Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His legs dangled off the side of an apartment building as he looked down at the mess in the streets. It’s been well over 3 months now since his part of the world ended, 3 months since the entire world went into a state of panic, isolating his country to keep the issue contained. He wasn’t important, the people in the streets weren’t important, his parents weren’t important, his brother.

He often sat on this same roof, on this same ledge, and looked down at the same set of cars and buses scattered 10 stories below him. He could join his family. What else is he staying alive for? There’s a bigger chance he’ll die before he finds a new purpose for his life. But for some reason, he could never bring himself to that point. It frustrated him. All he had to do was slide off this ledge and then he can forget about everything.

There were times where he’d watch people, real live people, jogging down the street trying to find a safe place, or sometimes they’d be running, screaming for their life just to have it be taken away from the same herd that didn’t allow him to even step foot outside of the apartment building.

He has been running dangerously low on food and just a few days ago, he ate the last of the can of corn he had. Just today, he ran out of safe drinking water. It was only a matter of time that his body will shut down but it couldn’t come quickly enough.

He had been sleeping on this roof, his skin burning from the sun but he didn’t care. His skin was tan, sunburnt, and peeling but he didn’t care. Maybe he’d be cooked alive.

Back on that ledge, he sat and watched a small group of 4 boys running from the herd. Poor kids. That couldn’t even be a quarter of the herd and they were already vastly outnumbered. He’d unfortunately been desensitized at the sight of people being eaten alive and turned into those monsters. But one of them, the boy in the back noticed him sitting up there, watching and pointed at him.

“Hey! You! Can you help us?! Please!” The other three looked at where he was pointing and then began yelling at him for help but he didn’t believe he could. He didn’t believe anyone should fight it anymore. What for? He barely blinked an eye as they made way for his building. They won’t get in from the front entrance. And they soon found this out. The red head, the same boy that noticed him first, looked up at him again and yelled.

“Please! Let us in! Or where can we get in?” His attention was taken by one of them grabbing his arm to keep running. They’ll soon find out that there was no way around the herd. They’re done for.

—————————————————————————————

“Hyung, I don’t think we should be going so close to the city.” A tall boy with light brown hair said worriedly to the only oldest one among them.

“I know, Yunho-yah, but we need to find a store. We’re run absolutely dry.”

“I’m starting to hear them more now. They’re getting louder.” Wooyoung looked around paranoid, his blonde hair with the roots considerably grown out swung in the wind.

“Don’t psych yourself out, Woo.” Wooyoung’s best friend, Yeosang said from beside him.

“Wait, I know where we are.” Hongjoong, the oldest pointed at the familiar street sign. “If I’m correct, we’re already in the city.” He paused, causing the other three to stop as well.

“Should we keep going?” Yeosang asked and Yunho and Wooyoung shook their heads no.

“I guess—” Hongjoong started but the other two cut him off.

“Ey! I don’t think so!” Wooyoung’s voice shrilled.

“You promised we wouldn’t go into the city!” Yunho’s whiny tone came through.

“Guys, this is our best bet. If everyone avoided the city, the stores should have plenty of stuff for us. Maybe we can even clear the store out, you know, barricade ourselves in there and we won’t have to worry about supply runs for a while.” Hongjoong turned to face the three friends. Yunho looked close to tears, Wooyoung appeared ready to run, and Yeosang was waiting to be told where to go and what to do.

“I don’t want to be here, hyung.” Yunho whined again and Hongjoong sighed, trying to think of a solution. They needed those supplies. When he said they were running dry, he meant dry. Absolutely empty. They waited too long.

“If we go back now, where will we go? Hmm? We don’t have a base anymore and the sun will set in 30 minutes or so.” Hongjoong looked at the warm sky. Their base had been overrun by those creatures. It happened steadily and none of them felt safe anymore so they chose to abandon it.

Yunho sighed and looked to the side only for his eyes to widen in fear.

“Guys!” He pointed to where he was looking at while simultaneously backing away.

“I told you I heard something!” Wooyoung screamed causing Yeosang to slap a hand over his mouth but it was too late. The herd was now coming towards them a smidge faster than they were before.

“Quick! Run!” Hongjoong pushed them to run in the opposite direction.

“Where?!” Wooyoung screamed back.

“I don’t know, just run!” They ended up running right into an area that Yunho had been wanting to avoid but they had nowhere else to go. Wooyoung led the group while Hongjoong stayed in the back thinking if it came down to it and the herd closed in on them, Hongjoong would sacrifice himself to give them more time to run. But before that could come close enough of a possibility, his caught sight of red converse shoes dwindling from an apartment building. It took him a moment to realize that person was very much a live person and not one of those creatures. So Hongjoong yelled for him.

“Hey! Hey! You! Can you help us?! Please!”

“Who are you yelling at?” Wooyoung looked back at him and then turned his head towards where he was looking at and screamed as well, making a beeline towards his building. But this guy didn’t so much as blink at them. He looked just as dead on the outside as these monsters did, if not deader. At least the creatures found interest in eating them but this guy…it’s like he was ready to die.

Wooyoung tried to open the doors but found they were tied shut from the inside.

“Please! Let us in! Or where can we get in?” Hongjoong attempted to ask him for help once again but by then Yeosang had yanked his arm, telling him they had to keep moving and they’ll try to find a way in through the back.

“Look! Yunho, can you reach it?” Wooyoung pointed to the fire escape ladder that they could pull down to climb. Yunho didn’t waste time in jumping up and reaching it successfully in the first try.

“Okay, go, go! Hurry!” Hongjoong was beginning to panic as he hit them all on the shoulder to go up the ladder. Yeosang began climbing as fast as he could, followed by Yunho, then Wooyoung and just as the herd was a finger’s length away from him, Hongjoong had climbed far up enough to be in the clear.

“Hongjoong hyung?!” Wooyoung shrieked once he reached the top of the ladder, wanting to make sure that Hongjoong had made it up as well.

“I’m coming, Wooyoung-ah! Keep going up. Don’t stop until you get to the top!” After hearing his hyung’s voice, he grabbed Yeosang’s hand and began running up the metal steps followed by Yunho and then Hongjoong. As they climbed up several flights of stairs, Hongjoong remembered about the guy at the rooftop. Why hadn’t he even attempted to help them? Why was he up there to begin with? Was he alone? Are they going into a trap right now?

Eventually, Hongjoong met the three of them at the top and found them huddled together while staring at the back of this…strange…almost mannequin like man.

“Hyung,” Wooyoung whispered to him and motioned towards the guy. Hongjoong looked at him and shrugged as if asking him what he wanted him to do about it.

“Go check him out.” He wasn’t necessarily whispering quietly at this point. Yeosang had reached over and helped Wooyoung by pushing Hongjoong towards the strange man. Hongjoong glared at the both of them while Yunho gave him a fist, silently telling him, ‘hwaiting!’ Hongjoong took a deep breath and slowly approached the man. The rooftop appeared as barren as can be. Not even a tent, not a single can of food, no knives, no guns, nothing. What the hell was this guy doing up here with absolutely no protection from anything?

“U-um, hey.” Hongjoong cringed at the first set of words he chose to say to this guy but he got no reaction. “My name is Hongjoong.” Again, silence.

“Okay, I’m not gonna beat around the bush here. Why didn’t you try to help us?” When he got nothing in reply again, he began getting frustrated. “I mean, you looked at me dead in the eyes and did nothing, said nothing. There was a giant herd on our asses.” Hongjoong had to fight himself from grasping the guy’s shoulder and throwing him backwards. “Can you at least say something?” Before Hongjoong could yell at the silent man some more, Yeosang got his attention.

“Joongie hyung,” he looked back at the younger and his expression softened when Yeosang shook his head and motioned for him to come back to them. He sighed and looked at the back of this guy’s head once again.

“Fine. Good luck, I guess. We’ll figure out our own way back.” Hongjoong took but two steps towards his small group when a terribly raspy and croaky voice spoke out.

“Why even try?” The words were broken but Hongjoong understood him. He looked back and furrowed his eyebrows.

“What do you mean?” He not so patiently waited for another response but it eventually came.

“You’ll turn into them eventually, so why fight it so much?” Hongjoong was rendered speechless. He’s never come across someone to ready to give up.

“Are…Are you kidding?” Hongjoong scoffed. “This is not how I plan on leaving this world. This is not how I want my friends to go, if I had to choose a way at all. You shouldn’t think this way. Help will come. It’ll just take some time and it’s our responsibility to hold off until then.” The guy chuckled but he didn’t sound amused at all. Hongjoong’s breath caught in his throat when the guy finally turned to face him. He looked just as dead as he did from down below. His face was peeling probably from the sun exposure. His lips looked chapped and dry and his eyes were practically lifeless. But he was beautiful none the less.

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

Chapter Text

San wasn’t meant for this. He really wasn’t. He could dance for hours on end, he could tire his vocal chords from singing his lungs out all day. But what he can’t do is run for his literal life, hold that hammer in his hand and swing it to protect himself, swing at a person, or something that used to be a person. It’s too much for him. It didn’t help that he was sick to begin with before this whole thing even started and he’s not that much better almost three months in, in the middle of fall.

Living on his own several cities away from his family left him with more doubt rather than hope that he would ever see them again. But he was just a few blocks away from his boyfriend yet he wasn’t able to find him either.

Although he has been unlucky the first 2 and a half months as his sickness grew more and his bones began hurting by just breathing, he had met someone who refused to let him give up. He was someone who came straight out of the military it seemed, got every single patch as a Boy Scout, watched every single survivalist show known to man because within the first few hours of knowing him, he had bundled San up in a blanket that he had stored in his too big backpack, carried him all the way to a cabin that was visible from the road but still in the woods, and created somewhat of a nest for him by the fireplace and made sure he drank every bit of the tea that he had made him.

“In this new world, you’ll die sooner of natural causes than by those things if you let it. We can’t have that.” So through the aid of him, San had begun feeling better though he wasn’t allowed to do much until he was 100 percent back to full health and with the stuffy nose that he had that did nothing to stop him from feeling overall okay, Jongho, as he learned he was called, still refused to let him go outside for anything other than to help him collect more firewood and to check the traps that he had set out. Almost always, they catch something, and if not, Jongho goes fishing. Not with fishing rods, oh no. That’s too mundane. He made fish hooks out of soda can tabs and used leftover meat or fish that he caught the night before as bait. If he’s too impatient though, he’ll just spear fish with a long stick of wood that he sharpened and still be as successful. San could never.

“You know, my boyfriend,” When San first indicated his sexuality to this presumably macho man, he was scared that he would be ditched on the side of the road, that Jongho would be disgusted of him but instead, he didn’t blink a single eye.

“Life’s even shorter now to care about whom one finds love in,” he had said. What is he, a thousand years old? Why was he being so…poetic? Profound? San didn’t even know but he wasn’t about to complain.

“My boyfriend used to play a lot of zombie games, survival games. He’d almost never lose, it was insane. But now that it’s real…man, I still can’t believe it’s real.” San had trailed off from his initial point.

“Do you doubt that he’s doing as well as he did in those games?” Jongho asked him. San took the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders and lifted it up to his head so only his face was visible. The fire in the fireplace was their only source of light and it was comforting. It was dark out, with a slight wind rustling the leaves of the trees, the drizzle of the rain that he was glad to hear and see from the inside of the cabin rather than from under a tree that barely protected him from it. It felt different now.

“I’d like to think so. He’s as much of a scaredy cat as I am but he’s more…”

“Agile?”

“Stubborn.” San smiled sadly. “I’d like to think…he’s looking for me.” Jongho couldn’t really relate but he nodded and stored that information in the back of his mind. Jongho didn’t grow up loving anyone the way San seemed to love his boyfriend. He was too busy being thrown into all boys schools, into survivalist training classes because his dad was insane yet he was the first to go. Jongho couldn’t blame him though. He was trying to buy them all time and it worked but only for so long. His mother was caught in the stairwell of their building and she pushed him to keep going but nothing in the world could’ve stopped him from fighting off the monsters that got her and in the end, he had to leave her after she drew her last breath. San cried when he told him this.

“Sorry I dropped this on you. It’s probably past midnight now and I’m feeling a little warm tonight.” Jongho said softly as San struggled to stop the tears.

“I don’t understand how you can be so casual about this.” San sniffed with his already stuffy nose and wiped his tears with the edge of the blanket.

“I’m not. Trust me. But at a time like this, being sad won’t get me anywhere. I’ve cried myself to sleep enough already. It won’t bring them back no matter how much I beg.” San frowned. He was so young and already so serious, so quick to push the sad thoughts away to get back to business. It was admirable as well as dispiriting.

“I hope in this cruel world you’ll find yourself an Wooyoung.” Jongho looked at him confused. “Wooyoung, that’s my boyfriend’s name.” San smiled slightly as Jongho nodded. “When you found me, I was certain I was gonna die. I think the only reason I hung out for that long was the thought of seeing him again.” Jongho stared at him for a moment as the older stared off into the fire. He made a promise to himself that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to see through but he’ll never forget it. He will help San find Wooyoung however possible or impossible it may be.

“We should get some rest.” San hummed in agreeance and began settling onto his little nest of blankets and pillows on the cabin floor while the small cot under Jongho creaked as he settled onto it, using a blanket to cover just his torso and chose to have no pillow under his head. San had stopped questioning it and just let him be. San always waited until he heard the soft snores before allowing himself to succumb to the warm, fuzzy feeling that is sleep.

“We can’t go back down there.” Yunho peeked over the edge just to flinch and immediately step back.

“No shit, Sherlock.” Wooyoung was frustrated. They were practically stranded on that roof now with an emotionless carcass of a man sitting on the ledge.

“It’s getting dark now though. Even if we manage to get back down there, it’ll be too dangerous to walk around in the dark.” Yeosang pointed out.

“He’s right. The only thing we can do right now is set camp here until sunrise.” Hongjoong suggested.

“H-here? With him?” Yunho said as lowly as he could, pointing over to the other guy. Hongjoong shrugged.

“Looks like. I don’t think he’ll be moving though. But just in case, hold on tight to your stuff. We can set out watch if we have to.”

Setting up camp really meant to sit their asses down on the concrete ground. That was it. They had no tents, they had no sleeping bags. Hongjoong didn’t even want to know how long this guy has been here. He was already uncomfortable and wishing they’d never left their base to begin with. Yunho pulled out his water bottle, took a single sip and passed it to Yeosang. After he took a sip, he passed it to Wooyoung, and after he took a sip too, he passed it to Hongjoong who wasted no time in taking a generous gulp of water. Speaking of, he couldn’t help but think back to how dehydrated the stranger was. He couldn’t understand how he hadn’t moved from his seated position. He mustn’t be that comfortable, surely. Hongjoong held out the water bottle towards the stranger and raised his eyebrows slightly at his group, silently asking if it was all right if he offered him some. They just shrugged and Hongjoong took it as a ‘you can try.’

So, he stood up and walked back to him, making sure that his footsteps were loud enough so he wouldn’t startle him and accidentally make him fall over or something.

“Hey, me again.” Hongjoong waved even though his back was to him. He cleared his throat once and then brought the nearly empty water bottle out in front of him.

“Here, take a few sips. You look like you need it.” Hongjoong stood there for a moment, giving him some time to move a finger at least and when he didn’t, he decided to just leave the bottle next to him. There was probably two good sips in there. They can sacrifice it for now. Neither of his boys complained about it when he walked back and sat down. They made small conversation between the four, talking about nothing and some things, trying to ignore the hunger and still lingering thirst until it was a good time to go to sleep.

“Rest, kids. I’ll take first watch.”

“Okay, but please, wake one of us up this time. Don’t stay up all night again.” Yunho said as they begun settling down, using their bags as pillows.

“I won’t, I promise.”

“You won’t what? Be specific, hyung.” Wooyoung sat up from his rested position to show him that he will not rest until he gets confirmation that his hyung stops being a selfless idiot.

“I won’t stay up all night. I’ll wake one of you up.” Wooyoung nodded before settling back down, cuddling up to Yeosang who was cuddling up to Yunho to keep the cold away. Hongjoong shivered slightly as he took his jacket and put it on properly. He took a quick peak back at the silent stranger and saw the wind blowing his hair to the side. He had no jacket but at least he had a long sleeve. Still, he must be freezing. But Hongjoong didn’t have anything to sacrifice to him. So he forced himself to ignore it.

Come morning, everyone had fallen asleep, including Hongjoong. Including, the stranger who had finally gotten off the ledge to fall asleep right next to it, his back still facing them all. Hongjoong jolted awake as his body began falling to the side. He had originally been resting his back against the air duct but then he found himself flailing his arms slightly as he awoke abruptly. He looked at his surroundings in a sort of panic before remembering where he was and settling down. His boys were still asleep and the sun was just starting to peak out in the horizon. Damn it, he fell asleep. So much for keeping watch.

His eyes widened after realizing that the stranger wasn’t sitting on the ledge anymore. He thought the worst. He took their things and left. He actually fell off the ledge whether it was on accident or on purpose. He never existed to begin with. Okay, that was a stretch but then as his vision cleared a bit more and the sunrise brought more light with it, he saw a mass of black lying on his side and huddling against the ledge to keep away the chilly wind.

He sighed in relief, in relief that none of his thoughts were real. And he smiled at the sight of the now empty water bottle. Hopefully, he felt a bit better now that he had some kind of liquids though with how dehydrated he was, he knew it wasn’t enough.

Hongjoong was curious of him, he must admit. He appeared to not care about his fate yet he drank the water that was handed to him and he curled in on himself to keep warm instead of sitting all night and leaving the bottle alone. Hongjoong winced as he stood up, his bones and muscles aching like they were all the time now and slowly made his way to him. He quietly sat down a few feet away from him and just…sat there.

He didn’t know how to come about this. Should he just wake him? Should he wait for him to wake up by himself? What should he do? A few minutes later though, the decision was finally made for him when the stranger lifted his head suddenly. From this spot, Hongjoong could see him blinking the sleepiness away before slowly turning his head to look at him. He didn’t seem surprised or startled by his close presence whatsoever and once again, Hongjoong saw how sunburnt his skin really was. His lips were still chapped considering the two sips of water were not nearly enough to fix that.

“Morning.” Hongjoong smiled at him softly. He didn’t expect a response back but as he was about to speak some more, he got a hum of acknowledgement from him. His smile grew just a bit more.

“We’re gonna go off to find some food soon. You should come with us.” He simply shook his head ‘no’ and then laid it back down. Hongjoong traded his smile in for a frown.

“Why not? We’re going to a store that might have more water for you. And maybe some chapsticks. And Aloe vera or something.” Hongjoong sighed as he got no response.

“Ah, come on,” he patted his side which got the first real reaction out of the guy who sat straight up and gripped his wrist. Hongjoong gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. The guy quickly let him go and gulped.

“Sorry. That hurt.” If Hongjoong could physically frown even more, he would.

“Let me help you. Us, I mean.” He just shook his head.

“Even if I wanted to keep fighting, I can’t keep up with you.”

“Then we’ll slow down until you can.” Hongjoong was trying to light up the tiniest of sparks that he saw in him now but he shook his head ‘no’ once again.

“Please, stop.” Hongjoong could cry from how sad and unmotivated he sounded like. Hongjoong was convinced this is not what he truly wanted for himself but it’s what he was settling for, a slow, painful death.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Please, let me help you. If you don’t come with us…then I’ll leave and come back with things for you.”

“If you even manage to leave in one piece, you’ll be lucky enough. To come back will truly be asking for it.”

“Then I hope that weighs on your mind even more and convinces you to come with us. Because I’m a man of my word.” It went silent for a moment before a new voice entered the conversation.

“It’s true. It’s annoying, but true.” Wooyoung said as he lifted his head to look at them. Hongjoong pointed at him and then looked back at the guy.

“Please. I can’t leave knowing I’m leaving someone behind with absolutely nothing for them.”

“But I’m not asking for anything from you.”

“Can you just—” Hongjoong let out a noise of frustration before collecting his thoughts once more. “If only to give me a peace of mind, come with us at least to the store so I can get you a few things and if you still wish to come back here and rot on this roof, then fine. I just have to try. I don’t care if that’s selfish.”

“It is.” Hongjoong just shrugged. He really didn’t care. “I don’t think I can make it to the store.” He admitted softly. Hongjoong, again, could almost cry.

“We’ll help you. Come. Maybe you should stretch a little before we go. You’ve been sat there for a long time, huh?” Hongjoong stood up and held a hand out for him. He stared at it and Hongjoong could see the cogs spinning in his head as he thought over the pros and cons of following Hongjoong but in the end, his dry, sunburnt hand grasped his and he grunted in pain as he stood up. His legs wobbled slightly as he did so but Hongjoong was quick to hold him up.

“Tell me when you get your bearings.” Hongjoong helped him walk back and forth on the roof until he was stable again.

“Yunho-yah. Open a new bottle. He’s going to need a bit more before we go.” Yunho reached into his pack to grab one of the last three water bottles they had and handed it to him. The stranger almost declined the offer but Hongjoong didn’t take no for an answer once again and soon he was drinking a quarter of the water.

“Better?” For once his lips didn’t look as dry but he’d still need more. He nodded and wiped the droplets of water from his chin.

“Thank you.” He said lowly.

“Of course. Anyways, sun’s up. We should get going.” Hongjoong handed the bottle back to Yunho and after he closed his pack, they all stood up and huddled together.

“What’s the plan?” Yeosang asked and they all looked at Hongjoong who took a deep breath and forced himself to think.

“I don’t think we can go down the fire escape again.”

“That’s a definite no.”

“Are the stairwells clear?” Hongjoong asked the guy.

“They were the last time I used them but that was a while ago.” Hongjoong tried to ignore the pang in his chest.

“Okay, that’s our best bet.” Hongjoong grabbed the guy’s arm and wrapped it around his shoulder to support him just in case, not even caring that he was a little shorter and he will topple over if more weight was rested on him.

“U-um, I’m Hongjoong, by the way.”

“I know. You already told me.”

“Oh, right.” Hongjoong looked at him then looked away immediately when the guy looked at him too.

“I’m Seonghwa.” Finally, a name.

“Seonghwa.” Hongjoong hummed. “You wanna introduce yourselves?” Hongjoong asked his boys.

“I’m Wooyoung.”

“Yeosang.”

“And I’m Yunho.” Yunho gave him a dimpled smile as he grasped his bag straps.

“If I’m holding you back, please, let me go.” That dropped the smiles off of all of their faces.

“I dare you to make me.” Hongjoong said before motioning for the door to the stairwell with his head.

“Let’s go, everyone. Who’s going first?” The three boys looked at each other before Yeosang took a shaky breath.

“Me.” Hongjoong bit his lip. He would normally go first but he also wanted to make sure Seonghwa would be okay.

“Okay. The moment you see anything, we got your back.” Hongjoong reassured him and he nodded.

“And we got yours. Both of yours.” Yeosang said more to Seonghwa before they made their way towards the stairwell.

Chapter Text

A can of expired coconut milk was picked up, looked at, and then put back.

“Man, there’s nothing I like in here.” He complained, looking at the ransacked shelves in his aisle.

“I don’t think this is a time to be picky.” His shorter friend said from the next aisle over. These shelves were short enough that even he can look over them. This family owned store was their best bet, or at least they thought so but all they managed to find was a single jar of pickled onions and a pack of orange flavored vitamin water.

“You’re taking a bite of the pickled onions first then if you’re so open to anything.” His friend rolled his eyes before picking up a can that was turned sideways on the shelf.

“Hey, more corn.”

“Great. At this rate, we should just make our own corn farm.”

“We tried that with the tomatoes. We’re not exactly farmers, Mingi.” Mingi shrugged.

“Maybe corn is different. It’s not my fault Seoho hyung forgot to water them.” His friend rolled his eyes again as he stuffed the can of corn into his backpack that he had placed to hang in his front instead of his back to stuff things in easier.

“Hwanwoong hyung,” Mingi called out for him after a lull in the conversation.

“Mm?” Hwanwoong looked at him.

“Do you think—” Mingi didn’t even have time to ask him anything when chaos broke out. A loud clatter followed by sounds of snarling happened behind Hwanwoong and the both of them were quick to make a run for it but they went separate ways. Hwanwoong tried going for the back door that they went in from while Mingi went to try his luck with the front door. He turned when he realized they weren’t together anymore.

Hwanwoong had luckily made it to the door but as soon as he opened it, another creature was out there practically waiting for him and Mingi yelled out his name as he watched him fall down with the creature on top of him.

“HYUNG!” Mingi made to run towards him but he froze when the creature took a bite right out of his neck. He froze as he heard him yell in a way he’s never heard him before. He froze as Hwanwoong’s eyes looked at him, tearful, afraid, in pain. And he stayed frozen when a gunshot rang in the air and killed it. His feet stuttered as the original creature, the first one that made them scatter made its way towards him. He whimpered as tears blurred his vision. He eventually tripped when his feet stepped on a few cans left on the floor and he thought this is how he’d die, the same way his hyung did but the sound of metal rang in the air when someone hit the creature in the head several times.

“Wooyoung! It’s okay! Stop!” Another person came and wrapped his arms around the person still swinging with the bat, making him stop doing so.

“Shit! We were too late. Were we too late for you?” Wooyoung asked Mingi still laying on the ground in the midst of a panic attack. “Hey, hey, look at me. Were you bitten?” Wooyoung put his hands on his shoulders and tried to get him to speak.

“Lay off him, Wooyoung. He just saw his friend get eaten.” A taller guy came up to them and pulled Wooyoung back.

“Can you say it any fucking louder, Yunho?” The second guy, the one who stopped Wooyoung from pounding on the creature hissed at Yunho who cringed and looked worriedly at Mingi.

“I-I don’t know how to help him. Hongjoong hyung!” The three boys looked back at the red head who had since leaned Seonghwa against the wall and had been looking around the store to make sure there wouldn’t be any more surprises.

“Huh?”

“He’s panicking. I don’t know what to do!” Yunho grabbed Mingi’s hand and lifted his head to let it rest on his leg.

“Hey, hey, hey. It’s gonna be okay. Lift him up some more. Do you want one of us to hold you?” Hongjoong asked him but Mingi had already started leaning his head against Yunho’s chest and Yunho slowly wrapped his arms around him to make sure that it was okay. When Mingi didn’t move away, he held onto him tighter.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we shouldn’t be here very long.” Yeosang spoke softly to Hongjoong who agreed.

“You and Wooyoung check the store for anything we can use.” The two nodded and set off to do just that while Hongjoong rubbed at Mingi’s back until he calmed down enough to say his first words to them.

“Y-you won’t find much. Expired.” He stuttered while his breath skipped in every other word.

“Expired food isn’t that bad if it’s never been opened. We can’t be picky anymore.” Hongjoong pointed out. “Hey, what’s your name?” He continued to speak to him in a soft tone.

“M-mingi. Song Mingi.”

“Mingi-ssi, I’m really sorry for what happened and that we couldn’t get here quick enough.” Hongjoong frowned as he mentioned it and as Mingi began crying again but at least he wasn’t panicking anymore.

“Do you have a group that we can take you back to?” Mingi sniffed a few times before speaking.

“I do but…it’s a drive away and…Hwanwoong hyung drove. I don’t know how to get there.” Hongjoong sighed and looked back at the now closed backdoor where this Hwanwoong was laying outside with a knife wound in his head to make sure he didn’t come back as one of them. He couldn’t let Mingi see that image.

His eyes went up to Seonghwa who sported the same emotionless expression that he always seemed to have.

“Mingi-ssi, point us in the direction you think they may be and we’ll go look for them with you.”

“R-really? It could take some time. Especially since I’m lost here now.”

“It’s okay. We got nowhere else to be anyway.” Hongjoong smiled at him and pushed his hair back and rubbed gently under his eyes to wipe away his tears.

“Um, hyung?” Hongjoong looked back to see Wooyoung.

“Finished?” He nodded.

“We still need to hit another store though. Especially now that our group is growing at least for the moment.” Wooyoung smiled at Mingi to show him that he wasn’t truly inconvenienced by him.

“Hwanwoong hyung…had some things in his bag.” Mingi sat up straighter and pointed towards the door with a shaky hand.

“You want us to get it?” Yunho grabbed his hand and held it. Mingi nodded.

“We can’t let anything go to waste, right?” Yunho frowned but nodded.

“I’ll get it.” Seonghwa spoke up and began standing up.

“No, I’ll get it.” Hongjoong shot up as well but Seonghwa put a hand out to tell him to stop.

“Hongjoong. I’ll get it.” They watched as Seonghwa approached the door before he stopped and turned to look at Mingi who was also following his movements. Seonghwa pointed at him and then looked at Yunho who understood what he meant and quickly moved to block his view. Mingi knew what he was doing and he didn’t fight him on it. He appreciated it even.

“Thank you. For a lot of things, actually.” Mingi said. “Thank you for helping me and calming me down, and stuff.” Mingi wiped at his eyes that seemed to constantly be pouring out tears. This, unfortunately, wasn’t the only friend he’s lost to this outbreak but it was the first time he’s seen it happen right before his eyes. One moment it was calm, just a simple supply run, and the next, death.

“Yeah, of course. We’ll always try to help out as much as we can.” Yunho reassured him. “I’m really sorry this happened. I know it’s going to be hard to not think about for a while so I won’t force you to act okay.” He put a hand on Mingi’s shoulder and hugged him when he began sobbing again. Yunho looked up at Hongjoong and frowned.

“We should get a move on then. Mingi, I’m sorry, but do you know another store around here?” Mingi sniffed and wiped his eyes again.

“There’s several on this road and the next road, too.” They all turned towards the door when they heard it squeak and Seonghwa came back in wearing the whole bag on his back.

“Mingi-ssi, I should ask you, is it okay if I take the whole bag?” Mingi nodded.

“Y-yeah, yeah. He had a lot of useful things in there.” Mingi sniffed and moved back to stand up. Yunho held his arm out just in case he was unsteady. Mingi held onto it anyways and gave him a tiny, trembling smile.

“Okay, let’s go then. This way, though.” Yeosang pointed to the front door and they made their way towards it. Hongjoong stayed back to walk alongside Seonghwa.

“Is the bag too heavy? Do you want to switch?” Hongjoong’s bag wasn’t as filled as Hwanwoong’s looked to be. Seonghwa shook his head.

“I’m fine.” Hongjoong sighed and took out the water bottle from the side of his pack and opened it before handing it to him.

“Drink some more before we go, please.” Seonghwa sighed but took a small sip and handed it back to him. Hongjoong rolled his eyes but took his own sip before putting the closed bottle back where it was.

“Oh, by the way,” Yeosang stopped walking and reached into his back pocket and threw something at Seonghwa who caught it.

The first smile, maybe it was a smirk, appeared on his face that Hongjoong has witnessed as he revealed what it was.

Carmex lip balm.

“Thanks, Yeosang-ah.” Yeosang grinned cheekily at him and continued walking. Hongjoong smiled as he watched Seonghwa twist the cap off and applied a thin layer of it to his lips.

“Ah, it stings a little.”

“It’s medicated. Which is good. You need it.” Yeosang turned his head back to tell him. Seonghwa didn’t comment and twisted the cap back onto the tube and pocketed it.

“Seonghwa, how old are you?” Hongjoong asked him. It caught the attention of the other 4 who awaited his response.

“21.” Hongjoong gasped.

“You’re young! I thought you were older.”

“It’s the peeling skin, I think.” Yeosang commented.

“The sun spots on his cheeks.” Wooyoung followed up.

“Ooh! Which reminds me, you need some lotion, Seonghwa hyung.” Seonghwa glared at the two as they giggled and walked just a tiny bit faster.

“They’re your kids. Can I beat them?” Seonghwa said to Hongjoong who chuckled.

“It’s nice to see there’s some kind of personality left in you.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that because he could almost see the walls go back up as Seonghwa faced forward once again.

“Sorry. What I meant to say is, if you choose to stay with us, they’ll be your kids too. I’m the oldest and we’re the same age, so,” he trailed off. “Well, I think we still are. Mingi-ssi, how old are you?”

“I’m 20. So, younger.”

“No way! Me too!” Wooyoung turned to yell right in his face. He flinched but smiled and nodded.

“Me too. Yunho too. Oh, hyungs, good luck.” Yeosang smiled at their elders in the back.

“Yah, you’re not going to corrupt Mingi so early on!” Hongjoong nagged at them.

“It’s not corruption if it’s already how he is. We’ll get it out of you eventually, Mingi.” Wooyoung wiggled his eyebrows before facing forward again. “Oh! This one, right?” Wooyoung pointed to the slightly bigger mart next to them.

“Yeah. There’s that one as well.” Mingi pointed to the one across the street.

“Okay, maybe, we can split up to save time. Half of us go here the other half go to that one. Yeah?” Wooyoung looked to Hongjoong for confirmation.

“Yeah, I suppose. Is that okay with everyone?” When no one objected, Hongjoong continued. “Okay, Then Seonghwa and Wooyoung, come with me and you three go to this one. If we need to run we go down this road, okay?” Hongjoong pointed to the opposite direction they came from.

“All right, be careful everyone. Stay alert. Yunho, take good care of Mingi.”

“I will, hyung.” Yunho nodded before they separated.

“You know, I can handle myself just fine.” Mingi told the both of them when they went in.

“No one said you can’t. But you just went through something very traumatizing and we just want to make sure that you don’t strain yourself.” Yunho pointed out which Mingi couldn’t object.

“I won’t baby you if that’s what you’re worried about.” Yeosang said as he went off to search a different aisle than the two of them.

“Mn,” Was the only sound Mingi made before beginning to look around as well, never straying too far from Yunho while doing so.

“Jackpot! Sour gummies! Bro, these never go bad!” Yeosang took his bag off to unzip it and stuff the remaining bags of gummies. Yunho and Mingi chuckled while continuing their search.

“Where are we going to sleep tonight?” Mingi eventually asked.

“We don’t know yet. We slept on a roof last night. That’s where we met Seonghwa.”

“Ah. I see. I mean, there are cabins near this area that we can crash in.”

“Cabins? Like in the woods?” Yunho looked concerned.

“I mean, yeah, technically they’re in the woods but they’re visible from the road so it’s not like we have to go hiking to find them.” Yunho nodded.

“I’ll tell Hongjoong hyung when we meet up again.” Mingi nodded.

“You guys seem to trust him a lot. Have you known each other long?” Mingi said as he put a jar of pickles into Yunho’s bag.

“Yeah, we grew up together. All of us. We lived in the same building and when we were younger, we’d go to the park and play together. I still never thought I’d be relying on him so much like this though.” Yeosang said and Yunho made a noise of agreement.

“Must be nice, though.” Mingi commented.

“Yeah. Maybe not for him though. I feel bad ‘cause we’re putting so much pressure on him.” Yunho frowned slightly.

“Maybe now with Seonghwa hyung, though, they can share the burden.” Mingi pointed out.

“That’s if Seonghwa hyung even stays with us. Or if he even cares about us the way Hongjoong hyung does.” Yeosang mentioned.

“He doesn’t seem…I mean, I don’t want to offend—”

“No, I know what you mean. When we met him, literally last night, he acted like he was waiting to die. God only knows how long he’s been on that roof, burning his skin off every day. I don’t want him to lose hope, though.” Yunho said softly. They searched some more again in silence before Yeosang picked up a specific tube.

“Hey, look. Sun screen.” He grinned. Mingi snickered while Yunho laughed openly. “Too soon?”

Chapter Text

“Jongho-yah, when are you going to teach me how to fish?” San pouted as he cut the third fish Jongho caught to be cooked. Of course, the younger also taught him the right way to fillet the fish.

“Oh, you wanna learn? I can teach you.”

“Really?!” San grinned. Maybe now he can be more useful.

“Yeah. We can try tomorrow before breakfast if you want.” San nodded enthusiastically. And that’s how the two of them ended up at the stream with Jongho teaching him how to tie the string to a new tab hook that he made earlier.

“Okay, then loop it like this,” San copied and pasted what he was seeing as Jongho explained.

“And then pull it tight but not too tight that it breaks.” San did just that.

“And there you go. There’s your hook.” San grinned at Jongho and bounced lightly on the rock he was sitting on next to the shore.

“This is so cool. How did you learn to do this?”

“Summer camp, ’08.”

“Really? How old were you?”

“7 turning 8.”

“They teach you these things at 7 years old?”

“It’s never too early to learn how to survive in the wilderness. At least that’s what they always told me. It came in handy though, didn’t it?” San nodded.

“Yeah, it really did. You’re very intelligent, Jongho-ssi.” San gave him a warm smile which Jongho had to look away as he tried to hold back his own bashful smile.

“Ahem, so, next step,” San made a small sound of confirmation that he was ready and then the younger stood up and took off his shoes and socks.

“It’s best if you take off your shoes and socks and roll up your pants as much as you can.”

“Oh, we have to go in the water.”

“A little bit. Enough so the hook is more in the deeper end where we’ll have more luck catching something.” After doing so, Jongho handed him a worm that he dug out from the ground earlier.

“Here, attach it to the hook.” San grimaced and couldn’t bring himself to even touch the thing.

“C-can you do it?” Jongho scoffed, amused, but did so anyways.

“If you plan to do this yourself one day without my help, you should get used to the idea of doing this part yourself as well.” San pouted.

“I know but today’s not that day.”

“All right, all right. Let me do mine real quick,” San looked away whenever Jongho stabbed the hook into its body. “Okay, let’s do this.” San followed Jongho until they were knee deep in the water, getting the edges of their pant legs wet.

“Now, your string is tied well to the stick right?” Jongho motioned to the stick that was acting as the rod that the hook was dangling from.

“Yeah, I believe you.” San pulled on it to test it and when it didn’t come apart, Jongho nodded.

“Okay, now just let it go. Don’t move your feet or anything. Be as still as you can.” Jongho was standing a few feet away from him to ensure that they both can potentially catch something at the same time.

It didn’t happen immediately. He learned to not tug on the string too soon or else he’ll lose the fish and he lost that fish maybe 3 times before he finally caught one.

“I did it! Look! Look! Are you looking?!” Jongho chuckled as he tied his third fish to his belt using other tab hooks that he made.

“I’m looking. That’s a decently sized one. Good job, hyung.” San cheered for himself again and then stood there not knowing what to do with it now. Jongho chuckled and walked closer.

“Come on, let’s head back and cook these bad boys. You can have this one for yourself.” Jongho pointed to the one San caught.

Once they arrived back to the cabin, they immediately began descaling using their knives. It wasn’t the most practical but it worked.

Breakfast never tasted so good before that morning, San was sure of it. He felt full, he felt warm, he felt satiated for the time being and Jongho could only chuckle and shake his head as San leaned back on his nest with his eyes closed and a smile stuck on his face. And that’s how he was for quite a long time.

“Will you act like this every time you eat your own caught fish?”

“Quite possibly. So, what else are we doing today?” Jongho just shrugged.

“Check the traps, maybe.” San groaned.

“We do that every day.”

“Yeah, because we need to eat every day, hyung.”

“What else can we do?”

“Not much, I mean. We can’t exactly go to the arcade or something.”

“Why not?” San pouted and Jongho raised an eyebrow.

“Hyung, the zombies? The impending death waiting for us outside these walls?” San deflated.

“Does that mean we have to be bored for the rest of our lives? How boring.” Jongho sighed.

“Hyung, I’m sorry but there’s not much to—” Jongho stopped talking when he heard the clattering of the cans outside. He created some kind of alarm system using string and cans, a trip wire of some sort. If a zombie or a human triggered it, the cans would alert them.

“Stay here.” Jongho quickly put the axe into its holder on his waist belt and grabbed the rifle that he hardly used. It was only for emergencies. He peeked out the window before doing anything else.

“People. A lot of them. Shit.” Jongho paused for a moment, looking between the gun, San, and the window. San looked scared and worried, not knowing what to do.

“Hyung, stay in here. I’ll handle it.”

“No, Jongho. I can’t sit here while you deal with them yourself.” San began standing up.

“You still haven’t found your boyfriend, hyung. I nursed you back to health, don’t let it go to waste. I’ll handle it.” San didn’t want to listen to him but he stayed put for the time being, ready to run out and help him if he needed it.

Jongho pulled open the door and quickly shut it behind him and held the rifle out, finding a person to aim it at, the only one holding a pistol.

