonjun out of his anger once he realised that they were successful in luring the horde away. Yeonjun peeked out from the large dumpster he had jumped behind and saw only four stragglers who continued to head his way looking around for him as if he had vanished. Hueningkai quickly ran up behind Yeonjun and headed their way, disposing of them with his bat with one or two heavy swings straight to their skulls. Yeonjun could assume that Hueningkai was taking out his own anger or wherever else he was feeling on the dead. When Yeonjun popped out, Hueningkai gave him a wary smile, an uncertain look to him that Yeonjun hadn’t seen since they had first met. 

“Come on, they’ll run out of things to throw soon.” Hueningkai said

Yeonjun followed quickly as the younger one led them to an emergency fire escape. They climbed up two stories quickly. Hueningkai stopped and looked down, causing Yeonjun to follow his gaze. The zombies returned back to where Yeonjun had been now that the ruckus stopped. They all seemed dazed and confused as to where they were or what they were even doing there. Knowing that there was a reason for being in the area but not seeing or hearing anything caused them to walk in circles, some even making their way back out on the main streets.

“They really only see what's in front of them huh.” Hueningkai mumbled, before turning back to the ladder and climbing up once more.

Yeonjun nodded in agreement, even though he knew Hueningkai could no longer see him. He stared at the people who were empty shells of their former selves. He felt the urge to vomit at the thought that Soobin could be just like them and they’d have no idea. Before he could turn back and follow Hueningkai up the ladder, he caught the eye of one singular person in the crowd. Yeonjun could almost swear it was someone uninfected. The way she held eye contact with Yeonjun terrified him. She was dead, he knew as he looked down at her body and saw her arms torn open by bites, like wolves had gotten to her before the undead could. She was dead, but Yeonjun felt some type of life behind her red eyes as she stared at him coldly. A group of zombies heading toward her and circling around her, cut Yeonjun’s stare off short. 

“Yeonjun?” Beomgyu’s voice whispered from above

Snapping out of it, Yeonjun climbed up the ladder, and walked forward toward the open window of the apartment room.

Yeonjun turned his head to look at the other boys lying to his left side. Whilst they were all quiet, none of them were actually sleeping. A small sniffle had his eyes adjusting to the dark to get a view of his best friend trying to muffle his sobs. 

“Beom..” Yeonjun whispered in pity, turning on his side and raising his arm to entice Beomgyu into his arms. 

Beomgyu gaped at him, wet eyes wide in surprise. Before he could start moving toward Yeonjun’s side a loud scoff had him flinching. Yeonjun rolled his eyes at Taehyun’s back that was facing them. He nodded his head at Beomgyu to join his side and the younger quickly shuffled into his arms, burying his head into Yeonjun’s chest.

“I’m sorry Jun.” He sniffled, “I shouldn’t have let him stay, it's all my fault.” He whispered, barely managing to get it out with how tight his throat seemed to be.

Yeonjun sighed and opened his mouth to give words of comfort; Taehyun was quicker.

“You're damn right it was your fault.” Taehyun grumbled

“Taehyun..” Yeonjun sighed tiredly

“No, don’t baby him. He’s so knowledgeable right?” Taehyun said, sitting up to glare at the pair. “He should’ve known that there was a chance of losing him, the car. He let him stay there and risked everything just so Soobin could like him again. It was pathetic and pointless.” 

“Yeah, is it such a bad thing to want him to like me? Not everyone can be like you. Not everyone aims to be hated .” Beomgyu spat back, removing himself to stand up and stare down at his aggressor.

“Well it doesn’t matter if he likes you and hates me now, does it? He can’t feel anything if he’s-”

“Stop.” Hueningkai commanded, his voice deeper than Yeonjun had ever heard. “Stop blaming him. Stop it.” 

Taehyun turned to glare down at his friend, before his eyes softened. Yeonjun couldn’t see why or what face Hueningkai was making while he laid there with his back to him. 

“If anyone is to blame it’s me.” His voice trembled, “I was on Soobin’s side from the beginning. I was pushing his ideas and didn’t argue with Beomgyu when he agreed for Soobin to stay back.”

“None of us pushed as hard as we could’ve.” Yeonjun jumped in, feeling the guilt doubling in his chest. “We all at any point could’ve overturned his decisions and we didn’t” He made eye contact with Taehyun. Knowing the younger had to have been blaming himself as well. They were all at fault. It wasn’t fair if only one of them shared the blame. 

Hueingkai finally sat up and sadly chuckled under his breath. His red rimmed eyes made eye contact with all of them and they looked at him quizzically in return. 

“The last time I blamed myself, Soobin was the one to comfort me.” He whispered, looking down at his hands. He cleared his throat and looked at Taehyun, “It won’t matter what I say, but we are not to blame, not even you Hyun. We all still have each other and we have to make sure we stay together. We can’t control what happens to us. Just how we react to it.” 

“You’re right, If all of us are to blame then it’d be better if none of us were to blame.” Yeonnjun smiled gratefully at Hueningkai

“Plus how else are we going to find Soobin if we’re fighting like this.” Hueningkai smiled back, “Taehyun had a tracker on my phone cause I always lose it, and I left it back in the car.” 

They all stared at each other in surprise. Taehyun quickly fumbled out his own phone from his front pocket.

“Why do you still carry that anyways?” Beomgyu asked curiously, excitement coming alive behind his eyes.

“More so because I like taking care of my things.” Taehyun happily replied his attitude taking a 180 with hope, “Plus me and Kai have a couple of games downloaded we thought we’d keep them on us to play when we’re bored”

Yeonjun laughed at the absurdity of it. Even with all the commanding presence Taehyun carried around when it came down to it, he really was just a 19 year old. 

“Well, lets get a move on then.” Yeonjun smiled, clapping his hands together excitedly.

“Hold on now.” Beomgyu spoke, his tone shifting back into a serious one. “We just survived a mob and we’re all tired even if we don’t want to admit it. I want to get Soobin back as much as you guys, maybe even more than you guys, but we can’t risk messing this up.”

Taehyun glared at Beomgyu before sighing and nodding in agreement, “He’s right, we can cause more harm than good if we just rush into it. It won’t help him if we can’t even make it to him.” 

“Well then what's the plan.” Yeonjun pouted, feeling a wave of restlessness 

“Sleep first of all. Actually sleep though.” Beomgyu teased, “If any one of us is tired it might be the end, no risking this time.”

They all nodded at his words and laid back down on their sheets and blankets. If they all moved closer to each other. No one said a word about it. 

Yeonjun felt Beomgyu’s breath against his back and smiled, his friend was always quick to sleep, it was something he used to be annoyed by but now as his own eyes grew heavier he was just happy that they could sleep at all.

