Chapter Text
Jaebum loved this post-apocalyptic world.
It was the product of multiple earthquakes and bombs being dropped. It had left very little to work with, but for the few who had resources this place was almost a heaven to them. It left them to rule. Many people had decided to not escape; this place was one of the least affected and there was really nowhere left to run. However, many people were left starving and hiding from the ones with the power. The city had become partially functioning again, with places selling what little products they had. Some people had even managed to grow their own food and were now selling it to the desperate people of the streets.
Being the leader of a notorious gang that many were afraid of gave Jaebum a thrill that not much else could give to him.
Just thinking about the many who had attempted to ambush him without realising his power sets a smirk on his face. He looked around, surveying his place of residence.
It was not a house, simply just a large room of a long-abandoned building. It must have been some kind of business before it was almost destroyed. Others lived with him in here. They had to prove themselves to him. Once they had shown their potential, he would allow them here. His ‘gang’, so to speak. One of the members was now sprawled across the broken couch in his room. He had come stumbling in without knocking - much to Jaebum’s dismay. Bloodied and bruised, but still smiling. Jaebum looked at him.
“I knew they’d be strong, but not that strong,” the other had said. Jaebum resisted rolling his eyes at him.
“So, I finally let you out on a mission on your own, and the first thing you do is fight someone who I told you specifically not to fight,” he responded. The corners of the other’s lips raised in a broken smile.
“Hyung~ I couldn’t help myself,” he whined, putting on the fake childish voice he so often used when he wanted to annoy someone. Especially Jaebum.
“What am I going to do with you, Jackson…?” Jaebum trailed off with a sigh, “you stay here. I’ll go get Jinyoung.”
Jinyoung was as close as they had to a medic. His knowledge of first aid was pretty good, and he had raided a hospital soon after the world crumpled.
Jaebum had found him while trying to find someone who had been following him for weeks. He had no gang yet; he was simply on his lonesome. Jinyoung was sleeping in an alley by himself, surrounded with a pretty good amount of supplies. Jaebum’s first instinct was to kill this stranger and steal his supplies. This stranger had deep black hair and was wearing clothes that were seemingly new despite almost everything being destroyed over a month ago. Jaebum had managed to get his knife out and walk closer when the other opened his eyes. Something about the dark, deep abyss of his eyes had convinced Jaebum to lower the knife. The stranger blinked a few times before noticing the glint of the lowered knife. Instead of scrambling to get away or screaming for mercy, he just blinked again. For no reason, Jaebum felt the need to apologise. He backed away, and then the stranger spoke.
“Hey. What are you doing?” he said, as if there wasn’t a knife in Jaebum’s hand and murderous intent in his eyes. Now it was Jaebum’s turn to blink a few times in confusion.
“Just… walking past,” he replied simply. The other let out a laugh that was too loud for Jaebum’s comfort. Anyone could hear him.
“With a knife in your hand, walking directly toward me because…?” he asked in a joking manner. Jaebum was confused. He hadn’t heard anyone use a tone like that since the ‘apocalypse’ started. He made a tch sound, and waved the other off.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be going,” He turned his back, and the last image in his mind was the smirk of the stranger, as if he knew something that the other didn’t. He began walking off.
That was his mistake.
He didn’t hear any noise, but he felt the cool blade of a knife against the front of his neck. He didn’t even have time to react as someone had twisted his hands behind his back. He was frozen in spot. He attempted to turn his head only to see the dark eyes of the stranger. A smile had set itself on the stranger's lips.
“You’ve really got to watch your surroundings,".
From then on, they had travelled together, raiding places and gloating in their earnings.
Jackson, who they bumped into while attempting to hide, joined them a month or so later. He had jumped out to attack them, but was quickly subdued by the more experienced two. He begged for mercy, which made Jaebum smile. He was about to kill him, before Jinyoung stopped him. He had opened Jackson’s bag, which had contained knives, ammunition, and plenty of food supplies. It made them wonder why he had even attacked them. He was well off. Nevertheless, they accepted him.
And that was what all led them to today. Jaebum walked through the dimly lit building to the room where Jinyoung often stayed. He knocked on the door but didn’t wait for a response. Jinyoung was sitting at his desk of sorts, seeming to be writing notes of some kind. He turned toward the older male.
“Jackson?” he asked. Jaebum nodded and Jinyoung sighed. He grabbed his bag full of medical supplies and followed Jaebum to his room. Jackson hadn’t moved, but his eyes were closed and his breathing was shallow. This usually would have sent panic through most people, but Jaebum knew that Jackson had been through worse. Jinyoung sighed again. He walked toward the injured male and began checking his wounds. Jackson groaned in pain, but Jaebum ignored him. He instead focused his attention on Jinyoung.
“We need more food. I got distracted and forgot to keep track on how much we’d eaten,” he stated simply, prepping himself to leave.
