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Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
08:50

Jimin remembered how this apocalypse started as if it was yesterday. He was late to school that day. That was the only thing he was thinking about at that moment but now, he could barely think at all without wondering if he was safe.

Jimin was running to his class. Christmas break had just finished and he was late on the first day. As he walked in, a few of his classmates met his eye. He smiled sheepishly before quickly apologising to his teacher and sitting down.

He sat down in the seat his best friend, Taehyung, had saved for him. His other friend, Soobin, was sitting directly in front of them.

God, Jimin missed Soobin - so much.

Jimin gave a quick hug to Taehyung and ruffled his hands through his friend's freshly dyed, silver hair. Although now, Taehyung's hair had faded into a dark, muted grey and his darker roots had begun to show through. Jimin's hair had become the same - his once bright, pink hair had become muted after weeks spent in the apocalypse, his dark roots now showing through too, just like Taehyung.

Jimin looked in front of him to see Soobin, ready to give him a big smile but instead, Jimin widened his eyes at the sight of him.

Soobin was strangely pale, which contrasted with the dark, almost black, under-eye bags under his eyes. It looked like he didn't sleep the night before - he probably hadn't.

Jimin gave Soobin a smile. The boy smiled back but it seemed so fake. Jimin noticed the thick, wooly scarf wrapped tight around Soobin’s neck, which he found so strange at the time since it definitely wasn’t cold enough to be wearing a scarf that thick.

"What's up with Soobin?" Jimin quietly asked Taehyung, a look of concern on his face.

Taehyung shrugged. “I asked him but he kept saying he was fine.” Jimin nodded, his mouth making a small ‘O’ shape, yet he was still concerned for his sick-looking friend.

"What about the scarf?" Jimin questioned Taehyung again. He couldn't help but ask; Soobin looked so sick.

"He just said he that was feeling cold," Taehyung answered and Jimin frowned.

"He must be sick," Jimin concluded while he began to feel sorry for Soobin. It was not fun being sick.

If only he realised the real reason why Soobin was so strange at the time.

Time passed and the teacher began discussing the new book that the students would study that year.

"That's just a basic summary of what we'll be learning," Their teacher spoke. "Any questions?" He asked as he scanned over the students in his classroom. His eyes widened when they reached to where Soobin was sitting.

Jimin looked over at Soobin and his eyes copied his teacher's actions.

Soobin’s whole body was limp, dropping down onto his desk below him. His eyes were barely open - he looked like he was going to pass out. The dark circles under his eyes had gotten much darker too. Jimin then noticed Soobin’s veins. The veins that were connecting the seemingly sick boy’s jaw and neck - the parts the scarf was unable to cover - did not look normal. His veins were conspicuous; the veins were a deep purple and they were practically popping out of his skin.

"Are you okay?" Jimin asked, his question aimed at Soobin with a voice filled with concern. Soobin didn't reply. Instead, he groaned quietly as he felt too weak to do anything else.

Jimin rightfully took the groan as a 'no, I am definitely not okay,' and immediately shot his hand up. "Um, Sir?" He spoke up. "Do you think I should take Soobin to the nurse's office?"

The teacher nodded slowly, "Yes, I think that'd be the best option."

Jimin nodded and he stood up, walked over to Soobin and lifted him up. Soobin was barely able to stand and his legs felt weak but with Jimin's help, he managed.

Soobin and Jimin began making their way to the nurse's office. Soobin would trip over his own feet and stumble every once in a while and Jimin was very, very worried about him. He had never seen him in such a state before.

"Ugh," Soobin barely whispered out. "My neck hurts," He mumbled as he leaned more of his body weight on Jimin.

“You’re fine. It’s fine,” He nodded, unsure if he was trying to convince himself or Soobin. “Uh, let’s try and take your mind off of the pain, huh?” Soobin didn’t reply and instead let out a groan in pain.

He tried to quickly think of something so Soobin would be distracted from the pain. Jimin smiled to himself when he had finally thought of something. His friend often volunteered at a cute, little children’s hospital beside their houses and Soobin loved it there. He would always talk about how much fun the kids there were and it always seemed to make him happy and so Jimin hoped the topic might lift the sick boy’s mood slightly.

“How was volunteering at the hospital yesterday?” Jimin asked, expecting Soobin to suddenly go on and on about his volunteer work but he didn’t give the reaction Jimin was hoping for. Soobin’s whole body stiffened and his hand unconsciously tugged at the end of the scarf on his neck.

"Soobin?" Jimin quickly spoke, panic taking over his body but Soobin didn't reply. "Okay, let's just get you to the nurse." Jimin frowned as he tried to hurry Soobin along.

Once they reached the nurse's office, the two walked inside - well, Jimin walked in and Soobin dragged himself along beside him.

The nurse let out a small gasp as she saw Soobin; walking over to the office had made his state even worse. She brought Soobin over towards a chair and sat the unwell boy down.

Jimin watched, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes widened as the nurse placed her hand over Soobin's forehead, only to rapidly retrieve her hand less than a second later.

"You're burning up!" The nurse commented as she turned around to grab Soobin a cold pack to, shockingly, help him cool down. As she did so, she looked over to Jimin and said: "You can head back to class. Your friend will be fine here."

Jimin nodded and smiled at Soobin one more time before turning around to walk back towards the door.

The pink-haired boy reached the door but turned around once again, just to make sure Soobin would be okay. He watched the nurse give Soobin a cold pack while taking off the thick, woolly scarf that had once been wrapped around his friend's neck.

As she did so, Jimin couldn't help but gasp. He spotted a large purple bruise on Soobin's neck with dents marked pressed into his skin. Jimin couldn't identify what caused the dents on Soobin's skin. Although, it oddly looked a bit like teeth marks. But it couldn't be that, right? There was no way Soobin could have teeth marks pierced into his skin - that just made no sense.

The veins connected to the bruise were dark and they reached all the way up to the bottom of the sick boy's jaw.

The nurse turned around at the sound of Jimin's gasp and she immediately ushered him out of her office.

Jimin began walking back to class, his eyebrows furrowed in concern while thinking about the dark bruise on Soobin's neck. How did he even get that on his neck? It didn't look like an ordinary bruise. It looked much, much worse.

Jimin sighed as he walked through the classroom door, a slight frown still on his face. He just hoped Soobin would be okay.

Little did he know.

When Jimin sat back down in his seat, he could hardly pay attention to what the teacher was teaching. All that was on his mind was Soobin. Distracted, he began looking around the classroom unconsciously. His eyes settled on the boy in front of him, who was sitting to the left of Soobin’s table.

Jimin didn’t know the boy very well and he was about to look away when his eyes noticed the boy’s hand.

The veins on his hands were insanely similar to the veins on Soobin's neck - dark, purple and they were almost pulsing out of his skin. The veins went up his arm from his hand but Jimin couldn't see too much since the boy wore a long-sleeved shirt.

Jimin looked at the boy’s face and widened his eyes slightly at the sight of him. Again, his complexion was extremely similar to Soobin’s - strangely pale skin with dark, dark circles under his eyes.

Jimin was suddenly taken away from his thoughts after he heard a scream coming from the hall.

All the students whipped their heads around to see someone running past the door, screaming as they did so - Jimin could've sworn it was the nurse but he wasn't sure.

The class began looking at each other and discussing what the hell they had just seen. Jimin and Taehyung looked at each other, confused looks on the boys' faces.

"Okay, okay," The teacher began speaking, trying to settle the class down. "It must just be some older boys that think they're being funny."

Jimin nodded at the teacher's words - that's what made the most sense. But why did it look like the nurse running by?

Jimin ignored his thoughts. He obviously didn't see the person correctly. It must have been one of the older boys - that's what makes the most sense.

The teacher continued his lesson, speaking about the book they were planning on reading. But after a while, the teacher stopped and looked at the boy that sat near Soobin's seat - it was the same boy Jimin had been looking at earlier on.

"Are you okay?" The teacher asked as he moved closer to the boy.

Jimin looked over at the boy once again, widening his eyes. His condition has worsened in the last five minutes. He was paler than before; he looked as white as paper and his whole body was slouched, leaning against the table as if all his muscles were too weak to hold his body upright.

The teacher asked the boy whether he's okay again but the boy didn't reply and that's when suddenly, the boy's whole body started to shake violently. The teacher put a hand on the boy's arm and asked again but instead of talking, the boy let out a long, deep groan and his eyes shot open.

Jimin gasped and slowly moved back as he saw the boy look up at the teacher. His irises had become half the size that they are normally and were now completely black, while the veins in the white part of his eyes had become bigger, darker and purple. The whole class was silent as the boy stood up, agonisingly slow.

Then, his hand shot towards the teacher's neck, gripping it tightly.

The teacher tried to get out of the boy's grip, choking heavily but struggled and that was when the boy moved his face closer and closer, inch by inch towards the teacher's neck before suddenly sinking his teeth into the flesh.

Jimin gasped and he moved back, shocked and confused at what he had just seen.

The teacher stumbled back and held onto his neck, trying to stop the blood that was spewing out of the wound, all over the classroom floor. The teacher began losing more and more blood and stumbled so much that he fell to the floor. He sat there, completely lifeless. His eyes began to roll to the back of his head as his skin visibly turned shades lighter and his body went limp.

Students began to get out of their seats and ran out of the classroom, screaming for help as they did so. Taehyung began to move away as he shrugged his backpack on, trying to grab Jimin with him but Jimin felt as if he couldn't move, absolutely frozen.

He watched as the boy who had done the damage (although, he barely even looked like a human anymore) then turn around and look at another student near him. He grabbed his next victim’s arm. The student tried to pull away, horror flashing in his eyes as the thing that once was his classmate bit into his arm.

The now bitten boy had a similar reaction to the teacher: He stumbled backwards and tried to stop the wound from bleeding but he soon fell, becoming limp and lifeless on the floor.

The thing then turned around to look at Jimin. Taehyung was already at the door now and he called for Jimin to run but again, Jimin felt as if his whole body was glued to the floor while the thing that was once a boy moved towards him slowly.

Jimin's eyes widened as the creature went to grab his arm but thankfully, someone quickly grabbed Jimin's wrist, pulling him away.

Jimin looked to see who had saved him and he saw Taehyung holding onto his wrist tightly with one hand and Jimin's backpack in the other as he made his way to the door.

The thing that was about to bite Jimin groaned loudly and started to drag itself across the floor to where the two boys were now standing.

"Come on," Taehyung whispered as he swallowed thickly. "We need to go. It's coming." He grabbed Jimin once again, pulling the smaller boy out of the classroom.

As they left, Jimin took one final look into the classroom to see the teacher's body that was on the floor shake vigorously before it suddenly stopped and the teacher slowly stood up.

Jimin didn't get to see what happened to him next as Taehyung dragged him into the school hallways, hoping to get away from all the chaos.

But to the two boys' surprise, the hallways were even more chaotic.

Jimin's eyes widened as he spotted the things everywhere across the hallways, grabbing people and biting them. Blood was splattered almost everywhere - the walls, the floors and the number of monsters was now quickly multiplying.

The two boys hid behind a small cupboard at the end of the hallway, hoping that they weren't going to be seen.

"Fuck," Taehyung breathed out. "Shit, where do we go?" Taehyung began whispering to himself, trying to think about where the two boys needed to go to get away from everything, to be safe but Jimin was barely paying attention.

Jimin's eyes began to water at the situation. What are they supposed to do? They were going to die. They had nowhere to go and they were going to die. They were going to turn into those monsters. They were going to get bitten and become mon-

"Jiminie?" Taehyung mumbled, not noticing that his best friend was crying. "We're gonna go outside and try to run, okay?" He said but when Jimin didn't reply, he looked over at him.

He saw tears rolling down Jimin's cheeks and he immediately grabbed the smaller boy's hand.

"Jimin? You're okay, okay? We will both be fine," Taehyung spoke once again, trying to reassure Jimin and Jimin nodded, although the tears didn't stop. "C'mon, we have to go, now!"

Jimin quickly nodded and Taehyung grabbed him by the wrist once again and dragged him towards the closest exit of the school, which happened to lead onto the sports field.

"Shit," Taehyung swore as he quickly ducked behind a wall, pulling Jimin down along with him, once they had stepped foot outside. Their plan was not going well so far.

Outside, on the sports field, there were more of the sluggish creatures.

"Oh my God," Jimin mumbled. "We're gonna die. Oh my God."

"No, no, no," Taehyung said firmly as he patted Jimin's arm. "We're fine. We're fine. We're fine..." He mumbled as he quickly looked at his surroundings. Where could they hide?

Suddenly, Taehyung's eyes stopped at a supply shed not too far away from them and he nodded his head.

"The shed," He smiled as he looked at the other boy and Jimin's eyes followed Taehyung's, seeing the supply shed. He nodded hurriedly. "Okay, we run on three," Taehyung spoke. The two boys quietly counted to three together before they both ran towards the shed.

Jimin's heart pounded as he ran as fast as he could towards the supplies shed. The wind blew through his hair as he watched the creatures he ran past lock eyes with him.

He felt his eyes fill with tears at the sight of the monsters sluggishly walking towards them. Jimin just closed his eyes, only focusing on getting to the shed as fast as possible.

The two boys ran faster and as soon as they reached the shed, Taehyung opened it quickly, his hands not fumbling even in a stressful situation.

Jimin and Taehyung stumbled inside and quickly closed the door behind them, grabbing whatever they could in their reach to try to barricade themselves away from the zombies outside.

Jimin turned around, closed his eyes and leaned his back against the door as he let out a shaky breath.

He opened his eyes afterwards to see three boys standing in the shed with them. Two of them were holding baseball bats, ready to swing at any moment.

"Don't move," One of the boys with a bat spoke firmly and Taehyung and Jimin froze.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
09:58

"Don't move," The boy holding the bat firmly spoke.

Taehyung froze and Jimin gulped, tears still in his eyes from what had just happened as he looked around the shed, spotting three boys.

He looked at the boy at the back. His brownish coloured hair slightly covering his eyes showed nothing but concern for the two boys who had just shown up. He had a first aid kit in his left hand and his other hand was bound loosely around a bat.

The boy next to him had silver hair - clearly dyed - and held a bat in his hand quite tight, but it didn't look like he would hit the two boys. He had a soft look on his face as he smiled at Jimin, dimples forming on his cheeks.

"Are you bitten?" The third and final boy asked bluntly. He held his bat strongly in his hands as his eyes stared at the two newcomers through his bleached blond hair which flopped against his forehead - he looked intimidating.

Jimin knew all three boys - by 'knew', he meant he had conversed in small talk with two of them - the silver-haired boy, who he thought (but wasn't sure) was called Namjoon, and the brunet, who he knew was Hoseok or Hobi as everyone seemed to call him - most people at school knew who he was. Although with the last boy, Jimin had only seen him around a couple of times; they had never spoken to each other though.

"No!" Jimin choked out, his eyes filled with tears as he looked over at the intimidating boy. Jimin was still in complete and utter shock over this whole situation. The boy's eyes seemed to slightly soften at the sight of Jimin's tears and he dropped his bat ever so slightly. Taehyung wrapped his arms around Jimin, helping him calm down.

"Are you hurt or anything?" The intimidating boy asked softly, after seeing Jimin calmer. Although his soft voice contrasted with the bat that was still placed firmly in his right hand. "Hobi has a first aid kit," The boy continued as he pointed to the brunet at the back.

Jimin looked over to Hobi, who showed Jimin the first aid kit along with a large smile.

Jimin shook his head and Taehyung answered, "Oh no. We're both fine."

The blond nodded, "My name's Yoongi, by the way,"

Jimin nodded, a slight smile on his face. "My name's Jimin," He replied. "And this is Taehyung," He pointed to Taehyung beside him.

"I'm Namjoon," The silver-haired boy said, a smile present on his face as he talked to Jimin and Taehyung. He offered a dimpled smile and Jimin grinned slightly at the fact he had remembered correctly.

Hoseok just gave a large, toothy smile at Jimin and Taehyung since he knew the two boys already.

Jimin nodded before looking back up over to Yoongi. "So," He began. "What is going on?" He asked, his voice became low as he walked to the window of the shed, spotting zombies walking mindlessly over the sports field.

"How did you guys end up in here?" Taheyung asked another question right after Jimin.

"We're in the middle of an apocalypse," Yoongi murmured as he walked over to the window to join Jimin, his eyes following the same zombies groan and bump into each other.

"We had sports for the first lesson," Namjoon began explaining. "The coach told me to grab some bats, so I came in here."

"And then next thing you know, this random kid runs into the middle of the field and bites the coach," Hoseok continued. "The kid started biting other people too. The coach did too. His whole body was shaking really bad after he got bit but after he started attacking people too. Yoongi and I freaked out after the coach got bit so we ran in here."

Taehyung nodded and Jimin just frowned, the image Hoseok described popping into his head as he watched the zombies outside. He noticed the coach walking around aimlessly, his grey skin with the purple wounds and veins contrasting the bright, red blood that covered his clothes.

"So what's the plan?" Taehyung asked, looking back and forth between the three boys.

"What do you mean?" Hoseok replied. "We don't have a plan."

"You don't have a plan?" Taehyung repeated as a question. "How are we gonna get out of here without dying?" He asked as he looked over to Yoongi, hoping he might have a plan.

Yoongi shrugged.

"So, we're just gonna stay here?" Jimin questioned quietly, fear coursing through his veins at the thought of the zombies coming closer, coming inside.

Yoongi noticed the way Jimin's eyes seemed to grow after his comment and moved somewhat closer to Jimin. "Don't worry," He reassured the younger boy. He had taken a liking to Jimin already. He seemed nice. "Namjoon will definitely think of something."

And that is exactly what Namjoon began doing. The tallest boy walked over to the other window in the shed which faced the teacher's parking lot and he began thinking.

"But, but what if they come in here and, an-" Jimin got cut off.

"They won't," Yoongi spoke firmly. "And if they do, we'll protect you." He smiled as he lifted his bat to show Jimin.

Jimin looked into Yoongi's eyes as he watched the older boy smile and Jimin nodded, believing the words Yoongi had just said. Although, from the way Jimin’s eyes were still glossy, Yoongi could tell he was slightly freaking out.

The shed became quiet. Everyone was stuck in their heads - some were trying to think of plans and others - Jimin - were breathing in and out slowly, trying to calm himself down despite the chaos going on only a couple of metres away from him outside.

"Okay!" Namjoon suddenly spoke loudly and Jimin flinched slightly at the loud noise before everyone's eyes wandered over to where Namjoon was standing. "I have a plan." Namjoon used his hands to beckon the boys over and they all walked over to the window, looking out towards the parking lot. "We have to get to those cars." He pointed to the teacher's cars.

"And when we get to them?" Yoongi began questioning. "I'm pretty sure we all don't know how to hotwire a car."

"Look," Namjoon said as he grasped Yoongi's shirt, pulling the shorter boy towards him. The two boys conspired and Yoongi made an 'O' shape with his mouth once he had understood Namjoon's plan entirely.

"We go to the staff room," Yoongi spoke out to the rest of the group. "Grab some keys and then leave." Yoongi walked over to his backpack, picking it up and shrugging it onto his shoulders.

"How do you know the teachers left their keys there?" Jimin asked, tilting his head, To him, this didn't sound like an amazing plan. What happens if there aren't any keys there? What happens if they run into zombies along the way?

"We don't," Namjoon responded. "But I'm pretty sure we'll find them. I'm guessing the teachers ran out quickly when all this happened and probably left their stuff."

"If we can't find any keys. We'll have to go into different classrooms and look through other people's bags - there's no way we won't find at least one car key," Yoongi explained further.

Jimin agreed at the sound of the plan. It sounded better after it had been explained to him. Although, that didn't help with his fear of running into zombies along the way.

Jimin watched Namjoon grab his bag before he said, "Jimin, Taehyung, grab a bat each. Hobi put the first aid kit in your bag and grab your bat too."

Jimin nodded at Namjoon's orders and was about to grab a bat but looked over to see Yoongi already holding one out to him. Jimin smiled before taking the bat out of the older boy's hands and uttered a 'thank you.'

"Okay, so all we do is go to the staff room, grab the keys and leave?" Taehyung asked, wanting to make sure he understood the plan fully.

Yoongi nodded, although he also said bluntly, "It's gonna be harder than that, though."

Namjoon nodded too and Jimin bit his lip apprehensively, swallowing thickly at the thought of going back outside to face the zombies. He really didn't want to go outside again; the memories of his teacher getting bitten, the blood splattered down the halls had suddenly flooded back into his mind. Maybe staying in the shed for longer actually wasn't a bad idea - it was safer in the shed than it was back inside the school.

Yoongi eyed the smaller boy, noticing the way his lips were pressed together and the way his eyebrows were furrowed while he fiddled with the sleeve of his hoodie. He quickly bumped Jimin's elbow and offered a tiny head nod, to which Jimin returned with a small smile.

"I know," Namjoon agreed as he looked Yoongi in the eyes. "But we have to try. We can't just stay here forever. We either take a chance and die out there or stay here and die anyway."

Jimin's eyes suddenly widened at Namjoon's straightforward words, the anxiety he felt in his body multiplying. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to turn into those things.

Yoongi once again noticed the way Jimin's body tensed up and gave Namjoon a look and a shove before he said. "We're not going to die. We're a big group and we have bats. We can protect each other and ourselves. We're all good."

"Right," Namjoon cleared his throat before he looked Jimin in the eyes and mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to the smaller boy and Jimin just smiled small once again. "Okay, so, everyone agrees with the plan?"

All the boys nodded at Namjoon's words. Jimin was terrified. The last thing he wanted to do was step foot outside but the older boy was right - they at least had to try.

"Are you okay?" Yoongi asked, although after he asked, he cringed slightly in his mind at the sound of his question. Did it sound stupid? It was obvious that Jimin wasn't okay - they were literally surrounded by zombies.

Although, Jimin just smiled at the slightly taller boy. "I'm okay," He mumbled. "This is just scary," He whispered truthfully as he looked down, playing with the end of his hoodie string.

Yoongi's eyes softened as he looked down at Jimin. "We can make it," Yoongi replied, although he hesitated. Yoongi had no idea what would happen to them once they left this shed, but there was something about Jimin that made him feel he had to be reassuring.

Maybe it was the way he looked at Yoongi, his eyes so scared, frightened and glossy. Maybe it was the way he fiddled with the end of his hoodie sleeve with nervousness when Namjoon explained the plan. There was just something about Jimin that already made Yoongi feel the need to reassure, to protect.

"Hopefully," Jimin whispered, more to himself than to Yoongi. The smaller boy picked up his backpack.

Yoongi smiled small at the sigh of Jimin's backpack. It was black with tiny embroidered flowers around the logo.

"Cute flowers," Yoongi commented and Jimin immediately smiled at the compliment.

"Thank you," He turned around, showing Yoongi the other side of his backpack. "Tae bought it for my birthday." Jimin smiled as he turned around to show Yoongi the other side of the bag. Yoongi nodded with a large gummy smile on his face which Jimin couldn't help but mirror with his own lips.

Their conversation was intercepted when Namjoon walked towards the door of the shed.

"Is everyone ready?" The taller boy asked. Jimin felt his heart practically beating out of his chest but he nodded anyway. There was no other option.

"Namjoon should be at the front," Hobi commented. "Taehyung and Jimin need to be in the middle and I'll go in between them with Yoongi at the back."

Everybody nodded in agreement and Jimin smiled softly at Hobi's words. He was scared to death but knowing the other boys were looking out for him and Taehyung made him feel so much safer.

Namjoon began to slowly open the door a little and poked his head outside. When he saw no zombies around, he opened the door wider and stepped a foot outside, all the boys following and leaving the shed one by one.

All the boys then stood just outside the shed, holding their bats up high, ready to swing at any moment.

Jimin held his bat close to his chest with shaky hands as his lip quivered in fear. He felt a shiver run up his spine as the small boy looked around before his eyes froze when he looked at Hoseok.

The coach was staggering towards the brunet quickly and its arms reached towards the older boy's neck.

Jimin pointed behind Hobi, "Zomb-" He began screaming but he felt a pair of large hands cover his mouth. He looked up to see Yoongi.

Hoseok turned around due to Jimin's sudden scream and screamed himself when he saw what the younger boy was pointing at. Taehyung quickly covered Hoseok's mouth mid-scream, muffling it down.

Yoongi, at the back, suddenly went in front of Jimin and swung his bat at the zombie's head, knocking it to the ground while blood splattered from its crushed skull all over the floor and Yoongi grimaced at the sight.

Jimin suddenly gasped at the view, quickly shutting his eyes tight and he hid his face in Yoongi's back, grabbing the material of the older boy's shirt. He didn't want to see that any longer - he knew it would've made him feel sick to his stomach.

Namjoon widened his eyes at the sudden commotion and pushed the boys behind him back into the shed before he looked around the area to see if the screams had attracted any zombies. He breathed out slowly when he realised that it hadn't - most of the zombies had walked over to the other side of the field, making it hard for them to hear the boys.

The boys began making their way towards the school entrance again, making sure to go both quickly and quietly.

Fortunately, the five boys made it back to school with no issues and their plan was right on track. They stopped and hid behind a large cupboard containing school trophies and achievements which could usually be seen through the glass at the front but now the clear glass was splattered with marks of dried blood.

Namjoon slowly turned around to look back at the rest of the boys. "The staff room is right at the end of this hall," He whispered. "If we go slowly and quietly, we can make it." The silver-haired boy went to point to the staff room door, located at the end of the school's long hallway but forgot he had a baseball bat in his hand. The bat suddenly collided with the glass of the trophy cupboard, causing it to shatter and the sound echoed down the halls.

Namjoon's eyes widened as the zombies not too far from them turned around, facing their new prey. They groaned as they began to make their way towards the boys after they heard the sound of the cracking glass.

"Okay," Namjoon spoke somewhat calmly even though he was very, very panicked. "New plan: we run."

"Shit," Yoongi muttered under his breath as the other boys began running to the staff room.

Jimin swallowed hard as his lips quivered in fear once again. His eyes darted all over the place, at all the zombies that were now making their way towards him, their feet dragging themselves across the hall and the sight of them made Jimin feel as if he couldn't move.

Jimin suddenly felt Yoongi grab his wrist, pulling him to run. Jimin obliged and began running, thankful that the older boy was holding onto him; it made him feel safer.

Jimin felt his heart pounding against his chest as he ran once again. He heard the groaning sounds of the zombies as he ran past them. He felt one tug at the back of his hoodie and he pulled himself out of its grip as fast as he could, closing his eyes shut tightly afterwards so hard that it hurt so he didn't have to see the things he was running past. He couldn't see but he felt Yoongi pulling him along and he trusted him.

The boy felt relieved when he opened his eyes to see Namjoon quickly opening the door of the staff room, letting the boys in.

Jimin was about to run in but he stopped in his tracks at a sound behind him: the sound of a voice.

"Wait!" The voice panted. "Jimin!" At the sound of his name, Jimin turned around to see Jungkook, a friend he had in a lower grade, running towards him and his brother, who he knew was Seokjin, running behind him with a couple of zombies staggering close behind them.

"Jungkook?" Jimin widened his eyes but before he could tell the two boys to hurry up, someone pulled him inside the staff room and shut the door.

He saw Yoongi close the door once Jimin had entered and Jimin widened his eyes, shaking his head vigorously as he reached for the door handle to let the two boys in.

"What're you doing?" Jimin asked, not understanding why Yoongi would leave innocent people outside.

"I'm barricading the doors," Yoongi replied as he began to reach for something to keep the door shut but Jimin shook his head faster as he felt his eyes become glossy again. "We can't let them in."

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
10:52

"We can't let them in," Yoongi said firmly.

"Why not?" Jimin exclaimed as he tried to push Yoongi away from the door and grab onto the handle, wanting to open the door for the two boys who were now banging against the door.

Jimin could hear Jungkook begging and pleading for help.

"Did you not see the swarm of zombies behind them?" Yoongi asked rhetorically, slightly annoyed that Jimin wanted to open the door. If Jimin let them in, there was a large chance the zombies would follow - Yoongi couldn't put the other boys at risk. He wanted to protect his friends. He had to keep them safe.

Yoongi wanted to help the two outside - he really did. But not when it could put everyone in the room in danger instead.

"I don't care!" Jimin burst out. "If we don't help, they will die." Jimin looked into Yoongi's eyes helplessly. His eyes welled up with tears and from that alone, Yoongi caved in.

"Just," Yoongi sighed. "Just be careful," He whispered and with that, he picked up his bat, ready to swing while Jimin pushed down the handle, opening the door for the two boys outside.

Jungkook and Jin stumbled in, shutting the door behind them as quickly as they had entered.

Jin immediately began scrambling to push random items in front of the door. The zombies that were not far from behind them instantly started banging against the door and Jimin could hear them all groan and growl. Seokjin quickly grabbed Jungkook and made the younger boy help him push the staff room couch in front of the door, blocking the zombies from being able to open the door and come in.

Once they had secured the door, the two stood in the middle of the staff room. They panted and breathed in and out heavily, trying to catch their breath after they had ran so much from those creatures.

Jungkook suddenly wrapped his arms around Jimin in a sincere hug, his long black hair tickling Jimin's face slightly, "Thank you," He thanked as he closed his eyes and Jimin just smiled softly at the younger boy when he pulled away.

"Jungkook!" Taehyung suddenly spoke out as he ran towards Jungkook, giving the taller boy a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey, Taehyung," Jungkook breathed out, a smile was instantly on his face.

"I was just thinking of you," Taehyung muttered and Jungkook raised an eyebrow as he pulled away slightly. "I was worried," He then whispered and Jungkook frowned before bringing Taehyung back into a hug.

While the two were talking, Jin had made his way over to Hoseok and Namjoon, talking with the two since he knew them already. He would say he was friends with Hobi and acquaintances with Namjoon at the most.

"So, who are you guys?" Yoongi asked politely, although, the tone in his voice was somewhat off - he was still a bit agitated over what had just happened but he was glad that no harm had come to any of the other boys.

"I'm Jungkook," The youngest boy introduced himself. "Thanks for letting us in. We would’ve been dead if it wasn’t for you,” Jungkook smiled thankfully, grateful that he had gotten help.

Yoongi nodded and sighed quietly to himself afterwards; he suddenly felt guilty.

"And I’m Jin," The older boy smiled from where Namjoon and Hobi were standing as he ran a hand through his purple-dyed hair. "And you're Yoongi?" He asked. Jin had seen Yoongi around school before, although they had never met before.

Yoongi smiled small at the fact Seokjin had known his name and nodded. Although, that fact also allowed the sinking feeling of guilt in his stomach to become heavier.

"So do you guys have a plan or anything? Like, to leave?" Jungkook asked quietly.

Hobi nodded in response. "Yeah. We're going to try and find some keys here and leave with the teachers' cars," He explained as he pointed to the parking lot through the window.

Jungkook nodded quietly. "Is there any chance we can come with you?" He asked as he looked at Hobi with eyes that had quickly become watery as he explained his situation. "We have nowhere else to go. We tried calling our parents and..." He stopped mid-sentence, swallowing thickly; the room filled with silence.

"And we barely had a chance to talk," Seokjin continued as he walked over to Jungkook, throwing an arm over the younger boy's shoulder. "We heard them scream and then the line just cut off. When we called back, they didn’t pick up again."

The whole room became silent after the two boys' story.

"Of course you can come," Yoongi suddenly said. "We wouldn't leave you behind." He looked at Jungkook's eyes, who looked back at Yoongi as if he had just stopped the apocalypse right then and there. Yoongi thought that it was the least he could do after he wanted to leave them outside. Although, the feeling of guilt was stuck in the back of his mind.

"Oh my God," Taehyung suddenly shouted out. "Oh my God. Oh my God." He scrambled to get his phone out of his back pocket as he quickly dialled a number and put the phone on speaker.

"Taehyung? Hello?" The voice at the other end said and Jimin widened his eyes as he recognised the voice - Taehyung's mom.

"Mom?" The panic in Taehyung's voice was evident. "Don't worry, I'm going to come home."

"No, you can't," His mother whispered from the other side. "Taehyung, there are too many outside. You need to go. You can't come here. I'm okay, don't worry about me. You need to leave and protect yourself. I love you so much."

And with that, the phone hung up.

The room was silent for a while - not a single sound was heard until Taehyung breathed out shakily and he finally broke the silence.

"I have to go home," Taehyung mumbled as he walked towards the window, ready to leave.

"You can't go home," Namjoon intercepted, blocking Taehyung from the window. "Didn't you hear what your mom just said?"

"You're gonna get yourself and your parents killed," Yoongi commented and Taehyung shook his head.

While the others were trying to convince Taehyung to stay, Jimin suddenly took a deep intake of air. His head was spinning and his heart was beating so fast. He felt scared. He felt guilty.

How could he forget about his parents?

He had been focusing too much on trying to survive himself than on going home and protecting his parents. His parents. He can’t believe he had forgotten about them. Jimin copied Taehyung's previous actions and he quickly grabbed his phone, dialling his house phone number.

Nobody picked up.

He breathed out slowly before then dialling his mother's number. Then his father's number. Then his brother’s number.

Still, nobody picked up.

He tried his parents’ numbers again and again and when he finally decided to stop, the tears in his eyes were threatening to fall.

If he called, no one would pick up so instead, he texted both his parents, along with his brother - the texts read, 'Please pick up. Or call me, please. I'm safe here but should I come home? Please be safe.'

He waited a while but once again, there was no response.

"I have to leave too," He said loudly as he walked over towards Taehyung.

Yoongi's head snapped to look at Jimin. "You can't go home. It's not safe."

"Let's calm down, shall we?" Hobi spoke up, walking over to the pair of best friends. He looked at Taehyung. "Your mom didn't sound distressed. She told you she was okay and that you should leave. Shouldn't you listen to her?" Taehyung stared at Hoseok silently, a frown on his lips.

As Hobi continued to talk to Taehyung, Yoongi walked up to Jimin.

"Your parents didn't pick up?" He asked, although he knew the answer and Jimin nodded silently. "That doesn't mean you should go home, Jimin," Yoongi spoke softly and Jimin shook his head, the frown on his lips growing bigger as tears slid down his cheeks.

"No. But, I can't leave them. I have to-" Jimin spoke fast and his voice was shaky but he was cut off by Yoongi's voice.

"You have to stay alive," Yoongi finished his sentence calmly. "It's dangerous to leave. Who knows what could happen to you?" His words were spoken softly and that comforted Jimin. "You have to stay alive to see them, hm? You're no good to them if you're dead, Jimin."

Jimin let out a shaky breath as he looked down at his shoes, taking in what Yoongi had said and contemplating on what he should do.

His heart was telling him to go home. He had to see his parents. He had to protect them. He had to know if they were okay.

‘You’re no good to them if you’re dead, Jimin,’

Yoongi’s words echoed in the back of Jimin’s mind and the younger boy bit his lip. If he died or got bitten on the way back home, he wouldn’t get to see them, protect them or even know if they were okay.

After another moment of thought, Jimin took another deep breath in before he looked up at Yoongi and nodded his head. "You're right," He whispered. If he ever wanted to see his parents he had to stay alive.

Jimin looked at Taehyung, who was already staring back at him. "I'll stay too," Taehyung replied. It seemed like the other boy had the same thought process as Jimin and decided it would be better for both him and his parents to not go home.

The room was silent for a while until the sound of the zombies banging on the door became much louder and Seokjin spoke up, "We need to leave as soon as we can," He commented and Namjoon nodded in response.

"I'll look for the keys. Hobi, Jin, help me out,” Namjoon began speaking. Hobi and Seokjin immediately got to work, looking in various drawers, trying to find some car keys. "The rest of you should look around for anything else we can take: snacks, first aid kits - literally anything." And with that, Namjoon also began searching.

Jimin and Yoongi walked over to the other side of the room, hoping to find some snacks or food that they could take, whereas Jungkook and Taehyung remained on the other side.

As Jimin began looking in different drawers and the teacher’s bags, Yoongi came up to him, a pensive look on the older boy's face. Jimin turned to look at him with a small smile while continuing to look through the teacher’s bags.

"Uh. I'm sorry, by the way," Yoongi suddenly spoke and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, as his hand reached for the packets of chips he had just found in a teacher’s bag.

"I found keys!" Hobi smiled enthusiastically, grabbing the attention of the others around him as he grabbed a chain of keys from the drawer of a teacher's desk. "We just need one more." Jimin let out a breath of relief at the news - they were one step closer to getting out of the school and getting to safety.

Seokjin, Hobi and Namjoon continued looking for the keys while the rest of the boys continued with what they were doing before.

"Sorry for what?" Jimin asked, putting his attention back onto Yoongi as he placed the snacks into his backpack.

"You know, for uh..." Yoongi's eyes travelled over to Jungkook and Seokjin and he bit his lip. "You were right. I should've let you let those two in."

"You don't have to apologise," Jimin spoke softly as he turned to face the older boy. "You did let me let them in, didn't you? You just told me to be careful?" Jimin asked, looking up at Yoongi with bright, wide eyes. He didn’t want Yoongi to feel bad. All the older boy wanted to do was protect the other boys and Jimin understood that but he was glad Yoongi let Seokjin and Jungkook in.

Yoongi nodded slowly, "Yeah."

"So there's nothing to apologise for," Jimin smiled. "You just wanted to protect us but you did the right thing anyway," Jimin bumped Yoongi's shoulder and flashed him a smile, to which Yoongi mirrored.

"Yes!" Namjoon smiled to himself as he pulled out a set of car keys from a teacher's bag. "Pass me those keys," He asked Hoseok, who tossed them back before Namjoon quickly ran over to the window that faced the parking lot in the staff room. Seokjin followed his steps.

Namjoon walked over to the window and looked outside for any lurking creatures. After seeing there weren't any near the window, the silver-haired boy opened the window and stuck his hand out while holding the keys.

"What're you doing?" Taehyung asked as he walked over to Namjoon with Jungkook by his side. The two younger boys had finished packing what they could in their bags, which included a first aid kit and the teachers' lunches that they found in the staff room fridge.

"Trying to figure out what key goes with what car," Namjoon mumbled as pushed a button on the keys, causing a car to unlock. Namjoon watched as the car made a loud unlocking sound and he furrowed his eyebrows as he spotted a couple of zombies turn and walk towards the car due to the sound. He tried again with the other set of keys and noticed the same thing - as soon as the car unlocked and made a noise, the zombies went towards it.

"Where are we even going to go?" Jimin asked quietly as he, along with Yoongi, walked over to join the rest of the group by the window while the boys turned to face him.

"Over to the next city, of course," Seokjin replied.

"We can’t do that," Yoongi replied bluntly from behind Jimin and Jimin looked up at him. Seokjin tilted his head in confusion.

"Why not?" The older boy questioned.

"That’s probably what everyone else is doing," The blond began to explain. "That's way too many people in one place. If one zombie ends up on the highway, we're all dead."

Jimin widened his eyes slightly at Yoongi's blunt words. The thought of being stuck in a place, unable to escape made him feel nervous. Although, Jimin knew what the older boy was saying was true but that just made him feel much worse.

"He's right," Namjoon agreed. "We should lay low somewhere for a while."

"Somewhere in the countryside, maybe?" Jungkook then suggested after a moment of thought and Yoongi widened his eyes at his thought for a plan.

"I know," Yoongi suddenly said out loud, snapping his fingers. "In the countryside, my parents have a cabin. It's like in the middle of the woods - super quiet. I think we'll be safe there." The boys became silent after hearing Yoongi's plan, all of them thinking.

"All in agreement?" Hobi asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," "Yup," "Yes," Taehyung, Namjoon and Seokjin ended up saying at the same time while the rest of the boys just nodded their heads.

"Who's driving?" Taehyung asked as he looked over at Namjoon, who he felt like was the one in charge.

"I'll drive one," Seokjin volunteered. "You drive the other?" He asked as he looked over to Namjoon who just smiled sheepishly.

"I can't drive," He mumbled and Jin sighed even though there was a slight smile on his face. As they talked, Jimin wandered over to the window, looking outside at the cars which were still surrounded by zombies ever since Namjoon had unlocked them.

"I'll drive the other," Yoongi spoke clearly. “You can follow with your car behind me," He told Seokjin who nodded in response.

"How are we even going to get past them?" Jimin whispered to himself, although it was loud enough for Yoongi, who was close next to him, to hear.

"What's up?" Yoongi questioned Jimin as he moved to stand next to the bright pink-haired boy.

Jimin pointed over to the cars before he said, "There's too many for us to get through." His voice was a bit louder than before. Yoongi began to explain to Jimin that they'd be able to get to the cars even though he wasn't entirely sure how, but he was certain they would find a way somehow, hoping to ease the boy's nervousness.

At the sound of Jimin's worries, Namjoon began looking around the staff room. He had a plan but he wasn’t certain if it would work.

"I know what to do," Seokjin suddenly spoke up and both Yoongi and Jimin turned to look at him. "We pretend to be zombies and they'll let us pass." He smiled as he slouched his posture, rolled his eyes to the back of his head with his tongue stuck out and groaned.

Jimin giggled slightly, his eyes turning into the shape of crescents as he covered his mouth with his hand and Yoongi smiled while the rest of the boys laughed at Seokjin's attempt at looking like a zombie.

"Okay," Namjoon said loudly as he came back to join the rest of the group, a large glass mug now present in his hands. "Who's good at throwing?" He asked.

Taehyung smiled as he held Jungkook's hand, lifting it up and Jungkook looked over at Taehyung, his teeth on show as he smiled widely.

With a small smile on his face, Namjoon grabbed Jungkook and brought him over to the window. The taller boy opened the window fully before pointing to another car quite far from the two cars they were planning to take.

"Throw this cup at that car," Namjoon instructed Jungkook, handing the youngest boy the glass mug. Jungkook widened his eyes slightly at Namjoon's instructions and looked over at the older boy, silently asking if he was sure and Namjoon just nodded. Jungkook shrugged before lifting his arm up and throwing the mug at the car.

The glass shattered against the car's main window, causing it to also shatter. The noise of the glass caught the attention of the zombies and they all began to turn and groan, walking over to the sound they had just heard.

Namjoon's plan was a success.

"So there are two cars, right?" Hobi asked and the boys nodded. "I'll go in Jin's car with Jungkook and Namjoon and you two," He pointed to Jimin and Taehyung. "Go with Yoongi?" Jimin and Taehyung nodded. They didn't mind whose car they went in, as long as they could get out of here. Although, Jimin did hope he'd end up going in Yoongi's car.

"Okay. Grab your bags and bats,” Hoseok spoke as he climbed out the window first before getting Taehyung and Jungkook to do the same and then, Jin followed.

Yoongi climbed out the window next and then held his out for Jimin, who smiled and grabbed onto Yoongi's hand before climbing out the window too.

Namjoon was the last out the window. Before he climbed out the window, he took one last scan over the staff room, trying to check if there was anything else he could take for himself and the boys.

His eyes ran over the teacher's coats perched on the edge of their chairs or desks and Namjoon walked over to them, grabbing the coats that he could find - if it got colder, which he knew that it would when it got darker, he wanted to make sure that the boys were able to stay warm.

With that, Namjoon joined the others outside by climbing out the window and then, with no zombies around, the seven boys jogged over to the two cars.

Namjoon, Seokjin, Jungkook and Hoseok ran over to the first car. Jungkook and Hoseok both get into the back while Seokjin gets into the driver's seat as Namjoon puts the coats he found in the back of the car.

Yoongi, Jimin and Taehyung jogged over to the other car. Yoongi was leading the way while Taehyung and Jimin followed closely behind.

Jimin couldn't help but look all over the place as they went over to the cars - he felt like a zombie would pop out of somewhere at any moment. He made sure to keep his eyes on the zombies by the other car with the shattered window, just in case they made their way back over towards the boys.

When they reached the car, Taehyung asked, "Can I sit at the back?" He looked over at Jimin who just nodded with a smile. "Thanks. I'm so tired - I think I'm just gonna lie down and take a nap or something," He mumbled more to himself than to Jimin.

Jimin and Taehyung both got into their seats and waited for Yoongi to do the same.

Namjoon looked over at Yoongi from the other car, smiling at the older boy. Yoongi looked up, seeing Namjoon staring back at him. He gave a nod and a smile before he entered the car.

Seokjin and Yoongi both started their cars. Yoongi left the school property first and Seokjin was close behind.

And with that, they were off.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
12:17

The boys had been driving for a while now. The car was silent. All that could be heard was the quiet hum of the engine and the light tapping of Jimin's foot as he brought his bag to his chest.

Jimin turned his head to look out the window, his chin perched in his hand as he watched the now trashed stores go by - people must've broken into them when the apocalypse started.

Jimin frowned at the thought that not too long ago he was running down this exact street earlier, late for school. Everything was normal. After only a couple of hours, everything was ruined - it all looked so different, empty and dark.

Jimin continued to look out the window and didn't notice Yoongi looking over at him every once in a while.

Yoongi knew Jimin was scared. He knew from the way Jimin's voice wavered when he talked about the zombies. He knew from the way Jimin's eyes had become glossy when they had to leave the shed. He knew from the way Jimin gripped the back of Yoongi's shirt and hid his face when the zombies nearly attacked Hoseok.

Yoongi, on the other hand, was scared of course but the real fear hadn't kicked in yet. Everything just felt too unreal, like this was some sort of messed up dream. The fear hadn't kicked in because he couldn't believe any of this was even happening yet.

Suddenly, Taehyung's stomach rumbled, pulling both boys away from their thoughts. Jimin smiled small, covering his mouth while his best friend placed a hand over his stomach and smiled sheepishly.

"When did you last eat?" Yoongi asked, looking at Taehyung through the rear view mirror.

"Uhh," Taehyung thought for a moment. "Last night?" Yoongi kissed his teeth and shook his head. "It's just because I woke up late - I didn't have any time," He said, trying to explain himself and Yoongi nodded.

"All the snacks I had are in the back," Yoongi explained. "I think we'll stop the car at around one and go to a store or something to find food. You think you can wait that long?" Yoongi asked Taehyung.

"Yeah, that's fine." Taehyung smiled but his stomach rumbled once again, telling everyone in the car a different story.

Suddenly, Jimin's face lit up and he sat up quickly. "I put snacks in my bag," He remembered. The pink-haired boy quickly unzipped his bag and pulled out a packet of chips he had found in the staff room and smiled widely as he handed them to Taehyung, proud he had remembered about them.

Yoongi smiled at Jimin's sudden excitement for snacks, amusement in his eyes as he watched Jimin reach out for more. Jimin turned to face Yoongi when he saw that the older boy was already staring at him.

Jimin smiled widely, "You want a snack?" He asked Yoongi as he offered a snack in his tiny palm. Yoongi wasn't hungry but Jimin looked so happy with his snacks that he felt like he just had to take it. So the blond nodded and Jimin opened up the packet, placing it in Yoongi's lap so that the older boy could eat and drive.

"Thank you," Yoongi smiled politely as he popped a chip into his mouth. Jimin smiled in response.

Jimin counted the snacks leftover in his bag - there were four left. Jimin then decided against having one and saved the four left for the other boys in the car, hoping it might lift everyone's mood when he would give it to them.

The drive continued and after a while, Taehyung had fallen asleep, his body splayed across the three seats and he used his backpack as a pillow. Jimin felt bad - he thought it was a bit cold but he had nothing to cover Taehyung up with.

The car became silent once again and Jimin took his phone out of his pocket. He texted his parents again, before also trying to call both of them. He sighed when no one answered.

Yoongi contemplated whether or not he should ask about Jimin's parents. He didn't want to upset Jimin by bringing them up.

"Calling your parents again?" Yoongi brought himself to say softly after a while.

Jimin nodded, "I hope they pick up at some point." He didn’t know if anything had happened to them but Jimin was hopeful. Yoongi nodded in response. "Did you call yours?" Jimin asked Yoongi, turning his body so that he was facing the older boy.

"Yeah," Yoongi sighed. "They didn't pick up."

"Oh," Jimin replied quietly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Yoongi replied, a small smile on his face. "I'm sure they're fine. I did get to talk to my brother for a second, though."

"Oh. Is he okay?" Jimin asked, looking at Yoongi with bright eyes, hoping that Yoongi’s brother was fine.

"Yeah. He said he was fine,” Yoongi replied. He kept his eyes on the road even though he wanted to look over at Jimin. "He said he was on the way to our parents' house already. He's probably with them and they're probably fine."

“Really? That's so good," Jimin smiled, his eyes wide with hope. "You should call him later! Maybe you can talk to your parents." Jimin spoke enthusiastically and Yoongi nodded with a smile.

The car became silent again for a while, but it felt more comfortable than it was previously. Now that they had talked for a bit, the atmosphere felt a whole less awkward and Yoongi’s presence kept Jimin feeling calm and comfortable.

After a couple more minutes of driving, Yoongi passed his phone to Jimin. Jimin looked over at him and his eyebrows furrowed slightly, silently questioning what he was supposed to do with Yoongi’s phone.

"Call Namjoon." He said, his eyes still on the road and Jimin did as he was told. They waited for Namjoon to pick up.

Namjoon answered, "What's up?"

"Hey," Yoongi replied. "There's a store not too far from here - you guys wanna go check it out? I think we should try and find stuff for lunch. It's kinda late - aren't people hungry?"

"Yeah. Good idea. Jungkook’s been complaining about being hungry for the past fifteen minutes." Namjoon laughed. Jimin and Yoongi both smiled.

"No, I haven't!" They both hear Jungkook in the background. Jimin giggled slightly at the sound of his voice sounding very defensive.

They talked for a couple of minutes before they both hung up the phone and continued driving towards the store.

A couple of minutes passed and the car came to a stop. Yoongi and Jimin both got out of the car. Jimin quickly put his backpack on.

Yoongi spotted the other car. "I'll go over to them," He spoke. "You wake up Tae?" He asked and Jimin nodded as he fixed the backpack on his shoulder.

Jimin opened the backdoor of the car and bent downwards, looking at his best friend asleep in the seats. He ran a hand through Taehyung's hair, whispering to the younger boy to wake up. The younger boy groaned before opening his eyes, his hair sticking up in different places and Jimin pulled Taehyung out of the car before pushing his best friend towards the other boys.

"Wait, Jimin," Taehyung spoke groggily and turned around as he ran a hand through his hair. "Can you get my bag?" he asked and Jimin smiled before nodding his head. Taehyung walked over to the rest of the boys as Jimin grabbed his bag.

As Jimin closed the car door, he felt something tug at his backpack. The pink-haired boy turned his head, expecting to see Taehyung or one of the other boys but his mouth dropped as he was face-to-face with a zombie.

The zombie groaned. It didn’t even have to open its mouth for Jimin to see its blood-covered yellow teeth since its face was so decayed that its lips had almost completely rotted off. Bloody, stringy saliva was dribbling from its mouth onto the zombie’s shirt that was already ripped and filthy.

Jimin dropped Taehyung’s bag, shock taking over his body as he looked at the purple veins throbbing out of the zombie’s neck from the blackened bite mark. He looked at its greyed skin that had already begun rotting away - Jimin could see its bones while dark, thickened blood oozed out of the wounds on its body.

The zombie's whole face was completely covered in nothing but blood - some of it dried, looking like it was from hours and hours ago and some of it still wet, fresh. The zombie’s tiny black eyes looked at Jimin in hunger.

Jimin shrieked, trying his hardest to pull away. Tears instantly flooded into his eyes when he realised it was practically impossible to pull away from its grip. He had no idea zombies would be that strong.

Yoongi came running at the sound of Jimin's scream, his bat securely in his hands as Taehyung and Namjoon followed close behind. Yoongi locked eyes with Jimin's teary ones that pleaded for help.

Jimin somehow managed to get his arms out of his backpack and he fell to the floor, flinching as the zombie got closer.

Yoongi suddenly appeared, smashing his bat into the zombie's skull and Jimin quickly shut his eyes tight, whimpering at the sound of the zombie's groans. Jimin kept his eyes shut and covered his ears, not wanting to see or hear the sound of the zombie getting beat repeatedly.

Jimin felt a hand on his arm and he flinched, moving away slightly until he heard the sound of Yoongi's voice: "Hey, it's just me," He spoke, his voice low and Jimin opened his eyes to see Yoongi smiling at him. Yoongi made sure he was bending down in front of Jimin in a position so that the younger boy couldn't see the zombie on the floor, knowing that would just make him feel ten times worse.

Jimin immediately cried. "Oh my God. Oh my God. I was going to die. I was going to die," He blubbered through the tears that were streaming down his face. “It was going to kill me. I was going to die."

"No. No. You're fine," Yoongi spoke softly as he stroked Jimin's arm softly, trying to comfort the younger boy. "It's dead now. You're fine, okay?" Yoongi continued to calm Jimin down and Jimin nodded even though the tears were still falling.

When Jimin’s cries had quietened down, Yoongi helped him up and turned the smaller boy's body so he was facing Taehyung and Namjoon - once again so he wouldn't see the dead creature on the floor.

Jimin sniffled as he walked with Yoongi towards the two other boys. "Wait - where's my bag?" He asked.

"Uh," Yoongi said as he looked back behind them. Jimin's bag was still in the zombie's clutch. The once pretty embroidered flowers now covered in blood and zombie brains. Yoongi didn't think Jimin would want his bag back.

Jimin turned his head slightly, wanting to look at what Yoongi was looking at. He caught the smallest glimpse of his bag, frowning at the fact that his pretty bag now had specks of blood on it before he felt two fingers on his cheek and his head was pushed to the side.

"Don't look," Yoongi spoke bluntly, his fingers still on Jimin's cheek, lightly caressing it as Jimin now faced Taehyung and Namjoon once again.

The feeling of Yoongi’s fingers trailing on the skin of his cheek made Jimin feel all warm but that didn't stop him from frowning.

“But my bag," He sighed. "And the snacks I was supposed to give to the other boys." Jimin looked up at Yoongi with eyes that were still glossy.

"I'll get you a new bag - a better bag," Yoongi decided, throwing his arm over Jimin's shoulder as he walked him over to the other two boys. "And I have snacks in my bag, remember? You can give those to the others, hm?" Yoongi hummed.

"Okay," Jimin nodded quietly.

Jimin walked over to Taehyung and Namjoon and Taehyung immediately engulfed his best friend into a hug. From behind him, Jimin heard Namjoon ask whether he's okay and with his head on Taehyung's shoulder, the pink-haired boy looked at Namjoon's eyes and nodded with a small smile.

The three boys walked back over to Jungkook, Seokjin and Hobi while Yoongi went back to the car, grabbing the bag full of snacks. When Jimin joined the rest of the boys at the other car, they all had alarmed looks on their faces: raised eyebrows, widened eyes. After seeing Jimin safe, they seemed to settle down a little.

Yoongi came back, a backpack now on his back and his bat still firmly in his grip. Jimin noticed the spots of blood now present on Yoongi's shirt. He looked down at his own clothes and grimaced at the sight of blood - there wasn't as much blood as there was Yoongi's shirt, but enough to make Jimin feel slightly sick and absolutely disgusted.

"We should head over to that store and see if we can find anything," Namjoon said as his finger went to point at the big store not too far away. It looked like it had already been broken into - the windows were smashed and from where they were standing, Jimin could see that the inside of the store was trashed but there was no harm in checking the store out anyway. This was their only option right now for food.

"We should also check if we can find any weapons for these two," Yoongi spoke as he used his bat to point over to Seokjin and Jungkook. "You guys should say in the middle of the group," He ordered, wanting to make sure Jin and Jungkook would be protected and the two boys nodded.

As they began walking to the store, Jimin walked over to Yoongi. They’ve only known each other for a couple of hours, but Jimin had taken a liking to Yoongi already and after the little incident that had happened, Jimin knew that Yoongi would protect him.

The seven boys walked into the building and Jimin looked around the wrecked store - everything was on the floor, things were thrown around and blood splatters were present on the walls, on the floor, basically everywhere.

A couple of zombies were around and upon seeing them, Yoongi and Namjoon went forwards, using their bats to knock the creatures out. Taehyung took a step forward but moved back, frightened when he saw a zombie groan and run towards Yoongi, who hit his bat with so much force that the zombie immediately fell to the floor.

Taehyung then breathed out, closing his eyes for a moment before going forwards and hitting a zombie with his bat. Jimin watched his best friend and could only think that he was so brave.

Jimin felt bad. He had a bat but didn't want to use it. Having a bat as a weapon meant he had to go close to a zombie, close enough so that he could kill it and the thought of being so close to a zombie scared him. He knew there would be a time where he would have to, otherwise, he'd end up dying. Jimin sighed and wondered if he should just give his bat to Jungkook or Seokjin since he felt there was no use in him having it.

They continued. If they saw anything they could use, the boys would stop, putting what they could find in their bags. Before turning a corner, Namjoon would grab something and throw it in the direction they wanted to go, seeing if the noise attracted any zombies.

If it did, Namjoon, Taehyung and Yoongi would go ahead, hitting the zombies with their bats. Hoseok would go sometimes too although, after Yoongi told him he should stay with Seokjin and Jungkook for protection, he didn't go anymore. If they saw no zombies, they would go ahead.

No one cared about the fact that Jimin didn’t want to help with fighting the zombies. They knew he was scared and after what had happened outside the store near the cars earlier, he had every right to be. But Jimin wanted to. He wanted to help. He felt useless just standing and watching. He felt like it was unfair to the others but still, the way his stomach twisted at the sight of a zombie stopped him from helping.

They came to a stop in the middle of the store. The seven boys had been walking around for a while and it seemed like they had killed all the zombies in the store.

"Which way should we go?" Seokjin asked, looking at Namjoon for answers.

"We should split up," Hobi suggested.

"No,"

"Yes,"

Yoongi and Seokjin, the two had just spoken, stared at each other.

"We can get more stuff if we split up," Seokjin backed up his point and Yoongi shook his head in response.

"There's safety in numbers," Yoongi began saying. "We're not dying one day into the apocalypse because we left each other alone. We should stay together."

Everyone was silent for a moment until Namjoon finally spoke up, "How about a group of four and a group of three?" He asked, looking over at both Yoongi and Jin. "We won't be alone and we can get more stuff than if we were all just together."

Yoongi and Seokjin both nodded - that plan suited both their wants.

With that, Taehyung, Jimin and Yoongi became the group of three while the others were the group of four.

The three boys began walking around the store. Taehyung was able to find two canned foods rolled underneath a table in the store and Yoongi found a small tangerine perched on the edge of the self scanner.

Jimin continued walking although he made sure not to head too far away from the two other boys.

The boy turned around a corner and spotted a zombie aimlessly groaning and walking around. Jimin gasped quietly as he walked back so he was out of the zombie’s sight.

Jimin began thinking. He could do this. It was now or never.

The pink-haired boy breathed in and out before he ran out from his hiding spot, smacking his bat into the creature's head while its back was turned away. He closed his eyes shut as he hit it again.

Jimin slowly opened his eyes, seeing the zombie dead on the floor, blood splattered from its skull all over the ground beneath him. He grimaced slightly at the disgusting sight but smiled small, proud of himself when he realised what he had just done.

He had just killed a zombie.

"Oh my God!" Jimin shouted. Yoongi came running at the sound of Jimin’s loud voice, a concerned look on his face as he thought Jimin was in danger.

"What?" The blond ran over to Jimin. "Are you okay?" Yoongi asked, placing his hand on Jimin's shoulder and Jimin just nodded with a smile.

"I killed it," Jimin pointed to the zombie dead on the floor.

Yoongi looked down, making the same face Jimin had when he had first seen the dead zombie. The blond looked back up and saw Jimin’s smile and despite seeing the disgusting creature on the floor, Yoongi smiled at the sight of Jimin’s smile.

Yoongi made his hand flat before lifting it into the air. "High five," He smiled as he looked down at Jimin. Jimin's eyes turned into the shape of crescents as he slapped his hand against Yoongi's palm with a giggle that escaped past his lips.

They continued walking, searching for anything. Jimin and Yoongi ended up finding a couple of canned foods but that was the most of what they could find and with that, the three boys met up with the rest of the group back at the centre of the store.

When the seven boys saw each other again, Jungkook showed Yoongi his newfound weapon - a slightly rusty crowbar he had found in the storage closet of the store. Yoongi nodded, impressed with what Jungkook had found.

"Did you find a weapon?" Jimin asked Seokjin, who shook his head.

"Actually," Seokjin began after a moment. "I found that crowbar but I let Jungkook have it." Jungkook looked taken aback for a moment - his mouth hung slightly open and his eyebrows were furrowed.

"No, you didn't," Jungkook shook his head. "I found it all on my own," He spoke proudly and Jin chuckled.

"Sure," Seokjin replied and Jungkook smiled as he bumped his elbow into the older boy's.

"Does anyone need any water?" Hobi asked as he pulled out a couple of water bottles from his bag. "I found a couple of bottles around the store." A few boys nodded and Hoseok handed the water out accordingly.

After a bit of discussion, the boys decided to just eat their lunch in the store. They all sat down on the ground after finding a space with the least amount of blood around.

Yoongi unzipped his backpack, grabbing his lunch before he passed his bag over to Jimin, letting the younger boy hand out the snacks as promised.

“Wait,” Taehyung suddenly spoke up as he unzipped his bag. He ruffled his hand inside the bag, looking for something specific. He smiled to himself when he found what he was looking for and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. “Give me your hands,” He ordered the rest of the boys, who compiled.

Taehyung squirted hand sanitizer onto each boy’s hand before he put it back into his bag. After Jimin had rubbed the sanitizer into his skin, he reached into Yoongi’s bag, passing the snacks in there to each boy. As he did so, he couldn’t help but frown at the thought of his snack-filled bag still outside in the zombie’s clutch.

"Does anyone have any other food we can share?" Yoongi asked as he opened up his lunchbox. He began to split his sandwich into parts.

Hobi and Namjoon both nodded, pulling their lunches out of their bags. Taehyung nodded too, picking up the teacher’s lunches that he had taken from the staff room earlier on at school from his bag and placing them in front of Yoongi. Yoongi tried his best to split the food equally and handed each boy a piece.

Yoongi then picked up the small tangerine, peeling it quickly. He counted the segments - eight. He gave each boy a segment of the tangerine but placed the extra eighth one into Jimin’s palm. Jimin smiled when he realised he had two segments rather than one and mounted a small ‘thank you’ to Yoongi.

"What about the canned foods we found?" Taehyung asked as he stuffed a couple of chips into his mouth.

"We should save them for later," Namjoon replied, answering Taehyung's question. "We’re gonna need them later down the road.”

The boys ate in silence, all of them lost in thought - thinking about their family, their friends, themselves, if they were going to survive, if they were going to die or if they were going to end up getting bitten.

But soon, they all finished with their small meals and exited the store.

They headed back into their cars and once again, they were off.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
14:31

A little over an hour and a half had passed since the boys had left the large store. The time passed consisted of the three boys talking about whatever they could think of. Jimin ended up calling his parents a couple of times too but still, they didn’t pick up.

Yoongi told Jimin there was just under two hours left of their journey and Jimin was relieved. He was so ready to get to the cabin. He knew he would be safe there and that’s all he wanted right now: safety.

While driving, Yoongi kept his eye on the gas tank. It wasn’t full too begin with and he sighed when he realised that it was now close to running out.

“What’s wrong?” Jimin asked as he looked over to Yoongi while tilting his head slightly at the sound of the older boy’s sigh.

“We’re running out of gas,” Yoongi mumbled back and Jimin whispered out a small ‘oh’ in response.

“What’re we gonna do?” Taehyung asked from the back, leaning forwards slightly.

“I’ll just stop at the next gas station I see, I guess,” Yoongi shrugged as he looked at Taehyung through the rear-view mirror. He wasn’t too fazed about the gas tank - they’d have to pass a gas station at some point.

Yoongi instructed Jimin to unlock his phone once again to tell Namjoon about the change of plans and Jimin did as told.

Time passed and Yoongi finally found a gas station and quickly parked the car. Before he exited, he told both Taehyung and Jimin to stay in the car, telling both the boys that he would only take a moment.

Jimin watched Yoongi filling up the gas tank through the window. He watched Namjoon walk over towards Yoongi along with Hosoek and Seokjin from the other car and they quickly began talking. Jimin spotted Jungkook too, running from the other car towards the backseat of the car Jimin and Taehyung were both in.

Jungkook slid into the backseat of the car, joining Taehyung who had a smile on his face. Taehyung shuffled closer to Jungkook, their knees now touching and both the boys’ smiles widened.

Jimin continued to watch the boys outside. He watched the way Seokjin pointed towards the gas station store and the way Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows with a nod.

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” Jimin asked Jungkook, turning his head around to look over at Jungkook, who now had his arm wrapped around Taehyung’s shoulder, as Jimin pointed to the four boys talking outside with his thumb.

“Uh, in the car the other guys were just talking about going into the gas station store to like find stuff,” Jungkook explained and Jimin nodded, biting his lip.

The idea of going back outside couldn’t help but fill Jimin with fear. The thought of being out there in the open and coming face-to-face with a zombie, like the incident that happened at their last stop filled Jimin with worry. He didn’t want that to happen again.

Jimin’s thoughts were intercepted when his car door quickly opened. He jumped at the sudden movement, quickly whipping his head around to see what it was with wide eyes until he saw Yoongi staring back at him with a smile and Jimin breathed out slowly, calming down immediately.

“We’re going to go check out the store just in case we find anything useful,” Yoongi said and Jimin nodded. Jungkook was right. “You guys should come with.”

Yoongi stepped out of the way and Jimin stepped out of the car. His eyes scanned the area nervously - the thought of a zombie popping out of nowhere to attack him wouldn’t leave his mind.

The image of the zombie from their last stop was in his mind - its decomposed face, the way its lips were completely gone and all that could be seen was the yellowed teeth covered in blood, the bloody bones that could be seen through the skin that had rotted and fallen off, the purple pulsating veins coming out from the deep bite mark in its neck, the way it gripped onto Jimin and didn’t let go, the way Jimin couldn’t get away from it, its black eyes, the way it looked at Jimin, snarling in hunger - that was all Jimin could think about.

Jimin breathed out, closing his eyes slightly and reminded himself that he wasn’t alone. The other boys were here. Yoongi was here. Jimin had a weapon. He was protected. He was safe. Jimin opened his eyes to see Yoongi staring at him with a tilted head and a small smile. Jimin smiled back, telling himself that everything would be okay before he began walking to the entrance of the store with Yoongi.

The seven boys walked over to the entrance although, upon inspection, Namjoon noticed a chain and lock wrapped around both handles of the door, meaning the boys couldn’t get in.

Jimin saw Yoongi walk away. The older boy went over to the side of the road and bent down towards the floor and Jimin raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was up to.

“How are we supposed to get i-,” Seokjin spoke but quickly cut himself off when he saw Yoongi walking over with a large rock he had picked up from the side of the road. Yoongi walked towards the door and lifted the rock above his head, about to break the lock until Jimin spoke up.

“Is this a good idea?” He spoke up suddenly as Yoongi turned to face him. “I mean, isn’t this like illegal?” He asked while smiling sheepishly and Yoongi chuckled before turning back around and smashing the rock into the lock, successfully breaking it.

“We’re in the middle of an apocalypse - who cares if it’s illegal?” Yoongi smiled as he pushed open the door, letting the boys walk in before him. Jimin followed but hesitated before doing so.

“Won’t we get arrested or something?” He whispered quietly to Taehyung beside him and Yoongi from behind him. Yoongi shook his head while smiling at the sound of Jimin’s concerns.

“Yes, Jimin,” Taehyung spoke as he looked over to his best friend. “We’re in the middle of the apocalypse and the police’s main priority is arresting teenagers that broke into a gas station,” He replied sarcastically and Jimin immediately smacked Taehyung’s arm before blushing, suddenly feeling embarrassed over his worries while Yoongi chuckled fondly from behind them, finding Jimin’s little concern adorable.

After walking in, the boys widened their eyes at what they had seen. The store didn’t have too much stock but it was more than enough for the boys and the store looked as if the zombies outside didn’t exist. Nothing was trashed - everything was perfectly aligned on the shelves, the counters were clean; there was no blood in sight. It looked normal.

They had gotten so lucky.

“Put as much stuff as you can into your bags,” Seokjin said as he grabbed Hoseok, the two walking over to the canned foods and unzipping their bag, filling it up as much as they possibly could.

Namjoon walked over to a different aisle. He grabbed whatever the boys could use for hygiene - toothbrushes, toothpaste, hairbrushes and whatever else he could find that might be of use.

Jungkook shrugged his backpack off. He unzipped it before completely turning it upside down, allowing all his school supplies to fall out and onto the floor. Taehyung laughed before he did the same, giggling as he watched his school books fall and hit the floor with a loud smack.

Jimin watched Jungkook and Taehyung run off to the aisle that Seokjin and Hoseok were currently in before he turned to look at Yoongi, who was still behind him.

“Should I just carry as much stuff as I can in my hands?” Jimin asked, tilting his head to the side, remembering he didn’t have a bag anymore.

Yoongi turned to face Jimin, his eyes softening at the younger boy’s offer before he shook his head. “They probably have plastic bags behind the counter,” He replied as he walked over to behind the counter, finding some plastic bags and passing one over to Jimin, who thanked Yoongi with a smile before he walked over to join Taehyung and Jungkook.

As Jimin walked away, Yoongi began thinking about the lock around the handle of the entrance.

Wasn’t that a little weird?

There was no way a zombie did that. A person clearly did that to protect what was in here and Yoongi wondered if they were coming back. He bit his lip in thought.

What if the person who locked the gas station up came back? He wondered if taking what was in here was the right thing to do. If the person came back, their food would be completely gone and their chance of surviving would drop. But then again, this was an apocalypse - shouldn’t they be a little selfish? There was no one here anyway and Yoongi didn’t see anyone outside so since no one was around, was it really bad if they just took everything?

Yoongi’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound. He whipped his head around to see Namjoon standing above a small shelf that had fallen over, a sheepish smile on his face and Yoongi shook his head while he laughed to himself quietly.

“Who’s there?” The seven boys suddenly hear an unfamiliar voice coming from the entrance of the gas station. Yoongi widened his eyes, walking over to the rest of the boys and immediately lifted his bat up.

The door swung open and a boy walked in, his hands firmly wrapped around a gun.

“Oh, fuck,” Yoongi whispered. He moved closer to Jimin, standing in front of the younger boy unconsciously.

Jimin eyed the gun in the boy's hand and he swallowed thickly at the sight of it while his eyes began to water quickly.

Yoongi watched as the unknown boy stepped closer and along with the rest of the boys, Yoongi took a step back. The mystery boy’s appearance didn’t look very intimidating - he had bright yellow hair but the way he held his gun, ready to shoot showed that he didn’t have to look that way - the gun was intimidating and scary enough.

Yoongi didn’t know what to do. If this was a zombie, it would’ve been simple. You kill it. But this was a human. A human who could kill the seven boys more easily and quicker than any of the boys could even hurt him.

“Are you bitten?” He asked, waving his gun around at the seven boys, aiming at each of them. “Are any of you bitten?” He repeated and his gun stopped, it now pointing right at Jimin’s face. The tears in Jimin’s eyes were threatening to fall but he tried to stop them.

Yoongi shook his head slowly and he hesitated before speaking, “We’re not bitten. We just came in t-,”

Yoongi was swiftly cut off by the boy, who turned his gun so it was now facing Yoongi, “You broke in, right? I saw the broken lock,” He asked as he walked closer to them, his eyes and his gun not leaving Yoongi’s face. Yoongi nodded as he swallowed thickly, nervous at the sight of the gun.

“We’re sorry,” Namjoon suddenly spoke and the boy’s gun turned to face him. “We, we just needed supplies. But we’ll leave, please. We’ll leave. Just let us go,” Namjoon whispered.

When the boy didn’t reply, the tears in Jimin’s eyes began to fall. All this time, he thought that if he was going to die, it would be by getting infected. He had no idea that his death would come from being shot by a human. He didn’t want his friends to get shot. Jimin didn’t want them to die. Jimin didn’t want to di-

“It’s fine,” The boy finally replied and Jimin widened his eyes. It’s fine? “I understand. I’m sorry for this,” He continued as he lowered his gun. “I was scared,” The boy admitted as he sighed.

Jimin swallowed thickly and breathed out slowly as he wiped his tears away.

“You can take what you need from here. I know we’re all trying to survive,” The boy spoke as he looked over at Namjoon and Namjoon widened his eyes at the stranger’s words. “Just not everything. My family is getting here soon and that’s why I locked up,” He explained.

“W-we’re sorry,” Namjoon stuttered, still shocked by the gun that was waved in his face just a second ago. “But thank you…”

“Yeonjun,” The stranger finished off the sentence for the older boy. “My name is Yeonjun.”

Namjoon, as well as some of the other boys, thanked Yeonjun profusely but Jimin stayed still behind Yoongi, his eyes still widened from what had just happened.

Yeonjun walked over to the counter, staying over there while the rest of the boys went back to grab what they wanted. Both Hobi and Jin ended up unzipping their bags to take things out after hearing about Yeonjun’s family.

Yoongi turned to look at Jimin, who was still standing with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked in a soft voice.

Jimin nodded slowly but whispered out. “I thought he was going to kill us,” His voice wavered and his eyes filled with tears again quickly at the image of the gun pointed to his face popping into his mind before he looked down at his shoes.

“Hey,” Yoongi shushed as he tilted Jimin’s head up. “We’re fine, okay? He wasn’t going to hurt us. He was just afraid just like we are,” Yoongi spoke in hushed tones, hoping it would ease Jimin’s feelings. “We’re gonna get what we need and we’re gonna leave as quick as possible, okay?” Jimin nodded as he wiped his tears away once again.

“You okay, Jimin?” Jungkook asked once he saw Jimin’s tear-stained cheeks. From beside him, Taehyung’s mouth dropped open at the sight of Jimin before he immediately walked over to his best friend, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

“I was afraid too,” Taehyung admitted as he ran a hand through Jimin’s hair. “Don’t worry now. You wanna come with me and Jungkook?” He asked with a smile and Jimin nodded through sniffles. Yoongi smiled as Jimin walked away with Taehyung, glad his best friend was there with him to help him feel better.

Yoongi walked over to a different section of the store, spotting flashlights and batteries. He figured that they would definitely be needed so he popped a couple into his bag.

He spotted Yeonjun walking around and Yoongi walked up to him, deciding to thank him one more time.

“Thank you,” Yoongi spoke and Yeonjun widened his eyes, startled after suddenly hearing Yoongi’s voice beside him.

“Don’t worry,” Yeonjun replied. “There’s enough here for my family. I’d feel bad if I kept it all to myself,” He smiled and Yoongi nodded. “I’m sorry for the gun, by the way. I was scared. I didn’t mean to scare you guys as much as I did,” Yeonjun apologised.