_________

Beomgyu wakes up slowly. Feeling a weight on his chest he looked down and made eye contact with silver hair. He held his breath in fear, while he would love to wake the younger up and tease him, he didn’t think it would be a smart move to wake him when Taehyun wanted to kill him last night. The previous night was overwhelming when the long haired boy thought back on it. 

When Beomgyu led them to the apartment with lights on, Taehyun thought his idea was stupid and refused to enter until Beomgyu did. He didn’t even bother whispering as he yelled to Beomgyu to ask if it was clear. Only when Hueningkai came up and told them Yeonjun was surrounded did Taehyun follow him without question. They quickly and quietly made their way out into the hallway and rushed to the open window all the way down the hall. Breaking into the nearest room and dumping anything that would make noise. Only once they heard all of the horde under the window did they stop. Panting and out of breath, Beomgyu could swear the angry look in his eyes was threatening. Taehyun looked like he wanted to throw Beomgyu out along with all the other junk. They’d joked around before, but this anger that Taehyun carried wasn't anywhere near that. 

“One good idea doesn’t dissolve your one huge fuck up.” Taehyun muttered beside him, turning away to look at the spot where Soobin’s car had once been; now surrounded by the horde of undead.

Beomgyu tried to look away but couldn’t tear his eyes off of the pavement where tire marks were left. Whoever had taken the car had taken off fast. They knew that they were returning, otherwise why rush out. Why not take their time to collect their bearings and quietly drive off.

“They saw us.” Beomgyu mumbled.

Before Taehyun could question him, Hueningkai whispered to them, peeking his head out from their room and waving them towards him. 

As they walked back to the room, Beomgyu heard muffled moans from behind some of the other rooms, and prayed they wouldn’t have the strength to break down the doors.  Returning back following behind Taehyun with his tail between his legs. Beomgyu couldn’t deny Taehyun’s claim that he wasn’t redeemed. It was his fault. He lost who he considered the love of his life because he didn’t want Soobin to be mad at him. He was weak.

Beomgyu took a deep breath at all the memories from the night before. He wasn’t weak, he couldn’t be weak when there was still a chance of saving Soobin. The sun that dimly lit them had Beomgyu assuming that it was mid noon, which was much longer then he would’ve hoped to sleep. At this rate with the other three still dead asleep they would have to postpone their search for one more day. He really hoped he wasn’t going to have to be the bearer of bad news.

“Taehyun.” He spoke normally. Hoping that he could have them all wake up at the same time. That way he wouldn’t deal with Taehyun alone. “Ahem, Taehyun.” 

The younger man mumbled out in annoyance before lifting his head and looking at Beomgyu. His eyes widened in surprise and he quickly moved away, bumping into Hueningkai and waking him up as well. Beomgyu couldn't help but sigh in relief as Hueningkai quickly sat up ready for anything. 

“Aw come on. You’re fighting again?” Hueningkai grumbled, rubbing his eyes and glaring at them for the rude wake up.

“No, just waking everyone up.” Beomgyu shrugged, knowing better than to tease Teahyun and push his buttons. He turned around and shook Yeonjun awake, annoyed that the eldest had slept through the ruckus.

“Hm? What happened?? What's wrong??” Yeonjun shot up, his eyes wide as he turned his head around to look at his surroundings.

“We slept in, it's probably almost 5 already.” Beomgyu said, standing up and stretching before walking into the kitchen to see what food they had available. Stepping around the mess on the floor that Taehyun had made last night. Seeing it again had Beomgyu rolling his eyes at Taehyun’s overreaction the night previous.

“We shouldn’t be eating then.” Taehyun noted, getting up as well and walking over to where he left his shoes. “We should get ready to head out.”

“No, like we said last night. We can’t rush into it, we have to take our time making sure we can all get to him in one piece.” Yeonjun yawned, stretching from the floor, taking his time to stretch his legs out as well.

“We haven’t even checked his location yet, he might be down the street for all we know. Then we can just swing by and pick him up.” Hueningkai helpfully replied

“Plus we haven’t eaten since yesterday at noon, we need something to eat before we head out anywhere.” Beomgyu added, leaning down to check the bottom cupboards for canned food. Finding some can’s of beans and a bag of rice he gave a small whoop of enjoyment.

“Rice and beans for dinner boys.” Beomgyu let them know, turning around to see Taehyun taking off his shoes again and walking toward him. Beomgyu casted his eyes down and stepped aside as Taehyun took the ingredients out his hands and got to work in the kitchen. Beomgyu silently walked away and went to the couch to sit besides the other two who huddled up to look at Taehyun’s phone. 

“How does this work anyways? Isn’t service down?” Yeonjun mumbled

“Yeah it is, but we had downloaded this app that doesn’t need service. It's kinda old school tracker I guess, it won’t give us an exact location but it's pretty close. I’m not sure how it works but I paid like 50 bucks for it. It’s just a good thing I got my phone back” Hueningkai hummed

Yeonjun looked at him with a questioning look, “Back?”

“Yeah, I had gotten it taken away in class before everything went down, luckily just before Taehyun rescued me I had just gotten it back. These puppy eyes are good for a lot of things.” 

“So why were you still fixing the clock if you had gotten your phone back.” Taehyun chimed in curiously

“I felt bad, he was right, the clock was dead and as the tallest and oldest in the class I felt it was my duty to fix it.” Hueningkai boasted, wiping a fake tear from his eye in sarcasm

Beomgyu smiled at the younger’s antics before looking down at the app that showed a blinking dot with a penguin emoji on it. The location was a lot farther than Beomgyu had hoped for. It was bound to be a two day trip at least with them moving only in the daylight. It looked to be in the poorer side of the city. A little run down and hidden from tourists. Beomgyu was always peeved at the way people refused to acknowledge that area or help it, but he had gone to help every now and then when he was younger with his parents. So he knew his way around the area, even though it had been years, he knew it wouldn’t have changed that much.

“Okay so not down the street.” Hueningkai pouted, furrowing his eyebrows

“No, but I know the area well, so we should be good on that side.” Beomgyu thought aloud, “We just have to make sure to travel by day only.”

Beomgyu looked up to see the three boys staring at him quizzically. He tilted his own head in return, wondering what he could’ve said that caused such a reaction.

“How do you know that part of the city? I mean I would get it if Yeonjun knew, but you?” Hueningkai asked before his eyes widened and he flushed in embarrassment, “Don’t think you have to answer or anything, I don’t mean to pry.” 

“It's fine, I feel it’s only fair that he lets us know more about him.” Taehyun huffed, “You practically knew everything about me, and let's not pretend you didn’t share those details with your friend.”