“Hyung,” a tall person behind the red head holding the gun put a hand on his shoulder but Jongho didn’t take his eyes off of him and neither did the other.

“Can I help you?” Jongho asked them though he wasn’t really willing to give them anything.

“Not really. Just was the first cabin we saw.”

“We’ll be out of your way. Please, we don’t want any problems.” The same tall guy spoke after the red head did.

“The cabins around here are pretty empty but they should serve you guys some good shelter.” Jongho informed them.

“T-thank you. Hyung, let’s go.” Another boy told the red head who still didn’t put the gun down but he wasn’t glaring at Jongho anymore.

“Wait, are you alone?” Jongho didn’t let his guard down.

“No.”

“Oh. How many of you are there?” That was a red flag to Jongho. Why did he care how many people he was with?

“I don’t see how that concerns you.”

“Well, if we are to stay in one of these cabins, who’s to say you and your group won’t try to rob us?”

“Who’s to say you won’t try to rob me? We were here first.”

“Who’s we?”

“Hyung, can we just go? He’s only defending himself right now.” The same blonde tried to convince him.

“You should listen to your friend. I don’t wish to hurt any of you but I will if you take one step closer.” Jongho threatened them.

“Hyung, listen to Wooyoung. We should go.” Jongho’s ear twitched slightly at the sound of a familiar name.

“Wooyoung?” All of them froze, including Wooyoung who looked at Jongho confused as to why he repeated his name as if he knew him.

“Y-yes? That’s my name. We should—”

“Jung Wooyoung?” Wooyoung gasped lightly and they all stared at Jongho suspiciously.

“H-how do you k-know my last name?”

“Choi San told me.” Wooyoung’s eyes widened considerably.

“San? My San? He’s here?” Wooyoung took a few steps forward, completely ignoring Hongjoong trying to pull him back. Jongho pointed his rifle down and opened the door, not taking his eyes off of them just yet though. Wooyoung tried looking behind Jongho to see who was inside. San managed to see him first though and came running out of the house to stand next to Jongho.

“Is that…Wooyoungie?!”

“San!” The tears were immediate before they even met each other halfway. They hugged each other tightly to the point where Jongho began getting concerned for San’s ribs therefore lungs. He only just got healthy again. Now wouldn’t be a good time to get hurt all over.

“Sanie, it’s good to see you.” Hongjoong finally took his gun off of Jongho and hugged the lovers followed by Yeosang and Yunho.

“Hyung!” San cried out to him and reached a hand out to hold his while still not being released from Wooyoung’s tight grip. “I thought I wouldn’t see you again! Where the hell did you go?!” San moved his head back to look at Wooyoung.

“I was at Yeosang’s doing a school project.”

“That feels like forever ago.” Yeosang commented.

“Yeah. How did you end up here?” Wooyoung asked San, wiping both of their cheeks from the tear stains.

“Actually, he brought me here. Remember I was sick before this all even started? I wasn’t much better afterwards either.” Wooyoung grabbed his face looking even more worried.

“What? Are you okay? Are you still sick? I can go look for medicine for you.” San smiled, a few more tears falling from his eyes.

“I’m okay, Wooyoungie. Jongho helped me, saved my life even. I was on the side of the road and I kinda gave up,” his voice cracked. “I didn’t know what to do or where to go and everything just hurt. But he found me and he nursed me back to health. I told him about you, too.” San smiled again, trying to lift their spirits up. “Even after the world ended, you’re still all I talked about.” Wooyoung finally smiled back.

“I’m glad to hear that. I guess I owe Jongho an apology and a huge thank you for saving the love of my life.” San giggled yet cringed.

“I guess so. Come, I’ll introduce you to him. He’s a literal boy scout and one with nature. He taught me how to fish too!” San grabbed Wooyoung’s hand and brought him up to Jongho who was still standing in front of the door just watching. None of them except for Jongho noticed the two boys still standing awkwardly in the back, not having followed the group up to him.

“Jongho, this is Wooyoung, my boyfriend.” San grinned. Jongho bowed slightly and gave him a small smile.

“Nice to finally meet you. There wasn’t a day that San-ssi didn’t mention your name.” Wooyoung grinned.

“Thank you so much for taking care of him and I’m sorry for the way we acted just now.”

“It’s okay. Better to be safe than sorry.” Jongho nodded and looked at Hongjoong as he said so. Hongjoong nodded.

“I’m Hongjoong, by the way. This is Yunho, Yeosang, wait, where are—hey! Why are you two standing over there? Come!” Hongjoong motioned for the other two to join them and slowly they did so hesitantly.

“This is Seonghwa and Mingi.” Hongjoong finished introducing them all.

“I’m Jongho.”

“Nice to meet you, Jongho.” He nodded. San noticed he looked like he wanted to say something.

“What is it, Jjong?” San encouraged him to speak up.

“This cabin is pretty small. I don’t think I can fit all of you in it.”

“Oh! Oh, we don’t mean to intrude! We’re just passing by actually. Really, we were just looking for some place to crash for the night. Our mission is to get Mingi back to his camp.” Hongjoong didn’t realize the other predicament that that tidbit brought.

Now came the indecisiveness. They want to bring Mingi back to his camp, to his friends and such, but now Wooyoung found San and San didn’t want to leave Jongho alone again even though he’s sure that he could survive on his own just fine the way he was before. The truth is, he was young, younger than him and he shouldn’t have to be alone whether or not he could take care of himself physically. The elephant in the room stayed hidden for now, however.

“Oh, okay. The biggest cabin here is that one,” Jongho pointed to the cabin next to the one in front of his. “It should fit all of you if you don’t mind sharing beds or something.”

“Ah, thank you, Jongho. We should go get settled then, make some food.” Hongjoong smiled at him and then referred to his group. He began walking towards the appointed cabin and the majority of the boys followed him but Wooyoung stopped when San didn’t move.

“You coming?” San frowned and looked at Jongho.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” Jongho reassured him.

“I know you’ll be fine physically but I’ve grown to like you a bit.” San pouted. Jongho smiled bashfully.

“Yeah. But you found Wooyoung-ssi now. And I taught you quite a few things that can help you and your group out.”

“You still need to teach me more though. When will you do that?” Jongho breathed in as he tried to think of a response. It was like telling a child you’ll buy them the thing they want next time knowing damn well there won’t be a next time.

“Hey, you guys! Are you coming? Jongho, you can come too, at least for the meal if you’d like.” Hongjoong said, having approached them after quickly checking the cabin. Jongho seemed to be thinking about it.

“What’s on the menu?”

“I’m afraid it’s mostly whatever’s available. Corn, pickles, beans.” Hongjoong shrugged and Jongho nodded.

“I’ll check my traps. Maybe I can offer some meat for the meal. I’ll be right back.” Jongho said before walking around Wooyoung and San to go look at his traps. As soon as he was far away enough, San spoke.

“Hyung, I don’t want to leave him here alone.” Hongjoong sighed. They were growing rapidly, it felt like, and food and resources were extremely scarce and hard to come across as it was when it was just four of them. Now eight? Double that?

“I know, San.”

“He can be very useful to us though.” San cut him off. “He’s really good at catching animals, especially fish. He knows a lot about survival. I mean, he was a boy scout and he learned a lot of neat tricks. That’s why we’ve been eating so well and I got my health back on track. Please, hyung, can he join us?” Hongjoong looked at San who had intertwined his own fingers together and held them below his chin, begging him.

“I can’t exactly make you choose between us, though, right? It was always going to be us giving Jongho the chance to join us. It’s fine with me, it’s just up to him.” San nodded.

“I’ll talk to him.” Hongjoong nodded.

“You think your friend knows how to start a fire?” San scoffed.

“He learned how to do that when he was five years old. He even taught me. It’s really cool and easy. I’ll show you all.” San said excitedly.

“Okay. Come to the cabin when Jongho comes back, then.” San agreed and Hongjoong began walking back to the other cabin.

“Sanie, can I ask you something?” Wooyoung asked him when they were finally alone.

“Anything, my love.” San moved closer to his boyfriend and held his hands.

“You won’t leave us if Jongho doesn’t wish to join us,…right?” San was already shaking his head no.

“Of course not! Woo, I just found you again. All I wanted was to be with you this whole time, I cried for you often, I thought about you all the time. I’m not losing you again.” Tears began collecting on both of their eyes.

“And what will we do if Jongho doesn’t wish to come with us?” San sighed.

“I really hope that won’t be the case. But if it is,…” San didn’t want to think about it. He became quite attached to the younger. He enjoyed their late night talks, the little training sessions when Jongho would teach him things he learned when he was a young child. It was a nice bonding experience.

“I’ll try to convince him to join.” Was all San could say and Wooyoung didn’t push him to say more. Just held his face and kissed him. It felt sudden yet so familiar that San didn’t care. He wrapped his arms around Wooyoung’s waist and kissed him back feverishly.

“Why did I wait so long to do that?” Wooyoung breathed out when they pulled back.

“I don’t know. Let’s not wait so long ever again.”

“Agreed.” They shared small little pecks before they heard Jongho coming back. Wooyoung whirled around and held up his bat however, having now been accustomed to thinking any noise was a zombie.

“Whoa, hey, it’s just me. With goods news too. Caught three squirrels.” Jongho smiled and held them up proudly. San clapped and cheered at the news.

“Wow. Never had squirrel.”

“You’ll come to find it tastes like any old meat we’ve had. I really miss beef and chicken but this, this is really good.” San told him. Wooyoung smiled and nodded.

“I’m not complaining. Thank you in advance, Jongho. It’s really kind of you to share your catch with us, especially since we’re so many people and rationing it evenly will be a bitch.” Jongho shrugged.

“Better than nothing.” Wooyoung nodded and grabbed San’s hand.

“Let’s go, then. Can’t wait to have something that didn’t come out of a can or a jar for once.” San grinned and nodded.

“Come on, Jongho.” San held his hand out for the younger who gave him a gently high five but didn’t hold it like San originally wanted him to. San didn’t push him though and kept the same grin on his face as they walked across the road to the biggest cabin.

“Knock, knock! Jongho brings meat!” Jongho looked nervous as all eyes moved to him. He showed them the three squirrels and shrugged.

“Won’t be much but it’s something.”

“Oh, we don’t mind, Jongho. Wow, thank you so much!” Yunho gave him a grin. In their absence, the group had found a few dusty old pots in the cabinets and had cleaned them off as best as they could before pouring out the corn and beans into two different pots.

“We’re trying to figure out how to make a fire.” Yeosang said as him and Mingi sat in front of the fireplace with a few sticks of wood in it.

“First off, you’re gonna need a lot more wood than that.” Jongho said.

“Yeah. I’ll go find some more. Jongho, why don’t you start skinning the squirrels. When I come back, I’ll help you cut them up.” San told him, kissed Wooyoung on the cheek and then headed for the door.

“Wait, San, wait. Take someone with you. Wooyoung?” Hongjoong stopped him.

“No! Not Wooyoung. They’ll never come back and if they do, it won’t be with the firewood they originally went out for.” Yeosang pointed out and Woosan had the audacity to look offended.

“I’ll have you know I am a boy scout in training!” San pointed at him. Yeosang scoffed and raised an eyebrow.

“You? A boy scout? Funny.”

“I am! Jongho, tell him. I’m good right?”

“You’re…better than before.” He shrugged.

“…I’ll accept that.”

“Take Yunho with you. And a weapon. Both of you.” Hongjoong crossed his arms and waited for them to do what he asked of them, blocking the door as well. Yunho took the hammer and San grabbed a knife.

“Do you approve, father?” Hongjoong rolled his eyes and then moved aside for them to leave.

“Please don’t take too long.”

“Yeah, we’re hungry!” Yeosang said from across the room.

“No, Yeosang. I mean, I’ll worry. Please be quick and careful.” Hongjoong told them gently but no amount of reassurance will wipe the worry away until they’re both back inside.

“No worries, we got this. Right, Yunho?”

“Yeah, it’s just sticks, hyung. We’ll be quick.”

“And careful.” San finished with a smile and then led the two of them outside. Hongjoong sighed and closed the door.

“They’ll be fine, hyung. You worry too much.”

“Yeosang, have you forgotten there’s an army of zombies out there? Worrying is a given, and you shouldn’t think anything having to do with going out there will be easy.” Hongjoong said, frustrated at how aloof he’s been acting since they reached the cabin.

“Okay, okay, sorry.”

“Hongjoong-ah,” Seonghwa called out to him, seeing that he was about to say more. Hongjoong stopped and looked at him sitting on the couch that he had pushed to the wall.

“Can you help me with something?” Seonghwa hadn’t asked for his help for anything since they met. Granted that was a mere 20 hours ago but still. That shut Hongjoong up and had him walking up to him to sit beside him.

“What is it, Seonghwa?” Seonghwa cleared his throat and brought out the tube of aloe vera he had found at the store earlier.

“Would you mind helping me with this?” He asked softly.

“Oh! Yeah, no uh, no problem. Um, my hands aren’t exactly clean though.”

“Nothing is clean anymore. It’s fine.” Seonghwa reassured him. Hongjoong nodded before flipping the cap open and squeezing a dime sized amount onto his fingers.

“Okay, uh, ready?” Seonghwa nodded and tilted his chin up to give Hongjoong better access to his entire face. Hongjoong used his pinky to move his hair aside before applying the gel to his cheeks and forehead.

“I think we should put this on you a few times a day so it heals faster.” Hongjoong said and Seonghwa hummed in agreement.

“Does it sting?”

“Not really. Maybe I burnt off all the feeling on my face.” He said so casually.

“…Why did you stay on that roof and let yourself get this sunburnt?” Seonghwa took a while to answer. He only spoke after Hongjoong finished spreading the gel on his face.

“Didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

“Nowhere?” Seonghwa shook his head and Hongjoong frowned.

“Would you—” Hongjoong was cut off by the front door opening abruptly, San ushering Yunho to get in quickly, and then the door slamming shut and the locks being turned. He rested his back against the door and it was silent for a few seconds before something slammed against the door and the snarls rang through. San whined and ran towards the living area and into Wooyoung’s awaiting arms.

“What happened?” Hongjoong asked while Jongho set down the squirrels he was skinning and gripped his knife differently.

“We-we were getting sticks a-and 3 zombies just s-snuck up on us,” Yunho had trouble saying through fear and breathlessness of how fast they bolted back to the cabin.

“We need to get rid of them before they attract more.” Jongho said and coming up to the door.

“Wait! We’re not ready!” Hongjoong said but Jongho pulled the door open and quickly and too easily shoved his knife in and out of their heads. He was barely out of breath afterwards and he shoved their limp bodies out of the doorway so he could close the door again after looking around and making sure the roads were pretty empty. He then closed and locked the door again.

“If you find yourself being chased by zombies, don’t lead them back to your base.” Jongho said to them but mostly to San, who was already told of this before.

“Sorry, I panicked.” Jongho just went back to the squirrels after cleaning the knife off.

“You were saying, Yeosang?” Wooyoung said to him, referring to what he said earlier. Yeosang just kept his mouth shut. Yunho dropped the armful of sticks next to the fireplace and then sat down next to Mingi on the floor.

“You okay?” Mingi whispered to him and he nodded in response.

“Let’s just get lunch going, yeah? I think we all just need to eat.” Hongjoong said and knelt in front of the fireplace.

“Let me, hyung.” San said after seeing him sitting there for a while, clearly not knowing what to do. San glanced back at Jongho who was waiting to see if San could do it himself without asking him for help. It took a few tries but eventually, San got the fire going and he grinned, proud of himself.

“You see? I told you I could do it!”

“You’re right. Good job, Sanie.” Hongjoong patted his shoulder with a smile.

“It’s all thanks to Jongho, though. He taught me well.” With the amount of times San mentioned all the things Jongho had done for him, Wooyoung began feeling uncomfortable. Jealous, even. He spoke so highly of the younger and he was there to nurse San back to health when it should’ve been Wooyoung since the beginning. He should’ve immediately went to his apartment that day and waited for San or had gone to him. But instead, he stuck with Yeosang and they grouped up with Yunho and Hongjoong. He remembered how heartbroken he was when they reunited but they were still missing one.

But now they were complete, and Wooyoung should be feeling happy, only happy. Jealousy wasn’t supposed to be a thing anymore, not in this world. But he couldn’t help it.

Chapter Text

“Don’t touch that, it’s mine.”

“Call the cops on me then.” Yeosang continued to reach for Jongho’s knife with the custom made handle. It truly was his, a present for his 18th birthday by his father. The handle was pure leather, his initials branded on the side of the blade. “I just want to look at it.”

“Yeosang, you should ask first.” Hongjoong told him, noticing how Jongho didn’t like the idea of someone else handling his knife. Yeosang sighed and put his hand down.

“Can I see it?” Jongho almost wanted to say no.

“Be careful with it.” He was barely finished with his sentence when Yeosang was reaching for it again. He looked at it interestingly, gently flipping it around to look at all the details.

“CJH. What’s your last name?”

“Choi! Same as mine!” San responded for him from Wooyoung’s arms on the floor.

“Hey, I thought you were listening to me.” Wooyoung pouted at him after the attention diverted from him.

“I am!” San turned a bit more in his arms to face him better.

“You weren’t. You heard Yeosang asking for his last name.”

“He was loud.” Wooyoung wanted to say he really wasn’t because even he didn’t hear it and he’s technically sitting closer to him but he bit it back. “Keep talking, baby. I was listening. You and Yunho found a walkie talkie, and?”

“Mm. Never mind. It’s not really interesting.”

“No, tell me.” San pouted and sat up straighter so he wasn’t leaning on him anymore but his hands were still touching him.

“Mn mn.” Wooyoung pulled his hands back and San stared at him in disbelief.

“Are you seriously already being moody with me? We just found each other again after months apart in an apocalypse and you’re acting like this?”

“Yeah, we just found each other and you’re already not listening to me.”

“I told you I was!” That made everyone’s heads turn to him. Wooyoung noticed and didn’t say anything else. San scoffed and stood up to sit next to Yunho, upset that Wooyoung was acting this way.

“What’s going on, guys? Why are you fighting?” Hongjoong looked between the two.

“Why don’t you ask him?” Maybe San was acting a bit childishly but he was annoyed.

“San, stop it. We’re not gonna go through this world acting like a bunch of middle schoolers. Talk it out right now.” When no one made a move to do anything, Hongjoong sighed.

“Listen, guys, the last thing we need is to be upset with each other. Especially if it’s over something so small. You never know when you’re last going to see each other again whether we get separated again or…worse.” That made their hearts beat a little faster in fear of the thought of losing each other in any way.

“I’m sorry, Sanie.” Wooyoung said softly, picking at the loose fibers of the rug under him.

“For what?” He said just as soft.

“For being jealous and upsetting you.” San crawled back over to him and brought him into his arms, making Wooyoung lean against his chest this time.

“It’s okay. Sorry for making you feel that way.” Wooyoung lifted his chin to look at him. They shared a smile and made everyone’s heads turn away when they connected their lips together.

“Ahem, anywho,” Hongjoong continued his mostly one-sided conversation with Seonghwa, Yeosang returned Jongho back his knife and Mingi leaned close to Yunho to ask him something.

“Are they usually like this?” Yunho shrugged and nodded.

“Usually they take a little longer to make up but, yeah, basically. They’d have petty arguments and complain to one of us and Hongjoong hyung will make them realize they’re both being idiots and then they’ll make up.” Mingi made a noise of acknowledgement and nodded before looking at them, smiling at each other and sharing small pecks.

“That’s how Hwanwoong hyung was with Youngjo hyung. He got away with everything. Youngjo hyung could never stay mad at him.” Mingi said softly enough for only Yunho to hear.

“I don’t know what I’m going to tell him.” His voice cracked. Yunho immediately reached out to hold his hand. “Usually, it’d be the two of them coming out here to check the stores but Geonhak hyung pulled a muscle and our base had leaks that needed to be fixed and I’m useless with those things but I wanted to do something so I just volunteered to take his place. It’s my fault this happened.” Yunho shook his head even though Mingi wasn’t looking at him still.

“No, it’s not, Mingi. I wish you’d stop telling yourself that. This happened very suddenly. It could’ve happened if he went with anyone else.” Mingi didn’t believe that, though.

“Can we just, talk about something else?” Mingi turned his head back towards him but still kept his gaze down.

“Sure. Um,” Yunho didn’t know what to say.

“I was majoring in dance.” Mingi began. Yunho’s interest was piqued. “Before all this. I had just gotten into the school I really liked. Barely had my first class before all hell broke loose. That’s where I met Hwanwoong hyung.” Somehow he always went back to him. “I didn’t meet his friends until afterwards. Even then, I only knew hyung for like a week.”

“I-I was majoring in dance too.” Mingi looked at him with his red eyes.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I taught it as well. To little kids, but it was a start. I wasn’t at a level where I could teach older kids yet. I was almost there though.”

“Wow, small world.”

“Yeah,” Yunho smiled. If they were hyper aware of the fact that they were still holding hands with their fingers intertwined, they didn’t mention it. It was comforting to the both of them.

“Do you think we’ll get the chance to dance again?”

“We can dance right now, what do you mean?” Yunho furrowed his eyebrows and Mingi shook his head with a tiny smile playing on his face.

“Not like that. Like, teaching. Learning. Choreographing.”

“If…if we’re going to start over in life, I suppose we can do that as well.”

“It won’t be the same.” Yunho frowned at Mingi pessimism. Why was he feeling so hopeless?

“No it won’t. But it doesn’t mean we can’t make it fun.” Mingi shrugged before leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. Yunho sighed softly and rested his head on his. Maybe that was the end of that conversation.

“Do you think we’ll be able to get Mingi back to his friends?” Hongjoong asked Seonghwa who shrugged slightly.

“If you’re asking me, I’d say no.” Hongjoong looked at him, even a bit offended for Mingi that Seonghwa was doubtful he’d ever see his friends again. Before he could ask him why he thought that, he continued.

“Think about it. Your friends go off on a supply run, they don’t return after a full day. You go looking for them, you get lost while at the same time, they’re trying to find you too. You come back to an empty base and now no one knows where anyone is.” If Hongjoong could frown any deeper, he’d be doing it.

“That sounds…awfully pessimistic.”

“Really? I find it awfully realistic.” Hongjoong stared at his profile for a few speechless seconds, trying to think of what to say to him.

“Well…we have to try.”

“Yeah, I know. Like you said, we have nowhere to be anyways.”

“Right.” Hongjoong faced forward again, looking at their growing group. He hoped they’d get Mingi back to his friends.

“If we do find them, though, what will happen?” Seonghwa asked him.

“What do you mean?” He shrugged.

“I mean, do we drop him off and keep going? Do we stay with them? What will we do?” Oh. Hongjoong hadn’t thought about that part, really.

“I guess…we’ll see when we get there.”

“If we get there.” Hongjoong rolled his eyes but didn’t comment.

When the sky began turning warm and the natural sunlight diminished, they began preparing for nightfall.

“You’ll need more firewood if you want that fire to last the night.” Jongho told them after he saw that it has dwindled down considerably. San turned to Yunho and frowned.

“Okay, big guy, round two.” San looked scared as he began standing up slowly.

“Wait, Sanie,” Wooyoung pouted, reaching out for his hand as he stayed sat on the floor.

“We’ll be back, Mingi-yah.” Yunho reassured Mingi after taking back the arm he had wrapped around his shoulders just 10 minutes ago. Mingi nodded and gulped.

“Please be quick. Both of you.” Mingi said to the both of them. San nodded and then looked down at Wooyoung. He knelt down and pecked his lips a few times.

“We’ll be more careful this time. I promise.” He rubbed his thumb on his cheek before giving him one last kiss and standing up fully after Wooyoung nodded, still with that pout on his lips.

“Here. Just in case.” Hongjoong handed San the pistol. “Don’t forget to take the safety off if you need it.” The gun felt extremely heavy on San’s hands. He never wished to shoot anything or anybody but he understands that this is literal life or death and he can’t be hesitant anymore. So, he nodded and carefully tucked it into the front of his jeans.

“We’ll be quick.” San glanced back at Wooyoung once more and sent him what he hoped was a confident and comforting smile before him and Yunho went back out to collect more firewood.

“What’s for dinner?” Yeosang eventually broke the silence.

“Same as lunch minus the meat.” Yeosang huffed at Hongjoong’s answer.

“I’m getting real tired of beans and corn.”

“Everyone is, Yeosangie.” Hongjoong sighed and began pacing slowly in front of the door.

“Hyung, sit down, please. You’re making us more nervous.” Yeosang asked of him. Hongjoong just shook his head and continued pacing.

“How long has it been already?”

“Like 2 or 3 minutes.” Jongho responded and walked up to the windows and moved the curtain to the side to peek out.

“I can see them from here. San is keeping watching. They’re fine.” Jongho didn’t mention the zombie that approached them since San took care of it easily with the knife in his hand, grimacing as he did so but he did it. Right before Hongjoong got to the window, gently pushing Jongho aside so he could see. Hongjoong sighed in relief when Yunho stood up with an armful of sticks and they began jogging back to the cabin, keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings.

“Okay, they’re coming back.” Hongjoong went to the door and opened it up for them and a few seconds later, they were jogging back in. Wooyoung made a noise at the new blood stains on San’s shirt.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“That’s gross.” Wooyoung cringed and San nodded.

“You think there’s any clothes in this cabin?” San asked no one in particular before beginning his search around the bedrooms that they didn’t search fully before.

“Why didn’t we think of that? Mingi, Wooyoung, would you mind helping him search the rooms for things we can use?” The both of them agreed and went upstairs to check.

“Yeosang, get the cans opened for me.” Yeosang took out two cans of black beans, seeing that there was now only one left in the bag and he relayed this information to Hongjoong who sighed.

“It never ends.” He said lowly before grabbing one of the cans to open it and pour it into the pot, Yeosang doing the same with the other can.

“I can check my traps again.” Jongho offered, not really faithful that there will be anything in them just yet but he figured it was worth a shot.

“No, no. It’s dark out. I think we should all just stay inside and try to relax for the night.” Hongjoong stirred the pot of beans hanging on top of the fire as they cooked.

“Um, Hongjoong hyung?” He turned to the sound of Mingi calling his name as if he wasn’t sure if calling him hyung was okay.

“Yes, Mingi-yah?” Hongjoong gave him a gently smile.

“Ah, um, are we sleeping in the rooms or down here?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Guys? What do you want to do?”

“I wanna sleep near the fire. It’s cold at night.” Yunho said.

“It’s better if you stick together. It’s not just zombies you gotta watch out for. If a group of people come trying to rob you, it’ll be more difficult for them if all of you stick together.” Jongho pointed out. Nobody noticed Yeosang rolling his eyes as he yet again said something as if he knew everything in the world. How pretentious.

“You have a point. I guess down here, Mingi.” Mingi nodded.

“Okay. I’ll bring the mattresses down here.”

“Oh, all right. Yunho, why don’t you help him out?”

“On it, hyung.” Yunho stood up and followed Mingi upstairs after they shared a small smile.

“I’ll help them, too.” Seonghwa stood up and almost waited for Hongjoong to object but when he didn’t, he went up the stairs as well.

“Hongjoong-ssi, assuming you’re somewhat their leader, are you the oldest?”

“Yeah. Seonghwa and I are the same age, though.” Hongjoong answered Jongho who hummed at his response.

“Who’s the youngest?”

“Mm, Yunho, Wooyoung, San, Yeosang and Mingi are the same age but they’re the youngest.” Jongho nodded.

“I’m the youngest then. San hyung is older than me.”

“Ah, okay. You’re the youngest but you’re way more skilled than all of us combined.” Hongjoong smiled at him.

“My dad was really into survivalist training and things of that nature. He signed me up for a bunch of classes and sleepaway camps.”

“Really? Did you enjoy them, though?” Jongho nodded his head from side to side, signaling that he did and he didn’t enjoy it.

“When I was younger, I was very attached to my parents. I didn’t like going to sleepaway camps. I’d have fun during the day but at night, I just wanted to be at home. As I grew older, I got used to it though. But the older you get, the less fun activities there are. They kinda turn serious.” Hongjoong made a noise that he understood.

“Was there a time where you didn’t want to keep doing that anymore?” Jongho looked like he was thinking about it hard.

“To me, it was like a hobby. I wanted it to be a hobby. But like I said, my dad was really into this stuff and he liked talking to me about it and preparing for the impending apocalypse that I honestly didn’t think would happen but it did. I didn’t make many friends because I just never had time to hang out with them or I would freak them out because I was too serious or something. I don’t know. I realized this hobby was affecting my social life but I was already too far in it to do anything to fix it.” Hongjoong frowned. By then, Yeosang had taken the spoon from his hand and taken care of the beans in the pot.

What Jongho said made Hongjoong decide that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer when he’ll ask him to join them on their journey to bring Mingi back to his base. He was younger than his youngest, has been wanting friends since before, and he doesn’t deserve to be alone at a time like this. He will somehow get Jongho to join them.

Chapter Text

Both Wooyoung and San fought sleep, waiting for the rest of the group to fall asleep first. They pushed their twin mattress to the corner of the living room, the furthest from the fire. perpendicular to the stairs, next to the couch, and under a window with the curtains drawn and taped to the walls the way they found them. San was cuddled into Wooyoung’s chest, a leg thrown over his, and Wooyoung’s arms wrapped tightly around him.

After what must have been an hour, Mingi had been snoring softly for over 40 minutes, a sound they weren’t really used to but they didn’t mind considering it could disguise the noises of them kissing. Speaking of kissing, now would be the best time to start what they were waiting to do.

Wooyoung pulled back a little and San watched him as he sat up to look at everyone, to make sure they were asleep.

Seonghwa had fallen asleep on the couch, his head closer to them, Hongjoong slept on the arm chair adjacent to the couch and if he were to open his eyes and turn his head, he would be staring directly at Woosan. Yeosang had taken to sharing a double mattress with Yunho deep in the center of the living room while Mingi took the last twin mattress and slept on the other side of the couch. Jongho had almost just went back to his cabin to sleep for the night but Hongjoong and San convinced him to just bring his cot and blankets over so they could all be together the way he said was best. He didn’t fight them much but he set it up in the small kitchen.

The cabin had a pretty open floor plan with the living room, kitchen, and dining room all being one giant room, so they were all relatively close.

“Woo?” San caught his attention by putting a hand on his chest, softly pushing him to lay back down. “They’re asleep?” When Wooyoung nodded with a smile, San bit his lip to stop the grin on his face from growing too big and quickly straddled his thighs before leaning down to connect their lips.

They didn’t get a chance to do this just yet. They almost did upstairs when San was looking for a shirt. Wooyoung insisted in helping him change but it only led to San shirtless on the twin bed with Wooyoung on top of him and their lips pressed together. Yunho and Mingi made a scene when he saw the two of them and Mingi slapped his hands over his eyes.

“Guys! Come on! We’re all right here!” Yunho whined. “You’re keeping that mattress. I’m not touching it.” Yunho pulled Mingi out of the room and shut the door, hearing their giggles as he left.

“Wait, wait, why am I at the bottom?” Wooyoung pulled away from the kiss to ask him.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m loud. You bottom.”

“You better not be talking about what I think you’re talking about.” The both of them froze and lifted their heads. Seonghwa then lifted his and peaked over the arm of the couch to look at them. The boys at least looked shy and San immediately got off of Wooyoung.

“Come on, hyung. Don’t ruin the fun.” Wooyoung whined, maybe a little too loudly but it’s in his nature.

“It won’t be fun for me if I hear even a peep out of you two. Go to sleep.” Wooyoung huffed and they resumed the position they were before with San’s head resting on his chest.

“Goodnight, dad.” San muttered. Seonghwa chose to ignore it. He’s not dad. Hongjoong is.

Come morning, Seonghwa was the first awake. Not knowing what to do, he decided to not just sit there and wait. He reached for the tube of aloe gel and blindly slapped some on. After drinking just one sip of water, he applied the lip balm. Now that his new morning routine was done, he stood up and looked around. Everyone was still knocked out. Woosan were still relatively in the same position they were when they fell asleep, Yeosang had his legs sprawled out, taking up more than half of the bed leaving Yunho with just the edge of it, poor guy. Mingi was sleeping soundly on his mattress and Hongjoong, Hongjoong looked uncomfortable. His neck was tilting in an awkward position, his feet dangled off the side of the couch, and Seonghwa could only imagine how much he’ll be aching when he wakes up. He himself is aching and the couch was pretty plush. He figured it’s better than the arm chair and since he wasn’t going to sleep again, he decided to move Hongjoong to the couch.

He tried not to think too much of it. He just wanted to give him a break. He has to take care of these kids when he’s so young himself. He should sleep in something more comfortable. Yeah, that’s why. Seonghwa’s movements were slow and stuttered as he leaned over to pick him up. He carefully slid his arms under his leg and back and picked him up a lot easier than he thought he would. He weight practically nothing. Seonghwa carefully set him down on the couch and then moved away.

He paused for a moment, waiting to see if he’d wake up. Hongjoong’s face scrunched up a bit, he smacked his lips once, twice, kicked his legs out a few times before turning his head to face the back of the couch and then settled. Seonghwa let out a small sigh, not knowing what he would’ve said to him if he woke up and found himself laying there with Seonghwa standing above him, staring at him like a creep.

Seonghwa moved to the kitchen area to see what he could make for breakfast. Out of curiosity, he peeked over the counter to check on Jongho, but frowned when him nor his cot was there. He frowned and checked the rest of the bottom floor to see if maybe he moved it but he wasn’t anywhere to be found. He figured he made his way back to his own cabin.

He eyed the axe resting on top of the dining room table and figured, he’s just going across the road to check on him. That’s it. He grabbed the axe, letting himself get used to the weight of it. He glanced back at the group before opening the door that was unlocked and walked out. For sure Jongho went back home if the door wasn’t locked. He glanced up and down the road before jogging over to the cabin.

He knocked and waited. When nobody came out, he tried to open the door and found that it was unlocked as well. He glanced inside, not wanting to walk in just yet and saw his cot was in the living room. So he was here. He sighed and closed the door then looked around. Where would he be? Should he wait here? That’s probably his best bet. Or he could go back to the stores down the road and look for more food.

Before he could debate about it some more, he heard rustling next to him. Through the thin trees, he saw Jongho coming back carrying something behind his back. Jongho didn’t notice his presence until he was a few feet in front of him.

“Oh. Seonghwa-ssi. What are you doing here?”

“Wondering where you were. I see you went fishing.” Seonghwa pointed to the 10 or so fish he had tied together and held over his shoulder.

“Yeah, only managed to catch 11 though. I think I need to start fishing at a different spot next time.” Seonghwa nodded though he still found that really impressive.

“I was uh, I was going to head out to see if I can find something we can eat or use.” Seonghwa paused. He wanted to ask if Jongho wanted to come with him but he didn’t know how to. Jongho understood though. He nodded.

“Yeah, let me just put this in some water then and we can go.” Jongho went inside the cabin and grabbed a bucket where he put the fish in. “I’ll be right back.” He took the bucket and walked back to where he came from and returned a few minutes later with a bucket full of fish and water.

“We can’t take too long though. Don’t want these to go bad.”

“Sure.” He waited for Jongho to put the bucket in the cabin and for him to grab his backpack.

“All right, let’s go. Have you guys been this way?” Jongho pointed to the opposite direction that they came from.

“No, not yet.”

“Let’s go check it out. I passed by a few stores when I came down here.”

When Hongjoong would wake up the next day, he didn’t think it’d be to San shaking him awake, looking worried.

“Hyung, wake up. Hyung, do you know where Jongho and Seonghwa hyung are?” Hongjoong almost couldn’t comprehend that sentence as he sat up, his hair a mess, and his eyes all squinty. Wait, why was he on the couch? He looked around and saw the group standing around looking just like San did.

“Hmm?”

“Jongho and Seonghwa hyung aren’t here. I checked Jongho’s cabin and he wasn’t there either but his cot was and a bucket of fish which means he was there.”

“Seonghwa?”

“We don’t know where he is. None of them are anywhere in either of the cabins.”

“What?”

“You don’t know anything? I mean, you didn’t sleep there so I thought you woke up and saw them off and then crashed on the couch or something.” San pointed out. Hongjoong shook his head.

“No, I,…I don’t remember. I mean I wasn’t,” Hongjoong’s brain felt fried.

“Should we go look for them?” Yunho asked. Hongjoong slowly shook his head.

“We can’t risk losing more people. Wait, Jongho’s things were in his cabin?” San nodded. “And he wasn’t there?” He shook his head.

“But the fish is fresh. I checked the river and he wasn’t there, though. I thought maybe he’d be teaching Seonghwa how to fish but,” San sighed. Hongjoong stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He went to the table to get his axe but found it gone.

“Who took the axe?”

“Not me. It wasn’t there when I got up.” San mentioned.

“Maybe Seonghwa took it.” Hongjoong said mostly to himself. Where’d he go then? Where did the both of them go? Before Hongjoong could consider going out there with no weapon, they heard the wooden steps outside creak under the sound of boots and then the door tried to open. It was locked. Two little knocks rapped on the door and Hongjoong walked up to it. When he opened it, he saw both Seonghwa and Jongho, the younger holding this bucket of fish that San was talking about.

“Morning. We brought food.” Seonghwa said casually like the group wasn’t just freaking out about where they were.

“Uh, can we go in? I need to cook the fish soon.” Hongjoong, without a single sound, moved to the side and let them in. The group watched quietly as they put two full backpacks down on the dining table and the bucket of fish on the kitchen counter.

“San hyung, can you help me prepare the fish?” Jongho asked him.

“O-oh, s-sure.” He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a look to Wooyoung before going to help.

“Yeosangie, a little birdie told me you liked candy.” Seonghwa took out a few sticks of lollipops and walked over to him to hand them to him.

“Thank you,…hyung.” He accepted them.

“Wait, you two went out by yourselves without telling anybody?” Hongjoong started. Seonghwa nodded.

“Yeah, we were quick though. Only hit one store but they were almost fully stocked. We should go back again after breakfast and get some more.” Jongho said as he descaled the fish.

“That’s not,…guys, you can’t just leave especially when we’re all asleep and not tell anybody where you’re going. Do you have any idea what we were thinking?” Seonghwa slowed down on taking out the cans that he found. Coke. He found Cola. Wooyoung gasped dramatically at the sight of them.

“Cola?!” Seonghwa nodded and held out a can.

“It won’t taste great since it’s not cold but,” he trailed off but Wooyoung didn’t care. He missed carbonated drinks.

“Seonghwa,” Hongjoong said firmly.

“Hongjoong, I get it okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about it at the time. I didn’t even think you’d be awake when we got back. We won’t do it again.” The group watched as they argued. They’d never seen anyone argue back with Hongjoong. Usually, the kids would do something wrong and Hongjoong had every reason to nag at them and they would just listen but now, it looked like Hongjoong met his match. Hongjoong sighed harshly and shook his head.

“Hyung, please calm down. Let’s just be thankful they found us more food.”

“But at what cost, Yunho? This isn’t okay. This is not how we do things. We always go together. Always.”

“I never said I was a part of your group. Neither did Jongho. We don’t need to tell you when we’re going on a supply run. I got these things for you guys anyways so you’re welcome.” Seonghwa slammed the last can onto the table and pushed the now empty bag onto the floor. He moved to sit on the couch, leaving the rest of the group in shock, even Jongho.

“If you’re not a part of our group, then why are you here?”

“You forced me to come with you.” Seonghwa sat straight up.

“I didn’t force you!”

“You literally grabbed me and told me you wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Hongjoong huffed. He was right, but that doesn’t mean he liked it.

“Fine! I’ll give you the option now. You can stay and be a part of our group and do things the way we do them or you can leave, do whatever the hell you want.”

“Hyung!” San yelled, hurt, afraid, and angry that he’s forcing Seonghwa to choose. Hongjoong didn’t even glance at him. “Seonghwa hyung, please don’t leave.” San took it upon him to try and convince him. Hongjoong was a little surprised to see San acting so attached already.

“Yeah, Hongjoong hyung doesn’t mean it. He gets angry when we worry him. That’s just how he is. He’ll get over it.” Wooyoung said. Seonghwa didn’t say anything, but he did settle back on the couch.