“It’s understandable. Don’t worry,” Yoongi shook his head. If he was in Yeonjun’s position, he would’ve done the same thing. Yoongi wasn’t even sure if he would be as generous as Yeonjun had been. He thinks he would’ve kicked them out of the store if he was in that position.

“So, where are you guys heading to next?” Yeonjun asked as he looked over to Yoongi.

“Uh, we’re just planning to lay low somewhere for a while,” Yoongi explained and Yeonjun nodded.

“How many of you are there?”

“Seven,”

“You all fit in one car?” Yeonjun asked, his eyes widening and Yoongi chuckled before he shook his head slightly.

“We have two cars,” Yoongi began explaining as he held two fingers up. “Four of us are in one and three of us are in the other.” Yeonjun nodded as an ‘ah’ escaped passed his lips.

“Wait,” Yeonjun suddenly spoke as he slid behind the counter and quickly opened a drawer before rummaging his hand around in it and pulling out a pair of keys.

Yeonjun walked back over to Yoongi, who had his eyebrows furrowed, and placed the keys into his plan.

“These are for a van outside,” Yeonjun explained. “It belonged to an employee here but he…” He paused and Yoongi could guess what he was going to say. “Anyway, all of you will be able to fit inside - it’ll probably be a lot safer for you that way.”

Yoongi widened his eyes at the boy’s generosity. “Are you sure? Won’t you need it for your family?” Yoongi asked and Yeonjun shook his head.

“We can fit into a normal car. You guys can’t,” He replied. “Also, I figured this is the least I can do after the whole gun incident,” Yeonjun sighed before he apologised again.

Yoongi thanked the kind stranger once again before he walked over back to the rest of the group to tell them about the van.

“Yeonjun gave me this,” The blond said as he placed the keys in Namjoon’s hand, who raised an eyebrow.

Jimin went on his tiptoes, peering from behind Yoongi shoulder, trying to take a look at what the older boy was talking about.

"What is it?" He asked softly and Yoongi instantly moved the angle of his body, allowing Jimin to clearly see the keys in his hands. "What for?" He asked again, looking up at Yoongi with curious eyes.

"It's for a van outside," Yoongi repeated what Yeonjun had said to him a moment ago. "He said we'll all be able to fit in there so we don't have to be separated."

"Ah," Namjoon understood. "That's a lot safer for us," Namjoon looked over to Yeonjun who was still standing near the counter. He mouthed a 'thank you' when Yeonjun looked his way. Jimin looked over at Yeonjun and the gun that laid still on the counter top. The sight of the gun made him feel nervous. He knew Yeonjun was scared and from the way he was so generous, Jimin knew he was a good person but that didn’t stop him from being scared of the stranger. The gun freaked him out.

“We should leave soon,” Seokjin commented and Namjoon nodded.

“I just want to grab a couple of more things,” Namjoon replied as his eyes began scanning over the different aisles over the store, looking for something in particular.

“What are you looking for?” Jungkook asked from behind Namjoon as he wanted to help the older boy in finding the item.

“Flashlights and batteries,” The older boy replied, his eyes still trailing around the store.

“I’ve already grabbed some,” Yoongi said and an ‘oh’ escaped past Namjoon’s lips. “We should get going.” Yoongi wanted to leave as soon as possible because of the gun incident. He knew Yeonjun was nice but he also knew that the stranger’s presence made Jimin feel nervous and Yoongi didn’t think the younger boy should feel that way for longer.

After saying their goodbyes to Yeonjun, who wished them luck before they left, the seven boys left the gas station and began walking towards the black van parked not too far away which Yeonjun had given them the keys to.

Hoseok pulled open the two van doors at the back, revealing the inside. There were two seats and the front - the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat while the rest of the van was empty space, meaning the rest of the boys would have to sit on the floor of the van.

There were a couple of items in the van but nothing the boys needed so they decided to leave everything at the gas station since nothing was of use to them.

“Anyone want to drive?” Namjoon questioned as he looked over at the six other boys.

“I don’t mind driving,” Hoseok offered and no one had any complaints. He made sure the gas tank was entirely full before the boys piled into the car.

Hoseok and Yoongi were both at the front - Yoongi had to give directions while the rest of the boys were sitting on the floor of the van. Jimin was slightly disheartened - he wanted to sit next to Yoongi like he had done in their car earlier on.

Jungkook asked how long it would take to get to Yoongi’s cabin to which Yoongi replied with at most, an hour and thirty minutes.

Once they had left, Jimin shuffled closer to Taehyung, leaning his head onto his best friend’s shoulder.

An hour and a half to go.

An hour and a half until safety.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY ONE
17:47

A little bit of time had passed since they had left the gas station. Jimin did what he had done for the past three hours: stare out the window. The clouds were slowly disappearing - since it was a little after wintertime, the days felt much shorter and it got darker a lot quicker.

Jimin still had his head leaning on Taehyung’s shoulder. He watched the trees and houses go by. The stores and houses outside looked much worse than they had earlier on - maybe it was the fact that it was now darker, causing everything to look sombre or maybe it was the fact that there were probably much more zombies outside now and they had most likely trashed things more.

“Do you guys mind if I turn the radio on? Maybe we’ll get to hear something,” Hoseok asked from the driver’s seat and most of the boys shook their heads while others replied with a simple ‘no’.

Jimin didn’t expect to hear anything - maybe they would hear some static at best but he was surprised to hear an announcement on the radio.

'The government has advised everyone to stay home. Leaving your home currently could be fatal - leave at your own risk. We are doing all that we can to control this disease.’

The announcement repeated over, and over again while the boys just sat in silence.

Jimin couldn’t help but wonder if he made the right choice. Should he have gone home instead like the government had said? Was following the rest of the boys the right decision?

“Do you think I should’ve gone home?” Taehyung muttered after a moment, voicing both his and Jimin’s concern aloud to the rest of the boys.

“No,” Yoongi immediately replied bluntly from the passenger’s seat as he turned his head to look over at Taehyung.

“But the government sai-,” Jimin began speaking but he was quickly cut off by Namjoon’s voice.

“We know what the government said,” He sighed. “But you’re safer with us. I promise. You really think staying in a busy city is better?” He asked rhetorically, hoping he got Taehyung and Jimin to understand that being with them was safer.

The repeated message from the radio suddenly stopped although another one quickly played after - this time with a different message.

‘This disease is very infectious and can be spread through a bite or a mixing of bodily fluids. The ‘undead disease’ as some have started to call it seemed to have started from Summertime’s Children Hospital from a sick patient who passed it onto various members of staff although, the actual origin of the disease is completely unknown’.

At the mention of the name of the hospital, Jimin gasped with wide eyes as he turned to look at Taehyung, who mirrored the same expression.

‘Many members of staff who have become infected had symptoms such as a high fever, paleness in the skin and prominent veins which may look purple and as if they are pulsating out of the skin. If you have any symptoms, quarantine or leave your household immediately otherwise risk putting other members of your household at risk’.

Once again, the announcement continued to replay but Jimin was barely listening. He was still staring at Taehyung, his slightly open along with wide eyes which had now begun tearing up.

The tears in Jimin’s eyes started to slide down his cheeks and Taehyung instantly pulled Jimin into a hug, allowing his best friend to sob into his shoulder at the memory of their friend.

At the sound of Jimin’s cries, Yoongi quickly turned his head around. His voice was soft when he asked Taehyung, who was also sitting with teary eyes and a quivered lip, “What happened?”

Jimin stayed silently sobbing in Taehyung's shoulder as his best friend tried to explain. “Our friend, Soobin, he used to volunteer at that hospital and…” Taehyung’s voice wavered and he didn’t continue speaking, hoping what he had just said was enough for the rest of the boy’s to understand.

Jungkook quickly wrapped an arm around Taehyung, pulling the older boy towards him, hoping to comfort him even the tiniest bit with his action.

Jimin didn’t understand how he hadn’t realised earlier. It all made sense - Soobin’s fever, his pale skin, the way he wore the thick fluffy scarf; he didn’t want people to know but how did Jimin not realise? He saw the bite mark before his very own eyes and had no clue. He whimpered at the thought of Soobin still at school - his friend now a zombie, walking around aimlessly, biting people, grabbing onto anything that made a sound.

Yoongi looked over at Jimin, who was still hiding his face in Taehyung’s shoulder and the older boy debated from a moment in his mind, wondering whether or not he should go over to Jimin and comfort him just like Jungkook had done with Taehyung.

After a moment of thinking, he decided against it. He had only really known Jimin for a day and didn’t want to step over a line by trying to comfort him and accidentally making him feel uncomfortable.

But the way Jimin cried softly made Yoongi want to hug him until Jimin felt better, until he was smiling.

Yoongi sighed before he looked back towards Hoseok, telling him where to go next. He knew Jimin had Taehyung and Taehyung had Jungkook and that in the end, they’d both be okay.

A little more time had passed since the boys had heard the announcement on the radio. Both Jimin and Taehyung had calmed down a little.

Jimin was just tired, completely out of it. After a long day of attacking zombies and being attacked himself had worn him, along with the other boys, completely worn out despite it being early.

“I think we should stop the van,” Yoongi suddenly spoke. “We should just sleep here tonight and continue the drive tomorrow.”

“Why?” Jungkook asked.

“Well, we’re all tired, right? I’m sure Hobi wants a break too,” Yoongi explained as he pointed over to Hoseok. “And it’s getting pretty dark already. I don’t think travelling during dark hours is a good idea.” Yoongi looked outside towards the darkened sky as the moon shone brightly - the sun had set a little while ago.

“Yeah. You’re right,” Namjoon agreed, nodding his head. “We can’t just park here though. Got any safe places we can get to quickly?”

Yoongi nodded. “There’s a little forest a couple of minutes away from us. I’m sure there’ll be no zombies or other people around there,” After Yoongi explained, he began giving Hoseok the directions towards the forest.

Jimin continued looking out the window, still watching the trees and stores go past as he had done for the past couple of hours with his head still placed on Taehyung’s shoulder but his head instantly shot up when he spotted something, someone, through the window.

“Wait,” Jimin shouted, quickly standing up. “Stop the van.” Hoseok complied, quickly braking, worried that Jimin might’ve gotten hurt or something along those lines but he was confused when he turned to see the pink-haired boy hair staring out the window.

Jimin’s eyes widened further when he realised his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

Jimin spotted a girl hidden inside one of the stores, her back pressed up against the wall and a lot zombies roamed around inside the store while even more zombies were dragging their feet aimlessly outside. Even if she ran, there was almost no way she would make it out alive.

Almost.

“Look,” Jimin pointed to the girl through the window and the boys gathered around, looking at what Jimin was pointing at. “We have to help her.”

Jimin grabbed a bat but as he walked towards the back doors of the van, he felt someone grab onto his wrist.

“Are you insane?” Yoongi asked, his voice raised as he stared at Jimin with wide eyes.

“What?” Jimin replied. “We have to help her. We can’t leave her there.”

“Jimin. We will die if we go outside there. Can’t you see how many zombies there are?” Yoongi questioned as he pointed out the window as he felt a strong wave of deja vu. For a moment, Yoongi wondered if he was making the wrong decision, just like he had almost done with Seokjin and Jungkook earlier on at school. But once he took another look outside, he realised that there was no way Jimin, or any of the boys, were going out there.

“Exactly!” Jimin retorted. “We can’t leave her with those zombies surrounding her. We have to help,” Jimin reached for the door again but Yoongi had a tight grip around his wrist. “Please. She’ll die,” Jimin pleaded and his eyes had become glossy at the thought of leaving the innocent girl at the store when they could’ve helped her. They could be her only chance to survive.

Yoongi’s eyes softened at the sight of Jimin’s tears but he shook his head. This may have worked before but this time, there was no way Yoongi was letting Jimin go outside. There were far too many zombies out there - double, maybe even triple the amount that was behind Jungkook and Seokjin back at school. There was no way they could save that girl, even if all the boys had decided to help.

“Jimin. No,” Yoongi looked at the younger boy in his eyes, his voice firm. “You’re not some sort of hero, Jimin. Your job isn’t to save people. Your job is to survive. There’s no way we can help that girl,” Yoongi spoke finally and Jimin shook his head fast. Yoongi wondered if he was being too harsh but Jimin didn’t seem to understand and completely underestimated how dangerous it actually would be outside.

What was heard next was an ear-splitting scream. Jimin gasped as moved closer to the window, peering out to see a zombie wrapping its hand right around the girl’s neck.

The girl locked her eyes with Jimin’s and he shook his head vigorously as tears pooled in his eyes. He had to look away when the zombie brought itself closer to the girl’s neck, knowing what he would see next was it piercing its teeth into the girl’s flesh.

Jimin sat down on the floor with his head in his hands as he cried to himself, completely defeated.

Yoongi looked down at the boy guiltily, swallowing thickly before he let out a shaky sigh and walked back to the passenger’s seat. He felt horrible but he didn’t think he had a choice. Jimin was going to get himself killed if he had tried to save that girl. He knew he did the right thing but he couldn’t help but feel bad after seeing Jimin so hurt.

“Let’s just go,” Hoseok whispered, starting the van up again as Yoongi sat down.

After driving for a while, the boys had finally parked the van near the forest.

Jimin had a headache. His eyes were all red and puffy from the amount of times he had cried today. He just wanted to go to sleep and a part of him hoped that tomorrow would be a better day but he doubted it. One day had already drained the life out of him and he doesn’t want to face another. Jimin just wanted to go home.

The rest of the boys were in complete and utter silence. They had been since the incident with the girl in the store.

Namjoon cleared his throat suddenly before he stood up. “Should we eat something? Hm?” He asked as he picked up his backpack, quickly unzipping it and grabbing some food that they had taken from the gas station. “Then we can all get some sleep. I think we need that right now.” Namjoon passed over the food to Yoongi, who raised an eyebrow to ask what he was supposed to do. “Hand these out please? I just have to do something.”

Yoongi nodded, grabbing the food out of Namjoon’s hands before he handed each boy their share of food. When he reached Jimin, the younger boy didn’t even look up. He just held out his tiny palm and Yoongi sighed quietly before he placed Jimin’s share in the younger boy’s hand. Yoongi sat down across from Jimin as he began eating his food.

Jimin ate slowly as he watched Namjoon at the front of the van. The older boy was quickly scribbling things down in a school notebook with his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Soon, he was finished with writing and he turned to face the boys sitting on the floor.

“So,” Namjoon began speaking. “I was just writing down what we know about the zombies so far.”

As he spoke, all the boys on the floor turned to look at him with their full attention.

“It was obvious that bites caused you to become infected but now we know it spreads through fluids too, which I think makes the zombies more dangerous - you might not even realise you’ve become infected until you turn. So, any wound, no matter how small - even a paper cut - gets patched up immediately, okay? We can’t risk that happening,” Namjoon looked up from his notebook to see the boys’ reactions.

They all instantly nodded, completely agreeing with what he had said. Jimin bit his lip slightly when he nodded. He couldn’t imagine turning without even getting bitten. That seemed scarier, he thinks. The thought of turning without realising was terrifying - you’d get no warning and end up putting whoever was with you at risk too.

“Now, we’ve also found out they’re attracted to sound? Right? We all saw what happened at school?” Namjoon asked rhetorically before he continued. “I think we can use it to our advantage like we did earlier on but we also have to be careful to not get too loud. We also don’t know how good their other senses are - like their sight, which leaves us at a slight disadvantage but I’m sure we’ll end up finding out soon enough.”

Jimin cringed slightly at Namjoon’s words: ‘We’ll end up finding out soon enough.’ Jimin didn’t want to find out. He didn’t want to face another zombie.

“Are we all good food wise?” Jungkook asked and Namjoon nodded.

“I think we’ll be good for a couple of weeks,” He answered. “Obviously we’ll have to ration things out but I won’t let you guys starve.” The boys nodded and Jimin felt slightly relieved at the fact that they’d be okay for a couple of weeks but at the same time, the worry of what would happen once a couple of weeks had passed still filled him with anxiety. “Quick question: does anyone have a diary with the dates and stuff inside?” Namjoon asked.

“I’ve got one,” Hoseok reached for his back, rummaging around in it for a bit before he pulled out a diary and passed it over to Namjoon who thanked him.

“Why do you need that?” Taehyung asked from beside Jimin as he pointed to the diary.

Namjoon shrugged. “I just think it would be good if we kept track of the date and what we’re doing each day,” He explained and Taehyung nodded. Jimin thought that was a good idea.

The van soon became silent once again, each boy consumed in eating the food in front of them. Jimin still ate slowly - he didn’t feel too hungry. He actually felt sort of sick. Maybe it was just from the stressful day or maybe it was because the image of the zombie gnawing on the girl’s neck from the store wouldn’t leave him mind - either way, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to finish his food.

More time passed and Jimin still had more than half his food leftover - it wasn’t much to begin with but he really couldn’t finish it off. Seokjin told him to eat as much as possible since he needed all the food he could get after today but Jimin couldn’t stomach it so he ended up giving it away to Jungkook, who was more than happy to finish it off for him.

Jimin took out his phone from his pocket, once again texting and calling both his parents as well as his brother, hoping that they might pick up now but as usual, there was no answer.

“We need to have night shifts,” Namjoon said after a while and Jimin looked up from his phone, tilting his head slightly as he wondered what the older boy had meant. “While we sleep, one person should stay awake just in case something happens and we need to be awake,” He explained and the boys nodded. “We should take turns in staying awake and do an hour each?” He suggested.

After some discussion, the order of the night shifts was decided. Jungkook would go first, only having to stay up later rather than having to wake up in the middle of the night. Jin would go next, followed by Yoongi.

Jimin would go after Yoongi and if he was honest, he was worried. Anything could happen in the middle of the night. He would be awake on his own. It would be dark and quiet and he feels like anything would pop out and attack him at any moment but Jimin tried to continuously remind himself that he wouldn’t be alone. All the boys would be near him and if anything happened, all he had to do was wake them up.

After Jimin, Taehyung would go next, followed by Hobi and lastly, Namjoon and after that, the order would repeat for the rest of the night.

After the order was decided, Namjoon picked up the coats - the ones he had taken from the staff room. They sat on the floor of the van in a little pile. He picked them up, passing one over to Jungkook and then Taehyung.

"It'll get cold," He spoke. "You can wear them or just sleep on them, I guess. It'll be more comfortable," he explained his thinking behind the coats. He passed two to Seokjin, who then passed one over to Hoseok.

Namjoon sighed as he stared down at his hands. There were only two left but he, along with Jimin and Yoongi, didn't have coats. He shrugged before he gave the two coats to the boys sitting on the floor.

"You don't have one?" Yoongi asked and Namjoon nodded. Yoongi shook his head before he passed his coat back to Namjoon.

“No. I don't need one," Namjoon replied as he passed it back over to Yoongi.

"Neither do I," Yoongi retorted and Namjoon sighed, raising an eyebrow as he looked at what Yoongi was wearing. Jimin looked over at Yoongi, who was just merely wearing a t-shirt - he was definitely going to need it. Jimin looked down at his own outfit before standing up and tapping Namjoon’s shoulder.

"You can take mine," Jimin offered and Namjoon shook his head.

"No. I don't need one," He repeated with a dimpled smile on his face.

"I've got a hoodie on though," Jimin spoke as he pulled his hoodie string, showing Namjoon. "I'll be warm enough so you should take it," Jimin placed the coat in the older boy's hands.

"Are you sure?" Namjoon asked and Jimin nodded, a bright smile on his face. "Thank you," Namjoon thanked and Jimin told him not to worry.

Jimin sat back down, not noticing Yoongi staring at him with a small smile on his face. Jimin leaned over towards Taehyung, placing his head on his best friend's shoulder as he closed his eyes.

Time passed and even though Jimin was tired, he couldn’t seem to fall asleep.

His mind was thinking of too many things at once: the girl he couldn’t save, Soobin, his family, himself, Yoongi, if him and the boys were safe.

He felt like he had been thinking for hours about everything that had happened today. All the moments he just wished he could forget were replaying in his mind over and over again.

Jimin sighed as he tried to slow down his breathing, trying to match his breaths up with Taehyung’s breaths beside him. He tried to think of good things, things that made him happy, calm but it was hard when today was one of the worst days Jimin thinks he had ever experienced.

Jimin thought about the car ride today. Jimin always liked long car rides - there was something about them that felt peaceful and calming. Although, under the circumstances of today, it felt quite different but still, the long car journey this morning was one of the better things that had happened today.

Jimin thought about the quiet hum of the engine. He thought about looking out the window at the trees and houses that had passed by him. He thought about Yoongi sitting beside him, making jokes and having little conversations together.

And after what felt like an eternity later, Jimin finally started to fall asleep with the thought of Yoongi on his mind.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWO
02:28

Jimin felt a hand on his arm, shaking him lightly. He groaned quietly before he moved away from the hand and closed his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep.

“Jimin,” a voice whispered and the pink-haired boy hummed quietly, his eyes still closed. “Jimin, you need to wake up,” The person speaking shook Jimin lightly once again.

Jimin opened his eyes the tiniest amount. Hobi was staring down at him but Jimin could hardly see the older boy - the window of the van didn’t help much with lighting since it was practically pitch black outside but he could tell there was a faint smile on Hoseok’s face.

“It’s your turn for your night shift,” Hoseok told Jimin, his voice soft.

“Oh,” Jimin whispered in the darkness as he sat up with a yawn. Jimin stretched while he rubbed his eyes. He had forgotten about the night shifts. He leaned his head back against the wall of the van. He shivered slightly when the cold wall collided with the back of his neck before he moved forwards, not liking the way the cold felt on his skin,

“If you need anything, you can just wake me up,” Hobi spoke and Jimin looked at him through lidded eyes while nodding his head slightly.

Soon, Hoseok fell asleep, leaving Jimin awake on his own.

Jimin yawned slightly as he leaned his head back a little more against the wall of the van, the cold hitting the back of his neck again but this time, Jimin didn’t move forwards again. He was tired and he couldn’t hold himself up. As Jimin rested his head against the wall, his eyes began falling and he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

Jimin quickly lifted his head up and sat up straight with wide eyes. Jimin shook his head, groaning slightly as he rubbed his eyes. Jimin can’t fall asleep.

Jimin needed a distraction. He needed to stay awake.

Reaching into his hoodie pocket, Jimin pulled out his phone. As he turned it on, the sleepy boy squinted at the high brightness level before quickly turning it down. Jimin checked his battery percentage - sixty per cent. That was more than enough for just an hour.

Unsurprisingly, the first thing Jimin did was call his parents and his brother but he wasn’t shocked when they didn’t pick up. Jimin sighed. He hoped they were okay - knowing that he might be able to see them again made him feel better; it made him hopeful. But at the same time, not knowing if they were okay filled him with worry.

Jimin continued clicking through his phone. The lack of Wi-Fi meant the things that Jimin could do on his phone were limited. For a while, he played old games on his phone - the ones he had downloaded long ago but never deleted. They entertained him for a while but soon, Jimin was bored and the pink-haired boy found himself looking through the photos in his camera roll instead.

Jimin smiled to himself after seeing various videos of him and Taehyung, both of them laughing and smiling wide. Jimin unconsciously began shuffling closer to Taehyung, placing his head on his best friend’s shoulder as he continued to look through his photo gallery.

Jimin smiled sadly when he saw pictures of him with his parents and brother. Maybe it was better to skip these. Jimin’s thumb swiped left and the smile on his face quickly disappeared when his eyes saw the photo of him along with Soobin and Taehyung. He swallowed thickly at the sight of Soobin’s dimpled smile and remembered where his poor friend was now, wandering around their school aimlessly as a bloody zombie. Jimin couldn’t help that tears began forming in the corners of his eyes.

Before the tears could fall, Jimin quickly turned his phone off and wiped the tears in his eyes away. The pink-haired boy breathed out shakily as he looked around the van slowly. He needed a distraction. He had cried enough today and he didn’t want to do it again.

Jimin wiped the tears in his eyes away before his eyes scanned the van until they settled in Yoongi, who was asleep across from him. The older boy was sitting upright with his back pressed against the van wall and his head was leaning onto his shoulder in what looked like an extremely uncomfortable position. Jimin cringed slightly at the thought of the pain that Yoongi would definitely feel the next day.

Jimin wiped his face once again before he stood up, his legs wobbling a little due to being sat down for so long. He carefully made his way over to Yoongi, being cautious so he wouldn’t accidentally tread on someone’s leg.

When he reached Yoongi, the younger boy placed a hand under Yoongi’s chin, shifting the position of the older boy’s head ever so slightly so that he wasn’t sleeping in such an uncomfortable position.

Jimin stared at Yoongi’s face. Yoongi looked peaceful when he slept - his eyes were relaxed rather than being furrowed and the firm look on his face when they had been fighting the zombies had disappeared. Jimin thought Yoongi was pretty.

Jimin was taken away from his thoughts when a sudden knocking was heard from the back doors of the van. The boy jumped from the unexpected noise and he became silent. The loud knocking had left his eyes wide while he held his breath, hoping that if he didn’t make a sound whoever or whatever would go away. But when the knocking occurred again, Jimin felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and he instinctively reached over to Yoongi’s bat, which was perched aside the sleeping boy.

The knocking became louder and more frequent and Jimin didn’t know whether he should check and kill what was outside or if he should wake the other boys up.

If Jimin was being honest, he didn’t want to wake up the other boys. It was in the middle of the night and he didn’t want to disrupt the boys’ sleep after everything that had happened the day before, especially if what was outside wasn’t a big threat.

Jimin thought for a moment while the noise of knocking became even louder. If it’s just a zombie, Jimin thinks he’ll be fine. He killed one before and he could kill one again - he didn’t need to wake the other boys up. He didn’t need to disrupt their sleep.

With a shaky hand, Jimin reached for Yoongi’s bat. He held it firmly in his hands just like the older boy did earlier on as Jimin walked over towards the back doors of the van, once again being careful to not step on any of the sleeping boys’ legs.

When Jimin reached the door, he stared at the handles. He swallowed thickly before he lifted the bat higher. With a shaky, deep breath, Jimin opened up the door, ready to swing at every moment at the creature that he thought was outside. But the boy froze in his place when he realised that it wasn’t a zombie knockin relentlessly; it was a human. A girl.

The girl Jimin had failed to save.

Jimin’s eyes widened at the sight of her. He thought she was dead. He thought she was dead after they had to leave her at that store, after he heard her ear-splitting scream. But here she was, standing in front of Jimin. Her whole body was covered in both mud and blood while her cheeks were covered with tears.

She breathed in and out heavily before she finally spoke, “Please,” She began begging. “Please help me,” She whimpered while the tears in her eyes fell down her cheeks continuously. “I, I’ve been running for so long. Zombies have been chasing me ever since I escaped that store. Please, help me.”

Jimin tried to say ‘yes’. He tried to open his mouth, to tell her to come inside, to tell her that she’d be safe inside but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move. Jimin felt as if his entire body was frozen. He tried again. He tried to open his mouth just to utter a simple ‘yes,’ but his lips felt like they were glued shut.

Jimin quickly began panicking. He continuously tried over, and over, and over again to talk, to move, to do anything but it was no use. Jimin couldn’t control his own body. He was paralysed.

And that was when Jimin spotted a zombie crawling out from the darkness of the forest. It was gloomy but the light of the moon seemed to shine onto the creature just right so that it was completely and clearly visible to Jimin. As soon as Jimin saw the zombie creeping out of the trees, he desperately tried to get the girl to come inside. She was right in front of him. Jimin could save her this time.

But whenever Jimin tried to move his body towards her, to inch his hand closer so he could grab her inside, his body didn’t even move an inch.

The zombie began moving agonisingly slow towards the girl, taking its sweet time to torture Jimin since the poor boy’s body was paralysed. The girl asked again, whether or not Jimin could help her. But her words were muffled - Jimin could only focus on the monstrous creature creeping towards its prey. Jimin cried in his mind when he realised once again that he couldn’t save this girl. She was right in front of him and Jimin couldn’t save her. He couldn’t save her the last time and he can’t save her now.

The zombie was right behind the girl now. Its head was slightly tilted as it stared at the girl; its miniature, black pupils were staring at her with nothing but hunger while a mixture of blood and saliva dripped out from its mouth.

Jimin eyes locked with the zombies. Jimin could’ve sworn it smiled teasingly at him as if it was taunting him, as if it was laughing at him for being unable to save the girl once again. Jimin watched as the zombie then rapidly clutched the girl’s neck with its decayed hands.

The girl immediately gasped as her hands quickly touched her neck, trying to pry the thing around her neck off. She struggled for air as her eyes widened when she spotted the zombie standing behind her.

She looked back at Jimin and the two of their eyes locked. Her eyes were watering, pleading for help and Jimin couldn’t do anything. All he could do was stand and stare helplessly as the zombie moved its mouth closer to its victim’s neck.

In an instant, the zombie closed its mouth around the flesh of the girl's neck and Jimin saw the way blood instantly began squirting out the new wound while the girl screeched loudly, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she did so. Once the creature was done, it let the girl go, causing her body to hit the floor with a loud slam. Jimin’s eyes lowered and he watched the girl press her hands onto the wound, trying to stop the blood from flowing out before her whole body began shaking violently.

The zombie then turned to Jimin, a piece of the girl’s flesh still hanging out of its blood-covered mouth. Its tiny pupils locked with Jimin’s wide eyes.

It moved closer to Jimin and the boy began to panic. He didn’t want to end up like the girl. He didn’t want to end up dead or even worse, undead. He tried to move his hand towards the van door, wanting to shut the zombie out but Jimin still couldn’t move.

The zombie moved closer and once again, it seemed to smile teasingly once again before Jimin felt two hands wrap themselves tightly around his throat.

Jimin suddenly jolted awake, his eyes wide as he breathed in and out irregularly. He sat up while his eyes quickly filled with tears and he felt sweat drip down both his back and his forehead. Jimin’s hand unconsciously made its way to his neck, rubbing the side of it to get the feeling of the zombie’s bony, decayed hands pressing against his throat.

The boy felt his heartbeat incredibly fast - it was pounding loudly against his chest. Jimin covered his eyes with his hands and shook his head slowly while he muttered, “It was just a dream. It was just a dream,” to himself, trying to calm himself down after the nightmare he had just had.

Jimin tried to tell himself that it wasn’t real, that it was just a nightmare but the voice in his mind was telling him that this all was real. The nightmare didn’t happen but it could. It wasn’t very far-fetched from reality. Jimin was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Zombies were roaming around the city killing people, turning people and Jimin’s dream could very easily turn into reality.

Jimin shook his head at his thoughts. He didn’t want to die; he didn’t want to turn into one of those creatures. The boy’s breathing had become more irregular and deep as the feeling of the zombie’s hands wrapped around his throat came creeping back and the image of the girl being bitten, the blood squirting out of her neck, her body dropping and shaking violently on the floor all came back. Jimin didn’t want that to happen to him. Jimin was terrified. He didn’t want to die.

Yoongi was halfway through his night shift when he heard quiet whimpering coming from behind him. He had turned his head to see Jimin crouched on the floor, the younger boy hiding his head in his hands as he breathed in and out heavily.

“Jimin?” Yoongi whispered softly, concerned for the younger boy. Jimin instantly flinched, his head whipping around to see what was the cause of the noise, the image of the zombie from his nightmare flashing in his mind. Yoongi saw Jimin’s big, frightened eyes looking over at him and his eyes softened when he saw the younger boy’s tear-stained cheeks. “What happened? Are you okay?” He questioned.

Jimin’s tense shoulders and wide eyes seemed to settle when he realised that it was just Yoongi although that didn’t stop the alarmed look on Jimin’s face and it certainly didn’t stop Yoongi’s worries for the younger boy. With his eyebrows knitted in concern, Yoongi carefully made his way over to Jimin.

When Yoongi was beside Jimin, the pink-haired boy was still breathing heavily and the tears rolling down his cheeks weren’t stopping anytime.

“Are you okay?” Yoongi whispered once again, his head tilting as he looked down at Jimin who instantly shook his head.

“There was a girl here a-and,” Jimin cut himself off when he swallowed thickly at the memory of the girl’s limp body falling to the ground, blood oozing out of her wound.

“A girl?” Yoongi asked quietly, wanting Jimin to continue. By now, he had guessed that Jimin had a nightmare since Yoongi had been up for a while now and hadn’t seen a girl anywhere.

Jimin quickly nodded, tears still flowing down his cheeks. “Yeah and, and,” Jimin continued explaining his nightmare but his words were fast as he mumbled and blubbered - Yoongi had no idea what he was saying.

"Hey," Yoongi moved so he was now sitting right beside the younger boy. "You need to calm down first, okay?" Yoongi spoke in hushed tones, hoping it might comfort Jimin. Jimin nodded. Yoongi was right. He was far too worked up, scared and nervous right now. The younger boy tried breathing in and out slowly, hoping it would help calm his feelings down but every breath he took came out shaky. As he did so, Yoongi smiled sympathetically.

A couple of minutes passed and Jimin breathed out slowly once again, his breaths were a lot less shaky and he looked up at Yoongi. He had calmed down a little but there were still tears and he let out small hiccups and sniffles every so often.

“Better?” Yoongi asked and Jimin nodded. “What happened?”

“I had a nightmare,” Jimin spoke through the tiny tears rolling down his face and he suddenly felt embarrassed. He felt like he caused all this fuss over something that wasn’t even real, over his imagination. But Jimin couldn’t help it. It seemed so real - the girl begging for help, the zombie attacking her, being unable to move. Jimin still felt like he could feel the zombie’s hand wrapped around his throat.

“The girl was here and, and,” Jimin swallowed thickly. “The zombie killed her. There was so much blood and I-I, I couldn’t move. I had to watch it. I had to watch her die,” Jimin was now speaking fast as he had his hands in his hair. “Then it grabbed me. It grabbed my neck so tight,” Jimin’s voice broke. “I couldn't breathe. He held me so tight that I couldn’t breathe. I couldn't.”

And before Jimin knew it, there were masses of tears rolling down his face again at the thought of being unable to breathe, suffocating from the zombie’s hand clasped around his neck.

“Hey,” Yoongi spoke softly. He wrapped an arm around Jimin and pulled him closer. “It’s just a dream, hm? That won’t happen to you, okay?”

“But, but, it could,” Jimin whispered. Being bitten in a zombie apocalypse, dying, turning into a zombie, ending up like the girl in his nightmare was definitely likely and that thought just wouldn’t leave Jimin’s mind. “And, it just, it felt so real,” Jimin sniffled, his voice cracking slightly and soon, he started sobbing. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way the girl looked at him, her eyes that were pleading for help. Yoongi frowned and one of his hands made its way to Jimin’s lower back, rubbing circles gently into the younger boy’s skin over his hoodie, trying to comfort him.

“It’s okay. You’re okay,” Yoongi whispered. He felt Jimin nudge closer to him as the younger boy sniffled with tears still running down his face. “I won’t let that happen to you, okay? None of the boys would let that happen to you, hm? I promise you’re safe.”

Yoongi petted Jimin’s hair slowly with his other hand, running it through the boy’s pink hair before he scratched Jimin’s scalp gently.

Both Jimin and Yoongi didn’t say anything for a while. Over the past couple of minutes, Jimin unconsciously shuffled even closer to Yoongi, his head now leaning on the older boy’s chest. Jimin’s sniffles and quiet hiccups had calmed down as Yoongi continued to rub small circles onto his back and massage his scalp softly.

Yoongi looked down at Jimin, noticing the way his eyes started to fall slowly but as soon as they closed, Jimin would widen his eyes quickly.

“You can go to sleep, Jimin,” Yoongi commented and after hearing that, Jimin quickly sat up, shaking his head.

“I shouldn’t,” Jimin spoke out, his words followed by a small yawn and Yoongi smiled, endeared by the younger boy’s tiredness. “I have to do my night shift in a bit.” Yoongi shook his head.

“Don’t worry about that, Jimin-ah,” Yoongi kissed his teeth before pulling the boy back into their previous position. “Come here - use me as your pillow.”

“I can’t,” Jimin looked up at Yoongi. “I have to do my night shift.”

Jimin was adamant to stay up even though he was terrified. He had to do his night shift just in case something happened. He had to do it because everyone else was going to. It would be unfair if he didn’t. He had to stay up for the other boys’ safety but the reminder of his dream continued to fill him with fear. What if it came true? What if a zombie was outside the van during his hour of the night shift? Once again, at the thought of a zombie, Jimin could feel fingers pressing hard around his throat and he couldn't help but shiver and touch his neck.

“No, it’s fine. You should go to sleep.” Yoongi replied and Jimin shook his head but before he could protest, Yoongi spoke once. “I’ll be here and I’ll keep watch, okay?”

“No,” Jimin replied with a yawn and Yoongi sighed.

“Yes,” Yoongi spoke back. “You’ve been awake for a while and so you helped me with my night shift. You should go to sleep. I’ll do yours for you.”

Jimin looked up at Yoongi. “Are you sure?” Jimin asked and Yoongi nodded. “Really sure? I can stay up.”

Yoongi smiled. “I’m really sure.” Yoongi didn’t mind taking over Jimin’s shift. After today and the nightmare, Yoongi wanted Jimin to get some sleep. He needed it and so, the older boy was more than happy to stay up for another hour.

“Okay,” Jimin replied after thinking for a moment with a small nod of his head. He moved closer to Yoongi again, leaning his head on the older boy’s chest.

Yoongi’s hands quickly made their way to Jimin’s hair, once again running his hands through the pink-haired boy’s soft hair. It took Jimin a while to fall asleep but with Yoongi’s hands in his hair and the sound of the older boy’s heartbeat under his ear, he soon fell into a quiet slumber.

Yoongi tried not to move too much while the younger boy slept. He didn’t want to wake up Jimin accidentally. He also hoped Jimin didn’t have another nightmare. Jimin needed sleep and Yoongi hoped another nightmare wouldn’t come and disrupt that.

The blond stared down at the younger boy. Both his cheeks and around his eyes were still red from all the crying he had done and Yoongi smiled sympathetically as his hand continued to massage Jimin’s scalp tenderly.

Jimin suddenly shivered against Yoongi’s body and Yoongi frowned. Yoongi shuffled under Jimin slightly, wanting to take his coat off but when Jimin whined slightly, Yoongi froze, his eyes widening. Once Jimin settled down again, Yoongi moved steadily, shuffling out of the coat.

Once Yoongi had taken his coat off, he placed it over Jimin’s body, hoping it would bring him some warmth. As Yoongi did so, Jimin moved even closer to him, snuggling into the older boy’s body and Yoongi smiled small.

An hour passed by fairly quickly. Yoongi didn’t find it difficult to stay up for Jimin’s shift since he had already been awake for an hour prior. When the hour was done, Yoongi carefully woke Taehyung up, telling him it was his turn for the night shifts.

Yoongi didn’t notice the way Taehyung smiled at the fact that Jimin was sleeping peacefully while cuddling up to Yoongi.

When Taehyung was awake and ready for his night shift, Yoongi finally closed his eyes. Even though he was only wearing a t-shirt, Jimin’s body next to him kept him warm and the warmth made him feel sleepier. With Jimin cuddled up next to him, Yoongi was able to close his eyes and fall asleep peacefully.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWO
09:19

Jimin had been awake for a while now. He woke up at around seven in the morning, his head pressed against Yoongi’s chest while the older boy had his hand wrapped protectively around Jimin’s waist.

When Jimin woke up, he couldn’t help but feel extremely embarrassed. He had cried all over Yoongi, someone who he had only met yesterday, over something as small and stupid as a nightmare. Jimin had to admit that he already considered Yoongi a friend - he already considered all the boys as close friends since, in the span of twenty four hours, they had all gone through so much together. But that didn’t matter - Jimin still can’t believe he had spilled his tears all over Yoongi, crying to him over something that was simply a figment of his imagination. Not only that, he also didn’t do his night shift and made Yoongi do it instead. He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and guilty.

Now, Jimin and Yoongi were the only two in the van. Jimin was sitting in the passenger's seat, the pink-haired boy looking at the trees through the window while Yoongi was still fast asleep on the floor of the van. Or so Jimin thought.

Jimin suddenly heard shuffling from behind him and the pink-haired boy turned to see Yoongi yawning, stretching his arm upwards as he sat up.

“Good morning,” Jimin smiled as he tossed a breakfast bar he had left beside him for Yoongi towards the older boy. Yoongi’s sleepy brain was still able to react fast enough to catch the item easily and Jimin smiled with wide eyes. Jimin didn’t think he could do that after he had just woken up.

“Morning,” Yoongi replied, his voice slightly hoarse since he had just gotten up as he rubbed one of his eyes. Another yawn escaped past his lips before he opened up the breakfast bar that Jimin had passed him.

Jimin grabbed a breakfast bar for himself - he hadn’t eaten since he had woken up. He wanted to wait for Yoongi. As Jimin began eating at his bar, he watched the older boy. Yoongi’s blond hair was messy from a nights sleep and the coat they had used to keep warm during the night was leaning against his body. After Jimin had woken up, he placed the coat back on Yoongi’s body. He didn’t know how it had ended up on him during the night but he guessed it was the older boy’s doing.

Yoongi ran a hand through his hair and Jimin suddenly remembered the way Yoongi’s hand felt in his hair, the older boy’s hand gently stroking at his hair while also softly massaging against his scalp. His large hand on Jimin’s back, rubbing small soft circles into his skin. Jimin couldn’t lie - the way Yoongi’s hands felt in his hair, on him, was nice but that didn’t make him cringe any less at the thought of himself last night, crying all over Yoongi - Jimin was so embarrassed.

He can’t believe how much he had cried to Yoongi last night, blabbering about the girl he wanted to save. God, he had probably annoyed Yoongi so much because the older boy had to take over Jimin’s shift and probably didn’t get enough sleep. Not to mention that Jimin also embarrassed himself when-

“So,” Yoongi began speaking and Jimin was quickly pulled away from his thoughts. The younger boy looked over to Yoongi, who was already half way done with his breakfast bar. “Where are the others?”

“Tae and Jungkook said they found a river not too far from the van earlier on while they were walking around together. The others went there to just wash off and get refreshed, you know?” Jimin explained with a small smile. “I stayed here, though. You know, just in case something happened while you were sleeping.”

Yoongi smiled and nodded thankfully at the younger boy before he stood up, stretching his body. The blond reached over to grab a water bottle from the small pile of them which were near Hobi’s bag.

“Do you need water, Jimin?” Yoongi asked. He wanted to make sure the pink-haired boy was staying hydrated. Yoongi lifted up two water bottles - one for himself and one for Jimin (if the younger boy wanted it). Jimin nodded with a smile and Yoongi passed it over to him with a smile.

As Yoongi began drinking his water bottle, he quickly got lost in his own thoughts, thinking of all that had happened since yesterday. It had only been twenty four hours and everything he had known from yesterday had changed entirely.

Yoongi’s mind then wandered to the events of last night, Jimin’s nightmare, Yoongi helping him calm down, their two bodies cuddled up and then, the blond’s eyes made their way towards Jimin, who was looking out the window, in concern.

Yoongi slowly made his way over to Jimin. Jimin heard the patter of the older boy’s footsteps get closer and he turned to face the noise. Yoongi bent down slightly once he reached Jimin since the younger boy was sitting in the passenger’s seat so that Jimin’s eyes were on the same level as his. Jimin widened his eyes slightly at how close Yoongi had gotten so suddenly.

“Are you okay?” Yoongi asked with slight worry as he looked into Jimin’s pretty eyes. The pink-haired boy instantly nodded. “Are you sure? After last night, I mean. You were pretty shook up yesterday.”

Jimin looked down, quickly feeling embarrassed again now that Yoongi had confronted him about yesterday and Yoongi noticed. He quickly spoke up. “We don’t have to talk about it at all if you don’t want to.” Yoongi moved back slightly - he didn't want Jimin to feel uncomfortable.

Jimin looked up, shaking his head and he shuffled in his seat forwards, towards Yoongi. “No, I’m just sorry,” Jimin apologised.

Yoongi raised an eyebrow at Jimin. What was he sorry for? Yoongi couldn’t think of even one thing that Jimin had ever done wrong to him.

Jimin noticed the older boy’s expression. “For last night,” The pink-haired boy continued. “I was a mess and I cried all over you and I didn’t do my hour shift and it probably left you tired and annoyed and I’m sorry.” Jimin spoke fast, but not so fast that the older boy couldn’t understand. Jimin was just embarrassed - you could tell by the way his cheeks had heated up slightly - and he wanted to get this over and done with so he didn’t have to remember the embarrassment that he thought he was last night any longer.

After hearing Jimin’s words, Yoongi shook his head quickly. “No, no. If I was tired and annoyed I wouldn’t have offered anyway, Jimin. I would’ve let you do it,” Yoongi explained and every word he spoke was one hundred percent true. Yoongi wanted to take over Jimin’s shift for him. “I wanted to do it for you because I know that yesterday was super hard on you, wasn’t it?” Yoongi asked softly.

Jimin instantly frowned at the thought of yesterday: Soobin getting infected, watching his teacher get bitten, Hoseok nearly getting attacked, nearly getting attacked himself, coming face to face with a gun, not being able to save that poor girl, his nightmare. Yesterday was so overwhelming for Jimin as it would be for anyone else in his position. Jimin didn’t think he had ever, ever felt as terrified as he did yesterday in his entire life.

Jimin swallowed hardly before he breathed out a shaky breath. He bit his lip before he looked up at Yoongi, nodding his head slightly, Yesterday was far too hard on the younger boy.

Yoongi watched the way Jimin’s eyes seemed to become slightly glossy again and all the older boy wanted to do was hug him, tell him that it was okay, comfort him like he had done the night before but he ultimately decided against it. In Yoongi’s eyes, Jimin seemed slightly uncomfortable with how he had acted last night towards Yoongi last night now that it was the next day and Yoongi didn’t want to step over a line and make Jimin feel uncomfortable. That was the last thing he wanted.

Instead, Yoongi offered Jimin a heart-warming smile and Jimin was quickly to return it, wiping the tiny tears in his eyes away. Suddenly, at the sound of the van door opening, the two boys turned around to see Taehyung walking in with a large smile on his face.

“Hi,” Taehyung smiled widely as he sat down on the floor of the van, running a hand through his now wet, silver hair. Yoongi smiled, saying a ‘hi’ back before the older boy walked towards the van doors.

“Jimin said the guys went to a river?” Yoongi asked Taehyung with a tilt of his head.

“Yeah. It’s like a couple minutes down that way,” Taehyung replied, pointing towards the direction of the river. “You should go - it feels nice to just wash off.” Yoongi smiled at Taehyung’s response before the blond walked out of the van and towards the river.

As soon as he left, Taehyung stood up quickly, running over to Jimin and sitting himself down in the driver’s seat with the biggest smile on his face. Jimin looked at him, slightly confused as to why his best friend was grinning so wide. He wondered if something had happened with Jungkook.

“So you and Yoongi, huh?” Taehyung teased, elbowing Jimin slightly and the smaller boy’s mouth immediately hung open. That was not what he was expecting.

“What?” Jimin asked, his eyebrows furrowed, confused but that didn't stop a light blush from appearing on his cheeks. Him and Yoongi.

“Don’t what me!” His best friend mocked. “You were like this close!” Taehyung shoved his hand in front of Jimin’s face, showing about a centimetre of space between his thumb and index finger. Jimin instantly groaned with a roll of his eyes.

“We were not that close!” Jimin retorted as he pushed Taehyung’s hand away from his face.

“The lies,” Taehyung shook his head. “Why were you both smiling so big then, hm? What were you guys talking about?” Taehyung questioned as he nudged Jimin.

“No reason,” Jimin spoke back, a hint of playful annoyance in his voice as he smiled slightly. “We were just talking about last night,” Jimin began explaining, the tone of his voice becoming a bit more serious.

Taehyung didn’t seem to pick up on the change of tone, immediately going back to tease Jimin. “Oh, last night, huh?” Taehyung questioned. “I saw you both last night: all cute and cuddled up. It was-”

“No, Tae,” Jimin cut his best friend off quickly, biting his lip slightly.

This time, Taehyung noticed Jimin’s tone of voice and the expression on his face instantly dropped. “What happened last night?” Taehyung asked, his voice laced with worry.

Jimin groaned before he shoved his head into his small hands. “It was embarrassing, Tae!” Jimin whined as he closed his eyes and Taehyung raised an eyebrow at the pink-haired boy. Jimin looked up and breathed in before he began explaining. “I had a really bad nightmare last night and it just,” Jimin paused. “It just felt so real and I woke up all freaked out because I was scared.”

“Oh,” Taehyung murmured with a frown. “You’re okay now though? Right?” Taehyung asked in concern and Jimin nodded quickly.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine now but,” Jimin sighed. “I woke up completely terrified and Yoongi was awake too and I like, cried all over him. He spent ages trying to calm me down and he ended up taking my night shift over for me too,” Jimin frowned. Even though Yoongi said that everything was fine, Jimin couldn’t help but still feel slightly bad. “I thought it would’ve annoyed him.”

“That’s not embarrassing, Jimin,” Taehyung shook his head. “He probably wasn’t annoyed. He wouldn’t have done that for you if he was.”

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded. “He wasn’t. He was actually really nice about it,” Jimin smiled slightly, remembering the way Yoongi massaged tiny circles into his back last night and the way he spoke to Jimin so softly this morning. “He’s nice.”

Taehyung nodded before thinking for a moment. “Do you like him?” He asked after a while and Jimin replied with a shrug. In the middle of the apocalypse, romance was the last thing on Jimin’s mind but he had to admit that him and Yoongi had gotten close quite quickly but after running away from zombies and being saved by Yoongi from the zombie that had tried to attack him, it wasn't surprising that they had gotten close so quickly. Being in life threatening situations brings people closer together, Jimin guessed.

“Wow, even in a deadly zombie apocalypse you can catch a date,” Taehyung teased and Jimin rolled his eyes.

“Shut up,” Jimin laughed slightly. This time it was Taehyung’s turn to get teased. “You’re acting as if you and Jungkook weren’t acting all lovey dovey on your little walk this morning.” Taehyung’s mouth quickly fell open as he smacked Jimin’s, whose eyes were once again in the shape of crescents, arm with a laugh.

After Taehyung and Jimin both had their talk, Jimin made his way to the river. He met Yoongi there, who was busy washing his face. The two quickly started talking and Yoongi can’t count the amount of times Jimin had ‘accidentally’ splashed him with water but the older boy didn’t mind. Jimin was having fun and Yoongi liked seeing him smile - it was nice to see him happier after last night.

When they were done, the two boys walked back to the van, entering to see some of the boys talking and eating food. After some discussion, the boys decided to get back on the road again - they weren’t too far from Yoongi’s cabin and it would be best to get there, to safety, as soon possible.

Yoongi offered to drive this time and Jimin smiled as he quickly made his way towards the passenger’s seat of the van before any of the other boys could. Yoongi quickly started the van, ready to get to the cabin soon and they got going.

The drive went by quickly. At first, Jimin tried calling his family again and, you guessed it, no one picked up. The rest of the drive consisted of Jimin either looking out the window, admiring the trees and plants they drove by or asking Yoongi various questions and Jimin had found out quite a bit about the blond. He learned that the cabin they were heading to was owned by Yoongi’s parents.

Yoongi said they went there often - the last time being only a couple of weeks ago for winter break - and he said that they usually left a lot of their belongings there since they would come back not too long after. Yoongi told Jimin he liked staying there. He told him it was a place that made him feel calm, comfortable and at peace. He said sometimes it feels more like home than his actual house does. The words Yoongi spoke made Jimin more excited to get to the cabin - not just because it meant being safe, but also because Yoongi seemed to like it so much.

The drive continued and soon, the car came to a stop. Jimin could see the cabin through the front window of the van. Upon seeing it, Jimin instantly felt safer for two reasons - one reason was the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere and, as Yoongi said, it meant that the number of zombies around was probably very, very low. Another reason why was because of the way it looked.

The cabin wasn’t too big and Jimin thought that was better - it made it look cosy. The dark wood of the cabin was brown and the colour gave off the feeling of warmth. There were twigs, branches and big logs scattered around the grass in front of the cabin’s front door and the way the tall trees towered over the cabin’s roof brought the whole image together. It reminded Jimin of being warm, bundled up under thick blankets with a big cup of hot chocolate while sitting in front of a burning fireplace. It looked peaceful, inviting and most importantly, safe. Jimin understood why Yoongi said he liked this place so much.

Taehyung and Jungkook were both quick to jump out of their seats, ready to get out of the van but Namjoon was quick to tell them to stay inside the van. Jimin wondered why but the older boy was quick to start explaining.

“We don’t know if anything’s outside yet,” Namjoon explained. “We need to go in together and make sure there are no zombies around.” And with that, the leader picked up his bat. The boys who had bats copied his actions while Jungkook picked up his rusted crowbar.

The seven boys left the van cautiously after they had slipped their backpacks on. Jimin held the plastic bag full of food that they had taken from the gas station tightly in one of his hands and his bat was held sturdily in the other. Seokjin stood in the middle of the group since he was the only one without a weapon and Jimin stood next to Yoongi while Taehyung was behind him and the pink-haired boy felt protected.

As they began walking onwards to the entrance of the cabin, Hoseok said he could see a zombie but quite far from where they were - it seemed like that was the only zombie around and Yoongi smiled at the fact that he was right. He was happy they’d be safe here.

After seeing that there wasn’t anything close to them, Yoongi went ahead and unlocked the cabin door, allowing the other boys to walk in before he followed. The main door led to the cabin’s living room and kitchen, which were in the same area.

As soon as they walked in, Yoongi slipped his backpack off and threw it on the couch before groaning and stretching. Jimin smiled slightly. Yoongi sat down on the couch and ushered the other boys to do the same - the boys complied.

“There’s three bedrooms: my room, my brother’s room and my parents’ room. This is a sofa bed too,” As Yoongi spoke, he patted the arm of the chair. “We’ve got to figure out sleeping arrangements.”

“You should get your room to yourself,” Namjoon said and the rest of the boys nodded in agreement. They thought it was only fair since it was Yoongi’s cabin and room.

“Jimin and I can share a room,” Taehyung spoke and Jimin nodded. They had slept over at each others’ houses countless amounts of times so they didn’t really care.

“Jungkook and I can too,” Seokjin nodded along.

“So, that leaves me and Namjoon rooming together?” Hoseok asked with a smile as he looked over to Namjoon. The boys discussed the rooms for a bit longer and the sleeping arrangements were soon decided - Yoongi would get his room to himself, Taehyung and Jimin would take Yoongi’s brother’s room and Namjoon and Hoseok would take the blond’s parents’ room while Jungkook and Seokjin both took the sofa bed in the living room.

After the rooms were decided, Yoongi urged them to take showers and wash off the remnants of yesterday. Yoongi himself wanted to get the zombie blood-covered shirt off of his body and get changed into fresh clothes.

“What are we going to get changed into though?” Jungkook asked. “We don’t have anything with us.”

“You guys can wear my clothes,” Yoongi spoke out as he stood up. “Or my brother’s, if mine won’t fit.”

Yoongi beckoned the boys to follow him. He took them to his bedroom, opening up his wardrobe. He told the boys to take what they wanted to wear after they had showered. Some of the boys went to Yoongi’s brother’s room, deciding that Yoongi’s clothes wouldn’t fit them.

Jimin was behind the other boys, who were currently picking their clothes. He waited for them to pick first and as the pink-haired boy did so, his eyes scanned over the contents of Yoongi’s room. His eyes settled on the masses of photos and polaroids stuck up on his dark blue wall. Jimin wanted to take a closer look but at the same time, he didn’t want to pry. Hopefully, he could get a closer look later.

Soon, the other boys picked their clothes and walked out, leaving both Jimin and Yoongi in the older boy’s bedroom.

“You can pick literally anything here. It’ll all fit you since we're about the same size,” Yoongi spoke as Jimin began looking in the blond’s wardrobe. At the sound of Yoongi’s words, the younger boy turned around before quickly standing close to Yoongi.

“The same size?” Jimin asked, standing up as straight as possible. He lifted his hand up towards his head and compared his height to Yoongi’s. Jimin shook his head. “I think I’m taller.”

Yoongi chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am!” Jimin retorted. Jimin put his hand in front of Yoongi’s face, similar to how Taehyung had done to him that same morning, showing about a centimetre of space between his index finger and thumb. “Like this much taller.”

“No. You’re…” Yoongi said before he copied Jimin’s action, putting a tiny amount of space between his finger and thumb. “Like this much shorter,” Yoongi mocked Jimin and the younger boy instantly furrowed his eyebrows with a pout on his lips.

Jimin playfully scoffed before he turned back around. “Whatever. Let me just pick my clothes,” Jimin replied. The younger boy ran his hand across the clothes in Yoongi’s wardrobe, smiling at the fact that the colour of the majority of his clothes were different variations of black and grey.

Jimin hummed as he picked out a black hoodie, one that seemed slightly big and a pair of grey sweatpants. “You have nice clothes,” Jimin commented as he turned around to see Yoongi smiling at him.

The two continued talking for a while before they headed back to the living room to join the rest of the boys.

There were two bathrooms and seven boys, which meant they had to take turns to shoes and what better way to decide who gets to go first than a fun game of rock, paper, scissors? Jimin ended up losing but he didn’t mind too much, The two winners, Hoseok and Jungkook, made their ways to the bathrooms.

Jimin sighed as he sat down beside Taehyung, holding Yoongi’s clothes to his chest as he, along with the rest of the boys, waited for Jungkook and Hoseok to be done.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWO
11:58

Jimin had just gotten out of the shower. He looked at himself in the mirror, his pink hair now wet and falling against his forehead. He had to use Yoongi’s shampoo and he had to admit that it smelled really, really nice. Jimin thought Yoongi’s clothes smelled nice too - they smelled like Yoongi. The older boy’s clothes fit Jimin well. Yoongi was right - they fit him right since the two were basically the ‘same height’ - Jimin still thought he was slightly taller though.

Jimin walked out of the bathroom and towards the living room and kitchen area with a smile. He spotted Yoongi putting away the food that they had found in the cabinets and Seokjin passed out on the couch.

Jimin quietly walked over to the blond before he whispered, “Where is everyone?” trying to be quiet so that he didn’t accidentally wake Seokjin up.

“Namjoon and Hobi went to take a nap,” Yoongi answered, just as quiet as Jimin was. “I think Jungkook and Tae are just hanging out in another room,” The blond then shrugged and Jimin let out a quiet ‘oh’.

Jimin pushed himself up so he sat on top of one of the kitchen counters. He swung his legs while looking around the cabin as Yoongi continued putting the food into the cabinets.

“The cabin feels so homely,” Jimin commented as his eyes looked out the window in the kitchen. The window led to the backyard of the cabin. There was a large tree outside and Jimin noticed what looked like a little tree house.

“Yeah?” Yoongi asked with a smile. He liked the cabin and he was glad Jimin liked it too. Jimin hummed in response before turning to look back at Yoongi.

“Is there a treehouse outside?” Jimin asked, his head tilting and Yoongi turned around before nodding his head with a smile on his face.

“Yeah,” Yoongi smiled fondly as he looked out the window towards the treehouse. “My brother and I helped my dad build it when we were younger. Wait - there’s pictures over here, want to see?” Jimin immediately nodded and Yoongi walked over to a bookshelf, picking up a small photo album.

Once Yoongi had grabbed the photo album, he sat beside Jimin on the counter top, shuffling closer to the younger boy before opening up the album. Jimin watched as Yoongi flipped through the pages of the photo album, smiling to himself as he saw flashes of Yoongi when the blond was younger.

Yoongi showed Jimin a page of the album and Jimin immediately cooed at the sight of baby Yoongi with a tiny hammer in his hand along with a bright yellow hard hat on his head, standing next to who Jimin guessed was Yoongi’s dad and brother.

“You’re adorable,” Jimin smiled as he looked up at Yoongi, who tried to stop himself from smiling. Jimin continued to look at the photos, giggling and smiling as pointed to a picture of Yoongi while Yoongi watched Jimin with a gummy smile.

After they continued looking, Jimin helped Yoongi put the rest of their food back in the cabinets. Although a couple of hours had passed since then and now, half the boys were sitting on Yoongi’s couch in the living room, talking amongst themselves while the other half of the boys were in the kitchen, making some canned tomato soup for dinner.

Jimin was sitting on the couch next to Taehyung, the pair of best friend’s cuddled under a blanket that Yoongi had given them after he had heard Jimin whine about the cold. Jungkook was with them, the younger boy sitting on the floor in front of the couch with Taehyung’s hands running through his hair. Hoseok was sitting on the couch across from them, his head in his hand - he looked tired since he had only woken up a moment ago to eat dinner.

Jimin looked behind him, seeing Jin sat on the counter top with Namjoon standing in front of him, the leader’s dimples on full show as he laughed at what the older boy had said while Yoongi was beside them, near the stove. The blond smiled fondly at the both of them while also keeping his eye on the soup that was bubbling away on the stove top.

Soon, the soup was done and Yoongi brought the pot over to the coffee table in the middle of the living room while Namjoon and Seokjin followed close behind, both of them holding bowls and spoons.

Yesterday, Jimin wasn’t hungry. The whole day had made him feel nauseous but now, Jimin was so, so, so hungry. Breakfast today was small and lunch was definitely not enough for a growing boy. He didn’t mind though. Jimin understood that rationing was necessary but he couldn’t help but feel slightly worried. There were seven of them and he didn’t want anyone to feel as if they were starving from the lack of food. But, Namjoon did tell him that they’d be fine, that he would make sure they were fed and Jimin trusts Namjoon. He had only met the older boy the other day but the situation made it easy for him to trust and become friends with the older boy quickly.

Jimin lifted his head off of Taehyung’s shoulder when Namjoon passed him a bowl. Jimin sat up straight, quickly accepting the bowl and spoon. Then, Seokjin beckoned the cotton candy haired boy closer and Jimin complied, edging forwards in his seat. Seokjin smiled before he placed a couple large spoonfuls of soup into Jimin’s bowl.

He smiled appreciatively and snuggled back into the couch near Taehyung’s body. Jimin could see the steam rising upwards from the soup and even though he was really hungry, the pink-haired boy decided to wait a while until it cooled down slightly.

Jimin lifted his head up from his bowl of soup, looking up to see everyone already eating. Jungkook was still sitting on the floor, still in between Taehyung’s legs, the younger boy quietly in his own thoughts as he ate his soup. Hobi was still in the same space too. Namjoon and Seokjin had both decided to sit on the other couch, the two of them whispering together as they ate. Jimin’s eyes finally made their way towards Yoongi, who stood up while he ate.

The two boys made eye contact and Jimin shuffled towards Taehyung a bit more before patting the empty space now next to him. Yoongi smiled before he made his way over to the couch, taking a seat beside Jimin. Jimin placed some of the blanket over Yoongi’s lap and the older boy smiled when their knees touched under the blanket.

The room was silent, everyone lost in eating their meals. Jimin looked back down at his soup. He picked up a spoonful of the red coloured liquid before putting the spoon into his mouth, thinking that it had probably cooled down by now.

But as soon as the liquid touched his tongue, Jimin hissed, quickly swallowing it. The soup was hotter than he thought. Jimin frowned, his eyebrows furrowing, annoyed at the fact that he had just burnt his tongue.

He heard Yoongi chuckle and Jimin turned to look over at the older boy, who just stared back at him with a large smile. Jimin pouted, trying to hide the smile on his face after seeing Yoongi laugh and the pink-haired boy turned back to his soup, picking up another spoonful. But this time, he made sure to blow on it thoroughly so he wouldn’t burn his tongue even more. He didn’t notice Yoongi looking at him with a smile.

Time had passed and all the boys had finished their small meals a while ago. When they had finished, Taehyung and Jungkook had offered to clean up and the two giggled non-stop while they were doing so. Jimin would turn around every so often from his space on the couch to see them - he had to make sure to ask Taehyung about their relationship later on.

Now, things were the same as they were before they had eaten. Jimin was sitting in between Taehyung and Yoongi and Jungkook was still on the floor. Taehyung was sitting up though, rather than leaning back against the couch. His hands were working through Jungkook’s hair, putting the younger boy’s long, black hair into a little ponytail.

Namjoon and Seokjin were in their places on the couch too. The two boys were chatting away to Hoseok, who sat on the armchair across from the couch Jimin was sitting on.

It was quiet. The only being heard was the hushed voices of the older boys.

After a while, Jungkook spoke up, “We should do something. I’m bored,” He huffed as he sat up and Taehyung pouted slightly when the younger boy’s black slipped out from between his fingers.

“Like what?” Seokjin asked, his head turning away from Hobi, who he had just been talking to, to look over at Jungkook. He’d be lying if he said that he didn’t want to do something too.

Jungkook just shrugged, leaning back in between Taehyung’s legs and the silver-haired boy’s hands quickly went back to tying up Jungkook’s hair.

Yoongi thought for a moment before smiling to himself and standing up from his place on the couch. Jimin watched him as he walked out the living room and made his way towards his bedroom. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, wondering what the older boy was up to.

A couple minutes passed and the blond walked back in, quickly sitting back in his seat beside Jimin. The pink-haired boy looked over at the older boy, noticing a small black box now in his hands.

Jimin squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look of what was in the blond’s hands and he smiled when he saw the words 'Uno’.

Yoongi unboxed the cards and began shuffling the cards before speaking up, “Anyone want to play?” He asked and Jungkook immediately sat up as soon as his wide eyes spotted the cards, nodding his head enthusiastically.

The game started quickly. The blond shuffled and handed each boy seven cards quickly, before pointing to Jungkook and saying that the youngest should start first.

“How do you even play?” Taehyung asked as he looked at his seven cards, staring down at them with furrowed eyebrows.

“You’ve never played Uno?” Hoseok asks, moving out of his seat on the armchair to sit on the floor, closer to the coffee table so he could play. Taehyung nodded his head.

“You can learn as we play. It’s not too hard,” Namjoon commented and both him and Seokjin copied Hoseok’s actions, sitting on the floor so they could get closer to the cards.

Jimin decided to sit on the floor too, taking a seat by Jungkook whereas Yoongi and Taehyung stayed on their seats on the couch.

As Jimin picked up his cards, his head quickly whipped around to look at the blond behind him, who stared back down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Can you see my cards from there?” Jimin questioned as he squinted his eyes at Yoongi.

“Nope,” Yoongi responded as he leaned back against the couch, a smile playing on his lips due to Jimin’s facial expression.

“Are you sure?” Jimin asked again, his brows drawn together and he heard Yoongi chuckle.

“I’m sure,” He smiled and Jimin grinned in return, turning back to his original position to face the coffee table.

The game began. Jungkook went first, placing a yellow four over the first playing card. It was Taehyung’s turn next but the older boy stared at his cards before looking back over at the deck, his mouth slightly open as he wondered what he was supposed to do.

“What am I supposed to do?” Taehyung then asked and Jimin giggled slightly before sitting back up onto the couch. He leaned over towards Taehyung and his best friend immediately showed him his cards, trusting Jimin not to cheat but instead to help him play.

“You have to place the same colour or the same number,” Jimin explained as he looked at Taehyung who mumbled out an ‘ah’ after his friend’s explanation. “So you can place one of these down,” Jimin pointed to two cards that were in Taehyung’s cards and the silver-haired boy quickly nodded, placing down one of the cards Jimin had told him to.

Jimin smiled after Taehyung had placed his card down and quickly sat back down on the floor, his leg bouncing up and down as he did so, excited to play.

The game went on quickly after Taehyung had somewhat learned the rules.

“I don’t really get this one thing about the zombies,” Taehyung spoke as the game continued.

Namjoon placed down a card before he replied, “What about them? I mean none of us know much about them anyway but what it is?”

The game paused for a moment as Taehyung began to explain what he was thinking.

“Jimin, remember when we were at school?” Taehyung turned to face Jimin and the older boy’s face dropped slightly but he nodded nonetheless. “Don’t you remember how fast the teacher turned?”

Jimin thought for a moment. His mind flashing back to yesterday and the younger boy frowned. He didn’t really want to think about it but he still wanted to know what Taehyung was talking about.

He remembered standing outside the classroom after Taehyung had quickly saved him from his zombified classmate. He remembered the teacher’s body in the background, completely limp, lying on the floor with blood pouring out of the wound on his neck. He then remembered the teacher’s body shaking on the floor violently before he stood up. Then the two boys left.

Taehyung was right. The teacher had gotten bitten only moments before that and he had turned quite quickly.

Jimin looked at Taehyung and replied with a shaky nod.

“But with Soobin,” Taehyung’s voice became quieter at the mention of his friend and Jimin gulped, looking down at his lap. “He didn’t turn for hours in the morning. He was probably bitten the night before too since that’s when he would be volunteering at the hospital.”

“So why did the teacher turn faster than Soobin?” Jin asked, looking at Taehyung with a tilted head and the younger boy replied with a shrug.

“That’s what I don’t get,” Taehyung spoke back.

Jimin thought for a moment. “It could be to do with someone’s immune system?” He spoke out as if it was a question. The younger boy wasn’t sure and he didn’t want to say anything wrong but he thinks his point makes sense.

“That’s probably what’s most likely,” Namjoon spoke back and Jimin suddenly felt a burst of pride. He wasn’t sure if what he thought was right but knowing someone else agreed with him made him feel smart.

“Or it could be like,” Yoongi began speaking and Jimin turned his head around to look up at the blond. “You know there’s like different strands of illnesses? It could be something like that. Maybe the strand of disease that teacher had made him turn faster.”

An ‘ah’ slipped past Jimin’s mouth at Yoongi’s thought. That made sense too.

“But we don’t know anything for sure,” Jungkook shrugged. Jimin and Yoongi both nodded. That thought would have to remain a mystery for now.

After the boys’ discussion, the game continued.

“Yoongi, pick up two cards,” Hobi spoke, a smile on his face, expecting Yoongi to falter after hearing his words. But when the blond smiled and Jimin knew he must have had a plus two card too.

Jimin smiled, looking down mischievously at his own cards before running a finger over his plus two card in his deck. He hoped to make Jungkook pick up six.

As Jimin expected, Yoongi placed his plus two card down. Jimin’s smile widened as he quickly placed his plus two over Yoongi’s before looking over towards the younger bit beside him.

Jungkook giggled before he placed another plus two card down and poor Taehyung beside him stared down at the deck, his eyes wide and confused.

“What can I place down?” He asked, looking over at Jimin who smiled sympathetically. Poor Taehyung doesn’t even know how to play.

“You can’t place down another card unless you have another plus two card,” Jimin spoke up. “You have to pick up eight cards from the deck.”

“Eight!?” Taehyung asked, his confused eyes now widening further as he moved forwards, beginning to pick up the cards that he needed too.

As each boy began to place more and more cards down, Jimin realised he was winning. The pink-haired boy had three cards in his hands which was little compared to the other boys, who had double or even triple what Jimin had.

Jimin smiled to himself. He was going to win this round.

“Jimin, pick up four cards,” Yoongi suddenly spoke out and Jimin’s head never moved so fast. He looked over at Yoongi with furrowed eyebrows and a small pout on his pretty, pink lips.

“What?” Jimin asked and Yoongi laughed.

“Pick up four cards,” Yoongi repeated, his gummy smile on show after seeing Jimin’s reaction.

The younger boy huffed, turning back around before reaching over to the deck and picking up four cards, a pout still on his lip.

“So unfair,” Jimin commented, jokingly as he heard Yoongi laugh behind him once again.

The round carried on and now, Yoongi was winning.

“Uno,” the blond spoke out as he placed his second to last card. Jimin looked down at his cards. He had seven cards, one of them being a plus four card and he frowned when he realised he couldn’t even use the card on Yoongi since the direction was going the other way.

Jimin placed down another card instead. He then waited for Jungkook’s turn and the younger boy placed down a reverse card.

Jimin smiled, quickly placing his plus four before shouting, “Pick up four cards!” and the pink-haired boy heard Yoongi groan from behind him. Jimin turned around. Even though Yoongi had groaned, there was a large smile on his face.

“Can you give me four cards, please?” Yoongi asked Jimin since he couldn’t reach the deck from his seat on the couch. Jimin quickly nodded, reaching over and picking up four cars before passing them to the blond behind him.

Jimin smiled as the round continued, knowing that he would definitely win.

And the pink-haired boy had been right. He won the round and jumped up when he did so, giggling happily.

The boys played a couple more rounds - they were mostly the same but the boys had fun. After they played, they all began getting ready to sleep except Taehyung, who stayed in the living room a while longer, studying the uno cards so when the boys played next time, he’d know how to play and how to win.

Jimin was sitting in Yoongi’s brother’s room. He had just finished brushing his teeth and now he was tucked under the covers, waiting for Taehyung to finish up with the uno cards.

They were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse but Jimin thinks he would call today a good day. He didn’t have to go running in and out of stores, kill zombies or watch people get infected. Today was definitely much, much, much better than yesterday. He got to hang out with Yoongi and go to look through the cute photo albums. He got to play uno with his friends and he won. He got to actually shower and eat rather than using a river to wash off the remnants of blood and dirt from yesterday and eating half a sandwich with a small breakfast bar.

Today was a good day.

From under the covers, Jimin watched Taehyung walk into the room, a smile on his best friend’s face as he talked about how he would win the next match of uno. Jimin listened to Taehyun with a smile, giggling when Taehyung began talking about how he would get back him, Yoongi and Jungkook for making him pick up eight cards.

Taehyung was quick to get ready for bed and now, the younger boy was lying next to Jimin, snuggling into the covers.

The two talked for a while. Taehyung talked about Jungkook, about how much more he had begun to like him. Jimin listened intently, commenting when needed so. But soon, Taehyung fell asleep.

Jimin closed his eyes. He felt happy. He felt good. He fell asleep quickly, the memories of the good day he had in his mind as he did so. He hoped he could sleep just as good.

But, Jimin hoped wrong.

He woke up that night, just like he had done yesterday. His forehead covered in sweat and his eyes filled with tears. Once again, the nightmare had just felt so real.

Jimin’s dream was different to the one he had the night before. Last time, Jimin watched the zombie attack the girl. This time, Jimin was being attacked. Jimin was back at the large store they had gone to yesterday, pushed into a corner between two walls while a blood-covered zombie jerked forward towards him and just like his nightmare from yesterday, Jimin couldn’t move.

The zombie stood in front of Jimin. It looked exactly like the one that Yoongi had saved him from - a blood-covered face, drool and blood dripping out of its decomposed mouth, yellow teeth on show with black eyes that drooped down slightly.