Yeonjun looked away shamefully at this comment while Beomgyu pouted and mumbled, “It’s not like you told me to keep it a secret or anything..” 

“Plus I forced him to tell me, I just wanted to make sure your medical knowledge was on the up and up.” Yeonjun placated before turning to look at his friend, “I would like to know how you know that area though..”

Beomgyu bit his lips as he weighed the pros and cons of letting them know. While he knew Hueningkai and Taehyun wouldn’t have a real problem with it, Yeonjun might be uncomfortable or feel like he has to change the way he acts. He didn’t want that but he did feel like he owed it to them to open up more. Yeonjun had let them know of Soobin’s family when they stayed in the apartment and opened up on his own later on. Taehyun had opened up as well. It only left him and Hueningkai, and he should go next. If he thought about it, it was odd that they all blindly followed him without knowing more about him anyways.

“Hey, it's fine. You don’t have to tell us.” Yeonjun jumped in, after Beomgyu’s silenced dragged on

“No, it's fine.” Beomgyu sighed, “Just don’t freak or act any differently, promise?” Looking only at Yeonjun who nodded

“I’m not sure I’m in any place to judge you after everything but okay Beoms.” Yeonjun smiled

“Well I know that area because my parents used to volunteer there.” Beomgyu started

“And? Why are you so hesitant on saying just that?” Taehyun prodded.

Beomgyu held his hand out to stop Taehyun’s pestering, “And I know how to use a gun. Properly. Because of my parents.”

“Surrounded by felons..” Hueningkai mumbled causing Beomgyu to chuckle

“No actually.” He looked at Yeonjun’s face to register his face. “My parents are both high ranking cops.”

Beomgyu could see the hesitant way Yeonjuns face scrunched up, conflicted and afraid at first before scrunching his eyes in confusion and ending it all with a sigh.

“You idiot, why wouldn’t you tell me.” 

“Well I would’ve but then you told us about your past and I didn't want to scare you away after everything. I’m sure you didn’t have a good relationship with the police force.” 

“Well no duh, but I’m not even in that shit anymore. I have no ties to it either so it’s fine.”

Taehyun looked at him, as if reading him, “That's why you weren’t concerned about your parents?” 

“Yeah they left overseas a month ago to join a task force or something. I dunno much about it.” 

“And that's why you managed to shoot that guy in the head, even though he was moving.” Taehyun added on.

Beomgyu sheepishly smiled, “Yeah, I mean it was a bit traumatizing since I’ve only been to shooting ranges but yeah.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes, “All this time we’ve been relying on Soobin and you could’ve been pulling your weight.” 

“Hey guns make noise which then attract the dead, so it’s not like I could’ve helped much.” 

“Pause, does this mean I’m the only lame one??” Hueningkai whined, “I have like no cool skills or knowledge.” 

“You're rich and unnaturally strong.” Taehyun deadpanned

“YOUR RICH??” Both Beomgyu and Yeonjun spoke.

“Yeah, my parents own like two big companies. They both started with one in their families then got married and made one more combined. So I guess I’ll own three?” Hueningkai smiled like it was nothing.

“You're joking.” Yeonjun gaped

“No, but it didn't seem like much knowledge since money won’t be of any use right now anyways.” 

“No but when we get out of this you're buying all of us a meal.” Beomgyu huffed, before smiling widely and wrapping his arm around Hueningkai “Ah I’ve always wanted a rich friend.”

Chapter Text

When Taehyun woke up, he felt a newfound energy all around him. He no longer had any real doubt that they wouldn’t find Soobin, in fact he felt that they had to find him no matter what. He didn’t think that the lanky man would have ever managed to turn his plans around this badly. Originally he really only wanted to escape with Hueningkai, he had no regards for the others, Soobin especially. Yet now here he was looking at the other three sets of determined eyes, all ready to go in a different direction than they originally planned. 

They had mapped out the way to get to Soobin before they had gone back to bed the night before and while it wasn’t a large detour from their planned safety, it was still a route that took them in an opposite direction having to go through an unfavorable area. He knew past him would have never even considered changing the route and simply would’ve mourned the loss of the car before continuing on foot. Hueningkai smiled proudly at Taehyun, and Taehyun knew he wasn’t the only one surprised at how eager he was to get Soobin back, regardless of the way. 

He glanced down at the small backpack squeezed onto Hueningkai’s back; a children’s small pink unicorn bag. He couldn’t help the scoff that escaped him, which caused Hueningkai to replace his smile with a frown full of dramatic appall. The previous night before they headed to bed, Beomgyu and Hueningkai had looked for a small bag that could carry smaller items. A couple minutes later they had rounded up some snacks, two water bottles and a small first aid kit. Nothing too heavy but nothing that they wouldn’t need. Hueningkai had defended the unicorn bag from Yeonjun’s teasing remarks and had offered to carry the bag, stating that it would come in handy if they needed a distraction with how bright it shined; full of its glitter and bright colors. Beomgyu on the other hand had taken up a small blue racecar backpack with images of cars racing along it. Unluckily they had also found a pack of small toy cars inside it as well. Small toy cars that Beomgyu and Yeonjun had taken a fancy to as they drove the small figures in different environments to distract themselves. Taehyun knew he was the second youngest but watching the three he really felt like the eldest. He missed Soobin.

“Are we all ready then?” Taehyun sighed, gripping the bridge of his nose 

“Yup, you sure you don’t want a car?” Beomgyu asked, coming up to offer Taehyun a bright yellow car. Taehyun rolled his eyes in response, wishing that Beomgyu still thought he was angry at him. 

He had enjoyed the peace while it lasted.

The first thought that crossed Taehyun’s mind as they finally prepared to leave was that although he knew they weren’t supposed to use the guns they had on them, he had to admit since Beomgyu’s confession of his background, he felt a bit more at ease knowing they had two people who could properly aim. 

They all headed out of the room with Yeonjun leading the front and Hueningkai covering their back. Taehyun glanced back at the room as they walked away from it and couldn’t help the small prayer that escaped him; that the previous owners had all made it out and escaped and that they would too. He thought of their plan to get to Soobin in a day and hoped it would be true, although realistically he knew that would depend on how many obstacles they would encounter. If they encountered several hordes they would have to make their way around them or if they stumbled onto blocked passages it would cause a delay and lengthen their journey to maybe two days or two and half max. They had also all agreed that they wouldn’t travel at night since they wouldn’t be able to see clearly and didn’t know how the creatures acted once the sun went down; whether it would be in their benefit or not. They made it in before the sun went down the day before but hadn’t actually been outside in the moonlight since the infection started. Taehyun never knew he would miss the stars this much. 