“Are you staying?” San asked him and he let out a sigh of relief when Seonghwa nodded ever so slightly. “Thank you, hyung. Just take what Hongjoong hyung says with a grain of salt when he’s like this. We always do.”

“Yah!”

“Hyung, I love you, but you have to admit you get out of hand when you get angry.” Wooyoung said.

“Whatever.” Hongjoong just took a seat at the dining table, pushing a few cans out of the way so he could rest his arms on the table.

It was awkwardly silent save for the sounds of slicing as San and Jongho worked quickly to prepare the fish to be cooked.

“Yunho, Mingi, can you get more firewood please?” San asked of them softly. Yunho nodded and turned to Mingi who looked taken off guard.

“M-me?”

“Just get the sticks. I’ll watch your back, okay?” Mingi took a deep shaky breath and nodded.

“Be careful, guys, please.” Hongjoong said to them softly before they left the cabin.

“We will, hyung.” Yunho gave him a small smile before they walked out the door, Mingi with a knife in his pocket and Yunho holding an axe.

“Have they ever fought like that before?” Mingi asked him after they found a bunch of stick on the ground behind the cabin.

“Not really. Usually, Hongjoong is right but he took it a bit too far just now. I think he’s just upset that he didn’t know where they were and that no one’s really angry along with him.” Yunho said, not taking his eyes off of their surroundings as Mingi picked up sticks, breaking some of them so they weren’t too long to carry.

“Mm. What if they stay angry at each other?”

“I don’t think they will. Like hyung said before, it’s pointless to stay mad at each other in this world. If there’s anything he hates more in this world, it’s being a hypocrite.”

“Mm. You think this will be enough?” Mingi showed him the fistful of sticks that he got.

“For now, I think so. Maybe, get this bit.” Yunho reached down to grab a few more and then stood up back up.

“Y-Yunho,” he turned to Mingi who was looking towards the cabin. He turned to see four zombies stumbling around, some were a bit farther than others but they’d have to go through them to get to the cabin.

“U-um, okay. It’s okay. I can handle it. Take this.” Mingi tried taking the few sticks with his shaky hands but ended up dropping some on the floor, making just enough noise for the zombies to notice their presence.

“Shit!” Mingi yelled and stumbled back. Yunho latched onto his axe and waited for them to get closer. Once they did, he quickly swung the axe at the first one’s head. It got stuck however, and he struggled to yank it back out. He decided to abandon it as the second zombie got too close.

“Run! Run!” He turned and yelled to Mingi. They began running into the woods behind the cabin with Mingi still gripping onto the sticks. If Jongho hadn't told them to not lead them back to the cabin, they would've just gone back but they had to lose them first now.

“Drop them! You need your hands.” Mingi immediately let go of the sticks and felt around for his knife. He gasped and looked down to see it wasn’t there anymore.

“My knife!” They internally cursed. Now they were out in the middle of the woods, weaponless.

“We can’t get lost, Mingi. We need to circle back around. Let’s go this way.” Yunho grabbed his hand and made to turn to the right but saw a single stray zombie there.

“This way.” To the left, but there was another zombie there and this one happened to notice them.

“Fuck!” Yunho cursed and they ran deeper into the woods, waiting for the right time to turn back around.

“It’s been too long.” Hongjoong said, biting his nails and bouncing his leg as he sat there.

“For once, I agree. We even finished cutting up the fish.” San said and looked out the window again even though they couldn’t see them from there.

“I’ll go check outside. I won’t go anywhere, though.” Jongho grabbed his knife and peeked out the window himself before opening the door and walking out. They waited for him to return and when he did, he came in running with a bloody axe.

“A zombie outside had this axe lodged in its head.”

“Yunho took that axe.” Hongjoong immediately stood up and gripped the axe himself and ran out the door without hesitation.

“Wait, hyung!”

“Yunho!” Hongjoong yelled as loud as he could and Jongho immediately put his hand over his mouth.

“Are you fucking dumb?! That’s the worst thing you can do!” Jongho hissed at him. Hongjoong pulled himself away from him.

“That’s my younger brother out there. I’m responsible for him! And for Mingi too. I promised I’d get him home and I will! I don’t care if I have to go out there alone to find them.” Hongjoong said and tried his best to think which way they would’ve gone. He found the dead zombie now he just needs to know which direction they went. They weren't anywhere he could see from the window so they must’ve went to the back.

He jogged up the small hill and found a bunch of sticks in a pile as if they were dropped.

“Hongjoong!” He barely turned at the sound of Seonghwa.

“I’m not going back without them, Seonghwa!”

“I know. But you also said never to go alone so,” Hongjoong looked at him and saw him with the metal bat and a backpack.

“Which way?” Hongjoong looked at him and Seonghwa tried to tell him silently that he’s got his back. Maybe Hongjoong got the memo or he was just trusting him but he nodded his head to the right.

“This way.”

Chapter Text

“Stay down,” Yunho whispered to Mingi as they hid behind a car. In the middle of the street were a group of people older than them, for sure. A few of them were raiding the bar across the street while the others waited outside, hollering, throwing trash at each other, not the kind of behavior one would have outside in the middle of an apocalypse. They were chaotic at best and although Mingi and Yunho were tall and had a decent stature, they were vastly outnumbered and emptyhanded.

“What do we do? They’re gonna come by here.” Mingi whispered back.

“We have to get back to the tree line, then.”

“They’ll see us.”

“Run, then. On my count,” Mingi gulped. “One,” They shuffled slightly. “Two,” They bent their knees a bit less. “Th—”

“Well, well, well,” They whirled around, Mingi falling backwards and hitting the car with his back. They saw a man, probably in his thirties holding a metal bat with a giant meat cleaver hanging off his belt.

“Hey, Lee! Look what we’ve got here.” He grinned at them in a way that made the two boys uncomfortable.

“What is it?”

“Found us a couple of mules.” What? What did that mean? Yunho reached out for Mingi’s hand behind them and just grabbed onto it. They didn’t know what was about to happen to them. He wanted to apologize to Mingi. Because of him, they’re in this position now.

“Stand up!” Lee yelled at them and they immediately did so. Mingi kept his gaze at their feet while Yunho stared at their chests, not wanting to look at them in the eyes but still wanting to see what they were going to do to them.

“No weapons? No strength in numbers? You two are just looking for trouble, aren’t ya?” They didn’t respond. “Well, surely we can find a place to squeeze you in, huh?” Yunho’s eyes glanced up at them and he didn’t like the sleazy smiles on their faces. He thought about their odds if they made a run for it but with the amount of them that held weapons that can shoot long distance, he didn’t want to risk it.

It didn’t take them long to find out what they meant by mules. When the people raiding the bar came out and they shared the news that they found Mingi and Yunho, they began stacking their packs on top of them. Mingi ended up being forced to carry two backpacks on his back, two on his chest while Yunho carried the same on his back and chest put also had a few jackets piled on top of them. They were their pack mules. Mingi’s back had already begun aching by the time they reached the end of the block. Yunho clenched his teeth as he dragged his feet, trying to appear like he wasn’t struggling. To make matters even more , they had tied rope around their necks, creating leashes to force them to walk at their pace and so that they don’t try to run off with their things, not like they really could with how heavy they were.

“Mingi,” Yunho whispered. They were at the very back being lead by one person holding onto both ends of the rope in one hand and a gun in the other. “Mingi, I’m so sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen.” Mingi just shook his head.

“None of this was. But I don’t blame you.”

“Shut the fuck up! No one allowed you to speak!” Their ropes were yanked, burning their skin in return. How could this have happened in just under an hour?

“Hongjoong-ah, slow down.” Seonghwa tried saying in a calm voice seeing that Hongjoong was stumbling over the uneven ground as he searched frantically for Yunho and Mingi.

“I can’t. What if they need our help right now? What if they’re stuck somewhere and, and we need to help them? They have no weapons, they have no food or water, they can’t be out here alone for too long. If you can’t keep up then go back.” Hongjoong grumbled as he almost tripped over yet another concealed dip in the ground.

“It’s not that I can’t keep up, Hongjoong,” Seonghwa made it a point to grab onto his arm and stood him. “You’re just going to end up hurting yourself. And then what are you going to do if they need your help but you’re hurt?” Hongjoong huffed and looked around but didn’t continue moving considering Seonghwa still had a loose grip on his bicep.

“We need to think about this more, not just wander around aimlessly. Have you thought about how we were going to find our way back?” Hongjoong slowly looked at him as he realized, no, he didn’t. They could have walked in any direction at this point. “I did.” Seonghwa held up the knife that had fallen on the ground from Mingi’s pocket. “I left marks on the trees.”

“How are we supposed to know which tree has the mark if they all look the same?” Seonghwa looked back and he knew the tree that he made a mark on but that’s only because he did it just a minute ago but he wasn’t sure if he’ll be able to find it if they veer off too much.

“It’s better than nothing.”

“Seonghwa,” Hongjoong shook his head and tried to take in a deep breath, feeling overwhelmed with everything.

“I know you’re really worried, Joong, and so am I. But we need to take a moment and think before we do anything rash.” Hongjoong finally listened to him and took a moment to calm his breathing, not letting the unshed tears in his eyes fall.

“Okay,” he said once he was calm enough. “What do you suggest we do?” He looked at him as Seonghwa looked around. There was no clear way to go.

“Honestly, you might hate this but, I think we should go back to the cabin.”

“No!” Hongjoong yelled like that was the dumbest thing he’s ever heard.

“Just hear me out, okay? If we get lost out here then that’s four people who are lost. We need to go back to the cabin, gather our things and together, we all go searching so we don’t lose anyone else.” Hongjoong hated that he had a point but what if they were close? What if the boys fell or got knocked out somewhere nearby and Hongjoong was just about to stumble upon them?

“Try not to think emotionally. You lead these boys. As a leader, what would you do?” Hongjoong’s bottom lip started quivering, a sign that he was desperately trying to hold back his tears.

“I’d go back to the cabin.” His voice was croaky and skipping in every other syllable. Seonghwa didn’t bring much attention to this but he did lower his hand from his bicep to his wrist.

“Okay. Then let’s go.” Hongjoong wanted to tell him what he was thinking, what if they were so close already but he was afraid he’d truly break if he tried to speak. “We’ll find them, Hongjoong. But let’s make sure we don’t get lost as well.” Seonghwa said gently, slowly leading him back to the cabin. Hongjoong looked around the entire time they made their way back.

Seonghwa internally sighed in relief when he saw the cabin in between the trees.

“We’re here, Hongjoong-ah. Let’s pack up really quick.” Hongjoong was already stumbling ahead of him but this time, Seonghwa let him.

He walked into the cabin after him and found him frantically shoving cans into the bags while trying to explain to everyone to hurry up and pack so they could leave.

“Wait, what? Hyung, did you find Yunho and Mingi?” San stood next to him and asked.

“N-no! I didn’t! But we need to go! Just pack.” The boys still weren’t understanding Hongjoong’s urgency so Seonghwa explained.

“We walked pretty far out but didn’t find them. I didn’t want us to get lost as well so I thought we all should pack up and go together.”

“Do you think we can come back here? I kinda like it here. It could be our new base.” Wooyoung said. “There’s room for all of us here.”

“When we find Yunho and Mingi we’ll try to find our way back. For now, let’s focus on finding them first.” Seonghwa said. After the boys understood, they wasted no time in packing up their things but Jongho stayed aside, not wanting to get in their way. Nobody noticed he was just idling in the background until they were fumbling to get outside.

Hongjoong at least had the thought to pause outside to make sure everyone was ready before going. He spotted Jongho being the last one out and shutting the door, carrying nothing but the bucket he had and his sheathed knife.

“Jongho, you aren’t coming?” Hongjoong asked him. Jongho paused but instead of answering that question, he asked something that he was thinking about that they should probably think about too.

“What if they come back and you’re not here?” Hongjoong hadn’t even thought about the idea that the boys may find their way back and now he was caught in another dilemma. He turned to Seonghwa to voice his concerns.

“Oh shit, what if they come back and we’re halfway across the town?” Seonghwa took a deep breath as all eyes went to him. Admittedly, he didn’t think of that possibility before either.

“There’s no way to tell, honestly, Joong.” Hongjoong ran a hand through his hair and figured, if they were out there and in trouble, Hongjoong would rather be out there looking for them. If they end up coming back here, then he’ll be glad that they’re not hurt. But he has to try.

“O-okay, we’re going.”

“But hyung, how will we know if they come back? We’ll just be looking for them forever?” Yeosang said.

“Shit, I don’t know! I don’t know!” Hongjoong yelled. “This is too much.” Hongjoong began hyperventilating. He was an emotional person, okay? He can’t lead unemotionally the way Seonghwa asked him to. Seonghwa bit his lip and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s just take a moment to calm down. We need to think this through.”

“I’ll stay behind and see if they come back.” Yeosang offered.

“Yeosangie, that’s the whole point of us coming back here to pack everything and leave, it’s so we don’t get lost and separated all over again.” Hongjoong said, angrily wiping the tears rolling down his cheeks. Yeosang sighed and they thought about it some more.

“Guys, I’ll go.” They turned to look at Jongho who finally stepped down from the porch of the cabin.

“Wha—” San started.

“They’re your friends and you won’t be losing any opportunity if I go and you stay.”

“J-Jongho, what if we lose you though?” San asked him, concerned and sad that he think he’s expendable to them.

“What do you mean?”

“Jongho, if you think we think it’s okay for you to sacrifice yourself like that, you’re wrong!” San yelled.

“Okay, guys, let’s take this back inside.” Seonghwa said, after spotting a zombie a few yards away from them. Almost like he didn’t want to, Hongjoong begrudgingly went back inside along with the others.

“Hyung, tell Jongho he can’t go alone like that.” San immediately asked of Hongjoong.

“He can’t.” San crossed his arms and glared at Jongho.

“Hongjoong-ssi,” Jongho was about to speak his reasoning some more but Hongjoong cut him off.

“San is fond of you, Yunho is too. You’re very reliable and useful and I see you easily fitting in with us. It won’t sit right with me or any of us, I think, if we just sit on our asses while you go out there and sacrifice yourself to find the two people I am supposed to be responsible for!” Jongho didn’t say anything, just looked down at the floor.

“Then what do we do?” Yeosang asked very softly, afraid that the question will cause more chaos. Hongjoong deflated a little bit.

“I don’t know.”

“Seonghwa hyung? Do you have any ideas?” Wooyoung asked him next. Seonghwa looked a bit surprised that they were asking for his opinion and he looked at Hongjoong who was already looking at him half expectantly as well.

“M-me?” Wooyoung nodded. “It’s hard to say, really. But I think if…if there’s a possibility that they can come back, it most likely will be within the next 24 hours or so.”

“So,…we should stay here?” San wanted to confirm.

“At least through the night. Then we can go searching.” Seonghwa looked nervously at Hongjoong, wanting to see what he thought of that plan. He just shrugged.

“So, it’s settled then?” Jongho broke the silence. Seonghwa again looked at Hongjoong who finally nodded but didn’t say anything still.

“Okay. Um, I’ll cook the fish then.” Jongho set down the bucket on the counter. “I’ll get some firewood, really quick.”

“Wait!” Hongjoong stopped him a little too loudly, feeling scared to let him go for firewood when that’s the exact reason they lost two people.

“I’ll be really careful, hyung.”

“I-I’m going with you.” Hongjoong stood next to him in front of the door.

“We’ll go with you.” Seonghwa stood behind Hongjoong who glanced at him but nodded.

“Okay, thank you.” Getting firewood this time was a breeze and it made Hongjoong angry. Why was it easy for them but so hard for Yunho and Mingi?

They ate their meal quietly and separately. Jongho ate at the counter, San and Wooyoung ate on opposite sides of the love seat, Yeosang ate on the floor in front of the fire place, and Hongjoong and Seonghwa ate on opposite ends on the dining table. The stress lingered and they tried to feel normal as they ate but the thought that Mingi and Yunho didn’t get a chance to eat before they got lost was lingering over their heads.

After the meal, it stayed quiet still. Seonghwa had moved to sit next to Hongjoong and Wooyoung had moved to rest his head on San’s lap.

“If it’s all right with you guys, I’m gonna go make sure my traps are still set and all. I’ll be back later.” Jongho said.

“Take someone with you please.” Hongjoong said.

“If I’m honest, Hongjoong-ssi, I’ve done this alone several times. The more people that come with me becomes burdensome for me.” Hongjoong took a deep breath and nodded once. “I’m used to this, Hongjoong-ssi. I promise.” Hongjoong glanced at San who met his eyes and nodded once. Hongjoong then nodded and Jongho left with a promise to return soon.

“Yeosangie? Wanna play slap jack?” San asked Yeosang who nodded and reached into the smaller pockets of his bag to retrieve the deck of cards.

“Love, you wanna play?” San cupped Wooyoung's face.

“I’m gonna rest a little, babe.” Wooyoung gave him a small smile.

“Okay,” San stood up, carefully placing his boyfriend’s head back on the couch and leaned down to peck his lips before sitting in front of Yeosang on the floor. The two oldest watched them play, grumbling at the other when they slapped their hand down too hard.

Seonghwa, at some point, pushed his chair back enough to rest his right ankle on his left knee. He gingerly took off his red converse and hissed quietly at how sore his feet were. If he knew he would be running and walking this much, he would’ve changed his shoes.

“Ow, what happened to your feet?” Seonghwa looked to see Hongjoong flinching at the sight of red bruises peeking through the holes in his socks.

“Converse aren’t the most ideal shoes for the apocalypse.” Seonghwa tried to joke but Hongjoong didn’t smile.

“You need new shoes.”

“Yeah. If we pass by a shoe store, I’ll get some new ones.”

“We can go now.” Hongjoong offered.

“H-huh?”

“There’s a bunch of shops around here, I’m sure we can find one with shoes.” Hongjoong sat up a bit straighter.

“Can we just, relax for a moment? It isn't urgent. I promise.” Hongjoong agreed but looked back down at Seonghwa’s feet. Seonghwa got a bit self-conscious with the attention and put his foot back down and tucked him and his chair back in, causing Hongjoong to look away.

“Ow! Yeosang! Quit slamming my hand!”

“That’s the point of the game, though!” Yeosang giggled evilly as San slapped his shoulder.

“Kang Yeosang, quit abusing my boyfriend.” Wooyoung said with his eyes still closed and facing the other direction.

“Your boyfriend’s abusing me!”

“Choi San, quit abusing my best friend.” San looked back to glare at Wooyoung before they continued the game. They didn’t know that this would be the last sense of normalcy that they’ll have for a while.

Chapter Text

Yeosang struggled to catch his breath as he hid behind a tree. His chest heaved up and down rapidly but he managed to hold his breath long enough to look around the tree. What he saw made him gasp and keep running. Never stop. Keep going until you’re far away.

Sometime late at night, Hongjoong got nervous. Almost had a breakdown, or maybe he did.

“I can’t sit here any longer.” He stood up from the couch.

“Where are you going then?” Seonghwa said to him from his position next to him.

“I’m going out there. It’s late at night. If they were planning on coming back they would’ve already.” Hongjoong picked up the bag that was between his legs and put it on.

“We said we’d stay here until morning.” Yeosang pointed out, standing up, ready to push him back down to the couch.

“Fuck that! It’s dark out there and did you forget they have no supplies whatsoever? I can’t, I can’t just sit here in a cabin with a fire and food and weapons knowing this.” Hongjoong looked at every single one of them, most of them not being able to look at him in the eye.

“Does anyone disagree?” When no one said anything, he made the final decision. “Okay, then, pack up your shit. We’re going.” Hongjoong waited by the door for everyone.

“You’re coming, right?” San asked Jongho who hesitated a little but eventually nodded.

“I think I will know my way back here anyways when we find them.” Jongho gave him a small smile before making sure his weapons and hunting things were accounted for in his backpack.

And then, in the middle of the night, they were walking back out of the cabin, maybe for the last time.
In the middle of the night, they walked into the woods searching for their friends.

In the middle of the night, they heard dead leaves crunching under the feet of someone or something that wasn’t them.

In the middle of the night, they found themselves in the presence of a medium sized bear. It could’ve been a smaller bear, it could’ve been bigger, but a bear is a fucking bear so they bolted.

In the middle of the night, the only source of light being the moonlight, Yeosang ran a different way than the others and tripped over the roots of a tree and found himself fumbling down a rather steep hill. He couldn’t even yell with how painful the landing was. He definitely broke something. He felt the crack. If he struggled to breathe before, he was definitely struggling to breathe now.

The last thing, the very last fucking thing he expected to happen to them, to separate them all, to be the reasoning for their potential death, was a bear encounter. A fucking. Bear. Maybe it wasn’t the biggest of bears. But you know what? A bear is a fucking bear and none of them coordinated which way to bolt when it got on its hind legs and roared.

That’s what found Kang Yeosang, breathless and in pain at the bottom of a hill. He couldn’t hear a thing, not even the leaves rustling from the wind. He couldn’t hear that stupid bear, no leaves crunching, it was almost like he couldn’t hear anything at all. Come to think of it, his ears weren’t even ringing. His head barely bounced when it slammed against the ground. But he struggled to think much more of this as his thoughts kept fading away. His sighed turned to darkness when his eyelids fell shut. He didn’t think of living, he didn’t think of dying, he didn’t think at all before his consciousness left him.

“Why, out of all the things in this fucking world, would a fucking bear make us lose someone else?!” Hongjoong was frustrated, tired, hungry, sad, angry. All the emotions were getting to him and he didn’t bother hiding the tears rolling down his face. He pulled at his hair, he kicked at the dirt, he threw his axe down on the ground. He was so. Fucking. Upset.

“Hongjoong, try to stay calm.” Seonghwa said with that now irritatingly soft tone.

“Shut the fuck up, Seonghwa! Stop telling me how to feel when I lost not one, or two, but three of my kids!” Seonghwa kept his mouth shut and took count of everyone. He almost didn’t want to mention it. Almost.

“Where’s Jongho?”

“What?!” Hongjoong looked around frantically and when he only saw Seonghwa, Wooyoung, and San, he flipped out.

“FUCK! JONGHO! YEOSANG!”

“Hyung! Quit yelling!” Wooyoung yelled back at him all while clinging onto a panicking San.

“Guys, we really need to calm down! It’s dark out and we’re vulnerable.” Seonghwa tried again. Hongjoong gripped at his hair then fell to his knees, sobbing his chest out. San turned into Wooyoung’s arms and sobbed against his shoulder while Wooyoung did the same onto his. Seonghwa frowned and kneeled down to rub his hand over Hongjoong’s back, occasionally playing with the hair on the back of his neck. As they cried, he kept watch as best as he could in the dark.

“What—what the fuck do we do?” Hongjoong said between sobs. Seonghwa sighed. He didn’t want to give false hope and also, he just didn’t know.

Jongho sat perched on a tree, he made a mental note on which way the group went but he remembered seeing someone run the opposite way. He didn’t have time to warn them to not run but when they did, the bear started chasing and he was left hiding behind a tree before climbing it quickly to see where they’d run off to. He considered going back to the group but then he thought back to the one who ran off in the opposite direction. He’ll go find him.

He skillfully got off the tree and as soon as his feet touched back on the ground, he paused to see if he’ll hear anything. Only hearing the light rustling of the tree leaves, he began jogging where he saw that one person go. He turned where he could see the person turned considering the disturbed on the ground was telling him so. He saw bear paw prints right next to them or on top of the boot prints and proceeded with caution.

He hoped and prayed to a god he didn’t know was listening still that whoever it was didn’t get attacked. The footsteps ended right before a steep decline. He carefully moved closer, making sure his foot stepped on ground that wouldn’t crumble right under him and peeked over. There, he found a figure laying on their back at the bottom of the hill. He internally cursed and prepared himself to zig zag his way down this hill. He leaned his weight back as he did so to keep his balance up until he reached the bottom. Upon seeing the way he fell, he actually cursed out loud.

“Shit.” He hissed. “Yeosang-ssi?” Jongho didn’t want to touch him, afraid that if he did, he might make things worse. He cursed again at the sight of blood on the back of his head. He knew that this could mean anything though. The head bleeds the most no matter how small a wound it may be. This could either be a small split or his head may be split widely or in several different spots. He’d have to move him to find out but he wasn’t about to just yet. He looked him over a bit more. His legs didn’t appear to be broken, neither did his arms, but he couldn’t say the same for his spine. He wasn’t sure yet.

Hearing snarls behind him, he quickly whirled around and sunk his knife right through their forehead and letting them drop on the ground. They can’t stay here. He hoped and prayed once more that by picking Yeosang up, he wouldn’t be making things worse.

He held Yeosang in a bridal position, making sure his head rested on his collarbone so it wouldn’t move around too much as he ran. He had to avoid the zombies he passed considering both of his hands were occupied. He was going back to the cabin. He knew how to get back and they shouldn’t have gone too far.

The sense of relief was almost instant when he came across a familiar boulder. He was close. A few more minutes of running and he was back at the cabins. He went to his cabin this time where he had more materials to help Yeosang as much as he could without proper doctor’s care. He set him down on his cot and quickly turned back to lock the door. He wasted no time in getting the fire going to get enough light to inspect Yeosang better.

He gingerly turned his body over to the side and tried to see where the head wound was but there was none. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He followed the trail of blood from the back of his neck to his ears. He gasped when he realized that’s where the blood was coming from and then he worried about internal bleeding in his head. He couldn’t do anything about that.

“Shit, fuck, shit.” He stood up after moving him back onto his back and ran a hand through his hair. There was nothing he could do. He kept trying to tell himself that so he didn’t feel guilty that if he didn’t make it through the night that he did all that he could. With shaking hands, he grabbed his bucket and walked towards the door. After glancing back to make sure Yeosang wouldn’t wake up in the next two seconds, he left to collect more water from the river to clean all the blood off.

His heart was pounding with fear and anxiety if Yeosang would wake up at all. To be honest, he found the hyung not as inviting as the others. He annoyed Jongho by grabbing his knife and peeking over his shoulder whenever he was working on something but that didn’t mean that Hongjoong didn’t care deeply about him and that Jongho will take it personally if, in his hands, he dies.

Returning back to the cabin, he grabbed a gray towel and dunked it in the water after kneeling down to Yeosang’s level. Gently, he cleaned off as much of the blood as could, being extra gentle when going around his ears. He tried not to jostle his head around too much either afraid that it’ll cause more damage.

He repeated the process of going back to the river to dunk the dirty, bloody water and collecting some more upstream after cleaning off the gray towel as well.

This time when he returned, he cleaned off his face of the dirt as well as his hands. After he was done, he scattered his brain for anything to tell him what else to do but there wasn’t much. He couldn’t do anything until he wakes up and tells him what feels off. That’s…if he wakes up.

Chapter Text

Yunho looked towards Mingi and noticed how hunched his back was getting, how much he was dragging his feet, the amount of sweat dangling from the tips of his hair even though it was fall and the air was cool. He had to try something.

“Excuse me. Please take some of the weight off of Mingi and give it to me.” He tried but the man didn’t so much as turn his head to acknowledge he even spoke.

“Yun—”

“Excuse me,” he repeated again a little louder. “Get one of the backpacks off of Mingi and attach it to me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t and I suggest you keep your mouths shut.” Was all he said, not even harshly but firmly. Sometime, not too long after they started walking actually, the ropes were handed off to a different guy. The only one who didn’t look as sleazy as the others but still intimidated them to no end. He didn’t yank on the ropes and didn’t force them to walk too fast but that didn’t mean much if they were still tied up and being used as pack mules.

“Yunho, please stop. Don’t get us in more trouble.” Mingi begged him and Yunho had to metaphorically swallow his tongue. He didn’t have to look so down at Mingi but with the amount he was hunching, it felt like he was Seonghwa’s height at most.

“You’re struggling, Mingi.” Yunho hissed.

“I’ll be fine. Don’t get us in trouble.” They stopped walking when they reached a store.

“You two, stay back, watch after the monkeys.” One said before they all began their plan of finding a way in the store to loot it. One guy, with his knife knocked on the metal shutters that were half put up. When they didn’t hear anything, they kicked the door in and went in.

Yunho looked to see who was the other person left with them out of curiosity and he looked young. Most likely older than him but still, young. This guy kept glancing at the guy who was holding the ropes and it made Yunho nervous. Why did he keep doing that? This guy, holding a gun, walked casually up to them and then the guy holding the rope turned around and looked at Yunho and Mingi. Mingi flinched and stumbled a little. Yunho tried to use his body to stop him from falling and it worked.

Before Yunho what he was doing, the rope dropped from his hand and he unclipped one of the bags from Mingi and handed it to the other guy who was standing behind him now. He unclipped two from Yunho and dropped them on the floor and then unclipped another from Mingi and clipped it to himself.

“Quick, get to the tree line.” He said. Yunho and Mingi stood frozen.

“W-what?”

“If you want to live, get to the tree line now, before they come back out. Maddox will lead you.” Yunho glanced at this Maddox, the young guy with the nervous eyes.

“Come, you can trust us.” He said to them before he began running to the tree line.

“Is it still too heavy?” Yunho asked Mingi though he was prepping to run.

“I’m fine, let’s go.” They didn’t ask anymore questions and did what they were told. Once they got to the tree line, Maddox glanced back and then ran further into the woods. They didn’t stop running until they weren’t visible from the road anymore. They paused to catch their breaths and the other guy who was holding the ropes caught up. He removed his cap to fix his hair and then replaced it.

“Check your bags. Whatever we don’t need, leave it.” Him and Maddox dropped to the ground and began searching the bags, throwing away notepads and clothes that they would just weigh them down. Mingi and Yunho eventually did the same thing until the 7 bags between them all got reduced to four.

“Okay, we keep moving. They should know by now that we’re gone.”

“Wait, what’s your name?” The guy glanced at him as he put the bag on and then looked around them.

“Eden.”

“Eden-ssi, why are you doing this?”

“Maddox and I were ready to leave, we were just trying to find the right timing.”

“Those people aren’t good if you haven’t noticed.” Maddox said as they began walking in the direction Eden was going.

“We had an inkling.” Mingi said sarcastically. Maddox smiled.

“Eden and I stumbled upon them. They only kept us because Eden hyung knew how to hunt but if not for that, we would’ve been what they made you guys.” They made a noise of acknowledgement and then it stayed quiet for a moment.

“What about you guys?” Eden glanced back at them and continued speaking when he saw their confused faces. “Why were you a bunch of sitting ducks? Do you have a group or something?” Mingi glanced at Yunho, unsure if they should say anything. He’s still thinking this could be a trap or a scheme of some sort.

“Yes. We do.” Was all Yunho said. Eden glanced at them and grinned.

“Smartest thing you’ve done so far is doubting whether or not you can trust me. I won’t force you to.”

They didn’t say anything as they walked for what felt like hours.

“W-wait, I need to rest.” Mingi said all of a sudden. Yunho turned to him to see him hunched over.

“Mingi, are you okay?”

“N-no. I have cramps. My back aches.” Yunho took off his bag to search for that water bottle he knew he had in there but Eden beat him to it.

“Drink up. The whole thing if you need to. Maddox, give me the peaches you had.” Mingi wanted to drink the rest of the bottle, he really did. But he couldn’t be selfish and only drank half of what was in there before handing the bottle back to him.

“Sit down for a moment, Mingi.” He listened to Yunho and sat on a tree stump nearby

“Here. Eat it all.” Eden peeled off the plastic layer and handed the fruit cup to him. Mingi wasted no time in devouring it, realizing he hasn’t eaten since the day before.

“W-wait, Yunho, you should eat too.”

“No, no. I’m fine.”

“He hasn’t eaten since I last ate. Do you have another one to spare?” Mingi asked Eden who was already on it, reaching into Maddox’s bag for 2 fruit cups.

“Here. Eat up, kids.” He handed one to Mingi and the other to Maddox.

“What about you, hyung?” Maddox asked him after finishing half of his fruit cup.

“I’ll be fine for a bit longer. I’ll keep watch until Mingi gets his strength back.” Eden held his gun in front of him and paced around them a few feet away.

Yunho sighed and sat down next to Mingi.

“Thank you, Maddox-ssi.”

“You can call me hyung.” Maddox smiled at him as he kneeled down to their level. Yunho nodded and then put a hand on Mingi’s shoulder.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, just gimme a moment.”

“Of course.” They were silent for a moment until Eden came speed walking.

“Quietly, pick up your shit. We need to move.” Eden said in a hushed tone.

“They found us?” Maddox said worriedly as they all stood up. Eden nodded and then lead them further into the trees.

“Lay low, quietly.”

Seonghwa watched as Hongjoong sat emotionless against the trunk of the tree. Wooyoung and San were sat pressed so tightly together, you’d think they were physically attached. He frowned before walking up to Hongjoong and kneeling in front of him. Hongjoong’s eyes just watched right past him as if he wasn’t even there.

“Hongjoong-ah,” he said softly. Hongjoong just blinked. “Talk to me, please. That’s what I’m here for.” When nothing came out from him, he sighed and pulled at Hongjoong’s legs until they stretched straight out, then he rested his head on his lap. He stared up at his face from this angle as Hongjoong’s hand hovered in the air, not knowing where to put it now that he had a lapful of Seonghwa.

He saw his Adam’s Apple move up and down as he gulped before setting his hand down on Seonghwa’s chest. Seonghwa immediately grabbed it and held it in a way that would let Hongjoong pull away if he wanted to. But when he didn’t, he began rubbing circles on it with his thumb. Maybe he just needed to show Hongjoong that he’s not alone.

He’s becoming quite fond of him even though he acts out emotionally too much for his own safety. He’s very passionate and protective and Seonghwa can only find that characteristic of him…attractive. He wouldn’t be admitting that out loud any time soon though.

He licked his lips before he broke the silence.

“When I was younger, I was playing hide and seek with my friends in the playground.” Hongjoong blinked and Seonghwa continued. “I was hiding for what felt like 30 minutes and when no one found me, I got out of my hiding spot. Turns out, they weren’t ever looking for me and I was the only one who hid.” Seonghwa chuckled lightly even though it wasn’t really funny, not then and not now.

“At school, I was the leader of my dance crew. I didn’t think I was a good leader though. I was a bit shy but they only nominated me because I was pretty good…and hot. At least that’s what they told me.” The corner of Hongjoong’s lip twitched so Seonghwa kept going. “There was this girl who walked up to me, handed me a box of chocolates and a pink note tied with a ribbon. She could barely look at me in the eye as she confessed to me that she liked me. I didn’t know how to tell her that I was so painfully gay though.” Hongjoong cracked a smile and Seonghwa chuckled.

“You know what I said instead?” Hongjoong finally looked down at him and Seonghwa almost forgot what he was going to say. “I told her I was vegan and gave her the chocolates back.” Hongjoong snickered and turned his head to the side. Without realizing it, their fingers intertwined on top of Seonghwa’s chest.

“She caught me eating chicken like an hour later, though. She was really upset.”

“You’re horrible.” Hongjoong laughed, using his other hand to cover his smile. “All that because you couldn’t just tell her no.”

“I didn’t want to upset her but I ended up doing so anyways. I’ve become more honest after that, though. I don’t think I’ve told a single lie since that day.” Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, not believing that for a second.

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. I don’t like people being upset because of something I did. But if they’re going to be upset, it has to be over the truth.” Hongjoong’s smile had faded completely now, and he just stared down at Seonghwa.

“I don’t blame you for anything that’s happened in the last 24 hours. That would be like me blaming you for the apocalypse happening. It was out of your control and I wish you could see that you don’t have to take full responsibility for everything that happens.” Hongjoong’s bottom lip began quivering as he diverted his gaze to their intertwined fingers. Seonghwa brought his other hand to cover both of theirs.

“Kinda hard not to when I’m the oldest.”

“Not anymore. Let me share the burden with you.” Seonghwa sat up as Hongjoong’s face began crumbling and held him in his arms. Hongjoong let himself be held and grasped onto the back of his shirt tightly. Seonghwa looked back at the couple looking concerned at the sight of their hyung crying his eyes out on Seonghwa’s chest but he reassured him that it was okay. He just needed to let it out, he’s got this.

Still, the two of them moved closer until they were sat in front of them, giving comfort by their closer proximity. They placed a hand on either of Hongjoong’s legs and waited patiently, keeping watch on their surroundings at the same time.

When the cries stopped, Hongjoong let go of Seonghwa but kept his head resting on his chest. He sniffed a few times and wiped at his cheeks with his sleeve until he deemed himself ready to leave his arms. Seonghwa dotted on him and Hongjoong, again, let him. He let him pat his cheeks dry, fix his hair so it wasn’t stuck to his cheeks, and then cup his face in his hands and tilted his chin up.

Hongjoong’s eyes opened to look right into Seonghwa’s who looked warm, inviting, safe along with that soft smile. Seonghwa nodded twice, a silent ‘thank you’ for trusting him. If Hongjoong’s cheeks weren’t already red from crying, his blush would’ve been more noticeable.

“We’ll try to make it easier for you, hyung.” Wooyoung said.

“Yeah, I’m sorry we didn’t notice all the pressure we put on you.” San frowned and Hongjoong shook his head.

“No, no, guys. See, this is why I didn’t want to say anything. I want you guys to confide in me. I want to protect you and do my best to keep you all together. It’s me who’s sorry that I couldn’t do that.”

“Don’t apologize for something that was out of your control, Hongjoong-ah.” Seonghwa reminded him gently. Hongjoong sighed and nodded.

“Thank you, too, Seonghwa hyung. For taking care of Hongjoongie hyung.” Wooyoung smiled at them both.

“Yeah, thank you.” Hongjoong thanked him. Seonghwa just shrugged and tried to change the topic so they weren’t all looking at him.

“Whenever you guys are ready, we can keep going.” Hongjoong took a deep shaky breath before nodding.

“We can go now if you want.” He asked the couple and after they agreed, they were standing up again. After Hongjoong put on his backpack, he was suddenly brought into Seonghwa’s arms again.

“Please talk to me whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed. We can make decisions together and work together, yeah?” He said into Hongjoong’s ear causing him to shiver.

“Y-yeah. Thank you, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong blushed and pulled away completely. Seonghwa didn’t push him and just smiled at him.

“All right, let’s go, guys.”

Chapter Text

Jongho’s back ached as he sat up slowly from where he was resting on San’s old nest. He didn’t know how the hell the older slept so well on this thing. He sighed and shook the sleep off before glancing at Yeosang. This has been his daily routine for the past 4 days. It’s waking up sore and immediately checking to see if Yeosang finally has woken up. He hasn’t yet.

He sighed and began his daily struggle of getting up with sore, aching muscles. He made sure the note he made was still where he left it so if Yeosang woke up while he was gone, he’d know where he was. After grabbing his bucket and his knife, he glanced back at Yeosang who hasn’t moved since 3 days ago before leaving the cabin to check on his traps.

3 days ago, Jongho nearly had a stroke when Yeosang’s head moved just a few centimeters to the side. Still, that was movement, that meant he wasn’t dead. But since then, he hasn’t moved. He hasn’t opened his eyes, he hasn’t twitched a finger, at least not to Jongho’s knowledge.

He caught two squirrels in his traps, just enough to satiate his hunger but also enough to share if Yeosang woke up. He found himself thinking this often. If he went fishing, he’d catch enough for two people,…just in case.

The first thing he did when he got back was check on Yeosang and he froze. He moved his head. Again. When Jongho left, his head was facing away from the door and now Jongho could see all his facial features from the door.

“Y-yeosang-ssi?” He called out to him and frowned when he got no response. When will he wake up? Jongho was growing restless. He purposely slammed the bucket on top of the wooden table but Yeosang didn’t so much as flinch. Jongho sighed again and tried to distract himself by preparing the fish. After that was done, he forced himself to not check on Yeosang before leaving to get firewood. When he returned, he did the same thing. He didn’t want to be disappointed to see that he wasn’t waking up.

Jongho forced his eyes to stay down as he walked around the cot to place the wood in the fireplace. After getting the fire going, he used the iron poker to push the sticks around so they burned well. Then he went around the cot again to get the fish before coming back to his spot. He took his time to cook the fish properly, trying to keep himself distracted and waste time, really.

Once it was perfectly cooked, he sat back away from the fire and gave it time to cool off before he ate it. He shut his eyes for a moment, mentally preparing himself to look back at Yeosang. He hadn’t heard any movement from him so he’s sure he hasn’t woken up yet…but he had to check.