The zombie grabbed onto Jimin’s ankles and Jimin yelped when it dragged him towards it. The zombie’s fingers crawled up Jimin’s legs, getting closer and closer to the pink-haired boy’s neck. Jimin’s hands scrambled to push the zombie away and his fingers seemed to sink into the zombie’s skin. It felt soft, almost like mud. Jimin pushed harder, struggling to get away from the zombie but it wouldn’t budge. Jimin couldn’t get away.

Jimin pulled his hands away from the zombie’s skin and the flesh seemed to fall off as he did so and underneath, Jimin spotted the zombie’s white bones peeking through while dark, thick blood began spilling out of the new wound.

His dream had finished with the zombie breathing raggedly against Jimin’s neck, before it groaned loudly and sunk its teeth into his neck.

Soon, Jimin jolted awake just like he had done yesterday, his eyes filled with tears. He sat up straight, his hand making its way to his neck, clutching the side where the zombie in his dream had bit him

Jimin soon began sobbing. He tried to stay quiet though. He didn’t want to wake up Taehyung. He didn’t want Taehyung to see him like this. But the feeling of the zombie’s decayed fingers making their way up his legs and the image of it crawling towards him was stuck in his mind made it easy for Jimin to struggle with controlling his breaths. He began heaving and gasping while tears streamed down his face at the thought of his friend.

Jimin needed to calm down.

He tried to control his breathing, slowly taking in breaths in and out but it didn’t feel like it was helping too much. He wiped his tears away before he moved his hair out of his face.

Jimin needed to think of something else - something that made him happy so he could stop thinking about his nightmare, about the zombie. He needed to think of something that made him feel safe.

And suddenly, the blond popped into Jimin’s mind. The younger boy tried to remember what the older boy had told him the previous night. He tried to remember the way Yoongi ran his hands through Jimin’s hair, the way he rubbed tiny circles into his back. He tried to remember the sweet words that the blond spoke, the words that had made him feel so safe and calm.

It’s okay. You’re okay.

I won’t let that happen to you, okay?

I promise you’re safe.

Jimin shut his eyes, taking a large, deep breath in before breathing out and repeating this a couple of times until he could breathe properly again. Jimin opened his eyes and layed back down against his pillow.

Jimin was okay. It was just a dream. He was okay.

Jimin moved his body, shifting so that he was now lying down on his side. He spotted Taehyung passed out beside him and Jimin smiled softly. The older boy shuffled forwards slightly, closer to Taehyung, feeling the warmth from his best friend’s body.

Jimin was okay. He was at the cabin, safe. He was with Taehyung and the other boys, Yoongi, was here too. He was safe.

Jimin breathed out once again before closing his eyes.

Thankfully, Jimin fell asleep without any disruptions for the rest of the night.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY FIVE
01:48

A couple of nights had passed since the boys had arrived at the cabin. The days were mostly the same. Each day consisted of the boys continuously playing ‘Uno’ whenever they were bored and eating rationed meals. Jimin thinks his favourite was the tomato soup they had on the first night - the boys always made sure to give him an extra half a spoonful on the nights they had that.

They hadn’t seen any zombies for days and Jimin was relieved. He knew this place would be safe from the way Yoongi had talked about how it was hidden away in the countryside but there was always the fear in the back of his mind that there were a couple of zombies around but just out of their sight and the fact that they didn't know they were here meant they were unprepared and being unprepared meant their guard was lower and it was easier for them to get attacked. Jimin shared his concern with Yoongi and Taehyung on the second day - they both comforted him, told him there was nothing to worry about.

Speaking of Yoongi, Jimin had gotten quite a bit closer to the older boy. Jimin spent a lot of time with the blond when Taehyung was with Jungkook and Jimin liked it. Yoongi was funny and nice and he honestly just loved hearing the older boy talk (Jimin thinks Yoongi had a nice voice) - especially about the cabin, his family and the memories he had here. Talking about that made Yoongi happy - Jimin could tell from the way his face lit up while he spoke.

Even though the days in the cabin were good, the nights were terrifying. Jimin’s nightmares continued and not a night went by where Jimin didn’t wake up in a cold sweat, struggling to breathe and scared out of his mind. Most nights, Jimin was able to calm down in fifteen minutes or so and head back to sleep. Other nights, Jimin stayed awake for hours after his nightmares.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Jimin was sitting up in the bed he shared with Taehyung, his knees tucked up against his chest while he was under the large blanket that kept his body warm. Jimin had woken up half an hour ago and since then, he had been staring around Yoongi’s brother’s room. After the nightmare, Jimin’s body didn’t feel tired anymore. He had tried to close his eyes and get back to bed but now he just wasn’t sleepy enough.

A couple of more minutes had passed and Jimin reached over for his water bottle he had left on his bedside table. He usually got thirsty after he woke up from his nightmares, his mouth dry after seeing all sorts of terrifying things that his mind had created.

Jimin frowned when he noticed the water bottle was empty. He didn’t even realise he had drunk it all already. The pink-haired boy sighed as he slowly moved the blanket off of his body. He stretched as he stood up before shivering when the cold wood floor suddenly hit his feet.

Jimin got used to the cold beneath him quickly and the boy left the room he was sleeping in, going towards the kitchen-living room area. As he did so, he made sure to be extra quiet after seeing both Jungkook and Seokjin passed out on the couch.

Jimin walked over to the fridge, opening it and grabbing a water bottle. He turned around and leaned against the fridge before quickly opening the bottle and taking a long drink. Once he was done, his eyes unconsciously made their way towards the window, looking at the treehouse in Yoongi’s backyard.

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows when he saw a figure sitting up in the treehouse. He felt a strike of fear, his mind thinking that a zombie could be there. Jimin scurried towards the window, carefully peeking outside to take a better look, ready to quickly wake up Seokjin and Jungkook, who were just a few feet away from him, if the thing outside was what he thought it was.

But Jimin let out a sigh of relief when he saw Yoongi sitting there, the older boy’s phone shining bright blue against his face. Jimin smiled, although he wondered why Yoongi was up at this time, before he tapped against the window.

Yoongi’s head shot up, his eyes wide in alarm at the sound of noise but his face softened when he saw Jimin smiling brightly through the window. Jimin pointed to himself before pointing to Yoongi, silently asking if he could join the blond at the treehouse. He wasted no time in running to the treehouse when the older boy nodded.

Jimin quickly climbed up the ladder excitedly - he had wanted to check out the treehouse the first day they had gotten here.

“Hi,” Jimin smiled widely as he took a seat beside Yoongi. He grinned at the sight of the cabin from the top of the treehouse. They were up high. “Oh my God. It’s so cool up here. What are you doing up here anyway? Especially this late,” Jimin spoke quickly before he looked over at Yoongi.

The grin on the younger boy’s face dropped when he noticed the way the moonlight reflected on the tears splayed across Yoongi’s cheeks.

“Are you okay?” Jimin whispered, his head tilting. He had never seen Yoongi cry before - the older boy had been extremely tough and strong since this whole situation had started. The blond answered with a sniffle and a shrug. “What happened?” Jimin asked softly as he scooted up closer to Yoongi.

“I just talked to my brother,” Yoongi began explaining, his voice slightly hoarse as he lifted up his phone to show Jimin. Jimin frowned at the mention of Yoongi’s brother. Did something happen to him? “I told you he was going to see my parents, right? He did but…”

Yoongi paused and Jimin frowned. Something must have happened to his parents.

“They were bitten,” Yoongi finally spoke out, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence ever so slightly. Jimin didn’t speak. He only wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s body, pulling the blond into a hug since he didn’t know what else to do to make Yoongi feel better.

Yoongi cried against Jimin’s shoulder and Jimin let him. Yoongi had comforted Jimin countless amounts of times these past five days and the least Jimin could do was be the shoulder for the blond to cry on. Jimin couldn’t even imagine what the older boy was feeling right now.

Minutes had passed and Yoongi pulled away from Jimin and the younger boy smiled sadly. The blond wiped the tears on his cheeks away before looking at Jimin.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi apologised and Jimin immediately shook his head.

“It’s okay,” Jimin whispered and Yoongi smiled small. “Are you okay?”

Yoongi just shrugged. “Can we just,” Yoongi paused, breathing out shakily. “Talk about something else?” He asked, his eyes pleading. Yoongi honestly wanted to think about anything else right now and he was grateful Jimin was up at this time too - right when Yoongi needed him.

Jimin immediately nodded before he looked up at the sky and pointed to the stars. “Do you know how to find constellations?” Jimin asked, saying the first thing that came to his mind in hopes of helping Yoongi. Yoongi shook his head. “Oh. Well, neither do I.”

Yoongi laughed before shaking his head and turning on his phone. Jimin peeked over Yoongi’s shoulder, seeing the older boy search up ‘Easy constellations to find.’ Jimin smiled as Yoongi began scrolling through the searches.

“Did you know the Big Dipper isn’t technically a constellation,” Jimin read from Yoongi’s phone.

“Huh?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow. “What is it then?”

“I don’t know but let’s try to find it anyway,” Jimin shrugged. “Wait. Can I hold your phone so I can read the article properly?” Jimin asked and Yoongi nodded, loosening his grip on his phone so Jimin could grab it.

Jimin reached for Yoongi’s phone in the older boy’s hands. He grabbed it and as he did so, Yoongi’s fingers brushed against his.

“Why are your hands so cold?” Jimin asked, placing Yoongi’s phone in his lap before touching the older boy’s hands.

Yoongi shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve been out here for a while.”

Jimin kissed his teeth before wrapping his hands around Yoongi’s. Jimin’s hands were much smaller than Yoongi’s were but nonetheless, he did a good job at warming the blond’s hands up. Yoongi smiled when Jimin started rubbing the blond’s hand between his hands. He couldn’t lie; he felt a couple of butterflies fluttering away in his stomach when Jimin had first grabbed his hand.

“All warmed up,” Jimin smiled after a minute of holding Yoongi’s hands in his. The cold air hit Yoongi’s fingers again and the older boy pouted ever so slightly - it wasn’t too noticeable though - at the loss of Jimin’s touch.

Yoongi wanted to touch Jimin’s hands again.

Yoongi stared at Jimin’s hands for a second and smiled before he spoke, “Your hands are so small,” Yoongi commented and Jimin’s mouth dropped, almost as if he was offended.

“They are not!” Jimin retorted, crossing his arms with a pout on his pretty, pink lips and Yoongi couldn’t help but laugh. Jimin looked adorable.

Yoongi placed his hand in front of Jimin, silently asking for Jimin to place his palm over the older boy’s. Jimin playfully huffed and rolled his eyes but Yoongi could see a smile on his lips. Jimin complied, placing his hand against Yoongi’s.

Yoongi couldn’t help but show off his gummy smile when Jimin huffed even louder after comparing their hands.

“Tiny,” Yoongi commented with a smile and Jimin rolled his eyes, a smile still on his face before he pulled away.

“Whatever,” Jimin smiled. “Let’s find the Big Dipper.” Jimin pointed towards the sky before he placed his head on Yoongi’s shoulder.

Jimin picked up Yoongi’s phone off of his lap, reading the rest of the article out loud so Yoongi could hear and the older boy smiled whenever Jimin talked about a ‘fun fact’.

They ended up finding the Big Dipped fairly quickly. Jimin had been able to spot it once he had read a certain part of the article and he smiled proudly when Yoongi had given his small praises for finding the constellation. They looked up a couple more but it was harder to find them and the two boys ended up giving up.

They were now sitting deeper inside the treehouse quietly, neither of them waiting to go to sleep yet. Jimin was leaning on the wall on one side and Yoongi on the other, their feet tangling together in the middle. Yoongi was holding a couple of comic books he had left in the treehouse years ago and Jimin had a rubik’s cube in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to fix it.

“Why were you awake this late anyway, Jimin?” Yoongi suddenly asked as he lifted up his head from his comic. Jimin looked up, flinching a tiny bit from the sudden noise of Yoongi’s voice.

The small boy shrugged, his eyes going back down to look at the rubik’s cube he had in his hand. “I just had a nightmare.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened, immediately concerned. “Like the one you had on the first night?” The older boy sat up, shuffling forwards towards Jimin. Yoongi remembered how scared Jimin was that night. He remembered the way the younger boy looked up at him, wide eyes, completely glossy. He remembered how much Jimin was hyperventilating, struggling to breathe and how much Yoongi had to help him calm down. Yoongi just hoped Jimin didn’t have another night like that.

“No, no, no,” Jimin shook his head, sitting up too. “It wasn’t as bad as that one. Don’t worry. I’ve been having them for the past couple days. It’s fine.” Yoongi’s eyes seemed to widen when Jimin mentioned that he had been having them for days. “It’s fine. Don’t worry.”

“I can’t not worry, Jimin,” Yooni shook his head as he shuffled forward even more, face-to-face with Jimin. “You’ve been having them for days?” Yoongi asked and Jimin nodded. “And you’ve woken up every time?” Once again, Jimin nodded.

“I can usually fall asleep after though,” Jimin replied. “Most of the time I just wake up after the nightmare and go back to sleep after like ten minutes,” The younger boy shrugged.

“Usually? Most of the time?” Yoongi tilted his head. “What about the other times?”

“Like tonight,” Jimin began. “I just stay awake, I guess, until I get too tired and fall asleep accidentally.”

“That’s not good, Jimin,” Yoongi’s eyes filled with concern as he shook his head. Jimin huffed.

“I know,” the pink-haired boy whined. “There’s nothing I can do though,” Jimin sighed.

Yoongi didn’t reply. He was thinking.

“Next time you have a nightmare, you should wake me up,” He spoke out and Jimin tilted his head. “I don’t know. It might help to just have someone there with you? And even if it doesn’t help, at least you won’t have to spend hours alone.”

Jimin smiled at the older boy’s offer. He would love, love to spend time like this with Yoongi. Especially after a nightmare - the time he usually spent alone. He knows Yoongi offered but Jimin doesn’t think he’d wake up the older boy if he had a nightmare. Jimin was losing sleep and he didn’t want Yoongi to lose sleep when he didn’t have to.

“Okay,” Jimin agreed nonetheless - Yoongi didn’t have to know Jimin wouldn’t wake him up. Yoongi smiled widely.

Moments passed and Jimin couldn’t help but slowly get tireder and sleepier. His eyes were starting to fall and the grip on the rubik’s cube in his hands began to loosen.

Yoongi noticed the way Jimin’s head began falling and the older boy couldn’t help but smile fondly before he moved closer to Jimin, patting his shoulder.

“We should head to bed, Jimin,” Yoongi whispered and Jimin lifted his head, his eyes half closed as he muttered out a ‘hm?’ “We should go to sleep - get some rest,” The older boy repeated.

“Oh,” Jimin nodded as he sat up, a yawn escaping past his lips while Yoongi began going towards the entrance of the treehouse.

Jimin’s eyes landed on the rubik’s cube. He never got to solve it.

“You coming?” Yoongi asked, ready to go down the ladder.

Jimin nodded. “Can I take this with me?” He asked, lifting up the rubik’s cube with a tilted head and his eyes still half closed.

“Of course,” Yoongi nodded and Jimin smiled as he made his way towards the ladder. “Let’s go back to the cabin.”

Jimin was now tucked back into bed and Yoongi was in his. Jimin nearly tripped when climbing down the stairs and they had to be extra quiet when walking through the living room because Jungkook kept shifting in his sleep every couple of seconds but nonetheless, he still ended up all warm under his blanket.

Jimin fell asleep to the thought of lying his head on Yoongi’s shoulder, staring up at the stars. Yoongi, on the other hand, had some trouble falling asleep.

Now that he was alone, now that Jimin was gone, he was left with his own thoughts and he couldn’t help but think about his parents. He was happy his brother was safe but his parents were gone and Yoongi didn’t even get to say goodbye. He cried for a while, sniffling quietly as he looked at the photos of him with his family stuck on his wall, his favourite picture with his mother, his favourite picture with his father.

Yoongi soon sighed. He was tired. He looked away from the pictures, lying down in his bed. He wiped away the last couple of stray tears on his face before he closed his eyes. He kept trying to think of where he was only moments ago: the treehouse with Jimin and soon, the older boy was able to fall asleep with the thought of Jimin’s small hands wrapped around his, trying to warm them up.

The morning came quick. Jimin awoke the next day later than he usually did to an empty bed. It was around one in the afternoon when Jimin had finally woken up.

He quickly got ready, brushing his teeth and running a hand through his hair before putting on a hoodie and a pair of thick socks - the cabin was cold.

The pink-haired boy picked up the rubik’s cube still on the bedside table and walked into the living-kitchen area to see Yoongi and Hobi by the stove, cooking up something canned for lunch while Namjoon and Jin sat at the coffee table, playing Uno. Yoongi saw Jimin enter the room and gave the younger boy a wide smile which Jimin returned.

Jimin took a seat on the couch, watching Namjoon and Jin play before he spoke up, “Where's Taehyung and Jungkook?” He asked, looking at the two older boys.

“They’re just outside the front of the cabin,” Namjoon spoke up, pointing towards the front door and Jimin’s head turned to face the door, debating in his mind whether he should go outside. “I think they’re playing football or something?” Namjoon explained, his sentence almost sounding like a question, clearly unsure about what the two youngest boys were doing outside.

Jimin decided against going outside, feeling too lazy to get up now that he had found a comfortable position on the couch. Instead, he focused on the rubik’s cube in his hands, his fingers turning and twisting at it to try and solve it.

A couple of minutes passed and Hobi had told the two older boys to finish up with the game of Uno as soon as possible since their lunch was almost ready. Jimin continued playing with his rubik’s cube while he waited for their lunch.

“Jimin?” The pink-haired boy heard a voice behind him. Jimin twisted his head to look behind him to see Yoongi smiling down at him. “Can you go outside to get Tae and Jungkook to eat?”

Jimin immediately nodded, dropping his rubik’s cube onto the couch before he stood up and walked towards the door. He didn’t bother putting on a pair of shoes because he wasn’t planning on going outside - he was just going to open the door and scream at the two to come in.

But when Jimin opened the front door, the front yard was empty. He couldn’t see Taehyung nor Jungkook. The older boy furrowed his eyebrows before stepping out the house barefoot. Jungkook and Taehyung were probably just out of his sight.

Jimin felt the grass against his feet as he looked around. “Taehyung?” He spoke out before looking down by the side of the house, worried when they weren’t there either. “Jungkook?” He then called out but he still couldn’t see either of the boys. His worries increased when he noticed the football without Taehyung or Jungkook even close to it.

Jimin rushed into the house, accidentally running into Yoongi as he did so. The younger boy’s eyes were filled with concern and Yoongi seemed to notice something was up.

“What’s up?” Yoongi asked, tilting his head as he held onto Jimin’s arm.

“Taehyung and Jungkook aren’t outside,” Jimin spoke quickly and Yoongi tilted his head further.

“What happened?” Hobi suddenly asked after seeing Yoongi and Jimin talking. “Where’s Tae and Jungkook?” He asked and Jimin repeated what he had said to Yoongi.

“Did you check around the corner of the cabin?” Namjoon asked and Jimin nodded. Seokjin and Hoseok both head back outside, double checking where Jimin had just been.

“They weren’t there. I only saw the football,” Jimin explained. “Do you think something happened to them?” He then whispered, looking up at Yoongi as he held back the tiny tears in his eyes. Yoongi immediately shook his head as the two boys who went outside entered the cabin, shaking their head, silently saying they didn’t see the two younger boys.

“They’re probably fine - don’t worry,” Namjoon reassures the younger boy and JImin nodded although he couldn’t help but think of the worst.

“I told Jungkook not to go outside anyway,” Seokjin muttered under his breath. “We need to go look for them.” Seokjin announced and Yoongi immediately nodded.

“We need to grab our bats and get out as soon as possible,” Yoongi spoke before he looked over Seokjin. “You can take Taehyung’s bat.”

As the boys began to walk into their rooms, wanting to grab their weapons as quickly as possible, suddenly the front door opened wide and two boys stumbled in.

Jungkook and Taehyung.

“Where did you guys go?” Seokjin suddenly asked, walking over to Jungkook and looking around the younger boy’s body for any wounds or worse, zombie bites.

Jimin ran over to Taehyung, pulling him into a hug. “Where were you?” He asked when he pulled away and Taehyung just raised an eyebrow, wondering why everyone was so worried.

“We just went walking around,” Taehyung replied, answering his best friend’s question. “Why is everyone acting weird?”

“Yeah,” Jungkook agreed. “We found a little barn. I think we should check it out. We could probably find some stu-“

“Why did you go without telling anyone?” Hobi interrupted. “You didn’t even have weapons with you. What if there were zombies around?”

Jungkook bit his lip before looking over at Taehyung, who was looking down at his shoes.

Jungkook shrugged. “I don’t know,” He sighed. “We’re sorry. I didn’t think it would be a big deal because this place is safe, right?” The youngest boy looked over at Yoongi, since this was the blond’s family cabin.

“Right,” Yoongi agreed. “But that doesn’t mean you can just leave without telling us. We were worried.”

“Sorry,” Taehyung apologised. “We didn’t mean to make you guys worried. We’ll tell you next time.”

“And we’ll bring our weapons,” Jungkook nodded.

“So,” Namjoon then spoke up, causing everyone to look over at him. “You found a barn?”

“Yes!” Jungkook nodded quickly. “We just opened the door and looked inside - no one was in there but there were a couple things around we could probably take but Tae and I didn’t want to go in without the rest of you,” He explained and Namjoon nodded.

“Yoongi,” Seokjin suddenly calls the blond, who looks up to face the older boy. “Does anyone own the barn? We don’t want to go in and take things if someone here owns it.”

Yoongi nodded. “This old couple usually comes here during the summer and it’s their barn. They don’t come here during this time though so we might as well take what we can,” Yoongi spoke but he didn’t point out the fact that the couple were most likely either dead or bitten by now.

“I think we should check it out after we eat lunch,” Namjoon nodded and the rest of the boys seemed to agree.

As he ate, Jimin felt anxiety fill his body at the thought of having to leave the cabin. His leg bounced up and down while he sat on the couch with his bowl of food. He didn’t want to go outside. He didn’t want to run into a zombie but he would rather go with the rest of the boys to the barn than stay at the cabin alone. Being alone was worse, Jimin thinks.

The boys finished their meals quickly - it wasn’t hard since the meals weren’t big. Most of the boys were almost sort of excited to go see the barn further. Being here for five days with nothing to do was getting old quickly and this almost seemed like something that could end up being fun - only if they didn’t run into any unwanted creatures along the way.

Jimin went into the bedroom he slept in with Taehyung by his side, the pair of best friends on their way to grab their weapons. As Jimin grabbed his bat, he tried to convince himself that going to the barn was fine - everything was fine. Taehyung and Jungkook made it back fine and they didn’t even have weapons. Jimin had his weapon and he had the other boys, who also had weapons of their own He’d be fine. Going to the barn is fine. Everything is fine.

Taehyung and Jimin headed to the living room area and saw the rest of the boys stood there, each of them holding their weapons, besides Seokjin. The seven boys shuffled into their shoes and headed outside. It was a nice day outside. The sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly against Jimin’s skin. It’s a shame they were about to break into an old couple’s barn to find things they needed to survive rather than enjoying the nice day.

Jimin breathed in quickly when the boys began walking. None of them seemed to be feeling the way Jimin was. They looked relaxed. Namjoon was laughing over something Hoseok said along with Seokjin and Taehyung and Jungkook were giggling between themselves. Jimin knew this place was safe - they hadn’t seen a zombie at all since they had got here and that’s why the boys were so relaxed but Jimin couldn’t help but feel alarmed. Jimin sighed to himself before he moved slightly closer to Yoongi. The older boy made him feel safe. He knew there was nothing to be scared of right now but still, he wanted to be near Yoongi.

The barn wasn’t too far away from the cabin - it only took the boys about five minutes to walk there. Namjoon walked over two the two large doors before pushing one and Jimin couldn’t help but flinch back into Yoongi, expecting something to jump out at him.

Yoongi noticed. “You okay?” He asked, looking down at Jimin. Jimin quickly nodded, moving away from Yoongi slightly and the older boy unconsciously moved closer.

“Yeah. Sorry,” Jimin apologised. “I’m just kind of jumpy today.” Jimin admitted, looking down at his shoes.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” Yoongi reassured the younger boy. “I get it. I’ll be by your side when we’re in there though so don’t get scared.” Jimin smiled at the reassurance from the blond, quickly nodding. Yoongi always knew what to say.

Namjoon opened up the two doors of the barn fully before he walked in. The other boys stood outside as their leader looked around.

“You guys coming in or what?” He asked and the boys began following his footsteps, stepping into the barn.

Jimin looked around quickly, scanning around the barn for zombies but the pink-haired boy shook his head when he realised Namjoon already checked and that the older boy would never, ever let the other boys in if there was a zombie around but still, the younger boy couldn’t help but feel paranoid.

“Look what I found!” Seokjin suddenly spoke out. Jimin’s head turned to face him to see him holding a large axe in his hands. “I finally have a weapon,” He smiled as he began swinging it around and Hobi quickly told the older boy to be careful.

The other boys began looking around, each boy going in different directions around the barn. Jimin stayed by Yoongi’s side most of the time and the older boy didn’t mind one bit.

Yoongi was a few feet to the left of Jimin, looking in the corner of the barn while Jimin kicked his feet through some hay. Jimin’s foot hit something and the pink-haired boy furrowed his eyebrows, kicking more of the hay to reveal a pile of wood planks. He lifted up a couple of the wood planks - they weren’t very useful. He then looked behind them and noticed a small box of nails on the floor.

Jimin picked up the box of nails, eyeing them before he then eyed his bat. He had an idea.

“You found something?” Yoongi suddenly asked from behind Jimin and the younger boy jumped, spinning around to face his voice with wide eyes. “Sorry,” He then whispered, noticing the way Jimin jumped - Yoongi didn’t mean to scare him. “What did you find?”

“Nails,” Jimin replied. “Do we have a hammer or something back at the cabin?” Jimin asked, his head tilting to his left.

Yoongi hummed. “I think so - probably in the basement or something,” He muttered in thought. “Why?”

“I was just thinking we could upgrade our bats if we put some nails in them, you know?” Jimin spoke. “If we just hammer them in a little and have them sticking out of the bat all around then it could probably do more damage.” He wasn’t sure if Yoongi would think it was a good idea but the older boy nodded immediately at Jimin’s idea.

“Good idea,” Yoongi praised and Jimin smiled widely. “Remind me to do that when we get back,” He told Jimin and the pink-haired boy nodded. Jimin eyed what Yoongi had in his hand, noticing an axe.

“Did you find another one?” Jimin questioned, pointing to the axe in the older boy’s hand and Yoongi nodded.

“Yeah - in the corner,” The blond explained as he pointed to the corner of the barn with his axe. “It looks kinda cool, right? I look like a cool zombie slayer, huh?” Yoongi asked the younger as he placed the axe against his shoulder before he slowly swung it around and Jimin smiled widely at the way Yoongi posed before nodding. He did look cool.

Time passed and the boys continued looking. They couldn’t find any more axes or other things they could use as weapons but the other boys were able to find some things that might be of use to them in the future.

They made their way back to the cabin quickly. As soon as Jimin entered the cabin, he went over to the couch, looking for his rubik’s cube again. There wasn’t much to do here and the rubik’s cube was the one thing that was keeping Jimin entertained.

The boys were sitting around the coffee table, some of them were playing Uno while the others were just talking. Jimin was playing with his rubik’s cube.

Jimin’s eyes suddenly widened as he remembered the nails and the bats. He quickly tapped Yoongi’s shoulder - the older boy was sitting right beside him. He told him about the bats and Yoongi nodded and ‘ah’ escaping passed his lips as he stood up.

Yoongi asked Jungkook if he and Taehyung could go down to the basement to see if there were tools, more specifically a hammer, so they could upgrade their weapons and the two younger boys nodded before leaving their living room area, giggling between themselves as they did so.

Yoongi and Jimin went through the other boys’ rooms grabbing everyone's bats. The two oldest boys would both have the axes since they were the ones who had found them and everyone would get upgraded bats, meaning Jungkook didn’t have to use that rusty crowbar that they had found in that store days ago anymore.

The blond was sitting on the floor beside the coffee table, the bats on the table as Jungkook walked in, a hammer in his hand and Taehyung walking in behind him. They passed the hammer to the older boy, who took it before he looked up at Jimin.

“Where’s the box of nails?” Yoongi asked.

“Oh!” Jimin replied as he quickly stood up, walking over to the kitchen area that was just behind them and grabbing the box of nails he had left on the counter. He rushed over to Yooni, sitting beside the older boy on the floor before passing him the nails.

Yoongi smiled gratefully before he opened the box, picking up a nail carefully and hammering it into the end of the bat. Jimin watched the way Yoongi’s face scrunched up in concentration and the way his fingers worked to hammer the nail into the bat. He thinks the older boy had nice hands.

“You have nice hands,” Jimin complimented, voicing the thought he had in his mind, causing the concentrated look on Yoongi’s face to be replaced with a large, gummy smile. He looked over at Jimin, quickly feeling quite shy at the sudden compliment.

“Thank you,” Yoongi thanked and Jimin mumbled a ‘you’re welcome’ with a small smile on his face. Yoongi’s focus went back onto the bats and the nails but the smile on his face never left.

Yoongi was quick at upgrading each bat and all the boys were happy with their new and improved weapons - especially Seokjin and Jungkook. The oldest boy was happy he finally had something to defend himself with and the youngest happy he didn’t have a crowbar anymore.

The night continued with endless games of Uno and Jimin continuously trying to solve the rubik’s cube. Jimin also cooked dinner with Yoongi that night - well, he didn’t really cook anything. It was just heating up a can of soup on the stove and Jimin didn’t even do that - Yoongi did. But either way, Jimin liked spending time with Yoongi and being stuck here meant he had all the time in the world to do just that.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY SIX
05:39

Jimin opened his eyes, blinking a couple times before a yawn escaped past his lips. He shut his eyes tight and scrunched his nose slightly when the light that was peeking through the blinds shone right upon his face.

The boy groaned slightly, shifting his body so he was now lying on his other side. He expected to see Taehyung fast asleep when he had turned around but to the pink-haired boy’s surprise, Taehyung wasn’t there.

Jimin sat up sleepily, yawning again. Where was Taehyung this early in the morning? Jimin’s head turned to look at the bathroom connected to their room but he frowned when the door was open and there was no one inside. Where did Taehyung go?

He sighed as he shuffled out of bed, deciding to find out where the silver-haired boy had gone.

Jimin immediately walked towards the living room-kitchen area, guessing that maybe Taehyung had gone to get something to drink. But Jimin was surprised to see the entire area empty. Not a single person was there - Jungkook and Seokjin weren’t even asleep on the couch. They were gone too.

Jimin began to panic. Taehyung wasn’t here and now Jungkook and Seokjin were gone too.

The pink-haired boy turned around, quickly walking over to the room that Namjoon and Hoseok shared. The door was wide open and when Jimin peered inside, the bed was empty. Jimin ran a hand through his hair, his eyes wide as he breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself down. But Jimin was far from calm - the boy was freaking out. Why was no one here? Where did the boys go? Why did they leave Jimin alone?

Jimin walked back into the corridor. He walked over towards the last room he hadn’t checked yet - Yoongi’s room. He prayed in his mind that the older boy was in his room. He didn’t want to be alone. Jimin didn’t want to be left alone in a zombie apocalypse. He was too weak. Jimin doesn’t think he could survive on his own. Jimin would die without the other boys and Jimin didn’t want to die.

With a shaky hand, Jimin pushed Yoongi’s bedroom door open and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed Yoongi’s body bundled up under a thick blanket.

“Thank God,” Jimin whispered to himself as he walked over to Yoongi’s bed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed while Yoongi’s body faced away from him. “Yoongi,” The younger boy whispered as his hand shook the older boy’s body slightly, trying to wake him up.

But when Yoongi let out a low, long groan, Jimin froze.

“Yoongi?” Jimin whispered as he retracted his hand. Jimin felt his stomach twist and his eyes widened when Yoongi threw the blanket off his body and sat up.

Jimin stumbled off the bed with a small gasp as Yoongi’s head turned around agonisingly slow to face him. The younger boy breathed in and out irregularly as he began to back away.

Yoongi sat on his bed as he looked behind himself to look at Jimin. His face was extremely pale and his eyes were half closed, dropping downwards along with the rest of his face. A visible bite mark was present on the blond’s neck, dark purple veins pulsating out of the wound and they led right up to his jaw.

That was not Yoongi anymore.

The zombie slowly stood up, his whole body dropping downwards as he began shuffling towards Jimin, his pupils tiny and black and filled with nothing but hunger.

Jimin’s heart was beating incredibly fast and his eyes began to water as he continued walking backwards, trying to get towards the door but Yoongi’s movements seemed to speed up when he spotted that Jimin was trying to get away from.

Jimin held his breath while the tears in his eyes spilled out and down his cheek before he turned around and ran towards the door, hearing Yoongi’s heavy breaths and footsteps behind him.

He exited Yoongi’s room, shutting the door quickly behind him. His eyes quickly spotted the small bookshelf in the corridor and Jimin worked quickly to push it in front of the door so that he could stop Yoongi, or the thing that Yoongi had become, from getting to him.

When the door was secure, Jimin immediately began sobbing. He fell to the floor, his legs feeling far too weak to hold him up after what he had just seen. The boy curled up into a ball on the floor, sobbing into his arm, tears pouring down his cheeks.

Yoongi was gone. Yoongi was dead.

The zombified boy from the other side of the door was still continuously banging at the door with loud, angry groans, making Jimin jump each time. His cries were loud and heavy and he couldn’t breathe. Jimin couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t stop crying because Yoongi was gone. Yoongi was dead.

The banging on the door never stopped and neither did Jimin’s tears. The pink-haired boy didn’t even bother to wipe them away; the tears slipped off of his cheeks onto the cold, wood floor under him.

His heart was still beating fast, just as fast as it had done when he had first seen Yoongi, the zombie. His breathing was just as fast too. Jimin was practically hyperventilating into his arm with the never-stopping tears rolling down his face.

Jimin’s cries were suddenly interrupted when he had heard a loud bang but it wasn’t from behind Yoongi’s door. The boy looked up, looking to see where the sound was coming from with a flushed face, his cheeks all red from crying.

He breathed out shakily, sniffling as he stood up. The boys stumbled slightly, his knees still weak as he walked towards the stairs - where the sound seemed to come from. The stairs leading to the basement were dark and Jimin could hear feet shuffling from behind the door.

Jimin didn’t want to go down the stairs. He didn’t want to know what the noise behind the door was. He was scared but it seemed as if his feet began to move on their own, almost as if he had no control over them. He felt his heart skip a beat when his shaking hand reached for the door handle. Once again, he silently prayed in his mind that the rest of the boys were down here. He hoped they were down here so Jimin didn’t have to be alone. He had already lost Yoongi and Jimin doesn’t know what he’ll do if he can’t find the other boys.

The door opened and Jimin’s silent prayers were answered - the boys were in the basement but they weren’t themselves. Jimin’s breath hitched in his throat when he saw his friends, just like Yoongi, had greyed skin, their whole faces dropping down, walking around mindlessly.

Jimin’s body froze but the tears never stopped. Jimin tried to walk back up the stairs backwards as slowly and as carefully as he could, not wanting to draw the monsters that his friends had become closer to him.

The boys were gone. They were dead and Jimin could never get them back. Jimin was alone now and he didn’t know how he could survive without his friends. Jimin didn’t know what he’s going to do. His friends are dead. They were gone and Jimin was alone - all alone.

Without even realising, a choked sob escaped past the boy’s lips and his eyes immediately widened when the thing that used to be Taehyung, his best friend, turned to face him. Jimin tried to run but he couldn’t move. He was stuck - it felt like the time he watched the girl get attacked by the zombie in his dream. He couldn’t move no matter how hard he tried.

The zombie that was once his best friend began moving towards him and at the sound of its footsteps, the other zombies - who used to be the rest of the boys - turned and began moving towards Jimin too.

Jimin’s heart was practically beating out of his chest; he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears and it felt as if his throat had closed up - he couldn’t breathe. His friends, or what they had now become, were now moving faster towards him and Jimin couldn’t escape. He had to join them.

The last thing Jimin saw was Taehyung’s decayed hand reaching for his neck.

The boy suddenly jolted awake, his heart beating fast and his breathing irregular. He sat up and sweat dripped down his forehead, down his back - his clothes were stuck to his body. Jimin’s eyes were wide and he put his head in his hands, shaking his head as he whispered to himself that it was just a dream.

Jimin shut his eyes tight, wanting to forget about his nightmare but whenever he did, the image of Taehyung undead trying to grab onto his neck with the rest of the zombies behind him popped into his mind.

The pink-haired boy’s head snapped to look at Taehyung beside him and he let out a breath of relief after seeing that the younger boy was totally safe. His best friend was sleeping peacefully, his head slightly squashed into the pillow beneath him as soft snores escaped past his lips and his silver hair fell against his forehead.

Jimin watched Taehyung’s chest rise and fall - the older boy tried to match his breaths with his best friends, hoping it might make him calm down. Jimin closed his eyes and sighed.

It was just a dream. Everyone’s safe.

Jimin repeated those words in his mind as he lied back down against his bed. He wanted to go back to bed because he was still so, so sleepy.

But, once again, when Jimin placed his head onto his pillow and closed his eyes, the image of the other boys all greyed and lifeless and undead were on his mind. The image of Yoongi’s zombified body moving towards him as it groaned, eyes full of hunger was playing non-stop in his mind like a video stuck on replay.

Jimin sat up again, his eyes teary as he sighed. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat like this for a while, the tears in his eyes began falling down his face - the nightmare was all he could think about.

He stood up and when his feet hit the cold floor, he didn’t shiver - it seemed as if his body had gotten used to the coldness of the wood floor from the amount of times he had woken up in the previous nights. Jimin headed towards the bedroom door. He realised he wouldn’t be able to sleep unless he checked up on his friends. He knew they would be fine but he just wanted to - needed to - check up on them anyway.

As Jimin walked down the hallway, tears still stained on his cheeks, he felt a sudden wave of deja vu wash over him and the sleepy boy shuddered at the thought of his nightmare again.

The pink-haired boy walked over to the living room-kitchen area and he smiled softly when he saw Jungkook and Seokjin passed out on the couch-bed, the light of the moon from the window shining over their faces as they snored away peacefully.

Jimin felt as if a small weight had just been lifted off of his shoulder as turned around and began walking down the hallway in order not to wake up any of the boys.

Safe. They’re safe. Everyone’s fine.

Jimin knew they were okay yet still, the nightmare was playing in the back of his mind and so, he walked over to Hoseok and Namjoon’s room.

He carefully opened the door to the two older boys’ room and popped his head inside, breathing out a breath of relief as he saw the two fast asleep. Jimin made sure to close the door carefully when he left. The pink-haired boy leaned his back against the wall.

Safe. They’re safe too.

But the person he had yet to check up on was Yoongi and Jimin walked further down the hall, his small feet quietly top-toeing around as he tried to be as silent as possible.

Jimin felt a strange feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach as he walked closer and closer to Yoongi’s room. He bit his lip nervously as he quietly opened the door and looked inside.

Jimin froze. The bed was empty.

The boy breathed in sharply as he inched further into the older boy’s room, looking around all over the place but Yoongi wasn’t there. Where was he? Why wasn’t Yoongi in his bed?

As he exited the room, Jimin felt as if his head was spinning while his nightmare, the image of the thing Yoongi had become in his dream, ran in his mind over and over again. Jimin’s breathing sped up, becoming faster and faster every second while he leaned against Yoongi’s closed door and he swallowed thickly.

If Yoongi wasn’t in his room, where was he?

Jimin couldn’t help but think of the worst with the image of zombified Yoongi from his nightmare locked into his mind. The poor boy squeezed his eyes shut, trying to forget the terrifying nightmare but he couldn’t help but think that it may have turned into a reality.

Tears were in Jimin’s eyes and he breathed in and out fast, almost hyperventilating. He screwed his eyes shut at the thought of his nightmare and the tears in his eyes spilled out at that action before a voice suddenly disrupted his thoughts.

“Jimin?” The pink-haired boy heard a voice quietly utter beside him.

Jimin’s eyes shot open and he quickly turned his head, letting out a small whimper of relief as he saw Yoongi standing in the middle of the hallway, a concerned look written all over his face after he had seen the younger boy crying.

Jimin immediately rushed over to Yoongi, throwing his arms around the blond’s waist as he hid his face in the older boy’s check, sobbing quietly.

Yoongi’s eyes widened at Jimin’s sudden movements but he didn;’t move away or question anything. Instead, the older boy wrapped an arm around Jimin tightly, hoping it would make the pink-haired boy feel safe. Yoongi’s other hand made its way to Jimin’s soft, pink hair as he ran a couple fingers through it hoping his action might make Jimin feel calmer and it could stop his tiny sobs.

Yoongi held Jimin, rubbing small patterns onto the younger boy’s back and soon, Jimin’s soft sobs soon turned into quiet whimpers, a hiccup escaping past his lips every so often.

“What happened?” Yoongi asked softly after Jimin had calmed down slightly, not once taking his hands off of the younger boy. Yoongi had refrained from asking earlier, knowing Jimin would’ve found it difficult to explain in between the crying

“Nightmare,” Jimin mumbled, his face still buried in Yoongi’s shirt, causing his words to sound a bit muffled but Yoongi was still able to understand what the younger boy had said.

Yoongi slowly pulled away from Jimin and the pink-haired boy sniffled as he did so. Jimin’s face was no longer buried in Yoongi’s chest but his small hands swiftly moved towards the older boy’s shirt, gripping the soft material in his fist.

The blond looks down at Jimin, seeing his eyelashes wet from crying and the tears staining his cheeks. Yoongi smiled sympathetically as he wiped away Jimin’s tears with the pad of his thumb, caressing the younger boy’s under eyes.

Yoongi was about to ask Jimin a question, his mouth opening slightly before he stopped himself when the younger boy suddenly shivered. The lack of heating in the cabin meant the air was freezing and Jimin was merely wearing a t-shirt.

The blond quickly wrapped his arms around Jimin, hoping to warm him up before he began speaking. “You wanna head into my room?” Yoongi asked, his voice soft as he hoped Jimin would say yes so he could wrap up the younger boy in a warm blanket after seeing him shiver.

Jimin opened his mouth to reply but hesitated when his head turned to face the door of Yoongi’s room and images of his nightmares flashed in his mind. He slowly shook his head.

Yoongi didn’t know exactly why Jimin didn’t want to head into his room but he guessed it was because he was scared from the way Jimin had hesitated.

“Don’t be scared,” Yoongi quickly reassured. “I just want to take you there to warm you up. It’s cold here, isn’t it?”

Jimin looked up at Yoongi, seeing the older boy smile softly . Jimin slowly nodded his head. It was just a dream and Yoongi was here now. All the boys are here and safe and so Jimin was safe too.

Yoongi moved to open the door to his bedroom and Jimin moved his grip on the middle of the older boy’s shirt to the sleeve of it, not wanting to let go. He held on tightly as Yoongi slowly opened the door.

Jimin shut his eyes tight - he wasn’t sure what he was expecting but he still felt his heart speed up. But when Yoongi slowly guided him to the bed, the pink-haired boy opened his eyes, knowing that everything was fine.

The blond sat Jimin down on the edge of his bed and immediately covered him up with a blanket while Jimin’s hand was still tightly wrapped around the sleeve of his shirt.

Yoongi finally sat down next to Jimin and the younger boy slowly decided to let go of his shirt but he quickly shuffled closer. The pink-haired then took some of the blanket draped over his body and placed half of it over Yoongi’s legs, just in case the older boy also felt cold too.

Yoongi smiled fondly at Jimin’s small gesture. “Are you okay?” Yoongi then asked in a hushed tone and Jimin just shrugged. “You had a nightmare, hm?” The older boy asked rhetorically as he ran a hand up and down Jimin’s arm softly. “You wanna talk about it? You don’t have to, though,” Yoongi made sure to say that Jimin didn’t have to tell him anything. He just wanted the smaller boy to feel comfortable and safe.

Jimin nodded hesitantly after a moment of thinking and Yoongi then smiled as he waited for the younger boys to explain.

“Um,” Jimin began, his voice quiet and slightly hoarse after crying. “I woke up and all of you were just gone.” The pink-haired boy looked down as he explained, playing with his fingers as he talked. “And you…” He paused, breathing out heavily as he shut his eyes at the thought of Yoongi turning into a zombie.

Yoongi didn’t talk, not wanting to interrupt Jimin from talking about his nightmare. Instead, the older boy continued to run his hand up and down Jimin’s arm, hoping to show Jimin that he was safe here through his actions.

“You were a zombie,” Jimin continued after a moment of silence. “You were dead, Yoongi and I didn’t know what to do. You were a zombie. You were gone,” He spoke fast and opened his eyes, looking at Yoongi and tears immediately began spilling down his cheeks. Yoongi frowned sympathetically. He felt bad that all he could do was listen to Jimin. He didn’t know what else he could do to ease the younger boy’s feelings.

“And, and,” Jimin continued, taking large breaths in between his words. “I-I, I tried to find the other boys but they were zombies too,” Jimin’s voice cracked slightly as he explained his nightmare, tears continuously fell down his cheeks. “And I was left alone and Tae he, he tried to kill me. I was going to die,” Jimin whimpered as he closed his eyes again.

Yoongi turned to face Jimin and pulled the younger boy into a hug, his hands quickly working to rub small circles into Jimin’s back since that was what had helped him calm down the last time Yoongi had seen him after he had woken up from a nightmare.

“Shh,” Yoongi shushed the younger boys and Jimin sniffled into Yoongi’s chest. “Don’t worry - what you saw wasn’t real. Okay, flower? You’re okay. I’m okay. The rest of the boys are okay. It’s safe here, hm?” Yoongi reassured the boy snuggled up in his chest with a hushed tone.

Jimin sniffled before he pulled away from Yoongi, looking up at the older boy with tears stained cheeks and a confused look. Yoongi looked down at him expectantly. “Flower?” Jimin whispered. Yoongi tilted his head, responding with a ‘hm?’ “You called me flower,” Jimin repeated, a small smile on his face.

“Oh,” Yoongi replied, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed. “Sorry. It’s just you had flowers on your bag and I don't know, it sounds cute? I won’t call you it again. I’m sorry,” Yoongi responded quickly, thinking Jimin didn’t like the nickname but the younger boy shook his head quickly, a smile on his face as he did so after hearing the older boy’s explanation for the sudden pet name.

“It is cute,” Jimin nodded as he shuffled closer to Yoongi, leaning his head on the blond’s shoulder. Jimin quickly wiped his tears away, the nightmare on his mind suddenly forgotten after hearing Yoongi call him flower. Jimin liked it. He hoped Yoongi would say it again.

“Yeah?” Yoongi asked genuinely and Jimin nodded against his shoulder, mumbling a ‘mhm’ in confirmation afterwards. The two boys sat in silence for a while, both of them smiling; Jimin smiled at the pretty pet name and Yoongi smiled at the fact Jimin thought it was cute.

“Why were you awake anyway?” Jimin asked and Yoongi shrugged, causing Jimin to giggle as his head, that was on Yoongi’s shoulder, moved up and down. Yoongi laughed lightly before apologising with a smile.

“Was using the bathroom,” Yoongi replied and Jimin nodded - that explained why he wasn’t in his room. Jimin almost felt sort of stupid since he had freaked out for no reason but the way Yoongi was reassuring him, hugging him, talking to him, it made him feel all okay.

A couple more minutes had passed and Jimin let out a yawn - he was feeling tired. Yoongi looked down at him.

“You’re tired?” Yoongi asked and Jimin nodded sleepily. Yoongi picked up his phone from his bedside table, checking the time on his phone before he kissed his teeth, noticing how late it was. “We should head to bed. It’s really late,” Yoongi commented. Yoongi moved his shoulder, causing Jimin’s head to move. “You gotta get to your room, Jimin.”

Jimin whined. He was so comfortable here, next to Yoongi and all warm under the blanket. He didn’t want to move. He had to walk all the way to the room he shared with Taehyung and he’d get cold on the way there.

“Come on, flower,” Yoongi spoke softly as he nudged the younger boy and Jimin couldn’t help but smile at his words. Jimin groaned as he stood up, almost stumbling from the tiredness and Yoongi chuckled softly.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Jimin smiled softly with tired eyes and Yoongi nodded, mirroring the pink-haired boy’s smile. “Thank you,” Jimin spoke gratefully as he walked towards Yoongi’s bedroom door. “I still would’ve been a mess if it wasn’t for you.”

“It’s okay, Jimin. Don’t worry about it,” Yoongi smiled before he walked over to Jimin and ran a hand through the younger boy’s soft, pink hair. “Go get some sleep, hm?” Yoongi hummed and Jimin nodded, a smile on his face as he left the older boy’s room.

Jimin shuffled to his room, a sleepy smile present the entire time he was walking there. The boy sighed contently when he got into bed, still smiling wide as he snuggled into the cover and fell asleep with the thought of Yoongi on his mind.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY NINE
22:49

A couple of nights had passed since Jimin had his nightmare about the boys turning into zombies and his nightmares still didn’t stop. Jimin would wake up almost every night. They weren’t always as bad as the dream of the zombified boys - he doesn’t think any other nightmare could scare him as much as that one did. Every time he thought of it, thought of the boys gone, undead, he felt like he was going to cry.

Before, Jimin used to stay up until he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness again after his nightmares and that would sometimes take hours. But now, after a nightmare, Jimin would make his way to Yoongi’s room. The two would talk until Jimin felt sleepy enough again and then, the younger boy would run along to his room, a smile on his face when he snuggled into the covers with Yoongi on his mind.

Now, the cabin was getting ready to head to bed. Jimin was sitting on Yoongi’s bed while he watched the older boy put some of his clothes into his wardrobe. He was in the blond’s room for no particular reason - he just liked having the older boy as company.

“Did you grab a bottle of water?” Yoongi asked the younger boy as he folded up one of his shirts and placed it onto the shelf of his wardrobe.

Jimin turned around, looking at Yoongi’s bedside table and he mumbled back a ‘yeah,’ when he saw the water bottle standing there. After a nightmare, Jimin usually needed water - his throat would always get dry. The pink-haired boy usually kept one beside him in his room but now that he’s always in Yoongi’s room after a bad dream, he wouldn’t have one with him, meaning he had to go grab another one from the kitchen and he was always too lazy to do that. So, Yoongi decided it was much easier to just leave one in his room for Jimin.

The blond finished up putting the last of his clothes into his wardrobe before he turned around and began walking over to his bed, where Jimin, who let out a yawn, was sitting.

“Tired already?” Yoongi asked, his head tilting with an eyebrow raised as he sat down beside Jimin, their shoulders touching. “It’s not even late yet.”

Jimin shrugged. “We were awake for like three hours last night,” He replied. Last night, he and Yoongi ended up going back up to the treehouse after Jimin had woken up. They played a couple of board games that were up there and lost track of time quickly - they went up there at one the morning and went back to bed at four. “How are you not tired?” Jimin asked, looking over at Yoongi, who just shrugged.

“You should head to bed then,” Yoongi said as he looked over at Jimin, who huffed - he felt too lazy to move right now. “I’ll be here and awake when you wake up.”

“How are you always awake when I am anyway?” Jimin suddenly questioned, his eyebrows knitted together. Jimin hadn’t realised until now that he had never woken Yoongi up - the older boy was always already up and awake when Jimin was after a nightmare.

Yoongi just shrugged in regards to Jimin’s question so the younger boy nudged him, silently asking him to answer his question.

“I’ve actually been finding it kinda hard to sleep,” Yoongi began explaining and Jimin turned to face him, a slightly alarmed look on the younger one’s face. “After I heard about… you know.”

Jimin didn’t know.

Yoongi seemed to notice that Jimin didn’t catch on from the younger boy’s expression - his eyebrows were slightly furrowed as he tried to guess what Yoongi was talking about.

“My parents,” Yoongi explained and Jimin’s expression changed, his eyebrows now raised as his lips formed a small ‘o’ shape before he frowned. He didn’t know Yoongi had been finding it hard to sleep. “It’s been hard to fall asleep but when I eventually do, it’s fine,” Yoongi explained.

Jimin nodded. He didn’t know what to say but he wanted the older boy to know he was listening. “Why didn’t you say anything before?” Jimin then asked with a frown. If Yoongi was upset or having problems with something, Jimin knew that he, along with the other boys, would do whatever they could in their power to help him.

The blond let out a sigh. “I try not to be upset about it during the day. I don’t want you guys to be worried about me,” Yoongi began explaining. “It’s easy to not think about it during the day, anyway. All the boys are around - you guys distract me but it gets harder at night. No one’s here and I’m alone; I kinda just have to think about them and then I can’t sleep.”

Jimin immediately moved towards Yoongi after hearing the older boy speak, wrapping his arm tightly around the blond’s arm and leaning on his shoulder. Yoongi sighed at Jimin’s touch, smiling slightly before he closed his eyes and placed his head on top of Jimin’s head. The two didn’t speak for a while, sitting in comfortable silence until Yoongi spoke up again.

“That’s why, at the treehouse, I asked you to come and talk to me if you were ever awake,” The blond suddenly said and Jimin moved his head to look up at the older boy with a tilted head. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep and that you would be awake too. So, I just thought that since we would both already be awake, we might as well hang out.” Yoongi shrugged and Jimin nodded in thought before he leaned back onto the older boy’s shoulder. “Like a couple of days ago, you know after you had your nightmare and I said I was in the bathroom?” Yoongi asked rhetorically.

“You weren’t?” Jimin questioned, raising an eyebrow and he felt Yoongi shake his head.

“No, I was but I wasn’t even sleeping before. I was just sitting on my bed for hours,” Yoongi breathed out. “But after I talked to you, I wasn’t even thinking about my parents. You were all I could think about so it was easier to fall asleep.”

Jimin found it hard to hide his smile. He was all Yoongi could think about. “Really?”

“Mhm,” Yoongi hummed, closing his eyes.

“It’s the same for me too,” Jimin spoke quickly as he moved to face Yoongi, who let out a sigh and opened his eyes now that he couldn’t lean his head against Jimin’s anymore. “It takes me so long to sleep after my nightmares because they’re all I can think about but then after, all I could think about was you,” Jimin confessed, suddenly feeling a bit shy when he had finished his sentence and Yoongi couldn’t help but smile.

“Why don’t you just stay here?” The older boy suggested and Jimin tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows. “Like,” The blond was about to explain what he had meant but he suddenly paused. He was worried his idea might sound stupid. He opened his mouth to continue but Jimin cut him off.

“Like sleep here? With you? So I won’t have to walk all the way back to my room after we talk and then I won’t get cold on the way there?” Jimin smiled widely and Yoongi mirrored his expression, happy that Jimin was happy with his idea.

“Exactly,” Yoongi nodded.

“I could,” Jimin nodded too before he looked Yoongi in the eyes. “Do you want me to?” He asked. He knew the answer - of course, Yoongi wanted him to; he wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t but Jimin wanted to hear him say it.

“Of course I do,” Yoongi nodded quickly. “It’s easier for you and honestly, better for me. If you’re here, you’ll be the only thing I can think about.”

Jimin smiled, the butterflies in his stomach going wild after hearing Yoongi’s words.

“Okay,” Jimin beamed. “Wait, wait. I have to go tell Tae,” He stood up, eager to go over to Taehyung to tell him about what had just happened.

“Come back quick, hm?” Yoongi looked up at the pink-haired boy and Jimin nodded quickly before he ran out of Yoongi’s room and towards his and Taehyung’s room with a small bounce in his step.

Jimin peered inside, seeing Taehyung sat on his bed before he spoke up, “Okay, so,” Jimin walked into the room, his sudden voice startling Taehyung, causing the younger boy to jump slightly.

“So?” Taehyung repeated, raising an eyebrow as he waited for Jimin, who walked over to the bed and sat beside his best friend, to continue.

“Would you care if I roomed with Yoongi?” Jimin asked and Taehyung’s mouth fell open.

“No, I wouldn’t,” Taehyung shook his head, his eyes wide. “Oh my God, do it.”

“Really?” Jimin asked again.

“Yes,” Taehyung said firmly. “What’s even going on with you guys, hm?” Taehyung teased, raising his eyebrows as he continuously poked Jimin’s arm.

“Nothing. Nothing,” Jimin smiled as he shook his head before he looked at the silver-haired boy. “I told you about my other nightmares, right?” He then asked.

“What other nightmares?” Taehyung immediately shook his head, the teasing look on his face gone in a second as soon as he heard Jimin talk about something slightly more serious. “You only told me about the one you had in the van. I didn’t even know you’ve been having more.”

“Really?” Jimin questioned in disbelief. He usually told Taehyung everything; he didn’t know how telling him about his nightmares had slipped his mind. Jimin quickly began explaining everything, from his small nightmares on the first couple of days to the big one from a couple of days ago. He told Taehyung about how Yoongi had comforted him, about the treehouse, about the pretty pet name, ’Flower’ - Jimin smiled giddily whenever Yoongi called him that.

“So, do you like him?” Taehyung wanted to know. The younger boy thought it was obvious that Jimin was crushing hard and that Yoongi liked him back just as much.

“Of course I like Yoongi,” Jimin rolled his eyes, wondering what type of question that was. Who wouldn’t like Yoongi? He was sweet and he made Jimin smile and he took care of Jimin after he had his nightmares and he always made sure Jimin was okay. Jimin could go on and on about how much of a great person Yoongi was.

“Like, like him, Jimin?” Taehyung questioned again, making his question much more obvious by exaggerating one of the words.

“I think so,” Jimin nodded eventually and Taehyung had to stop himself from rolling his eyes - once again, he thought Jimin’s crush was so, so obvious. “But don’t tell him.”

“It’s so obvious he likes you too,” Taehyung replied. “He wouldn’t let you into his bed for no reason.” The younger boy raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

“Tae!” Jimin raised his voice, a smile on his face as he hit his best friend’s arm playfully and Taehyung couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s reaction. “No, but seriously, our situation isn’t exactly for dating and getting together, you know? Our lives are literally at stake every day and I’m thinking about a potential boyfriend - that’s so stupid.”

“That’s not stupid,” The younger boy rolled his eyes. “We’re safe here. You don’t have to worry about the zombies right now.”

Jimin shrugged. He still disagreed but he decided against having a small debate with Taehyung right now. “You’ll be fine on your own, right?” Jimin changed the subject, asking one more time just to make sure.

“No,” Taehyung replied and Jimin sighed. “I won’t be fine so I’m going to ask Jungkook to room with me.”

This time, Jimin was the one whose mouth fell open. “Ooh, Jungkook!” Jimin teased with a large smile, causing his best friend to roll his eyes. “How’s it going between you two?” Jimin questioned as he leaned forward, placing his head in his hands as he looked up at the other boy expectantly.

“I really like him, Jimin,” Taehyung admitted with a smile.

“I already knew that,” Jimin rolled his eyes. “You’ve liked him for ages.” Taehyung and Jungkook had always had some sort of thing going on for the longest time - Jimin doesn’t even remember when it had started. They had been talking for a while but it didn’t seem like they talked enough for them to actually get together or to make anything official.

“No but it’s different now,” Taehyung retorted. “We didn’t talk as much as we do now, obviously - we basically live together now. But he’s so funny and so nice and I just like him so much,” The silver-haired boy rambled and Jimin watched his best friend with a big grin.

“I know he likes you just as much as you like him,” Jimin spoke as he sat up and watched Taehyung roll his eyes.

“This isn’t a situation for a potential boyfriend, Jimin,” Taehyung mocked and Jimin sighed before he pushed his friend playfully.

“That only applies to me,” Jimin retorted as he rolled his eyes at the other boy’s playful mocking. The pair of best friends ended up talking for a while - almost an hour had passed when Jimin had quickly said goodnight to Taehyung before running back to the room he now shared with Yoongi, not realising how fast the time had gone.

Jimin walked into Yoongi’s room, seeing the older boy sitting on his bed, doing something on his phone.

“Hello,” Jimin greeted as he shuffled closer to the blond’s bed before taking a seat on the edge of it.

“Hey flower,” Yoongi replied absentmindedly as he continued looking down at his phone. Jimin’s lips couldn't help turn upwards immediately into a wide smile while butterflies erupted in his tummy. Over the past couple of days, Yoongi had stuck to calling Jimin flower continuously and every time, the younger boy had to fight back a smile - Jimin doesn’t think he’ll ever get sick of the pretty little pet name. “You we’re gone for a while. What did Taehyung say?” Yoongi then asked after placing down his phone on his bedside table and looking up towards the pink-haired boy.

“He said he was fine with it,” Jimin shrugged in reply. “I think he’s going to room with Jungkook now.”

“That’s good,” Yoongi hummed in response, something he did often, Jimin noticed. “You wanna head to bed?” He then asked and Jimin quickly nodded. He was sleepy.

As Jimin moved to get under the covers, he suddenly felt nervous. He didn’t know why. It was just Yoongi. Actually, that was exactly the reason why. It’s Yoongi. Jimin didn’t want to do anything weird or accidentally make the older boy feel uncomfortable. Oh God, that would be so embarrassing.

Jimin suddenly shivered and he quickly brought the covers closer to him, trying to get as much warmth as he possibly could. Yoongi noticed.

“It’s freezing, right?” Yoongi stood up before he walked over to his wardrobe and opened one of its doors. “And you’re only wearing a t-shirt,” The older boy kissed his teeth with a sigh before he began looking for something and Jimin wondered what he was doing.

“Yeah. Your brother only has t-shirts in his closet so it’s what I had to wear,” Jimin shrugged.

Yoongi quickly turned around, a grey hoodie now in his hands. “You wanna put this on instead?” He asked as he held out the hoodie to Jimin, who quickly nodded and grabbed it out of the blond’s hands.

Jimin put the hoodie on and sighed at the warmth. He liked this hoodie. It was warm - the inside was fluffy, slightly big on his body and it smelled like Yoongi. Yoongi always smelled good.

“Warm?” Yoongi whispered as he walked back over to the bed and Jimin nodded, an ‘mhm’ escaping past his lips, confirming he was feeling warm.

Yoongi slid under the covers to join Jimin in the bed. The two kept their distance, staying at opposite ends of the bed, both of them too afraid to move closer in fear that they might make the other feel uncomfortable.

Jimin moved his body, shuffling around and trying to get in a more comfortable position and now he was facing Yoongi. The older boy then shifted too, his body moving around and his feet accidentally brushing against Jimin’s.

The younger boy gasped, “Oh my God. Why are your feet so cold?”

Yoongi chuckled. “Sorry. Sorry,” He apologised with a smile on his face after seeing Jimin’s reaction. “It’s not my fault - it’s way too cold in here.” Jimin grinned, unconsciously moving closer to Yoongi and the older boy seemed to do the same. It’s quiet - all that could be heard was the two boys’ breathing. Yoongi suddenly sneaked an arm around Jimin’s waist, taking a risk after he had been debating with himself in his mind whether or not he should do it.

The pink-haired boy’s eyes flutter shut at the feeling of the older boy’s larger, warm hands on his body.

“Is this okay?” Yoongi whispered, just checking in with Jimin. The younger boy nodded rapidly as he opened his eyes, looking up at Yoongi who seemed concerned. This was more than okay, Jimin thought. This was perfect.

“It’s okay,” Jimin sighed as he shuffled closer to Yoongi, their chests almost touching. “Now it’s even warmer.”

“Good,” Yoongi smiled satisfactorily, happy Jimin was happy and happy he had got to hold Jimin like this.

Jimin closed his eyes and surprisingly, he fell asleep fairly quickly because the warmth of the older boy’s body made him feel sleepy and the protection from the older boy’s hand on his waist made him feel safe. He fell asleep almost effortlessly.

Yoongi had looked down at the younger boy in his arms, watching the way he breathed in and out slowly. Jimin looked so peaceful. The blond hoped Jimin could sleep as peacefully as he was doing right now for the rest of the night with no nightmares disrupting his sleep.

Yoongi closed his eyes, his mind full of Jimin, Jimin, Jimin as he fell asleep with the smaller boy tucked away in his arms.

The next morning, Jimin woke up with a smile, realising that he hadn’t had a nightmare that night - it must have been because of Yoongi. The older boy had made him feel so safe with his arm around Jimin’s waist - it was all Jimin could think about before he had fallen asleep.

Speaking of Yoongi, Jimin woke up to an empty bed; the blond wasn’t in their room.

The boy reached over towards the bedside table, grabbing his phone and checking the time. It was one in the afternoon and a small ‘ah’ in realisation escaped past Jimin’s lips. - that explained why Yoongi wasn’t in bed. Jimin usually woke up quite late - the rest of the cabin would always be up before he was.

Jimin shuffled out of bed. He walked over to the bathroom, smiling to himself as he saw his appearance. He was still wearing Yoongi’s hoodie from last night. He liked the way Yoongi’s clothes looked on him.

Jimin began unconsciously smiling at the thought of the previous night. Yoongi’s hand around his waist and Jimin’s head tucked away in the blond’s chest, cuddled up in a bundle of blankets, their legs tangled together. It was nice. Yoongi was nice. With the older boy on his mind, Jimin began getting ready for his day. He made sure to keep Yoongi’s hoodie on.

As Jimin walked out of Yoongi’s room and towards the living room-kitchen area, he noticed Namjoon, Hoseok and Seokjin discussing something, all of them huddled around the coffee table. Taehyung and Jungkook were standing close by. Jungkook was biting his lip as the two boys were listening intently to what the older boys were talking about while Yoongi was sitting on top of a kitchen counter. Jimin walked over to Yoongi, lifting himself onto the countertop so that he was now sitting beside the older boy.

“What are they talking about?” Jimin asked Yoongi his head tilted as he looked back over at the older boys in the midst of a discussion.

“We have to go get some more food,” Yoongi began explaining. “We’re kinda running low. We probably have about two or three days worth of food left.” As Yoongi explained, Jimin increasingly became more worried. Yoongi seemed to notice. “Don’t worry. There’s a store like twenty minutes away from here. They’re just planning how to get there.”

“Oh,” Jimin nodded but he felt his heart beating faster. The younger boy looked down, his hands moving to play with the strings of Yoongi’s hoodie. He didn’t want to sound selfish, but he really didn’t want to go to that store. He was scared - he didn’t want to run into more zombies.

“You won’t have to go, Jimin,” Yoongi reassured the younger boy after noticing the pensive look on his face. Jimin looked up, tilting his head. He just assumed that everyone would have to go. “Not everyone is going to go. Taehyung said he didn’t want to so he’s not going to, of course. We guessed you wouldn’t want to either so, you don’t have to go.”

Jimin nodded, suddenly feeling instantly better after knowing he didn’t have to go and that Taehyung would be here with him.

“Okay. So,” Namjoon stood up from his place on the couch. Jin and Hobi did the same, turning around to face the rest of the boys. “Yoongi has to go since he’s the only one who knows where everything is around here,” The leader spoke and Yoongi nodded - he knew he’d have to go but even if he didn’t, he would’ve gone anyway. “Hobi and I are going to go with you. Jin and Jungkook will stay here with Taehyung and Jimin.”

The boys nodded at the outcome. Everyone seemed to be fine with what was happening. Jimin watched as the older boys who were going were quick to run along to their rooms, grabbing their bags and bats.

Jimin followed the blond’s footsteps towards the room they now shared. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe as he watched Yoongi pick up his backpack and put it onto his back before he picked up his axe. Jimin couldn’t help but feel worried. He felt reassured once he realised that he didn’t have to go but he was scared for the other boys, worried that something could happen to them. What if they get hurt? What if they get bitten and don’t come back?

“You okay there, flower?” Yoongi asked once he noticed Jimin’s stare on him. Jimin quickly nodded as Yoongi’s voice pulled him away from his thoughts. “You sure?” The older boy asked again as he walked over to the doorway, now standing in front of Jimin.

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded with a smile. “Just be careful, okay?” He then added and Yoongi smiled fondly before he nodded.

“Of course. Don’t worry, okay? The store isn’t far from here - there probably won’t be any zombies around,” Yoongi comforted. Jimin nodded as Yoongi then walked past him, back towards the living room, a smile on his face. “We’ll be back quickly.”

Namjoon, Hoseok and Yoongi were gathered by the front door of the cabin. They told the rest of the boys they’d be back in around two hours and not to worry but still, Jimin couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious. He knew the boys were strong and that they would be able to fight and kill any zombies they may run into just like they did on the first day of the apocalypse but still, Jimin just didn’t want anything to happen to them.

They left soon after. Jimin watched them climb into the van, their weapons in their hands. Through the front-seat window, the pink-haired boy watched Yoongi climb into the driver’s seat. The blond’s eyes met Jimin’s and he smiled, waving at the boy before he started the car.

The car set off and the four boys stood by the doorway made their way back inside towards the living room. Jimin made his way towards the couch of the living room, thinking about grabbing his Rubik’s cube from his room until Seokjin spoke up.

“Do you guys wanna play Uno?”

-

Yoongi stopped the car as they pulled up towards that small supermarket. They had been driving for about twenty minutes - it wasn’t that far from the cabin and Yoongi hoped that meant it would be safe since it was still in a secluded area, quite far from the busy, zombie-filled city.

The blond, along with Namjoon and Hoseok, grabbed their weapons before stepping out of the van. Yoongi eyed the small store. Even though it was quite dark inside the store, Yoongi could see that it was quite messy - the people living close by had probably rummaged around through the store already.

It felt weird seeing the store like this - messy, dark. That’s not how he usually saw it. Yoongi and his brother often came to this store when they would go on late-night drives through their part of the countryside. They would always stop for snacks and drinks. Yoongi knew the cashier that usually worked here too - he would always give the two boys discounts on the snacks they bought. Every time Yoongi came here he was happy but seeing it like this made him feel nothing but dread.

The three boys began walking towards the entrance. Yoongi was glad to see there was still some food they could take left around when they were inside. He knew there would be since there weren't that many people around here to actually take the food but it was still a small worry he had.

Yoongi walked over to one of the shelves, grabbing the food there and stuffing it into his bag. Namjoon began doing the same thing but Hoseok stayed back, sighing.

“I left my backpack in the car,” He spoke up and Yoongi turned to face him. The blond reached into his pocket grabbing the keys to the van before throwing them over to Hobi, who caught them with ease.

Hoseok had left to get his bag, leaving Namjoon and Yoongi venturing around the store. Yoongi was in front of Namjoon, the younger boy a few feet behind him.

Namjoon stopped to grab some canned food he saw on one of the shelves, taking his bag off of his back and unzipping it before dropping the two cans he found inside. He looked back forward, noticing Yoongi had gone further into the store.

As the younger boy began walking back over to Yoongi, he suddenly heard fast-paced footsteps behind him. Expecting to see Hoseok, Namjoon turned around. But it wasn't Hoseok.

Namjoon turned to face a zombie.

It wasn’t just any zombie. It was a child. The poor thing was only a kid. From her height, Namjoon guessed she was about eight or nine. Her long hair was messy, knotted and covered in blood and dirt just like her face was and on her neck lay a deep, dark, purple bite mark. She stood a few feet in front of Namjoon, her eyes staring at him in hunger.

Namjoon wasn’t too worried about getting hurt by the zombie kid - it wasn’t close enough to him to hurt him and if it did come closer, Namjoon thought it would be pretty easy for him to knock her down.

But suddenly, in less than a second, the zombie child moved rapidly and was now clutching at Namjoon’s leg, causing the boy to yelp. He tried to shake her off but she was strong. He picked up his bat about to take a swing at her but she suddenly grabbed on his arm and as a reflex, Namjoon moved his arm away, causing him to drop the bat onto the floor and out of his reach.

As the girl began climbing up onto Namjoon, towards his neck, he fell to the floor. Once again, he tried to push the zombie off but she was much, much stronger than he thought she would be. He immediately began shouting for Yoongi, telling the older boy to help him. At the sound of the younger boy’s voice, the blond turned around and his eyes widened at the sight.

Yoongi’s mouth became dry, not just at the sight of Namjoon being attacked but at the girl.

Yoongi knew her.

She lived a five-minute drive from his cabin. He knew her. He knew where she lived. He knew her mother, her father, her brothers. He knew her.

Yoongi swallowed thickly as he walked over to the girl, the sound of Namjoon’s voice muffled as he stared at the girl he once knew. He knew her. He had literally seen her only a few weeks ago when he had come to the cabin with his family. He knew her. He knew her and now she’s dead. She’s a zombie.

Yoongi seemed too shocked to actually realise what was going on, to realise that Namjoon’s life was currently at risk. All he could focus on was the fact that he knew this girl. He knew this little girl and now she was a zombie. She was dead. He had only seen her a few weeks ago and now she was dead. He just couldn't wrap his head around it. She was only a kid. A child.

“Why are you just standing there?” Namjoon suddenly shouted, the fear in his voice evident while Yoongi still stared at the young girl. He couldn’t believe it. “Are you going to kill her or what?”

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TEN
14:38

Yoongi was sitting on the floor of their van, tears in his eyes and they were threatening to fall at any moment. His hands were in his hair, tugging at his blond roots as he whimpered. He felt horrible. He felt so horrible.

Hoseok was sitting in the driver’s seat since Yoongi was in no state to drive right now. The younger boy had a constant frown on his face as they drove home. He would turn his head around every once in a while, checking up on Yoongi, who hadn’t spoken since they had left the store. The only thing Hoseok had heard Yoongi let out of his mouth was soft cries.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Namjoon asked worriedly to the older boy from the passenger’s seat.

Hobi sighed before he turned back around to look at Yoongi once again. The older boy was still crying to himself. Hoseok frowned as he put his eyes back on the road. “He’ll be okay,” He nodded. He hoped Yoongi would be okay.

Back at the store, after Namjoon had screamed at Yoongi to kill the creature that was attacking him, the older boy seemed to re-enter reality and he quickly began to panic. Without a second thought, Yoongi lifted his axe and slammed it into the girl’s head, effectively killing her.

Dark, thickened blood immediately began oozing out of the new wound on the zombie’s head and she fell straight to the ground, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she did so. When her body hit the ground with a loud thump, Yoongi felt as if he was going to throw up.

Yoongi couldn’t keep his eyes off of her body lying dead on the ground, the blood from her wound still pouring out all over the floor, creating a large puddle. He swallowed hard as tears began to form in his eyes. He had done that. He had killed that poor girl.