They quickly made their way through the emergency stairs as they headed down to the first floor. Beomgyu had told them going through the building might be safer then going back onto the fire escape, since the ladder was bound to make noise when they dropped it down again. He wanted to make sure that once they were outside with less hiding advantages that they made sure not to attract any towards them. Taehyun hadn’t even noticed that the ladder had made noise the day before. With all the blood rushing in his ears when Soobin was kidnapped and the oncoming horde, he just went through the motions. Beomgyu had really guided him through to safety, guided them all really. He was so pissed off at the longer haired man that he never even got to appreciate the way Beomgyu had planned and took them to safety with no injuries to account for. 

Picking up his pace and taking a deep breath he caught up to Beomgyu before they left the emergency stairs and into the main lobby. 

“Thanks, for everything you’ve done..” Taehyun muttered under his breath, bumping his fist into Beomgyu’s shoulder 

Beomgyu stopped and turned around to fully gape at Taehyun in shock. Taehyun rolled his eyes at the overall dramatics and turned back to see the other two equally in shock.

“What?? I’m not an asshole.” Taehyun angrily whispered, still cautious of their environment

“Agree to disagree.” Yeonjun mumbled, walking past them all to grab ahold of the handle

“Don’t ruin this for me Jun.” Beomgyu whined.

“Never thanking anyone again.” 

Hueningkai grabbed onto Taehyun’s arm and smiled widely at him. The look of pure joy on his face was enough to change Taehyun’s mind. Although Taehyun really didn’t believe he was an asshole, just blunt and fair, it wasn’t his fault people got offended.

“Okay, everyone ready?” Yeonjun smiled warily back at them. 

He could see sweat start to accumulate on Yeonjun’s forehead, and Taehyun understood him perfectly. They were all scared, barely adults and already having to deal with these life or death positions. It was all fucked really.

“Let’s go get our bunny.” Taehyun sighed

Yeonjun led the way first, peeking out from the door to glance to the sides, looking back and holding 5 fingers up, before he pulsated his hand. Taehyun registered the gesture as 10. There were already 10 undead in front of them and they hadn’t even begun their journey. 

Yeonjun continued with his gestures, pointing to the left side and holding up 4. 

“Exit to the left” Yeonjun mouthed at them. 

The other three nodded, Hueningkai pushed between Taehyun and Beomgyu to lean into Yeonjun’s ear and whisper. Yeonjun looked at Taehyun for confirmation, but Taehyun had no idea what he was confirming. He wanted to say no, because Hueningkai seemed to latch onto Soobin’s idealistic self sacrificial ways. Yet he couldn’t, he had told Hueningkai that he would trust him more, treat him less like a child and more like an equal. So with a hesitance, he nodded in agreement. 

In a blink of an eye Hueningkai was gone. Taehyun gaped at the wide open door, before he was pulled forward by Yeonjun’s tight grip. They ran forward, Taehyun tried pulling back to look for his best friend and where he had gone, but Beomgyu had run up beside him and held on to his other hand, yanking him alongside Yeonjun. Taehyun could hear the screeches of the creatures and the grunts of his friend alongside the heavy swings of his bat. But with no vision of him, he had no idea what was going on. Before he knew it they had pushed through an emergency exit. Taehyun shook the elder men off of him before turning around, planning to go back for his friend. Just as he was about to rush in, Hueningkai popped out, looking disheveled and bloody. Beomgyu ran forward and helped Hueningkai quickly bar the front door with Beomgyu’s pipe. Slotting it into the handle and pushing it in to make sure that the door couldn't be opening from the inside. While the remaining undead pounded at the door his best friend turned to smile at them. 

“I think I’ll tell Soobin about how I saved the day. I’ll definitely win some points.” Hueningkai teased

Taehyun could feel the tears welling up in his eyes before he could stop it. Hueningkai’s smile dropped immediately as he rushed forward to hug him in comfort. 

“I’m sorry Hyunnie. I’m sure I scared you, but I really knew what I was doing, I had a plan. I wouldn’t have put myself in danger unless I was sure I would be okay.” 

“You dumbass, this is how you want me to trust you? I thought I had lost you too.” Taehyun mumbled, burying his face into Hueningkai’s shoulder.

“He’s okay Taehyun, I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you what was going to happen. But I was worried that even a whisper would have them all locate us before we even got out of the stairwell.” Yeonjun apologized, reaching up to squeeze Taehyun’s shoulder.

Taehyun wiped his eyes quickly, pushing himself off of Hueningkai and clearing his throat. He was a bit embarrassed at the other two seeing his little break down, but after seeing how silent Beomgyu was, worry overtook him.

“Whats up with you?” 

Beomgyu turned to look at him in surprise, pointing to himself questioningly 

“Yes you, you idiot. Cat got your tongue?” Taehyun scoffed

“I thought you’d be pissed at me again, so I didn't want to push it.” Beomgyu pouted

“Well I won’t lie I am a little pissed, but it was Hueningkai’s decision. I won’t fault you two for his idiotic decisions.” Taehyun frowned, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. He really didn’t want to make them feel like he didn’t like them. He acknowledged that his emotions did take the better of him sometimes so he wanted to be better for them. His new friends.

“Thanks for trusting me anyways Taehyunnie~” Hueningkai sang, hugging Taehyun from behind and putting his chin on top of his head.

“Still annoyed at your stupidity though.” Taehyun pushed him off.

“Shh.” Yeonjun hushed, his demeanor shifting quickly as he turned to point his gun into the alley.

Taehyun took this chance to actually look around to where they exited from and noticed that they were in the same area as the day before. The broken objects they had tossed out the window laid destroyed a few feet away from. He then followed Yeonjun’s eyes to the frozen single zombie that stared at them from afar. She seemed familiar to Yeonjun, as his eyes seemed to light in recognition. 

“You knew her?” Beomgyu whispered, jolting Yeonjun out of his staring contest.

“I don’t-” 

A small screech resounded from her mouth, and Taehyun could only feel his arm hair raise in chills as a smile seemed to overtake her face. Soon a small amount of zombies accumulated around her, Taehyun could count 6 maybe 8 surrounding her and looking at her for, what he assumed, guidance.

“I knew it.” Beomgyu mumbled.  

She raised her broken finger and pointed toward them, nodded her head at them before letting out two loud distinct clicks. 

The group around her dispersed and ran straight toward them.

“FUCK, RUN!” Yeonjun shouted, taking off down the path they had driven the car down. 