When he looked up at him, he was expecting to be disappointed. He was expecting to see the back of his head, still unmoving but what he saw was the opposite of that. Yeosang had moved again but what made this move so significant was that his eyes were opened. They were opened and shiny and staring straight at him like he was terrified. Jongho was frozen. Was he imagining this? Did he want Yeosang to wake up so badly that his mind is making him think he is?

“Y-yeosang?” Jongho was too in shock to consider formalities but Yeosang didn’t even react to him calling his name. “Yeosang?” Jongho called him again. Why wasn’t Yeosang moving or reacting to his name being called? Was he…he was awake, right?

Jongho crawled up to him and he was awake. He saw his eyes following Jongho’s movements.

“Hey, Yeosang-ssi. C-can you talk? Can you tell me how you’re feeling?” When Jongho finished speaking, Yeosang was blinking rapidly as tears pooled in his eyes. Jongho panicked.

“I-I c-can’t hear you.” Yeosang’s voice was barely above a whisper. Jongho looked confused. He was speaking normally.

“I’m speaking loud enough, Yeosang.” Tears continued falling from his the older’s eyes.

“I can’t h-hear you.” He shook his head as he repeated it again, this time a bit louder and more panicked. Jongho thought back to the blood that came out of his ears. Did that mean…the fall damaged his ability to hear?

“Shit,” Jongho cursed. “Shit. Oh, no, hyung,” Jongho gently cupped the side of his face and moved his head to the side. Yeosang didn’t fight it but he did close his eyes as he quietly cried. Jongho took this moment to snap right next to his ears, both of them. His ears didn’t even twitch. He really couldn’t hear anything?

Jongho cursed again and rested his forehead on the edge of the cot. What the hell were they going to do? This can’t be happening.

Wooyoung and San walked behind Seonghwa and Hongjoong, holding hands and their weapons on their other hands.

“I spy with my little eye something green.” Wooyoung started.

“Honey, everything is green.” San rolled his eyes affectionately at the ridiculous question.

“Answer not accepted. Please choose a different one.” San glared at the side of Wooyoung’s face.

“The grass.”

“Nope.” He popped at the end of the word.

“The trees.”

“Nope.” San looked around and couldn’t find anything else that was green.

“What is it?”

“Do you give up already?” San sighed. He didn’t want to give up. He looked around some more. What else was green?

“What is it, Woo?” Wooyoung snickered and pointed to Hongjoong’s butt. It took a second for San to see where he was pointing at but when he did, he snickered along with Wooyoung. The two oldest looked back at their laughter, Seonghwa with a confused smile and Hongjoong just looking confused.

“What’s so funny?”

“H-hyung! Your butt!” Hongjoong frowned and tried to look at his butt but his bag was in the way. Seonghwa pushed him forward a little and looked and bit his lip to stop a smile from showing.

“Ya, don’t make fun of your elders.” Seonghwa pointed at them but his chuckle betrayed him which only made the couple laugh even more.

“What’s so funny?!” Hongjoong repeated, slapping Seonghwa on the chest.

“Let’s just keep going.” Seonghwa again pushed him to walk ahead while Seonghwa walked behind him.

“You guys are mean.” Hongjoong pouted. Seonghwa couldn’t stop staring at it now.

When Hongjoong sat on the dewy grass that morning, it left a green stain on his tan pants, in the perfect shape of his buttcheeks. Hongjoong began feeling self-conscious when he could hear the couple still giggling to themselves.

“Ya! Jung, Choi!” He turned around to yell at them.

“All right, all right, you two walk ahead.” Seonghwa motioned for them to go and they did so, still with the giggles.

“Seonghwa,” Hongjoong whined. “What are they laughing about? What’s on me?” Hongjoong tried again to look. Seonghwa leaned in a little.

“You have a stain on the back of your pants.” Hongjoong frowned.

“There’s stains all over me. Why is this one so funny?” Seonghwa bit his lip again.

“It’s on your butt.” Hongjoong’s ears turned a little red but he was still mildly annoyed.

“Whatever. If you fall on your face and get dirt stains all on your teeth, don’t act shocked when I laugh.” He said a little loudly so the two in the front could hear him. They glanced back at Hongjoong and giggled.

“What am I going to do with them?” Hongjoong sighed when they turned back around. He was thrown off guard when he looked at Seonghwa and found him smiling a little too fondly. The smile immediately changed, though, to something more playful.

“I can trip ‘em for you?” Hongjoong bit back a smile and shook his head.

“If you hurt my kids, I’ll have to hurt you back.” Hongjoong would blame it on the uneven forest ground for his shoulder bumping against Seonghwa’s.

“Noted.” Seonghwa said softly. They walked quietly with the couple in front of them occasionally looking at each other to smile or send kisses and winks. Hongjoong was glad they still found it in themselves to act like a couple rather than give in to the stress that there are dead bodies walking around trying to eat them.

“Seonghwa,” Hongjoong called him in a low voice.

“Hmm?” He hummed back.

“Do you think things will ever turn back to normal?” Seonghwa thought about it a little as they kept walking aimlessly at this point.

“Depends on what you mean.” Hongjoong just shrugged. Normal is normal.

“If by normal you mean will the zombies stop terrorizing our country then yeah, I believe eventually things will turn back to normal. But if you mean, like, us as humans, not until we’re all dead.” Hongjoong looked at him in shock. What do you mean dead? Seonghwa softly chuckled humorlessly at Hongjoong’s expression and explained himself further.

“PTSD is a thing, you know? Nightmares, memories. We won’t ever escape this until the day we die even if they’re physically eradicated.” Hongjoong hated that he was right. He wanted to wake up one day and just not think about it anymore. And the fact that he’ll have to die in order to stop thinking about it terrified him.

“Don’t tell that to the kids.” Hongjoong muttered. The idea that they might give in to that solution terrifies him to no end.

“I’m sorry I put that in your head.” Seonghwa realized too late. “Please don’t listen to me. I’m just—”

“It was in your head, too, though. And you told me to not carry the burden all on my own. Take your own advice.” Seonghwa breathed in before nodding.

“Just promise me if things get hard…er…” Hongjoong shook his head before he even finished that sentence.

“So long as I have people depending on me, I’ll be damned if I leave them alone.” Seonghwa nodded.

“Then I promise too.” Hongjoong couldn’t blame the uneven forest ground this time for their shoulders touching.

“Do you think they’ll get together?” Wooyoung whispered to San, their arms intertwined as they supported each other walking over roots and shrubbery.

“Hongjoong hyung has always liked someone who wouldn’t take his shit whether he admits to it or not. Seonghwa hyung so far seems to be that kind of guy for him.” San smirked. Wooyoung giggled and they continued walking in comfortable enough silence, still being aware of their surroundings.

“I’m glad we found Seonghwa hyung, though.” Wooyoung admitted. San hummed and stared at his boyfriend’s profile, silently asking him to expand on his confession.

“Every time we’d rely heavily on hyung, I felt bad but it was like second nature, you know? Hyung always leads us the right way.” San nodded. “But he’s not that much older than us. He’s always stressed and tired, it’s amazing he’s not greying yet.” They giggled.

“You’re right. Seonghwa hyung’s like our second dad now.” San said.

“He’s more like a mom. Did you see how he was fixing Hongjoong hyung’s face after he cried?” Wooyoung grinned. San laughed and nodded.

“Just like a mom.” he said quietly.

“We can take care of them just like they take care of us. Let’s promise to not burden them so much with our issues, yeah?” Wooyoung asked San who promptly agreed. They sealed the promise with a kiss on their hands.

Chapter Text

Jongho poured Yeosang a cup of water he had purified to the best of his abilities using the tools he had at hand. Rocks and pebbles and shit. It’s a real life saver. Also, Hongjoong had all the water bottles so Jongho had to do what he’s been doing for himself to survive and not die of thirst.

Yeosang had a blanket around his shoulders and he hadn’t stopped crying. Not really. The rims of his eyes were bright red, including the tip of his nose and the balls of his cheeks. Somehow the birthmark next to his eye blended in so well with the redness around his eyes that Jongho couldn’t tell where it started and ended.

He softly tapped Yeosang’s shoulder, realizing now he can’t simply call his name anymore. The older flinched and snapped his head towards Jongho then accepted the water. Jongho gulped. This is so surreal. How could this have happened? They were all together one second and the next, he’s finding Yeosang injured and unconscious for days and now he’s…deaf. Jongho wanted to ask him questions but he couldn’t. Or at least, it’s a little difficult to.

He watched as Yeosang sipped at his water, sniffling and breathing out of his mouth after swallowing.

“I was running,” Yeosang started. Jongho wanted to tell him he didn’t have to but he wasn’t looking at him. He was staring off somewhere on the ground as he recounted what happened.

“I was running and,” he cleared his throat, feeling how scratchy his voice probably sounded like. “I fucking tripped.” He closed his eyes as another round of tears creeped up on him. Jongho didn’t want to scare him by putting a comforting hand on his knee so he put back down the hand that he had lifted up.

“I didn’t…I thought I’d broken something but I didn’t think I’d go fucking—” he trailed off as he began sobbing.

“I can’t even tell if I’m speaking too soft or too loud. Am I yelling?! Am I even talking at all?!” Jongho couldn’t stop himself then from gathering Yeosang into his arms and holding him tight. Yeosang didn’t hug back but he sobbed and leaned his weight into his chest.

It really hurt Jongho how hard and loud Yeosang was crying. Then he had a gross thought that if Yeosang could hear himself right now, would he left himself be this loud?

All Jongho could do was hold him, couldn’t even offer him comforting words or anything. He’s never dealt with this. He was never taught how to handle these kinds of injuries. If Yeosang had broken an actual bone like he said he thought would happen, than Jongho could’ve made a splint in minutes, crutches, too. But this, this is out of his ‘expertise’.

“Yeosang hyung,” Jongho said out loud even though obviously he couldn’t be heard and he wasn’t being looked at either but Yeosang felt the vibrations from his chest where his ear was placed against. Yeosang sniffed and angrily wiped at his nose.

“I can’t hear you, dumbass. Why would you speak when I can’t hear?” He said a little louder than he probably normally would speak and pulled away to sit up. Jongho sighed and grabbed Yeosang’s face gently to get him to look at him.

He tried not to get distracted with those wide, teary, Bambi eyes.

“Yeosang hyung,” Jongho said slowly, overenunciating his words a little. Yeosang pointed a shaky finger to himself.

“Yeosang?” Jongho nodded then gulped, thinking about how to say what he wanted to say in not so many words.

“I’m sorry,”

“You’re sorry?” Jongho nodded again. “Why?”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you.” Yeosang looked a bit frustrated.

“You’re sorry you what?”

“I wasn’t there to—” Yeosang shook his head and stopped Jongho from talking.

“I can’t tell what you’re saying there!” He yelled. Jongho sighed and looked around. He stood up and looked through the cabinets and drawers and found paper. He looked into his backpack where he knew he had a pen and then sat next to Yeosang again, facing him.

Yeosang waited a little impatiently as Jongho wrote. Jongho handed him the paper after he was done.

‘Yeosang hyung, I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you. Maybe if I distracted the bear or something, things could’ve been different. I tried to help as much as I could after but I’m sorry I couldn’t do much.’

Yeosang sighed after reading.

“I’m not mad at you, Jongho. You don’t have to be sorry. I’m just…I’m just sad. I wanna hear you say this. I don’t wanna read it.” Yeosang handed him back the paper and Jongho flipped it around to write something on the back.

’Things are going to be rough for a while and it’s going to take some time to get used to this. In the meantime, I’ll be your ears if you’d like. You kind of don’t have a choice, though.’

Yeosang smiled softly after he read it and then looked at Jongho. He rubbed at his eye before nodding.

“I should be thanking you, Jongho. I probably would be dead if you didn’t come find me.” Jongho just shrugged. It was quiet between the two for a moment before a thought came to Yeosang.

“Wait, where’s the rest? Hongjoong hyung? Wooyoung?” Jongho shook his head and grabbed another paper.

’Lost them. We went different ways and it was dark. I had to bring you back here.’

“Fuck!” Jongho tried not to show his flinch at just how loudly Yeosang yelled but Yeosang saw it anyways. “Sorry.” He said a little too softly then sighed in frustration.

“This just sucks. What the fuck?” Yeosang put his head in his hands. It was quiet again but then Jongho heard noises outside. He didn’t hear any voices just boots on the wooden porch. A heavy fist hit the door and Jongho was tapping Yeosang’s knee. When Yeosang looked at him with new tears in his eyes, Jongho motioned for him to stay quiet. Yeosang’s eyes widened when Jongho pointed to the door in which you could see the silhouette of someone through the little curtain over the window on the front door. Yeosang looked terrified. He can’t even have Jongho’s back if he can’t hear anything.

Slowly Jongho stood up and grabbed his knife. He crouched next to the window in the kitchen and very slowly lifted a corner of the curtain to see who was out there. He saw two strangers with their backs to him and looking around while holding guns and he knew there were two more closer to the door. He cursed under his breath and dropped the curtain.

As he thought about what to do, he looked at Yeosang who was looking at him with wide, scared eyes. Jongho held up four fingers and pointed to the door. Yeosang’s eyes widened even more, as if it were possible and then he slumped in his seat, fearing for both of their lives. Four men, he was assuming they were men, vs. one man and a newly disabled guy. The odds weren’t in their favor.

Just as Jongho thought about having to go out there, metaphorical guns blazing, a voice called out from the other side.

“Jongho? It’s me, Yunho. Mingi’s here too. Please tell me you’re in there?” Yunho tried to twist the knob but it was locked.

“If it’s locked, he has to be in there, right?” He heard Mingi tell Yunho.

“I guess so, right?” Jongho stood up and quickly unlocked it and yanked the door open to reveal the two tall boys. They both grinned at the sight of him then pulled him in for a hug. A hug that Jongho wasn’t too comfortable with but he was also glad to see them alive and mostly well so he let himself be held between the two of them. Jongho made eye contact with the two strangers who looked over at them.

“Oh! Jongho, you wouldn’t believe what happened. But these two guys helped us get back. They’re good guys, I promise. Look, this is Maddox and Eden.” Yunho introduced them and they all nodded respectfully at each other. Then Yunho turned his excited face back to Jongho.

“Where are the others? I went to the other cabin but they weren’t there. Are they in here?” Yunho peaked in and saw Yeosang sitting there looking shocked.

“Oh! Yeosangie!” Yunho grinned and pointed at him. Yunho was about to push his way past Jongho but Jongho stopped him.

“Um, guys. A lot’s happened since you got lost.” A frown took over both of their faces as they looked at each other.

“With all due respect to you and your shelter, I think it’s best if we take this inside before the rotting come around.” The one who appeared to be the oldest out of all of them suggested and Jongho nodded, wishing he could tell them about Yeosang first before Yunho and Mingi came running up to Yeosang.

“Yeosangie! Oh my god, it’s so good to see you.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry if we worried you all too much. By the way, where is everyone? Are they hunting? Without you?” Mingi pointed to Jongho after looking around and confirming they were the only people of the group there.

“Guys, really, a lot of things have happened since you got lost.” They frowned again. “Please, give Yeosang hyung some space.” Yunho looked at Yeosang who appeared to be nearing a panic attack and jumped away.

“Sorry, Yeosangie. Wha—What’s happened, Jongho?” Jongho sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“We, shit, um,…” Jongho thought about how to tell them. “There’s really no easy or simple way to say it. Basically, the group went to go look for you that night. A fucking bear separated us. Yeosang got hurt and I found him and brought him back here.” Yunho and Mingi were already looking at Yeosang up and down trying to determine where he was hurt but the boy was hugging his knees to his chest and wasn’t giving away much.

“He was unconscious for a few days. He woke up literally maybe an hour or so ago. Guys, Yeosang hyung…he’s deaf now.” They looked at him with their jaws to the ground. Yeosang whimpered as a new wave of tears hit him and Yunho was quick to bring him into his arms. Yeosang again sobbed so loudly, everyone flinched.

“What the hell are we going to do?”

“Hyung,” San whined. “I’m tired.” He was all the way in the back, even Wooyoung was a few steps ahead of him. Seonghwa stopped from where he was at the front and motioned for Hongjoong and Wooyoung to keep going and then walked alongside San.

“We’re almost out. I can see the road. Can’t you?” Seonghwa pointed in front of them and San gasped in relief.

“Oh, thank the gods. When we get out of this shit show, I’m living in the suburbs. None of this outdoorsy shit. You hear me, honey? I’m talking white picket fence, our own mail box, a red front door,” San stopped talking when a zombie approached them. Seonghwa quickly got rid of them and they continued going.

“You were saying, babe?” Wooyoung said over his shoulder.

“Uh, red front door, shit, what else?” San asked Seonghwa, out of breath from walking and talking at the same time.

“A dog?”

“Yes!” Wooyoung cheered.

“No, a cat,” San whined.

“For someone who owns a lot of dog plushies, you’re very anti-pups.” Wooyoung looked back at him and slowed down a little.

“Cats are more independent.”

“But dogs like to cuddle you more.”

“I’ll cuddle you.”

“You’re not a dog though, babe.” By this point, Wooyoung had fallen into step with San and Seonghwa walked ahead to walk with Hongjoong again. As the two in the back continued their conversation, Hongjoong created one with Seonghwa.

“Well, we’ll be out of the woods soon. Left or right?”

“Hmm?”

“When we get to the road, do we go left or right?” Hongjoong looked at him and waited for his answer.

“How am I supposed to know?”

“You don’t. But I’m asking you to choose so we’ll just go that way.”

“What if I lead us the wrong way?” Hongjoong shrugged.

“What else do we have to lose?” Seonghwa sighed and didn’t say anything until they were stepping on the road. There was nothing around to help them determine where they were. So Seonghwa just chose any direction.

“Let’s go right. Eventually, we’ll hit something.” Hongjoong nodded.

“All right, kids. You heard him.” San groaned and crouched on the ground.

“My feet can’t hold my weight anymore.” San whined. Wooyoung rested his weight on one leg, also feeling really tired but not wanting to complain. Hongjoong sighed and looked at Seonghwa.

“I’ll carry you, then.” Seonghwa removed his backpack to have it hang across his chest.

“Wait, no. Seonghwa, it could be a long walk. You’ll hurt your back.” Hongjoong stopped him.

“Then, what do we do?” Wooyoung looked down at San and hit him softly on the head.

“San, get up, please. We’re all tired and it’s not right to make someone suffer more just because you don’t want to walk anymore.” Wooyoung said to San in a tone Seonghwa has yet to hear him use with him. “Remember what we promised?” San looked at him sadly and maybe even a little offended before standing back up.

“Sorry. Let’s go.” he said softly while looking down. Wooyoung sighed in what seemed like annoyance and began walking, leaving the others to follow after him. Seonghwa put an arm around San’s shoulders after putting his bag back on his back.

“Offer still stands.”

“Thank you, hyung. I appreciate it.”

Chapter Text

“I think Wooyoung’s upset with me.” San broke the comfortable silence between him and Seonghwa. Hongjoong had told them that him and Wooyoung would walk a little ahead but they’d stay on that road while Seonghwa and San walked at whatever pace San was comfortable in. Seonghwa didn’t mind but San was just, tired. He didn’t want to walk at all.

He had begun limping, the soles of his feet protesting painfully at the idea of even existing anymore. The silence gave San enough time to overthink about how Wooyoung spoke to him just 10 minutes ago. San knew he could be a little…dramatic at times but he was rather serious this time. He was in pain.

“What makes you think that?” Seonghwa asked him in that gentle tone of his. San took a deep breath before letting all his worries out.

“You heard what he said and how he looked at me. He’s annoyed with me. But what am I supposed to do? It hurts.” San tried to hold back his tears of both sadness and physical pain.

“And we believe you.”

“Okay? So what’s the point of being annoyed with me if you know I’m in pain?” Seonghwa bit his lip and tried to think of how to put it in a way that wouldn’t make San feel attacked.

“I think…what Wooyoung was trying to say was that we’re all tired and we’ve all walked the same amount.”

“I get that. I do. But we’re not the same people and I’m used to working out. I could work out all day, lifting weights, doing sit ups, whatever. But I never do cardio. I’m never on my feet for this long. But then Wooyoung is the opposite, right? He dances a lot so he’s on his feet a lot but he can’t do as many pull ups as I can. We’re built different! He should see that!” San’s limp has gotten a bit more exaggerated as he began getting worked up. Seonghwa sighed and put his arm through the gap between the backpack and San’s back so he could support as much of San’s weight as he could. San sighed then thanked him and let himself be helped.

“But do you see what I mean? Why I don’t feel like I deserved that?” Seonghwa nodded.

“I do, Sanie. Really.” San sighed again.

“I love Woo. I really do but sometimes he could be very…one-sided? Like, I don’t want to say selfish but maybe…ignorant. That’s the word. Ignorant.” Seonghwa began feeling a bit yucky as he listened to San ranting about his boyfriend’s flaws as if everyone doesn’t have their own as well.

“And don’t get me started with him and Yeosang. They were best friends before I met them and then, he kinda dropped him for me.” Seonghwa only half-listened until he heard a sound he was too familiar with. He glanced behind his back and cursed. He carefully but quickly let go of San and turned around. Too many of them. There were too many.

“Shit! San, run back to Hongjoong and Wooyoung.” San whimpered.

“I can’t!” He can’t because his feet still hurt and he won’t because he’ll be damned if he left Seonghwa to fend for himself.

“Fuck. HONGJOONG!” Seonghwa yelled as loud as he could hoping maybe Hongjoong was close enough to hear him but he had lost sight of the two of them 5 minutes ago.

“HONGJOONG HYUNG!” San yelled as well as he smashed his hammer into one of the zombie’s heads.

“Just, move back!” Seonghwa grunted as he swung his bat around. This wasn’t the most ideal weapon. It left him too exposed when he swung and a zombie managed to fall against him. Seonghwa yelled as he felt their grimy hands all over him. The weight of the zombies on him were too great and he fell backwards.

“Hyung!” San yelled and kicked at the zombies on top of him, momentarily ignoring the pain but then a creature caught his arm and he panicked. This can’t be how they die. It can’t be. But maybe it will be now. When Hongjoong and Wooyoung come back to see where they are, they’ll find them here, dead and as one of them.

“All I’m saying is you need to more be patient with San and more understanding. That was uncalled for.”

“It’s also uncalled for to force someone or make someone else feel like they have to suffer to make him feel better. We’re all fucking tired, hyung.”

“Yes. I know. We’re all fucking tired, Wooyoung.” Hongjoong said firmly and Wooyoung understood. He understood the underlying ‘I’m so fucking tired as well as one of the oldest and trying to lead everyone and keep everyone alive.’

“But really, as San’s other half, you should be the one back there helping San. While you’re here ranting about how San shouldn’t force or make someone feel like they have to ‘suffer’ to make him feel better, you’re forcing Seonghwa to stay behind and help your boyfriend because you won’t.” Wooyoung deflated and looked ahead.

“It’s not that I won’t.” Wooyoung muttered.

“You just don’t want to.”

“I want to help my boyfriend, hyung!” Wooyoung acted offended at the insinuation that he didn’t care about San enough.

“Then—” What Hongjoong was about to say was cut off by the echo of Hongjoong’s name being yelled by Seonghwa and then San. They sounded far away and when they looked back, they weren’t in sight.

“Shit,” Hongjoong quickly began running back down the road.

“SAN?!” Wooyoung screeched as he followed him. God, please, let them be okay. Let San be okay.

“How fucking far are they?!” Wooyoung asked no one in particular but as they ran down the slight curve of the road, they found them both on the ground trying to hold back 3 zombies each.

“SEONGHWA!”
“SAN!” They yelled at the same time and ran even faster.

When they got there, Hongjoong saw Seonghwa trying to use his bat to force distance between him and the zombies while San was just moving erratically, trying to get his limbs loose from their grasp. Hongjoong and Wooyoung helped them get free and then all of them minus San got rid of the rest of them after Seonghwa stood up.

Then it was quiet again. No more snarling, just the sound of their heavy breathing. San was still on the floor on his back, shaking, crying, in shock. After looking around and making sure nothing else was going to sneak up on them, Wooyoung turned to San. He leaned down to grab onto his arm and help him back up.

“Babe, are you—”

“Don’t fucking touch me!” San screeched, shoving him back with his foot so hard that Wooyoung fell back on his ass. Wooyoung hissed at the road burn on his wrist but didn’t even look down at it. He just stared at San with wide eyes, shocked that he would do that to him.

“S-san?” San was crying as he slowly moved to be on his hands and knees.

“Why the hell did you go so far?! We had to yell for you! I thought we’d die before you even realized we couldn’t see you anymore!” San yelled through the tears, leaving everyone speechless.

“I-I’m so-sorry.”

Hongjoong was almost frozen in shock. This is not a petty argument anymore. San was scared, terrified at the thought that he was about to invite death to take him and Seonghwa while Wooyoung and him were all but clueless.

“S-sanie, please don’t take it out on just him,” Hongjoong tried but San wasn’t having any of it.

“You too, hyung! You were the one who said we should stick together. What the fuck happened to that, then?!” Hongjoong was speechless. He looked to Seonghwa to help him think of what to say but Seonghwa didn’t look any less pissed than San did.

“Don’t look at me. I’m on his side.” Seonghwa stared down at Hongjoong as he passed him, shoving his backpack into Hongjoong’s arms so he could lean down to help San up so he could carry him on his back.

“Let’s go, then.” Seonghwa was cold to the other two. The idea that they almost just fucking died fueling some kind of anger in him.

“San, you’re going to have to be my eyes back there.” Seonghwa said only long enough for the younger to hear.

“I got your back, hyung. Don’t worry.” San kept a sharp eye as they moved along.

“We fucked up. I fucked up so bad.” Wooyoung’s voice got hoarse as he held his hand in his hands, still sitting on his ass on the asphalt.

“N-no, it’s mine. I suggested we go ahead. Fuck, San was right. I said we shouldn’t go without the others and yet, I fucking let this happen.” Hongjoong kicked at one of the zombies in frustration.

“Are you coming or what?!” San yelled back at them while Seonghwa kept walking. Wooyoung sniffed and wiped at his eyes.

“Come on, Woo.” Wooyoung almost didn’t want to go. He just wanted to sit there and be punished for his selfishness, his ignorance but he accepted Hongjoong’s hand instead and let himself be pulled up.

“Words aren’t going to help this time.” Hongjoong told him. Wooyoung nodded. He knew that. Only through his actions can he make up for it, that’s if there’s any way he could make up for it. Hongjoong included.

Yunho needed a moment or two or ten. He offered to get more water from the river in the direction that Jongho pointed and Mingi offered to go with him.

“We all know how well that went last time. I think someone else should go with you.” Jongho tried to tell him but Yunho just shook his head.

“We’re not like that anymore.” Yunho said a little darkly. What they experienced on the way back here left them no room to hesitate anymore. It wasn’t fun and it never will be but it’s better to fight back than to run scared.

“Are you okay, Yunho?” Mingi asked Yunho when he realized he wasn’t paying attention to the bucket he was filling up. In the stream, there were rocks in which the water would fall off of like a faucet, and the bucket was now overflowing.

“Yunho?”

“I’m not. I’m not okay, Mingi. I…Yeosang is…he’s…oh my god.” Yunho at least had half the mind to put the bucket down on the ground before giving into his emotions. Mingi hesitated a little as he kneeled down. He was always awkward with comforting people when they were crying. He wasn’t very good at it at all but still he tried. He put a hand on Yunho’s shoulder, squeezing it gently, then rubbed his back until he was able to get a hold of himself.

He sniffed and wiped at his eyes with his hands but when that didn’t work, he lifted the bottom of his shirt and wiped his face. Mingi retracted his hand and blushed, pretending he didn’t just see his cute tummy. Now wasn’t the time but his cheeks and ears betrayed him. He was blushing, damn it.

“Yeosangie…he doesn’t deserve this. I don’t think any of us do but him, especially not him. Why? Just why him? Fuck!” Yunho kicked at the ground even though he was still sitting down. Mingi cleared his throat.

“I’m s-sorry, I don’t…I’m really bad at talking and-and stuff,” Yunho chuckled and shook his head.

“No, don’t feel like you have to. Honestly, I’m fine with someone to just listen to me. I don’t need to be told everything will be okay or whatever bullshit.” Yunho shrugged. Mingi nodded though he wished he could offer better comfort. He moved to sit down to give his crouching legs a break.

“I’m just…sad more than anything that out of all people, this happens to Yeosang.” Yunho said softly. Mingi took a deep breath.

“I regret not taking the chance to get to know him better. Wait, now I’m acting like he’s dead or something. Let me,” Mingi paused to huff out a short laugh when Yunho giggled. “Let me rephrase that.” He cleared his throat.

“I get it, I get it. Like, he’s going to be different now that…now that he’s different now.” Yunho said for him and Mingi nodded.

“We just…shouldn’t act like he’s much different though.” Mingi said. Yunho hummed and nodded before looking at him. “Like, it’ll be more frustrating to him, I’m assuming, if we, like, baby him too much now. Like he’s deaf, not, like, incapable of wiping his own ass or something, you know?” Yunho snickered.

“God, I hope not. I love him but I’m not going anywhere near his ass.” Yunho thought about it. “Well, actually,” Mingi snickered.

“Ya, what does that mean?” Mingi hit his arm when Yunho laughed.

“Listen, we’ve been friends for a long time and there was this one time when we were like 16, 17, we just kinda…messed around.” Mingi’s eyes widened. That’s not what he thought he was going to say.

“We were horny! We were teenagers, horny off our asses and we promised it’d just be a onetime thing and then we just…we didn’t have full on sex, though!” Mingi busted out in laughter, a kind that Yunho hasn’t heard from him yet and it brought unspeakable joy to him.

“Don’t laugh, Mingi-yah,” Yunho said as if he wasn’t laughing along with him either.

“Sorry, sorry. I guess I’m a little awkward about these things. I laugh when things get awkward.”

“Oh. Why do you find it awkward? Like, are you uncomfortable with this topic? Sorry, let’s talk about something else.”

“No! No, um, actually,” Wait, did Mingi have the balls to say it yet? He took a breath, preparing to say something when someone called out to them.

“Boys! You’ve been out here for too long. You’re worrying Jongho and Yeosang.” Eden called out to them.

“Oh! Sorry, Eden hyung. I just…we needed time to process everything.” Yunho shot up and grabbed the overflowing bucket of water.

“I get it. But we should go. Do you need help with that?” Eden pointed at the bucket with his elbow but Yunho shook his head.

“No, I got it, thanks.” Eden nodded then lead them back to the house. Mingi and Yunho shared a tight lipped smile and followed silently. Now Yunho was curious as to what Mingi was about to say.

Chapter Text

Yeosang watched as Jongho paced back and forth. It’s so weird being able to see him moving, feel the slight wind he caused on Yeosang’s face whenever he’d walk past him, felt the vibrations of the wood underneath him from Jongho’s boots and yet, just silence. Just white noise it felt like.

He glanced at the guy standing by the door, looking out the window through the curtains as he waited for the other guy to come back, hopefully with Yunho and Mingi. Yeosang was always an observant person. Though he observed the most with his ears, listening into conversations that people thought he couldn’t hear. He’d see their true colors that way. But now, he’s relying heavily on body language and eye sight. Hopefully, he could get a hang of it a lot sooner than later.

Yeosang felt another small gust of wind as Jongho paced passed him.

“Jongho, can you sit down, please? You’re making me anxious.” And he was. It was weird seeing him move so much and yet not be able to hear a single thing. Jongho jumped slightly. Yeosang spoke in a normal tone this time but it was also dead quiet, save for his pacing. Jongho immediately sat down next to him though, not wanting to fight him. Still, his leg bounced up and down anxiously and Yeosang did nothing to stop it.

“They’re coming.” Maddox said calmly, finally letting go of the curtain.

“All of them?” Jongho stood up again and when Maddox nodded, Jongho sighed in relief and sat back down. He looked at Yeosang who looked confused. Jongho just nodded, gave him a thumbs up and smiled. Yeosang nodded, understanding what he meant and then looked at the door, waiting for it to open and reveal Yunho and Mingi.

Eden walked through the door first followed by two very flushed boys. Yeosang squinted his eyes at Yunho as he walked over to sit next to him leaving Mingi to stand awkwardly by the door that he was left to shut. Right before he sat down, Yunho made eye contact with Yeosang and then his cheeks reddened even more.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He said under his breath and looked back down at the floor, forgetting for a moment that Yeosang couldn’t hear him. Yunho froze and looked at Yeosang again who only looked mildly irritated.

“Why are you blushing?” Yeosang said loud and clear right as Yunho sat his butt next to Yeosang. Yunho stared at him with his wide eyes and stuttered as he spoke.

“W-what do you m-mean?” He said but halfway through he turned his head to look at everyone who was looking at the two of them.

“Ya, asshole, how am I supposed to know what you said if you keep turning your head?” Yeosang put a hand on the back of Yunho’s neck making him jump.

“S-sorry.”

“You said sorry?” Yeosang said a little too excitedly. Yunho nodded then smiled when Yeosang looked happy. “I got it right! Finally.” No one said anything about it being just one simple word that he got.

“Jongho-ssi, from what I understand, this is your base, correct?” Jongho nodded at Eden’s question.

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“Just wondering what your plans here are.” Eden continued when Jongho looked confused and even suspicious. “You don’t have to worry. I’m just simply wondering if your plan is to stay here until…well until the end, I suppose, or to keep moving.” Jongho looked at everyone as he thought about his answer. Mingi looked curious but nervous and looked away when Jongho made eye contact with him. Yunho looked the same but shrugged a little when Jongho looked at him. Yeosang just looked confused, sensing the intensity but not knowing what was happening.

“My plans…may have changed, now.” Jongho said, staring directly at Yeosang as if he wanted to make sure that he could read his lips but he was too far for Yeosang to do so.

“And what is your plan, now?”

“If I may, why are you so curious about them?” Jongho redirected his gaze to Eden who smiled slightly.

“I see you as a very intelligent man, perfectly capable of supporting himself and others if he wishes to. You’ve got everything you need right here. The tools, the food, the shelter. Yunho and Mingi have told you about where Maddox and I come from and you’ve taken their word with no doubts whatsoever.” Jongho tensed up, not liking what Eden might say next. He heard Mingi whimper and when Jongho looked, Maddox had his gun pointed at him. “For someone so intelligent, that wasn’t very smart of you.” Jongho slowly stood up straight from where he was leaning against the counter.

He heard Yeosang gasp but he didn’t take his eyes off of Eden. Jongho didn’t know what to say. If he were alone, he’d beat the shit out of him but Mingi…

Eden chuckled darkly, finally showing his true colors.

“If you can imagine this little baby duckling,” Eden moved back to motion to Mingi who was trembling with tears pooling in his eyes. “Every single time we’d come across a rotten, he’d freeze in terror. His first instinct was never to lift up his weapon.” Eden yanked the hammer from Mingi’s hands. The hammer that wasn’t pulled up to protect himself. Mingi flinched and whimpered again, bringing his hands up to cover as much of himself as he could as if that could stop a bullet if Maddox pressed the trigger.

“I could only offer so many fruit cups to get him to shut up. And if you can imagine, I just ran out. You, however,” Eden pointed to the basket full of cooked fish that Jongho had yet to have eaten.

“Seem to have an abundance of food. Too much for just you, huh?”

“Does it look like it’s just me here?” Jongho said to him.

“No. Just you, a whiny baby, a lovesick puppy, and a deaf boy.” Jongho’s lip twitched in anger. “As far as I know, you just met this pack of useless kids. You’re the only one here who was a fighting chance. Join me and Maddox. We can survive together and we can promise you won’t be the only one doing the dirty work.” Jongho would laugh at his face if he weren’t so clouded with anger.

“I’ll make you regret ever being born.” Jongho sneered.

Somewhere down the road, Seonghwa, San, Wooyoung, and Hongjoong found a gas station with a store that had a café inside. They took their chances and went in, finding it completely barren but some of the shelves were pretty stocked. They almost couldn’t believe. This gas station was pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Absolutely nothing else around it except for the woods.

San refused to sit at the same table as Wooyoung and sat next to a window with Seonghwa in front of him, eating out of the same bag of family sized Doritos. Hongjoong and Wooyoung sat behind Seonghwa in a different table with Wooyoung eating Lay’s and Hongjoong eating chocolate that wasn’t expired yet.

It was awkwardly silent. They almost were waiting for light café music to disrupt it, people walking in to pay for gas or to buy snacks, workers coming by to clean up the messy tables.

Hongjoong sighed and put down the 12th chocolate he was about to eat.

“Guys, we need to talk.” If no one was going to say anything about it, he was going to have to initiate just like he always does.

“So talk.” San said bluntly. Hongjoong almost rolled his eyes, almost.

“What happened back there, we’re sorry, okay? We didn’t realize we walked so far ahead and to be honest, you guys didn’t say anything either.” San moved to look behind Seonghwa to glare at Hongjoong.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I’m not. You guys were behind us. You could see us versus us walking forward. We can’t be looking back all the time to see if you’re still following or not.”

“Hongjoong hyung, I’ve never wanted to slap you as much as I do now.” San scooched over to sit on the seat next to him so he could look at Hongjoong without having to lean over. “That is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”

“Why is it only our fault then?”

“I was injured! And you weren’t willing to stick with us. You left us behind! It wasn’t like you left us in a shelter, protected and all while you see what’s ahead. No! You left us alone, wide in the open, me injured and Seonghwa hyung having to fight for the both of us!” Hongjoong bit his lip and looked down at the table.

“If you can’t see why I’m so upset, then don’t fucking talk.” San grabbed the Doritos bag and shoved a handful of Doritos in his mouth to keep himself from saying anything else. Seonghwa and Wooyoung stayed out of the conversation. Seonghwa didn’t say anything because he felt like he didn’t have to and Wooyoung stayed silent because he was scared. He didn’t want San to be upset with him anymore and Wooyoung didn’t know what to say that would alleviate the situation currently.

The silence stayed until Seonghwa stood up several minutes later.

“I’m gonna start filling the bags.” Seonghwa said lowly to them all and picked up San’s bag as well as his own to put food and drinks in.

A few moments later, Wooyoung showed up next to him, hesitantly.

“H-hyung, can I help?” Seonghwa handed him San’s bag. Wooyoung grabbed it with the tips of his fingers, almost like he didn’t want to touch Seonghwa or was afraid that he’d get yelled at.

“Don’t forget drinks as well.” Seonghwa reminded him and then proceeded to shove protein bars into the smaller pockets. Wooyoung nodded and walked over to the refrigerators. Considering they weren’t on, when Wooyoung opened the door, he immediately gagged at the smell of something rotten, falling to the floor like it physically punched him in the face.

“Wooyoung?!” Hongjoong bolted and soon Seonghwa and Hongjoong were at his side.

“No, no. It just fucking reeks in there.” Both of them sighed in relief and frustration that they got as worried as they did for something like that. “Must be the milk or something.”

“You scared the shit out of me.” Hongjoong said and helped him up while Seonghwa left to continue what he was doing.

“Sorry.” Hongjoong watched as Wooyoung held his breath before opening the door again and quickly grabbing several Gatorade bottles and dropping them into the bag. He let go of his breath when the door closed.

“Shit, you’re right. It reeks.” Hongjoong sneered, lifting the collar of his jacket to cover his nose.

“Yeah, I know.”

They could only fill the bags so much before they had to call it quits. There was still so much more leftover that they wish they could take but in the end, they had to keep going. San’s feet had recovered enough to start walking again with the slightest of limps.

Seonghwa and San were walking in the front this time with Hongjoong and Wooyoung walking a little slower than them so they’d stay close together. Wooyoung looked at San’s feet and frowned when he’d limp or place his foot weirdly. Why did he act like such an asshole before? What kind of boyfriend is he if he couldn’t sympathize or be empathetic to his lover’s pain?

Hongjoong gently pushed him forward and when Wooyoung looked at him, Hongjoong pointed at San with his chin as if telling him to go to him. Wooyoung sighed and mentally prepared himself to be rejected. He picked up his pace just enough to walk alongside San.