He knew she was a zombie but he still couldn’t help but feel bad; he couldn’t help but feel guilty. She was only a child - only a kid and Yoongi had just killed her without a second thought. She was only a child and Yoongi knew her. He knew her and he knew her parents and he couldn’t help but wonder where they were. He wondered if they were looking for her and he breathed in a shaky breath heavily. He had just killed their daughter.

From beside Yoongi, Namjoon looked over at the older boy. He was worried and he had no idea what had just happened. He had no idea why Yoongi was acting the way that he was. As he opened his mouth to ask if the blond was okay, Hoseok walked in.

Hoseok’s mouth fell open immediately, his eyes widening as he looked around. “What happened?” He asked softly after noticing Yoongi’s expression.

The older boy didn’t reply, his eyes still staring down at the zombie’s body and so, Namjoon began explaining what had happened while Hoseok listened intently.

“You okay, Yoongi?” Hobi asked once Namjoon had finished explaining. He too didn’t know why Yoongi was acting this way. Hobi had seen Yoongi kill zombies before and he had never acted this way before.

Yoongi didn’t answer Hoseok’s question.

“Okay,” Hoseok began speaking as he held onto Yoongi’s arm in worry after the older boy hadn’t replied. “Let’s just grab the stuff we need and then get home as quickly as possible, hm?” He asked, looking at Yoongi and Namjoon, who quickly nodded his head.

Namjoon ran around the store, grabbing whatever he could, wanting to get home and get Yoongi feeling better as soon as possible - saying he was worried would be an understatement. He had never seen Yoongi like this before.

As Namjoon was running around, grabbing the things that they needed, Hoseok stayed with Yoongi, dragging the older boy away from the girl’s dead body and the two were walking around the store. Hoseok would occasionally put things he thought the boys would need into his bag, all with Yoongi constantly by his side.

Yoongi could not stop thinking about the girl. He could not stop feeling so guilty.

“I can’t believe I killed her,” The blond whispered out in disbelief and Hoseok, who was putting a can of soup into his bag, turned to face the older boy.

“The zombie?” He asked, his voice soft as he looked at Yoongi’s eyes, but the older boy’s eyes never met his. His eyes were looking down to the ground, down at his feet as he nodded. He couldn’t believe he had killed that little girl.

“She was only a kid,” Yoongi looked up as he tried his hardest to not let the tears in his eyes roll down his cheeks. His friend’s eyes softened.

“She was a zombie,” Hobi replied. “You didn’t have a choice, Yoongi.” He hoped his words could help Yoongi realise he hadn’t done anything wrong and Yoongi knew the younger boy’s words were true yet still, he felt so horrible. The girl being a zombie didn’t change the fact that she was still a child - a child that Yoongi had killed. A child who he had known; a child who had parents and brothers who were probably looking for her but she was dead and Yoongi thought it was his fault.

Yoongi didn’t reply. He just shrugged his shoulders, deciding he didn’t want to talk about it anymore but that didn’t stop him from thinking about it.

Fast forward a couple of moments later to now, when the boys were all back in their van and making their way back to the cabin. Yoongi had calmed down a bit after being left alone for a while, yet he was still sniffling, frowning because his mind was still stuck on the girl. She was all he could think about.

When they arrived back at the cabin, the blond exited the van from the back doors, his backpack slung on his shoulder while he had no expression on his face.

From inside the cabin, Jimin saw the van now parked back outside and he couldn’t help but feel giddy. A wide smile was present on his face when he saw the three boys walking towards the front door of the cabin, not noticing the lack of expression on Yoongi’s face before he ran over to the front door and quickly opened it.

But when Yoongi didn’t say a word to Jimin - he didn’t even smile, Jimin’s smile dropped, suddenly feeling very, very concerned. He watched the blond walk over to his room and Jimin turned to Hoseok.

Hobi seemed to know straight away what Jimin was thinking, “Something happened at the store,” The older boy began explaining and Jimin quickly thought of the worst - a bite - and a panicked look was on his face. “He’s not hurt - not physically at least; don’t worry about that,” Hoseok reassured after seeing the pink-haired boy’s worried expression. The worried look on Jimin’s face was quickly replaced with a confused one and he wondered what the older boy meant. “I think you should just go check up on him? I think he might need that right now,” Hoseok said, although it came out sounding more like a question - he was asking Jimin to comfort Yoongi.

He knew Yoongi and Jimin had been getting closer - you’d be blind if you couldn’t see that something was going on between them - and he just hoped that maybe Jimin could make Yoongi feel better.

Jimin quickly nodded after hearing that the older boy wasn’t feeling too good and the boy ran along to the room the two shared.

He walked into Yoongi’s room and frowned upon seeing the older boy hidden under the covers of his bed - all Jimin could see was some blond hair peeking out of the top of the blankets.

Jimin shuffled towards the bed before he spoke up, “Yoongi?” Jimin’s voice was soft as he whispered the older boy’s name. Yoongi lifted his head from under his covers and Jimin tried to stop himself from frowning further. He could see the tears in Yoongi’s eyes, on his cheeks. “What happened?”

Yoongi peeked his head out a bit more before he just sighed. Jimin thought maybe Hoseok was wrong and that Yoongi didn’t want to, or need to, be comforted right now and that was perfectly fine. It seemed like he wanted to be alone, so Jimin decided to ask.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want me to go?”

“No.”

So, Jimin stayed. Yoongi told him he could come under the covers if he wanted to and Jimin couldn’t help but smile. Of course, Jimin wanted to.

Jimin shuffled under the covers, getting closer to Yoongi. The blond was no longer hiding under the covers - his body was now facing Jimin’s. He didn’t look at the younger boy though; he was looking down and Jimin smiled sympathetically at Yoongi’s tear-stained cheeks.

“What did you do while we were gone?” The older boy asked, his voice slightly hoarse from all the crying he had done today. He asked because he was hoping that maybe Jimin could distract him.

The pink-haired boy quickly began talking about what the rest of the boys had done while Yoongi, Hoseok and Namjoon were gone.

He talked about how they played ‘Uno’ for a while but quickly got bored after a couple of rounds. He talked about how he played football with Taehyung and Jungkook outside and about how Seokjin wouldn’t take his eyes off them, saying he didn’t trust Jungkook to not walk off like he did last time. He talked and talked and he hoped his talking would distract Yoongi, letting him forget about what happened at the store - even if it was just for a second.

“Oh! I’ve solved two sides of my Rubik's cube now!” Jimin spoke happily and he heard Yoongi let out a small chuckle, causing the younger boy to smile too. His eyes turned into the shape of crescents at the sound of Yoongi’s laugh. “I’ve done the red side and the white side. Which one should I do next?” Jimin asked, looking over at Yoongi, who was still looking down.

“Blue,” Yoongi spoke out, his voice quiet. Jimin had been talking for a while and this was the first thing Yoongi had said since Jimin had begun speaking.

“Blue? Okay,” Jimin nodded eagerly. “I’m going to do the blue side and I’ll show you first,” He spoke firmly with a smile before he paused for a moment. He looked over at Yoongi, who was looking down slightly at his own hands. He hummed when Jimin had finished talking, showing that he was listening.

They sat in silence for a while - Jimin didn’t really have anything to say but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Yoongi actually liked it. Just having Jimin next to him made him feel better than when he was all alone under the covers.

“Do you want to know what happened?” Yoongi suddenly asked with a whisper as he looked up at Jimin, their eyes meeting for the first time since Jimin had entered the room.

“Only if you want to talk about it,” Jimin quickly replied. He did want to know - he was curious but he didn’t want to push Yoongi into telling him if the older boy didn’t want to.

Yoongi thought about it for a moment before he nodded. “I want to,” He said firmly as he sat up. Jimin followed his actions, now sitting up on the bed instead of lying down. The two were sitting cross-legged on top of the blanket, their bodies facing each other.

It was silent for a couple of minutes and Jimin waited patiently for Yoongi to speak but it already seemed like the older boy was struggling. His eyes had become glossy just at the thought of what he had done at the store. He still felt so horrible.

“There was a kid at the store,” Yoongi began speaking, his voice wavering already. “And...”

Yoongi paused, closing his eyes and he could still see the image of the girl on the ground, the puddle of blood on the floor surrounding her head.

“And she was a zombie and she was attacking Namjoon and I killed her,” Yoongi spoke quickly, opening his eyes widely. The tears that had been building up in Yoongi’s eyes were now falling down his cheeks. “I just feel so bad. She was only a kid, Jimin and I killed her. I killed a kid,” Yoongi looked over at Jimin, his eyes glossy as he waited for the younger boy’s reaction.

Jimin smiled sympathetically before he wrapped his arms around Yoongi’s body, pulling the boy in for a hug.

Jimin let Yoongi cry.

“And she was someone I knew, Jimin,” Yoongi continued as his head lay on Jimin’s shoulder. “I know her parents. They’re probably looking for her but she’s dead. I killed her. I killed a kid.”

Yoongi continued crying and once again, Jimin didn’t say anything. He just let Yoongi cry it all out. The younger boy decided it would be better to wait until Yoongi had calmed down and gotten all the tears out before he tried to talk to him.

After a couple of minutes of laying on Jimin’s shoulder, the younger boy’s arms wrapped around his body, Yoongi had calmed down. He pulled away from Jimin’s hug, sniffling as he apologised many, many times and every time, Jimin told him not to worry.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi apologised again and as Jimin opened his mouth to speak, Yoongi cut him off. “Don’t worry about it, I know,” Yoongi finished the younger boy’s sentence and Jimin's lips curved upwards into a small smile. “I just feel so bad,”Yoongi sighed. “I can’t believe I did that to her.” He spoke the same words that he had spoken a moment ago but now his voice was a lot calmer. Jimin could still see he was upset. His eyes were still red and he had a constant frown on his face but the blond had stopped crying and Jimin was glad.

“You didn’t really have a choice though, Yoongi,” Jimin tried reassuring him. “She was a zombie and Namjoon was in danger. You had to protect Namjoon, didn’t you?” He asked softly. He hoped he didn’t sound insensitive because it was understandable why Yoongi was upset. But she was a zombie and Yoongi did what he had to do. Jimin just wanted to comfort Yoongi, let him know that he didn’t do anything wrong.

“I know,” Yoongi sighed. “That’s what Hobi said too but she was still a kid. I still killed a child.” Jimin quickly shook his head - she was a child. When Yoongi had killed her, she was a zombie.

“You killed a zombie,” Jimin spoke firmly. Again, he hoped he didn’t sound insensitive or too harsh since the reason for Yoongi being upset was perfectly valid but he just didn’t want Yoongi to feel bad about doing something that he had basically no choice in doing. “You killed a zombie to help Namjoon,” Jimin repeated his words.

Yoongi looked at Jimin, a fond smile on his face at Jimin’s attempt to comfort him. “You’re cute,” Yoongi whispered.

Jimin immediately smiled bashfully, all thoughts about the zombie suddenly disappearing from his mind

He thinks I’m cute.

Yoongi ended up pulling in Jimin for another hug, thanking the boy for making him feel better but Jimin didn’t think he really did anything.

They ended up cuddling on their bed. Yoongi had his arms wrapped around Jimin’s waist and Jimin had his head tucked into Yoongi’s chest, just like the previous night and the giddy feeling Jimin felt when he had seen the van parked outside the cabin came back. He liked being in Yoongi’s arms like this. He liked being with Yoongi.

Jimin felt Yoongi’s heartbeat and his chest rising and falling against his head. He knew Yoongi had fallen asleep when his breathing had started to slow down. Jimin wasn’t tired yet, though. It wasn’t even late but Yoongi was worn out from all the events of today so Jimin understood how the older boy had fallen asleep so quickly.

Jimin pulled away only slightly so he could look at Yoongi’s face but the older boy’s arms were still wrapped tightly around his waist. The tears that once stained the blond’s cheeks were gone now and the younger boy smiled softly - Yoongi looked peaceful now. Jimin took this as an opportunity to just admire how pretty Yoongi was.

Yoongi’s skin looked soft. Jimin kind of wanted to run the pad of his thumb across Yoongi’s cheekbone. Jimin looked up at Yoongi’s eyes. They were closed and Yoongi was dreaming away. Jimin hoped he was having a good dream. The younger boy could see each and every eyelash on his eyes. Yoongi had nice eyelashes - they were long and thick and pretty and Jimin would be lying if he said he wasn’t a tiny bit jealous of them. The pink-haired boy’s eyes then trailed down towards Yoongi’s lips. He had pretty lips too. They were parted ever so slightly and Jimin also kind of wanted to run his thumb along them too. They looked soft.

Jimin took one final look at Yoongi, smiling before he tucked his head back into Yoongi’s chest. The older boy moved slightly, mumbling something incoherent and Jimin got scared for a second - he didn’t want to wake Yoongi up. But when Yoongi placed his head on top of Jimin’s, tightening his grip on the younger boy’s waist at the same time and didn’t wake up, Jimin let out a small breath of relief.

The younger boy snuggled even closer to Yoongi before he shut his eyes, wanting to go to sleep too.

-

Hours had passed and since the two boys had gone for a nap pretty early on in the day, now that it was nighttime and the rest of the boys were sleeping, they were full of energy. They didn’t think they would be falling asleep anytime soon.

It was two in the morning; the rest of the boys were tucked into their beds, fast asleep while Yoongi and Jimin were sitting on the window ledge of Yoongi’s open bedroom window. Jimin sat prettily, cross-legged with his head in his hands as he stared up at the sky just above him. It was silent but it was definitely the good kind.

“Um,” Yoongi suddenly spoke into the silence, wanting Jimin’s attention. He got what he wanted and Jimin turned his head to look at the older boy before waiting for him to continue. “You know after you have a nightmare - it helps when you talk about it, right?” Yoongi asked, looking up at Jimin expectantly and the other boy quickly nodded. “I heard it helps to write them down too,” Yoongi continued and Jimin smiled at the suggestion. The blond was cute.

Yoongi didn’t actually hear that, though. He had searched up ‘how to deal with nightmares’ a couple of days ago after Jimin had his nightmare about all the boys turning into zombies but he had never gotten around to actually telling the younger boy what he had found out. Yoongi wanted to help Jimin as much as he possibly could.

“I heard that if you re-write the ending of your nightmare to something happier and give it a good ending, it can help too,” Yoongi explained further and Jimin nodded. That seemed like it could actually help him.

But then the pink-haired boy shrugged, “I don’t have anywhere to write them down. Remember? The zombie outside that store stole my bag with all my stuff inside,” Jimin pouted slightly as he spoke before he frowned as the image of the zombie all up in his face and the memory of its grip on his bag entered his mind. He quickly shook his head, wanting to stop thinking about the incident.

Yoongi had already thought about that. The older boy stood up and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering where the blond was going. He watched as Yoongi walked over to the desk in his room. The blond opened up a drawer, picking up a black notebook along with a pen in his left hand. Jimin also saw him grab something small with his other hand but he couldn’t see exactly what it was.

The older boy walked back over to Jimin, sitting across from him once again before passing the notebook and pen to the pink-haired boy, who had a large smile on his face.

“Thank you,” Jimin smiled gratefully as he grabbed the notebook out of Yoongi’s hands. He opened it up, looking through some of the pages. It was mostly empty, but the first couple of pages were covered with scribbles that were Yoongi’s handwriting.

“Sorry about that,” Yoongi apologised for the pages that were written in and Jimin shook his head at the apology. “I didn’t have one that was completely empty but this one mostly is,” He explained. “You don’t have to use it either. It’s just a suggestion. I just thought it might help.”

“I’ll use it,” Jimin nodded firmly, looking up from the notebook to meet Yoongi’s eyes, a pretty smile on his face. Yoongi couldn’t help but mirror the smile with his lips.

Jimin would do whatever he could to make his nightmares better. Also, the fact that this was Yoongi’s idea and Yoongi’s notebook and Yoongi’s pen made him want to use it more. Jimin was honestly very endeared at the fact that Yoongi had thought this through and had even given him one of his notebooks.

“Thank you,” Jimin thanked the older boy once again. Yoongi had already helped him so much by letting him sleep in his room and Jimin doesn’t think he can thank the older boy enough.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yoongi spoke back as he opened up his right hand and Jimin looked down, seeing a small tube of lip balm - that was the other thing that Yoongi had grabbed from his desk.

Yoongi took the cap off of the lip balm before bringing it to his lips. Jimin watched carefully as the product ran over the older boy's lips in the way he wanted to run his thumb over them earlier on.

Jimin licked his lips. They suddenly felt dry. “Give me some,” Jimin pouted jokingly and Yoongi looked up at him, chuckling.

“Come over here then,” Yoongi replied and Jimin tried to stop his eyes from widening. He didn’t actually expect Yoongi to agree. Jimin complied nonetheless, shuffling forward so that he was very close to Yoongi.

Yoongi’s hand made its way to Jimin’s jaw, gripping it softly and bringing the younger boy’s face even closer. Jimin was so close that he could feel Yoongi’s breath against his skin and he suddenly felt nervous, his heart beating faster at the feeling of Yoongi’s large hand against his face.

The blond’s grip on Jimin’s jaw didn’t loosen when Yoongi brought the lip balm to Jimin’s lips. Jimin stared at Yoongi’s eyes but Yoongi’s eyes never met him. The older boy’s eyes were staring down at Jimin’s lips as he ran the lip balm against Jimin’s pretty, pink lips.

“You have pretty lips,” Yoongi complimented, speaking his thoughts, his voice barely a whisper and the comment caused the butterflies in Jimin’s stomach to go wild. The younger boy blushed, his lips moving up into a shy smile as he quietly thanked the older boy. “Really pretty lips,” Yoongi repeated as the hand that was placed on Jimin’s jaw moved down ever so slightly. His hand was still on Jimin’s jaw but now, his thumb was placed right over Jimin’s bottom lip.

Yoongi’s thumb ran over Jimin’s bottom lip and Jimin felt his heart speed up even faster at the small gesture. Jimin’s eyes moved from Yoongi’s eyes to Yoongi’s lips and then back up to Yoongi’s eyes whereas Yoongi could not get his eyes away from Jimin’s lips. He couldn’t help it. They were just so pretty - pretty enough to kiss.

Yoongi slowly moved his head towards Jimin’s, the gap between their lips was small. Jimin copied the older boy’s actions, moving his head closer too, ready to connect their lips together.

But when Jimin’s phone suddenly rang loudly from the bedside table, the younger boy’s head snapped to look over at it, his heart beating fast from the sudden noise. He squinted his eyes to see who was calling and gasped when he saw the contact ‘mom’.

Jimin jumped away from his seat beside Yoongi, running over to his phone and almost tripping as he did so. He quickly clicked the answer button, his eyes wide as he brought his ear to his phone.

“Hello?” Jimin’s voice was already wavering and his eyes had already begun watering even though his mother hadn’t replied yet. The fact that she had even called let Jimin know she was safe and for the past ten days, that was the thing he was most worried about.

“Jimin?” His mother spoke through the other end of the line and Jimin sobbed. The boy covered his mouth with his other hand, the tears in his eyes falling.

“Oh my God,” Jimin squeaked out through tears. “Oh my God,” He repeated. He didn’t know what else to say. He didn’t know what to do. He was shocked and happy and overwhelmed and relieved all at the same time. His mother was alive. Jimin’s mother was alive. “Are you safe? Is everyone else okay? Are all of you together? You guys are okay, right?” Jimin spoke incredibly fast but he couldn’t help it. He was so happy yet so worried.

“Jimin?” The pink-haired boy heard Yoongi from behind him. He turned around to see the blond stood right behind him, staring at him with wide eyes. He had no idea what was happening. One moment Jimin’s lips were inches away from his and then next, Jimin was on the other side of the room with tears in his eyes. “Who called? What happened?” His voice was soft as he looked at Jimin curiously yet he couldn’t help but feel slightly concerned at the sight of the younger boy’s tears.

“My mom. Oh my God. I can’t believe she called,” Jimin replied with a whisper, tears still streaming down his face. The concerned look on Yoongi’s face was replaced with a soft smile when he realised that Jimin was crying from happiness. His thumb moved towards Jimin’s cheek to gently wipe away the tears on his face. Yoongi was happy that Jimin’s mom was okay.

Jimin turned his attention back to his mother on the phone. “Jimin, we’re fi-” She spoke but she was cut off. All Jimin could hear was static. “-ell yo- somethin-” As she continued speaking, her voice would be continuously cut off and Jimin swallowed thickly.

“Hello? I can’t hear you,” Jimin spoke worriedly as his eyes widened. He was scared that the line would cut off and he wouldn’t get to speak to her properly at all.

“-min. Listen,” The line cut off again and the sound of static was starting to make Jimin upset. “-important. Okay?” It was hard to hear but Jimin realised she was asking him to listen to what she was going to say next.

“Okay,” Jimin nodded. “I’m listening.” Jimin was trying to listen but it was hard to do so when the line would cut off every couple of seconds.

“We’re saf- —— ca-camp,” She spoke and Jimin began to grow frustrated at the fact that he just couldn’t hear her. How was he supposed to listen when he couldn’t even hear half the words she was saying? He knew it wasn’t her fault but he couldn’t help but get upset. He asked her to repeat what she had said but it didn’t seem like she could hear him very well from her side either.

“You h—— get here. Y——— quarant—,” She spoke and Jimin shook his head as more tears flooded into his eyes. He didn’t understand.

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” Jimin replied hopelessly. “I can’t hear you.” He whimpered sadly.

“Jim — Jimin?” His mother spoke and Jimin repeated once again that he couldn’t hear her properly. “C-can’t — -ear you,” She spoke and Jimin realised he was right. The two of them could barely hear each other.

“Hello? Mom?”

“Jimin? Jim-,” She was cut off again but this time Jimin’s didn’t hear static. He couldn’t hear anything. It was dead silent and he began to panic.

“Hello?” Jimin’s eyes were wide as he continued to call out to his mother through the phone but he was only met with more silence.

He had tears all over his face as he hung up the phone and immediately called his mother back. He silently prayed that she would pick up and that this time the line would be clear; this time he could talk to her properly and know that she was safe and that the rest of his family was safe too.

Jimin’s prayers were not answered.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY FIFTEEN
00:47

Jimin couldn’t sleep.

Days had passed since his phone call with his mother and each day was getting harder and harder.

After their phone call had gotten cut off, Jimin broke down. He was crying hysterically while continually trying to call her back. He tried more times than he could count and after each failed attempt, the boy became more and more hopeless.

Yoongi eventually took Jimin’s phone away from him; he didn’t think he could see Jimin cry harder and harder every time the boy’s mother didn’t pick up anymore.

Yoongi helped Jimin into bed, wiped away his tears, rubbed small circles into his back all while whispering the most comforting words to Jimin, telling him that his mother was safe and that one day Jimin would be able to see her again.

Jimin found it hard to sleep that night. He doesn’t think he slept at all because he just couldn’t stop thinking. He was scared and worried and all he wanted to do was see his mother again.

Ever since the night of the phone call, Jimin’s nightmares were progressively getting worse. They were always about his mother and what could’ve happened to her after the phone line cut off.

In the first nightmare he had about his mother, a zombie had broken into her house and she had to end the call to run and hide. The dream was tense, full of suspense and Jimin woke up with wide eyes and his heart beating at a million miles an hour.

The second one was slightly worse - this time, the zombie broke in and grabbed his mother by her neck. She was gasping for air, clawing at the zombie's hands with her own, trying to get away from it. She managed to escape out of its grip but she ended up with a large, bloody scratch on her neck from the zombie’s nails.

Although, the third nightmare he had - the one he had last night - was the worst one by far.

In his nightmare last night, the zombie had bit Jimin’s mother. Since the boy had seen people getting bitten and turning into zombies right in front of his eyes before, he knew exactly what it looked like and the dream just seemed so realistic. There was blood spilling out of her wound and she struggled to breathe, choking on the blood that was also coming out of her mouth. Her body plummeted to the floor before it began convulsing and she turned into one of those creatures right in front of Jimin’s eyes.

Every nightmare left Jimin sobbing. They were just dreams, something his imagination had made up but there was a possibility that they could actually be true. Jimin doesn’t know why his mother didn’t pick up the phone after he had tried calling her again and for all he knows, she could be dead.

After Jimin would wake up from his nightmares, he would often stay up for the rest of the night. The shock from the nightmares left him wide awake meaning he was unable to fall back asleep. Sometimes he would write in the notebook Yoongi had given him, re-writing the end of his nightmare just like the older boy had told him to and Jimin thought it helped him a lot; it helped him forget what really happened in his dreams for a while. It helped him think of something happier

He would never wake Yoongi up after one of his nightmares though. After the incident with the zombie child that the older boy had faced at the store a couple of days ago, Yoongi had been struggling. He would constantly feel guilty like he did something wrong and a lot of the time, he would look to Jimin for comfort and reassurance and so, Jimin knew what the blond was going through. The younger boy didn’t want to add more stress onto Yoongi by making him lose sleep to comfort Jimin when he was already going through a lot.

Other times, after Jimin woke up and had written in his notebook, the boy would try and solve his Rubik’s cube. He told Yoongi he would solve the blue side for him and Jimin was determined to but it wasn’t going well. The two sides he had boasted about solving previously were now unsolved again and the cube was back to how it was when he had first gotten it from the treehouse - maybe even worse.

Jimin was currently fiddling with his Rubik’s cube at one in the morning because he couldn't sleep. His eyebrows were furrowed as he sighed, trying to figure out what to do next with a sleeping Yoongi laying down beside him, the older boy dreaming away.

A couple of hours ago, Jimin and Yoongi had gotten into bed and Yoongi quickly fell asleep with his arms wrapped around Jimin and Jimin tried to fall asleep too but he just couldn’t.

Jimin didn’t really want to sleep anyway. He didn’t want to have to face another nightmare. So, he pried himself away and out of Yoongi’s arms and grabbed his Rubik’s cube. He had been sitting in the bed he shared with Yoongi for an hour now, trying to solve the blue side but he was growing more and more frustrated when he just couldn’t do it.

The boy huffed, pouting as he dropped the Rubik’s cube into his lap in annoyance but his eyes widened when it fell out from his lap, off the bed and hit the floor with the loud thump.

Jimin’s head whipped to his right side to look at Yoongi. His eyes were wide, afraid he may have just woken the older boy up - that was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

He let out a small sigh of relief when he saw Yoongi’s eyes still closed shut and the older boy’s chest rising and falling at a slow pace.

Little did Jimin know that when he hopped off the bed to grab his Rubik’s cube, Yoongi slowly opened up one of his eyes, wondering what the noise that had woken him up was.

He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Jimin sighing as he picked something up from the floor but Yoongi quickly shut his eyes again when he saw that Jimin was getting back into bed.

Yoongi was confused as to why Jimin was awake and didn’t wake him up. He decided not to say anything to Jimin at that moment since the pink-haired boy didn’t seem to be distressed or upset so Yoongi guessed he didn’t have a nightmare.

Yoongi reminded himself to ask Jimin about it tomorrow before he decided to fall back asleep, leaving Jimin alone with his Rubik’s cube again.

The next day came quickly and it was now early in the evening. Jimin was sitting on the couch in the living room of the cabin, his Rubik’s cube still in his hand. Taehyung and Jungkook were sitting on the floor by the coffee table beside him, the two younger boys playing Uno together. The older boys were in another room - Jimin didn’t know what they were up to.

Yoongi walked into the room and stood behind the couch, right behind where Jimin was sitting.

Yoongi smiled fondly as he watched the way Jimin’s hands twisted and turned the cube before he spoke up, wanting to get the younger boy’s attention: “Hey, flower.”

Jimin immediately shot his head up to look up at the older boy, the Rubik’s cube slipping out of his hands and onto his lap as a wide smile was now on his lips because of the pretty pet name. “Hi,” Jimin spoke back softly, not noticing the way Taehyung and Jungkook were smiling at the two older boys’ interaction.

“I need to talk to you about something,” Yoongi said as he looked down at Jimin. “You wanna head to our room?” The older boy then asked and Jimin quickly nodded, jumping out of his seat on the couch and grabbing his Rubik’s cube before making his way to the room he shared with Yoongi.

Jimin rushed into the room, ahead of Yoongi. When he walked in, he switched the light switch on before rushing over to Yoongi’s bed, settling down comfortably and soon, the blond walked in behind Jimin and took a seat right beside him.

“What did you wanna talk about?” Jimin asked, tilting his head slightly while his fingers fiddled with the Rubik’s cube in his hands.

“Last night,” Yoongi replied and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what had happened last night. Yoongi was about to continue to explain why he wanted to talk to Jimin but as soon as the older boy opened his mouth to talk, the lights suddenly turned off.

Jimin jumped slightly, his hand unconsciously gripping onto Yoongi’s sleeve before his head shot up to look at the light bulb in the middle of Yoongi’s ceiling, wondering what had happened to it and why it had suddenly turned off.

“What happened?” Jimin whispered, voicing his concern as he looked over to Yoongi, who just shrugged.

The older boy stood up and Jimin reluctantly let go of his sleeve. Jimin could barely see but his eyes tried to follow Yoongi, who walked over to the light switch, turning it off and on again but still, the light in his room didn’t turn back on.

“Let’s go find the other boys,” Yoongi said, using his hand to beckon Jimin over to him. Jimin quickly nodded before he stood up and rushed over to Yoongi, standing very, very close to the older boy.

It was embarrassing to admit but Jimin was frightened. He didn’t know why - he wasn’t a child and so he didn’t know why the dark was suddenly freaking him out so much.

The dark wasn’t that scary but the things that could be hiding in it was and Jimin thought that was what was making him nervous. If he couldn’t see clearly how would he know if there was a zombie around?

Yoongi seemed to notice the pensive look on the younger boy’s face. “Are you okay, Jimin?” His voice was soft when he questioned the younger boy; it always was when he noticed Jimin was nervous or scared.

“Yeah,” Jimin nodded as he moved even closer to Yoongi, suddenly worried that something would jump out at him from the darkness. Yoongi gave him a look and Jimin could tell the blond didn't believe him. “I don’t know. The dark’s just making me nervous.” Jimin embarrassingly admitted as he shook his head, his cheeks now becoming red ever so slightly. He felt childish after admitting that he was afraid of the dark. “I feel like a zombie could come out of anywhere because we can’t see,” He explained further, his voice quiet - it felt like it’d be dangerous to speak anything above the noise level of a whisper.

Yoongi didn’t make fun of him though. He wouldn’t. The older boy just hummed in understanding. “It is a bit scary, isn’t it? I get what you mean,” Yoongi replied as he gave Jimin’s shoulder a small squeeze and Jimin felt like a small weight had been lifted off of his shoulders after hearing that his fear didn’t sound stupid. “It’s okay though, hm? I’m here and we’re gonna find the other boys and fix the lights quickly, okay?”

“Okay,” Jimin whispered back, nodding his head after feeling reassured from Yoongi’s words.

The two boys walked out of the room they shared and made their way towards the living room-kitchen area, knowing that Taehyung and Jungkook were there since that was where they had left the two of them.

As they walked in, Jimin was happy to see the rest of the boys were already there. The three older boys were squished together on the couch whereas Jungkook and Taehyung were still sitting on the floor.

“Did the power go out?” Yoongi asked as he walked over to the boys. Namjoon immediately nodded. “Just in our cabin?"

“I don’t think so,” Namjoon answered. “After the lights went out in our room, we came here and Taehyung said their lights went out too.”

“Hobi and I went outside and up to the treehouse to see if the other houses’ lights had gone out too and they did - there’s no light anywhere at all,” Seokjin explained. “Usually you can see some from the stores nearby and the street lights but everything is dark.”

“The power in the whole city must be gone,” Jungkook mumbled and the younger boy’s words alarmed Jimin slightly.

“Is there any way to get the power back on?” Taehyung asked, looking up at Yoongi from his spot on the floor.

Yoongi sighed. He hadn’t said anything yet but Jimin began to panic. That didn’t sound good.

“No,” The blond finally said and an unsettling feeling washed over Jimin.

“Do you have candles?” Hoseok suddenly asked, an idea popping into his head and Yoongi immediately nodded.

“We’ll only need light during dark hours. During the day we’ll be fine,” Seokjin added. “Where are they? Should we go grab them?”

“They’re in the basement,” Yoongi replied, answering the older boy’s question. “I’ll go get them,” He stated before he turned to look at Jimin, who was standing right behind him. “You wanna come with me?”

Jimin nodded and Yoongi smiled at the younger boy. Jimin quickly grabbed onto Yoongi’s sleeve - it made him feel safer - as the two walked out of the living room and over to the stairs that led down to the basement.

Yoongi pulled out his phone from his pocket, turning on the flashlight so they could see the stairs better. The two began walking down the stairs and Jimin’s grip on Yoongi’s sleeve never faltered.

“So, I don’t think the power will come back any time soon,” Yoongi mumbled as the two walked down the stairs. “I’m sorry.”

Jimin immediately shook his head - Yoongi had no reason to be sorry. “Why are you sorry?” Jimin asked rhetorically. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

“I know,” Yoongi replied. “But it still sucks, doesn’t it?” The two reached the bottom of the stairs and Yoongi opened the door with the hand that wasn’t holding onto his phone.

Jimin shrugged. “I think it’ll be fine. We’ll have candles and that’s good enough.,” Jimin mumbled as he walked into the basement with Yoongi. “They might look kinda cute too. I feel like burning candles is kinda cosy just like how the cabin is.” Yoongi smiled at Jimin’s comment.

Jimin was still holding onto Yoongi’s sleeve as the older boy walked deeper into the basement, the flashlight coming from his phone helping him see his way.

“There should be a box filled with some candles,” Yoongi mumbled more to himself than Jimin. “I think there are candles in my parents’ room too. Those are scented candles though.”

“I don’t like the smell of candles that much,” Jimin commented as Yoongi crouched down on the floor next to a cardboard box. Jimin’s hand let go of the older boy’s sleeve before he crouched down too. The blond passed his phone to Jimin and Jimin took it, shining the light from the phone onto the box.

Yoongi pulled the box towards him, opening it and taking a look inside before humming satisfactorily. Curiously, Jimin peered inside, taking a look at some of the candles of various different shapes and sizes inside the box.

“We won’t put the scented ones in our room then,” Yoongi replied and Jimin nodded in agreement. The older boy picked up the box and stood up - Jimin copied his actions. “Let’s go back and light these up around the cabin, hm?”

Jimin nodded as he walked back up the basement stairs, shining the light from Yoongi’s phone on the steps so he could see where he was going as the older boy trailed right behind him.

When the two boys walked back into the living room, the rest of the boys greeted them with large smiles. Yoongi placed the box of candles onto the coffee table and Jimin continued shining the phone light around the living room, helping the other boys see in the dark.

As soon as Yoongi placed the box down, Taehyung and Jungkook both sat up properly, leaning forward from their seats on the floor to take a look inside the box.

“Do you have a lighter?” Seokjin asked and Yoongi nodded before he pointed behind them, towards the kitchen area.

“There’s a couple in one of the cabinets in the kitchen. I don’t know which ones though,” He replied and Seokjin nodded before the oldest boy pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight, holding it in a similar position that Jimin did.

“Namjoon and I will go look for them,” Jin commented as he nudged Namjoon’s arm with his elbow, causing the dimpled leader to smile widely.

Yoongi hummed, happy for the two boys to go look for the lighters before he looked over to Hoseok, “There’s a couple of scented candles in my mom’s room. Could you go get them?”

Hobi quickly nodded, standing up from his place on the couch. “Yeah. I’ve seen them on her dresser before. I’ll go grab them.”

As Hoseok went to grab the scented candles and Seokjin and Namjoon looked for the lighters, Taehyung and Jungkook, along with Yoongi and Jimin, grabbed the candles from the box and after Hoseok came back with the other candles, they began placing them around the cabin. There were two in each bedroom - Yoongi made sure to make the one’s in the room he shared with Jimin were unscented - and in the living room while the bathroom and kitchen had one candle each.

Soon, Namjoon and Jin had found the lighters. There were two of them. Jin gave one to Hobi, asking him to light up the candles around the living room-kitchen area. Yoongi took the other and went to light up the candles in the bedroom.

The older boy first went over to the two other bedrooms, lighting up the other candles in the boys’ room before his own. Jimin followed him around the cabin, watching the blond lighting up each candle.

Yoongi finished up lighting the candles quickly and soon, the two boys walked over to the room they shared. It was dark but Jimin left Yoongi’s side and ran over to their bed, laying down on the mattress as a loud sigh escaped past his lips. After seeing Yoongi light up the candles around the cabin, his nerves and fears about the dark seemed to settle down.

Yoongi smiled at Jimin’s actions, grinning to himself as he lit up the candles in the room they shared. From his space on the bed, the pink-haired boy looked over at Yoongi, watching the way the darkness covering Yoongi’s pale face was replaced by the golden light shining from the candle below him.

The blond placed the lighter down beside the candle before he made his way over to Jimin, taking a seat beside Jimin, who was still laying down against Yoongi’s pillows. Jimin sat up, crossing his legs as he looked Yoongi in the eyes.

“So, what was the thing you wanted to talk to me about?” Jimin asked, suddenly remembering what the two boys were doing before the power went out. “About last night?” A small ‘ah’, escaped past Yoongi’s lips, nodding his head as he copied Jimin’s actions, crossing his legs and shuffling towards Jimin.

Yoongi paused for a moment. “Yesterday, uh,” He started speaking but he didn’t know what to say next or how to continue. “I saw you awake last night and I just wanted to know if you had a nightmare?”

Jimin hesitated for a moment, wondering how Yoongi knew he hadn’t slept last night - he thought the older boy was asleep the entire night. “No,” Jimin then answered slowly and Yoongi raised an eyebrow, confused as to why Jimin was awake if he didn’t have a nightmare. “I didn’t have a nightmare. I just didn’t want to sleep.”

“Why not?” Yoongi asked, shifting his position so he was now a bit closer to Jimin. He placed his head in his hand as he waited for Jimin to answer.

Jimin sighed. “The past couple of days my nightmares have been pretty bad,” Jimin began expanding and Yoongi immediately frowned - he had no idea. “So, yesterday I stayed up because I didn’t want to have another one.”

Yoongi was sort of shocked. If Jimin didn’t want to sleep at all because of his nightmares, they must have been really bad - worse than they were before. He wished Jimin would have woken him up. He wished he could have comforted the younger boy when he was going through this all alone.

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could’ve helped,” Yoongi spoke softly and Jimin looked down into his lap as he began to play with his fingers. “Is it because you thought it would annoy me?” Yoongi asked. He knew that was the reason why Jimin dealt with his nightmares alone before. “You know you don’t annoy me, Jimin. You could never. I love staying up with you.” Yoongi’s frown deepened. It was true - the times Yoongi spent staying up all night with Jimin were probably some of the best nights he had ever had and it didn’t matter that their sleep schedules were slightly messed up because of it - they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse; it doesn't matter what time you wake up during the day.

“No. It’s not that!” Jimin exclaimed, his head shooting upwards to look at the blond in the face. “I know you like staying up with me. I like staying up with you too,” Jimin admitted, hoping his words would take the frown away from Yoongi’s lips. “You’re just going through a lot now and I don’t wanna put more stress on you because you have to deal with my nightmares too.”

Yoongi smiled sympathetically, his heart bursting because Jimin was worried about him. “Jimin,” Yoongi began, his hand unconsciously making its way to Jimin’s arm, lightly touching the younger boy’s skin, leaving Jimin with goosebumps. “You don’t have to do that, okay? Yeah, after what happened with the girl at the store, I haven’t been feeling great,” Yoongi admitted and Jimin frowned, nodding. He knew that “But you’re always there for me when I feel that way. You come over here and cuddle up to me, tell me about your day so I don’t have to think about it. I want to do that for you too. You can wake me up no matter what, okay?”

“Okay,” Jimin nodded. “I was just worried for you though,” Jimin then whispered at the end, looking back down at his lap. Once again, Yoongi smiled.

“I know, flower,” The older boy whispered back, his hand moving from Jimin’s arm to his cheek, caressing it softly causing Jimin to look up at him and a pretty, pink blush rushed onto his cheeks. “You’re sweet.”

Jimin couldn’t help but smile widely and Yoongi watched him with nothing but fondness. Jimin looked pretty. The light from the candle was hitting the younger boy’s face just right, making him look so much more angelic and his pink hair was flopping against his forehead, covering the younger boy’s eyes slightly and so, Yoongi’s fingers pushed the strands of hair away from his eyes.

“You have an eyelash on your cheek,” Jimin suddenly said, pulling Yoongi away from his thoughts. Yoongi moved his hand away from Jimin’s cheek before he touched his own face. Jimin’s cheek suddenly felt cold after Yoongi had taken his large, warm hand away.

“Here?” Yoongi asked as he wiped his cheek, trying to get the eyelash off.

“No! Wait,” Jimin suddenly said, causing Yoongi to quickly stop in the middle of his actions. “Don’t just wipe it away! You have to make a wish.”

Jimin shuffled forward, even closer to Yoongi before his small hand reached over towards the older boy’s cheek. When Jimin’s finger touched the blond’s face, Yoongi closed his eyes- even the smallest touch from Jimin made him feel all warm inside.

Jimin grabbed the eyelash between his two fingers and his other hand reached for Yoongi’s hand, lifting it up and bringing it towards him. Jimin placed the eyelash on the back of Yoongi’s hand.

“Make a wish and blow the eyelash away,” Jimin whispered. Yoongi opened his eyes, looking down at the back of his hand.

“Can I tell you what I wish for after I’ve done it?” Yoongi asked, looking up from his hand and at Jimin, who quickly shook his head.

“No! Then it won’t come true!” Jimin exclaimed and Yoongi smiled, nodding in understanding.

Yoongi closed his eyes once again. He thought for a moment about what he wanted for his wish.

I wish Jimin’s nightmares would stop.

And with that, the older boy blew his eyelash away before he opened his eyes, smiling when he saw Jimin smiling right back at him.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY SEVENTEEN
01:12

Once again, Jimin couldn’t sleep, which wasn’t a rare occurrence but over the last couple of days, he had actually been sleeping better. His nightmares were still bad and most of them were still about his mother but after a nightmare, Yoongi was always there to help him fall asleep again and so, he had been getting more hours of sleep.

But tonight, he wasn’t awake because of a nightmare. Jimin was sitting on the large window ledge in Yoongi’s room. The window was open, the cold air was hitting his face and Jimin was thinking. He was thinking too much about too many things.

From the bed beside Jimin, Yoongi yawned, his body randomly waking itself up. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his bed, sighing when he saw that Jimin wasn’t in bed and instead was up and by the window.

Yoongi shuffled out of bed quietly before he walked over to where Jimin was sitting, “You okay there, flower?” The blond asked softly, his eyes still half-closed from sleepiness. He saw Jimin jump slightly; Yoongi’s voice had startled him but the surprised look on his face morphed into a smiley one as he turned to face the older boy.

“You scared me,” Jimin whispered and Yoongi chuckled before he mumbled out an apology and took a seat beside Jimin.

The two sat in silence for a while and Yoongi spent the silence watching the pretty boy on his left. His eyes started at the top of Jimin’s head. He watched the way the wind blew through Jimin’s pink hair, making his hair look messy yet still so effortlessly beautiful.

His eyes moved down to Jimin’s face. He watched the way Jimin’s skin seemed to glow under the bright light of the moon, somehow enhancing how soft and smooth it usually looked. He watched the way Jimin’s eyes shone brightly as he looked up at the stars up in the dark sky. The stars reflected in Jimin’s irises, making it look like they contained the entire galaxy. He watched the way Jimin bit his pretty, plump bottom lip in thought.

He looked down at Jimin’s body. He watched the way Jimin sat, cross-legged with his hands placed sweetly in his lap. He was wearing one of Yoongi’s large t-shirts - it was big on the younger boy but it seemed to fit him so perfectly at the same time.

As Yoongi looked over at Jimin, Jimin looked up at the stars.

Jimin glanced up at the sky, watching the way the stars glowed - despite the disaster going on down here, the sky managed to still look absolutely perfect. He wondered if his parents could see the same stars as he could, if they were looking up at the sky and thinking about him, just like he was thinking about them.

“Why are you awake?” Yoongi asked, his voice slightly deeper than usual since he had just woken up a moment ago. “Was it a nightmare?”

Jimin shook his head before he turned his head to look over at Yoongi. “No,” He sighed. “I’m just thinking,” He admitted truthfully.

“About?” Yoongi questioned, raising an eyebrow as he bumped his elbow with Jimin’s.

Jimin took a large deep breath. “Just thinking about what my day would’ve looked like if none of this had happened,” He spoke quietly into the cold air of the night, his head moving back to look out the window and up at the bright stars above him.

“And what would your day look like?” Yoongi asked curiously, crossing his legs, sitting just like Jimin was before he moved closer to the boy on his left so that their knees were touching.

“I would’ve woken up early in the morning and I would’ve gone to school,” Jimin spoke, his eyes still trailing over the night sky. “I would’ve gone to class with Taehyung and Jungkook and…”

Jimin paused and took another deep breath in.

“And Soobin,” Jimin continued - he felt his voice crack. Yoongi watched Jimin’s eyes water with tears at the thought of Soobin and he immediately frowned. He placed a hand on Jimin’s thigh and used his thumb to caress the pink-haired boy’s skin, not knowing what else he could do to comfort Jimin right now.

“And after I would’ve been able to go home and to see my parents,” Jimin’s voice wavered as he continued to talk. “And I would’ve eaten a home-cooked meal. One that wasn’t out of a can. One that was cooked by my mom,” At the thought of his mother, Jimin smiled slightly through the tears that had begun to fall.

Yoongi’s hand never moved away from Jimin’s thigh. His small, comforting touches never stopped as Jimin continued to speak his mind and get his feelings out.

“And that night, I would’ve gone up to my room and I would’ve slept,” Jimin sighed sadly as he turned to face Yoongi before shutting his eyes, “I would’ve had a good night’s sleep - without any stupid nightmares,” He whispered.

Yoongi sighed sympathetically as he reached for Jimin’s hand. Despite it being cold due to the window being wide open, Jimin’s small hand still felt warm against Yoongi’s palm. “I’m sorry,” He whispered as he looked at Jimin’s closed eyes with nothing but concern. He just wished Jimin didn’t have to deal with, as Jimin said, stupid nightmares.

Jimin quickly opened his eyes and shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” Jimin sniffled. “You help me so much,” He then commented quietly afterwards.

The blond smiled sadly and his hand made its way towards Jimin’s face before he used the pad of his thumb to wipe the younger boy’s tears away. As he did so, Jimin shut his eyes again, the feeling of Yoongi’s fingers against his skin, calming him down but also causing the butterflies in his tummy to flutter away at the same time.

Yoongi’s large hand then cupped Jimin’s cheek, his thumb now caressing the boy’s skin softly. Jimin opened his eyes, looking up and into Yoongi’s deep brown ones but when their eyes met, he averted his gaze, looking down into his lap as he fiddled with the material of Yoongi’s shirt. Yoongi smiled fondly, finding Jimin’s nervousness endearing.

Yoongi’s arm wrapped itself around Jimin’s shoulder, pulling him in closer. Jimin had no complaints. He leaned into Yoongi, sighing from the older boy’s touch as he placed his head onto the blond’s shoulder.

Jimin’s mind was blank. The worries he was thinking about only moments ago seemed to have been erased from his mind as soon as he curled up by Yoongi’s side. There was something about Yoongi that made Jimin feel at ease, as if nothing could hurt him. Maybe it was because Yoongi’s voice was so soft and low and comforting and it made Jimin feel all warm inside. Maybe it was because Yoongi had his arm wrapped strongly yet gently around Jimin, making him feel like nothing could get to him.

It was quiet - all that could be heard was the soft whisper of the wind. The two boys sat in comfortable silence, holding each other closely with lazy smiles printed on their lips as they stared up at constellations above. Jimin doesn’t think anything could be more calming. This is the first time he had ever felt so content since the apocalypse had started.

He wished every moment could be like right now. He wasn’t overthinking. He wasn’t scared - there wasn’t a single ounce of fear in his body. All he felt was peace. Jimin wished he could stay in this moment forever. Just him, Yoongi and the stars. No zombies. No nightmares. No fear. Just Yoongi.

A cold breeze suddenly washed over Jimin, causing him to shiver and inch closer to Yoongi’s body to get as much warmth as he could.

“Cold?” Yoongi asked softly and Jimin nodded against Yoongi’s shoulder. “We should head back to bed then, huh?” He then questioned and Jimin silently cursed the wind in his mind but nonetheless, he nodded anyway.

And with that, Yoongi and Jimin made their way back towards their bed after Yoongi shut his bedroom window. Jimin sat down on the edge of the bed while Yoongi went over to his wardrobe to grab something thicker than the t-shirt Jimin had on for the younger boy to wear.

“Arms up,” Yoongi ordered as he walked back over to Jimin with one of his many hoodies in his hand. Jimin smiled and did as told, lifting his arms above his head. Yoongi couldn’t help but mirror the pink-haired boy’s expression, smiling as he helped Jimin into the hoodie.

“Let’s go to sleep,” Yoongi hummed and it looked as if Jimin had deflated at the reminder of sleep, at the reminder of his nightmares.

“I’m not tired yet,” Jimin spoke back, his legs swinging as Yoongi came to sit down beside him. Although, as soon as Jimin spoke those words, a yawn had slipped out of his mouth and he quickly covered his lips with his hoodie-covered hand, hoping Yoongi didn't notice that he was indeed quite tired. But, unluckily, when Jimin looked over at Yoongi, the older boy was already looking right back at him with an eyebrow raised and Jimin pouted, knowing he had gotten caught in a lie.

“Not tired, hm?” Yoongi teased, chuckling slightly causing Jimin to roll his eyes playfully.

“Not tired,” Jimin replied firmly with a nod as he looked over at Yoongi, completely ignoring the fact he had just yawned less than a minute ago.

Yoongi chuckled again before he leaned over to Jimin, their faces only inches away from each other causing the pink-haired boy to gulp nervously. Yoongi moved so that his lips were right beside Jimin's ear.

“Should I try and tire you out then, hm? Flower?” Yoongi whispered and Jimin’s eyes widened unwittingly. That was the last thing he expected to come out of Yoongi’s mouth and Jimin didn’t know what he was supposed to do next. He was unsure what Yoongi was insinuating but there was an idea in the back of his mind and he’d be lying if he said he was opposed.

Jimin’s head turned slightly, looking over at Yoongi to see if his face could give anything away about what the older boy was thinking but Yoongi’s eyes were already staring back at him and the eye contact made the younger boy nervous, causing him to quickly look down.

Yoongi’s hands moved down, his fingertips gently gripping Jimin’s waist.

And he tickled him.

Jimin immediately erupted into a fit of giggles, his eyes turning into the shape of crescents as he struggled to push Yoongi’s hands away.

“S-stop!” Jimin stuttered through giggles. He backed away from Yoongi in an attempt to get away from the older boy’s hands and now Jimin was lying flat on the bed rather than sitting on the edge of the bed.

Jimin’s giggles were loud and contagious - Yoongi couldn’t help but grin widely, his bright, gummy smile on show as he stared down at Jimin, his hands still tickling the giggling boy’s stomach.

“Stop! Yoongi, stop! I-I’m going to wake everyone up,” Jimin managed to get out in between all the giggles and deep breaths.

Yoongi chuckled as he pulled his hands away, finally allowing the younger boy to breathe. Jimin closed his eyes as soon as Yoongi let go of his waist, breathing in and out heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

Jimin opened his eyes as he let out a deep breath and he was instantly met with Yoongi above him, staring at him with a smile.

Jimin was beautiful. He looked up at Yoongi with his bright eyes and his cheeks were glowing a light red, not only from the tickles and the giggling, but also because of Yoongi’s intense gaze on him - it made Jimin feel so nervous but so giddy.

Jimin quickly looked away from Yoongi’s eyes and down at his shirt - once again, the eye contact made him a little nervous.

“Hey, are you okay?” Yoongi asked, his finger moving under Jimin’s chin and lifting the shy boy’s head up so he could look into those pretty eyes again. Yoongi offered him a comforting smile and Jimin quickly nodded.

“Yeah. I’m okay,” Jimin whispered back with a nod, mirroring Yoongi’s smile and he wasn’t lying. To say the least, the situation all the boys were currently in was definitely not good but when Yoongi was with Jimin, the younger boy didn't think he could ever feel bad. “It’s just that…” Jimin stopped for a moment, thinking about how to say what was on his mind. “You just make me nervous.”

Yoongi laughed. Loudly.

Jimin’s mouth immediately fell open at Yoongi’s reaction. He scoffed playfully as he rolled his eyes and hit the older boy’s arm but still, Yoongi continued to chuckle to himself.

“Nervous? I make you nervous? Do I, flower?” Yoongi teased, poking at Jimin’s side. Jimin whined, a pout on his lips causing Yoongi to chuckle more. “You’re cute.”

Jimin huffed, the pout still present on his lips.

“What?” Yoongi asked, a wide smile on his lips. “You’re sulking because I laughed at you?”

“Yes,” Jimin responded flatly as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes jokingly before he looked up at Yoongi through furrowed eyebrows.

Yoongi looked down at his pretty pink-haired boy, who still sat there with a pout on his lips before he inched his face closer. “I said it was cute though,” He whispered and Jimin could feel Yoongi’s breath fan against his lips.

Jimin looked right into Yoongi’s eyes. The nervousness he felt a few moments ago was back and the butterflies in his stomach were going crazy. Jimin looked down at Yoongi’s lips and that was when the older boy leaned in, causing the space between his lips and Jimin’s to vanish.

Yoongi kissed Jimin tenderly, admiring how soft Jimin’s plump lips felt against his own. Jimin practically melted into the kiss; his eyes instantly fluttered shut and his hands made their way to the top of Yoongi’s head as he threaded his fingers through the blond’s silky hair. Yoongi bit down lightly, savouring the way Jimin’s bottom lip fit perfectly between his lips.

Jimin doesn’t think he had ever been kissed this way before, or if he had ever felt this way when he had kissed someone. This kiss was the kind that made your entire body heat up, the kind that made your heart stutter and your head dizzy, the kind that made your lips tingle because you wanted more. It was the kind of kiss that didn’t let Jimin think of anyone or anything but Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi, the kind of kiss that could make him fall in love.

Jimin found himself slowly tugging at Yoongi’s hair while Yoongi found himself with his cold hands under Jimin’s shirt, caressing his skin so gently. Everything Yoongi did to Jimin was gentle, soft - from the way he talked to Jimin, to the way he kissed him, touched him - and it made Jimin feel so special. Jimin couldn’t help but shudder underneath the older boy’s touch; Yoongi’s hands were so cold but they felt so good on his skin.

Yoongi pulled away, letting the boy breathe but his hand moved to cup Jimin’s face, stroking his cheek softly with his thumb. Jimin opened his eyes, staring up at Yoongi with wide eyes as he giggled softly, feeling giddy and seeing the pink-haired boy smile made Yoongi want to kiss him all over again.

“Tired yet?” Yoongi whispered instead of doing what was on his mind and this time, Jimin nodded, another small yawn escaping past his lips. Yoongi smiled fondly before he grabbed the blanket that was by their feet and placed it onto the sleepy boy’s body.

The blond soon joined Jimin under the blanket and Jimin immediately snuggled his face into Yoongi’s chest, sighing happily as he closed his eyes. Yoongi wrapped his arms around Jimin’s waist before placing a kiss on his head, making the younger boy smile wider than he already was.

“Goodnight, Yoongi,” Jimin muttered sleepily into the blond’s chest.

“Goodnight, flower,” Yoongi whispered back.

Jimin doesn’t think he had ever felt so happy.

-

A whole day had passed since Jimin kissed Yoongi and that whole day consisted of Jimin trying to kiss the older boy - trying was the keyword. Jimin didn’t know how to get close to Yoongi like he did yesterday since Yoongi was the one who had initiated almost everything.

Jimin spent most of the day with Yoongi (as he did usually) but he tried to get closer to the blond, sitting extra close to him when they were eating meals and cuddling up to him more than he usually did under the blankets when all the boys were playing Uno together but it didn’t seem like Yoongi had caught on. Before they had fallen asleep, Jimin even tried leaning in again but it seemed like the blond was completely oblivious to the younger boy’s actions.

During the day, Jimin also spent some time talking with Taehyung and Yoongi spent some of his time also doing the same with Hoseok. The two boys went on and on about each other, both with wide smiles. Jimin was gushing to Taehyung about how much he liked Yoongi despite him saying there was no time for romance a couple of days ago, which Taehyung teased him about, and Yoongi couldn’t stop talking about how cute he found Jimin as he talked to Hoseok.

The day had ended a while ago and the night had fallen. It was the middle of the night when Jimin awoke with a yawn and a dry mouth. The sleepy boy slowly moved out of Yoongi’s grip on his waist, sitting up slightly, which caused the older boy to stir in his sleep. He reached over to grab the water bottle, which was only half full, from the bedside table. He quickly drank the water inside but sighed when it was done - he was still thirsty.

Jimin threw the covers off of his body and shuffled out of bed. He began walking towards the door of the bedroom in order to make his way to the kitchen so he could grab another bottle of water but he stopped in his tracks when he heard Yoongi talk.

“Where are you going?” The older boy whispered, his voice hoarse since he had just woken up. Jimin turned around to look at the boy in his bed, smiling at the sight of him. Yoongi's hair was messy and he stared up at Jimin through lidded eyes - sleepy Yoongi was cute.

“I’m just going to get another water bottle,” Jimin replied back, just as quiet as Yoongi was as he pointed towards the kitchen. Yoongi hummed and closed his eyes, too tired to give a proper answer back. Jimin nodded and turned back around.

“Come back quickly,” Jimin heard Yoongi comment as he began walking away.

The wood floors were cold against the soles of Jimin’s feet but the boy had gotten used to it due to the number of times he had woken up in the middle of the night and walked around the cabin barefoot. When Jimin reached the living room-kitchen area, he made sure to be extra quiet after he saw Seokjin completely knocked out on the couch. For a second, Jimin wondered where Jungkook was but he quickly remembered that the younger boy began sleeping in Taehyung’s room - he made a mental note to ask Taehyung how that was going.

Jimin walked over to the fridge and opened it up, grabbing a water bottle. He was about to open it and drink until he heard a knocking sound from behind him. Jimin froze. He wondered if he had accidentally woken Jin up but when Jimin turned around, the older boy was still asleep.

The knocking happened again and Jimin’s eyebrows were furrowed as he tried to find out where it was coming from. His eyes looked towards the window and that’s when he saw it.

A zombie was standing right outside the window. Its tiny pupils were staring straight at Seokjin and it continued to bang against the window. Jimin swallowed thickly, fear suddenly taking over his body. He watched the zombie for a moment, looking over its body and noticing all the blood that stained its skin, noticing the flesh that had fallen off, leaving its white bones to peek through. When he saw the zombie, all he could think about were his nightmares. All he could think about were his friends turning into them too.

Jimin was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts when the window suddenly shattered from the zombie’s continuous banging. The zombie groaned and began climbing through the window and into the cabin, right towards Seokjin.

Jimin screamed. Loudly.

His scream was loud enough to alarm Seokjin, who jolted awake and immediately got off of his place on the couch-bed after seeing the zombie, which had now successfully climbed into the cabin. Jimin’s scream was loud enough for the zombie to forget all about Jin - all its attention was now on Jimin.

The zombie stared at him hard from the other side of the room. Its eyes never left Jimin’s as it moved closer and closer. It felt like Jimin’s heart had stopped and his breath was caught in his throat. He always had a fear that his nightmares would come true, no matter how many times Yoongi and Taehyung told him that they wouldn’t. But they were wrong. This was a real life nightmare.

Jimin hated his nightmares but he wished he was having one right now. He wished this was all just a dream and that in a second, he would wake up in Yoongi’s arms. But it wasn’t a dream; this was really happening.

From the corner of his eye, Jimin watched Yoongi run into the room, his eyes widening when he saw the scene in front of him. As soon as he had heard Jimin scream, the blond jumped out of bed, ready to see what had happened, ready to protect Jimin. Jimin could also see Jin scurrying around the cabin, trying to find where he had put his weapon but it was nowhere to be found.

The zombie was closer now and Jimin didn’t know what to do. It then practically pounced towards him and the scared boy quickly moved towards the left, out of the zombie’s way but he ended up hitting his head against the wall.

Jimin groaned as he touched the front of his head, the place he had hit it, and gasped when he looked down at his palm and saw blood. Jimin was too focused on the blood on his hands to notice that the zombie was now right beside him. Its hand was reaching right for Jimin’s neck but thankfully, Yoongi intervened, smashing the zombie straight in the head with the axe he had taken from the barn a couple of days ago.

Jimin jumped when the zombie’s blood splattered against him, quickly covering the wound on his forehead. He remembered the government message from the radio - ’it can be spread through a bite of the mixing of bodily fluids’. Jimin had to be careful.

“Are you okay?” Yoongi asked, his voice filled to the brim with concern and his eyes wide as he grabbed Jimin once he had seen the zombie drop dead to the floor. Yoongi’s hands were all over Jimin, checking his body for any injuries. When he saw the wound on Jimin’s head, Yoongi frowned. He moved some strands away from Jimin’s forehead to get a better look. “Are you okay?” Yoongi whispered again, his eyes looking into Jimin’s, which were slightly wet after seeing the zombie.

Jimin nodded slowly. As he looked at Yoongi, he noticed the rest of the boys stood behind them - all the loud noise must have woken them up. Taehyung was staring at Jimin, his mouth slightly open and tears in his eyes as he looked at his injured best friend. The rest of the boys were beside Taehyung, offering Jimin a warm smile.

“Can someone get me a first aid kit?” Yoongi asked the other boys, turning around to look at them but still with his hands gently holding Jimin.

Taehyung was quick to turn around, nodding his head as he walked out of the living room, running to grab the things Yoongi needed to make Jimin feel better. Jungkook followed his footsteps. As the two youngest boys ran off, Namjoon walked over to the broken window, sighing as he wondered what they needed to do about it.

“Come sit on the counter so I can patch you up,” Yoongi spoke to Jimin. Jimin looked at the kitchen counter and then down towards the floor, which was covered in the zombie’s blood. He grimaced slightly - if he wanted to sit on the counter, he’d have to walk through the black blood to get to it. Yoongi seemed to notice the disgusted look on the younger boy’s face. “How about we go to our room instead, hm?” He asked instead, deciding their room was probably a much better place. Jimin quickly nodded.

“How are we going to fix this?” Jin spoke to Yoongi as he pointed towards the window.

Yoongi sighed, thinking for a moment. “There are cardboard boxes in the basement. We can flatten them out and cover the window for the time being,” He then answered, quickly thinking of a temporary solution to the problem. “We’ll find something sturdier later on.”

Jimin felt the blood from his wound drip down onto his eyebrow and he was about to wipe it away when he felt Yoongi grab his hand. Jimin quickly looked up at the older boy, a confused look on his face. “What?” He then asked, his eyes widely staring up at Yoongi in curiosity.

“You have zombie blood on yourself,” Yoongi answered and Jimin widened his eyes - he had completely forgotten about the zombie’s blood on him and if Yoongi hadn’t stopped him from touching his wound, there was a chance he could’ve gotten infected. Jimin just wanted to wash all the blood off of himself as soon as possible. He felt disgusting. “Don’t touch the wound until I patch it up and you’re all cleaned up, okay?” Jimin quickly nodded, putting his arms by his side instead.

Taehyung walked back into the room with Jungkook close behind him. The silver-haired boy rushed over to Yoongi, handing him the first-aid kit before he looked at Jimin with concerned eyes.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes watering slightly and Jimin quickly nodded, not wanting to worry Taehyung further. Seeing Jimin nearly die in front of him in the middle of the night left him shaken up. Jimin quickly reassured his best friend, telling the younger boy that he was more than okay and that he’d talk to Taehyung much more about everything later.

Jungkook took Taehyung back to the room they shared. They were both tired and after the eventful scene that had just happened, the two needed some sleep.

“Let’s go to our room, hm? I’ll take care of your forehead and then you can wash up and change into something clean,” Yoongi hummed as he held onto Jimin’s hand, softly dragging him out of the living room-kitchen area and back to their room.

When the two walked into the room they shared, Yoongi sat Jimin down on the edge of the bed before taking a seat by the injured boy. Jimin watched how the blond’s hands unzipped the first aid kit and grabbed the things he needed.

“Do you have a headache or are you feeling dizzy?” Yoongi asked and Jimin quickly shook his head. The only thing he felt was a slight pain from the wound and the blood on his skin. “Okay. Good. I was worried you might’ve gotten a concussion or something.”

Jimin smiled at Yoongi’s concern before he shook his head - he felt okay.

“This might sting a tiny bit,” Yoongi whispered as he grabbed an antiseptic wipe and moved closer towards Jimin. Jimin nodded slowly. When the wipe hit his wound, he hissed quietly, shutting his eyes as Yoongi continued to clean the wound. “Sorry,” The older boy apologised sympathetically. “It’ll be done in a moment.”

Yoongi finished cleaning Jimin’s wound up quickly and soon covered it up with a bandage.

“Done?” Jimin asked as Yoongi pulled his hand away from him. Yoongi quickly nodded, putting the things back into the first aid kit and zipping it up.

“Done,” Yoongi repeated, looking up from the first aid kit. “You should get cleaned up in the shower - I’ll get you some of my clothes,” He spoke as he stood up from the bed and walked towards his wardrobe, opening it up and picking out some of his clothes for the younger boy.

Jimin looked over at Yoongi, noticing blood splatters on his clothes too - it must have been from when the older boy had killed the zombie.

“Don’t you need to get cleaned up too?” Jimin asked. Yoongi looked down at his own shirt and made a face at the sight of the blood.

“I’ll go after you go,” He shrugged as he walked over to Jimin, placing his clothes in the younger boy’s lap. Jimin seemed happy with that answer and quickly ran off to the bathroom.

-

Jimin had finished showering a while ago. He was now in Yoongi’s bed, under a thick blanket to keep himself warm. He was waiting for Yoongi, who was now the one showering. The night was nearly over and the sun was beginning to rise and Jimin was thinking.

He was scared and he wasn’t sure if he felt safe in the cabin anymore. They were in the countryside, away from the city, which meant a situation like the one that had happened moments ago wouldn’t happen. But it did and Jimin was terrified of it happening again. He doesn’t know if he could fall asleep tonight either. He was scared that something would break in again. He didn’t want to see another zombie and he definitely didn’t want another nightmare.

Yoongi suddenly walked into the room, pulling Jimin out of his thoughts. Jimin remained quiet as Yoongi slipped into bed beside him.

“Hi,” The blond whispered. Jimin whispered a small ‘hi’ back. Jimin had only said one word but Yoongi seemed to notice something was off. “Are you okay?” Jimin nodded absentmindedly and Yoongi asked him again, telling him to tell him what was on his mind as he didn’t believe the younger boy.

“I’m scared, Yoongi,” Jimin whispered as he looked up at the older boy. Yoongi frowned, his hand immediately cupping the younger boy’s face, gently stroking his thumb against Jimin’s cheek as a form of comfort as he waited for him to continue. “My nightmares are going to come true.”

“They won’t,” Yoongi replied firmly. “I won’t let them come true. I was there when that zombie came inside the cabin, wasn’t I? I killed it and I’ll do it again. I won’t let your nightmares come true, okay? I’ll be here and you’ll be safe. We’ll all be safe.”

Jimin sniffled at Yoongi’s response, nodding his head weakly as he snuggled into the older boy’s chest.

“I don’t think I can sleep tonight,” Jimin murmured into Yoongi’s chest.

“You should at least try to,” Yoongi replied as his hands made their way to Jimin’s pink hair, softly threading his fingers through it. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be there if you have a nightmare, hm?”

Jimin nodded once again. He did suppose he could try. As long as Yoongi was with him he’d be okay.

“How’s your head?” Yoongi then asked, deciding to change the topic of the conversation. Jimin pulled his head away from Yoongi’s chest. He looked up at the older boy with a smile.

“Better,” He nodded. “Thanks to you.”

Yoongi broke into a smile. “Are you sure? Do you need me to do anything for you?” He questioned.

Jimin thought for a moment. “There is one thing you could do,” He whispered once he had gotten an idea. He smiled to himself widely and Yoongi raised an eyebrow at the younger boy’s sudden giddiness.

“What is it?”

“You could kiss me,” Jimin answered.

“I could kiss you?” Yoongi repeated as his hands wrapped themselves around Jimin’s waist, pulling the younger boy towards him. Jimin hummed, nodding his head slightly. “And that would make your head feel so much better, huh?” Yoongi asked sarcastically.

“Mhm. So much better,” Jimin repeated, still nodding his head as he leaned in closer to Yoongi. The blond shook his head at Jimin’s antics, a smile on his face before he leaned in and connected their lips.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY EIGHTEEN
14:52

“I’m going to the other cabin’s barn. You want to come with me, flower?”

Jimin looked up from the Rubik’s cube to see Yoongi standing by the cabin’s front door, tying up the laces of his shoes.

After the incident that happened yesterday night, the window was left shattered. The boys did what they could, covering up the broken window with cardboard from the basement. The small fix-up wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t good enough to keep the boys completely protected.

While thinking about what else they could use, Yoongi remembered the pile of wood planks he had seen at the old couple’s barn when Jimin had found the nails they had used to upgrade their weapons - the wood planks would be much more helpful in protecting the boys than the cardboard was.

So, Yoongi decided he was going to go to the barn to retrieve the planks. He wasn’t going to go there alone of course - that would be far too dangerous. Namjoon did offer to go with him when Yoongi was talking about going but there was a certain pretty pink-haired boy on Yoongi’s mind, who he’d much rather go with instead.

Now here he was, asking Jimin to come along with him. He wasn’t sure if Jimin would want to - the younger boy was still frightened over what he went through last night and Yoongi didn’t want Jimin to stress himself out more by leaving the cabin but it didn’t hurt to ask.

“The old couple’s cabin? The one we went to last time?” Jimin asked as he looked up at Yoongi, letting go of the cube in his hand. Yoongi nodded.

Jimin thought for a moment, wondering if he wanted to go or not. It would be nice to spend some more time with Yoongi, get some fresh air and walk around a bit but Jimin would be lying if he said he wasn’t absolutely terrified. After seeing the zombie yesterday, Jimin was left a mess. This place was supposed to be safe. It was in the middle of the countryside, far away from the city yet there was a zombie that broke in. Jimin didn’t want to think negatively, but that must mean there are more around and it’s only a matter of time until the boys see more of the zombies.

Even after Yoongi had comforted him endlessly, Jimin was still petrified. He knew Yoongi would protect him - the blond promised he would and Jimin didn’t doubt him for a second. But Yoongi couldn’t save Jimin from his own mind.

Jimin’s mind was constantly full of gruesome images. They had been piling up more and more as the apocalypse went on. There were far too many repulsive images to count - some of them real memories and some of them simply figments of Jimin’s imaginations. It was clear these images were never going to go away from Jimin’s mind and that if he sees more horrific things, they will also stay permanently locked in Jimin’s brain. Yoongi could save Jimin countless times from becoming undead but Yoongi couldn’t stop Jimin from seeing those horrible things, he couldn’t stop the younger boy from thinking about those things all day, all night long.

Jimin was scared to go outside just in case he saw something bad and that it would stick in his brain forever. He doesn’t think he can handle another incident.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Yoongi gently reminded the younger boy. “I can just ask Namjoon to come with me or something.”

Jimin quickly shook his head, standing up from his place on the couch. “No. I’ll come,” Jimin spoke as he walked over to Yoongi. “You’ll protect me though, right?” Jimin whispered as he looked up at the blond, even though that wasn’t the only thing he was worried about.

“I’ll always protect you,” Yoongi answered back with a whisper.

“Even from my nightmares?” Jimin asked, now talking about what he had really feared, even though he knew Yoongi couldn’t stop them.

“I‘ll always be there when you wake up,” Yoongi promised. “I always am, aren’t I?”

Jimin nodded, smiling lightly at Yoongi’s words. Yoongi couldn’t stop Jimin’s nightmares but Yoongi was always there afterwards when Jimin needed him the most.

“So, you’ll come with me?” Yoongi then asked. Jimin replied with a nod. “Go grab your bat then.”

Jimin ran off to grab his bat and a pair of shoes from his bedroom, quickly putting them on before running off and meeting Yoongi by the front door of the cabin.

The two left the cabin and ended up at the couple’s barn quickly and thankfully, they didn’t meet any zombies along the way.

As the two boys walked closer to the barn, Jimin eyed it for a second, a scary thought suddenly entering his mind.

“Do you think there’ll be any zombies inside?” He asked as he looked over to the blond beside him.

“I don’t think so,” Yoongi replied as they stood in front of the entrance to the barn, his voice becoming significantly quieter as they did so, just in case there were zombies inside. “I’ll check before you go in though, okay?”

“Okay,” Jimin whispered, smiling as he stared up at the blond for a moment. The two looked at each other’s eyes for a second but their heads quickly snapped to look at the barn door when they heard a loud crash from inside.

Jimin gasped, grabbing onto Yoongi’s arm and stepping back slightly.

“It’s okay,” Yoongi whispered. Jimin turned to look at the older boy, his eyes wide with fear after hearing the sound from inside. “I’ll go inside and kill whatever is in there. It’s fine,” Yoongi quickly reassured the pink-haired boy.

“What if there’s too many?” Jimin spoke about his worries. “What if you get hurt?”

“I won’t,” Yoongi replied firmly.

“But what if you do?” Jimin whispered. “Just call my name, okay? I’ll help you.”

“Okay,” Yoongi nodded with a smile. Jimin was sweet.

Yoongi took himself out of Jimin’s grip and the younger boy frowned. He whispered a ‘be safe’ before Yoongi smiled and opened the door to the barn before he stepped in.

Jimin felt like his heart had completely stopped from the moment Yoongi had walked into the barn. But to his surprise, the blond walked out of the barn in under ten seconds, a smile on his face when he exited out through the doors.

“What is it?” Jimin asked, the fear in his body suddenly leaving at the sight of Yoongi’s wide smile, curiosity taking its place.

“There’s a cat inside,” Yoongi replied, laughing to himself as he opened up the barn’s door further, so Jimin could take a peak.

Jimin gasped at the sight of the kitten. It was sitting beside an empty toolbox. The tools were scattered across the barn floor - the crashing sound must have been caused by the cat knocking it over.

Jimin quickly rushed inside, smiling widely as he carefully made his way towards the kitten. It was white and fluffy and it stared up at Jimin with its wide eyes. Wanting to pet the kitten, Jimin’s hand made its way to the kitten’s head.

When the kitten did not attempt to move, Jimin put his hand right in front of the white kitten’s face. The cat moved closer to Jimin, eyeing the boy’s hand before it came closer. Jimin’s hand went under the kitten’s head, petting under its chin lightly.