The four of them ran down the alley, Taehyun’s heart raced as he heard the footsteps increasing behind them. He couldn’t even justify turning around to see how far behind they really were. They couldn’t stop and fight, they were outnumbered and Soobin was their only long range shooter, they would be at a big disadvantage. They might have had a small chance with Beomgyu’s long pole, but that was no longer a possibility since they had used it to bar the door. Taehyun could feel his legs cramping with the running, he should’ve stretched he thought, before his drifting thoughts were halted as he was yanked to the side and pushed behind a large dumpster. Before he was able to yelp in fear a hand was pressed up against his mouth. He turned back to look at Beomgyu who placed a finger in front of his lips in a shushing motion. Taehyun nodded, before feeling a pit in his stomach at the oncoming pounding of footsteps. Beomgyu pulled the younger one into his lap and pressed him closer into their little makeshift pile, making sure to cover Hueningkai and him from behind while Yeonjun covered them from the front with the hood of his sweater covering his colored hair. Taehyun wanted to yell at them for stopping so soon, they were putting them all at risk, but looking at Hueningkai’s relieved face, he registered the footsteps passing by them in confusion. They sounded scattered as if lost and unaware of where to go. 

An upset and annoyed screech had them all holding their breath. They heard the two district clicks and soon the footsteps were fading away back to where they had come from. The group stayed huddled, catching their breaths and from what Taehyun felt, even their souls. 

“What. The. Fuck. Was. That.” Taehyun said, looking up to a sheepish Yeonjun above him.

Yeonjun leaned back to give Taehyun and Hueningkai space. Beomgyu did the same, peeking out from behind the garbage bin to check if the coast was clear before heaving a heavy sigh. 

“Well, don’t get mad. But it was kinda Hueningkai’s idea.” Yeonjun awkwardly laughed.

“Nu uh, it was a group effort honestly.” Hueningkai argued, standing up and walking back into the middle of the alleyway. “We did say it outloud, I think you were too panicked and didn’t hear us.” 

Now it was Taehyun’s turn to look sheepish as he realized he was overthinking everything to really pay much attention to anything other than the fact that they were being chased.

“Anyways, Hueningkai and Yeonjun realized yesterday that those things only chase down what they can see, so as long as we aren't visible to them, we’ll be fine. That's why me and Yeonjun covered you two up. Hueningkai’s a blonde wearing white, you have your silver hair. It would've stood out alongside the shadow of the bin. Yeonjun covered his hair up with his hoodie and I’m wearing dark solid colors anyways. So we probably appeared less like people and more like trashbags to them.” Beomgyu explained 

“What about that girl..” Taehyun mumbled, feeling the chills rise back up at the thought of her around the corner.

“That one's still a bit of a mystery. She leads them for sure, but I can’t tell how aware she is. I think maybe a quarter immune ..maybe?” Beomgyu theorized, “We encountered one when Soobin was first attacked. I forgot to bring it up with everything that's happened since then, so we just have to be wary of those ones for now.”

“For now.” Taehyun stared at him in disbelief before turning to Yeonjun. “You don’t find it weird how knowledgeable your dumb friend is?” 

Yeonjun looked uncomfortable with the question and shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe it’s luck?” 

“Alright our lucky charm, lead the way.” Huenkingkai teased, wrapping his arm around Beomgyu’s neck.

____

Hueningkai was joking about the whole lucky charm joke. But while he looked around the empty office he was starting to rethink it. At least one of them had to be one of the luckiest people alive. 

They had managed to continue in the alley with only a few encounters with zombies. Maybe two or four that Hueningkai and Taehyun managed to sneak up on and smash their heads before they could even turn around to look at them. Another seven or six groups that they hid from while they waited for them to pass. Those ones were the worst since all they could do was bide their time and hope they weren’t recognized. Due to the amount of groups they had to wait on, by the time they made it on regular streets the sun was setting and they needed to focus on finding shelter before continuing on. Hueningkai and Taehyun went forward to scope out an area and saw a small traveling business shop that still had their windows intact, almost like nothing had ever happened. While Taehyun ran back to report to the other two, Hueningkai gingerly opened the door to test the noise level, and it was silent. Not even a chiming of a bell to signify a new customer. Taehyun would definitely kick his ass for opening the door without any backup, but Hueningkai felt like he was trusted a lot more than had been in the beginning. So he pushed forward and entered the small room. It held 4 desks positioned facing each other, with a row of chairs on both sides of the front door. A small door was in the corner of the room with a sign on it that labeled it as the managers office. 

“Kai, what the hell? Why didn’t you wait.” Taehyun hissed quietly

“I figured it would cause more attention if there were 4 of us piled up if the door made noise, but luckily they didn’t have any system attached to it, not even a bell.” 

“Not sure if that's lucky.” Yeonjun mumbled, “How will we know if anyone comes while we sleep.”

“One of us will have to stay watch, we can split into two or divide it equally between us four.” Beomgyu inserted, “Have you checked the office yet?” 

“No, I was going to next, but I decided to be a good boy and wait.” Hueningkai smiled, looking at Taehyun for approval,

“Bare minimum.” Taehyun smiled, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance, before reaching up to mess with Hueningkai’s hair and walking forward to follow Beomgyu toward the office.

Hueningkai followed loosely behind, rolling his eyes and smiling at Yeonjun who walked behind him. Yeonjun returned his smile with a shake of his head.

“I know he gave you a longer leash, but you're really yanking on it now.” Yeonjun whispered

Hueningkai shrugged, “He knows if I really wanted to, I would've chewed the leash a long time ago.” 

“I can hear you idiots.” Taehyun shot back, standing in front of the office with Beomgyu laughing behind his hand, “Lets just get this over with, Beomgyu will open the door, me and Kai will stand off to the side with our bats raised and Yeonjun will be ready with his knife.”

“I hate not having a weapon, I’m basically just bait now.” Beomgyu muttered, getting into position

“Yeah, but you’re cute bait. Even cuter if you just kept your mouth shut.” Yeonjun teased, “Just open the door and jump out of the way, you don’t even have to open it all the way, just twist the doorknob to open it.”

Beomgyu glared at his friend and sighed reluctantly, doing just as he was told. Hueningkai raised his bat up. He glanced at the shaking hands of his best friend in front of him and smiled a bit. His friend really was just a chicken under all his bravado. Hueningkai had to admit that while yes he did get nervous, slowly he was starting to adjust to everything. It just seemed to come to him more easily. If he compared it to all the sports his parents had signed him up for, it was kinda starting to feel like just another game. It was easier on his mental state as well, if he thought of it like that, and not the fact that these things used to be people just like him.

“Okay, Go.” Beomgyu shouted, twisting the knob and pushing the door forward gently to allow it to open on it’s own the rest of the way, before he jumped out of the way.

Hueningkai tensed his arm as the door hit the office walls once it opened fully. Yet nothing jumped out at them, no sound, no screeches. Just nothing. Yeonjun gave a confused hum, before taking initiative and peeking into the room. 