San turned to look at him and then looked forward again, not telling him to leave or trying to move away or anything. Wooyoung almost wished he’d do one of those so at least he knew where they stood. Wooyoung had stared down at his feet for a bit but when he looked back up at San to tell him something, he caught the smallest flinch in his face. He was trying to hold it in and act like he wasn’t hurting as much anymore but Wooyoung knew better.

Wooyoung moved closer and touched his arm gently.

“Lean on me, San.” It felt awkward for him to not call him by a nickname or pet name but San told him to not call him babe. Wooyoung felt relieved when San didn’t deny him and wrapped his arm around Wooyoung’s shoulder while Wooyoung held him by his waist, lifting some of his weight so there wasn’t so much pressure on his feet. If Wooyoung could carry him and his heavy bag at the same time forever, he would. But this will have to do.

Hongjoong reached forward and grabbed Seonghwa’s bag to force him to walk beside him to give the couple some space. Seonghwa barely glanced back at him and Hongjoong this time didn’t hold back his eye roll.

“I apologized, okay?”

“Okay.” Seonghwa said like he didn’t see the point of Hongjoong telling him that. Hongjoong scoffed.

“Why are you being like this?” It was Seonghwa’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Can we just not? Please, just drop it. What happened happened but if it comes down to it, I’m choosing San’s side on this.”

“I know you are. You made it quite clear.” Hongjoong was a bit salty about it but he had no reason to be.

“But, I do see your point. It’s a stupid point, but a point, nonetheless.” Hongjoong stole a glance at Seonghwa and his head was facing forward. He didn’t look too happy to admit that to Hongjoong.

“Like you said, life’s too unpredictable now to be fighting for this long.” Seonghwa said loud enough for the couple to hear him as well. “I was…certain that we’d die. And I’m sorry that I almost gave up that easily but the point is, we didn’t and you guys came back for us. So, it happened, it’s done, and I know that we all learned from it and we won’t split up like that again. Right?” Seonghwa looked at Hongjoong then and fuck, why did he give him butterflies? Why was Hongjoong’s chest feeling tight? Now wasn’t the time to feel his heart flutter just because Seonghwa looked at him.

“Of c-course not.” They heard a sniffle and when they looked forward, San had moved in front of Wooyoung to jump into his arms and bury his head in his neck. Wooyoung struggled for a moment to carry him with the added weight of the heavy back packs on both of their backs but still refused to set him down. Seonghwa huffed out a smile and carefully took San’s backpack off to carry it himself. Hongjoong did the same with Wooyoung’s and they walked the next 30 minutes like that until Wooyoung couldn’t carry him anymore.

“Shit, I’m sorry, baby. Damn it, I should’ve gone with you to the gym more often.” Wooyoung said as he set San down. Hongjoong and Seonghwa stopped walking a few feet ahead of them as the couple spoke to each other.

San giggled and rubbed at Wooyoung’s back with one hand to relieve him of the soreness.

“It’s okay, love. You still carried me for a long time. I’m impressed.” San rubbed his shoulder now. Wooyoung huffed and shook his head.

“Don’t start.” Wooyoung held his waist and that’s when Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked away. “How are your feet?” San shrugged and wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

“Honestly, I think I need to be off of them for a solid night.” San sighed.

“We should find shelter soon anyways. It’ll get dark in about an hour.” Wooyoung said after looking at the sky. San agreed and they relayed this thought to the two eldest.

“Well, we’ve been walking on this road the whole time. The only shelter we’ve seen so far was that gas station.“ Hongjoong said.

“That was a while ago though. I don’t think we’ll have enough daylight to go back.” Seonghwa mentioned.

“Then what do we do?” Seonghwa sighed and looked at the road.

“Keep walking. Maybe we’ll find something.”

“But we don’t know what’s that way. We know for sure the gas station is over there.” Hongjoong pointed to the opposite direction.

“Then why are you asking me?” San and Wooyoung watched awkwardly as they fought about where to go.

“I’m just saying. The gas station is over there. By the time we get there, it might get dark but at least we know it’s there. If we go this way, there might be nothing and we’ve walked all the way out there for nothing in the dark.” Seonghwa sighed and turned to walk back to the gas station.

“We’re wasting time arguing about this. Let’s just go.” Hongjoong made a frustrated noise at Seonghwa just waving away the argument. They handed the backpacks back to San and Wooyoung before walking.

“If I weren’t here, you would have led them the other way and you’d be walking in the dark in the wide open road.” Hongjoong muttered as he caught up to him after making sure the couple were following them as well.

“Hongjoong, I don’t want to fucking hear it.”

“But you have to understand it’s not just you here. If there ever came a time where we got separated and you had to lead the kids, you gotta be smarter about where you’re going especially when it’s about to get dark.”

“What, you’re saying I will lead them to their deaths? Last time I saw it, we almost died because you left us behind.”

“You said we weren’t going to talk about that anymore!” Hongjoong hit Seonghwa on the shoulder a little harder than necessary and also probably yelled a little louder than necessary but what the hell? How the hell did this infuriating man give him butterflies earlier?

“Did you just fucking hit me?” Seonghwa looked at him like he had two heads. Wooyoung panicked and let go of San’s hand to stand in between them.

“Hyung, hyung, please, come on. Let’s just get to the station before it gets too dark.”

Seonghwa at least had half the mind to not ignore Wooyoung and after giving Hongjoong the nastiest glare that Hongjoong returned, they continued walking in a straight line with Wooyoung and San in the middle. The couple looked at each other and frowned. This was the worst day and they just wanted to find the other four and then sleep for a week.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung picked up another bag of marshmallow off the shelf and brought it back to the makeshift bed he made for him and San. All he did was push together three of the table so they could lay on it and now, he was bringing back one more bag of marshmallows so they each had one to rest their heads on. He left two on the table next to San and then went to the table by the door to hand one to Seonghwa who was resting his head on the table but sat on a chair.

He gently lifted Seonghwa’s head and pushed the marshmallows under his cheek and set his head back down.

“Mm, thanks.” Seonghwa mumbled and Wooyoung just patted his hair softly then he walked to the till and handed the last bag of marshmallows to Hongjoong who accepted it.

“Thanks, Woo. I’ll keep first watch.” Wooyoung nodded.

“Wake me up halfway, okay? And actually do it this time.” Wooyoung pointed at him and glared at him, not forgetting that the last time they did this, Hongjoong fell asleep and no one was keeping watch.

“I will, I will.” But he didn’t promise. He wasn’t sure himself but he’ll try. Wooyoung understood this and walked back to his boyfriend who was waiting on him, holding himself up with his elbow and smiling at Wooyoung as he got closer.

“Do you want me to get something soft to rest your feet on?” Wooyoung asked though he was already looking around to see what he could use. There were no more marshmallows, unfortunately.

“No, I just wanna cuddle you already. Come here.” San grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer. Wooyoung carefully got on the table and laid down. It was the most uncomfortable thing ever but when San cuddled into his side and brought a leg up to rest on his thighs, it got a little better.

“You gonna use the marshmallows?” Wooyoung whispered when he realized that San’s head was resting on his bicep instead. San hummed and lifted Wooyoung’s head to put the bag under it, stacking the two marshmallows for added comfort.

“Thanks, babe.” San kissed him sweetly in response before doing his best to get comfortable.

Hongjoong watched from afar as the couple interacted. It might sound creepy, but he always like seeing how sweet they could be to each other. San would give Wooyoung the world if he could and Wooyoung would fight anything that would take the smile away from San’s face. Hongjoong often wished for that kind of relationship with someone, anyone. He loved his kids but none of them were his age. Yeah, he was just one year older but that year made a difference.

When he found out that him and Seonghwa were the same age, he was excited. When he felt like Seonghwa was willing to stay with them, he got even more excited. When Seonghwa asked him to share his burdens with him, oh my lord, Hongjoong nearly held his hand and kissed his face.

But this argument, Hongjoong must admit was his fault. If Hongjoong didn’t egg him on and just let it go the way Seonghwa was trying to do, maybe they wouldn’t have fought the way they did. He looked over at Seonghwa. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be asleep though Hongjoong knew the second he’d lift his head, his neck would be stiffer than the table San and Wooyoung were sleeping on.

Hongjoong had plenty of time to think to himself. It was silent for the next 2 hours or so. A few zombies stumbled by, none of them realizing that four humans were stowing away in this store.

When his eyes began to get painfully tired, Hongjoong stood up and walked around the till. He looked at everyone. He really didn’t want to wake the couple up but at the same time he didn’t want to wake Seonghwa up either and have there be another awkward moment but instead, Seonghwa seemed to have made the decision for him because he lifted his head.

“Joong?” His voice cracked as he tried to speak slightly above a whisper. He cleared his throat and then winced at the kinks in his neck. “What’s wrong?”

“Hwa, did I wake you?” Hongjoong tried not to think about the nicknames and walked closer to Seonghwa, watching him try to rub the kinks out of his neck.

“No. Why were you standing there like that?”

“Like what?” Hongjoong gently pushed Seonghwa’s hands out of the way and stood behind him to massage his neck and shoulders himself. Seonghwa made a noise like he was trying to hold back a moan and it did things to Hongjoong’s very sleep deprived self.

“I thought you were sleep walking or something. You were very still. Kinda creepy when it’s so dark right now.” Hongjoong snickered. The only source of light they were getting was coming from the full moon through the windows.

“Sorry.” Seonghwa hummed and let his head lull sleepily from side to side and back and forth as he enjoyed Hongjoong’s sudden massage with his eyes closed. He almost fell back asleep but then Hongjoong stopped. Seonghwa looked back at Hongjoong who had a hand up to his mouth to hide his yawn.

“You must be tired. Go to sleep. I’ll be next watch.” Seonghwa stood up, all 206 of his bones cracking in protest. Hongjoong made a noise that was a mix of ‘no, it’s okay,’ and ‘oh, thank you’. Listen, he was halfway to sleep already by the time Seonghwa told him to go to sleep.

“Sit.” Seonghwa pointed to his seat. “Just don’t sleep like I was. You’ll regret it.”

“Mm, I’ll just…this.” Hongjoong’s eyes were already shut as he leaned his back and head against the window. Seonghwa sighed and grabbed a chair, being careful to not let it scratch the floor and then lifted Hongjoong’s feet to rest on it. Seonghwa sighed, already seeing that he knocked out in 0.2 seconds. He yawned and then rolled his neck, trying to get rid of the remaining soreness on his way to the till. He sat on the stool and looked around. He found a magazine placed on the counter. Hongjoong must have been reading it. He picked it up and began looking through it himself.

By the time the sun started peaking out, Seonghwa has read 5 magazines. Like actually read them, not just looked at the images.

San was the first to wake up and Seonghwa watched as he rolled away from Wooyoung and smacked his head on the window. Seonghwa snickered so hard, it hurt but both Wooyoung and Hongjoong jumped up, thinking zombies were coming in.

“Wha—Kids!” Hongjoong yelled sleepily, messily getting up and nearly tripping on the legs of the chairs.

“Hyung?” Wooyoung said, sitting up stiffly.

“Guys, calm down. San just hit his head on the window.” San moaned in pain and Wooyoung immediately tended to him.

“Baby, quit hurting yourself. I can’t carry you forever.” Wooyoung cradled his head.

“Why not?” San whined though he was joking.

“Did you stay up all night, Hwa?” Hongjoong walked up to the counter, rubbing his own neck this time.

“Looks like it. Come here. Let me help you this time.” Seonghwa stood from the stool and patted it, asking Hongjoong to sit on it. Hongjoong did so without any complaints and moaned as soon as Seonghwa pressed his thumbs on his sore muscles.

“Oh, so,…you two made up?” San said as he walked up to them, limping just a little bit still.

“You’re still limping, Sanie?” Hongjoong asked, concerned about him.

“Don’t try to change the subject.” San pointed at him.

“I wasn’t really trying to but are you still in pain?” San sighed.

“I’m just sore, I think.” San shrugged. “I’m not doing this on purpose, though. I’m sorry I’m holding us back.” San looked down at his feet and rolled his ankles one at a time. Wooyoung frowned and put a hand on the small of his back.

“Don’t apologize for that, honey. It’s not your fault.” San shrugged again but leaned against Wooyoung.

“Anyways, you’re not fighting anymore right?” Hongjoong looked up at Seonghwa and the older was already looking down at him. Together, they shook their heads. San sighed again in relief. “Good. If I’m honest, that was pretty scary.” Wooyoung made a noise of agreement. Hongjoong nodded, ashamed of his behavior. He was stressed and tired and annoyed but that was no excuse. He needed to properly apologize to Seonghwa and he will do that when they get some kind of alone time.

It happened suddenly. Almost like a blur. Yeosang couldn’t even hear it but it felt like he could. He felt the cabin shake, he felt the floorboard struggle under the pressure of boots hitting it, under the pressure of Jongho’s body falling to the ground.

Jongho fell to the ground when the first shot rang but it wasn’t because he got hurt. No, thank God he didn’t. But Jongho was a smart man, anticipating the trigger being pulled as soon as he made any sudden movement and he chose that moment to crouch down so quickly he lost balance and fell over but he was quick to grab Eden’s legs and knock him over. The gun he was holding didn’t fall far from his hands though considering the strap that was on his shoulder now only fell down to his elbow.

Jongho couldn’t have done it alone though. Yunho was quick to act as well. He ran for Eden’s gun and yanked at it until he was holding it and pointing it at Maddox.

“Drop it!” He yelled at the top of his lungs. Maddox looked confused, finally giving them the impression that Eden was the mastermind and Maddox was following him blindly, not necessarily out of fear of Eden himself but fear of being on his own. He also wasn’t expecting to have the guns literally turned on him.

Eden was still on the floor when Jongho stood back up. He looked at Mingi who by now had tears going down his cheeks.

“Hyung, come here.” Jongho held a hand out for him but he didn’t move. He was afraid. Maddox’s gun was still pointed at him.

“Maddox won’t shoot you unless he wants Yunho to shoot him back.” Jongho spoke in a threatening tone that sent shivers down all of their spines. Mingi moved his foot to test it out and when nothing happened, he bolted to stand behind Jongho.

They watched as Eden stood up and dusted off his pants. To everyone’s shock and Jongho’s annoyance, Eden laughed.

“Like I said, you’re the only one with a fighting chance though I must admit, you were very quick on your feet, Yunho.” Yunho just glared at him. “But I don’t believe you have the guts to shoot.” Eden took a step closer and Yunho took a step back. Jongho then feared that Eden might get the chance to get the gun back if Yunho didn’t do anything.

“Yun—” Before Jongho could finish calling his name, Eden lunged at him. Yunho held a tight grip on the gun though and the both of them fell on the ground. He heard Mingi yelled Yunho’s name and Yeosang telling Jongho to do something but before he could, a gun went off. Maddox’s gun. Jongho didn’t think before taking his knife and throwing it, then it got quiet. Well, not too quiet. Maddox gagged as his throat filled with blood, the knife stuck deep in his neck. Yeosang yelled and put his hands over his eyes. Jongho was frozen too. He’s never killed a person like that before. Without even thinking. He was trained to throw knives at targets for fun, for sport. But did he regret it? After seeing Yunho pushing Eden’s limp body off of him and moving away, perfectly fine, he can say that no, he didn’t regret it at all.

When Maddox pulled the trigger, intended to hit Yunho, Eden had gotten on top of Yunho. It was badly yet perfectly timed.

“Yunho!” Mingi fell on his knees next to him and looked over him frantically while Jongho went to Yeosang.

“Yunho, are you okay?” Yunho was breathing heavy and even looking over himself.

“Y-yeah, I think so. I…Mingi, I didn’t shoot him.” Yunho told him like he was scared Mingi would judge him harshly for it but even if Mingi did believe he shot him, he wouldn’t think badly or any less of him. He was just glad he’s okay. They’re all okay.

“I know. But I wouldn’t care anyways. Yunho, I,” Yunho looked at him, waiting for him to continue but he didn’t. At least not with words. The next thing he knew, Mingi cupped his jaw with both of his hands and pressed their lips together. Yunho couldn’t even shut his eyes let alone kiss him back properly. It wasn’t anything more than Mingi’s puckered lips pressed against his for a few seconds but it was enough to make Yunho’s heart skip so much, he doubted it was even working properly anymore.

When Mingi pulled away, it was to hug him tightly. Yunho finally snapped out of it and hugged him back after letting go of the gun.

“Mingi,” Yunho said and when Mingi lifted his head, Yunho kissed him. Properly this time. Mingi whined softly and cupped his face again. Their lips didn’t move much as they kissed each other very slowly, content with just feeling their lips pressed together. When they pulled away, Mingi sighed as he rested his forehead against Yunho’s.

“That was a bad call.”

“What? Kissing me?”

“No, no. Not that. I, I quite enjoyed that and I hope we do that a lot more for, like, ever.” Yunho giggled and playfully hit him on the shoulder. “What I meant was trusting them.” Yunho’s smile dropped slightly and then he shrugged.

“I must admit that was...questionable but without them getting us out of there, we probably wouldn’t have gotten back here. And maybe we wouldn’t have been able to do this.” Yunho demonstrated by pecking his lips softly. He’ll never get used to that, wow. Mingi blushed as he bit his own lip and hid away on his shoulder for a second before lifting his head back up.

“Yeah, I guess. Why would they even help us though? I mean, they gave us food and everything.” Mingi looked back at Eden and Maddox who had died in such a disturbing position that Mingi immediately looked away with a grimace.

“Don’t look, don’t look. I don’t know. Maybe they just…wanted to get out of there so badly but they were just two people versus a whole gang of them. I don’t think we should worry about them anymore though. Point is, we’re okay and we’re with Jongho and Yeosang.” Mingi nodded and dropped another kiss on his lips.

“I’m really glad you’re okay.” Yunho grinned and hugged him once more.

Meanwhile, Jongho had to whip out a paper and pen to write to Yeosang.

While Jongho was writing to him asking if he was okay and if he got hurt or if he needed anything, Yeosang’s eyes widened as he saw Yunho and Mingi kissing. With a surprised grin, Yeosang tapped Jongho’s thigh and pointed to them. When Jongho saw, he, too, started smiling.

Right under the unfinished message he was writing, he wrote:

‘should we give them some space?’

Yeosang took the paper and wrote back so he wouldn’t speak and break the moment:

’where should we even go?’

Jongho just shrugged and they ended up just sitting there, pretending they didn’t notice Yunho and Mingi kissing and hugging and being the shyest baby couple they’ve ever seen. It wasn’t difficult for Yeosang to ignore them considering he couldn’t hear them but Jongho could hear their giggles and whispering.

Jongho then remembered Eden and Maddox. He looked at them and was deeply disturbed by how Maddox ended up. Blood was even still trickling down his chest and covering his shirt and creating a puddle underneath him and on top of that, he died with his eyes wide opened.

He quickly grabbed a pillow and blocked Yeosang’s view of him. When Yeosang looked at him confused, Jongho motioned for him to hold the pillow there while he wrote.

’I don’t want you to see Maddox. It’s not a pretty sight. Trust me

After he showed it to him and Yeosang understood, he wrote some more.

’I’m going to move them out and clean up. I’ll tell you when it’s done

Yeosang nodded again and changed his positions to not be able to see them without having to hold the pillow up. He could see Jongho moving in his peripheral vision and soon Mingi joined him on the cot. They sent smiles to each other and although they weren’t close whatsoever, barely even spoken to each other, Yeosang still leant his head on Mingi’s shoulder. Mingi tensed for a moment but then he rested his head on top of Yeosang’s.

It took a while for Jongho and Yunho to return and tell them that they cleaned up as best as they could. They didn’t tell them where they dumped their bodies and quite frankly, they didn’t want to know. The spots that were once full of blood was now wet from the buckets of water they dumped over it. The only sign that this actually happened was the blood stains on the edge of the carpet where Eden once lied. There was nothing they could do about that.

“Well, I sure worked up an appetite. How about you, Jongho-ssi?” Yunho said, trying to lighten the mood a little by speaking in a host kind of tone.

“Oh, likewise, Yunho-ssi.”

“Shall we feast on these lovely fish cooked to perfection?” Yeosang could feel Mingi chuckling and could see that Jongho and Yunho were talking but he didn’t understand anything. He’s passed trying to understand and knows that this is his life now, full of nothing and confusion.

He watched as Jongho heated up the fish and passed them around once they were done. Yeosang ended up eating one and calling it a meal. The other ate 2 with Yunho and Mingi sharing one more half that Jongho gave to them.

Jongho watched as Mingi and Yunho sat close to each other to eat and then thought about what happened.

It felt unreal, just like when he first found out Yeosang went deaf. Before he met the group, nothing happened. The most interesting thing to happen to him was he saw a canoe float by in the river once, completely empty and had Jongho wondering whose it was and how it ended up going downstream like that. And now, he’s worried about where 4 guys are, worried about the well being of another, feeling happy and sad at the same time about the blooming relationship of two boys, fearing for their safety now that he’s had to act quickly on his feet more times just today alone than he’s had to do in the last 3 months.

After seeing Mingi kiss Yunho shyly after Yunho offered him the last piece of fish, Jongho realized that they deserved that. That little bit of normalcy. They all deserved it. Yeosang deserved it. Seeing Yeosang looking off after barely eating, it made Jongho want to promise him that he’ll protect him, help him, and make him see that it’s not the end of the world for him just yet. He can still fight and survive even with this new hurdle. He will make him see that.

Chapter Text

Preparing to sleep that night reminded them that they wouldn’t fit in this cabin.

“We should just move to the other house for good, yeah?” Yeosang pointed out. They looked at Jongho because it was really up to him. All of the things he’s accumulated were here and they’d have to move it all to the other cabin.

“I mean, yeah. That’s the only way unless we want to sleep separated which we all know now, that isn’t a good idea.” Yunho and Mingi shook their heads.

“I have no idea what you said. Just give me a yes or no to if we’re moving to the other cabin.” Yeosang put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him to look at him.

“Yes.” Jongho even nodded for emphasis and Yeosang gave him a thumbs up.

“Thank you. Let’s go then.” Jongho watched as Yeosang began folding the blankets that were on the cot and Yunho and Mingi began grabbing all the things they could fit in their arms to take.

Jongho couldn’t help but wonder about Yeosang. He was acting melancholy one second and then the next acting so casual about his…new condition. He’d make subtle jokes that reminded them all that he couldn’t keep up with their conversations but then when he thought no one was looking, Jongho would catch him touching his ears and rubbing behind them and even sometimes, lightly snapping to make sure that yeah, he still couldn’t hear. Eventually, Jongho began looking for things to bring over to the other cabin as well.

They ended up having to do two rounds before everything was settled into the bigger cabin. Everything was just how they left it. The mattresses a mess and pillows on the floor.

Jongho was quick to make a fire both for warmth and light.

They ended up eating the 5 squirrels that Jongho’s traps caught, all of them forcing Yeosang to eat the fifth one with them all considering he barely ate lunch.

“I’m full, honestly guys.”

“Just one more. One more.” Jongho held up a small piece of meat and Yeosang sighed. He ate it out of Jongho’s fingers anyways and chewed slowly. Only then did the other three finish off the rest of the squirrel.

When they grew tired, Mingi and Yunho took the mattresses that San and Wooyoung slept in while Yeosang sat on the cot. He watched as Jongho moved around the cabin, already preparing to go look for breakfast early in the morning to not wake anyone up by leaving to do this in the morning.

Yunho and Mingi had already gotten under a blanket and had cuddled each other, waiting for sleep to engulf them but Yeosang wouldn’t lie down yet, wouldn’t stop following Jongho’s moves. Again, Jongho caught him touching his ears and poking at the openings of them.

Jongho sighed and put the bucket next to the door before going up to him, having now finished setting up for tomorrow. All he’d have to do then is to grab the bucket and his backpack before leaving.

Jongho didn’t bother with words this time. He caught Yeosang’s attention by offering him his hand. Yeosang looked at confused but grabbed it and let himself be pulled up. Jongho led him to the mattresses that Yunho and Mingi used the last time and pushed them together and motioning for Yeosang to lay on one of them. Yeosang watched on a bit confused as Jongho laid down next to him on the other mattress.

“Why?” Yeosang whispered. Jongho couldn’t explain it in simpler words so he just put a finger to his own lips, the signal to not say anything else, and gently pushed him down until his head was resting on the pillow.

Yeosang chose to just accept it. This mattress was more comfortable than the cot, that’s for sure.

You’d think that if there was nothing to disrupt your sleep in terms of noise, that it should be easier to fall asleep but that wasn’t the case for him. He’d constantly open his eyes fearing that something was creeping up on him and he couldn’t hear it. He’d usually sleep on his side but he needs to be able to look around him to make sure he’s safe so he’s been sleeping like a plank on his back and it wasn’t entirely comfortable. But when he would fall asleep, his body would move on its own and often times, he’d wake up in any other position than his back. At least he had that to look forward to.

Jongho’s chest heaved up and down. He had down it and he had the stains drizzled across his face, arms, chest, legs, everywhere to prove it. He felt a laugh bubble up in his chest at the sight in front of him. The amount of stab wounds on their torso made it look like there was no more space, absolutely no place else that could be stabbed that wasn’t already bleeding out.

The pool of blood would surely leave a permanent stain on the floor boards. No amount of water and soap would get rid of it. Good. Let it serve as a warning for anybody who dares to try to repeat what this guy did.

Jongho looked back at him. His lifeless eyes left widened in pain and terror, a line of his own blood cutting across his forehead and cheeks. Jongho has never felt that giddy after feeling such bloodthirst, such intense need to just kill. He did laugh then. He only wished they died after seeing him do so.

Jongho awoke, feeling like his airways were being cut off. It was just him. He wasn’t breathing. He gasped a deep breath in and let it out. It was just a dream. A dream, right? A nightmare? He looked next to him. Yeosang was there, sleeping on his side facing Jongho. He couldn’t look at him any further.

He clenched his eyes shut and tried to remove that image out of his head. That image of him standing over Yeosang’s dead body who fell under Jongho’s knife mercilessly.

“All right, it’s been about 10 minutes. Let’s keep going.” Hongjoong told the three of them sitting in an abandoned vehicle. Wooyoung, San, and even Seonghwa had complained of being tired so Hongjoong granted them a moment of rest while he sat on the hood and took a short break himself.

“Hyung,” San whined.

“Guys, I’m sorry that you’re all tired and your feet are hurting but if we’re ever going to find the others, we have to keep moving.”

“How long is this fucking road? Fucking ridiculous. There’s fucking nothing in this fucking road.” Wooyoung muttered angrily to himself as he stood up and turned to help San out as well. Hongjoong sighed and turned to Seonghwa who by then had gotten out and stood next to Hongjoong.

“How are you not as tired as us?” Seonghwa asked him.

“I am, trust me. I’ve got blisters on every inch of my feet but I will not rest until I find the others.” He said, determined to do just that. Seonghwa could only quietly admire his tenacity.

“Should I carry you?” Hongjoong scoffed and pushed him.

“Over my dead body. Come on, guys. Let’s at least get to the end of this road before nightfall.”

“I’m starting to doubt there even is an end to this road.” Wooyoung said in annoyance but still joined Hongjoong and Seonghwa in walking while supporting as much of San’s weight as he could, even if it was starting to cost him now.

They must have walked at least another hour before the beginning of a little town began to appear.

“Oh, my god. What do sailors say? Land ahoy? Land ahoy!” Wooyoung cheered. Hongjoong shushed him though he was smiling.

“Is that a motel? Oh, yes, please. Hyung, please, hyung. Beds.” San was in near tears as he saw that sign.

“We gotta be careful though. There might be people or zombies crawling around this place.” Hongjoong said.

“All right. Wooyoung, stay right here with San. If you see something, yell and run, okay?” Seonghwa told him as him and Hongjoong mentally prepared to go in any of the rooms to make sure it was clear and safe for them to stay in. Wooyoung frowned and looked at San.

“H-hyung, this may sound odd but I think you should stay with San and I go with Hongjoong hyung.” San looked at him, upset that he didn’t want to stay back with San.

“Why can’t you stay with me?”

“Honey, you’re hurt and I’m afraid if we do have to run, I can’t help you because I’m hurting a little now, too.” San frowned even more and went to support his own weight fully.

“Why didn’t you tell me I’ve been weighing you down? You’re supposed to tell me these things!” Wooyoung tried to reach for him again but San moved back into Seonghwa who held onto him.

“That doesn’t matter now, San. He has a point either way. If things go wrong, I’ll carry you and we run.” San wanted to cry but settled for pouting intensely at the older.

“Things better not go wrong. Support each other well, okay?” San told both Wooyoung and Hongjoong.

“We will.” Wooyoung reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Don’t worry, San. Woo and I got this.” Hongjoong smiled, trying to appear confident when really he was terrified. Seonghwa sighed.

“Be careful, you two.” Hongjoong was a little taken aback when Seonghwa only glanced at Wooyoung when he spoke and then finished his sentence while looking directly at Hongjoong with a look in his eyes that Hongjoong couldn’t really decipher.

“Same for you both.” Hongjoong said, not being able to look away. He cleared his throat suddenly and looked at Wooyoung.

“Ready?” Wooyoung nodded and when Hongjoong turned away and Wooyoung saw that Seonghwa wasn’t paying attention to him, he raised his eyebrows a few times at San and they both smirked a little. That was…interesting.

The both of them walked into the parking lot of the motel and Hongjoong chose a random room in the middle to check if it was open. They were pretty quiet as they walked up to it but before Wooyoung could check to see if it was open, Hongjoong stopped him. Wooyoung looked at him confused as he leaned his ear against the door. No talking, no groaning, nothing. Then he knocked twice lightly with his knuckle. Nothing. He knocked a little louder. Nothing. Hongjoong then nodded and Wooyoung grasped the doorknob. Locked. All that for nothing.

They did the same thing for the next 2 rooms until they decided they’d need to go to the office to retrieve the keys. It’d be easier and probably save them more time. Hongjoong reported this back to the other two before they did just that after taking in the number of the room they wanted to go into.

The office was wide open and full of windows so there shouldn’t be any surprises.

“Hyung, there they are.” Wooyoung pointed to the multitude of keys hanging off the wall behind the counter.

“Okay, keep watch. 117 right?” Wooyoung nodded and Hongjoong was climbing over the counter. Without getting back down, he reached over to grab the key. He could touch it with his fingertips but he couldn’t quite reach it. Just as he had the idea to step down fully, something grabbed the edge of his jacket and pulled him down. He yelled as he fell forward and briefly heard Wooyoung yell for him but on top of that, he heard the zombie on top of him snarl. This zombie had been under the desk and was probably the owner or at least employee of this place and had died hiding under there. Either way, Hongjoong was cramped behind the counter and unable to retrieve his weapon that he had set down on the counter to reach for the keys.

“Hyung!” Wooyoung screeched and behind the zombie’s head, he saw Wooyoung climbing the counter and reeling back to hit the zombie. Hongjoong pushed the zombie back with all his might so Wooyoung could reach it better and soon, Wooyoung’s knife was driven right through its head forcing some of its contents to dribble around Hongjoong. Hongjoong shivered in disgust and quickly threw the body off of him.

“Are you okay?!” Wooyoung reached for his hand and pulled him up.

“Well, that fucking hurt.” Hongjoong groaned in pain as he stood up, accepting Wooyoung’s help.

“Wooyoung!” He heard San’s voice from outside and he quickly stepped off the counter to yell back to him.

“It’s fine! We’re fine!” He reassured them both and San looked visibly relieved. Seonghwa had to physically hold him back from doing the opposite of what they had been told to do if things went wrong but he also looked relieved.

“Here. Let’s just go to the room so I can lay down and sleep until…forever.” Hongjoong said as he slowly and carefully climbed over the counter again, taking his axe with him.

“Okay, are you sure you’re okay though, hyung? You fell pretty hard.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry.”

“Hyung, don’t do that. You said you wouldn’t lie to us anymore if you’re not doing okay.” Hongjoong sighed and rolled his neck and moved his shoulders around.

“Fine. It hurt like a bitch and it knocked the breath right out of me.” Wooyoung frowned. Yes, he wanted to know but he also wished Hongjoong would say he was okay instead.

“Maybe we really should rest for a couple of days. We’re all very tired and it won’t be good if the times comes where we have to fight or flee and we can’t do either of those.” Hongjoong sighed. Of course he was right. He glanced back at San who was leaning on Seonghwa and holding one ankle up and then at Wooyoung who was beginning to limp just the slightest bit and then he looked at Seonghwa who just looked tired, and concerned, and stiff, and yeah, they should rest.

Opening the room, Hongjoong didn’t know what to expect but the room was completely vacant, not a single dent on the nicely made double beds, maybe even smelled slightly of cleaning materials. They will never find anything better than this motel room. After checking every nook and cranny of the room, Wooyoung motioned for San and Seonghwa to come in while Hongjoong slowly sat on the bed closest to the window and door and slowly laid back, already feeling his sore body get even more sore from the fall he had just endured.

“You’re okay?” He heard Seonghwa say to Wooyoung and the younger responded with a ‘yeah,’ then he felt movement near him but didn’t open his eyes even as fingers tapped at his arm.

“How about you? You okay?” Seonghwa asked him. Hongjoong nodded at the same time as Wooyoung explained to him what happened.

“He fell pretty bad.” Wooyoung set San down on the other bed before San could freak out.

“Fell? How?” San looked over at Hongjoong who could quite literally fall asleep any second.

“He was on the counter trying to reach for the keys on the wall and we didn’t even hear it or see it but there was a zombie hiding under the counter and it grabbed him and he fell forward.

“Did he hit his head?” Seonghwa asked as he cradled his head trying to move it to see if he could find any damage to it.

“Oh, I don’t know. He only told me he could the wind knocked out of him.”

“Mm, didn’t hit my head.” Hongjoong muttered before he could pass out from sheer exhaustion.

“Good. We should rest here for a few days.”

“Hyung and I were just talking about that. We’re all tired and sore, especially Sanie and now Hongjoong hyung. It won’t be good if we keep going at this rate and then not be able to fight or run if we get attacked.” Seonghwa nodded.

“Let’s get some sleep then.” It was still early in the evening, the sun was even still out but they all felt like they could sleep for at least 24 hours straight. Seonghwa made sure the door and window was tightly closed and closed the curtains before going back to the bed Hongjoong was occupying.

He definitely fell asleep already and dead center too. Seonghwa looked at Wooyoung and San who were getting under the covers after removing their shoes and socks. Wooyoung caught his eye then looked at Hongjoong and snickered.

“You can literally roll him off the bed at this point and he’ll stay asleep. Just move him, hyung.” Wooyoung told him before spooning San who smiled at the familiar skinship.

Seonghwa sighed and moved to the end of the bed to remove Hongjoong’s shoes and socks. He placed them all as well as Hongjoong’s axe and left it on the desk next to their bed. He also removed his bag that he hadn’t yet and put it and the others bags in a pile between both of the beds. After removing his shoes and socks as well, hissing at the feel and sight of his very sore feet, dried blood in some places even, he then returned to Hongjoong. He first pulled down the sheets and comforter as much as he could and then lifted Hongjoong to set him further up on the bed closest to San and Wooyoung. He then settled on the other side of the bed closest to the window and then he was finally able to breathe and relax.

It was so quiet now. So quiet. He could just…sleep.

Just before he knocked out though, Hongjoong moved and sat up. He looked around confused and then looked beside him at Seonghwa. Seonghwa just looked back but neither of them said anything. Hongjoong then removed his jacket while yawning and let it fall on top of the bags next to him on the floor. Seonghwa couldn’t even care about that, too tired to nag about how jackets don’t belong on the floor.

He most certainly didn’t nag Hongjoong for turning to him again and resting his head on his chest. He also didn’t nag him for draping an arm around his waist and breathing out through his nose deeply and settling in to finally sleep. Seonghwa just rested his cheek on his hair and cradled his head with his arm that was under Hongjoong. He played with the ends of his hair until he felt Hongjoong grow limper and his breath evened out. Then he rested his arm on the pillow and chased sleep until he caught it.

Chapter Text

San breathed out through his nose as he tilted his head back with his eyes closed, granting Wooyoung more space to kiss up and down his neck.

“Should we be doing this? Remember what happened last time we tried doing this? Seonghwa hyung woke up and told us to stop.” San whispered to him. Wooyoung lifted his head and looked over at Seonghwa and Hongjoong who were dead asleep though it was still dangerous considering the both of them were facing them with Seonghwa spooning Hongjoong.

“I don’t think they’ll wake up. Hongjoong hyung sure as hell won’t.” Wooyoung leaned down and kissed San but San pulled away again.

“What if Seonghwa hyung does?”

“Then we’ll give him a show.” Wooyoung leaned back down to kiss him again but San stopped him.

“I’m serious.” He whined softly.

“Me too, baby. I’ve missed kissing you and holding you and touching you.” Wooyoung lowered himself down on top of him as he spoke until their bodies were flushed together.

“Please, can we?” San sighed against Wooyoung’s lips and answered by kissing him deeply, allowing himself to get lost in his boyfriend’s love.

For a while, they did nothing but that, their tongues intertwined and their lips moving wildly but lovingly against each other. They really haven’t had the chance to do this since before they left their previous base, before they made it to the city, before they found Seonghwa.

Wooyoung moved one hand to rest on San’s waist for a moment while both of San’s arms were wrapped around Wooyoung’s neck, one of them gently pulling at his hair.

Wooyoung let his hand trail down until he reached the end of his shirt, their jackets having been removed a while ago. He lifted the bottom of his shirt just enough to access the button to his jeans. The rhythm of their kiss didn’t falter at all even as Wooyoung unbuttoned his jeans and palmed him. San was quick to grow fully hard but he did his best to stay quiet. San was usually pretty good at being able to keep his volume low if he needed to but Wooyoung wished to hear his beautiful moans again. Maybe one day later in the future when they finally get the chance to be completely alone.

“Turn over, baby.” Wooyoung pulled away from the kiss to whisper against his lips. San bit his own lip before doing what he was told. Wooyoung barely moved back to give him space, causing San’s hips to brush against his crotch. He held back a moan that almost fell out of him and instead, nestled his face against the back of San’s neck. He straddled San’s hips and pulled his shirt all the way up, exposing his back. He dropped one kiss in between his shoulder blades before sitting up. He glanced at the other bed to make sure the both of them were still asleep before focusing back on his boyfriend.

He gently massaged his back for a moment. San’s arms were on the pillow, resting next to his head and from the side of his face that Wooyoung could see, his eyes were closed and his mouth was slightly opened, letting out tiny spouts of breaths after holding it for a few seconds.

“Young-ah,” Wooyoung smiled and leaned over slightly, now massaging his lower back.

“Hmm?” He hummed and kissed his shoulder blade. San just hummed back, making Wooyoung smile again. With one hand, he reached around San’s hips to lower the zipper of his jeans so he could pull the material down over his ass along with his boxers so that it rested on San’s midthighs. San held his breath now that he was exposed, anticipating what Wooyoung was about to do.

Wooyoung’s hands cupped his cheeks and squeezed them tightly, making San let out a few little noises that he didn’t quite let out in its full potential. Wooyoung parted his cheeks then and rubbed his thumbs around his hole, feeling his heart in his own chest beginning to beat faster in excitement for what he was planning to do next.

“Remember, you have to stay quiet, love.” He said to San before pulling the sheets over him and disappearing under them with his face right above San’s ass.

On the other mattress, Seonghwa had long since woken up, being a fairly light sleeper to begin with. He didn’t want to say anything, in fact, he was hoping desperately to fall back asleep, cringing every time he heard San make a noise.

When he opened his eyes slightly to see what they were up to now, Seonghwa figured it was time to face the other way so he wouldn’t feel compelled to watch, honestly. He let go of Hongjoong’s waist and with his eyes closed, continuing to appear like he was moving in his sleep, he turned over to his other side and waited to see if they would keep going.

First it was really quiet, then he heard movement, then whisperings, then a whispered ‘hyung, are you awake?’ but Seonghwa didn’t dare say anything, then they continued after giggling softly to each other.

“Quiet, baby.” Wooyoung reminded him again before doing what he does best. Seonghwa clenched his eyes shut and resisted the urge to cup his ears with his hands to block out as much of their noises as possible. But after a whole 30 minutes of both of their moans getting slightly louder when Seonghwa assumed they started having penetrative sex, he found himself in a predicament himself.