Yoongi smiled widely as he watched from the entrance of the barn. He walked over to Jimin, kneeling down to look at the kitten too.

“Does it have a name?” Yoongi asked when he noticed the pink collar around the kitten’s neck.

Jimin checked the collar. “Sugar,” He spoke with a smile. “That’s a sweet name.”

Yoongi froze.

The image of the poor zombie girl he had killed at the nearby store suddenly flashed into his mind.

Sugar was the name of her cat.

He remembered her telling him about Sugar one evening when Yoongi and his brother had seen her at the store nearby. He remembered her rambling on about how she always wanted a cat. He remembered how excited she was.

The blond swallowed thickly, his mind filling with the image of the blood pouring out of her head and staining the floor the poor girl lay dead upon.

He knew he had no choice in killing her - Jimin and Hoseok had told him that countless times but that didn’t stop the girl from haunting his mind. He didn’t have a choice in killing her because he needed to save Namjoon but he still did it. He still killed her and the image of her body lying dead on the floor with a puddle of blood under her was something that would never leave Yoongi’s mind.

“Hey,” Jimin whispered, noticing that Yoongi had suddenly zoned out. Yoongi was immediately pulled away from his thoughts but the image of shock was still written all over his face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Yoongi whispered in reply. He shook his head, trying to get away from the thoughts of the girl he had killed. “Yeah,” He spoke again, his voice much more firm as he looked over at Jimin. “I’ll get the wood, okay? You can stay here with Sugar,” Yoongi put on a fake smile as he stood up.

“Are you sure? I did come here to help you,” Jimin asked, standing up too and Yoongi quickly nodded his head.

“It’s okay. I’m sure,” The blond spoke as he walked over to the pile of wood planks, leaving Jimin smiling as he kneeled back down beside the small kitten.

As Yoongi picked up some of the wood planks, he tried to think about anything but that poor girl.

Time passed and Yoongi had grabbed all the wood he thought they would need. He walked over to the entrance of the barn, opening it slightly before he spoke out, “We need to go back, Jimin.”

Jimin looked up at Yoongi from his spot on the floor. He was sitting beside the kitten, his hand laying against its small head. Jimin nodded quickly before scooping the small cat into his arms and running over to Yoongi.

“Can we take her with us?” Jimin asked, his eyes wide and hopeful.

Yoongi opened his mouth to reply but the kitten suddenly meowed and jumped out of Jimin’s grip before she left through the barn’s open doors. Jimin quickly rushed outside but when he exited the barn, the kitten had already walked away.

The pink-haired boy frowned, his body deflating slightly at the sight of the cat leaving.

“It’s okay, flower,” Yoongi comforted as he walked towards Jimin, now standing by the younger boy’s side. “She’s probably going back to her owners, hm?”

Yoongi doubted it though. He already knew where one of her owners was. She was lying dead on the cold floor of an old supermarket. That’s where Yoongi had left her. That’s where Yoongi had left her after he murdered her.

Yoongi zoned out again and Jimin seemed to notice the way the blond stared off absentmindedly into the distance.

Yoongi couldn’t stop thinking about her. He couldn’t stop. She was a child. He knew he didn’t have a choice but he still killed that poor girl.

All he could picture was her body laying on the ground, the pile of blood around her growing bigger and bigger by the second.

“Yoongi?”

All he could picture was what she used to look like. Her innocent face as she rambled on about her new kitten. Her smile as she giggled at his brother’s jokes.

She didn’t look like that anymore.

“Yoongi? Are you okay?”

All he could picture was her family. Her family, crying out for their poor daughter. Their poor daughter died all because of him.

“Yoongi!” Jimin repeated for the third time as his hand collided with Yoongi’s arm, trying to take the older boy out of his daze.

Yoongi blinked a couple of times, his eyes wide as he turned to look at Jimin. The younger boy stared at him with a confused, yet concerned, look on his face.

“Are you okay?” Jimin asked, his hand reaching for Yoongi’s upper arm, gently stroking against the area he had hit when trying to get the older boy’s attention.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Yoongi replied - he didn’t want Jimin to worry.

Jimin sighed. “Don’t lie,” The younger boy mumbled, a frown on his face. “What were you thinking about?”

Yoongi opened his mouth to reply but immediately shut it after he realised he didn’t know what to say, or how to say what was on his mind. The blond paused for a moment.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Jimin spoke. He didn’t want Yoongi to speak about something he wasn’t comfortable speaking about. If Yoongi didn’t want to talk about it now, or even ever, Jimin would be fine with it.

Yoongi shook his head while he let out a sigh. “No,” He spoke. “I’ll talk about it as we walk back to the cabin, hm?”

Jimin nodded with a smile and with that, the two began walking back to the cabin.

As they began walking, Jimin realised Yoongi was carrying the heavy planks of wood all on his own. Jimin did come here to help him, so the least he could do was help Yoongi with carrying them back.

“Do you want me to carry some?” The younger boy asked, stopping in his tracks, causing Yoongi to do the same.

Before Yoongi could even open his mouth to reply, Jimin reached forwards and grabbed half the planks from the blond’s arms. Yoongi smiled fondly at Jimin’s actions before they began walking once again.

“So, what is it that you were thinking about?” Jimin asked as his hands carefully gripped the wood planks in his arms and his feet walked beside Yoongi’s.

Yoongi sighed but he didn’t say anything. There was silence for a while as Yoongi tried to compile his thoughts together and Jimin waited patiently by his side as the two continued to walk.

“Sugar was her cat,” Yoongi finally said, breaking the silence. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows - whose cat?

“Whose cat?” The boy asked, speaking his thoughts aloud.

Yoongi stayed silent for a while. Jimin waited.

“The little girl at the store,” Yoongi ended up whispering after a moment. “The girl that I killed.”

Jimin’s eyes suddenly widened and a small, breathless ‘oh’ escaped past his lips.

“Do you feel guilty?” Jimin asked, looking up at the blond beside him. When Yoongi didn’t answer, the younger boy continued. “You shouldn’t. You didn’t have a choice. She was going to hurt Namjoon. You couldn’t hav-,”

“I know,” Yoongi replied softly, smiling small at Jimin to show that he was okay. “I just, I just can’t stop thinking about her. All I saw in my mind was her dead.”

Jimin frowned. All he wanted to do was give Yoongi a hug but the wood planks he was carrying in his arms made it hard to do so.

“I’m sorry,” Jimin apologised.

“Don’t be sorry,” Yoongi smiled. “You’re the one who made me feel better about it.”

“I want to hug you,” Jimin pouted before looking down at the wood he was carrying in his arms.

Yoongi laughed, his head falling back. “You can hug me all you want back at the cabin, hm? After the two of us fix the window.”

Jimin smiled at the idea.

The two boys made it back to the cabin quickly. When they walked in, the rest of the boys were in the living room-kitchen area.

Jungkook and Hobi were cooking lunch. As Jimin walked past them, he took a look at the pot on the stove, smiling when he saw his favourite - tomato soup.

The rest of the boys were sitting by the coffee table, playing a game of Uno.

Yoongi quickly ushered the boys playing away from the table so he could place the wood planks there and the three boys quickly scurried away to one of the bedrooms.

“Where did we put the nails that we used to upgrade our weapons?” Yoongi asked Jimin and Jimin shrugged.

“The basement?” Jimin replied, his head tilting to the side. “We should go check. We’ll have to go down there to get a hammer anyway.”

Yoongi nodded before he walked out of the room, grabbed a flashlight and headed towards the basement stairs with Jimin.

The two began walking down the stairs. It was dark.

“The basement gives me the creeps,” Jimin commented as they began walking further down the dark staircase.

“Why?” Yoongi asked. He didn’t find the basement scary but he did live here so that would explain why.

Jimin shrugged. “It’s just scary. Doesn’t it scare you? It feels like something’s going to jump out at you.”

The two boys reached the end of the staircase and Yoongi turned on his flashlight, brightening up the room.

“Something like a zombie,” Jimin giggled and Yoongi scoffed, a small smile on his face.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yoongi shook his head. “Don’t joke about stuff like that.”

“Why?” Jimin smiled. “Are you scared?” He teased, poking Yoongi’s arm.

“Shut up,” Yoongi rolled his eyes playfully. “Let’s just get the nails and the hammer, hm?”

As Yoongi walked over to one of the drawers to find the tool he needed, Jimin looked around the basement before seeing a spot under the stairs. The boy smiled to himself mischievously.

As Jimin hid himself away from Yoongi, Yoongi found the tools.

“I found them,” Yoongi mumbled. “Let’s go back up now.” As Yoongi spoke, he turned around, expecting to see Jimin but the younger boy wasn’t in his eyesight.

Yoongi looked around, a confused look on his face and Jimin had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from giggling out loud.

“Jimin. Come on,” Yoongi groaned. “This isn’t funny. Where did you even go?” Yoongi began looking around the basement.

After a couple of seconds of searching, it seemed like Yoongi had given up. “You know what?” Yoongi began. “I’m just going to turn my flashlight off and leave you down here. You can make your own way back up, flower,” Yoongi teased. Jimin thought the blond was joking but when the flashlight suddenly turned off, Jimin jumped out of his hiding space.

“Okay!” Jimin exclaimed. “Okay! I’m not hiding anymore.”

Yoongi doesn’t reply.

“Yoongi,” Jimin whined. “Stop! Just turn the flashlight back on, please.”

He heard Yoongi laugh and suddenly, the lights switched back on. Jimin saw Yoongi staring at him with a gloating smile and Jimin rolled his eyes but then walked over to Yoongi and wrapped his arms around the older boy’s neck before placing his head on his chest.

Yoongi immediately wrapped his arms around Jimin’s waist tightly. “Why are you hugging me?” He then asked. “I told you that you could hug me after we fixed the window.”

Jimin looked up at Yoongi before rolling his eyes. “Shut up.” He commented as he placed his head back on the older boy’s chest.

Yoongi smiled. “Look up at me again.”

Jimin did as told, looking up at Yoongi with his pretty eyes.

“You’re pretty, Jimin,” Yoongi complimented, smiling brightly at Jimin.

Jimin couldn’t stop the faint blush on his cheeks and the smile on his face. All he could do was murmur out another small, quiet ‘shut up.’

Yoongi and Jimin ended up going back to the living room after a while and Jimin watched Yoongi fix the window. It seemed like Yoongi knew what he was doing and the blond fixed the window with ease.

Once the window was fixed, everyone in the cabin felt much, much safer than they did last night.

-

A couple of days had passed since Jimin and Yoongi had fixed the window. The boys were currently crowded around the coffee table in the living room-kitchen area, having a discussion.

Their food stock was running low. It had been a while since their first grocery run to the store and it was clear that another one was needed. They just needed to decide who would go.

Yoongi didn’t want to go. The last thing he wanted to do was go back to that store. He knew the girl’s body would still be lying there and he doesn’t think he could face seeing that. None of the boys blamed him, of course. None of them wanted to see him upset again.

Surprisingly, Namjoon didn’t want to go either. It seemed as if the last trip had left the leader scared. Maybe it was the fact he had gotten attacked or maybe it was because he had never seen Yoongi react like that before. Either way, Namjoon was one hundred per cent sure he didn’t want to go.

This left Hoseok no choice but to go - he didn’t mind though. He had to go since he was the only one who knew the directions to the grocery store.

“I don’t mind going,” Jungkook offered.

“Are you sure?” Jin suddenly intervened. “What if you get hurt?” He was worried.

“Hobi will be with him. He’ll be fine,” Yoongi reassured the older boy. “He has a weapon too and Jungkook’s pretty strong anyway.” Jungkook smiled widely at the compliment before he began flexing his arms jokingly.

“We need someone else to come too,” Hobi reminded the group. The boys fell silent.

Taehyung and Jin seemed hesitant. They didn’t really want to go but no one else was going forward so they didn’t feel as if they had much of a choice.

Jimin seemed to notice the hesitant look on his best friend’s face and then he said something he isn’t sure if he’ll regret.

“I don’t mind going,” Jimin spoke suddenly.

Yoongi’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure?” Hobi asked. “You don’t have to, Jimin. If no one else wants to go, I’m sure Jungkook and I will be just fine.”

“No, no,” Jimin shook his head. “I’ll go. It’ll be fine, right? We can all protect each other.”

“Are you sure?” Yoongi repeated Hoseok’s question. “Hobi said it’d be fine with just him and Jungkook.”

“I’m sure,” Jimin nodded. He was scared for sure but he had Jungkook and Hobi and they’d protect him and everything’s going to be fine. Everything’s going to be fine.

“Okay,” Hobi spoke, clapping his hands together slightly. “It’s settled then. The three of us will go.”

“You guys should head out soon. You don’t want it to get too dark,” Namjoon said.

The three boys quickly nodded their heads before heading over to their rooms to grab their weapons.

As Jimin walked into the room he shared with Yoongi, the blond followed him. Jimin picked up his weapon and that’s when Yoongi began speaking.

“I don’t think you should go, Jimin,” Yoongi spoke, looking down at Jimin with concerned eyes. “It’s not safe.”

“It’ll be fine,” Jimin hummed as he turned to face Yoongi. “I’ll have Hobi and Jungkook with me. We’ll come back before you know it.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Yoongi replied and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. “Just the other day you were worried about going to the couple’s barn because of your nightmares so why are you suddenly so eager to go to this store?”

Jimin sighed.

“No one else wanted to go,” Jimin reminded Yoongi of the silence when Hoseok told the group they needed one more person to go. “I know they said they’d be fine on their own but they need a third person. It’s like you said on the first day this all happened - we’re not dying because we decided to split up.”

“Jimin. You can’t go,” Yoongi shook his head, ignoring what Jimin said. “You’re going to get hurt or you’ll see something that’ll scare you and your nightmares will get worse again! You can’t go!” The older boy began to raise his voice.

Jimin frowned. He knew Yoongi was acting this way because he was worried but he didn’t like how Yoongi sounded angry.

“It’ll be okay,” Jimin murmured softly. Jimin’s hand slowly moved towards Yoongi’s face, wanting to caress the older boy’s cheek as a sign of comfort. “I don’t want Jungkook and Hobi to get hurt. We need to protect each oth-,”

“You can barely protect yourself, Jimin. How are you going to protect Hobi and Jungkook?” Yoongi snapped. Yoongi’s voice caused Jimin to retract his hand.

Jimin’s mouth fell open at Yoongi's words.

“I’ve killed a zombie before, Yoongi,” Jimin croaked out. He swallowed thickly before he spoke again. Did Yoongi really think he can’t protect himself? Did Yoongi think he was weak? “I’m not weak. I could protect them if I needed to.”

“You’re just going to end up getting scared, Jimin,” Yoongi retaliated. “You’re going to come home afraid and you’ll wake up with nightmares and I’ll have to deal with you.”

Jimin immediately frowned. He didn’t like the way Yoongi said that.

I’ll have to deal with you.

Was that what Yoongi was doing? Was he just dealing with Jimin? Like he was a chore?

“I’m sorry my nightmares are such an inconvenience for you, Yoongi,” Jimin muttered, his voice cracking slightly and small tears made their way to his eyes and suddenly, Yoongi’s expression softened and his eyes went wide.

It seemed like the blond had just realised what he had actually said. It seemed like he just realised how much his words had actually hurt Jimin.

“Flower,” Yoongi breathed out, his hand moving to touch Jimin’s arm but the younger boy moved away. “No. I didn’t mean to-“, As Yoongi tried to continue to speak, Jimin cut him off.

“I won’t wake and annoy you with them anymore,” Jimin hissed as he grabbed his bat and a pair of shoes before walking out of the room. “Don’t worry. You won’t have to deal with me.”

As Jimin left, he tried his hardest to stop the tears in his eyes from falling.

“Fuck,” Yoongi muttered to himself as his hands made their way to the top of his head, pulling at his roots.

He fucked up.

Bad.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-ONE
15:52

Yoongi felt horrible.

He didn’t mean it. He didn’t mean anything. He doesn’t even know why he spoke that way to Jimin. He felt stupid.

Everything he said was lies. Jimin can protect himself. Jimin is strong. Yoongi wasn’t just ‘dealing’ with Jimin because he had to. He wanted to help Jimin. He wanted to because he cares about Jimin. He cares about him so much. He doesn’t know why he said that. He doesn't know why he was being so harsh, so mean.

Yoongi felt dumb. He didn’t want Jimin to get hurt by going to the store but he ended up hurting him anyway - just in a different way.

I’m sorry my nightmares are such an inconvenience for you, Yoongi.

Yoongi sighed as he shoved his head into his hands. It had been around ten minutes since Jimin had left with Hoseok and Jungkook and he’d been sitting on his bed ever since. He couldn’t stop thinking about the younger boy, about what Yoongi said to him. The small tears in Jimin’s eyes were all that the blond could see in his mind. Jimin’s quiet voice cracking was all that he could hear. He was so stupid. Yoongi was so stupid.

Why would he say that? How could he hurt Jimin like that?

He was just scared. He was so scared when Jimin volunteered.

Going to that store, having to kill the girl left Yoongi a mess. She was on his mind twenty-four-seven. He always felt guilty even though he didn’t have a choice - he had to kill her to save Namjoon. The images of her from that day stained his mind and he was scared Jimin would have to do something similar.

Jimin’s nightmares were bad. Yoongi knows. He saw Jimin crying, shaking on the first night from his nightmare about the girl they had to leave at the store. He saw Jimin sobbing to himself on the floor on the night he couldn’t find Yoongi in his bedroom after his nightmare about all the boys turning into zombies. He saw Jimin forcing himself to stay up so he didn’t have to deal with them.

If Jimin had to see something like Yoongi did, they would get worse. That’s how they work. He sees something horrible and it haunts him for days, weeks.

Yoongi didn’t want to see him cry. He didn’t want to see Jimin’s nightmares get worse. Jimin deserved to be happy.

So, he tried to stop Jimin from going and when it didn’t work, Yoongi said things he so deeply regrets.

Being scared wasn’t an excuse though, Yoongi knows. He doesn’t even know why he would say something like that.

God, he was stupid. Yoongi was so stupid.

Meanwhile, Jimin was crying.

After he left Yoongi alone in their room, he tried holding in his tears. He didn’t want Yoongi to see him cry. The older boy already thought Jimin was weak because he apparently ‘can’t protect himself.’ He didn’t want Yoongi to see him cry and think he was even weaker than he already thought.

Jimin was now sitting on the floor of the van with Jungkook sitting across from him as Hoseok drove the van to the nearby grocery store, wiping the stray tears on his face away.

He was wondering if Yoongi really meant his words or if it was a ‘heat of the moment’ thing. But if he didn’t mean it, why would he even say it? Even if Yoongi didn’t think Jimin was weak, there must be something in the back of the older boy’s mind saying something different.

I’ll have to deal with you.

Jimin frowned.

His nightmares made him feel stupid. When he would wake up sobbing, he felt like an idiot. He was crying over things that weren’t real. He was crying over his own imagination. It was embarrassing.

But Yoongi always made him feel better.

And now knowing that Yoongi was simply ‘dealing with him,’ like he was some chore made Jimin feel even more stupid. He really thought Yoongi didn’t mind. He thought Yoongi wanted to help him. Was it just out of pity? Was it only because he felt bad? Was that why Yoongi was ‘dealing with him,’ because he would feel bad if he didn’t help the poor, weak thing that was afraid of his own mind?

Jimin didn’t know.

He hoped it wasn’t true. He really hoped that wasn’t what Yoongi really thought.

You can barely protect yourself, Jimin. How are you going to protect Hobi and Jungkook?

Yoongi’s words wouldn’t leave Jimin’s head.

Maybe Yoongi was right. Maybe Jimin is weak. He has only killed one zombie. They were twenty-one days into the apocalypse and he had only killed one. One. That’s practically nothing. Jimin was weak when he couldn’t save the girl he had seen at the store too. He was so weak. She died in front of his eyes because he was too weak to help her alone.

And out of everything he had ever seen through this apocalypse, the thing he was most afraid of was his nightmares. That was pathetic. He was afraid of himself, of his own mind. Doesn’t that scream weak to you?

Jimin let out a shaky breath before shaking his head slightly.

I’m not weak, he thought to himself. Yoongi was wrong.

Jimin’s not weak. He just needed support. Jimin just needed support. There’s nothing wrong with that. He’s not weak. He’s not. Jimin’s strong. He’s strong. He could protect himself and he can protect Jungkook and Hobi because he’s strong. He is.

If Yoongi really believed Jimin was weak, he was an idiot.

Jimin didn’t know if he really believed his thoughts or if he was just trying to convince himself.

“We’re here,” Hobi suddenly spoke from the front seat of the van as he turned to look at the two boys behind him, snapping Jimin away from his thoughts. The younger boy met Hobi’s eyes, who gave him a sad smile. Jimin nodded at Hoseok’s words before he stood up, grabbing his bat along with him.

Jungkook stepped out of the van first with Hoseok and Jimin following him. Jimin blinked a couple of times when he stepped out of the van doors, his eyes adjusting to the bright light of the sun above him.

As Jimin blinked, his eyes began focusing on the ground below him. He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight. There was paper everywhere. White sheets of paper were scattered across the grey concrete of the parking lot floor leading up to the glass doors of the supermarket.

“What is this?” Jungkook asked as he bent down towards the ground, picking up one of the fliers in his hand. Jimin ran up to him, peeking over the younger boy’s shoulder to take a look.

Government Owned:
Safe Camp and Quarantine Centre.
Survivors Welcome.

The flier ends with the location to find the quarantine centre.

Jimin widened his eyes - it felt like a lightbulb just lit up in his head. He suddenly remembered the conversation he had with his mother. He remembered what she had said.

”We’re saf— ca-camp,” Safe Camp.
“Get here. Y— quarant—,” Quarantine.

At the time, he didn’t understand what she was saying but after seeing this flier, it all made sense. His mother was talking about the safe camp. She wanted Jimin to get to the quarantine centre.

“What is it?” Hoseok asked from beside them. Jimin turned around, looking at the older boy, both of them with the same confused look on their faces.

“You didn’t see this last time you were here?” Jimin asked and Hoseok replied with a shake of his head before he ran over to Jimin and Jungkook, looking at what the two were holding.

“We have to go,” Jimin breathed out suddenly. The two other boys turned to look at him. “We have to go there.”

“It’ll be safer, right? It’s government-owned. They probably have more supplies than we do,” Jungkook questioned, looking at both the boys while pointing to the flier.

“The cabin’s pretty safe anyway,” Hobi mumbled. “We should grab the supplies we need first, head back and then discuss with everyone else.”

Jimin wondered what there was to discuss. To him, the only reasonable answer was to go to the quarantine centre. After what happened at the cabin a couple of days ago - the zombie breaking in - the government safe camp seemed like the only option.

Jimin and Jungkook followed Hobi towards the entrance of the supermarket. As soon as he walked in, Jimin saw it.

The girl. The girl Yoongi had spent so much time thinking about, crying about.

Jimin grimaced. Her body was still lying on the floor, in the exact same place they had left her. The blood covering her body, surrounding the ground around her corpse, was now black - like tar. Jimin could see flies surrounding her body. Jimin wasn’t close to her body yet he could still hear them buzz. As he walked further into the store, he got closer to her body while the other two went over to the supermarket shelves. Jimin could see maggots all over her body, crawling on the open wound in the back of her head, crawling in the sockets of her eyes.

Jimin shivered at the sight before he quickly looked away but the smell of her body in the store would remind him that her body was still there. Jimin knew this would be another memory that would end up haunting him in his nightmares. He couldn’t believe Yoongi had to go through that.

Jimin turned his attention to the shelves. He needed to get food and water. That’s what they came here for. Jimin rushed towards them, looking for whatever he could find. He needed canned foods - canned foods were always good. And water. Water was essential.

The boy grabbed what he could with his hands but sighed when he realised he had nowhere to put the things he was carrying.

”They probably have plastic bags behind the counter,” Jimin remembered Yoongi saying back at the gas station on the first day of the apocalypse. Jimin nodded to himself as he walked over to the counter, being careful not to drop the food or his bat that was in his hands.

Jimin reached the counter and he could see the plastic bags behind it. He stared down at his hands before placing the bat he held in his right hand on the top of the counter. With his right hand, Jimin leaned over the counter, trying to grab the bags while also trying not to accidentally drop the food in his hand onto the floor.

The boy felt something brush over his finger. For a moment he thought it was the plastic bags but he quickly realised it wasn’t. It didn’t feel like plastic. It felt soft, squishy - kind of like wet mud.

Jimin immediately retracted his hand, fear suddenly coursing through his veins when he looked down at his right hand and saw fingerprints of blood. Jimin quickly grabbed his bat from the counter, dropping the canned foods he held in his hand onto the floor, the metal from the cans creating a loud echoing sound across the supermarket.

Jimin waited. He waited for the zombie to pop out and grab him because he knew it was there. He knew it was there. He didn’t see it but he felt it and he needed to kill it.

But nothing happened.

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, his heart still beating at a million miles an hour as he moved towards the counter. He breathed out shakily as he leaned his body over the counter to look.

He was right. The monster on the ground behind the counter suddenly growled as he reached up for Jimin. The boy yelped, shutting his eyes as he flinched away and held his bat firmly, ready to swing his bat at any moment. But once again, the creature never moved from behind the counter.

Jimin’s feet shuffled as he moved around the counter, his bat still in his arms as he was careful to not let his guard down. As he moved, he could see the creature laying on the floor. Jimin gasped slightly at the sight of it.

It didn’t have legs. Jimin felt like he was going to throw up.

The legs looked like they had been severed off. Jimin could see its yellowing bones peeking through the bloodied, half-rotten flesh. There was black blood pooling beside the legs of the zombie. As Jimin caught the zombie’s eye, it began growling again. It tried reaching out for Jimin, groaning when it realised it physically can’t without its legs. Jimin almost felt sorry for it.

Jimin took a shaky deep breath in as he lifted up his bat. He shut his eyes and he swung at the zombies head, killing it.

As Jimin breathed out, he opened his eyes. The blood from the zombie’s head splattered against Jimin’s shirt causing the boy to grimace. He shook his head as he ignored the blood on his shirt and ignored the zombie dead on the ground as he reached towards the plastic bags, taking one from the back - one that wasn’t covered in zombie blood.

The boy went back to the place where he had dropped the cans, quickly picking them up and placing them into the bag before running to find either Hoseok or Jungkook. He didn’t want to be alone any longer.

Once he found the other boys and got what they needed, they went back to their van and made their way home, but not before Jimin could grab more quarantine fliers to show the boys back at the cabin.

They made their way back and Jimin was almost excited. He was eager - eager to get to the quarantine centre, to safety. As soon as they arrived home, Jimin jumped out, picking up his bag of supplies (and the quarantine fliers, of course) before running towards the cabin door while Hoseok and Jungkook followed in his footsteps.

The cabin door was opened by Namjoon and Jimin was about to tell him all about the safe camp until he noticed the pensive look on his face.

“What happened?” Jimin ended up saying as he walked in. He looked over to see the rest of the boys were sitting on the couch. They all turned around to see the boys who had just entered the cabin. For a moment, Yoongi’s eyes met Jimin’s but the younger boy quickly looked back at Namjoon, avoiding eye contact.

“You guys brought a lot of water, right?” Namjoon asked, Jimin quickly nodded.

“We got as much as we could,” Jungkook spoke as he walked in with Hoseok by his side. “Why?” They began placing their bags on one of the kitchen counters. Jimin made sure to keep the government flier in his hand.

“The water’s starting to run out,” Namjoon answered. The four boys began moving towards the living-room area. Namjoon and Hoseok both sat on either side of Jin. Jungkook sat beside Taehyung. Jimin eyed the spot beside Yoongi before deciding to sit on the floor in front of Taehyung instead.

“We have to use the least amount of water as we possibly can,” Seokjin commented. “Drinking less at mealtimes, showering every couple of days. We’re just going to have to be more mindful.”

Jimin nodded, along with the rest of the boys who had just come back.

“Well,” Jimin began speaking, deciding to talk about the flier. “We might not have to.” The boys who stayed back at the cabin turned to look at him, confused looks on their faces - he could feel Yoongi staring at him.

“What?” Taehyung asked from behind him. Jimin shuffled forwards, placing it on the coffee table. The rest of the boys leaned forwards, looking at what Jimin had placed down.

“We have to go,” Jimin spoke as the boys began reading.

“A quarantine centre?” Yoongi mumbled under his breath. “Where did you find this?” He then asked.

“We have to go,” Jimin replied instead, looking at Namjoon and Jin. Jungkook turned towards Yoongi, explaining where they had gotten the flier. “We have to. It’ll be safe an-,”

Jimin was cut off.

“It’s already safe here,” He heard Yoongi say. Jimin snapped his head to look at the older boy. For a second, Jimin wondered if Yoongi actually disagreed with Jimin or if he was just disagreeing because they had argued before Jimin had left.

“It’s safe here?” Jimin asked rhetorically. “It’s not. A zombie broke into the cabin the other night. We know they’re getting closer. It’s just a matter of time until more of them come for us,” Jimin spoke firmly.

“And we dealt with it,” Yoongi replied calmly. Jimin didn’t know why but it irritated him. “We can deal with any more zombies that come our way and there’s no point in leaving when we have everything we need here.”

“But we don’t have to deal with the zombies once we get there,” Jimin spoke back. “And we don’t have everything we need. We have to constantly go back to the supermarket for shitty canned food and now the water’s running out. The quarantine camp is government-owned and they’ve put fliers everywhere. They must have more supplies - enough for a lot of people.” Jimin spoke fast, trying to persuade both Yoongi and the rest of the boys about going.

They needed to go. They had to. Jimin knew it would be safer and knowing his mother might be there made him want to go even more. They had to go to the safe camp. They had to. They needed to.

“We’re not leaving,” Yoongi shook his head and Jimin sighed exasperatedly.

“We just have to go,” Jimin sighed. “I know it’ll be safe there.”

“How do you know that though?” Hoseok asked. “What if they’re struggling with food there? Then we’ll be in a worse situation.”

“My mom is there,” Jimin mumbled. “She called me a couple of days ago, remember? She talked about the camp but I didn’t realise it until today. She wouldn’t tell me to go if it wasn’t safe.”

“Is that the real reason you want to go? Just to see your mother?” Yoongi asked. “Do you not care that the trip could be dangerous? Or that they might not let us in? If that happens we’d be sacrificing ourselves for no reason.”

Jimin really couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“You really think I’d take you all there if I didn’t think it would be safe?” Jimin asked, upset Yoongi would even think he would do something like that. But that’s not what Yoongi was even thinking. His words just came out wrong. He knew Jimin would never do something like that. “If I thought going to the camp would leave us harmed I would never even think about telling you about it. I would never try to hurt any of you. How could you even think that?”

“I didn’t,” Yoongi shook his head. He just had to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Once again, he didn’t mean what he had said. It just came out wrong. He just wanted Jimin to know there were a lot of dangers if they decided to go to the camp. “That’s not what I meant. I know you wouldn’t but we need to think about these thin-,”

“I think we should all calm down,” Namjoon suddenly cut off the older boy, his deeper voice causing both Jimin and Yoongi to look at him. “We need to talk about this and decide all together - as a group.”

Jimin nodded. Namjoon was right and if Yoongi didn’t agree with him, Jimin would persuade the other five boys to. They were going to that safe camp. Jimin would make sure of it.

“I think we should go,” Taehyung said after a moment of silence. Jimin turned to look at him, smiling small at his best friend. “I agree with Jimin. He’s right. The cabin isn’t as safe as it was when he first got here.”

“Our food is also getting harder to ration out between us,” Jungkook added on. “And now the water’s going too. What if we end up not having enough for all of us?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Yoongi spoke.

“How do you know that?” Namjoon asked. The boy sighed. “I think we should go too. I think it makes the most sense.”

“But Yoongi’s right,” Jin disagreed. “This place is safe enough. It seems stupid to leave when we have what we need here. You guys just got more food and water so we have enough.”

“For now,” Jimin replied. “It’ll run out again and we will have to go back to the store and the food there will be gone too.”

“There are other supermarkets around too,” Yoongi replied. Jimin shook his head. That didn’t matter to him. What’s the point of struggling to get food and going to various supermarkets when they could just go to the safe camp and have everything they need in one place? “Going to the camp will also be dangerous. Anything could happen to us while we’re going there.” Yoongi then added on.

“And how do we know this government camp will actually help us?” Hobi then asked. “What if we go and the entire place is full? What are we going to do then?”

“We don’t know if that will happen,” Jimin replied, looking over at Hobi with a soft smile. He understood why the boys were worried but they had to take this chance. “And if it does we can come back here.”

“We should all vote on it. The group is clearly too divided up for us to make a decision altogether,” Namjoon suddenly said. “Does anyone else have anything to add?”

They all shook their heads. It was time to make a decision.

“I want to leave,” Namjoon spoke. “Who else wants to do the same?” He asked.

Jimin put his hand up, along with Jungkook and Taheyung - there were four of them who wanted to leave. The other three kept their hands down. Four is more than three. Jimin smiled. Yoongi sighed. They were going.

“If we’re leaving we should leave soon,” Namjoon continued speaking after he saw the votes. “Let’s pack tonight and get ready to leave by tomorrow morning.”

Jimin nodded before standing up and heading to his bedroom. A couple of the boys stayed back, one of them being Yoongi, to talk to Namjoon about the change in plans.

There were only a few things Jimin definitely needed to pack. One of them being his phone - just in case his mother called him - and the notebook Yoongi had given him. He would need it more now to help calm himself after his nightmares since he wasn’t going to wake Yoongi up anymore. Jimin also wanted to make sure he would pack the hoodie Yoongi let him wear a couple of nights ago. Even though he was mad at the older boy, he still liked wearing the hoodie.

Jimin laid out the items he was taking with him for sure out on the bed. He sighed. He still didn’t have anywhere to put them. So, another plastic bag would have to do.

He walked back out of his bedroom, walking towards the living-room kitchen area. As he walked past the couch, he caught Yoongi’s eyes.

The blond watched Jimin sigh as the younger boy took out the canned food and bottles of water from the plastic bag taken from the supermarket. Once he had taken everything out, Jimin picked up the bag and made his way back to his room.

Yoongi then stood up. He needed to pack too - even though he didn’t want to leave.

All the points he made during the discussions were what he believed in - he did think the cabin was safe and he did think that they’d have enough supplies but there was another reason he didn't want to leave.

The cabin was the last thing he had left to remind him of his parents.

They were dead and he couldn’t go back to his home in the zombie-filled city. The cabin was all he had left. The memories here, the treehouse, the photos on his wall and his parents’ bedroom - those were the only memories of his parents that he could actually keep and he wasn’t ready to leave the cabin and potentially never come back.

Being in the cabin comforted him. He didn’t want to leave.

Yoongi sighed as he walked towards his room. He waited by the doorway as he watched Jimin pace around their bedroom, looking for his things so he could pack.

Yoongi had to apologise. He knew he needed to. But he didn’t know how or what to say.

For a moment, Yoongi watched Jimin place all his belongings into a plastic bag before the blond quickly turned around on his heel and made his way towards his brother’s room.

The boy walked past Jungkook Taehyung packing their things by the bed and went straight towards his brother’s wardrobe. As we opened the door and began looking for something specific while Taehyung gave the boy a look.

Yoongi smiled small when he found what he was looking for. He pulled out his brother’s old black backpack from the back of the wardrobe - his brother had left it here the last time his family had stayed at the cabin and it was exactly what Jimin needed. It wasn’t as nice as Jimin’s old one but it would have to do. At least it was better than a plastic bag.

Yoongi walked back to the room he shared with Jimin. The younger boy was still placing his belongings into his bag and Yoongi slowly walked up to him. He expected Jimin to look up but the boy never did. The blond hesitantly placed the bag in front of Jimin.

Jimin looked up towards Yoongi but he didn’t say anything.

“Uh,” Yoongi started talking. “You can put your stuff in there instead. I thought it’d be better.” He explained.

Jimin looked back down at the bag while he nodded, “Thank you,” He replied simply as he started transferring his items from the plastic bag into the backpack Yoongi had given him.

Yoongi nodded silently before he turned around to walk towards his closet to pack some clothes. But as he walked towards it, he suddenly turned around again to face Jimin.

“Jimin?” Yoongi spoke quietly. The younger boy looked up from his bag. “Um. I’m sorry,” Yoongi began apologising. “I didn’t mean anything I said, I swear. I was just upset and it all came out wrong. I’m sorry. Really.”

For a few moments, Jimin didn’t reply. He just stared at Yoongi’s eyes for a while.

“It’s fine,” The younger boy ended up saying before going back to packing.

It’s fine?

That’s what Jimin had said but it didn’t seem like it. The tension between them was still there but Yoongi decided not to say anything else.

The boys finished packing quickly and night fell. Yoongi and Jimin were both in their bed and needless to say, it all felt very, very awkward.

It didn’t feel fine.

-

Hours had passed since all the boys had gone to bed. It was around four in the morning and everyone was sleeping peacefully, getting well-rested for their trip later on.

Everyone but Jimin.

He was awake and right now, there were tears spilling out of his eyes and he couldn’t breathe. He was sitting on his bed, his knees up to his chest with Yoongi fast asleep by his side as Jimin struggled to keep his cries quiet. He didn’t want to wake him up. He didn’t want Yoongi to deal with him.

His nightmare was about the boys’ trip to the quarantine centre. It was like the nightmare he had on the first night. They were in the van and a zombie broke in through the window - like the incident that happened in the cabin a couple of days ago.

The zombie was heading straight for him while the rest of the boys were sleeping since Jimin was on his night shift and no matter how hard Jimin tried to move or scream for help, he couldn’t. He was helpless as the zombie came closer and closer and Jimin ended up waking when the zombie suddenly grabbed his legs, growling at him.

Jimin breathed in shakily as he closed his eyes, trying to calm down. He needed to calm down but breathing in and out slowly wasn’t helping. He didn’t know what to do. Normally he would wake Yoongi up but he couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to.

The boy’s eyes suddenly shot open. His notebook. That helped him before, maybe it can help now, too. Jimin shuffled out of his bed slowly - his legs felt weak because he could still feel the zombie’s hands gripping them so he tried his hardest to get to his backpack.

Jimin quickly picked up his notebook and a pen before getting back into bed beside Yoongi, being careful not to wake the older boy up. He opened it and tried to think of a new ending to his nightmare - just like Yoongi had told him to.

What could he make different? He needed a happy ending.

His eyes unconsciously moved towards Yoongi.

Yoongi had saved him so many times. Yoongi had protected him so many times. Yoongi would save him again.

I’ll always protect you, Jimin.

No.

Jimin shook his head as he began scribbling words down into the notebook. If his nightmare actually happened Taehyung would protect him. Taehyung would protect him because he was Jimin’s best friend and he loves Jimin and to Taehyung, helping Jimin wasn't a chore.

He scribbled down words helplessly but it wasn’t helping. He still couldn't breathe, there were still tears in his eyes and he still couldn’t think without the zombie from his nightmare clouding his mind. It wasn’t working. This wasn’t working.

“Jimin?” The boy suddenly heard and Jimin’s head snapped to the side. Yoongi was staring at him, his eyes half closed yet still filled with concern.

The blond sat up, his arm immediately going around Jimin’s shoulder, pulling him in closer.

“Hey,” Yoongi hushed. “Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?”

Jimin nodded before moving away slightly from Yoongi’s grip. “I’m fine,” Jimin sniffled, as he wiped his tears away. “Just go back to sleep.”

Yoongi frowned.

“Jimin,” Yoongi said, a little louder this time. “Flower,” He whispered as he moved closer, his hand gently caressing Jimin’s arm.

Jimin sighed as he turned and stared at Yoongi, his eyes wet with small tears.

“I’m sorry,” Yoongi whispered. “I didn’t mean what I said, flower. I want to help you because I really care about you, okay? So, please, just come here. Let me help you.”

Jimin nodded with a frown as he snuggled closer to Yoongi, suddenly bursting into tears again as soon as his head touched the blond’s chest. He began babbling about the event of his nightmares.

And Yoongi let him. He held Jimin close, his hand rubbing small circles into the smaller boy’s lower back, letting him talk on and on to get the emotions out.

“W-what if I made a mistake?” Jimin whimpered. “What if you were right? What if we go and we die? It’ll be my fault.”

“That’s a lot of what if’s,” Yoongi whispered in reply. “What if you’re right? What if we go and we’re finally safe for good?”

“We don’t know what’ll happen,” Jimin shook his head as he moved his head to look up at Yoongi. “It could be bad, Yoongi. We could die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want you all to die.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Yoongi said as his hand caressed Jimin’s cheek softly, causing the boy to slowly close his eyes. “You’re not dying and neither are the other boys. We have each other. We can protect each other and I’ll always protect you. We’ve made it this far. We just have to get through this trip and then it’s complete safety. We’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

Jimin nodded weakly with a small frown before putting his head back into Yoongi’s chest.

“Let’s try and get some sleep again, hm?” Yoongi whispered.

“Okay,” Jimin nodded as the two began getting under the bed covers.

Jimin’s head was placed on Yoongi’s chest, his fingers drawing small patterns over the blond’s shirt while Yoongi had his hand wrapped around Jimin’s waist.

They were laying in silence for a while. Jimin was thinking.

“I don’t need you to protect me, you know,” Jimin mumbled suddenly as he thought of their conversation that had taken place earlier in the day. “I can protect myself.”

“I know,” Yoongi whispered. He shut his eyes. He knows. He knows that Jimin is strong and that he can protect himself. Yoongi doesn’t know why he had ever said something different.

“I thought you thought I could, and I quote, barely protect myself,” Jimin frowned, turning to face Yoongi.

Yoongi sighed. “I know what I said,” He replied. “Its not true. I’m sorry. I just,” He sighed once again before sitting up. Jimin copied his actions. “I didn’t mean what I said.”

“Then why would you say it?” Jimin asked. “Do I seem weak?”

“No,” Yoongi replied, quickly shaking his head. “You’re not weak, Jimin. I’m stupid. I, I only said that because I didn’t want you to go.”

“Because I can’t protect myself?” Jimin asked.

“No,” The older boy shook his head again. “You can. I was just scared but it’s not like that’s an excuse for what I said. I shouldn’t have said that to you at all,” Yoongi sighed. “I was scared you’d get hurt - not because you can’t protect yourself. It’s because this is a zombie apocalypse and the whole group wasn’t going and I didn’t want you to get hurt. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt, Jimin.”

Yoongi looked at Jimin’s eyes, trying to show he didn’t mean what he said earlier on. He didn’t mean any of it.

“And when I went to the store I had to,” Yoongi paused before breathing shakily. The girl was still in his mind. That poor girl. “You know what I had to do. I was scared you’d have to do something like that too and your nightmares are so horrible, Jimin. They’re so bad. You barely get any sleep and I don’t want them to get worse for you. You’re already going through so much. I was scared they’d get worse.” Yoongi swallowed thickly. “I don’t want them to get worse.”

“Yoongi, I-” Jimin began speaking but Yoongi cut him off.

“And I promise I’m not just helping you because I have to,” Yoongi frowned. “I didn’t mean it when I said I would have to ‘deal’ with you. It just came out wrong, I swear. I'm helping you because I care about you. I really care about you, Jimin.”

“It’s okay,” Jimin whispered.

“It’s not though. I shouldn’t have said that,” Yoongi sighed as he looked down at his lap. Jimin’s small hand suddenly cupped Yoongi’s cheek. The blond quickly looked up, seeing Jimin stare at him with a soft smile.

“It’s okay,” Jimin repeated. “I know you didn’t mean it. It’s okay, okay?” He waited for Yoongi’s response.

“You’re not weak,” Yoongi said instead. “And you can protect yourself and I care about you.”

“Got it,” Jimin smiled as his thumb began caressing Yoongi’s cheek “I’m not weak and I can protect myself and I care about you, too,” He then repeated.

Yoongi nodded, smiling back at Jimin.

“Because you care about me so much,” Jimin began speaking, smiling widely. “I think you should give me a kiss to prove it.”

Yoongi chuckled as his arms snaked around Jimin’s waist. He pulled the boy into his lap. Jimin’s hand was still against Yoongi’s cheek.

The blond smiled widely before connecting their lips.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-TWO
15:12

Jimin couldn’t find his Rubik’s cube.

He could’ve sworn he packed it into the backpack Yoongi had given him yesterday, but it was nowhere to be found when he had done one last check over his things.

Jimin sighed as he looked through the drawers of the bedside table and still couldn’t find it. He had searched through his backpack and Yoongi’s backpack. He checked the shelves in Yoongi’s room, all over the bed. He even looked through the clothes in Yoongi’s wardrobe.

He didn’t know why he was panicking so much about it. He didn’t need to take it with him - it wasn’t a necessity but he wanted to. It served as a sort of distraction for Jimin. It helped him when he had nightmares because he could only focus on solving it. It was also the only thing keeping Jimin entertained. He wanted to find it. He had to take it with him.

“What are you looking for?” Yoongi asked as he walked into the bedroom, seeing Jimin open the doors of his wardrobe. He was checking there yet again.

“My Rubik’s cube,” Jimin groaned as he looked over at the older boy. “Have you seen it?” He then asked, tilting his head slightly before sighing once again and looking down when Yoongi shook his head no.

“Have you checked in the living room?” Yoongi was trying to be helpful. “On the couch? You usually sit there with it.”

Jimin nodded. “I’ll go look again though,” He whispered as he walked over to the blond. “When did Namjoon say we were going to leave again?”

“At three-thirty. In about twenty minutes.”

The boys were supposed to leave early this morning but their sleeping patterns were far too messed up - especially Yoongi and Jimin - and so it was hard to wake up early. Namjoon quickly decided that going after they ate lunch was a much better idea.

“Okay. I’ll have to find it quickly,” Jimin nodded firmly as he walked out. He hoped he could find it before they leave, otherwise, he’d just have to forget about it.

As Jimin walked out, Yoongi walked further into his room. He only needed to pack a couple more things.

He moved over to the wall of his bedroom, the one covered with pictures and photos of him and his family. He smiled sadly when he took a photograph off of the wall.

It was a picture of Yoongi with his brother inside the treehouse. It was from when they were younger, right after they had completely finished building the treehouse with their father. They were smiling widely with tiny toy tools in their hands and bright yellow hard hats on their heads.

Yoongi wondered where his brother was now. He hasn’t talked to him since the night Yoongi found out about what had happened to his parents. Yoongi hoped he was okay. He hoped one day he’d be able to see his brother again - he was all Yoongi had left.

Yoongi sniffled as he grabbed his backpack. He quickly unzipped it before placing the photo inside. He grabbed a couple more pictures of his family. These were all he had left of them.

He was done packing. That was the last thing he needed.

As Yoongi walked to the doorway of his room, he gave his bedroom one last look. He sighed. He didn’t want to leave. This was his home. He felt safe here and he didn’t want to go. The chance of him seeing this place again was low and that made him sad. He loved this place.

The boy closed the door and walked down the hallway, where he met Namjoon.

“How long until we’re leaving?” Yoongi asked. Namjoon replied, telling him they’d leave in ten minutes. Yoongi wasn’t ready to leave yet.

Yoongi soon left Namjoon in the hallway after a while of small talk and made his way towards the living room-kitchen area, finding Jimin searching through the cabinets and drawers of the kitchen.

“You still haven’t found it yet?” Yoongi questioned while he raised an eyebrow as the younger boy turned around. A sigh escaped past Jimin’s lips as he nodded. Yoongi walked towards the couch.

“I already looked there! I don’t know where I put it,” Jimin pouted, crossing his arms in frustration. Yoongi smiled fondly at the way Jimin spoke and despite hearing that the younger boy looked by the couch already, began looking anyway.

Yoongi looked around the couch, his hand checking under the pillows and not finding the Rubik’s cube that Jimin was so desperately looking for. The blond moved down towards the ground. His head hit the soft rug on the floor of the living room as he looked under the couch.

He shook his head as his eyes laid on the Rubik’s cube. Yoongi smiled as he stood up, showing Jimin the cube.

“You already looked here, huh?” Yoongi teased. Jimin ignored the teasing and instead beamed, running over to Yoongi and grabbing his Rubik’s cube out of the older boy’s hand.

“Thank you,” Jimin said with a satisfied smile, before leaving to go back to his room. He wanted to check his bag one more time - he didn’t want to forget anything important.

Yoongi stayed in the living room. He moved closer towards the window, staring out of it and looking up at his treehouse.

He didn’t want to leave. He wasn’t ready to go.

When Yoongi accused Jimin of only wanting to leave the cabin to see his mother, he was being hypocritical because the only reason he truly wanted to stay here was that it was his family home. Jimin was right. Yoongi knew it wasn’t safe in the cabin anymore. He now realised that food was also becoming an issue. He knew they couldn’t stay here.

But yesterday, the thought of leaving the cabin made him disagree with everyone who wanted to leave - wanting to stay here made him blind to the problems they were facing. He really didn’t want to go.

He knew they had to, though and he wasn’t going to stop them from leaving. The boys’ safety was more important than his attachment to the cabin. He really regretted everything he had said yesterday.

Yoongi was taken away from his thoughts when Jin, Jungkook and Taehyung walked into the living room, their backpacks on their backs.

Jin walked towards the kitchen. As he picked up two bags filled with their canned foods and water bottles, he turned towards Yoongi.

“Namjoon said we’re going to be leaving now. You should go grab your stuff,” Seokjin spoke before he walked back towards the two younger boys before passing a bag over to Jungkook.

Yoongi nodded before walking back towards his bedroom. As he entered he was greeted with a smiley Jimin, happy because he had finally found his Rubik’s cube. He told the younger boy that Namjoon said they were leaving soon and Jimin quickly rushed out of their bedroom and went towards the front door of the cabin where the rest of the boys were.

The blond went over to pick up his backpack, putting it on and grabbed his bat before he walked back over to his doorway. He stared at his room for a while, his eyes trailing over everything that stood in front of him. He breathed in heavily before closing his bedroom door and turning around.

As Yoongi walked towards where the other boys were, he walked past his parents’ room. He walked over to their doorway, wanting to close the door before leaving but his eyes suddenly caught onto something that stood on his mother’s dressing table.

He walked inside, towards the dressing table and picked up what he had been looking at. It was a small sewing kit. It had threads of different colours - pink, yellow, white, green were just a few of the colours inside - along with two small needles. Yoongi smiled as he quickly placed it inside his bag.

With that, the blond left his parents’ room, closing the door as he left and walked towards the living room-kitchen area of the cabin.

He made his way towards the front door of the cabin, standing next to the rest of the boys, who were all now ready to leave.

“Is everyone sure they have everything?” Hoseok asked as he looked over at everyone. Yoongi nodded. “We have our two bags of food and water, right?”

Jungkook and Jin both immediately nodded as they lifted up the bags to show Hobi.

“And everyone packed their toothbrushes, right?” He asked. They all nodded. Hoseok began asking other questions too - he asked if they had packed hairbrushes, blankets if it gets cold, enough clothes and so on.

“Did someone pack the Uno cards?” Taehyung suddenly asked and Yoongi quickly nodded.

“They’re in my bag,” He smiled at the younger boy. They were definitely going to need the cards to save them from boredom.

“Everyone has their weapons with them, right?” Seokjin also added on before looking around at each boy’s hand.

“So, we’re ready to go?” Namjoon questioned.

When the boys nodded in reply, Namjoon opened the door of the cabin and then scene boys made their way towards their van, ready to get to the safety camp.

-

Yoongi was driving. He would only be driving until they got to Seoul since he was the only one who knew the way around the countryside.

At around seven, the boys all decided to stop driving - that would be a little after the sun sets and they didn’t think driving during dark hours was a good idea. Then, tomorrow, Yoongi would continue driving.

Once they reached Seoul, Yoongi would stop driving and someone else would take over. A couple of the other boys offered to drive to Seoul, but Yoongi would still have to give them the directions, so the blond decided to drive since it would be easier.

As Yoongi was driving, the rest of the boys were sitting on the floor of the van, deep into a game of Uno.

Jimin was sitting in the passenger’s seat beside Yoongi, deep into his own thoughts.

Jimin was sure that this quarantine centre would be safe but the journey there was going to be difficult.

Before they were in a secluded area, far away into the countryside and there were still a couple of zombies around. He couldn’t even imagine what Seoul looked like right now. If he was being honest, he was completely terrified.

There must be more zombies and he was really, really nervous to face them.

He kept trying to remind himself that it’ll be okay. He had the rest of the boys and once they get to the safety camp, they won’t have to think about being in danger ever again.

“When we sleep tonight will we have the night shifts again?” Jungkook suddenly asked in the middle of their round of Uno, pulling Jimin away from his thoughts. Namjoon answered the youngest boy’s question with a quick ‘yes’ and their Uno game quickly continued.

Jimin hated night shifts. The first night was something he didn’t want to repeat. He knew they had to have someone staying up because otherwise it would be dangerous and Jimin would do his part even though he really didn’t want to. He was afraid.

“Do you want to do our night shifts together?” Yoongi asked and Jimin quickly looked over at the older boy, a smile on his face from hearing Yoongi’s question. “We can both stay up for two hours together if you’d like.”

Jimin quickly nodded. “Thank you,” He then mumbled. Yoongi was too good for him.

“It’s okay. It’ll be more fun if we’re together,” Yoongi smiled, which Jimin mirrored with his own lips. “By the way, Jimin, I got something for you.”

Jimin’s eyes widened. “What?” He asked curiously.

“Grab my bag for me.”

Jimin did as told, reaching over for Yoongi’s backpack. He looked up at the older boy after.

“Open it then!” Yoongi exclaimed and Jimin smiled, quickly unzipping the zip of the backpack. He opened it to see the sewing kit Yoongi had taken from his mother’s dressing table. “I was thinking you could use it to sew little flowers into the bag I gave you.” Jimin’s lips immediately curved into a little ‘o’, quickly understanding what Yoongi meant. “It’s not as good as your old bag - I know, but it could still be cute, right?” Yoongi asked, as his eyes moved away from the road to take a quick look at Jimin. He smiled when Jimin was still sitting there with his mouth open.

“Yes!” Jimin smiled widely. He wanted to hug Yoongi right now but it wouldn’t be appropriate since the older boy was driving. “I can make little flowers and hearts. Maybe I could even do my name.”

Hearing Jimin happy made Yoongi smile.

“Thank you, Yoongi.”

“Don’t worry about it. I told you I’d get you a better bag, didn’t I?”

Jimin then spent a couple of hours of the trip focusing on trying to sew pretty things into the bag Yoongi had given him. He spent a while trying to sew flowers that looked like the ones on his old bag. He also sewed small hearts and smiley faces and he finished off with writing ‘Jimin’ on the front of the bag with purple thread. Every once in a while, Yoongi would look over at Jimin while driving, a small smile on his face from the sight of Jimin concentrating so hard.

-

A couple of hours had passed and so far, the boys’ trip was going smoothly. The van had come to a stop because the sun had set a while ago. They were parked beside a countryside field surrounded by trees.

They decided the order of who was doing the night shifts as soon as the van stopped. Jimin told the boys that he and Yoongi wanted to do theirs together and Jungkook and Taehyung then decided to do the same.

Jungkook and Taehyung would do the first night shift, only having to stay up later than the rest of the boys instead of waking up in the middle of the night. Yoongi and Jimin would go next, followed by Namjoon, Seokjin and Hoseok.

All the boys were now sitting on the floor of the van together. They had just finished eating their canned dinner and were now getting ready for bed.

Jimin was curled up by Yoongi’s side, their legs tangled up underneath the blanket they had decided to share. Jimin tugged at the sleeves of Yoongi’s hoodie, which he had only taken out of his backpack and put on a moment ago before he yawned and placed his head up against Yoongi’s chest. It was cold in the van so Jimin tried to get as close to the blond as possible.

“Tired?” Yoongi murmured as he wrapped an arm around Jimin’s waist. Jimin mumbled a tired ‘yeah,’ as a reply while he closed his eyes. “Get some rest, okay? We’ll have to do our nightshift in a couple of hours.”

“Okay,” Jimin hummed as he got himself comfortable against Yoongi’s body. Yoongi smiled as he shut his eyes too, ready to fall asleep. “Goodnight, Yoongi.”

“Goodnight, flower.”

Jimin fell asleep smiling.

-

Yoongi felt a hand shake his shoulder, causing him to wake up. He opened his eyes slightly and was greeted with a bright light shining on his face. Yoongi groaned, quickly covering his eyes with his hands and looking away.

“Sorry!” He heard someone whisper. Through squinted eyes, Yoongi could see the light turn off. The boy opened his eyes, seeing Jungkook in front of him, a sheepish smile on the youngest boy’s face.

As Yoongi fully opened his eyes, he started to realise how hot it had become inside the van. The boy sighed, quickly taking the blanket that was on his and Jimin’s body off.

“It’s your turn for the night shift,” Jungkook informed him and Yoongi nodded his head, stretching slightly - not too much though; he didn’t want to wake Jimin up accidentally right now by moving. “Should I wake Jimin up?”

“No,” Yoongi replied, shaking his head while looking down at the sleeping boy in his lap. Jimin had his head laying in Yoongi’s lap. His pink hair was fanned out against Yoongi’s thighs and his lips were pursed together - Yoongi wondered what he was dreaming of. He hoped it was a good dream. Jimin deserved those and not the nightmares that were constantly tormenting him. “I’ll wake him up in a bit. You should go get some sleep.”

Jungkook smiled before nodding and turning around, going over and sitting beside Taehyung, leaving Yoongi with his sleeping Jimin.

As Jungkook began falling asleep, Yoongi began running his right hand through Jimin’s hair, trying to wake him up gently. Jimin stirred in his sleep slightly before snuggling deeper into Yoongi’s lap. Yoongi smiled before softly patting Jimin’s head again.

This time, Jimin muttered something incomprehensible before taking Yoongi’s hand into his own and bringing it to his chest, hugging it. The older boy couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at Jimin’s actions. He let Jimin hold onto his right hand and used his left hand to stroke the sleeping boy’s head once again.

“Jimin,” Yoongi whispered softly, causing Jimin to stir again. “You gotta get up. It’s our turn for the night shift.”

“Hm?” Jimin mumbled sleepily as he blinked a couple of times. Yoongi repeated his words, telling Jimin he had to get up. Jimin hummed, nodding slowly as his hand let go of Yoongi’s before he turned his head to look up at the blond. “Hi,” Jimin murmured sleepily.

“Hi, baby,” Yoongi whispered back with a smile on his face.

Jimin closed his eyes, a smile immediately making its way onto his lips at the sound of Yoongi’s words. He doesn’t know if it was just the sleepiness or if it was hearing Yoongi call him baby, but he suddenly felt very clingy.

“Yoongi,” Jimin whined quietly as he sat up. Yoongi just hummed, showing Jimin he was listening but Jimin wanted him to repeat what he had said. He wanted him to call him baby but when Yoongi didn’t, Jimin sighed and leaned his head on the older boy’s shoulder.

Jimin then groaned. He could feel the heat too. “Why is it so hot in here?” Jimin complained as he sat up once again and then took Yoongi’s hoodie off, leaving him in a t-shirt.

“I know,” Yoongi agreed. “I think it’s because we’re all so close together in a small space.” Jimin groaned before he leaned against Yoongi again. He thought the two hours would be fun but the heat was making him annoyed.

“This sucks,” He pointed. “How did Taehyung and Jungkook survive this?” Yoongi chuckled at Jimin’s slight overreaction.

Yoongi’s eyes looked over towards the van doors.

“You wanna go outside?” Yoongi questioned, glancing down at Jimin. Jimin looked up at him before looking towards the doors and then back up at Yoongi.

“What if there are zombies outside?” Jimin whispered. That was what was always on his mind: the zombies.

“We have our weapons,” Yoongi shrugged but that didn’t seem to convince Jimin - he could tell from the unsettled look on Jimin’s face. “Don’t worry, okay? I’ll be there with you and we won’t get hurt. Plus, it’ll be a lot cooler out there.”

Jimin thought for a moment before he nodded, “Okay.” If there were zombies, Yoongi would be with him. It’s okay.

“Okay,” Yoongi repeated as he stood up and grabbed his axe. Jimin grabbed his backpack and his bat before the two boys walked over to the van doors and opened them.

Yoongi stepped out first. He smiled at the cold breeze hitting his skin. It felt much better outside. He walked a little into the forest - but not too far away from the van - and sat down on a patch of grass, placing his bat down beside him. He looked over at Jimin, who was still standing inside the van and beckoned the younger boy over.

Jimin stepped outside. He looked over at the van doors before he looked back at Yoongi. “Should I close the doors?” He asked and Yoongi shook his head.”

“Leave them open - it’ll be less hot when we go back inside that way.”

Jimin nodded, leaving the van doors open before he made his way over to Yoongi. The blond smiled when Jimin came up to him and he then patted the spot beside him, indicating for Jimin to sit down. The younger boy did as told, putting his bag and bat beside him as he sat down.

Yoongi breathed out, his eyes fluttering shut as he began lying down, his head laying on the soft blades of grass beneath him. Jimin giggled, his hand going to cover his mouth before he also laid down on the grass but on his stomach rather than his back.

Jimin placed his head in his hands as looked down at Yoongi, whose eyes were still shut. He smiled before placing a light kiss on the blond’s cheek. Yoongi immediately opened his eyes - Jimin could see the stars above reflecting in his irises - and broke out into a large smile.

The two sat in silence for a while. Yoongi stared up at the sky, trying to find the Big Dipper like he and Jimin once did before while Jimin’s focus was now on the small daisies growing out of the grass in front of him.

Jimin plucked a daisy out of the ground before using the nail of his thumb to create a tiny slit at the end of its stem. He then picked up another daisy and threaded it through the slit. As he continued doing this process, Yoongi’s eyes moved away from the stars to look over at Jimin.

“What’re you doing?” He whispered into the cold wind of the night curiously.

“Making something for you,” Jimin hummed, not once taking his eyes away from the daisies in his hand.

“For me?”

Jimin hummed in response once again.

“What is it?”

“You’ll see,” Jimin replied, smiling as he plucked another daisy from the ground. Yoongi nodded with a smile, staring back up at the stars as he waited patiently for Jimin to finish with whatever he was doing.

A few moments passed and soon, Jimin was done. He smiled satisfactorily as he stared down at the small daisy chain in his hand. He quickly sat up, crossing his legs as he stared down at Yoongi.

“Come here,” Jimin spoke as he gestured for Yoongi to come over to him. Yoongi complied, copying Jimin and sitting cross-legged across from him. Jimin grabbed Yoongi’s arm and placed it into his lap before putting the older boy’s hand through the daisy chain. “There,” He smiled.

“It’s pretty,” Yoongi complimented and Jimin smiled with a nod. “Didn’t you sew those types of flowers into your bag?” Yoongi asked as he looked towards the bag Jimin had placed beside him.

“Oh yeah!” Jimin smiled, turning around and picking up his bag before placing it into his lap. Jimin stared down at his bag for a moment before he quickly unzipped it, taking out the needle and thread Yoongi had given him earlier on and handed them both to the blond. “You should try,” Jimin suggested and Yoongi quickly shook his head.

“Mine won’t be as good as yours,” Yoongi declared and Jimin shook his head, telling the older boy he didn’t care. As Jimin continued insisting, Yoongi ended up sighing as he brought Jimin’s backpack closer towards him before picking up the needle and thread.

Jimin smiled to himself as he laid back against the grass. He turned his head slightly so he could watch Yoongi, whose eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, while he laid upon the grass. The smile on his lips never left as his head turned to look up at the sky, just like Yoongi had been doing a moment ago.

Jimin loved moments like this, ones where he could just forget about everything - like the night Jimin spent hours with Yoongi in the treehouse, or the night Yoongi and Jimin kissed for the first time. Moments like those, the moments he spent with Yoongi, were the things that made this apocalypse bearable.

He didn’t have to think about anything other than what was happening in the moment. He didn’t have to think about zombies, or if everyone was safe, or what their next meal would be, or if they had enough water for everyone or his nightmares. All he had to do was be here with Yoongi. Right now, Jimin doesn't have a care in the world.

“I think I’m finished,” Yoongi announced and Jimin's eyes moved to look at him, feeling too lazy to actually get up. Yoongi lifted Jimin’s bag so the pink-haired boy could see and the younger boy grinned at the view of Yoongi’s crooked sewn flower beside his own.

“It’s cute,” Jimin giggled and Yoongi shook his head, disagreeing as he placed Jimin’s backpack onto the grass before shuffling closer to the pretty boy lying down beside him. Jimin looked beautiful. His pink hair was splayed on the grass beneath him and the bright white light of the moon was reflecting on his pretty facial features, enhancing just how perfect he always looked.

“You look pretty,” Yoongi commented, speaking the thoughts on his mind as his hand went to cup Jimin’s cheek, his thumb caressing the younger boy’s soft skin.

Jimin quickly placed his hands over his face, covering both his blush and the wide smile on his lips. Yoongi chuckled as he moved Jimin’s hands away from his face. The blond stared at him for a moment before he leaned in, placing a kiss on Jimin’s lips.

Jimin quickly shut his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Yoongi’s lips on his. This is what he meant - he didn’t have to think of anyone or anything besides Yoongi.

When Yoongi pulled away, Jimin looked up at him with a content smile before he whispered, “Lie down with me.”

Yoongi did as told, lying down beside Jimin. He pulled the younger boy towards him so that Jimin’s head was now leaning against his chest. The two stared up at the sky, enjoying each other’s company in the comfortable silence.

Jimin hoped he would have more moments like this.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-THREE
10:21

The next morning, Jimin woke up expecting to see Yoongi next to him but to his surprise, he woke up leaning on Taehyung’s shoulder.

Jimin looked around. The van was moving which meant they had already left the area where they had parked by yesterday and Jungkook, Seokjin and Hobi were sitting right in front of him.

“Good morning,” Taehyung smiled after he had noticed that his best friend had woken up. “Do you want breakfast? We have a couple of those bars left over,” He asked. Jimin yawned as he sat up.

He looked over at the driver’s and passenger’s seats and saw Yoongi driving with Namjoon by his side. Yoongi’s hands were in the wheel and Jimin smiled small at the sight of his daisy chain bracelet still hanging on the blond’s wrist.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Last night after he and Yoongi had done their night shifts, they had gotten back into the van, woken up Namjoon since he was supposed to be the next person to do the night shift and then they went to sleep next to each other. So, how did he end up sleeping beside Taehyung?

Taehyung seemed to notice how Jimin was confused and quickly explained, “We all woke up pretty early so we decided to leave while you were still asleep. We didn’t want to wake you up though, so I took Yoongi’s place while he started driving.”

Jimin nodded, understanding now before he turned to Taheyung, “Can I have that bar now?” He was hungry.

Jimin finished eating his breakfast quite quickly and he’d be lying if he said it had filled him up. He was definitely still hungry but there wasn't much the boys could do about it since there was barely enough to share between the seven of them.

But once they get to the safe camp, that won’t happen anymore. The camp will have enough food for everyone and the boys won’t have to struggle anymore.

The car suddenly came to a stop and Jimin looked up at Yoongi, wondering why they had stopped. The blond smiled at Jimin before he looked over at the rest of the boys sitting inside the van, who all stared up at Yoongi with the same expression of confusion on each of their faces.

“I stopped outside a supermarket. Do you guys want to check it out?” Yoongi asked as he pointed through the window of the van towards the supermarket, which was a short walk away.

The boys quickly decided that it would be a good idea to go to the store and look around - it could help them with food and water. As Jimin stood up from his seat on the floor of the van, he picked up his bat and backpack, just like the rest of the boys had done.

“Should we take these with us? Jungkook asked Namjoon as he pointed to their bags filled with their canned foods and water.

Namjoon shook his head. “It’ll be fine if we leave these here, right?” Namjoon asked Seokjin, who nodded. “Yeah. It’ll be fine. If we find anything we can take we can just carry it in our backpacks until we get back into the van and put it in the bags then.”

Jungkook nodded and with that, the boys exited the van, each of them holding their bats in their hands and their backpacks on their backs.

Jimin stood close to Yoongi, their arms touching because being with Yoongi made Jimin feel safe. He felt secure with Yoongi by his side.

They made their way into the store quickly. As they walked in, Jimin noticed the other store beside the large supermarket they were entering, which was completely barricaded up with large wooden planks. Spray painted on the wood were the words ‘DON’T OPEN. UNDEAD INSIDE’. Jimin suddenly shivered at the thought of the creatures inside.

Thankfully, besides the barricaded store, there weren’t many other zombies around - Jungkook had only spotted one and the youngest boy was quickly able to kill it as soon as they entered.

They had been looking around the store for a while. Jimin had found one water bottle so far and the boy was now looking through the shelves of the store for any food or more water.

His hand was rummaging through the empty food packets and containers on the shelves but he stopped for a moment when he heard the faint sound of glass shattering.

Jimin quickly held his bat up. His initial thought was that something - a zombie - must have gotten into the store by breaking a window - kind of like what had happened at the cabin not too long ago.

He suddenly felt uneasy and began walking over to the next aisle, knowing Yoongi was there.

“Did you hear that?” Jimin whispered as he walked up to the older boy, afraid that being too loud may cause the zombies to hear him. He knew they were attracted to noise.

“Hear what?” Yoongi asked as he turned to face Jimin, a concerned look on the older boy’s face.

“Glass breaking,” Jimin answered. “I heard glass breaking. I think it might’ve been the window. What if a zombie broke in?” He asked, worried.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Yoongi offered a comforting smile. “Let’s go check it out together, okay? Stay behind me,” Yoongi ordered.

Jimin did as told, staying behind Yoongi for protection yet still holding his bat up high, ready to swing just in case something popped out at him.

When they arrived at the front entrance of the supermarket, the windows seemed completely fine. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. He swore he had heard something.

“What happened?” Namjoon asked, suddenly appearing from behind one of the supermarket aisles.

“I thought I heard glass shattering,” Jimin answered once again.

“I think it’s fine. We should just keep looking for-,” As Yoongi continued speaking, Jimin’s eyes unconsciously looked out of the window towards the van that was parked outside the supermarket.

His eyes widened at what he saw.

“Something broke into the van,” Jimin announced as he walked closer to the window to get a better look. It wasn’t a zombie. It was a human. “Someone broke into the van!” He repeated much louder, panicked now as he ran out of the store.

Yoongi’s eyes widened when he saw what Jimin had been looking at before he followed the younger boy, running out of the store with Namjoon close behind.

“Hey!” Namjoon screamed, running as fast as he could. “That’s our van!”

For a moment Jimin hoped that the boy would understand. He hoped that the boy would apologise and get out of the van. He hoped that maybe they could even take the boy with them to the quarantine centre.

He hoped the boy could be like Yeonjun, a survivor who helped others.

But after the guy inside the van looked up at the three boys running over to him and a look of panic quickly made its way to his face, Jimin soon realised that what he hoped for wouldn't come true.

The boy ducked down towards the floor, hiding from their view and Jimin quickly realised that he was trying to hotwire their car.

Jimin shook his head as he continued running. He won’t be able to. He won’t be able to take their van and then Yoongi and Namjoon and get him out and everything would be fine.

But to Jimin’s surprise, the van suddenly started.

His eyes widened as he tried to run faster but by the time the three boys had gotten close to where the van had been parked, the boy had driven away with their van and everything they had left inside of it: their food, their water, their blankets, their only place for shelter.

“Shit!” Yoongi cursed as his hands tugged at his hair, his breathing heavy from the running they just had to do.

Taehyung, Jungkook, Jin and Hoseok suddenly ran up behind Namjoon.

“We heard Namjoon shouting,” Hoseok said, his eyes filled to the brim with concern as he stared over at the leader of the group. “What happened? Where’s the van?”

“It’s gone,” Jimin mumbled. “He just took it. What are we gonna do?”

Jimin was panicking.

Their only form of shelter was gone - their protection from the zombies. Their only way of getting to the safe camp was gone. Their food, their water: all of it was gone.

“We have nothing,” Jimin shook his head. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Fuck,” Yoongi mumbled. “We shouldn’t have left the cabin,” He shouted out loud to no one in particular. “What are we supposed to do now? We should’ve just stayed at the cabin.”

“It’s fine,” Hobi suddenly breathed out. “It’s okay. We can figure this out, okay? We’ve made it this far. It’ll be okay.”

“How is it fine?” Yoongi asked. “It’s not fine!” The boy turned around, clearly angry - not at the boys but the asshole who had decided to steal the only thing that they had. “We should’ve stayed at the cabin. Fuck!” Yoongi shouted as his hands turned to fists and he slammed them against the hood of a random car parked next to him.

The impact of Yoongi’s punch suddenly caused the car’s alarm to go off, causing an annoying beeping sound to echo around the parking lot. The boy sighed.

“What are we supposed to do?” Yoongi shouted through the loud beeping of the car’s alarm.

“We,” Namjoon paused as he looked over to Yoongi. “Need to calm down.”

Yoongi sighed, placing his head in his hands as he leaned against the hood of the car. This was awful. They had no plan, no food, nowhere to stay safe.

The loud sound of the car alarm was still echoing across the parking lot yet Namjoon still managed to speak over it. “We just need to get somewhere where we can sleep. We have food from the supermarket and that’ll be enough for now. After we jus-,”

Jimin stopped listening, his eyes widening when he suddenly saw a zombie creeping up behind Namjoon, who continued talking, oblivious to the monster behind him.

“Namjoon!” Jin screeched, pointing at the creature, causing the leader to quickly turn, meeting the rotten zombie. Namjoon’s mouth fell open. It seemed like the shock had caused his senses to stop for a moment.

Jimin quickly shoved Namjoon out of the way before picking up his bat and smashing it straight into the zombie’s skull. When the zombie fell to the ground, Jimin gasped. His eyes met a huge group of zombies running right towards him. He glanced over at the once barricaded store beside the supermarket they had just been inside, his mouth still wide open once he saw that the wood planks that had kept the creatures inside had broken.

Jimin's eyes widened as his head snapped to look at the car, which still had its alarm blaring. That’s why the zombies were coming for them - because of the loud sound of the car alarm. It was exactly the same as what happened back at school when Namjoon had told Jungkook to throw things at the car window until it shattered and its alarm went off. They should have realised the sound was going to attract zombies earlier. Now, what were they going to do? The zombies were only a few feet away from them and there were a lot of them. Is this where it ends? Is this how Jimin dies? This wasn’t what he expected. Jimin was hopeful - he thought they would get to the safe camp; he thought they would be safe. He didn’t want to die. Jimin didn’t want to die.