“It’s empty” He marvelled

An empty room.

“No way, for real??” Beomgyu said, rushing forward. “How the fuck are we this lucky.”

“Huh.” Taehyun remarked, walking forward to the desk and grabbing a small dinner bell. “Even more luck.” 

___

A couple hours later they were all holed up in the small office. Taehyun laid his head on Yeonjun’s hoodie staring at the foot of the desk. 

“I still don’t understand why I can’t be on watch with Hueningkai.” Taehyun mumbled.

“Because I need a break from Beomgyu.” Yeonjun joked, “Plus you two look so comfortable when you cuddle together, I didn’t want to ruin it.”

“Yeah Tae, you love cuddling with me. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to lay on my back so you can cuddle up closer this time.” Beomgyu teased, before letting out a groan when Taehyun flipped over on his back and slammed his arm down on him.

“How kind of you.” He replied, sardonically 

“Plus, it’s better if me and Yeonjun stay up first, he’s more attune to watching his back and I have more strength.” Hueningkai explained, “Since it's our first night so close to danger, it’s safer if we stay up in the night, while you guys stay up closer to dawn.”

“Wouldn’t the bell we placed by the door, alert the two of you anyways? Not sure there’s any need for Yeonjun’s ‘expertise’.” Taehyun argued. 

“Yeah but I doubt either of you could tell how many enter and at what state they’d be in. Plus be sneaky enough to try to kill them before they even reach this office.” Yeonjun smirked, nodding toward the ajar office door. The door they had left open enough to get out so they didn’t get stuck in the office like cattle. 

“Whatever.” Taehyun huffed, turning back to face the table.

“Go to sleep Taehyunnie, we need our rest for our shift.” Beomgyu said, reaching over to throw his hand over Taehyun’s body

“Get your arm off of me or I’ll chew it off.” 

“Kinky.” Beomgyu replied, before listening to Taehyun’s warning and turning around to lay his head on the palm of his hands. 

Hueningkai smiled at the pair, shaking his head at their antics. 

“Wanna rock paper scissorings for my pillow hoodie now or later?” Yeonjun smirked, leaning against the wall of the door, looking over at Hueningkai who sat in the same position on the opposite side. 

Hueningkai leaned forward to rest his head on the tip of his bat. “You ready to lose, old man?”

___

//DING//

The sound of the bell ripped whatever semblance of conversation he was having with Yeonjun. His heart stopped as he glanced at Yeonjun’s hard face. Any sense of carefree joy disappeared from Yeonjun faster than it took the bell to reach the ground. Hueningkai wanted to glance at the clock to see how long they made it with peace, but refused to tear his eyes away from Yeonjun’s hard piercing panicked stare. Yeonjun raises one finger to Hueningkai.

 A straggler then.

Hueningkai tilted his head toward the door. Hinting at Yeonjun that they should just take them out. It was just one after all. Yet Yeonjun shook his head at him to disagree. Mouthing the word wait, and holding his hand up in a stop motion. Hueningkai heard the footsteps coming closer and looked over at Yeonjun curiously. While he disagreed with whatever plan the elder had in mind, he still had utmost trust that it was for a good reason. Yeonjun got up while in the same motion put his hand out to tell Kai to stay down. Hueningkai tilted his head in confusion. 

Before he was able to disobey Yeonjun’s command, the footsteps arrived at the door and Yeonjun peeked his arm out with his hand gripping the knife. He stepped quickly and came back unscathed. 

“Sorry, I didn't want to wake them, and your bat would’ve made more noise. It seemed simpler to have him die with the knife so I could set him down before he collapsed.” Yeonjun explained

“Ah.” Hueningkai nodded, before glancing at the clock. There was only 15 mins left before the shift change. He was so grateful he won the hoodie. 

When Taehyun and Beomgyu exchanged places with him, Taehyun peeked out the ajar door and the color of his face disappeared.

“Did we really sleep that deep, that we didn’t wake up to that?” 

“Nah, like I said, I know how to handle business.” Yeonjun smirked, fist bumping with Beomgyu before laying down next to Hueningkai.

Hueningkai smiled before allowing himself to close his eyes and rest with the gentle pressure of Yeonjun by his side. Yeonjun’s jacket rolled up long and thin to give them both a chance at resting their heads on it.

While he slept he dreamt of rescuing Soobin. He dreamt of friends and safety. His parents by his side were happy that he survived, worried and fitful over losing him promising to never put him to the side again . He dreamt of love.

// 2 Days //

Hueningkai’s feet had definitely seen better days. He dragged behind the group, wanting to whine but he could tell from the limp in the gait of​​ Taehyun and Beomgyu that he wasn’t the only one. It took them longer than they had expected but they were so close to Soobin now, just in time since their phone was getting closer to dying. 

After they had left the office, their luck seemed to carry on for the rest of that day until mid afternoon. All morning they managed to move forward and avoid any physical confrontations. Until they encountered a fairly large horde of undead, whilst most were limping and could’ve been avoided. What had halted them in their tracks was the bright eyed creature who seemed so aware of its surroundings as it led the horde forward. They knew better than to push their luck, to even try to inch forward when they still didn’t know how aware these beings were was practically a death sentence. So they didn’t. They stood there hidden in the shadows of the alley, hidden behind yet another trashbin, waiting and waiting for this slow paced horde to leave. The sun was almost toward the later end of setting before they found a safe place to rest for the night. Even then they had to clean up the small spot before they split up into shifts and rested. The following day seemed to be a copy and paste of the exact same scenario, except they encountered them nearing morning instead. The same group wandered past them and had them held up again. Hueningkai could only ruffle his hair in frustration at the memory. Due to that group they fell behind in their initial plan. He prayed to all the gods he knew of that Soobin would be okay. They were just a couple miles away now. Maybe an hour walk and Hueningkai could feel his heart pounded furiously alongside the throbbing of his feet. He was tired, but Soobin was so close. They couldn’t stop now, they were so close. He could practically see Soobin, reach out and pull him into safety like in his dreams. So he didn’t whine, and he’s sure the others didn’t either for the same reasoning. They had to keep-

“We’ll stop here for the night.” Yeonjun’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Are you shitting me?” Taehyun gasped, “We’re literally right there. We can just get him and leave.” 

“The sun is setting and we can’t risk it. Especially when we are as close as we are.” Yeonjun stated, his old persona seeping into his skin. Hueningkai could only assume he did so in preparation for the oncoming push back.

“What the hell Yeonjun?” Beomgyu said, limping forward to grab a hold of Yeonjun’s hood. “I usually agree with you, but we can just get Soobin now and leave. Or spend the night elsewhere with him. Why would we wait another day??” 