Damn it, he was still human okay. It was like watching porn while trying to get yourself off but he wasn’t trying to do that but it still arose that reaction on him. He cursed his dick for betraying him. It was mildly traumatic. Very mildly, though.

Seonghwa almost let out a sigh of relief after the both of them finally finished. He endured another few minutes of kisses and giggles and whisperings and almost had a heart attack when San said, ‘your turn.’ But then he thanked the gods when Wooyoung said that he was too spent for round 2 already and that they should get some sleep. He certainly would make himself known to be awake if they tried to keep going again.

He waited another 30 minutes to make sure that the both of them fell asleep before he turned over onto his back. His boner still hadn’t gone down no matter how much he tried to think about zombies. It had been a hot minute since he’s masturbated and if he were alone or even just in a bed by himself in this room, he totally would go for it but alas, he was cursed to live with a hard on forever, it seemed.

Eventually, he did end up falling asleep, dreaming of the last boyfriend he had. Or he thought he was dreaming of him. It was one of those dreams where it starts off as one person and then completely changes midway and he won’t even notice that until he wakes up and thinks back to his dream a few hours later.

Surprisingly, Hongjoong was the first to wake up the next morning. Hongjoong almost thought he only slept 5 minutes because there was sunlight peeking through the edges of the curtains but somehow, he knew he’s been asleep for at least 12 hours.

He went to resettle his body to go back to sleep but that’s when he realized just how tightly the arms around his waist was holding him. On top of that, he felt something pressing against his ass. His eyes widened almost comically as he realized what the situation was. It was Seonghwa. Oh my god, Seonghwa’s morning wood was pressing against his ass.

Okay, okay, Hongjoong would be a straight up liar if he said he didn’t find Seonghwa hot and attractive and handsome and…yeah. But that didn’t mean that Hongjoong didn’t find this awkward. He couldn’t move a muscle. They were so tightly pressed together that if he even moved his arm, he’ll somehow push back against him. So he barely breathed even though his arm under his head was tingling with how asleep it was.

In the end, Seonghwa ended up shifting in his sleep, moving his arm to still hold him tightly but the palm of his hand now rested flat on Hongjoong’s chest. Seonghwa’s hips were beginning to roll against Hongjoong’s in his sleep and Hongjoong could feel Seonghwa’s lips brushing against the back of his neck just slightly. Hongjoong panicked and he slapped Seonghwa’s hand continuously.

“Hwa, wake up, wake up, wake up.” Seonghwa flinched as he was forced awake and he was so foggy with sleep that all he could do was loosen his hold on Hongjoong and move back just a little.

“Huh? What?” Hongjoong didn’t want to look back at him, couldn’t. Not yet.

“J-just, you’re holding me too tight.” Was the excuse Hongjoong had and he was. The only thing is he wouldn’t have minded if Seonghwa wasn’t fucking hard.

“Oh. O-oh! God, I’m so sorry! Oh my god. Fuck, I can’t believe—shit.” Seonghwa was quick to move completely away from Hongjoong, nearly falling off the bed as he now laid half on the mattress and half off the edge. Hongjoong only chuckled nervously but still didn’t turn to look at him.

“I-it’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. God, fuck, I’m so embarrassed. Oh my god. Did I…like, was I, like,…?”

“I’d really rather not talk about it.”

“Yeah, okay. That works.”

Hongjoong had to pretend to be falling asleep when he heard Seonghwa talking angrily with himself.

“You’re so fucking stupid, Park. Are you fucking—” Hongjoong couldn’t help but smile. How cute.

“You two are not allowed to go by yourselves.” Yeosang pointed a finger at Mingi and Yunho who claimed they would be going to collect more water but Yeosang noticed the little stares, the shy yet sneaky smiles. They will take forever on purpose doing other things, he’s sure.

“Wha—Why not?” Yunho pouted at him.

“Because I don’t trust you two to keep it in your pants.” Mingi blushed so deeply red, Yunho looked scandalized, and Jongho wished he had popcorn.

“I-I, we just got together. We wouldn’t—”

“I don’t know what you’re saying but you’re not going together alone.”

“Okay, but Jongho’s preparing the squirrels, you can’t…you can’t hear so that just leaves us two.” Yunho said, pointed at everyone respectively. Again, Yeosang had no idea what he said but he assumed he was saying that they were the only two who can go.

“I can go with you, Yunho-yah.” Yeosang stood up and looked around for his shoes that he had taken off to sleep meanwhile, the three of them yelled at him that it was a bad idea. Yeosang flinched just a little when he turned around to then see the three boys standing right in front of him, all wearing concerned faces.

“I’m deaf, not paralyzed. Just watch my back for me, yeah?” He told Yunho as he put his shoes on.

“That isn’t a good idea. Oh, for fuck’s sake, hyung, look at me.” Jongho put a hand on Yeosang’s shoulder and pointed to his own mouth when he looked up.

“You. Are. Not. Going.” Yeosang nodded slowly after every word, looking back up at his eyes when he was done.

“Fuck. You.” He said it the way it looked like Jongho was speaking. It would’ve been funny but right now, they had to convince Yeosang that he wasn’t ready yet. They weren’t ready yet.

“Jongho, I’ve known him for years now and if I learned anything about him, it’s that he will go alone if you don’t let him go now with me.” Jongho sighed. He somehow knew that already but fuck. He wanted to go with him instead but the squirrels needed to be cooked and he was the only one who knew how to skin it and cut it up right.

“You’re such a pain in my ass, Kang Yeosang.” Yeosang rolled his eyes as Jongho spoke while turning his back to him.

“If it’ll make you feel better, what if the three of us go?” Yeosang suggested. Jongho thought about it, Yunho thought about it, Mingi thought about it.

“I’m fine with that.” Yunho shrugged.

“Me, too.” Mingi nodded. Jongho sighed again.

“Fine. I’m counting on you guys to look after him, okay? Don’t go sneaking off to make out or whatever.”

“We weren’t going to anyways!” Mingi whined and even stomped his foot for added measure. Yunho tried to hide his smile as he put a hand on Mingi’s shoulder.

“Okay, let’s all go, then. Jjong, we’ll be back soon, okay?” Jongho nodded and then looked at Yeosang who was looking between them all, trying to determine who was speaking so he could try and follow along.

“Go with them.” He said to him and Yeosang nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Thank you, Jongho. I need this, really. I don’t want to be afraid to go back out there.” Their mood changed and suddenly, it was a bit more solemn rather than anxious.

“Let’s go then.” Mingi held out his hand for Yeosang who slapped it like a high five and walked ahead towards the door.

“Don’t let him go by himself!” Jongho motioned for Yunho to hurry up and catch Yeosang.

“Okay, mom. Don’t worry, we’ll bring your child back safe and sound.” Yunho joked as he jogged to pinch the back of Yeosang’s jacket.

“He’s most definitely not my child.” Not when he cared about him in a much different way but he’ll keep that to himself for now.

Yeosang walked in between Yunho and Mingi with the latter behind him. He focused more on where his feet were stepping and relying solely on the other two to alert him if there was any zombie around. But he didn’t notice that Mingi had already killed one while on the way. Yunho looked back to make sure Mingi was okay and when Yeosang looked up to see why he stopped. Yunho just smiled and then continued, making Yeosang think he was just checking up on him.

When they got to the river, Yunho handed Yeosang the bucket and motioned for him to fill it up. The tiniest little waterfall that fell from a few rocks always hit differently and that’s the water they liked to collect. Yeosang happily did so, again not looking around and relying on the other two to have his back. He did look up however when he felt a thud behind him.

All he saw was Yunho on the floor and Mingi with a knife deep in a zombie’s head.

“Yunho!” Yeosang let go of the bucket and crawled the few feet over to his friend.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” Yunho made sure to face Yeosang as he claimed this. “Just surprised me is all.”

“Mingi?” Yeosang looked at him, seeing him push the zombie away and retrieving his knife in the process. He gave him a thumbs up and then lent a hand out for Yunho to stand up.

“It’s fine. We’re like professionals now.” Mingi said. Yeosang stared between the two for a moment before determining that they were physically all right and he should return to filling up the bucket. After doing so, they began their short trek back to the cabin where Jongho was busy trying to not wait on the porch like a worried mother for them to return.

He counted down the minutes and seconds it usually takes to go there, collect water, and return and currently they were a whole minute in overtime and he was about to lose it when they finally walked through the door.

“Mom, we got the water.”

“Fuck off. Everything all right? There’s a lot of dirt on you.” Jongho mentioned this to Yunho while also making a beeline to a grinning Yeosang.

“Yeah, I’m—”

“I got the water!” Yeosang spoke over Yunho a little too loudly and unknowingly and handed the bucket over to Jongho who had to smile.

“Okay, thanks, Yeosangie. Let’s get cooking, then.”

“Yeah, breakfast!” Mingi shouted, Yunho did a little dance, and Yeosang just clapped, looking around at all of them. Jongho gave Yeosang a thumbs up when their eyes connected and Jongho felt a little bit of warmth in his chest when Yeosang grinned and gave him a thumbs up back. Snap out of it, Choi. Just get through breakfast before you start conjuring up feelings.

Chapter Text

All of them were sat on the floor in front of the fireplace as Jongho awkwardly ate his squirrel, trying his damn best to ignore Yunho and Mingi.

“Oh! There was one time I tried confessing to someone and I really liked her and she told me she liked me too but then all she did in the week that we were together was ask me to buy her things and take her places.” Yunho pouted and Mingi looked upset.

“What a dumb bitch!” Jongho couldn’t hold back a snicker then. Yunho giggled and Mingi looked between the two of them. “How could you have the opportunity, the blessing to date someone like Jeong Yunho and just, just use him like that?” Yunho was a blushing mess while Mingi stared off as he ranted.

“The same thing happened to my friend Geonhak hyung. They just, they just pretended to like him and he gave her everything she wanted and in the end, we found out she was already in a relationship with someone else and whatever he gave her, she would give to them. A fucking bitch I tell you! All of them. Never date a female, Choi Jongho! You either, Kang Yeosang.” Mingi pointed to the both of them.

“What?” Yeosang raised his eyebrows, pausing his hand full of squirrel meat before he was able to eat it.

“Would you date a guy, Jongho?” Yunho asked curiously. Yunho actually couldn’t really see it. He looked very reserved and he wasn’t nearly as clingy to any of them like they all were. Granted, they did just meet recently but they just met Mingi recently too and now him and Yunho are having a thing.

Jongho, however, looked nervous as he ate the last bit of his squirrel.

“Um,” he said once he finished chewing.

“Wait, what was he saying before?” Yeosang leaned over to Jongho to ask him.

“He was ranting.”

“He was what?”

“Raannttiiinng.” Jongho said very slowly while facing him directly.

“Wansi? What is that?” Jongho sighed while the other two tried to hide their giggles. Jongho just shook his head at Yeosang.

“I’ll tell you later. Later. I’ll tell you later.” He repeated until Yeosang understood, albeit a bit frustrated that he couldn’t understand now but fine.

“So, Jongho-ssi? Would you date someone like Yeosangie over here?” Yunho smirked at him. Jongho’s eyes widened and his mind seemed to have short circuited. Mingi then cracked up.

“Babe, you broke him!” If Jongho wasn’t a blushing mess himself already, he’d probably react at how shy and giggly Yunho got at the pet name Mingi gave him.

“Fine, fine! Jongho, would you date a guy?”

“Would you make out with one?” Mingi quickly asked after him. Jongho thought about it as if he didn’t already know his answer. He was trying to think back to his times as a preteen, as a young teenager. He never had the chance to feel any romantic feelings about girls considering he was always surrounded by boys. He remembered thinking his camp counselor was a very attractive man but he was also in his 20s while Jongho was hardly 14.

“I…I don’t know. I’ve never…I mean I never really spent time with girls when I was younger so I don’t know if I’d be attracted to them.”

“But?” Mingi tried to egg him on.

“But?”

“Yeah, you didn’t answer the question.”

“But…I-i guess I could get feelings for a guy.” Yunho immediately aww-ed while Mingi was unnecessarily loud.

“Have you ever had a crush on anybody?” Yunho asked him casually, eating some more of his squirrel after doing so.

Has he had a crush before? He couldn’t really remember having one. Well…does he have one right now?

“I, uh,” he cleared his throat and refused to meet anyone in the eyes. “I think I had a crush on this one person.”

“You think, huh? Well, how did they make you feel?” Mingi asked, thinking he was talking about a kid from camp or something. Jongho took a deep breath before just going for it. It’s not like he knows what they were talking about.

“I don’t know, he just, like, was super cute and stuff.” Jongho drew circles on the floor underneath him with his finger. Mingi squealed and Yunho motioned for him to be quiet though he was also sporting a shit eating grin.

“Just cute?” Yunho pressed. Jongho shrugged.

“No, like, he’s also…I don’t know. There’s just something about him that I really like.”

“You just spoke as if you still have a crush on him.” Mingi squinted his eyes slightly in suspicion.

“I-i, did I?” Jongho’s voice might have pitched up a key or two as he scratched at the back of his neck. The new couple began smiling in a way that made Jongho feel like he was about to get exposed.

“Yes, you very much did.” Yunho said.

“Wait! Do you have a crush on Yeosangie?” Mingi yelled. Jongho stole a glance at Yeosang to see him, staring off into the fire. Shit, he won’t even know.

“I…fuck, hyung, please don’t tell him.” He gave up. The two of them lost their minds. Yunho and Mingi began hitting each other in the arm as if saying ‘bro, did you fucking hear that?!’

“Jongho, oh my god!”

“Do you really fucking have a crush on Yeosang?! Mingi yelled.

“Jongho has a crush on Yeosang!” Yunho yelled back.

“Wait, what, what? Guys, I wanna know! Jongho, what’s going on?” Yeosang whined, tapping Jongho gently on the arm to ask him. Jongho just shook his head and put a hand on his face while the other two continued laughing and yelling and clapping and Yeosang has had enough. He threw down his plate and stood up, causing all three of them to stop and look at him.

“You guys are the fucking worst! You don’t even try to speak slow for me or tell me what you’re talking about when I ask! I’m sick of it!” With that, Yeosang stomped up the stairs and made it a point to slam the door of one of the rooms upstairs.

Jongho sighed and went back to putting his face in his hands.

“Sorry, Jjong.” Yunho frowned.

“Yeah, I’m sorry.” Mingi patted him on the shoulder and rubbed it before dropping his hand.

“It’s fine. Just, please don’t tell him. Not yet at least. I don’t even know if he would like me back.”

“I mean, he could. He’s dated a guy before but he was a total ass and he hasn’t dated a guy since.” That didn’t help him too much but it at least let him know that there was a slight possibility that it could happen.

“Whatever, let’s just clean this up.” Jongho would see if Yeosang was okay later but for now, he was going to grant him some space.

San, Wooyoung, Seonghwa, and Hongjoong sat on their respective beds eating out of the same chip bag that they passed around for breakfast. It was really quiet between them all and the only person who would talk when Wooyoung did were San and maybe sometimes Hongjoong would pipe up. Seonghwa, however, sat on the far side of the bed, making Hongjoong have to lean all the way over to pass him the chip bag and on top of that, he wouldn’t look at anyone in the eye.

Wooyoung and San had a feeling he really was awake when they were having their fun but they didn’t know how to confirm it until Wooyoung broke after seeing Seonghwa flinch when he accidentally touched Hongjoong’s hand when he passed the bag.

“Okay, hyung, why are you acting so weird? Why won’t you look at anyone?”

“And why are you sitting so far away?” San also asked. Hongjoong also appeared to look nervous, like he knew something they didn’t.

“Hongjoongie hyung, you too? Did you guys fight again?” San slouched, disappointed that this could be the case.

“N-no! No, we didn’t.” Hongjoong glanced back at Seonghwa but was only able to see his reddening ears.

“It’s a little, um,” Hongjoong didn’t know how to tell them that Seonghwa totally rubbed his boner on his ass in his sleep without throwing Seonghwa under the bus that the couple surely will do.

“Shit, he really was awake!” San broke his train of thought when he smacked Wooyoung on the arm.

“Mn?! Were you?!” Wooyoung screeched and looked at Seonghwa who managed to blush even harder and hide his face in his hands.

“God damn it, Sanie, I told you to be quiet!”

“I was, fuck you!”

“Wait, what? I’m so confused.” Hongjoong furrowed his eyebrows but then the couple were confused too because wasn’t that what he was talking about?

“Huh?” They both said at the same time.

“Oh my god! Hongjoong, I heard them having sex last night. San, Wooyoung, I woke up with a boner this morning while spooning Hongjoong.” Seonghwa cracked and then laid on the bed, face down while the couple lost their shit. Hongjoong wanted to do the same thing but instead, he decided to put on the disappointed dad face.

“You two had sex in the same room as us?!” San and Wooyoung couldn’t care less at that moment.

“Fuck, yeah, we did. Looks like Seonghwa hyung really enjoyed the show!” Sanie giggled and clapped while Wooyoung leaned against him, barely breathing from how much he was laughing.

“I didn’t know you two got that close!” Wooyoung finally said after he was able to catch his breath.

“We’re not!” Hongjoong pouted and crossed his arms.

“Liar!” San teased him. Hongjoong grumbled and looked back at Seonghwa who hadn’t lifted his head off the pillow.

“Yah, that’s enough. Hwa, get up.” Hongjoong hit him on his side but the older just curled in on himself, turning on his side and giving them his back. “Hwa, quit being dramatic. Sit normally.” Hongjoong grasped his waist and tried to get him to turn over but Seonghwa slapped his hands away.

“No! I’m too embarrassed.” Seonghwa whined and Hongjoong rolled his eyes.

“We will finish these chips without you.” He threatened and after a few silent seconds, Seonghwa sat up, revealing his really red face and watery eyes. Hongjoong almost panicked but then Seonghwa shuffled to sit next to him and he snatched the bag of chips.

“If you mention this ever again, I will leave this motel room.” He threatened the kids before shoving as many crisps in his mouth as he could and then passing the bag over to San who accepted it with a smirk on his face.

“No problem, hyung.” Then it was quiet again but with a whole different feel to the point where Seonghwa gave in again.

“Fine, just roast me, guys.”

“A fucking boner, hyung?!” Wooyoung started first then screeched out a laugh.

“And you were spooning Hongjoong hyung?!” Hongjoong blushed. “Look at him, he’s blushing!”

“Fuck off! I’m not!”

“You so are, though, hyung.” Wooyoung giggled and slapped his own knee a few times.

“Oh my god, this is the best day of my life.” San wiped under his eyes that started tearing up from the laughter.

“God, Seonghwa, why did you open your mouth?” Hongjoong hit Seonghwa on the arm.

“Don’t attack me too!” Seonghwa hit him back.

“You didn’t have to mention that you were spooning me!”

“They would’ve wondered why you were acting weird too though!”

“Ugh, this is ridiculous. We should be more upset at the fact that you took your dicks out while we were sleeping!” Hongjoong turned it on them.

“No, hyung. You were sleeping. Seonghwa hyung was enjoying the show.” Wooyoung giggled and Seonghwa slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up.

“I’m walking back.”

“Wait, where are you even gonna go?” Wooyoung asked him though he was still chuckling, not taking Seonghwa very seriously.

“To the gas station. I don’t deserve this bullying.” Without taking his bag or jacket, just his knife, he left the room, showing them that he wasn’t really serious and he just needed to escape the room for a moment.

Seonghwa walked to the staircase nearby and sat at the bottom steps. He looked around before doing so and stays vigilant, not wanting any surprises. The breeze seemed to calm his blushing cheeks and soon he had calmed down back to normal. That’s when their room door opened and out came Hongjoong with a bottle of water. Hongjoong looked around until he spotted Seonghwa at the stairs and went to join him.

“Here.” He handed him the water bottle.

“Thanks. Sorry I left you in there. Did they bully you too?”

“Not too much. I told them if they dared to have sex again while we’re in there, I will tell you to wake me up so I can make them uncomfortable.” Seonghwa snickered, nearly choking on his sip of water.

“What does that even mean?” Seonghwa wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“As much as they claim they don’t care if we saw them, they totally do. I know San does. I walked in on them once and San started sobbing.”

“Wow. I would not have guessed that with what I, uh, heard.”

“He only changed a little because there’s no privacy now. Before we met you and we were at our old base, Wooyoung had to tell us that they were going to mess around in the back room and to not go in until they come out.”

“Ah, I see. I really don’t want to go through that again. I’ll really wake you up if it happens again.” Hongjoong grimaced.

“I’ll resent you for it.”

“I don’t care. If I have to suffer through it, so do you.” Hongjoong shook his head with a smile and bumped their shoulders together.

“By the way, um,” Hongjoong scratched at the back of his neck. “I don’t want things to be awkward with us when we go to sleep later. I kinda really liked us cuddling.” Hongjoong admitted in a tiny voice, avoiding Seonghwa’s gaze though Seonghwa was also having trouble looking at him.

“O-oh. Me, uh, me too.” Hongjoong glanced at him for a split second and then nodded with a tight lipped smile and a blush, trying to not make it seem like he got giddy at his confession.

“Good.”

“Mm.”

Chapter Text

It took him a moment to gather up the confidence to go upstairs and speak to Yeosang. He needed time to make up something to tell him if he asks what they were laughing about and so far the only idea he had was to tell him that he told them an embarrassing childhood story and then he had to dig into his locked box of memories for an embarrassing childhood story to tell him.

“Good luck, Jongho-yah.”

“Confess to him! Don’t be a coward!” Yunho smacked Mingi on the arm for saying that. “In just a few words, you can be like me and Yunho!” Mingi grinned.

“I mean…you can.” Yunho shrugged and looked at Jongho. “But only if you’re ready. Okay, let’s just, yeah.” Yunho grabbed Mingi’s hand and brought him to the couch as Jongho went all the way upstairs, carrying papers and a pen.

“If they actually get together, they probably won’t complain about us making out as much.” Mingi said, wrapping an arm around Yunho’s shoulders.

“Well, they’re not here to complain now,” Yunho pointed out. Mingi slowly turned to look at him and then pounced on him, making Yunho laugh. Mingi kissed all over Yunho’s face while hovering above him on his side which wasn’t the most comfortable for Mingi, so he stopped and nervously looked at Yunho.

“What?” Yunho said, still with a smile on his face.

“Um,” Mingi said before he shuffled. He slowly brought a leg over Yunho’s thighs to straddle him then slowly sat down on his lap.

“I-is this okay?” Mingi bit his own lip shyly. Yunho didn’t know where to place his hands so they hovered over his hips for a second before stiffly touching them.

“Y-yeah.” Yunho stuttered, his breathing becoming a little irregular. Mingi nodded and set his hands awkwardly on top of Yunho’s shoulders before leaning in to kiss his lips. They kissed softly and slowly for a moment until Mingi’s tongue began swiping across Yunho’s bottom lip, giving him immense butterflies. When he predicted Mingi’s tongue to do that again, he replaced his bottom lip with his own tongue, causing Mingi to let out a tiny yip in surprise and begin to lean back.

Yunho quickly brought a hand up to grasp the back of his neck to pull him closer and keep their lips connected. Mingi didn’t fight him one bit and breathed in deeply through his nose and completely pushed Yunho back onto the back of the couch, leaning their chests together. One of Mingi’s hands trailed down to Yunho’s side and the other gently tugged at Yunho’s hair near the nape of his neck.

Yunho let out a tiny moan then brought both of his hands onto Mingi’s thighs and massaged them. After kissing for what felt like hours, Mingi slowly pulled away, finally allowing them both to breathe properly. But the look on Mingi’s face brought a feeling of dread upon Yunho.

“W-what is it? Did you not like that?” Yunho asked nervously, his hands still on his thighs.

“No, I did! I liked that a lot, like a lot a lot. Trust me.” Mingi promised him. “It’s just um, I don’t wanna go too fast and I know I’m the one who put us in this position but…yeah.”

“That’s okay!” Yunho moved his hands to rest innocently on his waist instead. “I understand. We’ll take it slow, yeah? We can just kiss.” Mingi nodded.

“But maybe not in this position.” Mingi moved off of him in an awkward way and when Yunho caught a glimpse of Mingi’s jeans, he understood why. Yunho wasn’t much better than his situation anyways.

“O-oh, right. Yeah, I agree.” Yunho chuckled nervously, putting a hand over his lap as subtly as he could. Mingi hummed and brought a pillow over his lap and leaned forward, shyly avoiding his eyes. Yunho also had trouble looking at him, biting his lip to stop himself from giggling as he looked down at the ground.

When Jongho reached the top of the stairs, he paused for a moment. There were three doors up here and only one of them were shut. Just as he was about to touch the doorknob, he was startled by Yunho and Mingi laughing downstairs. He cursed under his breath before twisting the doorknob.

Peaking in, he saw Yeosang sitting with his back on the wall parallel to the door. He was wiping under his eyes and sniffling and Jongho wanted to punch himself in the face. He closed the door and slowly walked closer.

“What are you doing in here?” He froze. How did Yeosang know he was in there? He didn’t even look up at him. “You take very heavy steps. I can feel the floorboards vibrating under you.” Yeosang answered his unspoken question, finally looking up at him with watery eyes and reddened face. Jongho took a few steps closer before sitting down on the floor in front of him and prepared to write something on one of the papers.

’i’m sorry we weren’t including you in the conversation. it was really shitty of us and we should’ve been more considerate. we were talking about something embarrassing about me and i didn’t want to talk about it but i will tell you if you want me to.’

He watched as Yeosang read the note. He handed him back the paper but didn’t say anything for a moment. Jongho thought maybe he was waiting for him to write down what they were talking about so he uncapped the pen again and began writing but Yeosang put a hand over his and stopped him.

“It’s okay. If it’s embarrassing, you don’t have to tell me.”

“But I told everyone else.” Jongho said then quickly wrote it down and showed it to him. Yeosang shrugged.

“I don’t know how to explain why I’m so upset but in the end, this is my life now and I need to just accept that I can’t keep up with your conversations anymore.” Jongho frowned.

’it’s still really unfair to you if we don’t try to talk with you at least’

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t say to not talk to me at all, asshole. Don’t ignore me either but if you’re having a group conversation, I understand that I can’t keep up and I shouldn’t have to force someone to keep me in the loop while also trying to stay in the conversation. Just maybe if it’s something important or funny or something, you can tell me later.” Yeosang shrugged with a tiny smile. Jongho bit his lip and began writing, completely disregarding his plan to lie earlier.

’Yunho hyung asked me if i’d date a guy and i said i could catch feelings for one. and then they asked me if i ever had a crush on a boy and i said yes.

It wasn’t a total lie. He just wasn’t saying what happened afterwards. Yeosang scoffed with a smile.

“That’s why they were losing their minds? They’re acting like they’ve never heard of a boy crushing on another boy. They’re gay for fuck’s sake.” Jongho chuckled and Yeosang grinned.

“Thank you for telling me, Jjong. I appreciate it.” Jongho nodded and then reached over to wipe away a slowly drying tear that Yeosang didn’t get earlier.

“No problem, hyung.”

“And then I just never really looked back. I miss them of course but I loved what I was doing and I would’ve loved to do that for the rest of my life.” Hongjoong shrugged as he explained to Seonghwa what he was doing before the apocalypse happened. He had moved away from his parents to go to school and the only regret he had was not being able to finish school before this whole shit show happened.

“Mm. I could totally see you doing that sort of stuff.” Hongjoong huffed out a smile and looked back at Seonghwa, the both of them still sitting on the stair case.

“What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know, like, you have this art student type of vibe.” Seonghwa looked at him up and down and Hongjoong blushed a little. “Look, is that a paint stain? How art student of you.” Seonghwa pointed to a faint red stain on Hongjoong’s blue jeans.

“That could be ketchup or Sriracha or literally blood, okay?” He defended himself though he knew that it actually was red oil paint that never faded or washed out.

“Mm,” Seonghwa said, trying to scratch at the stain high up on Hongjoong’s thigh. It was fairly innocent in Seonghwa’s perspective but Hongjoong couldn’t help but think back to that morning and he got red in the face.

“Hongjoong-ah, it won’t scratch off. You sure it’s not paint?” Seonghwa teased him, still scratching and rubbing at the stain.

“Okay, fine! It’s paint.” Hongjoong pushed Seonghwa’s hand away gently and rubbed at his own thigh while Seonghwa chuckled.

“Gotcha.” Hongjoong pouted and bumped their shoulders.

“Whatever. What about you? What were you studying?”

“I wasn’t actually. I was working.” Seonghwa nodded.

“Oh. Where?”

“Anywhere really. We struggled a lot with money and I was the youngest so when it became my turn to go to school, my other brothers were already studying. There wasn’t much left for me so I just worked for the time being.”

“Wow. That’s…that sucks.” Hongjoong didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah. But talks of money and all that seems so redundant now.” Hongjoong nodded and rested his elbow on his knee and held his head up with his hand, facing Seonghwa.

“Yeah, right? Well, what if you did have the chance to go to school? What would you want to do?” Seonghwa thought about it. He really didn’t know.

“Honestly, I feel like I’d end up doing anything that paid well. At the time, I just wanted to help my parents out with paying the bills and everything. I didn’t care about…ambitions or anything. That sounds very sad when I say it out loud but it’s the truth.” Hongjoong frowned but he couldn’t help but find it heartwarming that Seonghwa cared so much for his loved one that he was willing to sacrifice such a big part of his future for them.

“You’re a very selfless person, Seonghwa. It’s quite admirable. But I wish you’d care about yourself a little more.” Seonghwa nodded and looked at Hongjoong.

“Still working on that.” They stared at each other long enough for Hongjoong to notice his jaw was slightly unsymmetrical, long enough for Seonghwa to notice the slight discoloration around his eyes.

They didn’t realize just how physically close they had gotten until they heard a door behind them open. Seonghwa jumped and the amount of space he had to move back would’ve made him blush but he whirled around to see what made that noise.

From the staircase, they saw Wooyoung slowly peaking his head out, his shoes were on and he was holding Hongjoong’s axe. With the same snail pace, he took a step outside and looked around like he was looking for someone.

“Wooyoung-ah?” Seonghwa called him and Wooyoung’s head whipped towards their direction.

“Aish—you two!” Wooyoung stood up straight from his creeping position and stomped a foot on the ground. “You two were gone for so long, I thought something happened. Get back inside, would you?” Wooyoung turned around to walk back into the room.

“Did he just…?” Seonghwa pointed a thumb in the direction of their room and looked at Hongjoong. Did Wooyoung just speak to them informally?

“Told you he’s a brat. Let’s go.” Hongjoong grabbed Seonghwa’s hand and led them back into the room.

“Yah, Jung Wooyoung! You got a death wish or something?” Wooyoung giggled and hid behind San who was still sat on the edge of the bed facing Seonghwa and Hongjoong’s bed.

“Wait, why are you two holding hands?” San pointed at their still intertwined fingers but neither of them really pulled away.

“Oh my god, did you get together?” Wooyoung stood on his knees and leaned on San, also pointed to them.

“All it took was to wake up with a boner, huh?” San teased them.

“I’m leaving again.” Seonghwa let go of Hongjoong’s hand and turned around but Hongjoong wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him back.

“No, you’re not. And guys, can we let that go, please?”

“They didn’t say no.” Wooyoung stage whispered to San.

“We’re not together!” Hongjoong said and sat down on the bed, patting the space next to him for Seonghwa to sit but the latter was still debating leaving and never coming back. His cheeks and ears were turning red when he sat down next to Hongjoong, leaving a space between the two of them for a whole ‘nother person but Hongjoong shifted closer.

“So, can we be serious for a moment?” Hongjoong said, losing all traces of a joke in his expression.

“Oh, yeah. What is it, hyung?” San said and gently pulled Wooyoung to sit down properly next to him so they were all facing each other.

“How long are we planning on staying here?”

“I need at least another day, hyung. I’m already dreading having to stand up let alone continue walking.” San frowned.

“Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. I’m just…anxious, you know? I don’t want to force you all to keep going and walking and all that but at the same time, I’m just scared that by the time we do get back to the cabins, maybe no one’s there or were ever there to begin with. I just,” Hongjoong took a deep breath in, feeling his emotions beginning to derail. Seonghwa, sensing this, put a hand on his back and rubbed but it only made Hongjoong want to break down.

“I just want to see them again.” His voice cracked. He was brought into Seonghwa’s arms as he began crying, the ugly kind of crying, the painful and heartbreaking kind of crying, the kind that made anyone around you want to cry and San and Wooyoung fell victim to that. Seonghwa felt like he had to be the one to hold himself together, so although his eyes did water, he didn’t dare let a tear fall.

“Come, come here.” Seonghwa told the couple, holding an arm out for them to get under. San moved from his bed to the spot next to the older and leaned against his chest while Wooyoung sat next to Hongjoong and rested his head against Seonghwa’s arm as well as wrapped his own arm around Hongjoong.

“At least we’re together, hyung. We’re together and we’re okay. We just need to rest for a moment. We will find the others again. I feel it.” Wooyoung reassured them all, really.

Hongjoong nodded slightly and focused on regulating his breathing. He kept his eyes closed and listened to Seonghwa’s heartbeat that was steady and maybe a little bit faster than normal but it helped him. The soft kiss on the top of his head might’ve helped him a little more, though.

Chapter Text

“You think he told him?” Mingi whispered to Yunho as they watched Yeosang giggle at whatever they were writing on the papers they were looking at. Jongho and Yeosang were sitting on the couch, Jongho with a small stack of papers on his knee and they went back and forth writing or drawing something on it, giggling after the other finished whatever it was that they did.

“They’re being very…cute right now.” Yunho whispered back. Another giggle came out of Yeosang.

“What even is that? That looks weird.” He said and then leaned over Jongho’s lap to draw something.

“They’re out cute-ing us right now. Quick, make out with me.” Mingi forced Yunho’s arm to go around his shoulders and he puckered his lips in his direction making Yunho laugh and push him back by his chest.

“You’re being ridiculous. How’s that cute?” Yunho didn’t bother whispering but the other two also didn’t bother paying attention to them.

“Wha—I’m not cute?” Mingi pouted.

“No, no you are. The cutest.” Yunho cupped his jaw and smiled at him making Mingi smile back shyly.

“Oh. Okay.” Mingi shrugged and Yunho really had to kiss him then. Just a cute, little, innocent peck.

“How is that any better than mine?” Jongho said when Yeosang revealed his little drawing. Yeosang didn’t know what he said verbatim but he had an idea of what he meant and he laughed and clapped his hands lightly.

They were playing a drawing game where one draws a random line or shape or whatever and the other had to turn it into something. Yeosang currently made a very deranged Pikachu out of Jongho’s random shape.

“It’s Pikachu. Pika, pika,” Yeosang poked Jongho’s cheeks in rhythm to his pikas. Jongho giggled and Yeosang really wished he was able to hear it. He never got the chance to hear his laugh when he could hear and now, he’ll never know how it sounds like.

“That’s,” Jongho shook his head with a smile and wrote something on the paper closer to Yeosang.

‘Poor guy looks like a meth addict’

Yeosang giggled some more and bumped him with his arm before reaching over to do his own weird shape for Jongho to turn into something.

“Let’s just ask him. Hey, Jongho?” Jongho looked at the other two and found Yunho wanting to shut Mingi up but Mingi was pushing away his hands and quickly asking him the question before Yunho could stop him.

“Did you tell him you have a big fat crush on him?”

“Oh my god, why would you say it like that?” Yunho asked him and Jongho blushed. He looked at Yeosang who looked back at him with a blank stare. Jongho sighed and wrote on the paper.

‘They’re asking if I told you the embarrassing thing’

“Ah! He did, but it’s not that embarrassing. I mean you two are like that as well.” Yeosang pointed to them and Jongho panicked. The couple thought Jongho told him he liked him but Yeosang only thought they were talking about Jongho’s old crush on a random boy. But he is that boy.

“So you’re together now?!” Mingi screeched.

“Really?! Wow, Jjong really did have the balls.”

“Ha! Now, you gotta do what I ask for the rest of the day.” Mingi smirked at Yunho.

“What?!”

“Guys! No, I didn’t! We’re not together. He doesn’t know.” Jongho moved his hands enough to drop the pages onto the floor. Yeosang quickly leaned down to pick them up and Jongho helped him while also looking at the other two.

“Then what did you tell him?”

“I just said I told you guys I had a crush on a boy before. That’s it.” Mingi sighed like he was sad and Yunho grinned and looked at Mingi.

“Looks like you have to do what I ask for the rest of the day.”

“Okay. What do you want, babe? I’ll get it for you right now. You want water? Fish? Squirrel?” Mingi got up on his knees and waited.

“Jongho, what is this?” Jongho turned to Yeosang and his breath caught in his throat and maybe his heart also stopped beating because somewhere in the midst of all those papers was a scratch paper of Jongho coming up with a random story to tell Yeosang.

’yunho and mingi just made fun of me cause i told them when i was younger, i dropped a carton of milk in the store and it broke and spilled everywhere so i laid on the floor and acted like i fell’

Yeosang was smiling slightly but he was also confused as to why he wrote it as if he was telling Yeosang but he never asked him for this. Right?

“O-oh, that’s um,” Jongho scratched at the back of his neck but then Yeosang found another paper with a different embarrassing story that started the same way.

Yunho and mingi just made fun of me cause i told them when i was younger, i was climbing a tree and I was standing on a branch but i lost balance and fell and hit my crotch on the branch

That story had a bunch of crosses over it but it was still legible.

“Why did you write these? And why do they start the same way?”

“Shit, guys, what do I tell him?” He quickly asked the other two.

“What are those?” Yunho asked.

“I was planning on telling him you were making fun of me over an embarrassing childhood story I told you guys but I just wrote whatever and in the end, I didn’t even use them. He just found them.”

“Say that I wrote it then.” Mingi said.

“No, I mentioned the both of you plus it’s in my handwriting. He knows it by now.”

“I’m asking you something, Jongho. Please don’t have a conversation I can’t keep up with.” Yeosang spoke in a tone that he hoped was firm but not too angry. He was just confused and he wanted to know why he wrote them if they were clearly meant for him to read.

“I, uh,”

“Tell him you were just embarrassed to—”

“What were you guys really talking about this morning? Was what you told me earlier a lie?” Yeosang looked a tad hurt.

“N-no.” He shook his head. “Just not the complete truth.”

“Hmm?” Jongho took a deep breath and grabbed one of the papers.

I wasn’t lying. We really were talking about that but I mentioned another thing that got them all riled up

He didn’t look at Yeosang when he handed him back the paper.

“Are you going to tell him, Jongho?” Mingi asked him quietly.

“Do you want us to leave?” Yunho asked and Jongho nodded. Yunho and Mingi stood up and went upstairs but not before wishing Jongho good luck.

“Why’d they leave?” Yeosang asked him. Jongho decided he wasn’t going to beat around the bush anymore.

hyung, i told them i had a crush on you. that’s why they were going wild.

Again Jongho didn’t look at Yeosang as he read it. Yeosang was quiet for a moment and in Jongho’s peripherals, he saw Yeosang look at him.

“You better not be saying this just because Yunho and Mingi got together.” Jongho looked at him, confused and offended. Why the hell would he do something like that?

“I’m not. Why would you say that?”

“In a world where there’s only 4 people. Two of them get together and what happens to the other lonely two? It’s just a coincidence that you claim this not even a week after Yunho and Mingi began making out or whatever else they’ve done.”

“I’ve liked you since before they even got here.” Yeosang shoved the messy pile of papers at him before he finished his sentence. Jongho wrote messily, too upset to care about his handwriting.

I liked you before they got back here. I took care of you as best as I could and hoped every day you were unconscious that you’d wake up. to insinuate that i’m just a lonely, horny teenager willing to confess to anybody just to have someone and not be alone is really offensive to me.

When he handed him the paper, it wasn’t in the slow, gentle way he usually did it. It was in the same way that Yeosang shoved the papers onto him just then.

“You can’t be mad at me for thinking that way. It is a little suspicious.” Yeosang said softly.

“Doesn’t make it okay to say that, though.” Yeosang didn’t bother asking him what he said.