The boy suddenly felt someone tug at his arm and all Jimin could feel was a strange sense of déjà vu. This was similar to what happened in school when Jin and Jungkook were running towards the staff room door with a swarm of zombies behind them but Yoongi had dragged Jimin inside before he could help.

Jimin felt another tug and he quickly snapped away from his thoughts. He looked up to see Yoongi holding onto him, with a look on his face that Jimin hadn’t seen often - fear.

“Run,” Was all Yoongi said before he tugged at Jimin’s arm one last time, urging him to run. They didn’t know where they were going. All they knew is that they needed to get away from here.

Jimin complied, running away fast with the rest of the boys from the group of zombies that were now chasing them.

He felt dizzy. His head was spinning and it felt like he was running too quickly for his own feet, like he could trip over any second because of how fast he was going.

Yoongi was a few feet in front of Jimin, turning back every couple of seconds to check if the younger boy was okay. He looked back in front of him, looking at Namjoon, who was at the front of the group as they were running.

“Where are we going?” Yoongi shouted. Namjoon turned for a second, meeting Yoongi’s eye before cursing under his breath.

Namjoon began frantically looking at all of his surroundings while they continued running, looking for somewhere, anywhere, they could go to get away from the mass of zombies following them.

Jimin was crying. He didn’t know when the tears began falling but he could feel them sliding down his cheeks. They were blurring his vision so he quickly wiped them away but it didn’t help. He continued crying and his vision was still blurred. He was scared. He didn’t want to die.

Since he was at the back of the group, behind the rest of the boys, the zombies were right on his tail. Jimin knew he needed to speed up but it was getting hard to run. The muscles in his legs were aching, burning but it’s not like he could stop - unless he had a death wish. Not to mention he could barely breathe and his heart was practically pounding out of his chest. He could hear it beating in his ears.

“Run towards that building!” Jimin suddenly heard Namjoon scream from the front of the group. The older boy was pointing at an apartment building not too far in the distance. “Go towards the fire escape.”

The fire escape had a ladder that was slightly above ground which led up to a small balcony. Upon that balcony were stairs going into each floor of the apartment building until it reached the roof of the building. Jimin guessed that after climbing that, the zombies wouldn’t be able to reach them anymore.

Focusing on the apartment building Namjoon had pointed out, Jimin tried running faster. It was hard. His muscles were sore but he continued anyway. He just had to keep going for a while and they’d be safe.

Jimin continued running as he watched Namjoon jump to reach the ladder. The leader of the group successfully grabbed into it and quickly climbed up. As he did so, his foot hit a sharp part of metal sticking out of the ladder. Thankfully, he didn’t get hurt and managed to get up onto the balcony safely.

Taehyung and Jungkook were both right behind the older boy. “Be careful! There’s metal sticking out of the ladder. Don’t get hurt.” Namjoon warned the younger boys.

Jungkook nodded before he swiftly lifted himself up onto the ladder, climbing it and reaching the balcony with ease. He then reached his hand out towards Taehyung, helping the older boy get up safely.

Hoseok was next. Jungkook helped him up too, while telling him to be careful of the sharp metal. Jin managed to climb up the ladder himself and got to safety quickly right after Hobi had.

Yoongi had now reached the ladder. Jimin was still running. Yoongi looked back at the younger boy, concern written all over his face. The blond looked back at the ladder, seeing Jungkook reach out his hand for him to hold onto to help climb up. Yoongi hastily jumped up to reach the bottom of the ladder and Jungkook’s hand. He got a good grip and got onto the balcony.

As soon as Yoongi got onto the fire escape balcony, his head snapped to look at Jimin.

Jimin had finally reached the fire escape ladder but the zombies were right behind him. Yoongi’s eyes were wide and he stuck his hand out for Jimin to hold onto.

The younger boy jumped, his hand reaching for Yoongi’s. His hand was wrapped around the older boy’s wrist, the one with the daisy chain bracelet, but Jimin wasn’t able to hold on properly and accidentally let go causing both him and the bracelet he had made for Yoongi to fall to the ground.

Jimin stood up and jumped once again and this time, successfully held onto Yoongi’s hand. Yoongi lifted him up slightly and then, Jimin held onto the ladder. As Jimin was about to start climbing, he yelped when he suddenly felt something grab into his leg.

Frightened, Jimin looked down, a look of horror flashing across his face once he had seen a zombie squeezing his leg with a decayed hand, snarling at him.

He tried to shake off the zombie and climb but the zombie was strong and after all the running Jimin had done, his muscles felt too weak to fight back.

Jimin looked desperately up at Yoongi, who immediately stuck both his hands out, screaming for Jimin to grab onto him. Jimin immediately did as told, holding onto Yoongi’s large hands that were reaching out to him.

The zombie lost its grip on Jimin’s foot as Yoongi began pulling him up and the pink-haired boy breathed out in relief. But as Yoongi continued to pull Jimin up, the younger boy’s leg was exposed to the harsh, sharp metal of the ladder and it suddenly cut a large, deep wound into Jimin’s leg.

Jimin cried out in pain as Yoongi finally got him to the top of the ladder and into the balcony. The older boy widened his eyes at the sight of blood now covering Jimin’s leg.

It hurt. Jimin had never felt this type of pain before.

The worst injury he had before this was when he was a child and smashed his head into the side of the toilet leaving him with a scar on his eyelid but he doesn’t even remember that. He doesn’t remember how much it hurt because he was so young but he thought it must have been absolutely nothing compared to the pain he felt right now.

There was blood pouring out of him. That was all he could focus on. He couldn’t hear the zombies still growling below him. He couldn’t hear Yoongi screaming for the first aid kit. He couldn’t hear Taehyung asking him if he was okay. Everything sounded muffled like he had put earplugs in. All he could focus on was the blood and the pain.

Jimin whimpered as he continued crying. His entire leg was throbbing with a stinging feeling right around the cuts; it kind of felt like it was burning.

It hurt. It hurt so bad.

“It hurts,” Jimin suddenly sobbed, tears in his eyes as blood continued to shed from his wounds.

Yoongi had finally gotten the first aid kit. Hurriedly, he crouched down beside Jimin, his hands quickly unzipping it open and pulling out everything that was inside.

“It hurts,” Jimin whimpered as he looked up at Yoongi. He looked back down at his leg. “There’s so much blood. Oh my God.” Jimin felt dizzy.

“It’s okay. You’re going to be fine, okay?” Yoongi whispered as grabbed some alcohol wipes and a lot of bandages.

Jimin continued crying in pain and Yoongi inched closer to him, slowly rolling up the end of Jimin’s pants so he could get better access to the wound. “Hey, you think you could hold that up for me, baby?” Yoongi asked, his voice low. He sounded calm because he didn’t want to worry Jimin further but inside he was completely freaking out.

He knew how to treat minor wounds from a first aid class he had taken in high school. If this was anyone else Yoongi thinks he actually would be calm since he knew what he was doing but this was Jimin. Jimin was crying in pain right in front of him and he was scared he might do something to make the pain worse.

Jimin wasn’t listening to Yoongi’s words. Again, everything still sounded sort of muffled. Jimin was still staring at all the blood all over him. There was so much of it. What if this is how he dies? He thought he would’ve died because of the zombies but what if he bleeds out to death instead?

“Jimin,” Yoongi said louder than the volume he had spoken at before as his hand rested on the injured boy’s shoulder. Jimin’s head snapped to look at Yoongi with tear-filled eyes. “Did you hear me, flower? Can you hold this up for me?”

Jimin nodded small at Yoongi’s words, one of his small hands shaking as it went to reach over to the ends of his pants. He held them up as Yoongi reached for an alcohol wipe.

“This is going to sting, okay?” Yoongi whispered and all Jimin could do was reply with a small nod.

Yoongi swiped over the cut on Jimin’s leg and the boy immediately hissed in pain, his eyes screwing shut, causing more tears to slip down his cheeks, and his nose scrunching up in pain.

“Fuck, I know it hurts. I’m sorry,” Yoongi frowned after seeing Jimin’s reaction and the wounded boy could only reply with a whimper. “You wanna squeeze my arm? You think that might help, hm?” Yoongi asked softly, moving his arm so it was in front of Jimin.

Jimin immediately grasped onto Yoongi’s arm. His grip wasn’t too tight.

But when Yoongi swiped over Jimin’s wound once again, the boy’s grip became much tighter, his nails digging into Yoongi’s arm harshly and all Yoongi could do was frown. He didn’t like seeing Jimin like this.

“Nearly done, okay? You’re doing so good,” Yoongi praised in a hushed tone, cleaning up Jimin’s cut a bit more.

Jimin didn’t reply. He just nodded as he bit against his lip hard and he continued to keep his eyes screwed shut, all while having a tense grip on Yoongi’s arm.

Once the wound was clean, Yoongi felt a lot more calm. The wound was as deep as he thought - that was what he was worried about - and it seemed that all that was needed for it to heal was bandages and a lot of time.

Yoongi then grabbed the bandages, carefully wrapping it around Jimin’s calf. Once the bandage was on firmly, Jimin seemed to calm down too. His breathing had evened out and his grip on Yoongi’s arm had loosened since he couldn’t see his wound anymore. Yoongi quickly put all of the medical supplies back into the first aid kit before putting it into his backpack.

“He’ll be fine, right?” Taehyung asked worriedly as soon as he realised Yoongi was done with Jimin’s cut. “You’re okay?” He then looked at Jimin, his eyes shining from the small tears that had formed in them.

Jimin nodded with a small smile before Yoongi spoke up. “He’ll be fine. The cut isn’t deep,” The blond answered simply and Taehyung nodded.

Jimin tried standing up and as he did so, both Taehyung and Yoongi quickly reached out for his arms.

“Can you walk?” Yoongi asked as he held onto the younger boy’s arm, ready to help him if the answer was no. Jimin opened his mouth to talk but stopped himself when he heard footsteps coming down from the fire escape stairs.

At the sound of the footsteps, Namjoon and Jungkook immediately lifted up their bats, ready to knock out whatever was coming down here but the two gasped when a man came down.

The man looked much older than they were, probably in his mid-fifties. His clothes were pretty dirty but that was expected after being twenty-three days into a zombie apocalypse. But the boys weren’t paying attention to the man. They were looking at what was in his hand - a gun.

He pointed it at Jimin.

“Were you bitten?” He asked, his voice gruff as he stared hard at Jimin, who rapidly shook his head in fear.

“He’s not,” Yoongi replied firmly, stepping in front of Jimin. “He cut his leg on the ladder. None of us are infected.”

At Yoongi’s answer, the man put his gun down. Yoongi breathed out - that was easier than he thought it’d be.

“Follow me,” The man ordered as he turned around and began walking up the stairs. When none of the boys moved he turned around again, facing them as he rolled his eyes. “Follow me or stay down here with them,” He spoke as he pointed to the zombies that were still growling hungrily below them with the gun in his hand. “It’s up to you,” He then said before he continued walking again.

Namjoon turned to look at the rest of the boys behind him, who were all waiting for him to make his choice. The boy shrugged before he began following the mysterious man. The rest of the boys followed.

Jimin stood up slowly and Yoongi grabbed his arm, wrapping it around his own shoulder so he could help Jimin walk up the stairs.

“You can call me Mr Shin,” The man said as the boys followed him up the stairs. “We have a small camp up on the roof of this apartment building - full of survivors.”

As the man was talking, Namjoon listened intently. This sounded exactly like what the boys needed right now.

“If you want to stay, you’re more than welcome to,” Mr Shin informed the boys. “We help each other out around here. I’ll explain more when we reach the rooftop.”

With that, the man became silent again as the boys continued following him.

Once they reached the top, Jimin smiled small at what he saw.

There were tents in one corner of the rooftop, a portable stove in the other, along with cans of food, bottles of water and foldable chairs. On the other side of the roof was a washing line with clothes and blankets hanging from it while there were buckets filled with dirty dishes below them. There were people - survivors - everywhere. They seemed to have a good system going on here.

“This is our camp,” Mr Shin said as he turned to face the boys. “Are you planning on staying?”

Namjoon looked at the rest of the boys. With Jimin’s injured leg and their lack of food and water, the only logical answer was yes.

So that was what he said. “Yes,” The boy nodded.

The old man nodded. “There’s seven of you so you get three tents between all of you,” The man began explaining as he pointed towards the area of the roof filled with tents. “There’s blankets over here,” The man walked towards where the washing line was, picking up a couple of blankets for the boys from a pile of clean clothes. He handed them to Yoongi, who was the closest to him. “Get settled in. Dinner will be soon and I’ll tell you all more about how things work around here.”

With that, Mr Shin ushered the boys towards the tents.

They reached the tents they were going to be sleeping in and before they each went into them, Yoongi handed each boy a blanket. The blond sighed when he realised they were missing one - they only had six.

“I’ll go as Mr Shin for another one,” Yoongi said as he passed the last blanket in his arms to Jimin. “You get into our tent, okay? Get some rest,” He spoke softly to Jimin, who nodded with a small smile.

The older boy walked back over to Mr Shin, tapping the old man on the shoulder to get his attention before explaining that he needed another blanket. The man nodded, apologising for not giving them the right amount before quickly grabbing another blanket for Yoongi.

“Here,” The man spoke with a gruff voice as he handed Yoongi his blanket.

“Thank you,” Yoongi thanked. The boy was about to turn around to get back to Jimin but Mr Shin began speaking again.

“How’s your boy over there?” He asked. Your boy. His words made Yoongi smile. “Does he need anything? Did you patch up his cut good?”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be okay. I bandaged it up,” Yoongi nodded. “If we need anything, we’ll let you know. Thank you.”

Mr Shin nodded. “You sure?” Even though he was a stranger they had only met moments ago, Mr Shin was worried. “We have extra clothes around here too. I noticed his pants got a little blood on ‘em.”

“I’ll ask him,” Yoongi smiled.

“How did you kids end up with all those zombies chasing you anyway?” The man suddenly asked.

Yoongi sighed. “We had a van with all our food and water inside. We left it alone for a couple of minutes and someone broke in and stole it,” The blond began explaining. “Then we were being pretty loud and it attracted them towards us.”

The older man nodded in thought. “Well, don’t worry about food and water. We have plenty enough here,” Mr Shin reassured. “How long do you all plan on staying?”

Yoongi looked over towards the boys, spotting Jimin giggling at something Jungkook had said to him. “Until his leg heals,” The blond answered.

Mr Shin nodded again, before telling Yoongi to get some rest.

Yoongi did as told, heading back over to the rest of the boys. He patted Jimin’s shoulder as he walked past the younger boy before pointing at the tent, telling Jimin to come inside it with him.

After Jimin entered the tent, he sat down and Yoongi copied his actions. The blond quickly placed a blanket that Mr Shin had given him over the younger boy’s legs, just in case he felt cold.

“Mr Shin asked if you wanted to change out of those clothes,” Yoongi informed Jimin as he sat down beside the injured boy.

Jimin nodded. “Yeah. These have blood all over them,” He frowned at the memory of him bleeding out onto the balcony. “I’ll ask him for some when we eat dinner. I can't be bothered to get up now.”

Yoongi nodded before he shuffled closer to Jimin and pulled the other blanket he had gotten over his legs. The two boys sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s presence.

Jimin laid his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. “We’re so lucky we found this place,” He whispered. Yoongi nodded.

“I know,” He agreed. “We got lucky.”

“We would’ve had to split a couple of cans of food between the seven of us for days if we didn’t find this place,” Jimin muttered. “We would have starved.”

“We would have been fine,” Yoongi shook his head even though wasn’t sure if he totally believed his words. “We would have figured something out.”

Jimin shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he agreed. After the comfortable silence continued but a couple of minutes passed and Jimin spoke up again.

“I thought I was going to die,” Jimin mumbled. “When all of you were up on the balcony and I couldn’t reach, I thought that was the end.”

Yoongi frowned as he heard Jimin speak. Hearing the boy’s words made his heart hurt.

“And even after you helped me up, I thought I was going to bleed to death or something because of the huge cut” Jimin muttered.

“The cut wasn’t deep. That wouldn’t have happened,” Yoongi reassured him.

“I know that now. At the time all I could see was my blood everywhere. I wasn’t thinking properly,” Jimin replied. “I hate this. I hate this so much, Yoongi,” Jimin sighed frustratedly. “I just want us to be safe.”

“Me too,” Yoongi whispered. “We will be. We’ll be safe when we get to the quarantine centre, I promise.”

“If we get to the quarantine centre,” Jimin corrected. “You can’t promise me that. You don’t know what will happen.”

“You’re right,” Yoongi nodded as he moved, causing Jimin to take his head off of the older boy’s shoulder. Yoongi and Jimin both stared at each other. “But I promise I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, okay? I’ll do whatever I can to get you and the rest of the boys to that safe camp, I promise.”

Jimin smiled as he closed his eyes, nodding as he leaned on Yoongi’s shoulder again. All the worries he had in his mind a moment ago were quickly washed away as soon as Yoongi began speaking.

If he was with Yoongi, he knew he’d be safe no matter what.

-

Dinner time at the small rooftop campsite rolled around quickly and Jimin, along with the rest of the boys, were now sitting around a burning fire with Mr Shin, and the other survivors at the camp too, all eating their meals.

Jimin had changed into a new pair of pants a moment ago after asking Mr Shin for a pair and was now holding a bowl of soup in his hands, along with a water bottle by his side. He quickly ate a spoonful hungrily. This was probably the biggest portion of food he had eaten ever since this apocalypse started.

“How do you guys have this much food on hand?” Namjoon asked Mr Shin, who looked up from his bowl of food.

“You see the building to the left of this one?” He asked as he pointed over towards the building. “The bottom floor is a supermarket but on the day the apocalypse happened, the store was closed so no zombies or people got it. We figured out there was food there and broke in. There’s a couple of those zombies down there now but when the campers have their chores in that building, they kill ‘em quickly, grab the food and come back.”

“Their chores?” Taehyung repeated Mr Shin’s words as a question.

The old man nodded. “Each person at this campsite has gotta do chores. We all gotta take part to make this camp function,” The man explained. “Since you kids are staying here now, you all gotta do some chores too.”

“Do we have to go to that building? The one with the zombies?” Jimin asked, suddenly feeling worried, That was the one chore he definitely didn’t want to do.

Mr Shin quickly shook his head. “No. That’s the most dangerous chore around here. There’s a couple of officers around here who volunteer to do it every time,” The man pointed at a small group of men sitting across from the boys. “We wouldn't make you go if you didn’t want to, especially after you barely escaped those zombies earlier today.”

“So what chores would we have to do?” Yoongi asked as he swallowed a spoonful of soup.

“There’s a bunch you boys can do. There’s washing up the clothes and dirty dishes, helping with cooking the food for our meals. There’s also a couple of younger kids ‘round here too - keeping them entertained is difficult.”

Jimin nodded. Those didn’t sound bad. He thinks he’d like to keep the kids entertained or even cleaning the dishes - especially if he could do it with Yoongi.

Dinner time ended soon after their discussion about chores with Mr Shin and the survivors at the camp began getting ready to sleep.

Jimin was now tucked away in his tent, under his blanket with Yoongi by his side. His head was against Yoongi’s chest and he fell asleep peacefully to the sound of the older boy’s heart thumping under his ear.

-

Unsurprisingly, Jimin woke up in the middle of the night again in a cold sweat, his heart beating loud and his eyes wide - all from another nightmare.

In his nightmare, Jimin was running away from zombies, exactly like he had done earlier on when all the boys were trying to get up onto the fire escape balcony.

Except this time, when Jimin jumped up to reach onto the ladder, the zombie didn’t grab his leg with its hand, it grabbed onto his leg with its teeth and when Yoongi had finally lifted Jimin up onto the balcony, instead of a cut on his leg, there were teeth marks - deep, bloody teeth marks.

He felt like he couldn't breathe. That was the end. He was going to turn into a zombie. He could already see the colour of his veins changing into a dark purple and he felt himself getting hotter.

Jimin woke up soon after that. His head was dizzy and he was confused.

He wasn’t sure what really happened. Was he bitten or did he just get cut?

Jimin couldn’t breathe. In his head, all he could see was the zombie’s teeth marks tainting the skin of his leg and for a moment, he thought that was what had truly happened.

There were tears in his eyes and all over his cheeks as he threw the blanket he was sleeping with off of his body. His hands shook as he rolled up his pants on his injured leg. His fingernails were ripping at the bandage that Yoongi had wrapped around his leg earlier on. He needed to see. He needed to see if he had gotten bitten. He doesn’t know what happened and he needed to know.

“Jimin! What’re you doing?” Yoongi suddenly spoke, his voice loud despite just waking up. He woke up after feeling the blanket getting ripped away from him and hearing Jimin breathing loudly. His sleepy eyes were wide as he stared at Jimin peeling off the bandage.

Jimin completely ignored Yoongi. He didn’t even hear what the older boy had said clearly because all he could think of and all he could see was a purple bite mark on his leg. Jimin continued clawing at his bandage.

Yoongi quickly grabbed Jimin’s hands and the younger boy struggled to move. “What are you doing?” Yoongi asked, his voice a little quieter now.

“I need to see,” Jimin sobbed as he continued to fight against Yoongi’s hands that were restraining his own.

“See what, baby?” Yoongi whispered. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“The zombie bit me,” Jimin cried as he looked up at Yoongi. “I need to see the bite. I need to see.” Jimin repeated his sentences and Yoong quickly caught on to what Jimin had dreamt about.

“You weren’t bitten,” Yoongi explained calmly, his grip on Jimin’s hand still tight so the distressed boy wouldn’t continue ripping the bandage. “You got cut because of the ladder, remember?”

Jimin shook his head as he closed his eyes, causing more tears to fall. He could only see the bite mark. He could only think of his nightmare. “No,” Jimin shook his head desperately. “The zombie bit me, Yoongi. It bit me. I need to see.”

“It didn’t, flower. I promise,” Yoongi replied softly. “But how about I take your bandage off so we can take a look anyway, okay?” Yoongi asked. Jimin looked up at Yoongi and the younger boy’s hands stopped moving. Jimin nodded as he sniffled.

Yoongi wasn’t sure if this was a good idea but it was the only thing he could think of. It seemed like Jimin was completely convinced that he was bitten and the only way he would realise that he actually wasn’t was by seeing his injury himself. But, when Jimin had seen his wound earlier on, he panicked and Yoongi didn’t want that to happen again but there wasn’t much else he could do to help Jimin calm down after seeing a nightmare.

Yoongi slowly let go of Jimin’s hands, telling the younger boy to not touch the bandage. The blond reached for the bandages himself and then slowly unravelled them, revealing Jimin’s cut.

Jimin breathed out slowly after seeing a cut and not a bite mark or purple veins.

“See?” Yoongi whispered. Jimin closed his eyes before he nodded slowly. “Let me bandage it up again, okay?” Once again, Jimin nodded.

As Yoongi grabbed the first aid kit from his backpack and fixed up Jimin’s wound again, Jimin started to calm down properly from his nightmare and he began to feel stupid.

“I’m sorry,” Jimin mumbled as he looked down at his hands once Yoongi was finished with bandaging his leg up.

“For what?” Yoongi questioned, genuinely confused.

“I couldn’t remember what actually happened,” Jimin frowned.

Yoongi shook his head as he wrapped his arms around Jimin’s waist, pulling the younger boy in close before he pressed their lips together. Jimin’s hands immediately began threading through Yoongi’s hair like some sort of reflex and he kissed back the older boy deeply.

The older boy pulled away and the lack of height difference between him and Jimin allowed him to place their foreheads together. “It’s not your fault,” He muttered. “It was probably a really realistic nightmare, huh?”

Jimin nodded, slightly embarrassed. The younger boy placed a small peck on Yoongi’s lips before he began speaking, “Thank you.”

“It’s okay, Jimin. I told you I’d always be there for you after you woke up from a nightmare.” Yoongi whispered in reply. Jimin nodded small with a smile. Yoongi was always there when he needed him. “Let’s head back to bed, hm?”

Jimin nodded once again and the two boys laid down in their tent. Yoongi covered both their bodies with their blankets and the two fell asleep cuddled in each other’s arms.

Jimin slept through the night without another nightmare.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-FOUR
07:29

Jimin sat down beside Taehyung on the white plastic chairs of the rooftop campsite. In his hands was a large bowl of porridge, topped with honey - Jimin doesn’t remember the last time he had something sweet.

He woke up much earlier than he usually did this morning - it was out of hunger. Despite having a big meal for dinner, he woke up hungry. He wasn’t too sure why. Maybe it was because he had finally eaten a good meal after eating so little for so long that now his body was begging for more.

The other boys were still sleeping. Jimin and Taehyung were the only two awake - Jimin had to leave a tired Yoongi in their tent so he could have breakfast.

Jimin put a spoonful of porridge into his mouth and smiled at the taste. He was never a huge fan of porridge but after eating canned soup for almost every meal, porridge suddenly turned into his favourite food.

“How’s your leg feeling?” Taehyung asked from beside him as he also began eating his porridge.

“Better,” Jimin nodded. Yoongi patched up his leg well and he thought it was healing okay. It didn’t hurt as much as it did the night before and now, he can walk on it better. “I’ll have to ask Yoongi to replace the bandage when he wakes up though.”

As Jimin thought of Yoongi, he remembered the nightmare he had last night. He couldn’t believe he thought he was bitten. The dream just felt so real. He was grateful for Yoongi though, the older boy made him feel better.

The nightmare couldn't help but make Jimin wonder about what would happen if he did really get bitten though. Would the boys just leave him? He hoped they would because he didn’t want to hurt them once he would have inevitably turned into one of those creatures. He figured it’d be hard for them to do that though. He didn’t like thinking about these things but it’s where his mind had been wandering off to and it’s not like his nightmare was far from what could really happen. Every day there was a chance Jimin could get bitten. He was just thinking realistically.

“Are you boys nearly done with your food?” The two heard a gruff voice speak. Jimin looked up from his bowl of porridge to see Mr Shin walking over to them.

Jimin nodded at the man’s question as another spoonful of breakfast went into his mouth. “Is there something you need us to do when we’re done?” Jimin asked, assuming that was why Mr Shin was asking.

The older man nodded. “What’re your names again?” He asked. It was hard to learn their names since the seven of them had arrived so quickly.

Jimin and Taehyung quickly reintroduced themselves to Mr Shin and then man nodded as he took a mental note of their names, wanting to make sure he got it right next time.

“Well,” He began. “There’s a couple of our survivors coming back from a trip to the supermarket in the next building. One of you has gotta help them bring in the supplies. There are also some dishes from last night that need to be washed.”

Jimin nodded as he looked over towards Taehyung, wanting to know what the younger boy would prefer to do so that Jimin could take the other options. Although, Jimin thought he already knew what Taehyung would pick.

“I’ll do the dishes?” Taehyung asked and Jimin nodded, expecting that answer since he knew his best friend actually enjoyed washing up dishes.

The two quickly finished their breakfasts before heading off to do their chores.

Mr Shin told Jimin to stand beside the edge of the building, on the side that was next to the supermarket. Jimin waited and soon, he saw two police officers wearing their uniforms sticking their heads out of the window.

Jimin wondered how they would get back to the campsite though. There was a large space between the campsite and the supermarket and the length seemed too long to jump.

It seemed they heard Jimin’s thoughts. One of the police officers quickly shouted at Jimin, telling the young boy to reach for a long wooden plank beside him. Jimin did as told before he leaned it on the edge of the building and pushed it towards the supermarket the officers were in.

The police officer grabbed the other side of the wood plank and leaned it on the edge of their windowsill. After telling Jimin to hold down the plank, the officer began walking along the wooden plank towards the campsite with two large bags in his hand.

Jimin watched in awe as the officer managed to cross between the two buildings with absolute ease and no fear. It made Jimin wonder how many times the policeman had done this since the pink-haired boy thought that anyone walking across a wooden plank as if it were a tightrope would be trembling since they were so high up.

Once the first officer had got back to the campsite safely, the others began coming over too. Four officers had quickly and successfully entered the campsite again and Jimin thought that was all the people who had gone to get supplies.

But, suddenly a younger boy - he looked like he was the same age as Jimin - emerged out of the window and Jimin quickly held down the plank again as the boy walked across.

When the boy had walked across and arrived at the camp, the police officers had walked away, gone to put the supplies they had gotten with the other food and water.

The boy who had just walked across was now getting the plank back. Jimin looked him up and down. He didn’t look like a police officer. The others were wearing uniforms but he wasn’t.

“Are you an officer?” Jimin asked curiously. The boy laughed as he shook his head, indicating a no. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion for a moment.
“Mr Shin said only the officers go to the supermarket to get supplies.” He stated simply. How did this boy go if he wasn’t an officer?

The boy shrugged. “I kept insisting that I wanted to go and Mr Shin ended up letting me,” He explained. When he was done putting the plank away, the boy turned around. “You and your friends got here yesterday, right? You were the one that got your leg hurt?”

Jimin quickly nodded in reply and the boy looked down at Jimin’s leg, mumbling an ‘ouch,’ under his breath once he saw Jimin’s bloodied bandage.

“Don’t you need to change that?” He asked as he quickly became concerned. Since a whole night had passed since the incident, the bandage had gotten slightly dirty.

Once again, Jimin nodded. “I was going to ask my b-,” Jimin stopped himself. What word was he supposed to use when he was talking about Yoongi? His friend? Surely they were obviously more than just friends. His boyfriend? He didn’t know. They hadn’t talked about labels because they were in the middle of an apocalypse - there were much more important things than labelling a relationship at the moment. But honestly, he didn’t mind not knowing. He was happy despite them not having a label on whatever their relationship was. As long as he could be around Yoongi, he was content.

“I can do it for you, if you want,” The boy offered. Jimin was about to refuse but the boy continued one before he could talk. “There are first aid kits next to some of the food supplies and I don’t think you should keep a dirty bandage on for any longer.”

Jimin was quickly convinced after the boy had finished talking. The last thing he wanted was an infection on a huge cut.

The two began walking over to the food supplies, which is where they also kept the first aid kits and Jimin asked, “What’s your name?”

“Taemin,” The boy, Taemin, answered. “What’s yours?”

“Jimin,” He smiled as he replied. The two finally arrived at the supplies station and Taemin quickly grabbed a first aid kit, ready to reapply a new bandage to Jimin’s wound.

Meanwhile, Yoongi woke up to an empty tent, which made him feel worse than he already was feeling as soon as he woke up. Sleeping in a tent was not fun. It left his back feeling all stiff and he woke up annoyed - not seeing Jimin first thing in the morning definitely didn’t make that any better. Seeing the younger boy usually puts him in a good mood.

Yoongi groggily exited his tent and made his way to where they were serving breakfast. He picked a bowl of porridge.

He sat down on a plastic white chair and began eating alone. Just like Jimin, porridge wasn’t something he really enjoyed eating but his breakfast today was the best breakfast he had eaten in a while.

His eyes scanned around the campsite, looking for a certain pretty pink-haired boy. It was easy to find him since that was what made him stand out from everyone else.

Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows when he saw someone unfamiliar beside Jimin. The unfamiliar boy was crouched down on the floor, his hands working to wrap a bandage around Jimin’s leg.

Yoongi didn’t know who he was and honestly, right now he felt too lazy to get up and go see so he made a mental note to ask Jimin later on in the day.

-

A few hours had gone by and lunchtime rolled around quickly. The meal they were given at lunch was much, much bigger than the lunches they ate before back at the cabin, which was usually just one or two spoonfuls of whatever canned food they had on hand.

Jimin liked it here. This is what he felt like the quarantine centre would be like. They weren’t struggling with food and water and they had a place to sleep. There were other people around that he could talk to - like Taemin. People were working together. This is what safety feels like.

Jimin had spent a while talking to Taemin while they were eating lunch. He was happy he made a friend here so fast. Talking to Taemin was fun - the boy would talk about all the zombies he had seen when he would go with the police officers to get supplies for the camp and how he had killed them - he seemed cool.

But once lunch was over, Jimin got to spend some time with Yoongi. The two got the task of washing up dishes from lunchtime together and Jimin was smiling. He hadn’t spent much time with Yoongi today so he was happy he got to now, even if they were doing chores. But Jimin was sure it’d be fun because he would be with Yoongi.

The two boys were sitting in front of a large, black plastic tub that was filled with water and dirty dishes. Mr Shin gave them each a pair of gloves and Jimin quickly put them on before grabbing two sponges from where the cleaning supplies of the campsite was, which was beside the food.

As they began washing, Yoongi asked, “How’s your leg?” Jimin had heard that question all day but hearing it from Yoongi made him feel all giddy. “I saw someone re-bandaging your leg up earlier today. Did they do it okay?”

Jimin quickly nodded, looking over at Yoongi, who was focused on the dishes in front of him. “Yeah. He said that it wouldn't be a good idea to keep a dirty bandage on for any longer. I don’t want it to get infected or something,” Jimin explained. Yoongi hummed, indicating he was listening.

“Good. Wouldn't want it getting any worse,” He mumbled. “Who is he, anyway?” Yoongi spoke, asking what he was curious about earlier.

“His name’s Taemin,” Jimin informed, looking back down at the dirty dishes before picking one up. “I met him when I was helping people bring in the food they got from the supermarket. Taemin said he goes there with the officers to get food. He’s nice.”

Yoongi hummed once again. He was glad Jimin made a friend. Honestly, the younger boy deserved to just relax and talk to people, to make friends after everything he had been through.

“This is my second chore today and Mr Shin said that was all I had to do. How many have you done?” Jimin asked, tilting his head slightly as he continued scrubbing dishes. “Maybe we could go to our tent and play Uno together,” He suggested. Jimin didn’t spend much time with Yoongi today and that was very different from what usually happened at the cabin where they would spend a lot, like a lot of time together. So now, Jimin wanted to spend a bit more time with the older boy.

“I’ve only done this,” Yoongi sighed as he lifted up the dish in his hand to show Jimin. “I’ll probably have to wash the dishes after dinner too.”

Jimin frowned. “Should I help you with it then,” He asked. “Then we’ll get it done faster. Or you could just ask Mr Shin if it’s okay to just not do it? There’s a lot of people here - I’m sure someone else can do it.”

Yoongi shrugged. “We’ve only been here for one day. I don’t want anyone to have a bad first impression of me,” Yoongi sighed. “I’ll wash them really quickly, okay? Then we can play cards as much as you want.”

Jimin smiled, excited. “Okay,” He nodded in confirmation.

-

The next morning, Yoongi woke up yet again to another empty tent but this morning, he woke up in a much better mood. He went to bed yesterday very happy because he had spent hours playing Uno with Jimin, giggling and talking and that mood from last night had carried on even while he slept all the way until the morning. Jimin didn’t have a nightmare last night either and that just made Yoongi even happier.

Yoongi exited his tent. He eyed the section of the rooftop where they were giving out breakfast and quickly decided against grabbing a serving. Even though eating three meals a day is normal and is what he should be doing, his stomach wasn’t used to it after eating small meals for so long - he still felt full from dinner last night.

His eyes then scanned across the campsite, much like yesterday, looking for a specific someone. He quickly found Jimin, who was unsurprisingly hanging out with Taemin. Yoongi had no interest in getting to know anyone at this camp since he knew they’d be leaving after Jimin’s leg healed but he decided to join Jimin and talk to Taemin himself - any friend of Jimin’s was a friend of his.

As he walked over to the two boys, Taemin’s eyes met his. He quickly bumps his elbow into Jimin’s before pointing at Yoongi. Jimin looked over to Yoongi, a large smile on his face as soon as their eyes met.

“Hi,” Jimin smiled, looking at the older boy. It seemed Jimin was in a good mood too but Yoongi wasn’t sure if that was because of last night or if it was because he had just been hanging out with Taemin. Either way, Yoongi liked seeing Jimin smile.

“Hi,” Yoongi repeated, a grin on his face.

“Hi,” Taemin then spoke, looking at Yoongi. “You’re Y-, Yo…” Taemin paused, seeming to forget Yoongi’s name.

“Yoongi,” The blond spoke, continuing off of Taemin’s words.

Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. It was weird that Taemin didn’t know Yoongi’s name even though Jimin had talked about the boy quite a lot.

“Yoongi,” Taemin nodded. “Well, thanks for letting me borrow your boyfriend for a while,” He smiled before he wrapped his arm around Jimin’s shoulder. “He’s cute.”

Yoongi stared hard at the arm wrapped around Jimin for a moment. He then looked back up at Taemin with a forced smile.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Jimin asked, looking up at Yoongi but making no move to get Taemin’s arm off of him. Yoongi quickly shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak but Jimin continued talking. “Good. Me neither. I was waiting for you.” Jimin’s words stopped Yoongi from saying he didn’t want breakfast and despite not feeling hungry, he decided he needed to eat breakfast.

Jimin moved away from Taemin, causing his arm to fall back down beside him.

“We’ll see you around,” Jimin smiled widely at his new friend while he went to stand beside Yoongi.

Taemin nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you around,” He spoke as he stretched, his arms going up.

As he did so, the sleeves of his shirt slipped down his arm, revealing a bandage with patches of blood wrapped around his forearm. One of Yoongi’s eyebrows raised upwards curiously.

“What happened to your arm?” The blond asked, pointing to Taemin’s forearm. The boy being asked quickly widened his eyes as he pulled his shirt’s sleeve down in a hurry.

“Oh. I was telling Jimin about it this morning. I cut it yesterday when we went on the trip to get the supplies,” The boy quickly explained. Yoongi nodded, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

“Come on,” Jimin mumbled as he tugged Yoongi’s arm. “Let’s go eat.”

Once again, Yoongi nodded as he let himself get dragged away by Jimin to eat but his mind was still thinking of the bandage on Taemin’s arm.

-

Another day at the camp had passed and night had fallen. Jimin and Yoongi spent the day hanging out with the other boys and completing chores - one of them is helping the other survivors around camp wash up dirty clothes. Jimin had fun doing the chores, especially when they were with other people. It was fun talking to all the people here.

Yoongi was now sitting beside Hobi on some plastic, white chairs as they waited for dinner, while Jimin was sitting beside Taehyung by their tents.

“Don’t you think that’s weird?” Yoongi asked as he talked to Hobi. He was talking about Taemin, more specifically how the boy reacted to Yoongi asking about his bandage.

“No?” Hoseok replied, confused as to why Yoongi was so concerned. “You asked a question and he answered you.”

“But what if he’s lying,” Yoongi retorted. “What if it’s a,” Yoongi paused. “A bite,” He then whispered.

Hoseok rolled his eyes. “Why are you digging so deep into this? Is someone getting a little jealous?” He teased the older boy.

“I’m not jealous,” It was Yoongi’s turn to roll his eyes. “If someone shows up with an injury I’m obviously going to ask questions.”

“Jimin showed up to the camp with an injury and we told them he got cut on the ladder and everyone believed us. It’s the same for Taemin,” Hobi explained reasonably so Yoongi wouldn’t go around accusing people of being infected even though he wasn’t sure. “Also, Mr Shin talked really highly of Taemin - he does a lot of stuff around here so I don’t think he’d lie about getting bitten.”

“We don’t know if he would or not. We don’t know him,” Yoongi replied.

“Yeah but Mr Shin does.” Hobi shrugged.

“We don’t know him either.”

The younger boy sighed. “He has no symptoms at all. If he got the injury yesterday they would’ve shown up by now.”

Yoongi kissed his teeth. “I guess. There’s still something weird about him though.”

“You just think that because you’re jealous. Admit it,” Hoseok teased again.

Yoongi was about to open his mouth to argue but he quickly stopped when a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind him, his view now completely black.

His hands reached up to touch the other person’s hands on his face and he immediately realised it was Jimin from the way the fingers felt. His lips broke into a smile.

“Guess who?” Jimin spoke but he had changed his voice so that it sounded much deeper, trying to trick Yoongi into guessing that he was someone else.

“Hm,” Yoongi hummed, playing along with Jimin. “Is it…” He paused. “Namjoon? Or Jungkook, maybe?”

He heard Jimin laugh and that caused Yoongi to smile wider.

“Nope,” Jimin answered, his voice still in a deep tone.

“I know it’s you, flower,” Yoongi laughed as he removed Jimin’s hands from his eyes.

Jimin smiled as he took a seat beside Yoongi. “How did you know it was me?”

“Your fake voice wasn’t very convincing.”

Jimin rolled his eyes playfully before he bumped his shoulder into Yoongi’s. The younger boy then shuffled closer to the blond and placed his head into Yoongi’s shoulder.

“Do you know how much time there is left until dinner?” Jimin whispered.

Yoongi shrugged. “Around five minutes, I think?”

As dinner began, more survivors of the camp began sitting down, getting ready to eat. Taemin was sitting quite a few feet away from Jimin and Yoongi. Yoongi eyed him warily.

The boy had changed out of the clothes he was wearing earlier. He was now wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. The hood was tight against his face so you couldn’t see anything but his face since Taemin had pulled on the strings.

“I don’t like him,” Yoongi mumbled.

“Don’t like who?” Jimin asked as one of the survivors who had cooked dinner came up to the two boys, passing them two plates of food. Jimin quickly thanked her before giving one of the plates to Yoongi.

“Taemin,” He replied simply. Jimin immediately frowned.

“Why?”

Yoongi shrugged.

“You’re not…” Jimin paused. “Jealous? Are you?”

Earlier on, when Yoongi had first met Taemin, Jimin could kind of sense the jealousy and awkwardness going on between Yoongi and Taemin but he decided to not say anything unless Yoongi brought it up.

Yoongi groaned. Jimin had gotten the same idea that Hoseok had. Yoongi was not jealous of Taemin. He couldn't care less about the boy.

“No,” Yoongi shook his head. “I’m not jealous.”

But the image of Taemin’s arm wrapped tightly around Jimin’s shoulder and the words he used to talk about Jimin - ’He’s cute,’ - popped into his head.

“Okay. Maybe a little bit,” Yoongi sighed. “But that's not the only reason I don’t like him.”

Jimin laughed and Yoongi sighed once again as a pout made its way to his lips.

“You don’t have to be jealous,” Jimin smiled. He honestly found Yoongi’s jealousy sort of cute. “I like you way, way, way better than I like him,” Jimin reassured Yoongi as he leaned over to place a kiss on the older boy’s cheek.

Yoongi smiled, closing his eyes when he felt Jimin’s lips against his skin. Jimin was right. There was no need for Yoongi to get jealous.

But, even if Yoongi wasn’t jealous, there was still something off about Jimin’s new friend. Yoongi looked back up at Taemin and noticed that the boy was tugging hard at the sleeves of his hoodie so that they fully covered his hands and went past his fingers.

“When we’re done eating, can you help me change my bandages?” Jimin questioned, pulling Yoongi away from his thoughts.

“Of course,” Yoongi smiled as he continued eating.

-

Time passed and dinner had finished a while ago. Jimin and Yoongi were now in their tent. Yoongi was helping Jimin replace his bandage.

As Yoongi was unravelling the old bandage wrapped around Jimin’s calf, the younger boy asked if the cut was healing correctly. He had been worried that it might get infected.

“It looks fine. It’s healing slowly,” Yoongi replied softly as he grabbed a new bandage from the first aid kit beside him.

“It’ll leave a scar though, right?” Jimin asked, causing Yoongi to nod. A cut this deep and this big would definitely leave a mark. “That sucks.”

Yoongi frowned as he slowly continued wrapping the new bandage on Jimin’s leg. “No, it doesn’t,” Yoongi replied. “It’ll look cool. You”ll have a survival story to tell people when they see it and ask.”

“I guess,” Jimin shrugged as Yoongi finished replacing the bandage.

As Yoongi turned around to zip the first aid kit back up, Jimin shuffled close towards him, so that their faces were only inches away from each other. When Yoongi turned back around, he jumped in surprise after he had seen Jimin.

Jimin shuffled closer to Yoongi so that he was now sitting on the older boy’s lap. He wrapped his arms sweetly around Yoongi’s neck before looking up at him through his long eyelashes.

“Hi,” He whispered.

“Hi, baby,” Yoongi replied softly, the pet name making Jimin feel all warm inside. “What’re you doing?” He questioned in hushed tones as he looked down at Jimin’s lips, which was only an inch away from his own.

Jimin didn’t reply. Instead, he just leaned in and placed his lips onto Yoongi’s, causing his eyes to close on instinct.

Jimin’s lips were always so soft and they always connected so perfectly with Yoongi’s every time; it really seemed like they were made for each other. Yoongi doesn’t think he could ever get sick of kissing Jimin.

He opened his mouth against Yoongi’s lips and the older boy’s warm hand was placed against Jimin’s cheek as he caressed Jimin’s soft skin carefully beneath his thumb.

Jimin was right. Yoongi didn’t need to be jealous. He was the one who got to kiss Jimin all he wanted - not Taemin.

Yoongi’s hands moved downwards so that they were now gripping Jimin’s waist tightly, pulling the boy even closer, longing for more touch.

Only he was able to touch Jimin like this - not Taemin.

Jimin gasped slightly at the feeling of Yoongi’s nails digging into his waist but he made no move to push the boy’s hands away. As he continued kissing Yoongi, one of his hands reached for the blond’s hair, his fingers threading through it while the other hand began crawling under Yoongi’s shirt, feeling his chest.

Yoongi was the one who got to feel Jimin’s touch like this. He was the one who got to feel Jimin’s fingers running up and down his chest. He was the one who got to feel Jimin’s hand running through his hair. He was the only one who got to touch Jimin, to kiss Jimin.

Jimin was his - not Taemin’s.

Jimin pulled away slightly breathless as he stared up at Yoongi with wide eyes and a smile on his face.

“What was that for?” Yoongi asked with a chuckle as he placed his forehead against the younger boy’s.

Jimin shrugged. “I just like kissing you,” He mumbled before he placed a peck on Yoongi’s lips one last time.

The two continued kissing for a while longer before deciding that they needed to get some sleep.

As Jimin was laying down in Yoongi’s arms, slowly falling asleep, Yoongi’s mind was still stuck on Taemin. Yes, he was slightly jealous but still, Yoongi got a bad vibe from Jimin’s suspicious friend despite his jealousy.

From the way he reacted to Yoongi’s question about his injury to the hoodie he wore at dinner time that was tight around his face to the way he harshly tugged at the sleeves of his hoodie to hide his hands, there was definitely something going on with him. He just wasn’t sure what.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
01:59

Jimin’s head was spinning.

He sat up inside the tent, slowly slipping out of the grip a sleeping Yoongi had on his waist.

Jimin looked around the tent, trying to focus on the things in front of him - his backpack, the blanket he had laying on top of his body, the boy beside him. He tried to remind himself that he was safe.

To no one’s surprise, Jimin had another nightmare. This nightmare wasn’t as terrifying as the ones he usually had though - he thought he could deal with this one on his own. Jimin’s mind was still a little cloudy with the images of his nightmare and he felt a little dizzy but he wasn’t crying and he could breathe normally, which usually wasn’t the case with his bigger nightmares, the ones where he would need Yoongi.

Speaking of Yoongi, the nightmare Jimin had was about him. The dream consisted of the seven boys leaving the rooftop campsite they were currently in but as they were doing so, a zombie had suddenly appeared and its victim was the blond.

Jimin watched Yoongi get bitten and turn into a zombie right in front of his eyes. It was sort of similar to the nightmare Jimin had where all of the boys had turned into zombies but he definitely thought that one was much, much worse than the one he had tonight.

That night was the night Yoongi wasn’t in his room when Jimin had gone there to check up on him. Not seeing Yoongi where he should be after Jimin had a nightmare about the boy scared him since it felt like there was a chance that the nightmare was really coming true.

But since Yoongi now slept beside Jimin, when Jimin had nightmares about the blond, it didn’t affect him as much since all he had to do was look beside him to know that Yoongi was safe.

Jimin’s head turned to look down towards Yoongi, who was sleeping peacefully.

Yes, Yoongi was safe.

Jimin let out a breath before he laid back down beside the sleeping boy next to him, snuggling up to Yoongi. Jimin decided that he was okay and that all he wanted to do right now was to go back to sleep.

But after a dozen minutes had passed and Jimin still hadn’t slept because his mind wouldn’t let go of the image of the zombie’s teeth sinking into Yoongi’s neck, he sat back up again, sighing quietly to himself.

The nightmare clearly wasn’t leaving his mind anytime soon, even though he wasn’t freaking out about it.

Jimin suddenly remembered the night Yoongi told him ways to deal with nightmares, the night he gave Jimin his notebook.

I heard that if you re-write the ending of your nightmare to something happier and give it a good ending, it can help.

Jimin remembered Yoongi’s words and reached over for his backpack, which was only a foot in front of him, and quickly unzipped it, grabbing the notebook and pen Yoongi had given him from inside it.

The boy quickly began scribbling a different ending to his nightmare. Instead of Yoongi getting bitten, the blond noticed the zombie before it had a chance to infect him and killed it with the axe he had taken from the barn near Yoongi’s cabin as soon as he saw it.

Jimin's throat suddenly felt dry while he finished up writing the ending of his dream. He reached over for his bag once again, knowing he had a water bottle in there.

As he grabbed his bottle from his backpack, his Rubik’s cube managed to slip out of his bag too and when Jimin laid his eyes on it, they quickly widened. He had almost forgotten he had the thing with him.

The cube was a complete mess. Earlier on in the apocalypse, he had two sides completed but now, all the sides were muddled up again. Jimin frowned. He was still determined to complete the cube. He told himself that tomorrow he’d start trying to solve it again - starting with the blue side. Jimin still remembers that he told Yoongi he’d complete the blue side and show the older boy as soon as he did it.

After Jimin was done looking at the Rubik’s cube, he grabbed what he was originally looking for - his water bottle. Jimin instantly unscrewed the cap and began drinking.

He began re-reading back over the words he had written in his notebook again. He smiled small at what he wrote. He thought his ending was much more realistic than his nightmare. Yoongi was strong and he always had his guard up - a zombie wouldn’t even be able to get close to him.

He smiled again as he looked down towards Yoongi.

Yoongi was okay. The nightmare was nothing but a stupid, unrealistic situation. It would never happen because Yoongi could easily fight any zombies that came in his way. Jimin’s nightmare meant nothing. Yoongi was okay. Yoongi was here and he was safe and he wasn’t infected.

Jimin leaned down slightly before he placed a soft kiss on the older boy’s forehead. He made sure he only pressed his lips lightly since he didn’t want the blond to wake up but when Yoongi stirred in his sleep and began blinking, Jimin realised he had failed.

Yoongi looked up at Jimin through hooded eyes. “Jimin?” He spoke, his voice deep since he had only woken up a few seconds ago. “Are you okay?”

Jimin nodded. “I’m okay. I’m sorry for waking you up,” Jimin apologised, whispering. “I didn’t mean to.”

“Are you sure?” Yoongi asked. Jimin could hear the concern in his voice yet Yoongi made no move to get up. Jimin seemed fine - he never looked this calm after a bad nightmare so Yoongi trusted the boy when he said everything was okay.

Jimin nodded once again, a soft smile on his face.

“Come lie down with me then,” Yoongi hummed, causing Jimin’s smile to widen.

“I will,” Jimin hummed back. “Let me just drink some water,” Yoongi mumbled something incoherent in reply.

As Jimin lifted the water bottle to his lips, he sighed when he realised it was practically empty. There were a couple of sips of water left but Jimin knew he needed more than that.

Yoongi heard Jimin’s sigh and quickly asked what had happened, to which Jimin replied, telling the older boy he didn’t have enough water.

“I’m going to grab another bottle, okay?” Jimin whispered as he moved towards the exit of the tent.

“Okay,” Yoongi nodded sleepily, his eyes closed. “Come back quickly. I don’t know how much longer I can stay up for. ‘M sleepy,” He whispered.

Jimin smiled. “Just go to sleep, Yoongi. It’s okay,” He whispered as he left the tent, but not before he moved back towards Yoongi and placed a small kiss on the blond’s cheek and despite being on the verge of falling asleep, Yoongi’s lips immediately broke into a smile.

When Jimin left the tent, his skin was greeted with the very cold air of the night. He shivered, quickly wrapping his arms around himself as he walked over to the other side of the rooftop campsite, towards the place where they kept all the supplies.

He hastily picked up a water bottle, eager to get back into his tent and to sleep beside Yoongi, all warm as he cuddled up to the blond.

He began walking back towards his tent but he stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide when he noticed something standing by the edge of the rooftop. It was dark and that made it hard to see who or what was there.

But after Jimin squinted his eyes, he realised it was only Taemin - he could tell it was him because the boy still had his hood up with the strings pulled tightly, just like he did during dinner. Jimin breathed out a small breath in relief.

“Taemin?” Jimin whispered as he walked over to his jew friend. “Why’re you up so late?” He asked.

When Taemin didn’t move, Jimin sighed. It was quiet at the campsite yet he still couldn’t hear Jimin.

“Taemin?” Jimin repeated, a little louder as he walked closer. He tapped the boy on the shoulder.

Taemin groaned. The noise he made caused Jimin to freeze. As the boy began slowly turning around, Jimin swallowed thickly.

No. This can’t be real. This had to be a nightmare. This had to be one of Jimin’s stupid nightmares.

Taemin growled low, his tiny pupils staring at Jimin while his face was dropping downwards and purple, pulsating veins that led from his neck covered his jawline, sticking up from his pale skin.

Jimin didn’t know if this was real. He genuinely couldn’t tell if this was a nightmare or if Taemin had really turned into a zombie. He didn’t want to believe this was real. This just seemed like a nightmare. Jimin really believed that he would wake up any moment now and he’d be beside Yoongi again. This wasn’t real. Jimin didn’t want to believe this was real.

But when the thing that Jimin once knew as Taemin reached towards him and gripped its rotting fingers into Jimin’s shoulder, the boy seemed to snap back into reality.

Jimin pushed the zombie’s hand away from him, his hand pressing against the creature’s pulpy, decaying flesh as tears began filling his eyes.

He whimpered, his bottom lip quivering slightly when the zombie growled and spat with a hiss in Jimin’s face for pushing it away.

He didn’t know what to do. Jimin didn’t have his bat with him, leaving him completely defenceless. He had no way to protect himself.

So Jimin did the only logical thing - he began screaming. His screams and shouts for help began echoing across the rooftop campsite, his voice pleading in desperation for someone, anyone, to wake up and to help him.

As Jimin’s screams became more desperate and therefore louder, the zombie seemed to get more irritated. It grunted, twitched its head suddenly before moving closer every time Jimin’s voice became louder, causing him to shuffle backwards in an attempt to get away from the zombie. That wasn’t surprising though - everyone knew by now that zombies were prone to loud noises.

But Jimin didn’t care. He didn’t have a choice. He either screams for help with the small risk of angering the zombie or he stays quiet and stands there with no weapon, getting himself killed.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, Jimin noticed Mr Shin stood a few feet away. He was holding a gun, pointing it straight at the zombie in front of Jimin and at the sight of him, Jimin stopped screaming.

The boy swallowed thickly. The sight of the gun and the thought of the zombie being killed made Jimin remember this wasn’t just a random zombie. It used to be Taemin; the zombie this person had become used to be his friend.

Jimin squeezed his eyes shut once he had heard the sound of Mr Shin cocking his gun, preparing himself for the loud gunshot he thought he would hear soon. He had heard the sound of gunshot noises from watching movies but had never heard one in real life. He expected it to be loud, deafening and so the boy’s hands slowly made their way to his ears and he pressed the palms of his hands hard against the sides of his head, hoping to tune out the gunshot once Mr Shin fired.

He also mentally prepared himself for the sight he would see after he opened his eyes too: blood splatters all around him - maybe on him too, the zombie’s dead body on the floor with a pool of black blood. Jimin knew that after he saw the zombie dead, it’d be something he’d see many times again in his nightmares.

Jimin waited for the sound of the gunshot, his eyes still squeezed shut tightly. But the sound never came. Instead, he heard someone grunting and loud, heavy footsteps. Although, the sounds were slightly muffled since he was covering his ears. The boy quickly opened his eyes, wanting to see what had happened and his eyes quickly widened when he saw what was in front of him.

He saw Yoongi trying to push the zombie over the edge of the building. The zombie was strong but Yoongi was putting up a fight and soon, the boy successfully pushed it over. A few moments later, Jimin heard a loud thud, indicating the zombie’s body had hit the ground and Jimin felt tears pool in the corner of his eyes.

Taemin was dead.

Yoongi quickly turned around and ran up to Jimin, wrapping his arms around the younger boy, his heart beating extremely fast in fear after saving Jimin. Jimin immediately tucked his head into Yoongi’s chest and began sobbing.

Yoongi pulled away, his eyes wide as he looked Jimin up and down frantically. He pushed Jimin’s hair back, checked the younger boy’s head for any injuries before looking at Jimin’s arms and legs while asking multiple times if Jimin was hurt.

Jimin wasn’t paying attention. He could see Yoongi’s mouth moving and he knew the blond was talking but he couldn’t hear it - it all sounded muffled, almost like he was covering his ears again. All he could think was that Taemin was dead. He was dead.

Jimin was staring at the edge of the building, still not answering any of Yoongi’s questions. He felt someone walk up to them and heard another voice. He guessed that it was Mr Shin but he wasn’t sure since he didn’t look. Again, all he could focus on right now was the edge of the building.

His hands tried to slowly push Yoongi to the side but it was a weak attempt. Nonetheless, Yoongi moved out the way anyway, wondering why Jimin wanted him to move.

Jimin began walking over to the edge of the building. He wanted to see. He wanted to see Taemin. He didn’t know why. He knew it’d give him nightmares but he wanted to be sure. He wanted to know for sure that Taemin was dead because he didn’t believe it - what if this is still a part of one of his nightmares? Or maybe he just didn’t want to believe it. Either way, Jimin knew he wanted to take a look.

“Jimin, baby, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Yoongi whispered as he followed the younger boy’s footsteps but once again, to Jimin, Yoongi’s words sounded muffled. “Jimin,” Yoongi repeated, this time grabbing onto the boy’s wrist so he wouldn’t go any closer to the edge of the rooftop.

At the contact, Jimin flinched and quickly snapped his head around to look at Yoongi, his eyes wide in fear.

Yoongi frowned after he saw Jimin flinch.“What're you doing?” He then asked gently, his eyes staring down at Jimin softly so the younger boy wouldn’t feel afraid. “I don’t think you should go over there.”

“I want to see,” Jimin mumbled. “He can’t be dead.” He shook his head as he tried to pull away from Yoongi’s grip. “He can’t be dead, Yoongi. He can’t.”

“Jimin,” Yoongi called out for the boy once again, his voice soft yet still firm while not letting go of Jimin.

Jimin turned around again, a pool of tears in his eyes and when he blinked, they began rolling down his cheeks. He stared at Yoongi, his lip quivering slightly.

Yoongi put both his hands into Jimin’s shoulders before staring into the younger boy’s eyes. “I’m sorry but he’s dead, Jimin,” He whispered. He was blunt but he wasn’t sure how else he was supposed to say it. He just didn’t want Jimin to look over the edge. That’d make this whole situation so much worse.

Jimin shook his head helplessly, the tears in his eyes multiplying. “No,” He whimpered desperately. “No,” He repeated, his voice cracking. “He’s not. He can’t be.”

Yoongi pulled Jimin towards him, hoping that Jimin could find some sort of comfort from being wrapped around his arms. “I’m sorry,” He murmured as he placed his head against Jimin’s soft pink hair. “I’m so sorry, Jimin,” He repeated, which only caused Jimin to let out another loud sob.

Yoongi didn’t like Taemin and he had a feeling there was something off about the guy but in the back of his head, he never really believed that Taemin had been infected and the fact Yoongi had to kill him made him feel horrible. It reminded him too much of the time he had to kill the little girl at the store and the feeling of guilt was slowly bubbling up in his mind again but he did his best not to get upset right now. Jimin was hurting and all Yoongi wanted to do was make Jimin feel better. Yoongi needed to focus on Jimin right now.

“It’ll be okay,” Yoongi whispered as his hand moved to Jimin's hair, running a hand through the sobbing boy’s soft locks. The two stayed in that position for a while and Jimin had slowly started to calm down after a while; his sobs had quietened and turned into soft sniffles instead. He was still incredibly sad and a little dazed but he wasn’t completely panicking over what had happened to Taemin anymore. The thought of him being dead finally got through his head after Yoongi had spoken to him firmly and now all he felt was sadness.

Being wrapped in Yoongi’s arms was definitely helping him feel better. The sound of Yoongi’s heart thumping away under his ear and the older boy’s soft murmurs, telling Jimin that everything would be okay, the feeling of Yoongi’s arms wrapped around him, holding him tight and making him feel secure, the smell of Yoongi’s clothes, making him realise that he was definitely safe, were all the reasons why he was feeling a lot calmer than before.

As Jimin calmed down more, he could hear people talking and a wave of embarrassment washed over him. He forgot how much he had been screaming when he was crying for help. He had probably woken up the entire camp and everyone who was awake had definitely seen him bawling.

Jimin slowly pulled away from Yoongi and as soon as he did, Yoongi’s hand held onto Jimin’s chin, tilting the younger boy’s head upwards slightly. His large hand cupped Jimin’s cheek and his thumb gently caressed the younger boy’s cheeks. A small smile tugged at Jimin’s lips despite seeing something traumatic a moment ago because of Yoongi’s small gesture.

His eyes then looked behind Yoongi and Jimin swallowed thickly at the sight of all the camp survivors staring at him. Some were looking in concern, and some others had confused looks on their faces while others just looked tired.

Jimin locked eyes with Taehyung, whose eyes were wide and filled with tears. He could see Jungkook too, and Namjoon and Hobi and Seokjin - all of the boys with the same, sad yet confused look on their faces.

Saying that Jimin was embarrassed was an understatement; he was absolutely mortified.

”Let’s get you back to our tent,” Yoongi spoke, his voice low as Jimin hung his head down low and squeezed his eyes shut.

Jimin nodded his head slightly as he held onto the sleeve of Yoongi’s shirt, allowing to be dragged away by the older boy.

As the two walked past the crowd of survivors, Jimin heard Mr Shin explaining what had happened and the campers all looked towards Jimin sympathetically. Jimin didn’t like it.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and Jimin flinched again. He wished people would stop grabbing him like that.

Jimin’s head snapped to look at what had grabbed him and he felt relieved when he saw that it was only Taehyung, who had Jungkook standing behind him.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his eyes wide and all Jimin could do was shrug. He wasn’t okay but he didn’t want to say that in front of the group of survivors around him, who were all still staring at him with sorrowful looks. He also felt like he’d start crying all over again if he tried talking about what happened so he kept it all in and decided not to say anything. He had already cried in front of everyone and it’d be even more embarrassing doing it a second time.

Jimin could hear Seokjin talking to Yoongi. He heard the oldest boy say his name and so he turned around.

Jin’s eyes met Jimin’s and he quickly offered the younger boy a heartwarming smile before asking Yoongi if the rest of the boys could join the two in their tent. They seemed really concerned for Jimin and they were looking at him sympathetically but it was different from how the other survivors were looking at him - in a good way.

The way the survivors were looking at him made Jimin feel weak but when the boys looked at him, Jimin felt like he was cared for.

Yoongi looked at Jimin expectantly after Jin had asked his question and Jimin nodded. The more people around him, the safer he felt.

The boys followed Yoongi and Jimin to their tent. Since there were seven of them, it was a tight fit but everyone seemed to manage to get inside.

As soon as Jimin sat beside Yoongi again and now that he was away from everyone else, Jimin could feel the tears in his eyes forming. He quickly burst into tears again and his hands went to cover his face as he sobbed.

He still couldn’t believe what had happened. Taemin was dead. Jimin watched him die. He’s dead.

Jimin felt two arms wrap themselves around him, and then another, and then a weight in his lap. Jimin opened his eyes and through his vision that was blurred with tears, he could see Taehyung looking up at him with a big smile, the younger boy’s head on his lap while both Jungkook and Jin were hugging him from his right and behind him.

Jimin smiled small through his tears at the actions of his friends before he wiped away his tears and leaned over to his left, towards Yoongi and placed his head on the older boy’s shoulder. Since Taehyung’s head was still in his lap, Jimin began threading his fingers through his best friend’s hair.

“I’m gonna go talk to Mr Shin later on. I think we should leave,” Yoongi suddenly spoke up and all the boys turned to stare at him.

This place had the things they needed: food, shelter, water but Yoongi thinks the boys have forgotten why they had left the cabin in the first place - it was to get to the quarantine centre. Also, Jimin had seen something pretty traumatic just now and staying at the place where he had witnessed his friend die didn’t seem like an amazing idea.

“We don’t have a car, or food, or water,” Hoseok began speaking. “How are we just going to get up and leave?”

“That’s why I’m going to go talk to him. There must be something we can drive off in and maybe they’ll let us take some food with us,” Yoongi replied as he began moving around and Jimin gripped into the sleeve of the blond’s hoodie.

“Don’t leave me alone,” Jimin whispered, a wave of fear taking over this body once he noticed that Yoongi would be leaving.

“I’ll be back quickly, I promise. All the boys are here with you too. You won’t be on your own,” Yoongi spoke softly, a gentle smile on his face while he tried to reassure Jimin.

Jimin breathed out softly. Yoongi was right. Jimin didn’t know why he was so scared right now. Even if Yoongi was leaving the tent, the rest of the boys were here with him. Jimin was safe.

“Okay,” Jimin nodded, letting go of Yoongi’s hoodie. Yoongi gave Jimin a peck on the cheek before stood up and left the tent, being careful not to tread on anyone’s legs on the way out.

As Yoongi left the tent, Jimin’s focus was on Taehyung’s hair. He began running his hands through it, braiding it, doing whatever just to distract himself.

Jimin heard Jungkook yawn from beside him and the pink-haired boy turned to face him.

“Are you feeling tired?” Jimin asked and Jungkook nodded, blinking a couple of times to wake himself up a bit more. “You guys should head to sleep soon. If we’re going to leave tomorrow, it’ll probably be early in the morning when we go”

“Yeah. You’re right,” Namjoon nodded with a smile. “When Yoongi comes back we should all head to bed if we plan on leaving. If not, we could probably just stay here if we wanted to, just for a little while longer.”

Jimin saw Hobi yawn too, causing him to frown. “I’m sorry for waking you guys up,” He apologised quietly while looking back down at Taehyung’s hair.

“Don’t be sorry,” Seokjin quickly spoke up, shaking his head, seeming like he was scolding Jimin for saying such a thing. “You did what anyone would’ve done. I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”

Jimin nodded with a frown. He didn’t talk anymore because he could feel a small lump in his throat. He thought he might cry again.

A few moments passed and Yoongi came back. All the boys stared up at him expectantly, waiting to see if they were leaving tomorrow.

“We’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Yoongi spoke and the boys nodded. No one really had an opinion on leaving or staying. If they had food and water and a place to sleep, they didn’t care where they went. “Mr Shin said one of the survivors still had the keys to his car - it has seven seats. He also said he’d give us some food, water and a couple of tents so we’re pretty much set to leave.”

Jimin couldn’t believe how kind Mr Shin was. He was grateful. He reminded himself to thank the man before they left.

Yoongi sat back down beside Jimin and the younger boy immediately placed his head on his shoulder again.

“We should all go to bed soon. We have a long road ahead of us tomorrow,” Namjoon said.

Jimin sighed. “My nightmares won’t let me sleep at all tonight,” He whispered to Yoongi, but it seemed his voice was loud enough for Hoseok to hear.

“Nightmares?” He asked and Jimin turned his head.

“Hm?”

“You said something about nightmares?” He repeated. Hobi’s voice had caused the other boys to listen in to the conversation too.

“Oh,” Jimin replied. Jimin forgot that the other boys didn’t know about his nightmares. He had only told Taehyung and Yoongi about them. “Yeah. I get nightmares sometimes.” Jimin shrugged.

He wasn’t sure why he was making them seem like they weren’t a big issue. These were his friends and he should be able to tell them about his feelings but at the same time, a part of him kind of believed that having these nightmares made him seem weak and Jimin didn’t want the other boys to view him that way.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” Hoseok frowned. “Are they bad? You said they don’t let you sleep, right?”

Jimin nodded. “Yeah,” He answered. “Sometimes they’re bad and then I can’t sleep for the rest of the night but sometimes they're okay. I can fall asleep after most of them now but I think they’ll get worse.” Jimin frowned.

“Because of what just happened?” Namjoon asked. Jimin swallowed thickly at the small reminder of what happened - Taemin was dead - before he nodded. “Does that usually happen?”

“Mhm,” Jimin hummed. “They get worse after something happens but then they’ll get better after a while. Then something bad usually happens again and they get back to being bad.” He spoke fast, trying to get the events of tonight out of his head after Namjoon’s reminder.

Jimin saw the boys frown. He felt bad for not telling them about his nightmares earlier.

“So what do you do after you have a nightmare and can’t sleep? You stay up all night alone?” Jungkook asked. “Why didn’t you tell us about them before,” He then questioned, a small pout on his lips after the words left his mouth.

Jimin shrugged. He really didn’t know why he didn’t tell them. “I don’t know. I told Yoongi and Taehyung about them but they just never came up when I talked to the rest of you,” Jimin mumbled. “And I don’t stay up alone. Yoongi makes me wake him up if I can’t sleep. He helps a lot.”

He helps a lot.

Yoongi smiled gently at Jimin’s words, a burst of pride coming over him.

“Good. We wouldn’t want you to have to stay up at night all alone,” Jin smiled. “But if Yoongi ever falls asleep accidentally, or is super tired on a certain night, you can always wake one of us up to keep you company. You know that, right?”

Jimin heard the rest of the boys mumble in agreement and he found himself smiling. He really did end up with the best group of boys. He had never felt so cared for.

“Right,” Jimin smiled. “Thanks, guys,” He then whispered shyly. With that, the boys began leaving Jimin’s tent and went to their own. They had a busy day ahead of them tomorrow and needed all the rest they could get before they were off.

When everyone had left, Jimin turned to look at Yoongi.

“You should get some sleep,” Jimin spoke softly. Jimin knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight and a part of him did want Yoongi to stay up with him but the boy knew that tomorrow Yoongi would be driving and it would be bad if Yoongi started to get sleepy on the road.

“You’re going to sleep?” Yoongi asked and Jimin shook his head. “So why are you telling me to sleep? I always stay up with you.” Jimin quickly explained why and Yoongi shook his head. “I don’t want you to stay up on your own though. Do you want to ask someone else?” Yoongi questioned.

Jimin thought about it for a moment before he shook his head. He knew they wouldn’t mind but Jimin already felt bad for waking up everyone in the middle of the night. He didn't want to bother anyone by keeping them up for longer.

Yoongi didn’t ask any questions about why Jimin didn’t want to and he didn’t try to persuade Jimin to go ask one of them. If Jimin didn’t want to, he didn’t have to. The last thing Yoongi wanted to do was make Jimin feel uncomfortable, or that he couldn’t come to Yoongi when he had any issues.

“Okay,” Yoongi whispered as he moved closer to Jimin. “Can you try to sleep?” Jimin quickly breathed in sharply, becoming apprehensive at the thought of his nightmares. “I’ll be here with you if you have a nightmare. All you have to do is wake me up,” Yoongi quickly spoke words of reassurance when he noticed Jimin looked shaken up with fear. “You should at least try to get some sleep, baby. It’s important,” Yoongi hummed softly as his hand cupped Jimin’s face and his thumb began stroking the younger boy’s cheek.

“I’m scared,” Jimin whispered, admittedly. “I don’t want to sleep. I can stay up on my own.”

“I know,” The blond smiled sympathetically. “I was just asking. It’s okay if you don’t want to. It’s just, I’m just worried about you. Sleep is important, Jimin,” Yoongi murmured softly.

Jimin sighed. He knew Yoongi was right but that didn’t stop him from feeling absolutely terrified. If Jimin was being honest, he was tired. He just wanted to cuddle up with Yoongi and fall asleep in the older boy’s arms.

But it’s the nightmares that were stopping him.

He knew what he would see - every dream he had tonight would be about Taemin: Taemin turning into a zombie, Taemin attacking him, Taemin dying in front of his eyes. He already saw it once and he didn’t want to witness it again.

“It’s okay,” Yoongi said with a smile, pulling Jimin away from his thoughts. “If you don’t want to sleep, I’ll stay up. I know you want me to sleep but I’ve already had a couple of hours of rest and if I get tired tomorrow, we can take a break at some point.”

Jimin felt his heart swell. How was Yoongi always so understanding?

“No,” Jimin shook his head as he looked down. He began playing with the hem of his shirt as he spoke. “I can try to sleep. You’re right. It’s important and I should at least try.”

Yoongi smiled softly as he looked down at his Jimin, who was still playing with his shirt, with starry eyes. He didn’t know why but he suddenly felt the need to express how much he liked Jimin and tell him that he was amazing and so that’s what he did.

“You’re amazing, you know that, right?” Yoongi said fondly and Jimin’s head shot up.

Jimin didn’t know why Yoongi had said that to him. Jimin didn’t feel amazing. He felt scared and weak and vulnerable. He felt stupid and dumb for being so scared of his own head but hearing Yoongi say that to him so genuinely out of nowhere made his cheeks heat up. He felt slightly better about himself.

“Come on. Let’s get to sleep now, huh?” Yoongi asked.

The two boys quickly got cuddled up next to each other. Jimin’s head was on Yoongi’s chest, which is how he would always be when they were going to sleep and Yoongi had one arm wrapped around Jimin’s waist. Jimin liked when Yoongi did that. It made him feel safe. The older boy’s other hand was in Jimin’s hair, lightly scratching at his scalp.

Jimin could hear Yoongi’s heartbeat. He liked hearing it as he slept for two reasons. One because the beat often lulled him to sleep, like it was some sort of lullaby. The second because it reminded him that Yoongi wasn’t dead, which is something he worried about a lot ever since the apocalypse had started. Hearing Yoongi’s heartbeat right under his ear reminded him that Yoongi was very much alive and safe.

Jimin was sort of tense and he thinks Yoongi could tell. He was scared to sleep and it was making his body tense up. He felt kind of stiff.

“Don’t worry,” He heard Yoongi whisper. “It’s okay to sleep. I’ll be here whenever you wake up, okay? Whenever you need me, I’ll be right here,” He spoke softly, trying to reassure Jimin.

Jimin breathed out slowly, his eyes closed as he tried to calm himself down.

“Thank you,” Jimin spoke under his breath. He really was grateful for Yoongi. He doesn’t know what he would be doing right now if the blond wasn’t here.

“It’s not a problem at all, flower,” Yoongi murmured back. Jimin could tell from his voice that he was starting to get sleepier, so Jimin didn’t reply.