“Sure. I can help you out a bit later-” Jinyoung began, but was interrupted.
“You have to look after Jackson. I can go out on my own,” Jaebum said. Jinyoung turned to face him, something in his eyes that Jaebum couldn’t pinpoint. It disappeared in an instant; Jinyoung was good in that sense. He could mask his emotions easily, as if it was second nature to him.
“Jaebum, you can’t…” he trailed off. Jaebum brushed him off.
“I’ll be fine. You just have to look after Jackson,” he reassured the other before leaving the room. He walked through the hall, picking up the backpack he always had ready to go for things like this. He put a mask over his face. He was lucky he was already wearing all black so it would be easier to hide. He was prepared for an ambush the second he exited the building. Jackson’s attacker - or attackers - probably saw him running here and were prepared to attack to whoever walked out that door next. His knife was at his side, hidden in a makeshift sheath. He surveyed the area for anything out of the ordinary. He had noticed nothing different, but still didn’t let his guard down.
He has learned to not turn his back on anything. He knew how to survive out here. He knew every inch of this place from scouting it so many times. However, there were areas he didn’t know. Places he could never dream of going from his status as a leader.
That’s where Jackson came in. While not being the most able fighter, he was smart as hell. He hid this by acting stupid, but when it came to tracking, strategies and navigating, he was the best at it. He, with his status as - what others could only see - just a wanderer in the streets, he could easily slip past the guarded places. He recently gave Jaebum the way to a recently opened convenience store (or as close as you can get to one) in an alley that was a bit far from here. Jaebum smiled. He had memorised the way and slowly made his way there.
A younger boy with messy blond hair was sitting at a makeshift desk that was slowly falling apart. He wasn’t doing anything in particular; mostly just thinking in boredom. He gave a small sigh as he pushed his hair behind his ear.
“We found it!” someone announced enthusiastically as he walked through the door. The male who was at the desk smiled. A laugh escaped his lips, echoing around the building.
“Thank you!” he said excitedly to the male who just walked in. The male in question had deep black, almost blue, hair that could almost be described as the colour of a raven’s wings. He was a whole lot taller than the other, and wore clothes seemingly too fancy for this apocalypse-like situation they were it. The blond stood up and took a breath in. The air was musty and uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time. He hated it. He wanted to be free; to run outside without a fear in the world.
That was unfortunately impossible in the world that they were in.
A male with brown hair walked into the room.
“I could hear your laughter from downstairs. What is it?” he asked.
“A new store that just opened. Bambam managed to find it while looking for clothes,” the raven-haired male replied. The other two sighed. It was not unlike Bambam to randomly leave their place of residence to go look for items of clothing. He ran a semi-successful clothing store - partially the reason the others had brought him in. He got a fair amount of money from it. There were always desperate people who simply wanted to escape the biting cold of the streets. Bambam would steal clothes from the dead lying on the streets or simply buy them for others and up the price when he sold them. People would call him a fraud, but his response was always the same, “You’ve gotta so what you’ve gotta do to survive out here.”
Those words were true, and what their group always lived by.
The brunet smiled, “Not surprised. So, when are we going?” he asked. The raven-haired male thought for a minute.
“Don’t know. It’s too bright outside right now, isn’t it?” he responded. The blond hummed in agreement. A hum with a delightful strength and melody to it.
“Yeah... it is. We could go at dusk, maybe?” He suggested. The other two nodded.
“Good idea. So, who’s going?” the brunet asked.
“Anyone but Yugyeom. His clothing is too out-there for a situation like this,” a new voice said. Everyone turned to see a male whose white hair didn’t match his age. The raven haired boy - Yugyeom - lightly whacked the white-haired boy’s chest.
“Shut up, Bambam. It’s not like yours are any better,” he replied. Bambam let a smirk fall onto his lips aimed at the raven-haired boy.
“Guess they aren’t. Luckily, most of the things that I’m supposed to do are out of view of others,” he responded. Yugyeom smiled in response, half-leaning on the newcomer. The blond was laughing throughout the whole exchange; his bright laughs filled the vicinity with a cheerful aura. The brunet was barely holding back a smile.
“So, it’s you two then?” Yugyeom confirmed, and the other two nodded in agreement.
“We’ll probably leave in like… an hour or so?” the brunet suggested, then glanced to the blond as if asking if that was good enough. To the brunet’s relief, the other nodded.
“It won’t be too light, but not too dark either. It’s perfect,” the blond said with excitement. There was a glint in his eyes; it always appeared when they were planning a crime of some kind. Looking at him, no one would be able to imagine him loving this sort of thing. However, the other three know all too well.
The room was silent after the plan was made. Yugyeom and Bambam excused themselves out of the room together, whispering about something the other two couldn’t hear. They heard a slight laugh from one of them before a door slammed shut. The blond smiled at the brunet, who managed a smile back.