“I’m sorry, Jongho. But why do you even like me? I haven’t done anything to you or for you. All I’ve been doing is forcing you to take care of me. You should hate me or be annoyed with me or something.”

“But I don’t. And you haven’t been forcing me.” Yeosang understood enough words to know what he said.

“Then you’re a stupid man.”

“If this is your way of rejecting me, I get it. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.” Yeosang held the paper out to him. Jongho just shook his head and pushed his hand away and stood up.

“I’m gonna get some fish for lunch! I’ll be back later!” He said loud enough for the other two to hear but they were eavesdropping at the top of the stairs away from their view so they heard everything.

Yunho and Mingi ran down the stairs just in time to hear the door slam shut. They looked at Yeosang who looked really confused and…sad?

“What did he say?”

“He, uh,” Yunho said while walking up to him. He grabbed the pen and paper and wrote:

’he went to go fish’

“No, before that. I know you were listening, Jeong Yunho.” Yunho didn’t bother lying and saying he wasn’t because Yeosang knew him well enough.

’he said if this was your way of rejecting him then he gets it and you don’t have to talk about it anymore’

“But I wasn’t rejecting him.” Yeosang said softly.

’it sounded like you were’

“I wasn’t. I’m just bad at speaking.”

“I know you are.” Yunho put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it. “He’ll be back.” He said once Yeosang looked at him. Yeosang only put the papers down and laid down on the couch and stared at the door, waiting.

Chapter Text

Seonghwa woke up the next morning on his back with half of Hongjoong’s body on top of him, fast asleep. He was lucky he was small and not so heavy or else Seonghwa would’ve pushed him off…maybe.

He wondered why he woke up, feeling like he was startled awake rather than slowly woken up on his own and then he heard it.

The scraping of their feet, the mindless snarling as they smelled humans but couldn’t see them. Fuck, they really couldn’t rest, could they?

Seonghwa carefully moved out from under Hongjoong and wiped the sleep out of his eyes before crouching next to the window. He slowly peeked out through the curtains and lifted a part of the blinds and saw a herd walking by on the road with a few stragglers walking around aimlessly in the parking lot of the motel.

“Shit.” He hissed and quickly but quietly backed away from the window. He wondered if he should wake any of the boys up but he thought that would only make them panic. He’ll wait it out. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing the window and the door. Then he noticed something that made his heart drop to his stomach; they never locked the door.

He doubted zombies could really open doors but it still brought a sense of safety if it were locked. Should he get up and lock it and risk any of the zombies hearing it? Or should he take his chances and wait?

He must have been sitting there for at least 5 minutes when Hongjoong began stirring, feeling cold now that Seonghwa wasn’t holding him.

“Mmm, Hwa?” Seonghwa shushed him and didn’t take his eyes away from the door.

“What is it?” Hongjoong whispered. Seonghwa didn’t say anything, instead let him hear what’s been driving him crazy since he woke up. Hongjoong sat straight up.

“Z-zombies? Are we surrounded? Do they know we’re in here?”

“Hongjoong. Be. Quiet.” Seonghwa looked at him then back at the door. Hongjoong flinched when he heard a zombie scrape by their door causing it to rattle slightly in its hinges. Seonghwa’s body twitched, ready to shut the door if it opened.

“We’re safe, though, right?” Hongjoong whispered, crawling over to sit behind him.

“Door’s unlocked.”

“What? Lock it!” Hongjoong hissed.

“There’s one right outside, Hongjoong. I can’t do that right now.” Hongjoong whimpered and Seonghwa reached behind him searching for his hand. Hongjoong was quick to hold onto it as they both stared at the door. Why won’t this one go away? It keeps sliding against the door.

“Hwa,” Hongjoong wrapped an arm around Seonghwa’s shoulders from behind and hid half of his face in his neck, trying to keep himself quiet. Seonghwa brought his other hand to hold onto his arm, squeezing it and trying to comfort him when he himself was freaking out too.

“Should we wake up the kids?” Hongjoong asked him.

“Don’t want them to freak out.”

“What if we need to run?” Seonghwa didn’t think about that. Them being found out when there’s a herd outside wasn’t an option. But it was still possible so Seonghwa nodded and let go of his arm and hand to let him go over to the other two.

Hongjoong hovered over San who was being spooned by Wooyoung and shook them gently awake.

“Guys, wake up.”

“Mn!” San moaned in annoyance.

“Shh!”
“Shh!”

“5 more minutes!” Wooyoung whined and held onto San tighter. They all froze when the zombie outside of their door stopped and began scratching at it. Seonghwa quickly turned to them and frantically put a finger up to their lips, signaling for them to be fucking quiet. The couple were wide awake then, sitting up and freezing as they stared at the door. The zombie was snarling louder now. It knows they’re in there.

“Hwa, lock the door. Lock it right now.” Hongjoong told him. They were already found out though Seonghwa still tried his best to be very quiet. He thought he could’ve gotten away with it but at the last second, the lock clicked. The sound was almost deafening. The zombie heard it and began slamming its body against the door.

“Fuck,” Seonghwa hissed and moved back to sit on San and Wooyoung’s bed with the other three. They sat there as more and more zombies began pounding at their door frame.

“We can’t stay here. There’s a whole herd out there.” Seonghwa said.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Wooyoung spat, stressed and scared to the max.

“There’s a window in the bathroom.” Hongjoong looked at Wooyoung then they scrambled to go look at it. It was tiny but big enough to fit them. The only problem was that it was pretty high up on the wall.

“It’s our only chance. Get the bags.” Seonghwa pushed them all out and they put on their shoes and jackets then picked up whichever bag they saw first.

“Okay, how do we do this?” San asked.

“You three go first. I’m the tallest, I can jump and reach it.” Seonghwa crouched and intertwined his hands together for Wooyoung to support his foot and be lifted up.

“Fuck you, I can reach it too.” Wooyoung pouted as he stepped on his hands.

“Now’s not the fucking time to be butthurt about your height.” San told him, his hands on Wooyoung’s waist to help lift him up.

“Do it quietly.” Hongjoong reminded him as he opened the window. “Is it clear?” Wooyoung nodded.

“We got lucky. There’s a trash bin right under us.”

“Okay, go, Woo. We’re right behind you.” Hongjoong told him and tried not to think about the few moments he’ll be out there alone when there’s a whole herd at their feet.

When Wooyoung tried to go through, though, his bag stopped him.

“Fuck, fuck. I can’t fit with my bag.” Wooyoung dropped back down to the ground, Seonghwa hissing when he accidentally stepped on his finger.

“I’m sorry, hyung!”

“It’s fine. Just hurry up. Throw all the bags first.” They lifted Wooyoung again and shoved the bags in first, cringing every time it hit the bin.

“Okay, quick! One of them must have heard that.” Hongjoong said then Wooyoung was slipping himself through the window.

“Aghk!” He grunted as he fell head first into the bin. Last second, he was able to flip onto his back before he hit his head, though, grunting again when the bags dug into his back.

“Woo, you okay?!” San called for him.

“I’m fine. You next! I got you.” San didn’t waste another second and stepped on Seonghwa’s knee that he offered him while Hongjoong lifted him up.

“Be careful, San.” Hongjoong told him as he slid through and landed half in Wooyoung’s arms and half on the bags.

“Okay, Hongjoong hyung!” Wooyoung said once San was able to stand by himself.

Hongjoong turned to look at Seonghwa who stood up, ready to lift him by his waist.

“Are you sure you can do it by yourself?” Seonghwa looked at the window and nodded.

“Yeah. I’ll be right behind you, okay?” Hongjoong wanted to cry. He kissed his cheek quickly and turned around, waiting to be lifted up. Seonghwa did so but then had to lift him up higher by putting a hand on his ass. Hongjoong didn’t have time to get shy about it since he was gripping the window frame and sliding through. Wooyoung and San caught him and set him down.

“Okay, Seonghwa hyung, let’s go!” San yelled up for him while Hongjoong noticed a few zombies rounding the corner and spotting them.

“Hwa, hurry!”

But Seonghwa has been trying. The window was a little higher up than he realized. He jumped but the tips of his fingers always slid off.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck” he kept whispering to himself and then he had the idea to step on the counter that wasn’t too close but close enough for him to jump off of it and hang on to the frame. He struggled to pull himself up but he was able to look out when he noticed the zombies getting closer.

“Shit! Guys, run!” Seonghwa yelled before his fingers slipped again and he fell on his ass.

“Seonghwa!”
“Hyung!”

“Guys, just go! I’m right behind you!” But he knew he wasn’t as he stood up and stared up at the window.

“Not without you!” Hongjoong yelled.

“For fuck’s sake, Hongjoong, run! Take your bags!”

“Hyung, we have to go! We’ll distract them for Seonghwa hyung to jump down.” Wooyoung said as he handed him his bag after putting his own on. The zombies were too close now.

“Come on!” San had to grip Hongjoong’s hand to get him to follow them out of the bin.

“Hwa!” He heard Hongjoong’s voice fade as he yelled out for him. Seonghwa cried. He didn’t cry often but he fucking cried. There were zombies in the front, there were zombies in the back, and he was fucked. He’ll really never see them again this time.

Chapter Text

Jongho took his time to fish and once he was done, he sat at the bank and just, existed. He was thankful that nothing bothered him and he was able to mentally beat himself up for metaphorically opening his damn mouth and confessing to Yeosang. He felt like an idiot. Why would he ever think he had a chance with Yeosang? He didn’t see him in that way.

Then he started thinking about what Yeosang insinuated and started second guessing his own feelings. Did he only like Yeosang because he was the only one left? Just the thought of that made him feel sick.

Eventually, he mustered up the courage to go back to the cabin, telling himself that he’ll just make lunch in peace and pretend that nothing happened.

When he got back, he didn’t know what to expect but it was really quiet. Yunho and Mingi gave him a small smile from where they were playing cards on the dining table and Yeosang didn’t look up, not even after Jongho closed the door. Usually, Yeosang was able to notice the vibrations or at least the breeze and light coming in from outside for a split second but he continued writing on a paper. Not that Jongho was paying attention or anything.

“Hey, Jjong. Can I help?” Yunho stood up and asked him.

“I guess. Do you want to get some more water?” Jongho took all the fish he caught and put it on one of the plates then handed him the bucket.

“Yeah! I can go by myself.” Yunho said to both him and Mingi. Mingi nodded and so Jongho agreed.

“Be quick, okay?” Yunho nodded and left.

“Can I help you cut up the fish?” Mingi stood up and asked him.

“You don’t have to, you know?” Jongho told him, feeling a bit suspicious as to why they were acting so eager to help him.

“I know.” He shrugged. “Just, wanna help out.” Jongho nodded.

Mingi was working on the last fish when Yunho came back.

“Got it,” He appeared a little out of breath but he smiled at them.

“Did something happen?”

“Nope. Not at all.” Yunho walked up to the fireplace to set the bucket down next to it.

“Babe,” Mingi looked at him.

“Just got a little frazzled is all. Don’t worry, I didn’t lead any of them here.”

“More worried if you’re okay, but thanks, hyung.” Yunho nodded and smiled then looked over at Yeosang who had crumbled up his fifth paper and threw it next to him angrily and began writing again.

“Anyways, are we ready to start cooking?” Yunho clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

“Yeah, yeah. Get going with these. Let me finish this one up.” Mingi pointed to the fish ready on the plate and focused on finishing cutting up the last one.

By the time lunch was done, Yeosang had finished whatever it was he was doing. He set down the pen and folded the paper a few times and stuck it in his pocket before accepting the plate of fish Yunho handed him.

Yunho and Mingi tried to do small talk as they ate, not really liking the vibes of the silence between them. Yeosang still hadn’t looked at Jongho and Jongho wished he could say the same but he found himself constantly looking at him just to try to calculate what he was thinking or feeling or something, anything.

“I’ll clean up.” Mingi said, sending Yunho a look.

“Oh, let me help you.” Yunho said and the both of them stood up and grabbed both Yeosang and Jongho’s plate and took it to the kitchen where the bucket with the remaining water was. Jongho almost rolled his eyes. Obviously they planned to leave the two of them alone.

Yeosang again didn’t look at him, he just grabbed a pillow and hugged it and looked literally anywhere else but at him.

Jongho sighed. Great, now he made things awkward between the two of them. Jongho wished he had his phone. He’d totally just scroll through social media at a time like this.

“Jongho, quit being a pussy and talk to him.” Mingi said from the kitchen casually, not even looking up in case Yeosang saw him speaking in Jongho’s direction.

“He clearly doesn’t want to talk to me.” Jongho spoke, looking at Yeosang’s profile.

“Well, we can’t have the two of you fighting or being awkward. Hongjoong hyung always told us it’s better to talk things out so you know where you stand. And it’s even more important now at a time like this.” Yunho mentioned. Jongho sighed and stood up and plopped down next to Yeosang. He finally look over at him.

Jongho pointed to all the scrunched up paper balls around him and Yeosang blushed slightly. He shrugged and collected them all and put them on his other side. Jongho looked at him oddly. Why wasn’t he talking? He reached out for a loose piece of paper in between them and the pen trying to get lost in the crack between the cushions and wrote:

‘can we talk?’

Yeosang nodded after he read it.

‘I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable with my confession. i honestly wasn’t planning on telling you like ever but the point is i did and i fucked things up. i’ll get over it eventually. just can we please not be awkward with each other? if you want me to stay away from you, i will but it won’t do any of us any good if we pretend we don’t exist

Jongho watched Yeosang’s face carefully as he read. It didn’t really change much until the end when he looked nervous. Yeosang bit his lip and slowly reached into his pocket. He took out the folded note he spent forever writing and rewriting and then handed it to Jongho.

Jongho looked at it confused but as soon as he took it, Yeosang ran upstairs and Jongho was even more confused.

“What…”

“What’d you say to him?” Yunho asked him with a concerned look.

“N-nothing. I just apologized and asked him if we can just be normal with each other again and then he handed me this and ran away.” Jongho lifted up the folded piece of paper.

“Well what does it say?” Mingi ran up to him with wet hands and grabbed the note.

“Hey! Dry your hands! And it’s not for you, it’s for me.” Mingi pouted then walked back to Yunho in the kitchen and finished off the dishes.

Jongho took a deep breath in before opening the note and seeing that the first few words were scratched off.

’Jongho-yah i’m really bad with words even when i’ve had time to think and write them down. i want to apologize for the way i reacted. it made you think i felt a different way than what i was really feeling. i don’t mind that you like me i just find it hard to believe that anyone would especially under my current circumstances. to be honest, i like you too but i’m not ready to be romantically involved with anyone just yet. there are a lot of things i’m scared of and the last thing i want to do is drop them all on you to figure out for me when i should figure it out myself first. i hope you can understand that i’m not rejecting you. not at all. but i need some time to get comfortable with myself and my deafness. i hope when i feel ready, you’ll still want me. will you wait for me?’

Jongho smiled and stood up to follow Yeosang up the stairs but when he looked up, Yeosang was sitting on the steps up top but low enough to watch him read the note. Yeosang looked at him nervously and shyly and bit back a smile when Jongho grinned at him.

Jongho quickly took the sheet of paper he wrote on earlier and scribbled out a response.

’I’ll wait. I’m not one to give up easily and i definitely don’t plan on giving up on you. but if you need me or would like me to help you with anything, i’m always here. Yunho and mingi are here. and when the other hyungs get here, they’ll be there for you too. you don’t have to do anything alone.

Jongho ran up the steps and sat next to him when he handed him the note. He watched as Yeosang curled in on himself slightly as he read, a shy smile growing bigger and bigger on his face until he couldn’t bite it back anymore.

Yeosang nodded and looked at Jongho then wrapped his arms around his shoulders and hugged him. Jongho hugged him back, rubbing a hand on the space between his shoulder blades.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, hyung.” Jongho said though they never separated but maybe Yeosang knew what he said.

“The fish was really good today.” Yeosang said as he pulled away. Jongho snickered. The fish was as bland as it always was with no seasoning whatsoever but Yeosang just wanted to continue, keep going like normal.

“It was, huh?” Jongho smiled.

“That’s because the best chef cooked it. My boyfriend Yunho, ladies and gentlemen. He’s like the reincarnation of Gordon Ramsay.” Mingi yelled from the kitchen. Jongho furrowed his eyebrows though he also couldn’t help but laugh.

“Gordon Ramsay’s not even dead yet, dumbass. How could he be the reincarnation—”

“Listen, I don’t make the rules here, buddy.” Jongho shook his head and looked at Yeosang who patiently waited to be told what was going on.

Mingi’s just being himself

Yeosang smiled.

“He’s the one who convinced me to write this letter to you.”

“Oh great.”

now i have to thank him ugh

Yeosang giggled and hugged him one more time before standing up. He reached a hand out for Jongho to take and together they walked back down and sat on the couch again.

“You’re together now?!” Mingi bounced up in front of them.

“Not yet.”

“Yet?!” Mingi screeched.

“What do you mean by yet?” Yunho asked, joining Mingi’s side.

“He needs time to get used to him being deaf and asked me to wait for him. So I will.” The both of them aww-ed, Mingi however was a little more aggressive about it and grabbed Jongho’s arm and waved it around.

Slowly, Jongho brought up four fingers and began counting down. Mingi quickly let go and took a step back then screeched again when Jongho stood up and went after him. Yunho sighed and sat next to Yeosang and leaned against him. Yeosang smiled at him and rested his head on his shoulder.

The both of them laughed when Jongho caught Mingi and put him in a head lock then laughed some more when Mingi got free and threatened to kiss him.

“Hyung, collect him!” Jongho yelled, tilting his head all the way back and trying to push Mingi off.

“But he likes kisses.” Yunho giggled.

“I don’t!”

“If I were Yeosang, you’d be all over me.”

“Yeah, but you’re not Yeosang. Get off.” Mingi finally let up and Jongho was able to breathe again. Yeosang giggled and Jongho playfully glared at him.

“Mingi, why don’t you try to kiss him?” Mingi grinned and pounced on Yeosang, causing him to yell in surprise and trying to kick him off of his lap.

“No! I’m saving myself for Jongho!” Jongho blushed as the other two laughed.

“Okay, okay. Get off of him, Mingi-yah.” Yunho grabbed his hand and pulled him off the smaller boy. Yeosang made eye contact with Jongho and they smiled shyly at each other.

“Ew, gross.”

“Oh, like you two weren’t like that like 3 days ago.”

“True.”

Chapter Text

The three of them had run far out enough to lose the tiny herd of zombies that had found them in the back of the motel room. They looked back, trying to regulate their breathing, and once they figured out that the zombies weren’t after them anymore, Hongjoong tried to think of a plan.

“Okay, when we get back there, we split up. One of us goes for Seonghwa in the back, the other makes noise in the front and another is the look out. You yell if you see more.”

“Hyung,”

“Listen, this can work. If things go to shit, we run again.”

“Hyung, there’s way too many of them. We barely made it out the first time.” San pointed out, feeling like he was walking on eggshells trying to talk some sense into Hongjoong.

“But Seonghwa didn’t! He’s still stuck in there with nothing! His bag is in the bin, there’s zombies everywhere that know he’s in there. What, we’re just gonna let him die in there? Even if tries to make a run for it by himself, he’ll get eaten alive. Literally.” San took a deep breath and looked at Wooyoung.

“I don’t feel right moving on with him still there by himself and no food or anything like hyung said.” Wooyoung said to San. San sighed.

“I know. It’s just…stressful. Fuck, okay. So that’s the plan? We split up? Who’s doing what?”

“I’ll...I’ll take the front and keep them distracted. If there are zombies in the back, Wooyoung will distract them to get them to leave and then San, you go and make sure Seonghwa gets out. Okay?”

“Got it.”
“Yeah.”

“Fuck, be fucking careful, guys. Let’s go.”

“Wait, Plan B and C. We need to have those.” San asked as they began walking back.

“Plan B…after you get Seonghwa, we meet up further up the road. Plan C, after you get Seonghwa,”

“What if I can’t get Seonghwa hyung?”

“That’s not an option.” San and Wooyoung looked at each other worriedly. What if they can’t get him?

It took them a few frustrating minutes to get back to the motel. At one point Hongjoong nearly lost his mind thinking they were lost considering he didn’t remember running this far but then they heard the zombies and through the trees saw a few of them still gathered around the bin right under the open window.

“Okay. Remember the plan. Yell when Seonghwa’s out and just run down the road. Wooyoung, when you hear him yell, you run too. Don’t look back. We’ll meet up further up the road.” Hongjoong went over the plan again.

“Got it, hyung. You be careful. The lot of them are in the front. A-are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Wooyoung asked him.

“You can join me after you clear the way for San.” Wooyoung nodded.

“Baby, be careful. Scream for me if you need help. I’ll be right there.” Wooyoung grabbed San and made him face him completely. Hongjoong looked back at the motel, granting them a little bit of privacy.

“I-I will.” San nodded and wrapped his arms around Wooyoung’s neck. “You be careful, too, love. Please, please.” San’s eyes burned slightly from the tears that wanted to spill over but instead redirected all his emotions into a kiss. He pressed their lips together hard and firm but he didn’t know how else to express to him how much he loved him when they don’t have time to right now.

“I love you.” San told him.

“I love you, too.”

“Hongjoong hyung, you too. I love you.” Hongjoong looked back at them and saw San holding an arm out for him, Wooyoung doing the same.

“I love you, guys.” He said, joining them in their hug.

“Love you,” Wooyoung finished off. They hugged each other tightly before letting go.

“Okay. I’ll meet the three of you later. Safe and sound, yeah?” The boys nodded then Hongjoong and Wooyoung ran off to follow their plan, San waiting behind a few trees until it was clear.

He watched as Wooyoung yelled and made noise to get the zombies attention. They followed him mindlessly to the front where Hongjoong was distracted what was left of the herd in the front.

San gulped and ran the second the coast was clear. He looked into the bin and saw the bag still there. He jumped over and looked up at the window.

“Seonghwa hyung!” He whisper-yelled. “Hyung!” Nothing. Shit, maybe he was in the other room. San began jumping and calling for him when he was closer to the window.

“Seong! Hwa! Hyung!” He jumped three times, nothing.

“Shit,” What should he do?

It was a stupid idea, it was. But it was the only one he had. He let his own bag fall off his shoulders and join the other one. He stepped on the thin edges of the bin and without thinking, jumped and grasped the edges of the window.

“Fuck, I never wanna do this again.” He grumbled as he pulled himself up and carefully weaseled his way in, sticking his leg in somehow after his upper body went in so he didn’t have to fall face first like last time.

Once he was safely in the bathroom, he ran out and searched for him.

“Hyung?” San was confused. The beds weren’t ever made after they slept in it the first night but they were looking rather bare, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But another thing that made him confused was the lack of Seonghwa. Where the hell was he? He checked under the beds, checked beside the beds, checked the closet, checked the shower tub, he just wasn’t in here.

“What the fuck?” He started thinking this was the wrong room but the trashcan was filled with the crap they ate and there was the half empty water bottle sitting on the side table. This was definitely their room. He looked at the front door and saw that it was unlocked. He remembered Seonghwa locking it so that only meant that…he left…in the midst of all those zombies. He cursed again and ran to the window and pushed back the curtains and the blinds. No zombies were in front of the door; they were all distracted by Hongjoong and Wooyoung further down the road so San quickly left through the front.

He didn’t know what he was looking for but he found a blanket on the ground a few feet away. It was actually a comforter, the comforter from their room. Another few feet away, he found another one, this one had blood on it. He looked around again but saw nothing that could give him solid answers.

“San?!” He could hear Wooyoung screech out his name. He turned and saw him running towards him, Hongjoong soon following.

“Where’s Seonghwa?” Hongjoong yelled. San shrugged, feeling like crying with how stressed and confused he was.

“He wasn’t in there!”

“What?!” Hongjoong screamed once he stopped in front of him.

“T-the bag is s-still in the bin. I called for him but he didn’t answer so I climbed in through the window and he wasn’t there. The door was unlocked s-so he left but, the blankets,” San pointed to them. Hongjoong quickly inspected the one with blood on it.

“No. No, no, no, NO!” Hongjoong looked ready to pull his hair out. “Did you see him?!” He whirled around and looked behind them at the zombies snarling and moving slowly but steadily towards them.

“Hyung, we need to go now.” Wooyoung said, seeing that they were getting closer.

“But did you see him? Is he one of them?!” Hongjoong looked at the zombies faces frantically, not knowing if he actually wanted to see him amongst them.

“Hyung, we need to go!” Wooyoung found himself forcing Hongjoong to run away again.

“Wait, my bag!”

“San, we need to go, now!” Wooyoung yelled and grabbed his hand as well, then they were leaving the motel, for good this time.

“B-but was he one of them? D-did you see him at all?” Hongjoong kept asking them once they stopped running to walk.

“I-I don’t know, hyung. I was just swinging.” Wooyoung motioned to his very bloody knife. “W-what if I…”

“No, no, don’t think like that, baby? Seonghwa hyung is strong. M-maybe he ran and left the blankets.” San put an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“Then who’s blood was that?”

“Maybe it wasn’t his?” San offered. Hongjoong shook his head and wiped his sore eyes. He was too much in shock and confusion to fully sob but tears were pooling in his eyes.

“What do we do now?” Hongjoong asked, still with his hands rubbing at his eyes, but he got no response.

“Guys,” he whined. “What do we do? Do we just—”

“Hyung,” Wooyoung called for his attention in a soft, amazed tone even.

“What?” Hongjoong looked at him to see him and San looking forward at something. When Hongjoong looked, he almost expected to see him, to see Seonghwa but what he actually saw gutted him. He recognized the buildings, the street signs even, and from where he stood, he could see the store in which they found Mingi in. They were so close this entire time and now, Seonghwa wasn’t there with them to experience it.

Chapter Text

Yeosang had been asleep with his head on Jongho’s lap for a while. Occasionally, Jongho would card his fingers through his hair and sometimes he would drift off himself. Yunho and Mingi were going in and out of sleep on their beds and it was just a calm, boring but nice moment of the day where there was nothing to do except sleep.

Jongho’s ears twitched, however, when he heard people running outside. Carefully, he stood up and replaced his legs for a pillow under Yeosang’s head. Jongho only had a second to look at Yunho and Mingi who appeared to be just as alerted when heavy footsteps hit the porch then a fist pounded on the door. Jongho barely had time to panic when he heard Hongjoong’s voice.

“Yunho! Mingi, Yeosang, Jongho, anyone! Are you in there?!” He tried for the door as he yelled before it was unlocked and opened harshly. Wooyoung, San, and Hongjoong stood there with tears in their eyes, Wooyoung and San with a smile at the sight of Jongho then Yunho and Mingi popping up behind him.

“Holy shit,” Jongho got out before Yunho and Mingi were squeezing by him to hug the three of them. Jongho was a little too in shock to do anything until Hongjoong pulled away from the hug and looked at Jongho. That’s when he noticed he looked more distressed and a little hopeful than anything.

“Wha—”

“Tell me Seonghwa’s here.” Everyone froze. Wooyoung and San looked at Jongho, awaiting his answer while the rest of them looked at Hongjoong like he lost his mind.

“Is he not with you?” Jongho said.

“I thought he was with you.” Yunho told him.

“Wait, he’s been alone all this time?” Jongho raised his eyebrows in question. Hongjoong’s face scrunched up as he began sobbing. Wooyoung and San were quick to let go of Yunho and Mingi to hug him, them trying not to cry so hard themselves.

“I’m so confused. What’s happened?” Mingi asked.

“S-seonghwa hyung, fuck,” San tried to tell them but his voice was so unsteady.

“We were walking down this road for so damn long and we found this motel. We stayed in one of the rooms for a while but then a fucking herd appeared on our doorstep and we had to leave through the window in the bathroom. We didn’t have time to get Seonghwa hyung before they found us so we ran and he stayed in the room.”

“We went back for him though! We didn’t leave him there! But when I tried calling for him, he wouldn’t answer so I climbed back in a-and, he wasn’t there and the door was unlocked so he must have left but we never found him. W-we don’t know where he is. We thought maybe he’d be here. We saw the shops we went to not even a mile further down the road from the motel so we thought he’d be here if he made it passed the herd.” By then, tears were slowly rolling down San’s face, an expression of tiredness and solemn casting over both his and Wooyoung’s face. Hongjoong had yet to look up from where his head was resting on San’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” Yunho frowned and looked around.

“Did you check the other cabin?”

“We went there before coming here but it looks like you moved your things, huh?”

“Yeah. Come inside, guys.”

They helped bring Hongjoong inside and set him down on the cot still open in the living room.

“Hey, Yeosang. How did he sleep through that? He’s usually a light sleeper.” San went up to him and was confused that he still didn’t wake up when he was right in front of him.

“U-um, guys, we have something to tell you.” San looked at Yunho then at Jongho, then at Mingi. They were looking at Yeosang though, avoiding his eyes.

“I-is he…like can he wake up? Is he in a coma or something?” Wooyoung asked, concerned for his best friend.

“No, nothing like that. W-well, he was. F-for a moment. I found him in the woods and he was bleeding from somewhere and he was unconscious so I took him back to the other cabin and took care of him.”

“So…he’s woken up? Or is he…I’m confused.” San looked back down at Yeosang who seemed to be waking up, slowly like there wasn’t anybody talking about him loudly.

“He’s woken up but something happened when he got hurt.” Jongho said but they were all focusing on Yeosang who opened his eyes and immediately flinched back when he saw San close to him.

“San? Wooyoung! Hyung, you’re back! Oh, I knew you’d be back!” Yeosang cheered and stood up to hug San first. San was happy to see he was okay and awake so he hugged him back tightly, completely forgetting what they were talking about before for a moment.

“It wasn’t easy, I’ll tell you that. How are you?” San said but when they pulled away, Yeosang looked a little lost.

“Huh?” He then looked at Jongho as if he had answers for him. San furrowed his eyebrows.

“Sangie?” San called his name but Yeosang didn’t seem to even acknowledge that he was speaking.

“Woo,” Instead he smiled at Wooyoung and gave him a hug which Wooyoung returned though he had a concerned look on his face. When they pulled away, he cupped Yeosang’s face and looked at him.

“Are you okay?” Yeosang looked down at his lips as he spoke then up at his eyes with a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” That confused them more for some reason. He was acting weird.

“And Hongjoong hyung! Why are you crying so hard, hyung?” Yeosang sat next to him and put an arm around his shoulders and tried pulling him in for a hug, disregarding Hongjoong’s confused look on his face. Hongjoong resisted enough for Yeosang to stop trying to pull him in, though.

“Why are you acting like this?” Hongjoong asked him, trying to keep his eyes on his face to read his every changing expression.

“Huh?”

“Yeosang, why are you acting like this?” Hongjoong enunciated a little more.

“Why…?” Yeosang bit his lip as he wracked his brain to try to see if he could come up with what Hongjoong was saying.

“Hyung, listen, when Yeosang got hurt, he—” Jongho began but was then cut off.

“Where’s Seonghwa hyung?” Yeosang spoke softly over Jongho but loud enough to turn their attention back to him. He looked as if he didn’t realize he spoke over someone.

“Guys, he’s deaf. He can’t hear at all.” Yunho finally spat it out. The three of them looked at everyone like they couldn’t believe it.

Hongjoong reached up to Yeosang’s ears with a heartbroken look on his face and Yeosang finally crumbled.

“I-I’m s-sorry.” Yeosang’s breath hitched. “I w-wanted to s-say hi first bef-fore I told you.”

“Yeosangie,” Hongjoong began crying all over again.

“I can’t hear you, hyung.” Yeosang sobbed into Hongjoong’s arms while Wooyoung and San stood back in shock.

“T-this can’t be real…” Wooyoung whispered.

“He tripped and fell down a hill. He must have hit his head pretty bad but his ears were bleeding from the inside. When he woke up, he couldn’t hear a thing. He still can’t.” Jongho explained softly, making Hongjoong hold onto Yeosang tighter. Why must this happen to him? To any of them?

San ran his hands through his hair in so much shock, he had to walk away. He walked towards the stair case and sat down at the bottom steps.

“It’s been hard on him, obviously. He can’t keep up with conversations so we’ve been writing to him but we’re running out of paper. And I’m sure we’ll run out of ink in the pen soon, too. He’s gotten a little better at reading lips, though.” Yunho mentioned, trying to be happy over the small things.

Hongjoong sniffled and pulled back to wipe at his and Yeosang’s face. Yeosang stared at Hongjoong, waiting for him to say something so he could read his lips.

“Paper?” Was all he said. Yeosang moved to the couch and retrieved the few sheets of paper and the pen and handed it to him after sitting back down next to him.

’I love you Yeosangie, and i’m so sorry that I couldn’t be there for you when you needed us the most. i wish i could’ve protected you and taken care of you better. please forgive me.’

A few more tears left Hongjoong’s eyes as he handed him the note.

“Don’t be ridiculous, hyung! I was the idiot who ran the opposite way. I was the idiot who fucking tripped.” Jongho panicked thinking he was reverting back to his old mindset. He’s tried so hard to get him to think it wasn’t anybody’s fault whatsoever, especially not his.

“No, no it’s not.” Hongjoong told him then told him again when Yeosang looked at him.

“Fuck, h-how do I even,” Hongjoong shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Hyung, I can sense you trying to pull it together for our sake again. You don’t have to.” Yunho told him, moving closer. Hongjoong chuckled sadly.

“Seonghwa would always remind me when I was being a dad again.”

“…what do you think happened to him?” Mingi asked. Hongjoong shrugged and looked off sadly.

“There was a blanket, the comforter from the motel room, outside. It had blood on it.” Hongjoong didn’t say anything else so they all thought the worst. They didn’t mention his name again but it sucked.

They were all thinking it. They were finally together and they want to be happy but they were still missing someone. They felt empty.

Chapter Text

Night time was starting the approach. It grew warm in colors outside and Jongho had just returned with San after checking the traps then going fishing for a meal big enough for the seven of them.

“You know, overfishing is a thing. I also haven’t been getting enough squirrels in my traps lately.” Jongho mentioned as he cooked one of the fish.

“So what does that mean?” San asked him from where he was sitting opposite of him in front of the fire. He missed this, being Jongho’s right hand man.

“I don’t know. We might have to set the traps somewhere else now. Maybe fish further down the stream.” San smiled.

“You said ‘we’.” Jongho looked at him like ‘yeah, so?’ “You would always say ‘I have to do this,’ or ‘I have to do that’. You still saw yourself as solo. What changed that?” San wasn’t upset at all. He was ecstatic even that he was finally accepting help and not doing everything himself.

“Mm…” Jongho hummed and he looked away. San noticed he was looking at Yeosang who was writing back and forth with Wooyoung on the couch. The rest of them were listening in on his and San’s conversation. “I guess, when Yunho and Mingi got back, I had to take care of Yeosang so I relied on the two of them to get water or whatever for me. But then they started taking forever ‘cause they kept stopping to make out so I had to separate them.”

“What?!”
“Huh?!”
“Nani?!”

Yunho and Mingi blushed as Wooyoung, Hongjoong, and San looked at the two of them.

“Oh, yeah, surprise, guys! Mingi and I are together.” Yunho did shitty jazz hands while Mingi wrapped his arms around Yunho’s shoulders and smiled like they were taking a photo.

“Wow…have to say I didn’t really see that coming but congrats, guys! I’m happy for you two. You hear that, babe? We have competition.” San smiled.

“Mm, we’ll always be cuter, hotter, sexier. I wouldn’t worry too much, babe.” Wooyoung joked then went back to writing to Yeosang, probably about what they were talking about.

“Well, we’ll always be taller.” Mingi muttered and all hell broke loose.

“Excuse me?! Did you just call me short?!” Wooyoung’s form of bantering involved standing up to his maximum height and puffing out his chest. Mingi’s form of bantering was all talk so he curled up onto Yunho’s side.

“No! I would never! Shortie.”

While the majority of them bickered and bantered and laughed, Yeosang couldn’t keep up so he took to observing them with a small smile on his face. He missed them so much, he missed this.

When he looked at Hongjoong, though, he wasn’t smiling and he seemed lost inside his own head while sitting on the cot. Yeosang took his paper and pen and sat next to him again.

“Penny for your thoughts?” He smiled at him and handed him the papers. Hongjoong just shook his head and wrapped an arm around him and pulled him in to rest Yeosang’s head on his shoulder.

Jongho had just finished cooking the first fish and had put another one in the pot when one then two then three heavy, slow footsteps sounded on the porch. It seemed to be dragging their feet.

“Shit, a zombie. I’ll get them.” Jongho stood up and grabbed his knife still sitting on the kitchen counter. By then, the zombie was touching the door, leaning on it even. Just as Jongho was counting down in his head to pull open the door and stab it in its head, three consecutive knocks rapped on the door. He froze.

“Zombies can’t do that, right?” Mingi asked no one in particular. Jongho didn’t know what to do but he moved when he heard two more knocks. In the second one, their hand seemed to slide down the door. Yunho then stood up and grabbed Hongjoong’s axe and stood next to Jongho.

“I got your back.” He told him. Jongho nodded and quickly unlocked the door and pulled it open, the both of them holding their weapons up, ready to strike but they got a surprise when a body fell forward and onto the floor in front of them like they were leaning heavily on the door. They groaned painfully but what shocked them the most was the familiar voice.

“S-seonghwa hyung?” Yunho called. The body slowly rolled onto his back to reveal a very dirty and scratched Seonghwa.

“H-hey, guys. Miss me?”

His voice sounded like he needed water, all hoarse and skipping. After hearing his voice, everyone else stood up and yelled in shock that he was actually here. Yunho quickly closed the door after gently moving Seonghwa’s legs out of the way and between him and Jongho, they lifted him up and supported his weight.

Hongjoong was the first one up to him. Seonghwa lifted his head and looked down at him then smiled all boyishly. Hongjoong broke down in tears again and wrapped his arms around his middle. Seonghwa lifted one arm back over Yunho’s shoulders to be able to hug him back.

“Fuck you! Why would you do that?” Hongjoong cried into his chest. “Where the hell did you go?”

“It’s a…It’s a long story. B-but first, I need to—” Seonghwa sounded breathless and he was growing heavier and heavier on Hongjoong as he slowly lost consciousness. Hongjoong yelped when he felt his full weight on him and Yunho had to quickly wrap Seonghwa’s arm around his shoulder again.

“Put him on the mattress. Here, right here.” Wooyoung patted one of the mattresses on the floor closest to the fireplace and held Seonghwa’s back as they lowered him. Hongjoong followed closely and kneeled down next to him.

“C-can someone give me some cloth and water, please?” He asked, not once tearing his eyes away from him. When the bucket of water and the rag that was used to clean the dishes, it was cleaned as best as it could be.

He dipped the corner of it in the water then gingerly wiped off as much of the dirt and dried blood off of Seonghwa’s face. Hongjoong cried softly as he did so. Once his face was as clean as he was going to get it, he wet a different blood of the cloth then cleaned off his hands and that’s when he noticed a piece of his shirt tied around his palm. If it were any other color than black, he’d probably see that it was drenched with blood. Hongjoong took it off and let it slide to the floor, inspecting the thin but long slice wound on his palm and a few on his fingers. Hongjoong shook his head.

“Help me get his jacket off.” Wooyoung was quick to help him on Seonghwa’s other side. Hongjoong checked him everywhere else, lifting his shirt to see if he’d find any bites or scratches from the zombies or any other wounds really. He lifted him on one side to check his back and he was clean safe for a few bruises.

“Check that side.” He told Wooyoung and sighed in relief when the younger reported that he was clean there too.

“Nothing on his legs? Check his ankles, too.” Hongjoong checked one leg while Wooyoung checked the other.

“He’s clean.” Hongjoong quickly checked his neck and he appeared fine. He was okay. Just keep thinking that. He just really needed rest. Right?

Hongjoong went back to cleaning his hands. By the time he was done, Seonghwa still hadn’t woken up. He wrapped the cloth around Seonghwa’s palm and set it down gently next to his hip.

“Is there another cloth?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of the man in front of him.

“I’ll check upstairs.” Yunho stood up and did just that. He came back a few minutes later holding cut pieces of fabric.

“I hope nobody minds that I cut a piece of a towel.”

“That’s fine. This will do. Thanks, Yunho.” Hongjoong sniffed then dipped the piece of towel in the water. He wrung out the excess then carefully folded it and placed it on top of Seonghwa’s forehead.