Jimin closed his eyes. He didn’t let his head think of anything but Yoongi.

He thought about the night he found constellations with Yoongi at the treehouse. He thought about the night he kissed Yoongi for the first time. He thought about the time he made a pretty daisy chain for Yoongi.

He thought about every good memory with the older boy but while he did so, he also silently hoped and prayed that his nightmares wouldn’t be as bad today even though he had seen something absolutely horrific.

It didn’t matter how much he prayed. Jimin’s nightmares won’t leave him alone and an hour later, he woke up in tears.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
16:40

Last night was horrible.

Jimin woke up every few hours. His nightmares were so bad and he was struggling so much.

Most of his nightmares weren’t even scary - they were just sad. A lot of them actually started off nice: he would be hanging out with Taemin, laughing at some jokes the two were making but they quickly took a dark turn. Jimin’s mind would suddenly remember that Taemin was dead and his friend would start turning into a blood-thirsty zombie right in front of his eyes, causing Jimin to wake up distressed and in tears.

The other dreams were much scarier. There were dreams of Taemin attacking him, trying to bite him and turn him into the undead, or he had flashbacks of Taemin dying in front of him again. There were even some dreams where Taemin began attacking the other boys - Jimin thinks those were the worst ones. Every time he woke up he felt the need to leave his tent to check up on the other boys but Yoongi would be there to reassure him every time that they were okay.

Last night was the worst night Jimin had ever been through. He had never cried so much - his eyes were still sore and red - and he had to wake Yoongi up constantly.

The morning arrived very, very slowly. The two boys had barely gotten any sleep throughout the night.

In the morning, at around ten, the boys ate breakfast quickly and after, Yoongi helped Jimin change the bandage around his leg. The boy’s wound was healing well and Yoongi was pleased to see that it was doing so. He was so worried when Jimin got injured but now knowing that everything was okay and getting better made him feel good.

Afterwards, Mr Shin helped pack water and food for the boys in their backpacks. He also gave them three tents to take with them, just in case they ever needed to sleep somewhere. He had provided them with all the things they needed: food, water and shelter. Jimin thanked him profusely yet it still felt like he hadn’t shown his gratitude enough.

Mr Shin also gave Yoongi a gun. He told Yoongi to use it whenever he needed protection.

Yoongi was hesitant to take it. Having a gun with him seemed scary. It felt completely and totally different to having something like an axe or a bat. It felt so much more violent and it made the apocalypse seem much more real.

He ended up taking it after Mr Shin kept insisting and persuading. The older man kept saying he’d need it - like it was something that was completely necessary but Yoongi didn’t agree. They had gotten through this much of the apocalypse with their bats and axes but Mr Shin wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Yoongi told himself he’d never use it unless he desperately needed to and there was no other way of protecting themselves. He made sure to tell all the boys about it and told them they shouldn’t use it. All of them seemed to agree with Yoongi’s thoughts.

Jimin, much like the other boys, didn’t like the idea of having a gun either. It made Jimin feel sort of nervous and he thought he knew why. He had already been faced with a gun twice now - once at the gas station and another when they arrived at the rooftop campsite and both times, Jimin was absolutely terrified. Now, the thought of him and the boys having one made him feel slightly scared, even though he trusted all of the boys.

After Mr Shin had given them all their supplies, another camp member gave them the keys to his car. Jimin also made sure to thank the man who had given his car to them. Although when he was doing so, he got a bit teary.

The man explained his seven-seater car was for his family of six. The man lived with his wife and four children - two of them were in their teenage years, the other was a child, and the last was only a small toddler. He told them he hadn’t seen any of his family since the apocalypse had begun and his story hit too close to home for Jimin.

He hadn’t seen his family either. Hopefully, he will see his mother soon though. The thought of reuniting with her was the only thing keeping him going; well, that and Yoongi, of course, along with the rest of the boys.

Jimin hoped the man would be able to see his wife and children again, too. He hoped the best for this man. He had already given them so much by letting the boys take his car and Jimin hoped karma served him right.

The boys had all that they needed and were more than ready to leave yet Mr Shin insisted they stay for lunch and the boys really felt like they couldn’t refuse since the man had done so much for them in the short time he had known them.

So, they ate lunch and were on the road by two in the afternoon.

Two hours had passed since then. Yoongi was driving and he was tired. He had never been this sleepy during the day before but he had woken up so many times last night and he had barely got any sleep. He had only been driving for a small amount of time but he was already considering asking the boys if they could just stop for the rest of the day because he knew that soon he’d be struggling to keep himself awake. That’d be much too dangerous.

Jimin was sitting beside him in the passenger's seat, his bag placed in his lap. He was just as tired as Yoongi was since he had woken up so many times the night prior.

Jimin had spent the first hour of the drive trying to solve his Rubik’s cube again. It served as a good distraction but no matter what Jimin did, he seemed to be making it worse. He was definitely very far from solving the blue side. He felt like the cube sort of represented his life right now - an absolute mess.

Right now, Jimin was sitting in silence, just like Yoongi. Usually, while they drove, the two would talk a lot to each other but it seemed like they were too tired to do anything.

Jimin’s finger was tracing over the small crooked flower Yoongi had sewn into his bag a couple of days ago while he was thinking in silence.

He didn’t like this car. Obviously, he was extremely grateful the man had let them take it but he missed their van.

Their van was better. They had more space and they could lie down if they wanted to. It was easier to talk and face the other boys. It was easier to play Uno. The van was just better.

He remembered the day their van had fallen into their hands. It was the first day in the apocalypse and they had stopped at the gas station. They had met Yeonjun, who so kindly gave them water, food and the van.

Jimin wondered how Yeonjun was now.

The boy had scared him when they had met. Yeonjun pointed a gun right in his face and that was one of the first times Jimin thought he’d be dead. But Yeonjun was nice. He was a good person. Without him, the boys would’ve struggled so much more.

Jimin hoped he was okay. He remembered Yeonjun saying that his family was coming to the gas station he was in. Jimin hoped they were all alive, healthy and safe.

As Jimin continued thinking, his head began feeling heavier. His head fell against his shoulder, causing some pain in his neck but it was worth it since he felt too tired to keep his head held up.

Jimin’s eyes slowly began falling, his eyelids now feeling heavy too but the boy quickly fluttered his eyes open, making them wide.

He was exhausted, yet he didn’t want to sleep. He was afraid he’d have nightmares again and if he did, Yoongi would be driving. He didn’t want to have everyone stop because he had a stupid nightmare.

Every so often, Jimin’s eyes would fall again and he would have to fight the urge to fall asleep. But soon, he felt too tired to even do that and Jimin’s eyes closed themselves against his will.

The sound of the boys taking behind him and the quiet hum of the engine all began to sound muffled. He felt himself getting closer and closer to finally getting some rest as his breathing became heavier.

But when the car came to a hard stop, the movement startled Jimin, causing the boy to sit up, eyes wide as he looked around confused.

Jimin looked at Yoongi for answers to why the car stopped.

“Sorry,” Yoongi mumbled once he realised Jimin had nearly fallen asleep. He felt bad since Jimin had barely gotten any sleep last night too. “I just told the guys I wanted to stop for the day. I think I’m too tired to drive anymore.”

Jimin frowned. He knew that Yoongi feeling too sleepy to continue driving was his fault. He had been the one to wake up the older boy every couple of hours. It was his fault that they’d be delayed in heading to the quarantine centre and he felt horrible.

“You should try and get some rest too,” Yoongi whispered with a small smile. Jimin shrugged. He still felt sleepy but he didn’t want to sleep. Even though he nearly fell asleep in the car and was exhausted, he would try his best not to sleep.

Yoongi wanted to rest now. Jimin thinks it’d be selfish if he decided to sleep since it was inevitable he’d get nightmares and Yoongi would want to be there for Jimin, meaning he would lose more sleep yet again all because of Jimin.

The boys in the back seats suddenly began exiting the car and Jimin furrowed his eyebrows. Yoongi then did the same, making Jimin wonder why everyone was getting out. He thought they’d just rest inside the car.

“Are we getting out the tents that Mr Shin gave us?” Jimin asked. He thought that maybe they'd sleep outside with the tents. Yoongi shook his head and that just confused Jimin further. He watched Yoongi walk around the car and come outside his car door. Yoongi opened up the door, allowing Jimin to get out. “Where are we going?”

Yoongi pointed in front of him to a small suburban-style home. Jimin was still confused.

“Whose house is that?” He asked and Yoongi replied with a shrug. “What? What are we doing?”

“When you were falling asleep, we were talking about where to go for the rest of the day. I thought we would just sleep in the tents too but Jungkook suggested we just break into a random house,” Yoongi shrugged.

Jimin wondered if this was okay to do. He felt a strong feeling of déjà vu as he thought of the first day of the apocalypse when they were breaking into the gas station and for a moment, Jimin felt scared.

They had met Yeonjun, who was nice and kind and giving but what if they broke into this house and was met with someone entirely the opposite. Was this safe?

“Is this safe?” Jimin questioned, speaking his thoughts.

“I mean the probability of something being inside is pretty low. We’re still far from the city so there are not as many zombies around,” Yoongi said but Jimin wasn’t talking about zombies. He was talking about people. “And if there are zombies inside, we have these,” As Yoongi spoke, he grabbed Jimin’s bat from inside the car and handed it to the younger boy.

“That’s not what I meant,” Jimin shook his head. “What if there are people inside? And they decide to hurt us or something?” Jimin looked up at Yoongi with a worried look.

“Again, we have our weapons, Jimin. There’s really nothing to worry about, okay? No one’s hurting you if I’m here. Please don’t worry,” Yoongi quickly reassured Jimin, assuring him that if there was anyone inside, that they’d be able to deal with them with their weapons. Yoongi didn’t remind Jimin about the fact that he had a gun buried in his backpack which he could use if he really, really needed to, knowing that would just make Jimin’s fears worsen.

“You guys coming?” Jungkook suddenly asked. Jimin looked over at the younger boy and nodded hesitantly.

“It’ll be okay,” He heard Yoongi say as they began walking. The older boy suddenly held onto Jimin’s hand to comfort him, causing Jimin’s small hand to be completely wrapped up with Yoongi’s larger one.

Yoongi and Jimin didn’t hold hands often. Usually, when Jimin was afraid or nervous Yoongi would hold him in his arms and that would always make him feel safe. It seemed like having Yoongi hold his hand had the same effect. Jimin immediately felt much safer knowing Yoongi was holding onto him.

The seven boys make their way towards the house. Namjoon was at the front with Jungkook and Taehyung close behind him. Yoongi and Jimin were in the middle while Hoseok and Seokjin were at the end.

Jimin’s grip on Yoongi’s hand tightened when Namjoon pushed the front door of the house open, causing a loud creak noise to be heard.

He felt the pace of his heart speed up as Namjoon walked in. The leader held his bat up high, ready to swing at anything that came their way.

But the more and more the boys walked through the house, the calmer Jimin began to feel. It didn’t seem like there were any zombies around since they had checked most of the rooms already. They had yet to check the bathrooms but Jimin was sure there weren’t any zombies in there - they would’ve heard a noise coming from the area if there was.

They soon had checked over the entire house and thankfully, there wasn’t a zombie in sight. The boys were now in the living room, a few of them standing around while some others were laying down on one of the couches.

Yoongi suddenly yawned before he began to speak, “I’m going to go to sleep,” He spoke, rubbing his eyes and Jimin smiled. He looked cute when he was sleepy. “The Uno cards are in my bag if you wanna play,” He then walked towards the door but not before looking back at Jimin. “You wanna come?” He asked, looking at the younger boy.

Yoongi asked because he knew the pink-haired boy hadn’t slept at all last night either and because he saw Jimin on the verge of passing out from tiredness in the car. He needed some sleep just as much as Yoongi did.

Jimin nodded before running over to Yoongi. He didn’t want to sleep even if he was tired. He just planned on cuddling with Yoongi while the older boy slept.

The two walked into a random bedroom inside the house. Jimin felt weird being in someone else’s house, someone else’s room but it’s not like they had anywhere else to go. It felt sad to imagine someone was living here a couple of weeks ago and that this person may not even be alive anymore.

Yoongi got into the bed first, pulling the blankets onto his body before Jimin entered. Jimin immediately shuffled close to Yoongi, tangling their legs together and Yoongi's arms instinctively wrapped itself around Jimin’s waist like it was a reflex.

“Gonna go to sleep?” Yoongi asked Jimin, whispering. Jimin quickly shook his head and Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows. “Then why did you come with me?”

“I just wanted to cuddle you,” Jimin mumbled and Yoongi chuckled. The sound of his laughter made Jimin smile.

“Okay,” Yoongi nodded, smiling. “But you should try to get some sleep, Jimin. You didn’t sleep well last night either.”

Jimin looked down and frowned, avoiding Yoongi’s gaze. He didn’t want to talk about his sleep habits. He knew they were bad so he didn't want to hear it. He also knew Yoongi was only saying it because he was worried but Jimin didn’t want to talk about it.

At the sight of Jimin’s frown, Yoongi quickly leaned forward, placing a peck on the younger boy's lips, which caused him to immediately break into a smile.

“Goodnight, flower,” Yoongi then whispered and Jimin’s smile became bigger. It wasn’t even night yet.

As Yoongi closed his eyes, Jimin’s free hand moved towards the older boy’s face, carefully pushing the blond hair that was laying on his face to the side before settling on Yoongi’s cheek. Jimin’s thumb carefully grazed over the sleepy boy’s cheekbones.

He looked so peaceful.

Yoongi smiled small, his eyes barely open as he leaned into Jimin’s touch. The older boy then turned his head slightly and placed a kiss onto the hand clutching his face. Jimin laughed quietly, his heart bursting and his stomach full of butterflies. Yoongi drowsily turned back to his previous position and his eyes fluttered shut.

Jimin watched over the boy until his breathing was at a slower pace and he was fast asleep.

Jimin was content with laying here with Yoongi but being under a warm blanket, in a comfy bed with Yoongi holding him made him feel a lot sleepier than he did before back in the car.

He couldn’t help but close his eyes. He was just ‘resting’ them.

That didn’t last long since he was so, so exhausted. Jimin quickly drifted off and joined Yoongi in sleeping.

The boy probably got a good thirty minutes of sleep before Taemin began haunting his nightmares again. Once again, all he saw was Taemin as a zombie, attacking him, attacking the boys. He saw Taemin die again and again and again.

When his brain had finally seen enough, his tear-filled eyes snapped open. With a shaky breath, he sat up, getting out the grip Yoongi had on his waist.

He whimpered when he wiped away his tears. He was breathing heavily as he shoved his face into his hands and he just began sobbing.

God, why can’t they just stop?.

He felt hopeless.

Jimin sighed as he wiped his tears away. He looked helplessly towards Yoongi, who was sleeping peacefully. He didn’t want to wake him up.

It was still daytime. The other boys were probably still awake so he wondered if he should go talk to one of them instead.

He swallowed thickly before getting up from the bed. He didn’t want to wake Yoongi up. Yoongi was tired and he needed rest. Jimin couldn’t wake him up.

Jimin dragged his feet as he walked out of the bedroom they were in. While in the hallway, he could hear Taehyung’s voice coming from the next room and he quickly rushed over there.

When he walked in, he saw both Jungkook and Taehyung sitting down on another bed and after seeing him, the two gasped.

“Jimin?” Jungkook called out, his eyes wide. He had never seen Jimin like that.

“Was it a nightmare? Are you okay?” Taehyung questioned, sounding extremely concerned at the sight of his best friend’s tear-stained cheeks.

Jimin’s lips quivered before he ran over to Taehyung and shoved his face into the boy’s chest.

He sobbed and Taehyung let him, of course.

“I-I just keep having dreams about,” Jimin paused and caught a breath after crying. “Taemin,” He then continued. “I’m so sleepy, Tae. I just want to sleep but I can’t. I can’t,” He sobbed. “They won’t stop. The dreams won’t stop.”

Taehyung whispered small words of reassurance and comfort, trying to make Jimin feel better. He held Jimin tight while he felt his own heart hurt. He has seen Jimin upset before but never like this. He had never seen Jimin cry with this much pain. It hurt Taehyung to see his best friend like this and not know what to do to help.

Taehyung tried as much as he could. He listened to what Jimin was saying, he let Jimin cry while he held the boy tightly in his arms as both he and Jungkook mumbled words of comfort.

He helped. Soon Jimin pulled away from Taehyung’s arms. He looked at both the boys in embarrassment. He hadn’t felt embarrassed with Yoongi for a long time but because he had never gone to anyone else after a nightmare, that feeling suddenly came back. He felt stupid.

“I’m sorry,” He shook his head. He looked done at his lap, too embarrassed to look either of the boys in the eyes.

Jungkook and Taehyung immediately told him not to apologise. They told him that he could tell them whenever he had a nightmare. They made him feel a little better.

“Jungkook!” The three suddenly heard someone, Jimin thought it was Jin, calling out.

The youngest boy sighed and quickly got off of the bed, telling the two other boys he’d be back quickly. As he walked out, Taehyung turned to Jimin.

“Why didn’t you wake Yoongi up?” He asked. “I’m not saying you can’t come to me. Of course, you can. I just thought you always woke him up.”

Jimin nodded. “Yeah…” He paused before sighing. “He’s just really tired today and we came here so he could sleep. I don’t want to make him more tired,” He frowned.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind, though,” Taehyung replied. Taehyung was right. Yoongi didn’t care. He just wanted to help Jimin but that didn’t mean he wasn’t absolutely worn out from the lack of sleep.

“Even if he doesn’t mind, he still needs sleep,” Jimin sighed. “And I'm taking that away from him. We’re stuck in some random person’s house because I made Yoongi so tired.”

“It’s okay,” Taehyung retorted. “Who cares if we have to wait a little longer before getting to the quarantine centre? I don't care. None of the other boys care. We just want you to be okay.”

His words made Jimin feel better. It made him feel less guilty.

“Jimin?” The two suddenly hear a voice call out. Jimin’s head whipped around and he saw Yoongi looking at him from the doorway.

“Hi,” Jimin smiled, his mood immediately changed at the sight of the blond.

While Jimin smiled, Yoongi frowned and for a moment, Jimin thought the boy had heard him talking to Taehyung. He didn’t want Yoongi to know he didn’t wake him up.

“Hey flower,” He whispered as he sat down beside the younger boy. “Where’d you go? I woke up and you weren’t there,” He frowned. Jimin bit his lip.

“I woke up earlier than you did so I came here to talk to Tae,” Jimin spoke. It wasn’t a complete lie: Jimin did wake up earlier - Yoongi just doesn’t know why. He just didn’t want Yoongi to know that Jimin didn’t wake him up. “Sorry,” He then apologised, not because he left Yoongi alone in bed, but because he was lying.

Yoongi then smiled. “It’s okay,” He mumbled, his voice a little deeper than it usually sounded since he had just woken up.

The older boy then shuffled onto the bed properly before placing his head into his hand and conversing with Jimin and Taehyung. Jungkook soon joined again after he had done what Jin had called him for. Jimin didn’t have to say anything for Jungkook to understand that he shouldn’t say anything about Jimin’s nightmare.

The rest of the day went by quickly but Jimin spent most of it feeling guilty. Even though Taehyung had told him not to feel bad about them staying at this house, he couldn’t help it. That also wasn’t the only thing he felt bad about.

He didn’t like lying to Yoongi.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-FIVE
17:45

The seven boys were sitting around in the house’s living room. Jimin was snuggled up by Yoongi’s side on the couch, the warmth radiating off of the older boy’s body making him feel cosy. Yoongi's hand was placed on Jimin’s thigh, drawing small patterns. The other boys were sitting close by, either on the couches or on the floor.

After Yoongi had woken up and after he had talked with Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook for a while in one of the bedrooms, Namjoon had called the four boys over, wanting to talk about something with the whole group.

“So, we’re planning to leave tomorrow, right?” The leader asked. All the boys nodded. That was the plan. “I was thinking if we should look around the area a bit before we leave.”

“Why?” Jin suddenly asked. “What if we run into zombies? We don’t know if this place is completely safe.”

“I don’t think anywhere is completely safe anymore,” Namjoon sighed and his words made Jimin shiver. It was scary to think that they were never safe, that there was always a risk of death no matter where they went.

He hoped he’d feel safe when they got to the quarantine centre.

“I was just thinking that we could go looking around for supplies, or food and water,” Namjoon explained. “I know we have some stuff from the campsite but it doesn’t hurt to be extra prepared. Plus, we don’t have any first-aid supplies and I think that’s definitely a necessity. If one of us gets a cut, it needs to get patched up quickly otherwise we risk getting infected.”

“But doesn’t Yoongi have bandages?” Taehyung intervened. At the mention of his name, Yoongi looked up but his hand still continued tracing little patterns on his boy’s thigh. “Because Jimin’s leg is injured, Mr Shin gave him bandages so he could change them.”

“Yeah, he did,” Yoongi nodded. At the reminder of Jimin’s injury, Yoongi began tracing small hearts over Jimin’s thigh and because Jimin was so intensely focused on the feeling of Yoongi touching him, he noticed right away and immediately broke into a smile. “But it’s definitely not enough for all of us. I probably have enough to change Jimin’s bandage a couple more times.”

Namjoon nodded. “So we need to find some sort of medical supplies. Did anyone see any places when we were on our way here?”

The boys began thinking. Jimin couldn’t remember seeing anything because he was spending most of the car ride trying to keep himself awake.

“I think I saw a grocery store a couple of minutes away from here,” Jungkook said. “I don't know if there'll be anything there though. The windows were smashed; people probably broke in at the start of the apocalypse.”

“It doesn’t hurt to check anyway,” Namjoon shrugged as he stood up. “Is there anyone who wants to go?”

The boys began discussing who should stay and who should go to the store Jungkook had seen. They all decided that going together, as a group, was the best option.

The world was getting more and more dangerous as the apocalypse went on. More zombies were around and that meant the likelihood of getting infected was also increasing. They were also in an area they weren’t familiar with and none of the boys were really comfortable being without each other.

After their discussion, the boys grabbed their weapons and backpacks. Jimin held his bat tightly as the boys made their way to the car. The grip he had on his bat was strong since he was so scared that something would suddenly appear because, just like Namjoon, they weren’t safe anywhere.

Seokjin was driving and Jungkook was in the passenger’s seat beside him. Yoongi didn't need to drive. He was only needed when they were trying to get to the quarantine centre since he was the only person who knew how to get out of the countryside and back to Seoul because he used to go to his cabin so often. But since the boys were just going to be driving around one specific area, Yoongi’s knowledge of getting around the countryside and the city wasn’t needed.

Jimin was sitting between Yoongi and Taehyung, his head leaning against the blond’s shoulder while Hobi and Namjoon were sitting behind them. Yoongi’s head was leaning against Jimin’s too and the two were looking out the window.

As the car started, Jimin closed his eyes. He took a deep breath as he felt a fluttery feeling in his stomach. He was nervous.

He never felt safe anymore. Even with Yoongi right beside him, he felt afraid. He knew Yoongi would always protect him but he was still worried.

But the gentle movement of the car as Jin drove and the quiet hum of the engine seemed to have lulled Jimin into serenity. He thinks he might have fallen asleep for a short while because before he knew it, Yoongi was bumping his shoulder, telling him that they had arrived.

Jimin blinked a couple of times, his eyes adjusting to the light coming in through the window. Once they had adjusted, his eyes caught onto the supermarket they were parked outside.

The windows were broken and the inside looked messy. People had obviously broken in during the early days of the apocalypse. There were two other buildings beside the supermarket. One was a nail salon. Jimin doesn’t think they’d find anything revolutionary there but he thinks they should check there anyway. The other building was a restaurant and Jimin wondered if there would be any leftover food there.

Most people would’ve probably swept through supermarkets and grocery stores fast when the apocalypse started but there were probably fewer survivors checking restaurants so, hopefully, there’d be a chance there was some food the boys could take from there.

“We should check out the restaurant too,” Jimin said. “There might be some food we can take. Or water bottles.”

“Good idea,” Namjoon praised and Jimin turned his head to smile at the older boy.

“The nail salon too. There might be something worthy we could take from there. It doesn’t hurt to check,” Jimin continued and the boys nodded, agreeing with his points.

“I think half of us should go to the grocery store and the other half go to the restaurant. Then we can all check out the nail salon together,” Jungkook suggested. “We can get this done quicker that away.”

The boy agreed. It was decided that Jimin, Yoongi and Jin would go to the restaurant while the other boys headed off to the supermarket. When the three boys walked in, Jimin quickly scanned the area.

The restaurant was dirty. There was broken glass all over the floor, which Jimin presumed was plates or cups and the white tablecloths were stained red with blood. Tables and chairs were knocked over and everything looked like a mess. There was a door at the back of the restaurant, which most likely led towards the kitchen.

“I’ll look over this part. You two can go check out the kitchen,” Jin spoke out as he walked away from the boys and towards the counter. He went behind it and looked around for anything they could take.

“Are you sure?” Yoongi asked. He wasn’t sure if leaving someone alone was a good idea.

Jin hummed in response. “Yeah. I have an axe so I’ll be fine. If I need your help, I’ll just shout for help.” He used a hand to wave the boys off, telling the two to go to the kitchen without him.

Yoongi nodded and did as told. He began walking towards the door at the back of the restaurant and Jimin followed close behind him.

Jimin was tense. He didn’t like the fact they were leaving Seokjin in the front of the restaurant while they searched back. He wanted to stay together because it felt safer but Jin seemed adamant in looking through the front himself.

“Yoongi, wait,” Jimin spoke out, his voice soft but still loud enough for Yoongi to hear him. The blond turned around, looking back at Jimin with a concerned look, worried something bad might’ve happened to him.

Jimin smiled small before he slipped his hand into Yoongi’s. Yoongi immediately smiled back, holding onto Jimin’s hand tightly. The younger boy immediately felt much safer than he did before, less tense too. Yoongi had that effect on him.

The blond opened up the door leading to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. As expected, it was filthy.

There were some bloodstains splattered across the walls and food all over the floor. The fridge door was wide open and the inside smelled rotten - the food inside must have gone off. There was another door towards their left which was closed - there was a sign on the door that had big, bold letters that read out ‘BATHROOM’.

With his hand still holding onto Yoongi’s, Jimin began looking around. His eyes scanned around the dirty kitchen, looking for something they could take. He saw an opened can of soup on the countertop. Inside, there was still half of the soup leftover.

Seeing the can half-empty confused Jimin. Why would someone only take half of the soup and leave the rest here? No one was in this restaurant to eat the other half so he wondered why someone had left it here.

Jimin continued looking. In one of the kitchen cabinets, he found cans of food and he smiled. More food was good.

“I found some cans. We should take them with us,” Jimin spoke as he reached up to grab them with his free hand - the one that wasn’t holding Yoongi’s.

“That’s great,” Yoongi hummed as he still looked around. “Yeah. We should definitely take them. We need all the-”

“What do you think you’re doing? Taking my food away from me?” The two boys suddenly heard a gruff voice speak from behind them. It wasn’t Jin; his voice wasn’t this deep.

Yoongi froze and his grip on Jimin’s hand immediately tightened. The boys slowly turned around, letting go of each other’s hands in the process.

Jimin thought he was going to cry when he turned around. A man they didn’t know stood behind them. He held a gun in his hand and that was the only thing Jimin could pay attention to, even though he wasn’t pointing it at them.

“We’re sorry. We’ll leave,” Yoongi spoke calmly. He didn’t want to act scared because that would make Jimin freak out. If he was calm and apologised it would be okay. It was going to be okay.

“Oh. You’re going to be sorry soon,” The man laughed, his head falling back. “You’re not going anywhere. You think you can get away with trying to steal my stuff?” He then spat angrily, his tone changing fast. The way his expression changed so erratically scared Jimin.

Yoongi didn’t reply. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He gripped his axe hard and the man seemed to notice.

The man quickly lifted his gun up and pointed it at the blond and Jimin gasped. “Put that down,” He ordered. “You want to steal my stuff and hurt me, huh?” He asked and Yoongi shook his head. That’s not what he was going to do. He couldn’t hit the man with his axe - it'd probably kill him and Yoongi doesn’t want to kill anyone. “Then put it down,” He growled.

Yoongi obliged. The man then pointed the gun at Jimin and told the boy to drop his weapon too. Jimin did as told immediately. The man laughed at Jimin’s actions and then pointed the gun back at Yoongi, thinking that the older boy was a bigger threat.

*****

“You’re obedient, aren’t you?” The man whispered as he moved closer to Jimin while keeping the gun pointed at Yoongi. His face was inches away from Jimin and the boy’s tears began blurring his vision. The creepy man stroked Jimin’s cheek with his dirty fingers and Jimin was disgusted.

“Leave him alone,” Yoongi scowled. The man’s head snapped to look at the blond. He laughed.

“I don’t think you should tell me what to do when I could pull this trigger at any moment and blow your dumb little brains out,” He cackled once again, much louder than he did before.

There wasn’t much Yoongi could do to stop this man so he did the only thing he could. He called for Jin.

Yoongi screamed Jin’s name at the top of his lungs, hoping Jin would come through towards the kitchen area and get this man away from him and Jimin.

“Jin?” The man widened his eyes. “Who’s Jin?” Yoongi doesn’t reply. The man visibly got angrier - his eyebrows were furrowed and it looked like his face was getting red.

The man grabbed Yoongi by the collar and pushed him towards the other side of the kitchen. He then pointed the gun back at Jimin and told the boy not to move. Jimin didn’t plan to anyway - he was much too scared.

The man was holding Yoongi against the wall of the kitchen when Jin walked on. Jin widened his eyes and immediately lifted up his axe and for a moment, Yoongi felt relieved.

That was until the man pointed his gun at Jin and the oldest boy froze. The man laughed at the way Jin paused.

“Three of you? All three of you were trying to steal from me?” He laughed again. “And soon, all three of you will be dead,” He then whispered, his expression once again changing entirely. He looked completely demonic.

Using his gun, the man forced Jin to drop his axe. He then made the two older boys stand against the wall while Jimin was still on the other side of the kitchen.

He was crying. Tears were falling down his face because he thought that this was the end. He really thought this was where he would die.

The man turned to face Jimin at the sound of the younger boy sniffling. His arm, and the gun, was still facing Yoongi and Jin so that he could make sure they wouldn’t move.

“Aw - are you scared?” The man’s voice was drenched in fake sympathy as he used a condescending tone to talk down to Jimin. He then laughed when Jimin continued crying.

With the gun still facing Yoongi and Jin, the man lived closer to Jimin once again. He eyed Jimin, looking the boy up and down.

“Aren’t you a pretty thing when you cry?” The man laughed as his thumb moved to wipe one of Jimin’s tears away. As a reflex, Jimin turned his face away fast in an attempt to get away from the man but that seemed to anger him. The man’s hand gripped Jimin’s chin and forced the vulnerable boy to look at him. “I think maybe I’ll keep you,” He said, thinking for a moment and Jimin felt his heart stop. “I’ll keep you and get rid of the other two.” He then whispered to himself.

Keep him?

*****

“Don’t fucking touch him,” Yoongi suddenly spat. He couldn’t watch this man talk to Jimin like that or touch Jimin like that. Jimin saw the man smirk slightly before he turned around to face the blond with the gun still pointing at the two boys pressed against the wall.

“Or what?” The man taunted. He moved closer to Yoongi and as he did so, Jimin saw him pull something out of his back pocket.

A knife.

Jimin widened his eyes. He quickly looked at Yoongi, silently begging for the older boy to look at him so he could warm him.

Thankfully, Yoongi’s eyes met Jimin’s. Jimin quickly mouthed the word ‘knife’ and hoped Yoongi understood what he meant. The blond’s eyes widened immediately and Jimin realised that Yoongi had understood.

“Or what?” The man repeated his question as he moved closer to Yoongi, one hand gripping the gun and the other gripping his pocket knife. Yoongi didn’t reply. After Jimin had warned him about the knife, he decided that staying silent was the best option - he didn’t want to anger the man even more and then get himself hurt. “Now that I’m here you won’t talk, huh?” The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

The man then laughed and took out his pocket knife. He smiled mischievously before bringing it up to Yoongi’s eye.

“I think this is going to be fun,” He smiled sadistically. He used his knife to cut a vertical line down through Yoongi’s eyebrow and down his eyelid. Yoongi groaned as he felt his eye throb. He tried to push the man away but he was much stronger.

Jimin then watched the man cut another vertical line from the bottom of Yoongi’s eye down to the middle of his cheek. As Yoongi continued to yelp in pain, Jimin decided that this was enough.

The man was distracted and Jimin’s bat was on the floor in front of him. Without a second thought, Jimin lifted up his bat and ran over to the man before swiftly hitting him in the head with his bat.

The man stumbled back and then fell against a kitchen counter. His head hit the rough corner hard, fracturing his skull and because of that, the man fell straight to the floor.

Blood began gushing out of the wound on his head, creating a red pool under his body. His eyes were open but his pupils weren’t moving and his chest wasn’t rising or falling either.

He was dead.

Jimin gasped, more tears pooling in his eyes as he dropped his bat to the floor. His hands were shaking as he brought them to cover his mouth. He didn’t mean to kill him. Jimin didn’t mean to kill him.

“Jimin?” Yoongi spoke, his voice filled to the brim with concern. “Jimin? It’s okay. You’re okay. Let’s go.” He whispered softly as his hand held onto Jimin’s shoulder.

The blood from the man’s head was pooling around Jimin’s feet, touching the shoes he was wearing. He stared down with a tearful expression. He just murdered someone. Jimin just murdered someone.

He didn’t mean to. He didn’t want to kill him. He just wanted to knock him out so they could leave. He didn’t mean to. He didn’t. It was an accident. Jimin didn’t want to kill him.

“I didn’t mean to kill him,” Jimin voiced his thoughts, his voice below a whisper while he looked down at the man’s body.

“It’s okay. We need to go,” Yoongi whispered back, moving closer to Jimin. The blond picked up the shocked boy’s bat from the floor before grabbing hold of Jimin’s arm and pulling him out of the kitchen.

As Yoongi followed Jin out of the restaurant, Jimin was getting dragged by the hand, still in shock.

He didn’t want to kill him.

“Yoongi, I killed him,” Jimin whispered, looking down at his shirt.

“You didn’t have a choice, Jimin,” Yoongi mumbled back. “It’s okay. You saved us. You did the right thing.”

Jimin knows Yoongi was trying to comfort him but it wasn’t helping.

He didn’t feel like he had done the right thing. He had just murdered someone - how could that be the right thing? He now had someone’s blood on his hands. He killed someone.

The three boys exited the restaurant and immediately walked towards their car. Jin told Yoongi and Jimin to wait while he went into the supermarket to get the other boys.

Jin walked away and Yoongi and Jimin were left by the car. Jimin was looking down at his shoes, a blank expression on his face. It was silent.

“I didn’t want to kill him,” Jimin suddenly sobbed, looking up. It seemed like what he had done had finally hit him. “I didn’t mean to. It was an accident, Yoongi. I didn’t mean to,” Jimin cried as he looked at Yoongi but once he saw the blond’s face, he gasped.

“Oh my God,” Jimin sobbed harder. Blood was pouring out of the cut the man had carved into Yoongi’s face. The right side of the boy’s face was covered in blood. “Your, your eye,” Jimin whimpered with a frown.

“It’s okay,” Yoongi smiled, ignoring the pain he was feeling in his eye. “Jimin, it’s okay. I’m okay. You’re okay.” Yoongi moved closer to Jimin and held onto the younger boy’s shoulder. “Don’t feel bad about doing what you did. Look what he did to me,” He pointed to his bloodied face. “He was going to go further. He would’ve hurt Jin too and then you. You saved us, okay? You didn’t do a single thing wrong.”

“No. I-I, no. I still killed him,” Jimin stuttered out as he shook his head.

“Listen,” Yoongi whispered. “This is exactly what you told me when I killed that little girl at the store. You told me I did it to save Namjoon. You did the same thing. You had to do it to save me and Jin. I protected Namjoon and you protected me. You protected me. You did a good job,” Yoongi praised Jimin in an attempt to comfort him and to let him know that he did something good.

“It’s different,” Jimin mumbled. “She was a zombie. He was human. He wasn’t already dead.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Yoongi shook his head. “You did it to protect me. You didn’t even do it on purpose, Jimin. It was an accident. You can’t blame yourself.”

Jimin just sniffled in response, too tired and too overwhelmed to continue the conversation right now. When Jimin didn’t reply, Yoongi’s hand moved to Jimin’s hair and he ran a few fingers through the boy’s pink locks.

Soon, Jin had arrived with the rest of the boys. They were all shocked to hear what happened. Thankfully, at the supermarket, they had found a first-aid kit, which meant Yoongi’s cut could easily be patched up.

The boys quickly went back into the car and drove off to get to the house they were currently staying at. They decided they shouldn’t go to the nail salon next to the supermarket since one of them was injured.

They made it back to the house quickly. Jin drove fast, worried about Yoongi’s injury. While sitting in the car, the blood from Yoongi’s face dripped down and off of his face, tainting his shirt. Jimin sat beside him in shock, distressed after all he had seen at the restaurant.

When the boys exited the car, Jungkook handed Yoongi the first-aid kit and the blond made his way towards the living room. He sat down on the couch and quickly opened up their newfound medical supplies, ready to bandage his injury himself.

But Jimin quickly walked into the living room before he could. “Let me help you,” The younger boy whispered when he saw Yoongi with the first-aid kit in front of him.

Jimin took a seat in Yoongi’s lap and as soon as he did, Yoongi's arms wrapped themselves around Jimin’s waist. From the first-aid kit, Jimin grabbed some antiseptic wipes to clean up the wound and all the blood on Yoongi’s face.

“It might hurt,” Jimin mumbled quietly. Yoongi nodded with a small smile. He was already in quite a bit of pain so he didn’t think it could hurt that much more.

When the wipe touched Yoongi’s face, he flinched slightly and Jimin paused and apologised, even though it wasn’t his fault before he continued cleaning his face and his cut. It only stung a little bit - it didn’t hurt.

Once Jimin had cleaned the cut, he grabbed some bandages. He placed it over the entire area of Yoongi’s cut, meaning he had to completely cover up the blond’s injured eye. Jimin grabbed some medical tape and firmly placed the bandage onto Yoongi’s face so that it wouldn’t move around or come off.

After Jimin had bandaged Yoongi up, the rest of the boys walked into the living room. They asked the two if they were okay, if they needed anything and what had happened. Yoongi answered most of them and Jimin was quiet; he only answered one or two questions.

They soon left again, leaving Yoongi and Jimin alone again. Jimin leaned forwards and placed his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. He closed his eyes before he sighed.

“Are you okay, Jimin?” He heard Yoongi ask. “After what the man did?” Jimin sat up straight and looked at Yoongi. The boy shrugged.

“I guess,” He whispered. He swallowed before he continued talking. “I know you said that I saved you and Jin and that I didn’t do anything wrong but, but I still feel bad,” His voice started becoming shaky. “I didn't want to kill him.”

“I know, baby,” Yoongi's hand moved to cup Jimin’s cheek, running his thumb against it gently. “It was an accident though, wasn’t it? You didn't do anything bad.” Jimin nodded. It was an accident. He didn’t mean to. “But that wasn’t what I meant when I asked if you were okay,” Yoongi continued and Jimin looked at him, his head tilted slightly in confusion. “Are you okay after the way he…” Yoongi paused. “Talked to you?”

Yoongi knew that the way the man acted towards Jimin made him uncomfortable and so, he wanted to make sure Jimin was okay after that had happened to him.

“It’s fine,” Jimin answered. “It was gross. He was gross.” The boy made a face and Yoongi frowned. “But it’s okay. I’m here with you now.”

The older boy was glad Jimin was okay. After Jimin had answered his question, the two fell into a comfortable silence until Jimin spoke up again.

“My nightmares are going to be really bad tonight.”

And Jimin was right.

The man at the restaurant wasn’t the only thing haunting his mind - making him uncomfortable, touching him, hurting Jin, hurting Yoongi. Taemin was there too, his friend’s zombified body coming after him, attacking him and all the other boys.

Jimin thought his nightmares were at their peak when he watched Taemin die but those nightmares weren’t even close to being as bad as the one he had during this night.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY TWENTY-SIX
03:05

This was the third time Yoongi had tried to go to sleep.

It had only been a few hours since all the boys had decided to go to sleep and Jimin had already woken up twice because of his nightmares - both of them were about Taemin’s death.

Jimin had woken up fifteen minutes ago - this was the second time he had woken up this night - crying because of his dreams. After Yoongi had calmed him down and the younger boy fell asleep again, the blond got out of bed, grabbed some water and was now trying to go to sleep again. He had quickly fallen into a slumber due to being so tired after all the events that happened during the day. He hoped Jimin wouldn’t wake up for at least a couple of hours so he could get some sleep.

But he hoped wrong. It had been about an hour before Jimin woke him up again.

He felt a pair of hands shake him awake. Yoongi blinked his eyes open to see a distressed, crying Jimin staring down at him. The blond sat up quickly at the sight of Jimin’s tears and immediately wrapped his arms around the younger boy, engulfing him in a hug - no questions asked - as Jimin’s tears began falling against the material of his shirt.

It was quiet for a while. All that could be heard was Jimin’s tiny whimpers and sniffles and Yoongi’s soft voice telling his boy that he was okay.

“Yoongi?” Jimin’s voice whispered out against the older boy’s shoulder.

“I’m here,” Yoongi replied immediately, one of his hands going up to run a hand through Jimin’s hair.

“My nightmare,” Jimin continued, sniffling between his words. “The man from the restaurant,” He whispered.

Yoongi breathed in sharply. He had expected this to happen. He knew Jimin was bound to have a nightmare about what had happened.

“He was here. He was. He was going to hurt us again. He’s mad, Yoongi. He’s going to hurt you again.” Jimin wept helplessly.

“It’s okay, flower,” Yoongi hushed softly. “It’s okay. It’s just you and me here, hm? He’s not coming back,” Yoongi reassured. “You and me. We’re okay.” As Yoongi spoke, he moved back slightly, wanting to take a look at the younger boy’s face but before he could, Jimin instantly closed his hands into small fists around the material of Yoongi’s shirt, pulling the older boy back in.

“Don't go,” Jimin whimpered, clutching Yoongi tightly. He feared that if he let the older boy go, he’d fall back into his nightmare, he’d fall back into the arms of the man back at the restaurant.

“I won’t go anywhere, baby,” Yoongi quickly wrapped his arms around Jimin. “I’m here,” He hushed once again and Jimin breathed out shakily, nodding his head against the blond’s chest.

Yoongi was here. Jimin was safe.

Yoongi was able to lull Jimin to sleep after, rubbing small circles into the younger boy’s back while he whispered soft, sweet words into his ear.

The blond was now looking down at the younger boy, caressing his cheek. His skin was soft - so, so soft. Yoongi placed the smallest kiss onto Jimin’s soft skin before he pulled away. He helped Jimin lay down against the bed before laying down beside the younger boy.

Now that Jimin was settled again, Yoongi tried falling asleep himself - for the fourth time this night. He was on the verge of falling asleep when he heard Jimin start to mumble in his sleep. The younger boy hadn’t even been asleep for ten minutes yet.

“Yoongi?” Jimin whispered and the blond immediately snapped his eyes open, leaning forward, towards Jimin but he furrowed his eyebrows when the boy still had his eyes shut. “Yoongi!” Jimin repeated, his voice a little louder now, sounding slightly more alarmed. Yoongi furrowed his eyebrows; he had never heard Jimin sleep-talk before. “Knife! He has a knife,” Jimin mumbled as his arms began moving around. Yoongi realised Jimin was dreaming of their earlier encounter and frowned - Jimin didn’t deserve to go through this.

Jimin didn’t say anything after and was quiet for a while. Yoongi had thought the younger boy’s nightmare had passed and that Jimin would finally be able to get some rest. He deserved it. He deserved to finally get some peace.

But, oh, Yoongi was so wrong.

Jimin’s voice became louder as he spoke: “Yoongi! N-no,” His voice cracked. “Don’t hurt him, please, please,” He begged as his body began moving around faster. Yoongi felt his heart break.

Yoongi didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Was he supposed to wake Jimin up or let the younger boy go through this nightmare? He was hesitating but as Jimin’s pleas became louder, he decided he had no choice but to wake the distressed boy up. Yoongi shook the smaller boy slightly, his hand on Jimin’s arm and the cotton candy haired boy jumped awake.

Jimin breathed in heavily as he sat up, his eyes wide and his hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. His head snapped to look at Yoongi and he practically pounced on the older boy.

“You’re okay,” Yoongi whispered as he held Jimin in his arms tightly. “You’re okay.” He repeated. As Yoongi held Jimin, Jimin cried. The blond felt his shirt becoming even wetter with more tears and he felt horrible. All he could do was hold Jimin, tell him everything was okay but he couldn’t take away Jimin’s dreams. He wished he could. He would do it in a heartbeat.

“I-It was the man from the restaurant again,” Jimin sobbed into Yoongi’s chest. “He was hurting you. He was hurting you. You’re hurt. He had a knife again and, and-,” Jimin hiccuped through his tears, stopping him from continuing but he then decided he didn’t want to speak anymore anyway.

“I know, baby,” Yoongi hushed softly, his hand reaching for the top of Jimin’s head to run a hand through his pink locks. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” Jimin nodded weakly against the older boy’s chest, trying to listen to both Yoongi’s words and his heartbeat.

“You’re okay?” Jimin asked with a whisper, pulling back a little to see Yoongi’s face. Yoongi saw Jimin’s face drop further at the reminder of Yoongi’s injury after seeing the bandage again. The younger boy’s small hand reached up for Yoongi’s face, gently tracing over the edge of the bandage over the blond’s eyes.

“I’m okay,” Yoongi confirmed. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Jimin didn’t respond and Yoongi watched the boy’s facial expression to get some insight into what the younger boy was thinking. Jimin’s fingers were still running over Yoongi’s bandages so gently - he could barely feel Jimin touching him. The younger boy’s eyes were wide and glossy and his eyelashes were still wet with tears. His lips were frowning. It seemed like Jimin was still upset but Yoongi wasn’t sure what he could do to help.

“You wanna lie down?” Yoongi mumbled and his words seemed to take Jimin out of the trance he was in - Jimin’s focus was now on their conversation instead of Yoongi’s injury. He didn't speak and only nodded his head to respond.

The boys lay down on the bed; Jimin’s back was pressed to Yoongi’s chest and Yoongi’s arms wrapped Jimin securely.

Several moments passed and they’ve been quiet for a while. Yoongi had been watching Jimin. The younger boy was staring hard at their bedroom door. It looked like he was watching and waiting to see if anything would enter their room.

Yoongi placed a kiss at the back of Jimin’s neck, trying to get his attention. “You’re still a little freaked out, huh?” Yoongi whispered and Jimin’s head slowly turned a little to look back at the blond.

“Sorry.”

Yoongi was right.

“Hey, no, don’t apologise,” Yoongi shook his head. “It’s been hard. It’s okay. You know I don’t blame you for having these nightmares, right?”

Jimin’s body shifted. He turned his whole body around so that he was now facing Yoongi. He looked up and slowly nodded his head, whispering a quiet and gentle ‘I know,’ before tucking his head away into Yoongi’s chest - it made him feel safe.

“Good,” Yoongi muttered, now placing a kiss on Jimin’s head. “You gonna try to sleep?” He asked and he felt Jimin nod against him.

The two fell asleep fast since they were so tired but their resting period didn’t last long. Jimin woke up two more times afterwards, needing Yoongi to help him calm down. After those two times, he refused to sleep even though he was extremely tired. He didn’t want to deal with his dreams anymore and he didn’t want to keep waking Yoongi up because it was clear that the older boy was exhausted.

Jimin grabbed his Rubik’s cube and his notebook so he would have something to entertain him for the rest of the night. Yoongi tried to stay up with Jimin, despite Jimin telling him countless times not to, and he managed to do so for about half an hour until he passed out without even realising. Jimin didn’t blame him, of course. In all honesty, Jimin was glad Yoongi had fallen asleep. He deserved to get some rest.

The day came by excruciatingly slowly. Yoongi fell asleep at around six in the morning and the rest of the boys had woken up at half-past ten. He spent those four and a half hours completely bored out of his mind.

It was now eleven in the afternoon and the boys were sitting in the living room. They had all eaten their breakfasts and the six of them were waiting for Yoongi. They decided not to wake the blond up because he had barely gotten any sleep the night prior and since he was the driver, he needed as much rest as possible.

Yoongi woke up soon and walked in, his eye bags dark, clearly showing he was tired and Jimin felt guilty. He knew the older boy was completely drained because of him and his stupid nightmares.

“When do you guys want to leave?” He asked with a yawn. Namjoon replied quickly, saying they would leave when Yoongi wanted to leave. “Let's leave now then. Let me just go and change my bandages. I need to change Jimin’s too. You guys should get into the car.”

Yoongi helped Jimin change the bandages on his leg. The wound on his leg had almost completely healed. Jimin then helped Yoongi change the one around his eye. It made Jimin sad to see the huge cut and it reminded him of the man at the restaurant. He didn’t want to think about it so he tried to ignore all the thoughts about the disgusting man and put all his focus onto talking to Yoongi and fixing his bandage.

The two then joined the rest of the boys in the car. Jimin was sitting in the passenger’s seat with the rest of the boys in the seats behind him. Yoongi was sitting in the driver’s seat and he started the car up. Soon, they were off.

-

Yoongi was tired.

He drove for about half an hour until Hobi told Yoongi to stop the car. Hobi went behind the wheel instead, while Yoongi was in the passenger’s seat giving him the right directions. Jimin took Hoseok’s seat behind the driver’s seat, next to Namjoon and Jin.

The little amount of sleep Yoongi got before never affected him much because they were at the cabin - even if he only got a couple of hours of rest during the night, he’d be able to nap during the day because they had nothing important to do. But now, all the boys relied on him to get them to safety so he had no chance to sleep during the day.

And only getting a few hours of sleep was starting to take a toll on Yoongi.

Unlike Jimin, Yoongi found comfort in sleeping. It was the only time he didn’t have to think about everything wrong. He could dream about happier things like being with his parents again, or his brother or spending time with Jimin.

But when he was awake all he did was think. He thought about how much blood was on his hands, how many people he had killed. His neighbour’s daughter, Taemin - they died because of him. He killed them and the guilt was still eating him up, even after Jimin’s efforts of telling him he had no choice but to do what he did.

Sleeping let Yoongi forget but made Jimin remember.

But Yoongi would rather feel guilty and tired than let Jimin deal with his nightmares on his own.

“Yoongi, do you want anything to eat?” Seoljin asked from behind the passenger's seat and the blond quickly turned around and mumbled a no, before focusing back on the road. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you haven’t eaten anything since last night,” Jimin mumbled, a little concerned. Yoongi was already lacking a lot of sleep so he needed to be at least eating enough. “You should at least eat a little bit.”

“I don’t want to eat right now,” Yoongi spoke back, shaking his head with a sigh.

“Just have a little?” Jimin asked.

“Yeah. Not eating is bad for you, Yoongi. You should eat even if you’re not feeling hungry right now.” Jin nodded.

The boys’ voices were getting louder and Yoongi was getting more irritated. He already had a headache because he was running on only a few hours of sleep and their loud words were just making it worse.

“I don’t want to eat anything!” Yoongi shouted, his voice much louder than Jimin’s and Seokjin’s were.

The two boys who had previously spoken were staring at Yoongi, slightly stunned. Yoongi had never raised his voice like that towards any of the boys before. The rest of the car was silent.

“Okay,” Jimin nodded slowly, his voice quiet. “At least eat something during lunch or dinner, okay? We don’t want you to go a whole day without eating anything.” Jimin’s voice was much softer than before and Yoongi was grateful he toned down his voice.

Yoongi nodded with closed eyes. Behind him, the boys began talking again but in hushed whispers. Their quiet voices made him feel guilty. He didn’t mean to raise his voice. He was just tired and it seemed like every small thing was starting to irritate him.

“When’s the last time you slept?” He heard Hoseok ask from beside him. “Like a real good night’s sleep.”

Yoongi shrugged. He really didn’t remember. Maybe it was before Taemin died? Or maybe it was back when they were still at his cabin? He wasn’t sure.

“You need to tell Jimin,” Hobi replied, his voice quiet just in case the boys behind were listening. “This isn’t good for you.”

“He’ll be on his own if I don’t stay up with him,” Yoongi mumbled. He was too tired to have this conversation but he didn’t want to raise his voice again. He felt bad. “Take a right here.”

Hoseok obliged, turning right. “He won’t. You do realise there are five other people in this car who are more than happy to be there for Jimin too, right? We’re all his friends and we care about him a lot too. He can stay with one of us for a night while you sleep,” Hoseok informed. “I know you care about him, Yoongi and you know how much he cares about you. Do you really think Jimin is even okay with you being this tired? You literally look like the zombies we’re running away from.”

Yoongi didn’t reply. He didn’t know what to say. Instead of replying, he focused on staying awake and giving Hobi’s directions.

But soon, Yoongi began dozing off. Once again, the boys stopped the car and decided to let Yoongi sleep. He couldn’t give directions properly if he was too tired. He felt bad but he couldn’t help it. He tried as hard as he could to stay awake but his eyes began closing against his will.

They stopped in the middle of a forest. They decided that they wouldn’t drive for the rest of the day because, by the time Yoongi had slept and gotten enough energy, it would be dark and driving during the dark hours was dangerous.

Yoongi stayed in the car, resting while the rest of the boys set up the tents Mr Shin had given them. As his eyes began falling, he thought of what Hobi had said to him while they were driving.

Do you really think Jimin is even okay with you being this tired?

He knew that Jimin definitely wasn’t.

When Yoongi woke up this morning, he woke up confused. Last night, he remembered telling Jimin he’d stay up with him after the nightmare but the next thing he knew, he woke up to an empty bed the next morning. He quickly realised Jimin let him fall asleep so he wouldn’t be as tired the next morning. Jimin wanted him to get as much sleep as he possibly could.

He can stay with one of us for a night while you sleep.

He thought about what Hobi had said to him again. He knew that the other boys were more than willing to take care of Jimin after a nightmare. But could he really do that? Could he really leave Jimin with someone else for a night while he rested? He didn’t want to leave Jimin, even if it would only be for one night. To him, it felt like a selfish thing to do.

But the other boys needed Yoongi to be well-rested. They needed him to be for their own safety. They needed to get to the quarantine centre. It was the only way they’d be safe.

Yoongi wondered if he asked Jimin to sleep without him, would he react badly? Yoongi doesn't think Jimin would because it’s Jimin. He’s so understanding - but that doesn’t mean he still won’t get upset. Yoongi doesn’t want to make him sad. Maybe he should just ask and the-

“Hey,” Yoongi’s thoughts were cut off when he heard the car door open and the sound of Jimin’s sweet voice. The older boy blinked his eyes open a couple of times before looking over at Jimin, smiling. As Yoongi leaned back in the passenger’s seat of the car, Jimin leaned against the open car door.

“I need to talk to you,” The two end up saying at the same time. The words made Yoongi nervous but he laughed nonetheless. The blond told Jimin to speak first and so, that’s what he did.

“So, uh,” As Jimin began speaking, he visibly got nervous, looking down at his hands and fiddling with his fingers. “While we were setting up the tents, I was talking to Taehyung and he said I could sleep in his tent tonight, so you can get some sleep,” Jimin spoke fast but Yoongi had heard exactly what he said. “If you want,” The younger boy then added.

Jimin had asked Taehyung to sleep in his tent tonight. Yoongi didn’t know but Jimin had heard him and Hobi talking in the car. Their conversation made Jimin realise he had to do something so that Yoongi could get some real rest during the night since it seemed like the blond didn’t want to do anything himself for Jimin’s sake.

“Do you want me to?” Yoongi asked carefully. If Jimin was nervous or scared for tonight, Yoongi was more than happy to stay with him. It sucked that he was tired but he thought that Jimin was much more important.

Jimin shrugged. “I want you to get some sleep,” He spoke and after hearing his words, Yoongi reached over to grab the material of Jimin’s shirt to pull him closer. He then wrapped both his arms tightly around the younger boy’s waist and looked up at him with a tired, soft smile.

“Thanks,” The blond hummed sleepily. Jimin beamed and his small hand went to cup Yoongi’s cheek before he leaned in and pressed their lips together.

-

Time had passed and night had fallen. After Yoongi and Jimin had talked, Yoongi immediately went to his tent to take a very needed nap for a few hours. While he was asleep, the boys ate dinner and once Jimin was done with his portion of food, he woke Yoongi up and gave him his serving. Jimin sat with Yoongi while he ate and the two talked about whatever came to mind.

When Yoongi was done eating, the tiredness hit him again. Jimin smiled as the older boy began yawning every few seconds and decided to leave him alone to rest again. The two said goodnight to each other and Jimin quickly left to get to the tent he would be sharing with Taehyung.

Yoongi settled in his tent again, ready to get some sleep. As he did so, he heard someone unzip the tent and he quickly looked over to its entrance to see a smiling Hobi entering. They were tent-mates for tonight while Taehyung would share with Jimin, Jin would share with Jungkook and Namjoon would sleep in the car.

Hobi settled into the tent and fell asleep quickly - he must’ve been tired. Even though it was late and Yoongi was tired, he was finding it more difficult to fall asleep than he did earlier in the evening. He was less tired than he was earlier so getting to sleep was taking some time. He was thinking; he was thinking about Jimin.

He wondered if Jimin had fallen asleep already, if he was having a nightmare now or if he had already had one. He was worried. Last night, Jimin had woken up six times because of his nightmares - this was the worst they had ever been and Yoongi was scared that they would happen again.

But Yoongi needed to remember that Jimin wasn’t alone. Jimin was with Taehyung and Taehyung was his best friend. Yoongi knew Taehyung would take care of Jimin. Jimin would be fine. He had someone with him.

Yoongi breathed out a deep breath before he closed his eyes and tried to sleep. It took several minutes but he had finally fallen into unconsciousness.

And for the first night in a while, Yoongi had finally gotten a good night’s sleep.

-

The next morning, Yoongi woke up expecting to see Jimin beside him. When he had woken up beside Hobi, he remembered that Jimin had shared a tent with Taehyung instead. He had woken up much earlier than the rest of the boys since he had slept through a lot of the afternoon yesterday.

When he exited his tent, he didn’t expect anyone to be around but he was met with a pleasant little surprise when he saw Jimin sitting down on the grass, Rubik’s cube in hand and a focused look on his face.

At the sound of Yoongi unzipping his tent and getting out, Jimin’s head snapped towards the noise. For a moment, Yoongi could see fear in his eyes but as soon as Jimin’s eyes met Yoongi’s, they immediately softened.

“How’d you sleep?” Jimin immediately asked, smiling widely as Yoongi took a seat beside him on the grass. Yoongi told him he slept well and Jimin’s smile only widened. “Good,” He hummed. “You don’t look as tired as you did yesterday morning.”

“How did you sleep?” It was Yoongi’s turn to ask Jimin.

Jimin shrugged. “Okay, I guess,” He replied. “I woke up a couple of times. I feel bad for Tae,” He frowned.

“Tae doesn’t mind helping you. You know that,” Yoongi reassured. Jimin knew that but that didn’t make him feel any less bad for taking away his friend’s sleeping time. “If you’re worried he’s going to be tired, don’t be,” Yoongi then spoke - it was like he had just read Jimin’s mind. “He can sleep in the car while we drive. It’s not a big deal.”

That did make Jimin feel better. Unlike Yoongi, Taehyung didn’t have to drive and therefore had time to sleep in the car. Taehyung had all the time in the world to catch up on missed hours of sleep today.

“How long have you been awake for?” Yoongi then asked Jimin.

“Three hours,” Jimin replied. It was eight in the morning, meaning Jimin had been awake since five. He had woken up Taehyung four times last night and after that, he decided to stay up for the rest of the morning. Jimin saw Yoongi open his mouth to ask something, presumably about his nightmares but Jimin didn’t want to talk about them right now so he quickly changed the subject. “Wait, let me quickly put my Rubik’s cube away. I don’t want to lose it.”

Jimin quickly stood up and walked over to the tent he slept in. He unzipped it quickly and entered quietly, being careful not to wake Taehyung up. He carefully placed his Rubik’s cube back into his backpack.

“Hm? Jimin?” He heard Taehyung mumble and Jimin sighed. His best friend sat up quickly, his face puffy as he rubbed his eyes to wake himself up. “Did you have another nightmare?”

“No,” Jimin whispered. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just about to leave.”

“You sure you’re alright?” Taehyung asked sleepily and Jimin quickly nodded before he told the younger boy to go back to sleep. Taehyung did as told.

When Jimin exited the tent, he looked over to where he had left Yoongi and the older boy was gone. Jimin furrowed his eyebrows as he walked over to the patch of grass they were sitting on before.

“Yoongi?” Jimin called out but Yoongi didn’t reply. “Yoongi?” Jimin repeated, looking around the forest. There was no reply for a minute but then Jimin heard Yoongi scream his name.

“Jimin! Jimin!” Yoongi was shouting at the top of his lungs and Jimin felt his eyes widen. Yoongi’s voice was coming from deeper within the forest and Jimin immediately followed it. His jaw dropped at what he had seen when he had finally found Yoongi.

Yoongi was pinned down to the floor by a zombie that was sitting on his chest, completely towering over him. Yoongi was clearly struggling to keep the zombie away from his neck.

Jimin felt all the colour drain from his face and his mouth became dry. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have his bat with him.

“Jimin, there-there’s a gun in,” Yoongi stopped talking and groaned as he pushed the zombie up a little. “There’s a gun in my bag. Quick.”

Jimin ran as soon as the words left Yoongi’s mouth. His feet were moving faster than the rest of his body was. He needed to get that gun. He couldn’t let anything happen to Yoongi. He couldn’t. Yoongi wasn’t going to get bitten.

He breathed in and out heavily as he entered Yoongi’s tent, quickly grabbing the older boy’s backpack and unzipping it. As soon as fingers gripped the gun tightly, he ran out of the tent and back towards Yoongi.

When Jimin had come back to where Yoongi was, he held the gun up with shaky hands, trying to point it at the thing that was holding onto Yoongi.

But Jimin didn’t know how to use a gun.

He tried to aim it correctly. He didn’t want to accidentally shoot Yoongi. Jimin didn’t know what he would do with himself if Yoongi got hurt. He doesn’t know what he would do without Yoongi.

“Shoot it!” Yoongi begged for help as he continued to struggle to get the zombie away from his neck. The zombie’s greyed, decayed hands were clawing at Yoongi’s chest, growling each time Yoongi tried to push it away, drool and blood falling out of its rotted mouth as it did so.

But Jimin couldn’t. He didn’t know if he was aiming correctly. He can’t shoot Yoongi. He can’t. He couldn’t. But if he didn't, Yoongi would get bitten. He’d become infected. But what if he does shoot and it hits Yoongi? He can’t do it. It’s too dangerous. He can’t hurt Yoongi.

Jimin was freaking out. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. His head was dizzy and his heart was pounding. This can’t be real. This can’t be real. Yoongi can’t get hurt. This is a dream. This can’t be real. Jimin didn’t want to believe this was real. This isn’t real.

Suddenly, in what felt like a split second, someone grabbed the gun out of Jimin’s hand and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot was sharp and deafening. Jimin’s ears hurt. They were ringing loudly as he watched the bullet hit the zombie. Its blood splattered all over Yoongi before its lifeless body fell to the floor.

While still being unable to hear, Jimin felt tears in his eyes slip down his cheek. He turned around to see who had shot the gun, to see who had saved Yoongi. He saw Hoseok standing behind him. Jimin must’ve woken him up when he went into their tent to get the gun.

Jimin’s hearing slowly came back but everything was still sounding muffled. He ran over to Yoongi, falling to the floor and slipping his hand into the older boy’s as he sobbed.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt?” Hobi asked as he walked over to Yoongi. He kicked the zombie’s dead body away from them and then kneeled down onto the muddy floor.

Yoongi swallowed thickly and didn’t reply. His eyes were brimmed with tears as he looked back and forth between Jimin and Hoseok.

Why wasn’t he saying he didn’t get hurt? He didn’t get hurt. Yoongi can’t get hurt. Jimin couldn’t deal with watching Yoongi hurt.

“Did it…” Hobi paused. “Did it bite you, Yoongi?” He whispered as he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

Jimin shook his head fast. No. No. No. No. Yoongi didn’t get bitten. Yoongi can’t get bitten. The zombie didn’t bite Yoongi. No. He’s fine. Yoongi is fine.

Yoongi shook his head and Jimin let out a huge breath. Yoongi didn’t get bitten. He’s okay. Yoongi is okay. He squeezed the blond’s hand tightly.

“But,” Yoongi began and Jimin’s eyes widened.

But? But what?

He didn’t get bitten. Yoongi didn’t get bitten so whatever he’s about to say can’t be that bad. He didn’t get bitten so he’s not infected. He’s okay.

Yoongi suddenly pulled down the neckline of his shirt, revealing claw marks - deep, bloody, purple claw marks. Jimin let out a choked sob. Oh, God.

“When you shot the zombie,” Yoongi’s voice was shaky as he looked over to Hoseok. “Its blood - it went everywhere. It, it got into my wound.”

Jimin sobbed as he remembered the government announcement they had heard during the first day of the apocalypse on the radio.

This disease is very infectious and can be spread through a bite or a mixing of bodily fluids.

The mixing of bodily fluids. The zombie’s blood in Yoongi’s wound. No. No. No. This can’t be happening.

“Does that mean…” Yoongi was struggling to speak. “Am I infected?” He asked, his voice completely strained as he whispered out his question.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY THIRTY-THREE
10:49

It’s been a whole week since Jimin had seen Yoongi.

After Yoongi had thought he had been infected, Hoseok woke up the rest of the boys in a hurry while Jimin stayed with Yoongi. He cried a lot. Yoongi was hurt and Jimin couldn’t help but think it was his fault. He was too slow because he was scared and it cost Yoongi his life. And he didn’t even want to think about the fact that Yoongi might actually be infected. He didn’t want to think about the possibility of Yoongi becoming undead.

The boys weren’t sure if Yoongi had actually been infected by the disease because they couldn’t tell if the zombie’s blood had gotten into the wound on Yoongi’s chest.

They had a small discussion about what they should do next. They were all sitting on a patch of grass by the tents. All the boys looked absolutely tormented. When Hobi had gone into their tents, explained what had happened with teary eyes, all the boys had a few different reactions. Jungkook and Taehyung both began crying immediately but Jin just looked completely shocked, like he couldn’t believe any of this was real. Namjoon was trying not to cry. He bit his lip hard and blinked back the tears that kept coming into his eyes over and over again to stop himself from balling.

When discussing the plans for what would happen next, Jimin was sitting beside Yoongi with a first-aid kit in his hand. He took out mass amounts of bandages and cleaned the deep scratch on Yoongi’s chest for him, before also changing the bandage around his eye, all while crying softly at everything that had just happened.

Namjoon quickly devised a plan but as he explained it to the rest of the boys, his voice shook at the thought of Yoongi turning into a zombie. He didn’t want Yoongi to turn into a zombie.

And this all hurt Yoongi so much. He was already breaking down because he didn’t want to turn into a monster but seeing how this was affecting everyone else hurt so, so much. If they were acting this afraid now, how would they cope when he turned?

“We’ll quarantine Yoongi somewhere and see if any symptoms come up. If they don’t, then we’re fine,” Namjoon explained his plan. He told the rest of the boys it would be a good idea to try and break into another house. They could keep Yoongi in a room all alone so he could quarantine to keep the other boys safe.

“And if they do?” Yoongi asked, his voice hoarse after all the crying he had done. No one replied. Jimin looked over at him with glassy eyes and shook his head. They can’t. Yoongi can’t get symptoms. He can’t. Jimin doesn’t know what he would do if Yoongi did. “We need to think about it. How will you guys get to the safe camp if I’m-” Yoongi stopped himself before he could say the word ’undead’.

Namjoon swallowed thickly as a few tears fell down his cheeks. He couldn’t hold them in anymore. He wiped them away fast before replying to Yoongi, “We’ll,” He took a breath. “We’ll talk about what we can do next if it happens. There’s no point in talking about it now and scaring ourselves when we don’t know if you’re actually infected.”

When Namjoon said those words, he truly believed that Yoongi didn’t get infected, that he had only been scratched by the zombie and no blood had entered his body and that the older boy would get no symptoms while he was quarantining.

But he was so wrong.

After their discussion, the boys packed up all of their things quickly. Yoongi cried quietly to himself as he shoved his clothes, blanket and gun into his backpack before picking up his axe. Once they were all packed up, they began driving and found a house - which is where the boys were at now - to stay in. Yoongi was immediately put into a room all alone while the rest of the boys were free to go around the house.

In a few days, the first symptom showed up: a fever.

The boys would take turns in leaving food outside of Yoongi’s door for breakfast, lunch and dinner and after the boys had done that and walked away, Yoongi would open the door and quickly grab the food before shutting it again.

But three days in, Yoongi felt much too weak to do that. He woke up one morning and couldn’t even get out of his bed. His head was burning and his muscles were aching and that was when he knew. Now they knew for sure that he was infected.

He couldn’t get up and out of his bed to grab his breakfast. Jimin noticed. The younger boy constantly kept an eye on Yoongi’s door and would often sit outside it and talk to the blond because he just missed him so much.

Jimin knocked on Yoongi’s door when he saw the older boy hadn’t eaten his breakfast, “Yoongi?” He mumbled. The first few days that Yoongi was quarantining weren’t too bad. The boys were hopeful that Yoongi would be okay and that kept all of them feeling okay. “Are you okay? You didn’t get your breakfast. Or are you still sleeping?” Jimin asked a few questions. Yoongi didn’t reply for a while and Jimin thought the older boy was still sleeping but when he heard shuffling from behind the door, he knew the blond was awake.

“Jimin,” He heard Yoongi from behind the door. It took Yoongi a while to get to the door because his muscles felt so weak but he needed to talk to Jimin. “Please don’t, please don’t cry,” He spoke with a shaky voice. Jimin was confused at this point, mumbling a ‘what?’ after Yoongi had spoken. “I have a fever,” Yoongi whispered. It was quiet but Jimin heard it as clear as day.

He started crying immediately, tears streaming down his face while he muttered in disbelief. No. This was his fault. This was all Jimin’s fault. Yoongi was going to die and it was all Jimin’s fault. If only he had pulled the trigger faster then maybe Yoongi would’ve bee-

“You need to tell the others, okay?” Yoongi muttered., taking Jimin away from his thoughts for a moment.

“No,” Jimin sobbed. “Yo-You’re infe-,” Jimin shook his head as he cut himself off. He couldn’t say it. He didn’t want to say it. “Are you sure?” Jimin asked in disbelief and he heard Yoongi cry out a ‘yes’. “No, Yoongi, no. No. No. You can’t. You can’t be. No,” Jimin wailed as he tugged at his hair.

Yoongi didn’t know what to say. He just wanted to open the door and hold Jimin. He wanted to kiss him and wipe his tears and make him smile before he turned into a monster. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t risk infecting the other boys by leaving his room.

“I need you to tell Namjoon, okay?” Yoongi spoke calmly. He felt like crying and screaming and shouting but he suppressed everything because he knew if he acted scared, it would make Jimin feel worse.

Jimin told Yoongi that he would but not before he cried a little while longer by the older boy’s door. It hurt Yoongi so much to hear but he let Jimin cry. It doesn’t matter how he felt because he would be gone in a few days. He’d be a mindless, human-hungry zombie and Yoongi would be gone.

Eventually, Jimin got up and talked to Namjoon about what Yoongi had told him. The leader had a similar reaction to when he found out Yoongi had a chance of being infected. But now knowing it was actually happening, it was harder to hold in his tears. He didn’t want to cry because he didn’t want the other boys to feel worse.

After Namjoon had talked to Jimin, he told the younger boy to go find Taehyung and Jungkook so he wouldn’t be alone while he was so upset. He then went over to Yoongi’s room. He knocked on the door lightly, mumbling the infected boy’s name under his breath.

“Namjoon, you need to take the boys and leave,” He heard Yoongi speak from behind the door. Yoongi’s top priority was keeping the boys safe and they couldn’t be safe if they were in this house with him. He was a threat to their health and he wouldn’t let himself hurt them once he turned. They needed to leave.

Namjoon swallowed thickly at Yoongi’s words. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t just leave Yoongi here to die.

“I, I can’t do that,” Namjoon shook his head as he bit down on his bottom lip hard, trying to stop the tears in his eyes from spilling down his cheeks.

“You don’t have a choice. I’ll turn soon and you need to be as far away from me as possible when I do,” Yoongi’s words were harsh and loud and they made Namjoon flinch.

Yoongi was suddenly feeling a multitude of different feelings: sadness, anger, shock, disbelief - all normal reactions for someone who just found out they were going to turn into a human eating monster soon. But one emotion that stayed consistent was love and that emotion for the boys is what was making him tell Namjoon to leave. It hurt him to think that after he turned, he wouldn’t be able to control himself from hurting the other boys.

“We can’t just leave you here,” Yoongi heard Namjoon whisper.

“You have to.”

“I can’t. We can't. None of us want to leave you here,” Namjoon was pacing back and forth outside Yoongi's door. He was trying to think of anything that could help but there was nothing. He was feeling in denial too. He really couldn’t believe this was happening. “Your fever took a while to kick in. I remember Jimin told us his friend at school got bitten the night before he turned and his teacher turned in a matter of minutes. Maybe you have a slower variant. Maybe you’ll turn slowly. We can get you to the quarantine camp quickly and they can help you, Yoongi. We can help you,” Namjoon was speaking fast, trying to think of ways to help Yoongi.

Yoongi thought about Namjoon’s plan for a moment. It was possible but extremely risky. Just because the fever took a while to kick in doesn't mean Yoongi will turn slower. That was not a risk he was willing to take because the other boys’ safety was the thing that was the most important to him. Also, even if Yoongi did turn slowly, they might not have any ways to help him even if they do get to the quarantine centre when they get there.

“That’s too risky,” Yoongi responded. He heard Namjoon let out a shaky breath.

“We’re not leaving you,” Namjoon stated after a moment of silence and Yoongi wanted to cry. He didn’t want to hurt them. “We’re staying with you.”

“I’ll hurt you,” Yoongi retorted, his voice sad. “I’ll end up hurting all of you.”

“You won’t. Even if you try to, there’s six of us and one of you,” The boy on the other side of the door argued. “We’re staying here with you until the last moment. We can’t leave you here alone when you’re going through this.” With those last few words, Namjoon walked away from Yoongi’s door and gathered all of the boys into the living room to discuss what was happening.