“And if we encounter a horde in the night, we still have no idea how they would act. We'd also have less eye sight in an area unknown to us.” Yeonjun spoke back, emotionless yet powerful. 

“We’ve been fine so far, we’ll be okay-” Beomgyu argued

“And what if something happens before we get to him, or even after. You think Soobin would be happy that we risked our lives for him, especially when he did all of this for us??” Yeonjun cut him off. 

“Yeah, and this will teach that idiot what it feels like to have people sacrifice themselves for him. We just need to get to him first.” Taehyun pushed in

“We don’t even know what state that ‘idiot’ is in. We don’t know anything about him or who took him, how many there are or even why they took him to begin with.” Yeonjun argued back, trying to keep his tone even

Hueningkai watched his friend's fist clench in anger, and could see Taehyun begin to lift it to wind back and strike. He couldn’t let this happen, he didn’t want to agree, but Yeonjun was right. They were just too clouded to see. Too concerned with bringing their sunlight back to them.

“He’s right.” He spoke loudly, cutting through the tension

“What?” Both Taehyun and Beomgyu looked back at him betrayed. Taehyun even took a step back from Yeonjun to look at his friend in confusion.

“It’s just a couple more hours, as soon as the first light hits, we’ll go to him. But right now all our feet hurt, we’re tired, stressed.” Hueningkai sighed, looking down at his feet in frustration. “And we need a plan. We need to make sure we get Soobin out safe, that we get all of us out safe. Yeonjun’s right.” He looked at the other two, his eyes heavy and hard with determination. His eyes set in a way that left both Taehyun and Beomgyu lowering their own sight to their feet as they cursed and nodded their heads in agreement.

Yeonjun must’ve felt pity on them, or maybe he too was just as eager to find Soobin then he initially let on, Hueningkai thought. Since he allowed them to push forward until they were on the same street as Soobin’s location. While any other time Hueningkai would probably be happy to enter an abandoned building clear of zombies with a place to rest, all he wanted to do was run down the street and bring Soobin back to them. 

“We’ll rest here. The faster we sleep the faster we can get up and scope the place.” Yeonjun said, sitting down near a pile of boxes scattered around. 

“We should just scope it now.” Taehyun muttered, causing Hueningkai to mumble his friend's name in warning.

“And scope what exactly, it’s too dark to see anything and we might have gotten lucky with this building being clear but that doesn’t mean that it would be clear outside.” Yeonjun sighed tiredly

“We’ll split up in two like always, Taehyun and I will take the first watch and you two will take the later half.” Yeonjun ordered, taking off his jacket and tossing it to Hueningkai to use as a pillow.

Hueningkai raised his eyebrow in confusion as he caught the jacket. “You and Taehyun aren’t going to kill each other while we sleep?” 

“He’s separating us this way so me and Taehyun don’t go off and save Soobin without you two. Plus there's a bigger chance of Taehyun convincing you to go then me.” Beomgyu yawned

Hueningkai’s eyes widened in realization and while he didn’t think his friend would do anything so self sacrificial, one look at him staring at his feet angrily had him doubting it. He glanced over to Yeonjun who gave him a tired smile,mouthing at him to sleep. 

So he tried. He rolled up the jacket and placed it under his head, allowing Beomgyu to rest his head on his body as soon as he was in a comfortable position. He could feel Beomgyu’s change of breath as the boy slept almost instantly. Hueningkai let out a breath of amazement at how the man could sleep just about anywhere with no issues, and immediately envied him. He stared at the dirty ceiling, its wood warped funnily, with dust and dirt caked around it. It had him wondering about Soobin, was he in a building just as bad as this? Was he breathing in asbestos, had his sickness gotten worse due to the environment. Was he as cold as Hueningkai was, feeling the breeze that entered in between the thin walls. Did he think they abandoned them? Did he think they were dead? Did Hueningkai think Soobin was dead? 

“Kai, go to sleep, we’ll get him soon.” Taehyun’s soft voice came from above him, before his thin fingers combed through his hair in a comforting manner. It was the last feeling Hueningkai felt before he drifted into his dreams. Where Soobin was, where he could save him.

–

“Kai wake up” 

Hueningkai shot up, his hand immediately going to his chest in an attempt to calm his heart. 

“Whoa, you okay kid?” Yeonjun asked, kneeling down to Hueningkai’s level

Hueningkai thought about it, he could vaguely remember Soobin’s screaming. The fear and anger. The despair that overwhelmed his whole being. He tried to think back on his dream but it was as if his mind was blocking it out. He figured it was for the better. He needed to think positively. They’d find Soobin and save him and find sanctuary and live happily ever after. 

“Yeah, just a dumb dream.” Hueningkai breathed out, stabilizing himself as he stood up and dusted himself off. “I’m fine, really.” He smiled, seeing Yeonjun’s uncertain eyes follow him. 

“Okay then. We’ll rest up for about 3 hours. As soon as it looks like the sun's about to break, go ahead and wake us up. Me and Taehyun have already thought up a plan, so just relax until then.”

“A plan without me?” Beomgyu said groggily, still trying to shake his sleep away. “I’m practically the brains of the group.”

“Don’t worry your highness, when we wake up we’ll explain it and you can change whatever you want.” Yeonjun rolled his eyes, laying down and raising his arm to rest behind his head in an attempt at a makeshift pillow.

“Lost rock paper scissors?” Hueningkai asked, smiling teasingly

“No, but I deserve it and he knows it.” Taehyun huffed, resting his head on Yeonjun’s jacket a foot away from everyone.

“More like I didn’t want to piss him off more than he already was.” Yeonjun huffed, before he closed his eyes and tried to hum himself to sleep.

Hueningkai turned to look at his new watch buddy who was already looking right at him.

“Wanna go scope out where Bin’s at?” Beomgyu whispered

“Not asleep yet.” Yeonjun grumbled

“Just jokes.” Beomgyu shrugged, before looking at Hueningkai. With the bland face and no hint of his usual teasing smile, Kai could tell he was in fact not joking.

The youngest turned away from the elder and looked at the bare building, trying to ignore Beomgyu’s temptations. He wanted to go save Soobin now, of course he did. But Yeonjun was right and they could just worsen the situation if they went in without a plan.

“What do you think the plan is?” Kai asked after a while of silence, once he could tell the other two had fallen asleep.

“Probably not a good one if I wasn’t involved in the idea making.” Beomgyu pouted

“Well, your idea of a good plan is to leave these two here and go ourselves empty handed.”