“Um, Jjong. The fish.”

“Shit!”

They ate their dinner with a light chatter. San had to force Hongjoong to eat, baiting him by saying that Seonghwa wouldn’t be happy to hear he skipped out on his meal. So fine, he ate half of his portion of the fish and gave the rest to Yunho who took it happily.

“So, how are we going to sleep?” Wooyoung asked looking at all the mattresses then at Yunho and Mingi and Jongho and Yeosang who seemed to have some kind of a connection that he hadn’t had the time to ask Yeosang about. There weren’t enough mattresses for the couples to share.

“I’m probably not going to sleep so someone can take the couch. There are three twins so three people can take that. Um, this chair isn’t that comfortable if you’re taller than me which all of you are but you can try sleeping here too. The double can be for Yunho and Mingi since they’re the tallest. That should fit all of us. It fit us the first time.”

They scrambled around to find a place to rest for the night. Wooyoung and Mingi called their original twin mattresses in the corner of the room next to the couch. Yeosang called the twin on the other side of the couch, and Jongho called the couch after confirming with Hongjoong that he really wasn’t planning on sleeping.

“No, I, I really can’t fall asleep until Seonghwa wakes up.”

“Hyung, I thought the same about Yeosang hyung but he ended up waking up days later. How are you sure that it won’t be the same for Seonghwa hyung? I’m not trying to worry you, I’m sure he’ll be perfectly fine when he wakes up but you need to rest, too. Don’t stop taking care of yourself.”

Hongjoong felt like he was being pulled on both ends but in the end, he took to sitting on the arm chair and just resting. That’s all he was planning to do. But somewhere along the way, late at night, he closed his eyes and didn’t open them back up again until morning.

He awoke to creaking, like metal creaking, like the frame of a bed creaking, like someone sat up on the cot so it creaked. His eyes shut open no matter how much it hurt to do so.

“Seonghwa?” He called as he blinked rapidly, trying to get his sore eyes to stop squinting as he spotted Seonghwa sitting up and looking around.

“Joong,” His soft voice confirmed.

“Are you okay?” Hongjoong sat up and rubbed at his eyes.

“Yeah, I feel much better now.” When Hongjoong would look back at him, he would already be staring at him with that soft smile on his face. Hongjoong felt like crying again out of happiness. He moved to stand up, wanting to sit next to him but couldn’t find enough space to do so. Seonghwa ended up pulling him to him until he was sitting sideways on his lap and hugging him close.

Hongjoong blushed as he hugged him tightly back.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Oh, please do. I missed you. And the others too, of course.” Hongjoong would’ve guessed his I missed you was meant for them all but now he made it seem like it was just for him and he got butterflies. Just little baby ones. Fresh out of their cocoon. What turned them into raging adults, fluttering back and forth trying to find a way out of his stomach and chest was the kiss that Seonghwa placed on his neck, the nearest spot of skin that he could reach. Hongjoong had to return it. Had to.

Their cheeks were now pressed together for a few seconds. They gently dragged against each other as they pulled back enough to look at each other in the eyes just barely with how close they actually were.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking but I don’t blame you for having to run. I would’ve been really upset if you didn’t.” Seonghwa spoke softly to him, like it was a secret.

“I really didn’t want to, though. Wooyoung pulled me away.”

“Then I’ll have to find a way to make it up to him.”

“Why? Why did you want me to leave you there so bad? Did you want to die? Did you think it was something heroic to do? Because it wasn’t!” Hongjoong pulled away even more and took his arms back but didn’t move off of him. Seonghwa made sure of that by dropping his hold on him to rest on his waist.

“Hong—”

“We went back for you and you weren’t there. Do you know how that made me feel? Like absolute shit! We saw the blankets and there was blood on it and we couldn’t find you anywhere. Do you know how that made me feel?!”

“Shh,” Seonghwa tried to get him to calm down which only pushed Hongjoong’s buttons even more but he knew he had to keep quiet or else the others will wake up.

“Why the hell did you leave?” Hongjoong asked him, exhausted with all the fluctuating emotions.

“I didn’t want to wait too long to catch up to you guys so I just…I thought quickly and maybe stupidly but…I wrapped the comforters over me thinking they were thick enough and they wouldn’t be able to get me through them. But I didn’t have that good of a hold on them so I lost the first one, like, instantly. One of the zombies had a utility belt on his waist and I saw they had a knife so I stuck my hand out to get it but I only ended up cutting myself. That was the blood you saw.”

“Why’d you ditch that last blanket then?”

“I didn’t want to but I couldn’t see well and now that I was bleeding, they were even more rabid so I just rubbed my hand on it and ditched it. I ran after you guys too but I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“What made you come back here then?”

“I had a feeling you’d come back for me so I went back too. Kind of a bad idea.” Seonghwa chuckled humorlessly. “There were still so many of them, I had to run in, like, zig zag and I fell so many times, Joong, I’m almost embarrassed but the point is, I found my way back. Thank fucking God. Joong, please don’t be upset with me. I-I…I didn’t think I was being heroic or whatever else you said. I just knew there was no time for you to watch me get out before the zombies got to you. If you waited for me, I would be up there, watching you all get eaten alive. So it was more of a selfish thing. I didn’t want that traumatizing image in my mind. What kind of hero does that?” He was semi-joking.

“A very shitty one?” Hongjoong grumbled and wrapped his arms around his shoulders again.

“Exactly. Hongjoong, I don’t want to die. If you asked me that a few weeks ago, I would’ve said it would be a blessing if I did.” Hongjoong frowned so Seonghwa held him slightly tighter.

“But as corny as it sounds, you make me want to stay alive and have hope that when this is over, you and I could be together.” Hongjoong let a single tear fall though his eyes were ready to create more.

“What, so we can only be together when this is over? That could take a long time.” Seonghwa chuckled.

“No, I meant physically together.” Hongjoong smiled.

“I know what you meant. I just want to hear you say what I hope you’ll say.” Hongjoong’s eyes twinkled in hopefulness and who was Seonghwa to deny him that when he wanted the same as well?

“Hongjoong, somehow between us arguing and crying and panicking, I fell in love with you. Maybe love is a lot right now and if you’re not ready for that, I’ll keep it to myself for now but if you want me, too, I’d like for us to be together. Now.”

“Not just physically?” Hongjoong bit back his uncontrollable grin of giddiness.

“Always physically.” Seonghwa smirked. “But emotionally too. Oh my god, what am I saying?”

“Yeah, I wanna throw up. Just ask him properly already.” Both Hongjoong and Seonghwa turned to glare at Wooyoung who was sitting up with San in his arms, and they were both smiling at them and waiting.

“Can I ask you then?” Hongjoong blocked the couple’s view of Seonghwa’s face with his back and looked at him.

“Y-yeah,” Hongjoong smiled and moved one hand to cup Seonghwa’s jaw.

“For some reason, this sounds very grade school, but will you be my boyfriend, Seonghwa?” Seonghwa chuckled and nodded.

“It would be a blessing to be your boyfriend, Hongjoong.”

“…Then can I be honest with you?” Hongjoong looked nervous and it made Seonghwa nervous too.

“Always.”

“I’m kinda very nervous to kiss you.”

“Hmm?” Seonghwa frowned.

“Not in a bad way! But, I’m like, I don’t know, maybe I like you too much.” Hongjoong looked away shyly. Seonghwa smiled and kissed his exposed cheek softly.

“We don’t have to just yet.”

“No, you do.” San commented.

“San, can you not? Go back to sleep.” Hongjoong glared at them again. The two of them pretended to lay back down but sat right back up when Hongjoong looked away again.

“I feel like I’m in middle school.” Hongjoong pouted. Seonghwa chuckled again and leaned just a little bit closer to him and Hongjoong felt somewhat of an invisible pool to lean closer to him too.

“I’ll leave it up to you, then. Whenever you’re comfortable, we can kiss. I don’t mind waiting.”

“What if I told you I never wanted to kiss?” Seonghwa was silent for a moment.

“Like just on the lips?”

“Yeah,”

“Anywhere else is fine?” Hongjoong nodded. Seonghwa took a deep breath and let it out.

“Then I’d say that’s fine. I mean, I’m a pretty affectionate person and I like kissing so, like, I’d want to kiss you on your cheek or forehead at least, but if you don’t feel comfortable with kissing anywhere else then—" Seonghwa was cut off by Hongjoong kissing him, on the lips, firm and soft at the same time, slightly dry due to their dehydrated and chapped lips, but Seonghwa was overwhelmed by the butterflies in his tummy, and Hongjoong couldn’t say he was feeling any different either.

They heard Wooyoung and San squeal in the background but paid them no mind. Hongjoong tilted his head to the side and opened his mouth a little more. Their dry lips soon turned wet when their tongues shyly swiped against the other’s lips. They pulled away before it got too far though. Even though it wasn’t that long of a kiss, they both felt breathless.

Hongjoong got shy under Seonghwa’s tender stare and looked back at Wooyoung and San to see if they were still looking but they were giggling under the blanket that they shoved over their heads. Seonghwa chuckled and Hongjoong smiled at him.

“Can you tell me you love me?” Seonghwa froze a little at Hongjoong’s request.

“I’ll tell you every day, however many times you want me to. I love you, Hongjoong.” Hongjoong quickly kissed him again before he embarrassed himself by squealing.

“I love you, too, Seonghwa.” Hongjoong pulled back and rested their foreheads together.

“Ew,” Seonghwa joked and Hongjoong smacked his chest.

They were reminded of where they were by the sound of a zombie passing by outside. They stayed quiet until they disappeared then sighed in relief again. The whole motel herd thing got them traumatized.

“You know, Woo, San, I know you’re listening, this is for you too. The herd was coming this way when they stopped at the motel. We might have to face them again.” Seonghwa mentioned. Hongjoong took a deep breath.

“We really gotta plan this out then.”

“I can set up traps and put some spears on the ground surrounding the house.” Jongho said out of nowhere. Hongjoong and Seonghwa jumped at the sound of his voice.

“You’re awake too?!” Hongjoong screeched.

“Yes and that was really cute, hyung, I must say.”

“Mingi and I were still cuter though, right Jjong?” Yunho said.

“Oh my god, why are you all awake?”

“Hyung, you two weren’t exactly quiet. The only reason Yeosang is still asleep is ‘cause he can’t hear.” Mingi mentioned. Hongjoong sighed and rested his head on Seonghwa’s chest then squeaked when Seonghwa laid back down.

“Sorry, I’m still kinda feeling weak.” Though he kept his hold on Hongjoong.

“Oh! Wait, let me take care of you.” Hongjoong quickly got up and reached into his backpack for a water bottle.

“Here, drink this. As much as you need.” Seonghwa sat up a little to drink a quarter of the bottle.

“That’s it?” Hongjoong asked him. Seonghwa barely rolled his eyes but drank some more. Another quarter then handed him back the bottle. Hongjoong accepted it for now.

“And how’s your hand?” Seonghwa lifted it up.

“As good as it can be right now.”

“What happened to your hand?” Jongho asked him, sitting up from the couch and running a hand through his mop of hair.

“Got cut with a knife. I’m fine though.”

“I can sew it up for you.” Jongho stood up and went to his bag sitting next to the kitchen counter.

“That’d be great, Jongho. Thanks.” Seonghwa wasn’t even going to try to deny him considering Hongjoong probably wouldn’t let him. Hongjoong gave him a small smile and pecked his lips before moving out of the way for Jongho work on Seonghwa’s hand.

“Hey, hyung.” Hongjoong turned at the sound of Yeosang’s voice. He was sitting up from his mattress then looked at Hongjoong with squinty eyes.

“I told you we’ll all be okay.” Hongjoong smiled and reached into his pocket for the folded piece of paper he stuck in there. Late in the night, right before he fell asleep, Yeosang stood up. Hongjoong followed his movements and saw him writing something on the paper before gently ripping it out, folding it, and handing it to Hongjoong before returning to his bed.

‘We’ll be okay <3’

Chapter Text

“Should I be glad that I can’t hear?”

‘You really fucking should be.

Yeosang and Jongho are officially the purest couple and they weren’t even together ‘officially’ yet. Wooyoung and San made bets on which couple will be the first to fuck and they had their money on Yunho and Mingi considering they got together first and Seonghwa and Hongjoong always nagged on Wooyoung and San whenever they even made out for too long in front of them. So, why the hell would it be them first?

They were right.

Now what, though? That was 5 weeks ago and they were fucking upstairs currently.

All of them had to awkwardly sit in the living room whenever Mingi would moan too loud upstairs, where they had dragged their bed over too. It got so uncomfortable to the point that they migrated to the other cabin for the time being, yelling upstairs to them where they’d be and to come get them when they’re done and had taken a nice long dip in the river.

Mingi and Yunho froze after hearing Wooyoung’s voice saying they’ll be across the street and to take a damn bath before collecting them. They didn’t make a single move until they heard the door close and then silence.

“Was I being too loud?” Mingi asked Yunho who’s head was hovering over his hips.

“Yeah, but it’s fine. It’s hot. Keep going.” Yunho dipped his head back down and mouthed over his exposed cock. Mingi couldn’t keep quiet even if he tried.

“Unggg, ughhnnn,” Yunho smirked. He wasn’t even blowing him yet and he was already losing his mind. When he finally did take the head into his mouth, Mingi swore he reached nirvana. Yunho suckled gently, swirling his tongue over the slit, tasting the slightly salty precum that came out steadily.

“Yuunn,” Mingi’s tongue felt heavy. His eyes were clenched shut and his jaw kept falling open with moans that seemed to sneak out of him without his permission.

Yunho slowly worked his way further down but in the end, he could only fit ¾ of him in his mouth. He worked the rest off with his hand and tried hard to not gag. He must admit his gag reflex left something to be desired but he loved doing this for Mingi. He would do this every day if he could.

Yunho let out his own moans whenever he would go too far down or when Mingi would accidentally thrust into his mouth. Oddly enough, he liked the feeling of almost choking on it. At one point, Yunho made himself choke on it. He gently forced himself down further and held himself there for a few seconds, his throat convulsing in protest which only made Mingi nearly scream in pleasure. Yunho had to quickly pull all the way out when Mingi thrusted up, leaving Yunho with tears in his eyes and spit hanging off his mouth still connecting to his cock.

“S-sorry,” Mingi slurred, laying flat on the bed with his arms next to his head.

“Iss okay, I liked it.” Yunho crawled up over his limp body to reach his lips. He went in tongue first, making Mingi moan yet again as he tasted himself slightly. Mingi still couldn’t find the strength in his arms to even wrap them around Yunho’s shoulders so he stayed still, only moving his lips when necessary. When Yunho pulled away, it was to ask him something.

“Did you open yourself up at the lake today?”

A few weeks ago, Seonghwa and Hongjoong came up with the idea to go in pairs to the lake to bathe. It wasn’t where the river was. There was a lake behind the cabin not too far away where they took a dip to wash away the muck on them with the bar of soap and occasionally the shampoo that they found at the stores.

“Why don’t you find out?” Yunho smirked.

“I’d love to.” Yunho sat up and looked around for that bottle, the bottle that they also found in the stores.

“I might be on it.” Mingi told him and lifted his hips up for Yunho to reach under him. He kissed his hip after finding it and gently pushing him back down after he grabbed it. He pushed the extra pillow underneath Mingi’s hips to keep them elevated then grabbed both of his legs and pulled them up to his chest.

“Keep them there.” Mingi moaned already at the feeling of the cool air brushing against his hole. Then he moved even louder when Yunho’s finger drenched in lube rubbed around it before going straight in.

“Ah, ah, ah,” Mingi hissed slightly at the delicious stretch but the sting of it quickly left when the finger wiggled around a little.

“Are you sure you stretched yourself out, babe?” Yunho smirked.

“I-I m-might’ve not d-done it well.” Mingi gasped at the threat of another finger going in.

“You do that on purpose? Hmm?” Yunho moved to lean over him some more, his hand resting next to his waist. Mingi bit back a moan when a second finger was pushed in. “You like it when it burns a little, hmm? When I stretch you so much, it stings?” Mingi flinched when a third finger prodded at his hole, almost anticipating it going in so soon.

“F-fuck, yeah. Stick it in me,” He was having trouble keeping his breathing steady enough to speak a full sentence.

“If that’s what you want, babe.” Yunho slowly added in the third finger. Mingi hugged his legs even tighter and tilted his head as far back as it could go as he felt that burn. Yunho was right, of course. Over the few weeks, he’s learned his body pretty well really quickly, almost like it was made to accommodate him.

“How do you want me this time, baby?” Yunho kissed his chin softly and waited for him to respond as if he wasn’t hammering three of his long fingers into him.

“S-sideways,” Mingi had a thing about being fucked from behind but he also wanted enough access to his dick so sideways it was.

“Whatever you want, babe. Turn over.” Without taking his fingers out, he assisted Mingi by swinging his leg around to get behind him and turn them sideways so they were spooning. He grinded into his own hand still fingering him at a steady pace, the tip of his dick leaving precum stains on the top of Mingi’s ass whenever it touched it. Mingi moaned and lifted his leg as high up as it could go. He was admittedly not very flexible to begin with but it was like he was a gymnast whenever he was about to get fucked and could turn himself into a pretzel if it only meant that he’ll get Yunho’s dick up his ass. Romantic, right?

“I’m ready, I’m ready, please. Don’t stretch me out too much,” Mingi began moving his hips away to try to get his fingers out but Yunho just followed him. “No, no, no! Too much,” he whine but then ended up sticking his ass out more. “Baby,” He whined again.

“Okay, okay. Get back here.” Yunho removed his fingers then pulled his hips back against him. He grinded in between his cheeks a few times, giving him a taste for what he was about to get.

“Don’t put too much lube,” Mingi told him. He really liked the stretch. Yunho scoffed with a smirk at his desperate tone. Yunho put a little bit less than a considerate amount and threw the bottle to the side. He gripped at the base and shuffled closer as Mingi immediately lifted his leg up again.

“Ready?”

“Yes!” Yunho did actually giggle then before poking at his entrance with the tip of his cock. He was hypersensitive to the way Mingi’s body reacted to him slowly pushing in, making sure it didn’t hurt him too much. Mingi at one point hissed when he was halfway in and stuck his arm out to grasp Yunho’s hip to keep him steady while he gets used to it.

Yunho stayed frozen for him. He kissed his bare shoulder and trailed his fingers up and down his arm, patiently waiting, knowing that it’ll be worth it.

“O-okay.” Mingi took his hand off and Yunho put his own hand on Mingi’s hip this time and slowly pushed all the way in. Mingi let out a loud moan, almost like a grunt then let out a couple higher pitched moans even though Yunho didn’t move afterwards.

“Ahhh, ah, ah,” Mingi yelped when Yunho pulled halfway out just to push back in again, hard and slow.

The first time they had sex, it was very soft and shy and nervous. They could barely look at each other in the eyes and after they came, they still couldn’t look at each other as they put their clothes on right after cleaning up.

The second and third time, they grew a bit more confident in each other and were able to make very little eye contact until Mingi had to shut his eyes and turn his head to the side as his orgasm hit him.
Then the fourth time, it all changed. They had gotten a scare while going out to bathe in the lake. A zombie had been in the water and grabbed onto Yunho’s ankle and pulled him. Yunho was as bare as they day he was born, he couldn’t figure out how to get away from it until Mingi distracted it enough to let him go. They never swam on that part of the lake ever again and now when they go bathe, they bring a knife with them.

Later that night, after calming Mingi down enough and to show him that he was really okay, they made proper slow, hot, and passionate love full of eye contact and heavy breathing into each other’s mouth. That’s when Yunho (and Mingi) discovered the other’s love for being stretched so good, it burns. That’s when he discovered Mingi liked soft and hard sex.

This is only their sixth time having sex and it just keeps getting better.

“M-more, more, please,” Mingi breathed out so of course Yunho had to oblige.

He pulled as far out as he could while still being in him, feeling the rim muscles clenching around the head of his dick, desperately trying to cling on. He froze again, loving how whiny Mingi would get if he didn’t immediately get what he wanted.

“Fuck you, Jeong Yunho, I said fuuuuck,” Mingi moaned deep in his chest when Yunho suddenly pushed in hard then worked up to a steady pace, not too fast, not too slow. Truthfully, Yunho found he liked going just a little bit fast but he knew Mingi gets off on being teased no matter how much he says he didn’t want to be.

Yunho ended up having to help Mingi hold his leg up due to the force he was fucking him in. Mingi immediately gripped the base of his dick, trying to keep his orgasm at bay. Never in his life did he think that he could come completely untouched just by getting fucked but he learned just that first time.

“Unggg, wait, wait, cramp, cramp,” Yunho immediately set his leg down and Mingi hissed as his thigh contracted painfully.

“Sorry! Sorry, babe.” Yunho pulled out to sit up on his knees to help massage the cramp away.

“Fuck, what a buzzkill. I was so close already.” Mingi said between breaths as the pain in his leg slowly went away though Yunho kept massaging it.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

“But I do! That felt so good.” Mingi pouted. Yunho giggled and moved to be in between his legs this time. Ending it off in this vanilla position never fails them.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you there again.” Yunho pecked his lips as his dick found its way into Mingi again. He bit the younger’s bottom lip as they stopped kissing for Mingi to moan. This time, Yunho went hard and slow, just the way he liked it.

He grinded his hips in a circle, knowingly rubbing against that sweet spot that had Mingi seeing stars. Mingi tilted his head all the way back and arched his back as he focused on his orgasm slowly coming back. Yunho licked up his throat, tracing his Adam’s apple with the tip of his tongue making Mingi gasp.

Mingi never told Yunho when he was about to cum but his usually loud moans fade away until he’s quiet and holding his breath right before the first string of cum flies out. It hit Mingi’s stomach and the tiniest bit even landed on Yunho’s abdomen. Only then did Mingi gain the ability to breathe again to moan throughout the rest of his orgasm.

“Kay, fuck me, come on, faster,” Mingi didn’t focus on his oversensitivity as he allowed Yunho to use his body to help him reach nirvana. Yunho’s moans got the slightest bit louder until he closed his eyes and scrunched his nose before quickly pulling out and jerking himself off over Mingi’s body until he came just 2 seconds later.

“Fuck, cutting it close there, buddy.”

“Don’t call me buddy when my dick was just in you.” Yunho whined before laying down next to him on his back. Mingi giggled then took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“I wish I could just stay here naked with you for a whole day. We don’t even have to do anything, just sleep and kiss and talk.” Yunho turned to look at him with a smile and Mingi did the same, blushing a little.

“Let’s go to sleep then. I could use a nap.” Yunho looked around for their designated cum rag, an idea courtesy of Jung Wooyoung, and wiped Mingi’s tummy off then balled it up and throwing it to the side to remember to clean it when they go out to the lake later.

“Come,”

“But what about the others? They told us to tell them when we’re done.” Mingi said though he still moved to lay in Yunho’s arms.

“They’ll be fine. Do you want a blanket?”

“Oh, yeah, that’d be nice.” Mingi smiled sheepishly.

“No problem. I’ll be right back.” Yunho stood up and Mingi giggled at the site of him running bare ass naked out of the bedroom to go downstairs.

Yunho tried to be quick just in case. He yanked the first blanket he saw and was just about to go back upstairs when the door opened and in came Yeosang. Yunho froze. He still didn’t see him. Maybe if he didn’t move…

“AH, EW! WHAT THE FUCK, JEONG YUNHO!!!” Yeosang hide his face with the deck of cards he was getting out of his bag and then ran back out. Yunho could feel his soul leaving him but then he heard Mingi laughing his ass off upstairs and he gained it back.

He ran back up to him and hid his face in Mingi’s chest after closing the door.

“I could die,” Mingi was still laughing at his pain. “My dick hadn’t even gone down all the way yet but it sure as hell is gone now!” Mingi cracked up even more. “Quit laughing at me! I’m embarrassed.” Yunho pouted and rolled off of him to hide himself under the blanket.

“Ba—” Wheeze. “Baby,” Wheeze again. “Baby, it’s okay!” he chuckled.

“We’re never fucking again.”

“Okay, quit being dramatic.” Mingi pouted and got under the blanket with him. “Could you really resist me?” There was just enough light to see his face and Yunho sighed.

“Course not. With that body of yours, are you kidding?” Mingi giggled and got even closer to him. They didn’t have to say anything else after that. Mingi properly put the blanket over them and off of their heads. He leaned over to peck his lips a few times before resting his head on Yunho’s bicep and digging his nose into his collarbones. This is how they fell asleep and this is how they will wake up.

“Why must I have been the one to witness such, such disgustingness!?” Yeosang complained after explaining to them what he experienced. He could see them all laughing, Wooyoung and San specifically.

“It’s okay,” he saw Hongjoong tell him.

“No, it’s not! I might not be able to hear but my eye sight is as good as ever! I refuse to go back there ever again unless it’s confirmed that they’re decent.” Jongho chuckled then wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go first and then come get you.” Yeosang got enough words to understand what he said so he smiled then kissed Jongho on the cheek and sat up straight to shuffle the cards.

“So, slap jack, anyone?”

Chapter Text

“Guys, separate. Now.” San sighed in annoyance as Seonghwa hissed at them in the middle of the night. Everyone should be asleep but Wooyoung swears he had a sixth sense of figuring when Wooyoung and San were in the mood.

“Buzzkill.” San murmured.

“Do you understand there are 6 other people in this room? Keep it in your pants until you’re alone.” With that, Seonghwa laid back down on the couch that they recently found out, this entire time, was a couch bed. They felt like royal idiots.

So, Plan A didn’t work. But would that stop them from moving along to Plan B? No.

It was their turn for bathing at the lake. They quickly cleaned off as fast as they could, giggling and splashing around as they did and as soon as Wooyoung resurfaced after washing the soap off his hair, San was gripping his waist and pulling him close. Wooyoung instinctively wrapped his legs around his waist and his arms around his shoulders.

“There’s no one around, no Seonghwa hyung or Hongjoong hyung to pull us apart, and I do believe it is your turn to take it.” San smirked at him. Wooyoung smirked back and kissed him. They could get worked up so easily especially considering the complete decrease of moments alone they have together therefore the decrease in moments they could be fucking each other therefore increasing their sexual frustration tenfold. It’s a simple mathematical equation.

Despite this, however, they wanted to take their time. So San didn’t immediately go to finger his ass and Wooyoung didn’t immediately stick his tongue in his mouth. They went slow, unhurried yet still passionate but then, the zombies. They were reminded that there was never a peaceful moment outdoors for too long.

“S-shit,” San turned when he heard that too familiar snarling noise. It was just one but it was near their clothes and threatening to come into the water.

“Go, swim, swim.” San pushed Wooyoung towards the land and they managed to get there before the zombie did. They ran around the zombie to get their clothes and the soaps and then they booked it. They didn’t stop until they were behind their cabin to get dressed.

“Well, at least we know the quickest way to get dry.” San said even though he could feel a trickle of water going down his spine under his shirt.

“Babyyy, I wanna get fucked. By you.” Wooyoung pouted at him and wrapped his arms around his shoulders again.

“Thank you for that bit of information or else I would think you wanted to get fucked by Seonghwa hyung.” Wooyoung cringed.

“Please, that’s like the equivalent of fucking my uncle or something.” San snickered and pecked his lips.

“Let’s just go inside before we get any more surprises.”

There went Plan B. So…Plan C?

Plan C was risky. Risky because they feared Seonghwa and/or Hongjoong will quite literally beat their asses if they’re caught but for the love of god, they just want to fuck. They thought about following Yunho and Mingi’s footsteps and fucking upstairs but not on that mattress, no ma’am. They inspected the other bedroom and it was so barren and cold up there, they couldn’t imagine fucking in there. San is a nester. He liked to be surrounded by warm objects and soft things. This…this was dusty, gross, cold, and just no.

So, the other cabin it was. They tried this 2 days after the lake incident. They dragged as many blankets and pillows as they possibly could and remade San’s old nest. They were giddy with anticipation but San wanted this to be perfect. He wanted to create the most perfect nest for his boyfriend to lay on while San fucks him silly.

“There. Lay on it. Is it comfortable?” San smiled at him and Wooyoung quickly laid down and wiggled until he found the perfect crevice to rest on.

“This is perfect.” Wooyoung smiled at him. He looked even more gorgeous now that they were clean and alone and with the orange glow of the fire in the fireplace reflecting off of Wooyoung’s beautiful skin, he almost wishes this was their first time again because it already felt so special.

“Thanks, babe. Now come here.” Wooyoung opened his arms and legs up for San to slot himself right in. His knees were comfortable on top of the blankets that rested on top of the huge couch cushions he put under to make somewhat of a plush, makeshift bed. Why didn’t they think of this before?

They got down to just their boxers and were grinding down on each other when a hand tried for the knob followed by frantic knocking and Hongjoong calling out for them.

San groaned in frustration and went up to answer the door. This better be an emergency.

“What?” San asked him, trying to reign down his frustration in case something serious did happen but what he saw instead made him lose his marbles. Hongjoong sighed in relief at the sight of him.

“Oh, thank god. Is Wooyoung here, too?” Hongjoong tried to go in and look over his shoulder but San pushed him back.

“Yes. Yes, he is. And we were busy so if that is all you wanted to know, you can go back to the other cabin.” San went to close the door but Hongjoong stopped him.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s with the attitude? I thought something happened to you guys. You weren’t at the cabin when I got back so excuse me for being concerned.”

“Okay, then we’ll remember to alert you the next time we try to sneak off to fuck each other’s brains out.” Hongjoong looked mildly shocked.

“You disappeared just to fuck?”

“Well, we can’t do it with you guys around all the time! You and Seonghwa hyung are the hugest cockblockers in the entire world!”

“Sanie, baby, calm down.” Wooyoung called out to him. Hongjoong sighed.

“Sorry, you’re right. But just for future’s sake, let someone know where you’re going to be so this doesn’t happen again.” Hongjoong may have even been blushing just a little at the whole situation so San cut him some slack.

“Will do. Is that all, hyung?” San asked softly.

“Yeah, I’ll tell Seonghwa to call off the search.” San affectionately rolled his eyes with a smile.

“You do that, hyung. We’ll be back…honestly, maybe tomorrow morning.” San smirked, waved, then closed the door.

“You were very aggressive just then.” Wooyoung commented as he laid back down to allow San to hover over him once more.

“Is it too much to ask for alone time with my boyfriend so we can fuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse?” San pecked his lips then awaited his answer to his rhetorical question. Wooyoung giggled and hooked his ankles together behind San to pull him closer.

“I suppose it’s not.”

“That’s what I thought.” Enough of the talking, they decided, as they resumed and worked their way back up to where they were before. They must admit, they lost their boners somewhere between Hongjoong nearly walking into the cabin and San trying to get him to leave.

“Just take these off already.” San went to pull down his boxers.

“W-wait, I’m not fully hard yet.” Wooyoung put a hand over his to stop him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Honey, I don’t mind. You and I both know I can fix that.” San pecked his cheek and waited to be given permission. Instead, Wooyoung pulled down his own boxers to reveal he was only half hard but like San said, he could fix that. San kissed his cheeks a few more times then pecked his lips before trailing his kisses down his chest. He flicked his tongue over one of his nipples on the way, making Wooyoung’s breath catch in his throat. With the tip of his tongue, San licked the rest of the way down to the tip of his dick where he then lifted off just to give his dick a big fat lick from the balls all the way back up to the tip. Wooyoung moaned and arched his back a little bit while keeping his hips as still as possible.

San smirked before taking the steadily thickening cock into his mouth. He didn’t put his hands on Wooyoung’s hips though, silently encouraging him to fuck his mouth if he wanted to. Wooyoung eventually did, not being able to keep still any more. He gripped San’s head with both of his hands and began fucking into his mouth, moaning every time he touched the back of San’s throat.

San’s eyes had begun watering and his jaw and throat were aching but he loved when Wooyoung lost control like this. Loved seeing the beads of sweat on his forehead, the shininess of his chest and stomach as the room grew hot. Wooyoung moaned as he thrusted up one more time into San’s mouth and kept his head there, not moving, just choking San for a few seconds before pulling his mouth off of him completely. San gasped for air and tried to swallow as much of the drool and precum in his mouth as he could. He quickly wiped at his eyes and sniffed.

“Fuck, I missed doing that so much.” San’s croaky voice said.

“Fuck, me too, baby. Come here. God, you look so hot.” Wooyoung went in tongue first when they kissed, punching a moan out of San. Wooyoung let his tongue explore every single inch of his boyfriend’s mouth before playfully fighting with the other’s tongue. His hands had a mind of their own as they trailed down San’s sides under they reached his hips and he gripped them.

“Damn it, now I want you to fuck me.” San bit his lip when they pulled away.

“First, you fuck me. And if you do well enough, I’ll give you what you want.” Wooyoung smiled softly at San’s slightly bewildered face.

“O-okay.” Wooyoung grinned and pushed San back to turn over onto his stomach. He lifted his hips up to shake his ass in front of San ogling eyes and San couldn’t stop himself from giving it a hard slap. Wooyoung hissed and moved away a few centimeters before sticking his ass even more out.

“That all you got, big boy?” San scoffed and squeezed his ass with both hands.

“I’ll make you eat your words, brat.” Wooyoung giggled then gasped when he felt slick, cool fingers moving in circles around his rim. San pressed in one finger but it was already not enough for Wooyoung.

“Two, two. Make it two, please,” Wooyoung breathed out then bit into the blanket underneath him when San granted him his wish. Two was like one finger for Wooyoung at this point and it just barely stung for a few seconds before San was jackhammering his fingers into him. They were both glad they didn’t have to keep quiet because Wooyoung was loud and damn it, did San miss hearing his moans and screams of pleasure.

Without having to be told, San entered another finger and went a little slower until the slide was easier and Wooyoung wasn’t hissing or moving away from him.

“Want me to do four, babe?” San caressed Wooyoung’s ass and gave one of his cheeks a peck as he asked.

“N-no, unggg, wanna feel you now,” he breathed out and after twisting his fingers around and spreading the digits to stretch him out some more, he was taking them out and using the leftover lube to stroke his dick before putting just a bit more on.

“You better fuck me hard, Choi. I’m so fucking turned on right now.” Wooyoung told him. San dropped another slap onto the same cheek he slapped before then gripped it tightly with his hand to spread it, giving himself a few strokes as he shuffled closer.

“You’ll take what I give you, brat.” Wooyoung smirked then his jaw dropped when he felt the head slip all the way in him.

“Slow, slow, let me feel you.” It only stung a little the further San pushed in but Wooyoung still needed a moment when San’s hips met his ass. San kept pushing forward, though, making Wooyoung’s moan rise in pitch until his hips were down on the blankets and San’s full weight was on top of him. His moans felt uncontrollable. Every time he breathed, he was letting out a short ‘ah, ah, ah,’ and San wasn’t even fucking moving yet. He really missed getting fucked.

San dropped a few open mouthed kisses across Wooyoung’s back, slowly moving his knees to straddle his boyfriend’s hips and taking most of his weight off of him. Wooyoung hummed in pleasure when San slowly pulled a little more than half of his dick out and pausing, feeling the air hitting his slicked up cock. Without any warning, San pounded back down. Wooyoung’s guttural groan caught in his throat before it rang out. San repeated this a few times before setting up a steady and hard pace, just the way they both liked it. Wooyoung arched his back and reveled in the sound of San’s moans.

San was pretty talkative when he was the one fucking Wooyoung but he didn’t often moan unless he was coming so any chance he had to make him moan before then, he took.

“Fuck, look at you. Look at your ass.” San held himself up with one hand to smack it again, first the left cheek, then the right. “You always take me so well, hmm? You love it when I fuck you, huh?” Wooyoung just moaned and nodded.

“Let me hear you say it, brat. Who fucks you the best?” San leaned down to speak into his ear, stopping his thrusts to roll his hips down deliciously, making Wooyoung’s eyes rolled back into his head in pleasure.

“Sa—” Wooyoung breathed out but he felt like his tongue wasn’t working.

“Tell me, baby.” San paused his movements and Wooyoung whined.

“You, Sanie. You, only you,” he whined.

“That’s right. Only I can stretch you out this good, huh?” It was a bit of a rhetorical question considering San started moving at a fast pace again and didn’t ask for Wooyoung to respond when he resorted back to moaning his heart out.

“I wanna cum,” Wooyoung whined in between moans and San smirked.

“You gotta hold it for me, brat. You said you would fuck me.”

“I-if you do w-well enough,” Wooyoung reminded him. San thrusted in hard and held it down, causing Wooyoung to scramble to try to get away from such pleasure. The tip of his tip was pressing right against his prostate and with the amount that Wooyoung was scrambling, it brought short jolts of pleasure all over his body.

“Saaan!” A single tear fell down Wooyoung’s cheeks.

“Okay, baby. If you’re gonna cum, I need to see your face.” San pulled all the way out and Wooyoung clenched around nothing, not liking how quickly he became empty.

“Turn over, love,” San helped him roll over onto his back.

“Wow,” San marveled at how wrecked Wooyoung looked and they weren’t even done.

“W-what?”

“Look at you, babe.” He leaned over him to caress his cheek and to wipe away the tear stain with his thumb. “You’re so gorgeous.” Wooyoung smiled bashfully and wrapped his limbs around him to pull him down for a slow yet sensual kiss. San slowly wrapped his arms under Wooyoung while one of Wooyoung’s hands went in between them to help San’s dick find his hole and then, he was being filled again.

Wooyoung paused in moving his lips as his arm returned around San’s shoulders. They breathed into each other as San immediately went into a slow but steady pace. There’s something so…intimate about this position that they always seem to end in. Sure, it’s fun fucking on every single surface of the house, fucking standing up against a window or wall, fucking doggy style on the living room carpet, riding each other in the bathtub, but nothing beats holding each other tightly in a missionary position on top of something soft, their faces so close, their chests touching, it was the best.

San let out a short moan before hiding his face in his boyfriend’s neck. Wooyoung held him closely and tightly, tilting his head back as he felt that white hot feeling growing and growing. He wished he could hold off a little more though. He tried, he really did but in the end, he pulled San’s face back up to look at him as he felt himself go over the edge.

“I love you, I love you, love you,” Wooyoung kept repeating as San’s pace sped up just slightly. Wooyoung moaned and arched his back, holding his breath as a couple of strings of cum flew out of him, mostly pooling on his stomach and belly button but also staining San’s stomach because of how close he was to him.

“F-fuck, you’re so tight.” San hissed before lifting one of Wooyoung’s legs to rest on his shoulder. Wooyoung moaned as he began getting a little sensitive but he kind of liked it especially when San would speed up and fuck him a little harder trying to chase his orgasm.

“Kiss me,” San whispered against his lips as he felt himself about to cum. Wooyoung didn’t have to be told twice and quickly attached their lips together a few seconds before San was moaning into his mouth as he came. Wooyoung moaned at the feeling of cum filling him up. Wow, he missed that feeling too. San gently dropped his leg back down but kept slowly and shallowly fucking him. San pulled away from the kiss to stare down at Wooyoung with that intense stare. If he hadn’t just came or gotten so deliciously fucked, Wooyoung might’ve shied away from his gaze but right now, he didn’t mind.

Eventually, San grew too sensitive and he pulled all the way, kissing Wooyoung’s nose when it scrunched at the feeling. San took their designated cum towel and gently cleaned him up.

“This is gonna be a bitch to clean out.” San commented as more and more cum kept coming out.

“I know,” Wooyoung sighed. Once San cleaned up as much as he could out of the both of them, he threw the towel to the side and wrapped them both up in a blanket. They laid on their sides facing each other with one of San’s legs over Wooyoung’s hips. Their breaths had just returned to normal and finally, they felt sated after feeling so sexually constipated for the last few weeks.

“When we wake up, your dick better be in me.” San whispered to him. Wooyoung laughed and shoved his shoulder.

“You ruined the moment.” San giggled.

“I’ll be loud for you, though, baby.” Wooyoung bit his lip and hugged San to him.

“I’m holding you to that.” Wooyoung kissed his forehead and San kissed his clavicle in response.

“I love you, too, by the way. Though I’m sure you knew that already.” San whispered.

“Yeah, but it’s always nice to hear it.” San smiled and kissed his clavicle one more time before they settled and fell asleep.