“I wouldn’t have.” Beomgyu whispered

Hueningkai already knew that. Even if Beomgyu was tempting him, Beomgyu knew Huening could resist. He knew he was just speaking from his heart. It was just a way to get his emotions out. If Hueningkai had decided to listen to him, Beomgyu would’ve stopped both of them. 

“I know.” Hueningkai whispered back, even when he knew he didn't have to

They slowly moved closer to each other for comfort and sat in the silence of the night. It seemed like the world was just as on edge as they were, since everyone and everything seemed to refuse to make a sound. Yeonjun’s and Taehyun's soft breathing was like thunder in the enveloping quiet. Hueningkai watched the stars through a small open window high above them and wondered if Soobin was looking at the same ones as he.

When the sky finally began to change its hues, they gave each other one head nod before rushing to wake the others. Each going to their respective friends. It didn’t take much to wake them up as they both sat up immediately. Taehyun leaned over to hand Yeonjun his jacket back before he stood up and dusted himself off. 

“Whats the plan?” Beomgyu asked impatiently

Taehyun tilted his head in Yeonjun's direction. Yeonjun stretched his body out, and signaled for them to stretch alongside him.

“We need to limber up, we’ve dealt with a psycho before but we have no idea how bad these guys are. We barely got away from the last one..” Yeonjun said

“Fine but hurry up and tell us the plan already while we stretch.” Beomgyu grumbled, beginning his own set of stretches.

“Okay so first we’ll go see the perimeter of the building, if it’s around the same size as this one, there's no need to split up,it’ll be safer if we’re all together anyways. If it’s bigger then we’ll split off in pairs, same pairs we watched with. So that way there is one proficient gun user and one close combat in each team.” Yeonjun began, stretching in between each sentence, much to Hueningkai’s dismay. “We’ll see if there's any window or crack we can peek through before we find a way in, so we can see how many there are. Once we’re in we can split off to look for Soobin. Try not to fight, it’s better we avoid any altercation if possible. We’re not at our full potential and it's a risk I’m not willing to take.”

“But those bastards took Soobin, we should teach them a lesson.” Beomgyu argued

“There’s a chance they just wanted the car and didn’t even know Soobin was inside. Soobin might just be with them ‘cause they don’t wanna give him the car back. We shouldn’t hurt regular people for trying to survive just as we are.” Yeonjun argued back, Hueningkai glanced at his friend who rolled his eyes at the response. Hueningkai could only assume Taehyun was on the same page as Beomgyu once again.

“Anyways, the mission is and has been to get Soobin and get out.” Yeonjun wrapped up

“Well, I agree with almost everything.” Beomgyu crossed his arms. “Besides splitting up inside, I think we should avoid it as much as possible. I also think if we can, we should get the car back.” 

“The car??” Hueningkai asked, looking at him in surprise. “What’s the car have to do with anything? We need to focus on Soobin.”

Beomgyu raised his hand to stop any other protest, “I mean, we need the car if we want to get the base, and it’s be better for all of us if we could transport Soobin in it since we don’t know his current condition. Of course our main focus is Soobin, I just mean that if we encounter the keys or the car we should keep it in mind.”

Yeonjun hummed and nodded in agreement, along with hesitant nods from the other two as well. 

“Alright then, let’s get a move on.”

Hueningkai walked quickly out of the building before being yanked back by his hoodie.

“Pace yourself.” Beomgyu sighed, reaching out to hold his hand. Hueningkai wasn’t sure who he was trying to comfort, but appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

They walked down the street seeing Soobin’s car parked further ahead, a little more scuffed and dirtier than they had originally left it. Right in front of the car was a building that looked like a large haunted house more than anything. Made up of wood that breeze would be that they had just left, and leaking with a putrid scent, that had all of them covering their face. The bottom windows were newly boarded up and the higher windows seemed to leak out a light. Which was odd since this neighborhood didn’t seem to hold any power as abandoned as it was. Hueningkai felt chills run down his back, turning to look at the others, he knew he wasn’t alone in the feeling.

“We’ll do a quick lap around, just to make sure-” Yeonjun whispered 

“Let go of me!! Please!” Soobin’s fearful and pleading voice rang out, causing all of them to whip their head to the building.

Beomgyu and Hueningkai immediately began walking toward the entrance before both were grabbed and held back.

“Stop, we can’t barge in there yet, we have no plan.” Taehyun said, his voice rough and his grip tight on Hueningkai's arm

“We can’t sit here and do nothing, we don’t have a clue what their doing to him” Hueningkai sobbed, trying to pull his arm free

“Exactly, we need to distract them or something. We can get them distracted and you guys can go in, deal?” Yeonjun added, looking at Beomgyu pleadingly. Soobin’s screams continuing to echo

“The car.” Beomgyu rushed, “Burn it, they’ll see the fire and try to put it out before it attracts zombies, they’ll focus on the car and we can rush in.”

“With what?” Taehyun asked, wide eyed

Beomgyu tilted his head back and gave a small groan of displeasure before pulling out a pack of matches from his front pocket.

“You’ve had matches this whole time?” Taehyun asked shocked

“No,I found it inside the desk of the manager’s office and thought it could be useful.” Beomgyu answered, giving Yeonjun the pack, “Shoot the gas tank, and wait for the gas to drip, You’ll have to be extremely quick. Light the gas that falls and a fire should break out and catch on the car. In case the gunshot gets their attention beforehand, Taehyun keep an eye out. Hide once the job is done, so that way they’ll focus only on the car.”

“You can’t go in until the explosion.” Yeonjun ordered, before gripping Beomgyu’s hand tightly, “Promise me.” He urged.

“I won’t.”

Hueningkai rushed with Beomgyu towards the back of the house, trying their best to be silent. Not that they needed to do much, with Soobin’s screams practically covering whatever sounds they made. Once they reached the back door, they stood by and waited, even though Hueningkai wanted nothing more than to rush outside. It felt like a lifetime before they heard Yeonjun’s gunshot ring out. They could barely hear confused murmurs over Soobin’s sobs. A minute after the explosion rang out. 

“NO PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME HERE.” Soobin screamed out.

Hueningkai and Beomgyu immediately rushed in, Hueningkai using his shoulder to break the door down. They ran toward Soobin's screams and saw an empty living room with the wooden floor broken forming a large hole in the center with dirty busted couches placed around as if it was there to look into it. They ran to the hole, fearing the worst.

Hueningkai kneeled down and saw Soobin in the hole. It seemed the hole opened way into a basement as Soobin was backed up into a concrete corner with no way to climb out, sobbing and covering his face as two mutilated zombies snarled their way towards him. Ropes tied around their necks. Hueningkai was overcome with disgust and just as he was going to jump down, just as the undead reached their disgusting hands inches away from grabbing Soobin, two loud gunshots rang next to his ears.