Namjoon’s words made Yoongi cry. With his back leaning against the bedroom door, his head dizzy and his body hot, Yoongi sobbed into his hands with loud and heavy breaths.

He was scared. He was so, so scared.

Becoming undead was inevitable but Yoongi didn’t want to turn into a zombie. He doesn’t want to go. He doesn’t want to be undead.

Yoongi’s backpack was in front of him. It was open and his teary-eyed stared at the gun inside that Mr Shin had given him - the one Hobi had used to kill the zombie.

He didn’t want to be a zombie. He would rather die as a human.

No.

He couldn’t do that. It would hurt the boys more if he died on his own terms, as a human, instead of turning into a zombie, he thinks. They’re expecting him to turn into a zombie, not for him to die as a human. Dying while being human would cause them more pain because it’d be unexpected and he doesn’t want the boys to be in more pain than they already were.

The boys. He failed them. He couldn’t even protect them or keep them safe. He is the only one who knows the way back to Seoul but now he’s infected and the boys are going to struggle so much trying to get to safety.

All the promises he made to Jimin. All the times he told the younger boy that he’d keep him safe, that he’d protect him, that he’d always be there for him.

He fed Jimin lies.

He can’t protect Jimin now, he can't keep him safe and he can’t be there for him. God, he can’t imagine how Jimin is feeling right now. His poor boy. His pretty flower.

Yoongi's heart ached when he heard Jimin cry from the other side of the door. He hasn’t seen Jimin in so long. He missed him. He missed him so much.

The nightmares. Yoongi doesn't want to think about the things Jimin will dream of tonight. Nightmares about the infected boy dying, Taemin, the disgusting man at the restaurant would come for Jimin in his mind. He would be crying and sobbing in his room tonight and Yoongi couldn’t do anything.

The blond continued crying, breathing heavily as he picked himself up off of the floor and made his way over to his bed. His head was hurting so bad. As he walked he could barely stand up straight.

This would be the last thing he remembered from being a human. His last memory of being alive would be him being sick and alone and sad.

He sniffled and wiped the tears away from his eyes as he got into bed.

He was tired and sleepy and his head hurt. He needed rest. Yoongi was scared to sleep though. What if this moment right now is the last one he remembered? What if when he woke up, he was a zombie?

Yoongi began crying again. Silent sobs and sniffling as he covered himself in a blanket. His headache became worse as more tears fell and his eyes were red and puffy.

All he could think of was Jimin.

After he turned, he hoped Jimin and the rest of the boys would make it to the camp safely. He hoped they’d be okay and safe and healthy.

He just hoped Jimin would survive.

Speaking of Jimin, the boy was struggling so much after hearing about Yoongi’s fever.

While Namjoon was talking to the rest of the boys about what happened with Yoongi, Jimin was in his room.

He couldn’t stop crying. He was crying with swollen eyes into his trembling hands. He felt a huge weight in his chest that wouldn’t go away ever since he heard Yoongi utter the words of a fever.

He wished it was him. He wished he was the one who got scratched, the one who had gotten infected.

Jimin doesn't think he had a chance of surviving this apocalypse without Yoongi. When Jimin was in danger, Yoongi would be the one to save him. It was always Yoongi. He can’t survive without Yoongi but he was sure that Yoongi could survive without Jimin. Yoongi was strong and he had killed zombies before. Yoongi knew his way around the city and the countryside. Yoongi was smart and he knew how to cook and he knew how to protect himself.

Yoongi could do everything and Jimin couldn’t do anything. It should’ve been him.

Jimin should’ve been the one to turn.

“Hey,” He heard a voice whisper. Jimin looked up and saw Taehyung standing by his doorway, a sympathetic smile on his best friend’s face. Taehyung’s face was puffy and it looked as if he had been crying too. “Can I come in?” He asked, his voice still quiet and Jimin nodded solemnly.

After hearing his best friend's answer, Taehyung rushed over to Jimin, engulfing him in a hug immediately. He came here to comfort Jimin because he knew that the older boy must be going through so much pain but he ended up crying too.

The two sat in the bed in silence. Taehyung asked Jimin if he wanted to talk and Jimin said no. Taehyung wasn’t going to press on communicating if that’s not what Jimin wanted to do but he still wanted to be there for him. So, he just kept him some company. He hoped his presence could give Jimin any small morsel of peace.

Dinner time rolled around quickly but Jimin didn’t want to eat. He felt too sick to even take a bite of whatever canned food they were having. He told Taehyung he was going to sleep and his best friend left but not before giving Jimin a long hug and telling him that he loves him.

Jimin slept for a few hours but soon woke up that night from a nightmare; a dream of a zombified Yoongi with half his face rotted off, showing his skeleton underneath all of his decayed flesh as he dragged his drooping body across the ground, lunging at Jimin to get a bite, all while moaning loud, painful groans of hunger.

As soon as he woke up in tears, he instinctively grabbed the empty space next to him, expecting to find Yoongi there, ready to wake up the older boy for help - only to remember that he can’t and he sobbed. He tried to stay quiet because he didn’t want to wake the other boys up.

His nightmares weren’t just silly dreams anymore. They were going to come true. Yoongi was infected. They know that now and that means he will become a zombie. His nightmares were going to turn into his reality very soon.

He cried and cried and cried for what felt like hours and ended up falling asleep because he tired himself out. The sleep didn’t last long because once again, his nightmares kept coming back.

They were overloaded with horrible experiences: running away from zombies, Taemin, zombies breaking into their home, the man he had killed at the restaurant, bleeding and dying, Yoongi getting infected, the guys never ever being safe.

There were too many things that had happened, too many things that had left him in fear. His nightmares were endless because the horrifying experiences he had been through were endless.

They weren’t going to stop. Ever.

With Yoongi now infected, who would be here for him?
He had the other boys, he knows, and he is grateful. But they’re not Yoongi. They’re not the same as Yoongi.

Who would protect him as Yoongi did? Who would care for him as Yoongi did? Who would look out for him? Who would care for him? Who would kiss him? Who would love him if Yoongi were gone?

He thought about all the things Yoongi had said to him, all the promises the older boy made.

I’ll always protect you.

We’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.

I promise I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe. I’ll do whatever I can to get you and the rest of the boys to that safe camp, I promise.

Yoongi tried. He kept Jimin and the other boys safe for so long. He kept his promises for as long as he could but now he can’t. He can’t protect Jimin, he can’t keep Jimin safe and he can’t get Jimin to the safe camp.

Jimin hid his face in his pillow, muffling his cries, trying to quieten down.

He didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.

-

A few days had passed since then. It had been a week since Yoongi had gotten infected.

Yoongi awoke in the morning tired and groggy and his head was dizzy. He sat up in his bed and looked towards the door of his bedroom. He forced himself to get out of his bed and walked over to the door.

His body throbbed as he made his way over there. He felt like he couldn’t hold up his body properly. It was hard to walk and his feet were dragging against the ground. He felt like a zombie already.

He groaned as he lifted up his arm. It felt heavy but he managed to get a grip on the door and open it. He looked down and picked up the plate of food on the floor. He closed it and slowly made his way back onto his bed.

He ate slowly. It hurt to move his hands. The pain was all-consuming and every time he moved an inch, the pain would shoot up his arm, his leg, his whole body. His head was dizzy constantly. It hurt too much and he felt so hot. His whole body felt like it was on fire.

He thought turning slower than others would have been a good thing. He had longer to live and he felt bad because he thinks he should be grateful that he’s not turning into a monster as quickly as others but Yoongi hated it. He was in pain all the time and he just wanted it to be over. He felt like he couldn’t take it anymore.

When Yoongi was finally done, he made his way to the bathroom. He needed to splash some water on his face. It was too hot. His body felt too hot.

Yoongi walked in and went towards the sink but he stopped in his place when he looked into the mirror that was built into the wall.

Purple.

That was all he saw. Purple.

His symptoms were worsening.

Purple veins.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY THIRTY-EIGHT
17:26

After purple veins began appearing all over Yoongi’s body, a day passed and nothing happened.

Another day. Nothing happened.

Another and another and another and still, nothing happened.

The boys were constantly waiting because they didn’t know when Yoongi would fully turn. They waited and waited but nothing ever happened. Yoongi’s symptoms would worsen - his fever had been getting worse and his veins would turn a darker shade of purple every day but still, nothing else happened. He didn’t turn.

It was painful. It was painful to wait and watch for the moment where Yoongi wouldn’t be Yoongi anymore. They didn’t want Yoongi to turn but the longer they waited, the more it hurt.

They were on edge every day. Jimin’s heart would be pounding from the moment he awoke in the morning until he finally fell asleep at night. Every day was just him waiting and waiting and waiting. Falling asleep every night became scarier, not only because of his nightmares but because the next morning, Yoongi could be undead.

He often wondered how Yoongi was. He hadn’t seen the boy’s face in so long.

Mentally, it must be exhausting. Jimin was in constant misery and he always felt restless because waiting was terrifying. If he was struggling with this so badly, he can’t even imagine what it must feel like on Yoongi’s end, what it feels like to know your time is nearly over.

It must hurt physically too: the everlasting fever, the pressure of the purple veins pushing against your skin, constant dizzy headaches and the pain in your muscles because you felt too weak to hold yourself up. Yoongi had been dealing with those symptoms for so long.

He wanted to see Yoongi so badly. Every day he would go outside Yoongi’s room and the two would talk - it wasn’t enough. Well, Jimin would talk and Yoongi would listen. Most of the time, Yoongi’s muscles in his jaw hurt and he was far too tired to move his mouth to speak. He was grateful that Jimin didn’t mind talking while getting short replies. Hearing Jimin’s voice every day was the only thing keeping him sane, the only thing stopping him from using the gun in his backpack.

The pain was getting too hard to bear. Just getting out of bed and walking towards the door made his muscles burn and he couldn’t walk in a straight line properly because the dizziness in his head made it hard to do so. It was all worth it because he could talk to Jimin and hearing Jimin’s voice on the other side of the door was so calming. It made him forget about everything for a while.

Yoongi wanted to see Jimin too. But it was far too dangerous. What if he turned while he was talking to Jimin? What if he hurt Jimin?

“Namjoon said it’s okay. You haven’t turned yet and you probably won’t for a while so why can’t I just come inside?” Jimin asked desperately. Right now, he was outside Yoongi’s door, trying to convince the boy to let him in. He had talked to Namjoon and the leader said it’d be fine if Jimin only went inside for a moment. “Only for a moment. Just a minute, Yoongi,” Jimin whispered. He wanted to see Yoongi one last time but the older boy was stubborn.

“No, Jimin,” Yoongi whispered with a groan after he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his jaw from opening his mouth to speak.

“It’ll only be for a minute, please? I just,” Jimin sighed. “I just want to see you one last time,” He continued with a cracked voice and tears in his eyes.

Yoongi didn't reply. He was thinking. Maybe he could see Jimin for a second. Maybe he wouldn’t turn at that very moment. But it was dangerous. Yoongi didn’t want to take a chance on Jimin’s life and risk everything for a ‘maybe’. And if he was being honest, he didn’t want Jimin to see him like this anyway - purple-veined, pale, sick and dizzy. It would make Jimin feel worse. Seeing him would make Jimin’s nightmares worse.

“Please, Yoongi?” Jimin begged. “Please?” Yoongi didn’t like hearing Jimin cry. It’d be okay to see him just for a moment, right? “It’ll be okay,” Jimin whispered. “When I saw my teacher and a guy in my class turn, they started shaking. Their whole bodies were shaking and then they were zombies. If, if that happens to you, I’ll leave quickly. I promise. Just, please just let me see you.”

The older boy sighed before he stood up from his place on the floor and he shut his eyes in pain as he did so. The infected boy slowly unlocked the door and Jimin could hear the click as soon as the lock was opened.

Jimin slowly opened up the door and stepped in. He wanted to cry at the sight of Yoongi but he tried not to because he knew it would make the blond feel worse.

Yoongi was naturally pale anyway but now he looked like a ghost. The paleness of his skin completely contrasted the bright purple veins leading up to his jaw and face from his chest, where he had been scratched by the zombie. His eyelids were half-closed and his body looked like it could barely hold itself up.

“Yoongi,” Jimin whispered as he rushed over to the older boy and immediately wrapped his arms around him.

As soon as Yoongi felt Jimin’s arms around him, he cried. He wrapped his arms tightly around Jimin’s waist and pulled him as close as possible before crying into the crook of the boy’s neck. It had been too long. He had missed him so much.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Yoongi sobbed into the younger boy’s neck, his eyes screwed shut. Jimin mumbled an ‘I missed you, too’ as his grip on Yoongi tightened.

The hug lasted moments and it was the best hug Jimin had ever received in his entire life. He missed Yoongi so much and to just feel the blond’s hands on his skin made him so happy.

The two soon pulled away and Jimin quickly cupped Yoongi’s cheek, his thumb caressing the blond’s milky white skin that was tainted with masses of purple veins. Jimin ignored the veins on Yoongi’s jawline and the ones down his chin and only looked at the infected boy’s face, his eyes. There was only one thing Jimin wanted to say to him.

I love you.

Being away from Yoongi for so long made Jimin realise how much he truly loved him but he was too afraid to say it. It wasn’t because he didn’t know if Yoongi loved him back - Yoongi probably did. He just didn’t want to think back to the moment where he told Yoongi he loved him after all this was all over and remember this. He didn’t want to remember Yoongi like this. He wanted to remember Yoongi before he had gotten infected.

He wanted to remember Yoongi when they were up in the treehouse, or Yoongi when they had kissed for the first time, or Yoongi when they were outside the van making daisy chains. He wanted to remember the moments where he laughed with Yoongi, where he kissed him, held him, cuddled him. He wanted to remember the moments where they were happy.

He doesn’t want to remember him like this. Jimin knew if he told Yoongi he loved him, this would be a memory that always sticks in his mind. He didn’t want that.

He wished he had realised he loved Yoongi earlier before the boy had been infected. Then maybe it could’ve been a memory that was actually happy.

“I’m sorry,” Jimin croaked out instead of saying what was on his mind, his eyes filling with tears as he tucked his head away into Yoongi’s chest. On instinct, Yoongi wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist again and placed his head on top of Jimin’s. “I’m so sorry, Yoongi,” Jimin repeated, closing his eyes, letting a few tears slip down his cheeks. “If I had used the gun as soon as I had got it and if Hobi didn’t have to step in, maybe things would’ve-,”

“Don’t,” Yoongi interrupted bluntly. “Don’t say that. Don’t say ‘if’ or ‘maybe’,” Yoongi shook his head as he pulled away and lifted the younger boy’s chin up slightly. “Don’t blame yourself for anything, please?” Yoongi murmured. It pained him to think that Jimin was blaming himself for this. He shouldn’t. “None of this is your fault, flower. None of it. Please don’t think that.”

He hoped his words got through to Jimin. He doesn’t want the younger boy feeling guilty or regretful. He doesn’t want Jimin to think he could’ve done something to prevent this because that wasn’t important. There was no point in Jimin blaming himself because what happened had happened and there’s nothing that can be done now. Jimin would be torturing himself constantly by dwelling on things he can’t change.

Jimin nodded at Yoongi’s words even though he wasn’t sure if he could do what the blond had asked. He couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Jimin looked up at Yoongi’s eyes for a moment. “Your eye healed well,” Jimin commented, his voice quiet and Yoongi’s hand unconsciously went to touch the scar on his eye. Over the past week and a half, the cut on Yoongi’s eye had healed completely. All that was left was a thick scar and the memory of the man at the restaurant. “What about your chest? Is it healing? Have you been changing your bandages?”

Yoongi shook his head. He hadn’t been changing his bandages regularly. He hadn’t been brushing his teeth or showering properly either. Was there really a point? He’s going to turn into a zombie soon anyway so was there really a point in taking care of himself?

“It’s okay,” Jimin murmured gently as he walked over to Yoongi’s backpack, picking up the first aid kit after he rummaged around through the bag a little to find it. “I’ll help you change them now otherwise they’ll get infected.”

”I’m already infected,” Yoongi uttered with a deep frown. Jimin swallowed thickly at the response and decided to ignore what the older boy had said. He walked over to Yoongi’s bed and took a seat before beckoning Yoongi over to him.

Yoongi took a seat across from Jimin. As Jimin unzipped the first aid kit, Yoongi took off his shirt and unravelled the old bandages on his chest so that Jimin could easily re-bandage the wound.

When Jimin finally looked up from the first aid kit and towards Yoongi, he wanted to cry again. The deep claw marks from the zombie had mostly healed but that wasn’t what Jimin was looking at. The purple veins only became darker and larger as you got closer to where the wound was. Yoongi’s entire chest was covered in thick, purple veins. He tried to hold in his tears and blinked quickly multiple times to do so.

“Sorry,” Jimin then apologised quietly for getting distracted while moving closer so he could reach Yoongi’s chest. As he began wrapping fresh bandages around Yoongi’s wound, he heard the infected boy mumble out an ‘it’s okay,’ in response.

Yoongi watched Jimin as he meticulously wrapped bandages around Yoongi's chest and shoulder. His eyebrows were furrowed and he pursed his pretty lips in concentration. He looked cute. His touch was so gentle and his fingertips were so soft. He was always so gentle with Yoongi. Jimin always took such great care of him.

The blond closed his eyes and breathed out slowly. He tried to picture this very moment in his mind. He wanted to remember this moment forever. He wanted to so, so badly because this might be the last time he sees Jimin.

He wanted to remember everything about Jimin. Yoongi wanted to remember how pretty Jimin always looked - his faded pink hair that always fell perfectly, his brown eyes that stared up at him with all the love and care in the world, his pretty pink lips. He wanted to remember how beautiful Jimin is.

Yoongi wanted to remember Jimin’s touch - how his fingertips touched him so softly, how his small hands ran up and down his chest gently and how they felt tangled in his hair when they kissed. He wanted to remember what it felt like to kiss Jimin, how it felt to hold the younger boy in his arms, how it felt to get a hug from him, how it felt to sleep cuddled up beside him.

Yoongi wanted to remember Jimin’s voice. He wanted to remember all the sweet things Jimin had said to him. He wanted to remember Jimin’s laugh - the way the boy would cover his mouth with his hand, how his eyes would turn into the shape of crescents and how his head would fall back when he giggled.

It doesn’t matter how much he wanted it though because it was inevitable that he’d forget. As soon as he turns, he’ll forget everything. He’ll become a blood-thirsty monster and forget how much Jimin meant to him. He’ll forget every memory they had together. He’ll forget who Jimin is, how Jimin made him feel, how much he loved Jimin.

He doesn’t want to forget. Yoongi doesn’t want to forget.

“Done,” Jimin whispered. Yoongi opened his eyes, blinking back the tears in his eyes from all his thoughts before he looked at Jimin. Jimin didn’t move back after he had finished bandaging Yoongi up. His face was only inches away from Yoongi’s.

“Thank you,” Yoongi whispered back and Jimin could feel the older boy’s breath on his lips as he spoke and it kept reminding him of how much he missed kissing Yoongi.

“I missed you,” Jimin then suddenly spoke, looking into Yoongi’s eyes. “I missed you so much.” He then looked down at Yoongi’s lips before he leaned in slightly.

He felt a hand touch his chest to stop him.

Jimin looked up quickly at Yoongi’s eyes, a look of confusion and shock written all over his face. Yoongi looked sad.

“We can’t,” Yoongi shook his head and Jimin frowned.

“Why not?”

“I’ll infect you,” Yoongi mumbled, looking down at his hands. He wanted to cry.

“Oh,” Jimin’s body practically deflated as he sat back, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Right. I’m sorry.”

Yoongi could hear the change in Jimin’s voice and he snapped his head up. His hand went to cup Jimin’s cheek and his thumb stroked the younger boy’s face gently as a form of comfort. One of Jimin’s hands moved upwards and placed itself on top of Yoongi’s hand.

“It’s okay, flower,” Yoongi whispered, a gentle smile on his face. Jimin returned it. “But,” Yoongi sighed as he paused. “You should go.”

Jimin’s smile dropped.

“I want you to be here with me. I do,” Yoongi quickly reassured. He did. He wished he could be with Jimin forever. “But you can’t. I’m infected and I’m dangerous. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Jimin nodded quietly. He leaned over and wrapped his arms around Yoongi tightly, hugging the older boy one last time. When he let go, he looked at Yoongi and smiled before he placed a kiss on the blond’s cheek.

Yoongi watched as Jimin stood up from the bed and began walking away. He saw Jimin reach for the door and there was only one thing he felt he needed to say as he saw the younger boy leave.

I love you.

“Jimin,” Yoongi choked out. The younger boy turned around and Yoongi could see tears in his eyes. “I,” Yoongi paused as he shook his head. “Um. Wash your hands. You touched my wound and,” Yoongi sighed. “Just wash your hands to be safe, okay?”

He couldn’t tell Jimin he loved him. If he told Jimin he loved him, wouldn’t it be harder for the both of them? Wouldn’t it be harder for Jimin to cope with his death after knowing he lost someone who loved him so dearly?

“Okay,” Jimin nodded sadly and Yoongi wanted to sob.

And when Jimin left the room and closed the door, that’s exactly what Yoongi did.

That’s what Jimin did too.

He ran to his room and sobbed. He cried and cried until there were no tears left in his body, until his eyes were red and his face was puffy. He spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in his room in tears.

He finally stopped when he heard knocking at his door. It was Taehyung again, standing at the doorway with a bowl of soup.

“You need to eat, Jimin,” He whispered. He saw Jimin shake his head. Jimin hadn’t eaten in over a day. He wasn’t hungry and when he saw food, it made him feel sort of sick. He thinks if he had a spoonful of soup, he would throw up. Taehyung sighed and walked into the room, taking a seat beside Jimin on the bed. “I’ll feed you if it helps? Please, just have a little. I’m worried.”

Jimin sighed. The words ‘I’m worried’ made Jimin sit up and wipe his tears away. He didn’t want Taehyung to worry so he’d eat a little bit, just to make his best friend feel better.

Taehyung passed the bowl over to Jimin with a smile. He stayed with Jimin while he ate, talking about whatever came to mind. Jimin ate about a quarter of the soup before he started feeling sick. He ate a little more anyway, knowing it’s good for him to eat and that it’d make Taehyung happy.

But with a certain spoonful, he gagged. He quickly dropped the spoon into the bowl and sighed. “I can’t eat anymore,” He frowned.

“That’s fine,” Taehyung smiled softly, taking the bowl out of Jimin’s hands. “Someone else will probably want the rest so it won’t go to waste.” Jimin nodded with a yawn. He guessed someone else would’ve wanted it anyway. Food was scarce and everyone was always hungry. “Are you tried?” His friend asked and Jimin nodded. He was but he didn’t really want to sleep. “I’ll leave you so you can try and sleep,” Taehyung whispered.

As Taehyung stood up and was about to walk away, Jimin grabbed his wrist.

“Can you please stay?” Jimin murmured. He doesn’t want to be alone. “Stay here with me for the night?” He then clarified. Taehyung quickly nodded. He softly explained that he’d be back after he put the bowl away and Jimin nodded, letting him go.

Taehyung came back quickly and joined Jimin in the bed they were sharing that night. Jimin felt more at ease with someone beside him and fell asleep fairly quickly. It didn’t last long though.

He had three nightmares, all about Yoongi. He woke up Taehyung each time, crying in his arms, babbling on and on about how scared he was, how he didn’t want Yoongi to turn, how he was worried about how they would survive without him.

It made Taehyung cry. Jimin felt horrible. He didn’t mean to make him cry.

Witnessing Yoongi going through all this pain and thinking about how they’d never see him again had been affecting all the boys. Taehyung had tried not to show how much it hurt him for Jimin’s sake, thinking that seeing him cry would make it harder for Jimin. But seeing Jimin like this - tears running down his face as he talked on and on, completely distressed over his nightmares about Yoongi - and having Yoongi being infected on his mind all at the same time quickly became overwhelming and he couldn’t help but cry.

“I’m sorry,” Taheyung sniffled, wiping away his tears as he stared at Jimin. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be helping you right now.” He frowned.

“It’s okay,” Jimin whispered, smiling small through tears. He wrapped his arms around his friend, bringing the younger boy in for a hug. “Let’s try and get some sleep, yeah? We’ve been up for a while.”

Taehyung fell asleep quickly in Jimin’s arms. It took Jimin a bit more time to slip into unconsciousness but he woke up a few moments later after being greeted with another nightmare, the fourth one of the night.

Jimin’s mind was foggy when he woke up, his breathing was heavy and he could feel small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He stared down at Taheyung who was still sleeping peacefully and wondered for a moment if he should wake him up.

He decided against doing so. Taehyung had been crying after seeing Jimin like this and Jimin didn’t want to overwhelm him even more. Letting Taheyung sleep was the right decision.

Jimin brought his knees to his chest as he reached and grabbed a bottle of water from the bedside table. He still kept one with him since nightmares always left his throat dry. He took a few sips and placed it back down.

His breathing was still heavy and uneven with the memories of his nightmares in his mind. The dream was about Yoongi again. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He tried to think of other stuff. He needs to distract himself but the older boy would pop into his mind no matter what.

Jimin breathed in a deep breath through his nose before counting to five in his head. He then breathed out slowly through his mouth, trying to calm himself down and regulate his breathing. He did this a few more times but it wasn’t working. Tears were slipping out of his eyes that were still screwed shut. All he could see was a zombified Yoongi - greyed, decayed skin, purple veins, tiny pupils and blood covering his entire body.

He opened his eyes rapidly and got out of bed, his feet hitting the cold wood floor beneath him, sending a shiver up his body. He needed to check on Yoongi. He just needed to see if he had turned yet. He needed to know.

The sound of Jimin’s feet hitting the floor of the random house they were in echoed across the hallway, even though he was trying to be as quiet as possible; he didn’t want to wake any of the other boys up.

When Jimin reached Yoongi’s door, he knocked hesitantly, speaking out Yoongi’s name with a whisper that seemed both loud and quiet at the same time. He waited a moment before knocking again, really hoping the older boy was awake.

But when Yoongi didn’t reply, Jimin closed his eyes and sighed. What was he thinking? It’s literally three in the morning, why would Yoongi be awake right now? Jimin should just head back to his room. He doesn’t want to wake up Taheyung so maybe he could write something in his notebook? Or maybe he could use his Rubik’s cube and tr-

“Jimin?” He heard a voice utter from the other side of the door and Jimin’s eyes opened wide immediately. “Is that you?”

“Yoongi,” Jimin whispered, placing a hand on the door. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I-I had a nightmare and I just needed to talk to you. It was dumb. I shouldn’t have woken you up,” He explained quickly, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He doesn’t know why this was making him feel so embarrassed all of a sudden. He had woken up Yoongi plenty of times after he had nightmares so why was it so different now? Maybe it had just been a bit too long since he had done so.

“Don’t apologise. It’s not dumb,” Yoongi muttered. He groaned from the other side of the door as he sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the door. “I was already awake anyway. I heard you knock the first time but it takes me a while to get to the door from the bed because my legs hurt,” He explained and a small ‘oh’ escaped past Jimin’s lips. That made sense.

Muscle aches and pains seemed like a common symptom that wasn’t talked about. When he had seen Yoongi earlier on, the boy was dragging his body across the floors and it seemed like he was really struggling to hold himself up. Soobin had been the same. Jimin remembered his friend leaning on him as they walked to the nurse’s office, tripping over his own feet. The same thing had happened to the other guy who had turned in his class too - the one who had bitten his teacher - he was slouching and leaning over his entire desk because his muscles were too weak to hold his body upright.

“You wanna talk about the nightmare?” Yoongi asked and Jimin nodded hesitantly before realising Yoongi couldn’t see him. He quickly mumbled out a quiet ‘yes’ as he took a deep breath, all while Yoongi waited patiently.

“It was about you,” Jimin finally whispered as he sat down on the floor. His back was leaning on the wall. “You were a zombie. I just, I just came here to check on you to see if you had tur- wanted to know if you were okay.” He quickly changed his words while he spoke. Saying the word turned was scary. Jimin didn’t know why. But after he spoke, he began to feel stupid. Of course, Yoongi wasn’t okay. He was on the verge of turning into a monster - would anyone feel okay in that situation?

Yoongi frowned after hearing what Jimin’s nightmare was about. He had expected it to happen but it hurt hearing it. Jimin had dreamt about so many horrible things - his mother dying, the boys dying, turning into a zombie, Taemin dying, the man at the restaurant - and now Yoongi was classed as one of those horrible things. Yoongi was making Jimin scared.

“I’m okay,” Yoongi ended up saying, trying to reassure Jimin but he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say next. Usually, he’d comfort Jimin, tell him that his nightmares won’t come true, that he'd be there to protect him. He’d hold Jimin, wipe his tears, kiss him, cuddle him until he fell asleep again. It’s not like he could do that now. He can’t tell Jimin his nightmares won’t come true because they are. He can’t say he’ll protect Jimin because he can’t. He’s far too weak now and soon, he’ll be a zombie. He can’t hold Jimin, he can’t kiss him, he can’t comfort him, not when he’s quarantining - it was for Jimin’s safety.

“Can we talk about something else?” Jimin suddenly asked. “I don’t want to think about it now. I just want to hear your voice.” Yoongi was grateful Jimin wanted to talk about something else. He wasn’t sure how to comfort him after a nightmare right now.

Yoongi hummed as he began thinking of something else they could talk about. An idea suddenly came to mind. “Do you know what I was doing before you got here?” He suddenly asked. He heard Jimin mutter a ‘no, what?’ after he spoke and Yoongi continued. “Looking at the stars,” He answered. “Every time I see them, I think of you.”

His words make a sleepy, shy smile appear on Jimin’s lips. Even though Yoongi couldn’t see him, Jimin covered his face with his hands.

“I think of the night in the treehouse. That was when I found out about my parents,” Yoongi muttered. Yoongi had been thinking about them earlier - his brother too. He missed them. Not a day goes by where he doesn’t. The only person he had left was his brother and Yoongi had no idea where he was now. He hoped he was okay. He hoped one day, he’d be able to see him again. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt that sad in my life but you saw me after I talked to my brother. You let me cry all over you and then you started talking about the stars and we looked for different constellations. You held my hands with your tiny ones and made them all warm,” Yoongi smiled at the memory. He didn’t know how the younger boy had managed to change his emotions so quickly but that was just the effect Jimin had on him. Jimin always made everything better. “You make me so happy.”

“Ah, stop,” Jimin whined sleepily. “Why’re you trying to make me even more emotional after a nightmare?”

Yoongi chuckled at Jimin’s words but groaned the second after. His jaw hurt. “Sorry,” Yoongi then apologised with a small smile.

“I miss the treehouse,” Jimin then spoke suddenly after a moment of silence. “We spent so much time there playing board games.”

“Me too,” Yoongi sighed. He missed the cabin in general a lot. It felt so homely to him. It made him feel safe and it reminded him of his parents. It felt like it was the only thing he had left. When they had left the cabin, Yoongi told himself he’d go back there with Jimin when all of this was over. It’s sad to think that won’t happen. “We should’ve taken some of the board games with us. Uno is fun but I don’t think any of the guys have played it in a while because it’s getting too repetitive.”

He heard Jimin hum in agreement and mutter something about a board game they should’ve brought with them.

“We should’ve brought the game with the penguin on the icebergs. You know the one where you knock down the small blocks without making the penguin fall?” Yoongi murmured. “I used to be so bad at that game. My brother always used to beat me whenever we played when we were younger. I got better though and now you’re the one that always loses, huh?” Yoongi laughed.

Jimin didn’t reply and Yoongi asked the younger boy if he had heard what he said. When Jimin didn't reply, Yoongi worried for a moment before realising that maybe Jimin had just fallen asleep.

“Did you really fall asleep in the middle of the hallway?” Yoongi talked under his breath rhetorically. He sighed as he stood up, groaning slightly at the pain in his muscles. Yoongi didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He couldn’t just leave Jimin to sleep in the hallway. It’s cold and he doesn’t wake Jimin to get sick.

Yoongi had a solution but he bit his lip, wondering if he should go through with his idea. He wanted to leave the room and take Jimin back to the boy’s bedroom. It could be dangerous since he’s infected and could turn at any moment but he hadn’t turned yet and it had been a long time. The blond then sighed and decided he wasn’t going to leave Jimin asleep on the floor. It would only take a second to take Jimin back.

He reached for the door of the bedroom he was in, unlocking it slowly and opening it up. He spotted Jimin on the floor, leaning against the wall while soft snores escaped past his pouty lips. Yoongi smiled fondly at the sight of him. He was adorable.

Despite the pain in his entire body, Yoongi bent down and picked Jimin up, one hand under the sleeping boy’s legs and the other supporting his back. Jimin sleepily muttered something incomprehensible and a few whines escaped out of his mouth but he soon settled in Yoongi’s arms, his head leaning against the older boy’s chest.

Yoongi tried to hold back his pained groans as he took Jimin back to the bedroom he was originally sleeping in. His muscles felt like they were burning. He really didn’t know how he was picking up Jimin right now. It hurt a lot to simply lift up a spoon when he was eating food so the pain he was feeling right now was through the roof but he didn’t want Jimin to sleep on the cold, hard floor and potentially end up with a cold.

After finally making it to the room Jimin was sleeping in, Yoongi carefully placed the boy into the bed. His hand reached for the blankets splayed on the bed and gently covered Jimin’s body, wrapping the sleeping boy up warmly.

He stared at Jimin for a moment. Even sleeping, Jimin looked so perfect. The boy’s pink hair had been slowly losing its colour. It had been getting longer too - his roots were showing through a little. His hair was falling against his forehead, nearly covering his eyes and Yoongi used a finger to move the hair out of Jimin’s face. After doing so, he leaned down a placed a small kiss on Jimin’s forehead ever so gently.

With that, Yoongi dragged himself back to the room he was sleeping in and locked the door.

He was happy he had seen Jimin earlier in the day and he was glad he got to see Jimin again, even if it was only for a small moment.

But he couldn’t help but think that those two moments may be the last time he’d ever see Jimin.

-

The next morning, Yoongi woke up late and strangely, he woke up in a very good mood.

Maybe it wasn’t strange though. He had seen Jimin twice yesterday and that made him happy. The mood from yesterday must’ve carried on into the next day.

One thing that definitely was strange though was his muscle pain. He usually awoke in extreme pain - his arms and legs would ache and it usually felt like his muscles were burning. He expected the pain in his body to be worse today since he had carried Jimin back to bed but unusually, he felt no pain at all.

His body actually felt good. He could walk around the room with ease. He even tried jumping on the bed and doing a handstand to see if that caused any pain and surprisingly, it didn’t. He felt completely fine.

It was weird because muscle pain was a key symptom of turning into a zombie but Yoongi didn’t think too much of it. The pain would probably be back tomorrow.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY FORTY-ONE
21:59

As days went on, Yoongi muscle pains never came back. He didn’t know why it was happening but he wasn’t complaining. He was glad he wasn’t in constant agony anymore but it was weird. He doesn’t think that losing pain was something that usually happened when people were infected.

Losing the aches and pains in his muscles wasn’t the only strange thing happening. Another symptom had begun lessening too.

The purple veins.

A few days after Yoongi noticed his muscle pain was gone, he woke up one morning and noticed the purple veins on his face that led up from his wound had faded. They were usually a dark, angry purple and the veins would be sticking out of his skin as if they were about to burst but now, they were a lighter shade of purple and they weren’t popping out of his skin anymore.

It didn’t stop there. It kept happening. Soon, the veins on Yoongi’s face were gone and now, the veins leading from his wound ended halfway up his neck instead. It worried him. This wasn’t normal - he knows that - but he didn’t say anything about it. There was no point in telling anyone about it because it was clear that he was still infected and he would still turn soon.

But that didn’t happen. The veins continued fading. Just like the ones on his face, the veins on his neck disappeared. There were only thick, dark purple veins on his chest, around his wound. When he wore a shirt, you couldn’t even see them.

He was worried. He didn’t know what was happening. He asked Jimin about it.

“That’s weird,” Jimin mumbled from the other side of the door. “When Soobin turned, his veins never went back to normal. It was the same for the other guy in my class. Their veins never changed back before they turned into zombies.”

It made Yoongi anxious. This clearly wasn’t normal and he was afraid it was bad.

A few more days passed and Yoongi’s purple veins disappeared entirely. If you looked at him, you wouldn’t be able to tell he was infected at all. He looked normal like he had never been infected in the first place.

The only symptom left was a fever - he always felt hot and he continued to have constant headaches that made the room sway underneath his feet every time he moved around - a clear sign that showed he was definitely still infected.

But one morning he woke up and all of that was just gone. He didn’t feel hot and his headache had disappeared. He felt fine.

No muscle pain, no fever and no purple veins.

No symptoms.

Yoongi didn’t know what was happening to him.

He told Namjoon about it. The leader of their survival group told Yoongi to leave his room, to come out and see all of the boys. He didn’t look like he was infected so why should they treat him like he was? Yoongi objected, telling the younger boy it wasn’t safe but he was quickly convinced when Namjoon said that all the boys needed to see him so that they could try to understand what was going on.

Now, here they are, sitting in the living room of the house they had broken into weeks ago. It was pretty late in the evening and the living room was dark. The only light sources were the moon outside and the single candle that they had lit, standing tall in the middle of the coffee table. Yoongi was sitting on the couch, Jimin on his right and Namjoon on his left. The rest of the boys were either sitting on the floor or were sitting on the other couch in the living room. They sat and stared at the blond in confusion.

“So,” Taehyung began speaking. “Is Yoongi okay now? Is he not infected?” His voice sounded hopeful. He wanted the answers to be yes, he’s okay, no, he’s not infected anymore. But the truth was, no one knew what was happening.

They were confused. After weeks of trying to deal with the fact that Yoongi would be gone soon, after weeks of crying and mourning the inevitable end to their friend’s life, after weeks of trying to cope, he was suddenly okay? Everything they were crying for, everything they were upset over had just disappeared? They were happy though. Of course, they were happy. Yoongi looked better. This is the first time a few of the boys had seen him in weeks and he looked good. He looked healthy.

But what was going on? Why did this happen? Why is he suddenly okay?

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Namjoon mumbled and Yoongi nodded his head, mumbling a small ‘neither do I’ after Namjoon had spoken. “There has to be some reasonable explanation for this though, right?” Namjoon suddenly questioned. “It makes no sense for you to lose all your symptoms for no reason.”

They’d never heard of or seen anything like this happen before. They’ve only seen people turn into zombies. It didn’t seem like anyone who ever gets infected actually survives.

Was this even a good thing? Yoongi losing his symptoms, looking better, feeling better - that was definitely good. Everyone was glad he wasn’t in pain anymore. But overall, was it a good thing? This was completely and utterly out of the ordinary. They didn’t know what was happening and what the consequences were and they were totally unprepared for what could happen next. Being uncertain during a zombie apocalypse where people's lives are at stake didn’t seem like a good thing.

No one wanted to think about that though. No one wanted to focus on any possible negative outcomes. So all the boys began thinking; they thought of any reasoning for why this was happening that was positive.

“Maybe only a small - like I’m talking really small - amount of blood went into his wound?” Jungkook said, after taking a moment to think. “And because it was such a small amount, it didn’t infect him properly?” He spoke, looking up at all the other boys to see if his idea made sense.

“Yeah. I mean that explains why he got symptoms and then lost them,” Jin began speaking, nodding at Jungkook’s idea.

“Or it could be an immune system thing,” Taehyung commented. The boys look over at him with confused faces, not understanding what he had meant. He quickly noticed their faces and began explaining. “Well, remember when we talked about why some people turn into zombies slower than other people do? We said it was either because there are different variants or because some people have better immune systems. Maybe Yoongi just has an insanely good immune system that fought it off?”

The boys murmured and talked to each other after Taehyung’s idea. It seemed like the one that was most likely but Yoongi just sighed after hearing the few possibilities they had thought of.

Jimin quickly noticed and turned to look at the older boy. “What?” He asked, a concerned look on his face and his voice seemed to catch the attention of everyone else. They all look over at Yoongi, waiting for his response.

“These are all…” Yoongi paused. “Really, really positive outlooks on this situation.” He finally said what the rest of the boys were too afraid to say. “What if I’m still infected and this is just one of those weird variants that make the symptoms go away?” Yoongi spoke desperately, his voice full of fear. “It’s dangerous for me to even be out of the room.”

“We don’t know that,” Hobi responded and Yoongi sighed again.

“You’re right but we shouldn’t be taking chances on your lives just because of me,” Yoongi spoke stubbornly and the room fell silent. Jimin frowned. “I think you should go,” Yoongi then whispered after a few moments.

“What?” Jimin asked. Go? He wanted them to go? How could they do that? How does Yoongi think they could just leave him?

Yoongi looked up at Jimin. “You guys need to go to the quarantine centre. You should leave me here. You guys should go,” Yoongi repeated, explaining what he meant a bit more. “You’ve been waiting long enough. You guys need to get to safe-.”

“We can’t leave you here,” Jin interrupted and a few of the other boys murmured in agreement. They cared far too much about Yoongi to leave him here.

“You can’t stay here either!” Yoongi exclaimed. “I don’t understand why you are all so insistent in sacrificing your lives to stay here with me!” Yoongi didn’t get it. Why wouldn’t they just go? Yoongi was scared of hurting them so why can’t they just leave and get to safety?

It made Jimin sad. It upset him to hear Yoongi say those words. Yoongi had taken so many risks for the other boys. He had killed the girl, his neighbour for Namjoon, putting his life in danger and also mentally scarring himself. He had killed the zombie that broke into the cabin and pushed Taemin off of the rooftop for Jimin. In both of those situations, Yoongi could have died. He had sacrificed his life for the boys, so why did he find it so crazy that the boys would do the same for him?

Jimin was crying. As soon as Yoongi mentioned the boys leaving him here, the tears began. “We’re not leaving you,” Jimin mumbled, sniffling through tears. He can’t leave Yoongi. He can’t. “No one wants to.”

“We should go and you should come with us,” Jungkook said and Yoongi saw a few of the guys nod in agreement.

“I can’t,” The blond shook his head. He can’t endanger the boys. He doesn’t want to think about the fact that he might hurt one of them if they continued to stay here with him.

“You can. How do you expect us to get to this stupid quarantine centre anyway?” Jimin retorted with a whisper. He was regretting the decision he made back at the cabin. He was the reason they were in this situation. He had persuaded the boys to leave the cabin, telling them that trying to get to the quarantine centre was a safer option. This was his fault. Yoongi even told him that the trip might be dangerous but he didn’t listen. Maybe Jimin could’ve prevented this all.

“You’re the only one who knows the way around here. You have to come,” Jin commented, agreeing with Jimin.

“You’ll figure it out,” Yoongi spoke, looking at Jin and the oldest boy frowned. “There’s signs and-,”

“No,” Jimin cut Yoongi off, wiping his tears away as he shook his head. “You have to come.” Seeing Jimin cry made Yoongi breathe out heavily. It hurts to see Jimin like this. He wanted to cry too.

“You either come with us or we’re staying here with you,” Hobi said firmly. “We’re not leaving you alone.” Yoongi shut his eyes tight and sighed. They can’t. What if he hurt them?

“Let’s talk about this tomorrow,” Namjoon suddenly spoke and all eyes looked over to him. “We’re tired. We can talk about this tomorrow after we’ve slept and are in a better headspace, yeah?”

The boys agreed. Yoongi nodded as he stood up and walked over to his bedroom. He’s certain his mindset won’t change over a few hours of sleep.

After seeing Yoongi get up and leave, Jimin quickly got up and followed the older boy to the bedroom he was staying in. Yoongi walked into the bedroom first and Jimin was right behind him.

“Can I sleep in your room today?” Jimin asked and Yoongi quickly turned around after hearing the pink-haired boy’s voice. He didn’t know Jimin had followed him.

“I, um, I don’t know,” Yoongi sighed. “I don’t know if you’ll be safe if you stay here with me,” He added.

“I will be,” Jimin nodded surely. “Your symptoms are gone. That’s a good thing.” He was still a little in denial. The outcomes of this situation were uncertain but he didn’t want to think about what Yoongi had said. He didn’t want what the older brother said to be true - that this was just a weird variant that makes your symptoms disappear, that Yoongi was still infected. It would make him more upset. He’d rather pretend this was just good.

“We don’t know that.”

“Please?” Jimin looked at Yoongi’s eyes, a pleading expression plastered onto his face. He had been missing Yoongi so much. He missed seeing him, talking to him, touching him, kissing him. There was nothing more he wanted to do right now than to sleep beside Yoongi. He missed the way Yoongi held him, whispering small words of comfort in his ear. He missed Yoongi.

Yoongi breathed out slowly. “I don’t want to hurt you, flower,” He then whispered and Jimin frowned as he walked over to the older boy. His hands cupped Yoongi’s face and his thumb ran over his cheek, caressing the skin that was tainted with purple only a few days ago. Yoongi shut his eyes at the small touch.

“You won’t,” Jimin murmured softly.

Yoongi wanted to say yes but this all felt so unnecessarily risky. Jimin could sleep on his own and Yoongi could sleep on his own and they’d be safe. What if Jimin got hurt when they roomed together tonight?

But also, what if it’s fine? What if losing his symptoms is a good thing? What if Yoongi really wasn’t infected? Then letting Jimin sleep in his room wouldn’t be an issue.

After hearing all the boys’ guesses as to why this was happening, Yoongi felt a smidge of hope. Maybe he was okay, maybe he wasn’t infected and maybe things were fine. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

He wished they didn’t have any positive outlooks. Yoongi doesn’t want to be hopeful because if the actual outcome isn’t good, he’ll be so disappointed. His soul would be destroyed and he’d feel dead even if he hadn’t turned yet.

“Yoongi?” Jimin then whispered after Yoongi hadn’t replied. “Please?”

Yoongi opened his eyes and stared at Jimin’s eyes for a moment. He missed him. God, he missed him so much. He’d been craving to hold Jimin in his arms as he used to these last few days. He missed having Jimin by his side as he slept. The bed was always cold no matter how many blankets he piled onto himself because Jimin wasn’t there. Everything felt different without Jimin.

He sighed before placing his hand over the hand Jimin had placed on his cheek. “Okay,” Yoongi gave in with a small whisper. Jimin broke into a smile and leaned in to kiss Yoongi but the older boy moved his head back. “I still might be infected,” Yoongi gently reminded again and Jimin groaned.

“It’s so embarrassing that it’s happened twice,” Jimin grumbled as a pout made its way onto his pretty lips. Yoongi smiled fondly before mumbling a ‘what?’ “I got rejected by my boyfriend twice,” Jimin explained, removing his hand from Yoongi’s cheek and the older boy frowned small at the loss of contact. Jimin held out two fingers.

“I didn’t reject you. I’d kiss you if I could,” Yoongi retorted with a shrug. “And boyfriend?” He questioned. He didn’t remember them making anything official but he really did consider Jimin his boyfriend anyway - if he had to introduce Jimin to someone right now, he’d call the younger boy his boyfriend.

Yoongi saw Jimin widen his eyes for a moment before he then shyly nodded. “Yeah. Boyfriend,” Jimin whispered. Yoongi smiled before pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s forehead. “I missed you,” Yoongi then heard Jimin mutter.

He pulled away and looked at Jimin. He used a hand to push the small strands of faded pink hair on Jimin’s forehead away. “I missed you too,” He then whispered. Jimin groaned and Yoongi stared at him, a little confused.

“This is so unfair. I really want to kiss you right now,” Jimin complained. Yoongi chuckled before leaning in and pressing a kiss to Jimin’s cheek, and then the other cheek, and then his forehead and then his nose. It made Jimin giggle and Yoongi did it again, just to hear the boy’s laugh.

After all this pain, it was nice to hear Jimin sound happy.

The two slept soon after that. Jimin slept with his head tucked away into Yoongi’s chest - the place he felt the safest - and Yoongi had his arm placed around Jimin’s waist, holding the boy tightly.

The younger boy fell asleep fast. Being with Yoongi made him feel so peaceful, so safe and it helped him fall asleep quickly because he wasn’t worrying.

Yoongi felt like he could cry. He was locked away in this room yesterday. He was crying because of the pain in his muscles, the ache in his head a week ago. He cried because he thought he’d turn into a zombie. He sobbed because he thought he’d never be able to see Jimin again.

And now here he was - holding Jimin in his arms. He really thought he’d never be able to do this again. He was so lucky. He was so lucky he could do this right now.

He pulled Jimin closer to him and tightened his grip. He stared down at the boy in his arms and took the moment in, savouring it like it was the last time he’d be able to do this because who knows? He still may be infected and this really may be the last moment he holds Jimin.

Yoongi fell asleep soon, his mind filled with sweet dreams of Jimin. Jimin was dreaming of Yoongi too. But it was different. It wasn’t sweet. It was horrifying.

In Jimin’s nightmare, Yoongi was still showing symptoms but they were much, much worse and there were more. The fever had gotten worse. Yoongi was literally burning. Jimin touched the older boy’s forehead in his nightmare and Jimin’s hand was left with a large, red, inflamed mark - he had burnt his hand. Touching Yoongi’s forehead felt like putting your hand on top of an open fire.

Two new symptoms had shown up in Jimin’s nightmare: decaying skin and tiny pupils. Yoongi’s skin had turned grey and parts of his face had rotted off. Jimin could see the actual bones under the skin of Yoongi’s face peek through and there was blood everywhere: on Yoongi’s face, his hands, his shirt and all over the floor. And the pretty brown eyes Jimin once looked into had become tiny. They had shrunk and they were black and were terrifying to look at.

And the veins. They weren’t even purple anymore. They were black and they were rising out of Yoongi’s skin, pulsating. Jimin could see the blood pumping through them. They were everywhere. They were on his arms, hands, his legs, his chest, his face, even in the white parts of Yoongi’s eyes.

But Yoongi wasn’t a zombie. He was still Yoongi; he was still human. He was just on the very edge of turning. He would groan and growl in pain when he moved, when the pressure of the black veins pushed against his skin, when parts of his face continued to rot and fall off, hitting the ground with a large splat and Jimin had to watch. Jimin had to watch him fight for his life in excruciating agony.

He woke up dizzy and in tears with a feeling of overwhelming dread that he couldn’t put into words. He felt like he couldn’t breathe and his heart was pounding, he was sweating and all he could think of was Yoongi.

His eyes snapped over to look at the sleeping boy beside him. Jimin quickly looked at Yoongi’s arms, then he kicked the blanket off of their bodies to look at his legs, then he looked at his neck and brushed the hair away from his forehead to look at his face properly. He needed to see if there were veins. He needed to know if Yoongi still had symptoms.

Jimin shook Yoongi awake and when the older boy’s eyes finally snapped open, Jimin looked into them, searching for any black veins there too.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Yoongi asked frantically as sat up. He could see the look of panic, the look of fear on Jimin’s face. Jimin didn’t reply. The younger boy's hands just grabbed hold onto Yoongi’s shirt and gripped the material tightly. “Jimin? Was it a nightmare?”

“I-I need to,” Jimin paused to take a breath, tears still rolling down his face. “I need to see if you still have symptoms. You don’t, right? You don’t?” His voice was shaky and desperate and he was begging Yoongi to answer.

The older boy quickly shook his head. “I have no symptoms, Jimin. I don’t have any,” Yoongi explained calmly as his hand went to cup the crying boy’s cheek.

“No. No, but I, I need to,” Jimin shook his head fast, his eyes screwed shut, causing a few tears to leak out and fall down his cheeks as his grip on Yoongi's shirt tightened further. Yoongi whispered a few words to him, telling his boyfriend to take a few deep breaths for him before he continued talking. Jimin did as told and it did help him calm down a little but he was still crying and still distressed over this nightmare. “I need to see it myself. I need to see,” Jimin repeated a few times but Yoongi didn’t understand. See what?

“See what, flower? I need you to explain a little and then I can let you see whatever it is you’re asking for, okay?” Yoongi’s voice was deep and calm and soft and it made Jimin feel calmer. Jimin nodded and his small hand placed itself flat on Yoongi’s chest, right over where the zombie had scratched him. He pointed to the area, mumbling a quiet ‘here,’ and Yoongi finally understood. Jimin needed to see the wound. It made sense because that was the only part of his body Jimin couldn’t see at all.

“Can- Can I see?” Jimin stuttered out shakily, looking up to look into Yoongi’s eyes. The older boy nodded slowly before Jimin finally let go of Yoongi’s shirt, allowing the blond to take it off.

When he took his shirt off, Jimin stared down at Yoongi’s chest before he breathed out a deep breath slowly and shut his eyes. No purple veins. All that was there was a huge scar in the shape of the zombie scratch. No purple veins. No symptoms. Jimin’s small hand reached over to Yoongi, carefully placing his fingertips on the older boy’s chest. The pad of his index finger gently traced the scar left by the zombie.

“No purple veins,” Jimin muttered, more to himself than to Yoongi, just to calm himself down a little more, just so he could process that Yoongi was okay.

“No purple veins,” Yoongi repeated quietly, reassuring Jimin that whatever he saw in his nightmare wasn’t real. At the sound of Yoongi's voice, Jimin looked up from the blond’s chest and looked into his eyes. “And I don’t have a fever and my muscles don’t hurt. It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Jimin suddenly apologised, sighing quietly to himself. “I forgot what really happened again,” He then whispered. This had happened before when the boys were at the rooftop campsite, when Jimin had cut his leg but in his nightmare, he had been bitten and he had to check his wound because he couldn’t remember what had truly happened. His nightmares were just so realistic sometimes and it was hard to tell the difference between his dreams and reality.

“Don’t apologise,” Yoongi spoke softly with a gentle smile. “Come here,” He then mumbled as his arms pulled Jimin closer to him. Yoongi was leaning against the headboard and Jimin was sitting in between his legs. “Do you want to talk about the nightmare?” Yoongi asked as his arms wrapped themselves around Jimin.

Jimin paused and Yoongi waited patiently, allowing the boy in his arms to think for a moment. Jimin soon nodded his head slightly to answer the question Yoongi had asked.

He paused again, trying to compile his thoughts so he could explain what had happened in his dream. “It was-, you were still showing symptoms,” Jimin began explaining. “They were worse and there were more. Your fever was so bad and you couldn’t even walk and your face was rotting off. There were black veins everywhere, all over you and you were in so much pain,” He choked out as he covered his face with his hands. “It felt so real. I thought it was real. I thought you were still hurting.”

Yoongi kissed the back of his head softly. “It’s okay. I’m okay,” He whispered quietly as he pulled Jimin even closer to him. The distressed boy seemed to calm down a little after the small touches - Jimin sighed and leaned back into Yoongi’s chest.

“I know,” Jimin whispered. “But it’s still scary. I don’t like thinking of you like that,” He continued. His fingers began tracing small patterns into Yoongi’s arms, drawing small flowers, tracing his name and Yoongi’s name with little hearts.

“Then don’t,” Yoongi muttered. “Don’t think of me in your nightmare. Think of me in a different moment, think of something we did together, when you were happy.” Jimin paused to think and a couple of ideas quickly came to mind. “Tell me about it,” Yoongi then whispered, wanting to hear what Jimin was thinking.

“When I made you a daisy chain bracelet,” Jimin mumbled as he began tracing flowers over Yoongi’s wrist with his index finger. “And when we, when we kissed. I think those were the only times I felt,” He paused to think of the right word. “Those were the only times I felt peaceful. I didn’t have to think about anything but you. I wasn’t scared.”

“When we kissed, huh?” Yoongi teased and Jimin whined, smacking the older boy’s arm lightly before going back to tracing small patterns into his skin. The two then fell silent but it wasn’t awkward. It was peaceful. Yoongi felt like he could fall asleep with Jimin in his arms. The way the younger boy was running his finger along his arm was making him sleepy.

“I’m still scared though,” Jimin then murmured softly. His words made Yoongi focus properly again - he asked why, wanting to know so he could help. “Wait,” Jimin suddenly spoke. He turned his body around, now sitting in Yoongi’s lap while facing him. When Yoongi looked at him with a confused expression Jimin said, “I just want to look at your face.”It made Yoongi laugh softly and that made Jimin smile.

“So what were you going to say before?” Yoongi questioned as he wrapped his arms around Jimin’s waist.

“Oh yeah,” Jimin nodded. “You said this morning that losing your symptoms might not be a good thing,” He began explaining. “I thought it was a good thing but what if it’s not? What if you still are? You won’t kiss me and I-I don’t know. What if it is a weird variant and I,” He took a breath. “This is so scary.”

Yoongi didn’t know what to say because all the things Jimin was saying were true and he was just as scared as the younger boy was.

“I know. I’m scared too,” Yoongi admitted and Jimin suddenly felt horrible.

Getting infected, going through all of the symptoms and believing you’re going to turn into a monster, just to lose them and then be completely uncertain about what is going to happen next must be so, so traumatising and Jimin had just reminded Yoongi of all the pain he had to go through, scaring him in the middle of the night.

“But you have to think positively,” Yoongi said, pushing Jimin’s hair back with his hand. He was very aware that he sounded hypocritical right now since he was so negative about this whole situation earlier on but he didn’t want Jimin to be sad. “What if it is a good thing? If you keep thinking negatively, it’s going to drive you insane,” Yoongi said. “We’ll be okay.”

Jimin nodded, feeling a little better but he still felt bad. He didn’t mean to scare Yoongi by reminding him of everything. “I’m sorry for bringing that stuff up, by the way,” Jimin apologised, looking up at Yoongi’s eyes while he bit his lip nervously. Yoongi cocked an eyebrow upwards and Jimin quickly began explaining what he meant when he saw the blond’s reaction. “Being infected is horrible and this situation is so confusing. I’m sorry for waking you up and reminding you about it all in the middle of the night.”

He saw Yoongi smile. “You’re silly,” The older boy commented. “You don’t need to apologise, baby. You’re allowed to talk about the things you’re scared of if it helps you. It doesn’t upset me.”

“Oh,” Jimin responded, feeling relieved. “But you said you were scared.”

“When are we not scared? There are zombies everywhere all the time,” Yoongi replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I was trying to show you that you weren’t the only one who was afraid, that your fears aren't irrational. I’m sorry it made you think I was upset.”

“Don’t apologise,” Jimin then said, copying what Yoongi had just said a moment ago and it made Yoongi chuckle. The older boy pushed a few stray strands of hair away from Jimin’s face before cupping his cheek.

“You’re so sweet,” Yoongi mumbled as he kissed the younger boy’s cheek gently. “Always so caring,” He complimented again and Jimin covered his face with his hands, blushing underneath them. Yoongi’s hands moved them away and Jimin stared at him with a wide smile and pink cheeks.

Jimin suddenly yawned and Yoongi smiled, calling him cute and it made Jimin blush yet again.

“You want to go to sleep?” Yoongi asked and Jimin nodded slowly as he picked up Yoongi’s shirt from the other side of the bed because that’s where the older boy had thrown it after Jimin had made him take it off. He passed it to Yoongi, telling him to put it on because it was cold, even though he would've loved it if Yoongi had kept it off.

The two then moved and shifted positions, now laying down on the bed, Yoongi spooning Jimin, holding him against his chest and they began to fall asleep. Yoongi kissed Jimin’s head before he closed his eyes and it left Jimin with a soft smile on his lips as he began slipping into unconsciousness.

-

Yoongi woke up the next morning with a smile. The bed was always empty and it was usually cold every time he had woken up alone but today, he woke up beside Jimin and the bed was warm and he felt all fuzzy on the inside.

He didn’t hurt Jimin. He didn’t turn.

He began thinking about what Jimin had said to him a few days ago, when he wanted to come to see Yoongi while he was locked away in this room. He told the older boy that when people finally turned, their bodies would shake violently and that he’d leave if that ever happened to Yoongi.

Maybe he should go with the boys to the quarantine centre? The boys could do the same thing that Jimin was talking about. Yoongi could go with them and if they saw his body shake, they could quickly get him out of their car and keep themselves safe.

It’d be better that way for the boys’ safety too. They’d be able to get to the safe camp quicker because Yoongi knew the way. If Yoongi drove, they’d only be two and a half hours away from Seoul and another half an hour away from the quarantine centre but if the other boys drive, it could take a couple of hours longer because they didn’t know how to get there; they didn’t know their way around the countryside as Yoongi did.

And maybe the centre would have answers. Yoongi knew he shouldn’t get too hopeful because he might end up really disappointed by the outcome but he can’t help but think about the information the people at the quarantine centre might have. What if they knew why he was losing symptoms? What if they had something that slowed the process of turning into a zombie down and made the symptoms less painful? What if they had a cure?

“Yoongi,” He suddenly heard Jimin whine from beside him. He turned his head and saw Jimin smiling with his eyes closed. The younger boy shuffled towards him, draping an arm over his body and snuggling into his chest. “Good morning,” Jimin muttered happily, a sleepy smile on his face.

“Good morning,” Yoongi replied, a smile suddenly on his face too. “I want to tell you something.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“I think I’m going to come to the quarantine centre with you guys,” Yoongi spoke bluntly, getting straight to the point. Jimin quickly snapped his head up, staring at the boy with wide eyes and a big smile.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” Yoongi nodded. He began telling Jimin the things he had been thinking about. He told Jimin about how they could protect themselves from him if his body started to shake. He told Jimin how they’d be able to get there faster if he went with them. He told Jimin about his hopes for the quarantine centre. Jimin smiled widely the entire time.

After Yoongi had finished talking, Jimin jumped out of the bed. Yoongi groaned - the bed was cold again. He saw Jimin babble on about how they needed to tell the boys everything right now and how they needed to leave and how he was so happy that Yoongi wanted to come with them.

He saw Jimin walk out of the room and run along to the living room before hearing his boyfriend’s loud voice happily exclaiming that Yoongi would be coming with them.

Yoongi smiled as he got out of bed and followed Jimin to the living room. The rest of the group were already awake, which was normal since Yoongi and Jimin would wake up in the middle of the night because of the younger one’s nightmares. They all stared up at Yoongi with happy smiles.

“You’re coming?” Namjoon asked, his eyes filled with hope. He smiled widely, dimples on show when he saw Yoongi nod. “Okay! Let’s pack up and leave soon. Is an hour enough time for everyone?”

The boys agreed. One hour until they would leave, until they’d be on the road again.

Then there’d only be a few more hours until they got to Seoul. A few more hours until they’d be safe.

They’d finally be safe.

Chapter Text

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
DAY FORTY-TWO
14:44

Driving to Seoul was taking longer than Yoongi thought it would.

Driving around when they were back at the cabin, in the countryside, was easy but the closer and closer they got to the city, the more cars there were just completely stranded and abandoned in the middle of the roads. Yoongi had to drive around them and it slowed down the journey quite a bit - it took an hour longer than he thought it would.

They made it though.

Seoul looked like something out of Jimin’s nightmares. Jimin was looking out of the passenger’s seat window, his eyes wide and scared as he stared at the city he used to call home. There were broken down cars everywhere, crashed into each other, stores with their front doors beaten down and glass windows shattered. The city was dirty; waste disposed everywhere all over the streets. And bodies - Jimin wasn’t sure if they were humans, zombies or both but looking at them made him feel sick.

Pale bodies, some with purple veins, some without. Bodies with bullet holes in their chests, legs, their heads. Bodies with bruises all over their skin. Bodies with dried-up blood on their faces, their arms and legs, their clothes and the puddles of blood surrounding their bodies on the floor. The bugs: flies that buzzed in the air and maggots that stuck to their wounds and crawled around. The sight made Jimin grimace. He was glad he was inside the car. He doesn’t want to think about the smell outside.

“Yoongi, do you want someone else to drive now that we’re in Seoul?” Jin suddenly asked and Jimin was glad someone had spoken - it took his mind away from the corpses. Now that they were in Seoul, Yoongi didn’t have to drive anymore since the other boys knew their way around the city. Jimin turned to look at the older boy and saw him nod.

Jungkook was quick to volunteer to take Yoongi’s place. The two swapped places. Jungook was sitting in the driver’s seat and Yoongi was sitting in the seat behind Jimin. Jimin was about to ask Taehyung, who was sitting in between Yoongi and Jin, if he wanted to swap places too, knowing Taehyung would want to sit beside Jungkook in the front of the car.

But when Jimin heard a loud bang coming from his window, he cut himself off and turned his head to look at what was causing the noise, a little frightened. He saw two zombies outside his door, one banging its decayed hand against the window - its fingers were just bones since most of the flesh had rotted off - and the other was slamming its head repeatedly into the glass, leaving blood on the window. Jimin looked behind them and saw a few more zombies running towards their car. He quickly told Jungkook to begin driving, knowing if more of them started hitting the window, it would probably break - just like the window in the cabin did.

Jungkook complied and began driving. Yoongi said it would only take another half hour and hearing the words made Jimin’s stomach drop - not in a bad way though; it was like the heavy feeling you feel in your tummy when a roller coaster drops. His heart was pounding too, fast and hot in anticipation. He was excited.

They ran into a problem soon, when they were only ten minutes away from the quarantine centre and the heavy feeling in Jimin’s stomach rapidly changed from excitement to apprehensiveness. There were what seemed like hundreds of cars crashed into each other completely blocking the long, long road they needed to get through to reach the quarantine centre.

Jungkook sighed and reversed the car so that they could take a different path but when they turned onto another road, it was the same - crashed cars covered the road and it would be practically impossible to drive through them.

“I think we need to get out and start walking,” Namjoon commented and Jimin felt his heart skip a beat. Seoul was overflowing with zombies and the likelihood of one attacking them was much, much higher compared to the countryside. Jimin didn’t want to get attacked by one again and he didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

“It’ll be fine. We’re together and the centre isn’t too far from here. It’s going to be okay,” Yoongi mumbled. He saw Jimin widen his eyes after Namjoon had spoken and so the older boy was quick to speak words of reassurance to comfort Jimin.

The boys exited the car but not before grabbing their bags, bats and axes, holding their weapons up high. As soon as they exited the car, the stench in the air made Jimin want to gag. He covered his mouth and nose with his hand. It was a smell so putrid that Jimin really felt like he was about to throw up.

The boys began walking and as they did so, Jimin looked into the cars they were walking past. It was definitely a mistake because seeing all the broken down cars, knowing that the people these cars belonged to were probably long dead made him sad. One car, in particular, had a small child’s car seat inside. The door was wide open and outside the door lay a small, brown teddy bear on the road, now red because it was covered in blood. It made Jimin sad. It reminded him of the man at Mr Shin’s rooftop campsite, the one that let the boys take his car. He had lost his family.

Jimin suddenly heard a loud growl a few metres away from him and he quickly spun his head around to see a zombie staggering towards him. He rapidly lifted up his bat, knocking the zombie down to the floor and killing it. He closed his eyes when he felt the zombie’s blood hit his cheek and his shirt. He breathed out slowly and opened his eyes. He can’t get distracted like that by looking around and focusing on things that aren’t zombies. He’d get killed if he kept doing that.

“You okay?” Yoongi asked suddenly and it made Jimin flinch. “Sorry,” The blond then whispered as he lifted up his thumb and wiped the blood off of Jimin’s cheek.

The boys continued walking, Jimin and Yoongi were side by side. Jimin was scared for his life but at the same time, there was a giddy feeling inside him. It was a weird feeling - being terrified and excited all at the same time.

And then he saw it - the quarantine centre. He felt his heart skip beats and there was only one word repeating itself in his mind: safety. They’re safe. They’re here. They made it. They’re going to be safe.

Jimin saw masses of men in military uniforms standing outside the centre, huge guns in their arms and protective plastics around their arms and necks to prevent them from getting bitten. When they saw the boys, all the men raised their guns. Jimin felt alarmed for a moment but after one man noticed they weren’t zombies, he ordered the men to lower their weapons.

A few men came up to the boys and Jimin expected them to ask them questions. Questions about if they had been bitten or infected or something along those lines but the men said nothing and only led them inside the bundling.

Jimin’s eyes widened at what he saw. Inside was just rows and rows and rows of people getting their blood taken. He didn’t know what was happening or what was going on.

“Hello!” A lady suddenly said as she walked up to them. She had a nurse’s uniform on and she smiled widely at all seven boys. “I’m your nurse for today. If you’d like to enter our centre, we need all of you to complete blood tests so we can test if any of you are infected.”

They could test for infections? Yoongi felt all the colour drain from his face. He hadn’t thought about this part. He didn’t know what he thought would happen once they got to the quarantine centre but now here they are. He probably won’t be allowed to stay if he’s infected, right?

“What if we are?” Yoongi questioned quietly.

“We’ll discuss that if it happens,” The nurse smiled and it only made Yoongi feel much more anxious. “We’ll also be checking if any of you are immune. If you are, we’d like to ask for you to complete extra tests - it helps the doctors at another lab to help make a future vaccination.”

Immune?

“Immune?” Jimin whispered in question and the nurse nodded. “Some people are immune?” He looked over at Yoongi, his eyes filled with hope. Maybe, just maybe, Yoongi was immune. Maybe Yoongi would be okay.

“Yes,” The nurse nodded again. “Some people are already completely immune due to their innate immune system, which is active from the moment you’re born. If these people manage to get infected, their body fights it off. They show symptoms for a while but they eventually go away.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This has to be some sort of dream. He thought he was going to die. He thought he’d turn into a blood-thirsty zombie, that’d he’d hurt Jimin but all this time, he might’ve been immune?

Jimin felt like he could cry. He had no idea people could be immune and that Yoongi fit right into the criteria. Yoongi would be okay. This whole time Yoongi was okay.

“I think I might be immune,” The blond mumbled and the nurse’s eyes sparkled.

“Really? We haven’t had much luck with finding immune people. There’s only a handful of people in this centre who are,” She commented. That explained why she seemed excited. Being immune must be a huge deal. “Were you bitten before?” She enquired.

Yoongi shook his head. “No, but the zombie's blood got into my system. I had symptoms for weeks but they all went away.”

“That’s great! You’d be a great help with the vaccination,”
She nodded.

“About the vaccine, how far has it come along?” Namjoon then asked.

“Not very far,” The nurse muttered. “But it’s slowly coming along. It’ll help people who haven’t turned yet - it should hopefully help their bodies fight the disease as immune people do.”

It’ll help people who haven’t turned yet.

Yoongi could only think about his parents. They had turned. Was there no way to help them? Was there no way to help the millions of other people who had turned too?

“What about people who have turned?” He decided to ask. He heard the nurse sigh and he could tell the answer wasn’t going to be great.

“I’m not sure. I’m positive there will be something to help them in the future though,” She answered truthfully. The questions from the boys soon end. “Now, if you’d all follow me over here so all of you can get tested,” She smiled as she began walking.

The boys were sitting in a row of seats. Jimin is at the front of the line right now. The boys at the back - Namjoon, Jin, Hobi, Jungkook and Taehyung had already had their blood taken. Yoongi and Jimin were the only two left. The nurse was holding a needle to Jimin’s arm and he could see his blood getting taken.

“So, how many of these centres are there?” Jungkook questioned. The nurse looked up from Jimin’s arm to see who had spoken.

“Just a few,” She responded. “There’s two here in Seoul and a few others in the big cities. We’re trying to get as many survivors into them as possible.”

“Do you know how all this happened?” Jimin asked. He had always been curious. How did the first person to get this disease turn into a zombie? What was the story behind it?

“Human-testing,” The nurse replied. She took the needle out of Jimin’s arm and the boy stood up, allowing Yoongi, who was sitting behind him, to move forward and get his blood taken next. “A group of scientists were doing human trials in hopes of finding a treatment for an incurable disease. They injected a liquid into their patient’s body and it somehow caused the cells in their body to mutate - it made their bodies both dead and alive at the same time,” She explained thoroughly. “The patient ended up getting a fever and was taken to the hospital. The patient turned into a zombie there.“

It was a children’s hospital - Summertime’s Children Hospital - the one Soobin worked at, Jimin remembered. It was a child. The first person to turn into a zombie was a child.

“Oh,” Jimin whispered sadly.

“It’s sad, really. They thought they were helping,” She muttered. She soon took the needle out of Yoongi’s arm and all the boys had now had their blood taken. “Okay! You’ve all given me blood samples. Now, if you follow this nurse here,” She beckoned another nurse over to them. He smiled at the boys. “He’ll take you all to another room. You’ll have to stay there until we get your results. It’ll take an hour at the most.”

The boys followed the other nurse to a separate room. While there, Jimin took his Rubik’s cube out of his bag - he needed something to pass the time in here. He fiddled with it for a few minutes and completed the blue side. He showed Yoongi, who smiled widely at him.

Jimin then solved the red side. He showed Yoongi again and the older boy praised him for completing two of the colours. Jimin then did the yellow side, and then the orange side, and then the green side.

Five out of six of the sides were completed. This was the most Jimin had ever been able to solve and he had managed to do it all so fast. Things just seemed like they were suddenly fitting into place. He stared hard at the Rubik’s cube - only the white side was left. He fiddled with it some more, twisting and turning the sides but being careful not to mess up any of the other colours and suddenly, the white side was done.

He solved the Rubik’s cube. After over a month, Jimin had finally solved the Rubik’s cube. It felt sort of surreal. This thing that Jimin had her focusing on so much for so long was now just finished. It was done, completely finished.

He hurriedly told Yoongi, who genuinely looked surprised after seeing the cube. He asked Jimin if he could muddle it up again so he could try solving it for himself and the younger boy was quick to say no. He didn’t want to mess up the Rubik’s cube after he had just fixed it. Seeing it completely solved made him feel a small sense of pride.

A few moments later, a man walked into their room. He told all the boys - including Yoongi - that they weren’t infected. Jimin hugged Yoongi so tight, wrapping his arms and snuggling his head into the older boy’s chest. He was happy. He was so happy that Yoongi was okay.

Yoongi was immune. The man asked Yoongi if he’d be okay with doing further tests and Yoongi quickly consented. He wanted to help as much as he could. The man told Yoongi he’d have to come down to the testing rooms in a few days.

After the man left, the nurse that had taken their blood samples walked into their room.

“Before all of you boys go into the centre, I’ll need to put your information into our database - things like your name, ages and any health-related pieces of information,” As she talked, she led them over to a computer. Yoongi perked up after he saw the screen and the long, long list of names on it.

“Is that the list of all the survivors here?” Yoongi asked as he pointed to the list on the computer screen.

The nurse hummed, “Here and the other centres.”

Yoongi thought about his brother, the only person he had left. The last time they had spoken, his brother was in Seoul. Maybe he had made it into one of the two centres here. It wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?

“Is there any chance I could check if some of my family is here?” Yoongi asked.

“I’ll need a first and last name. Their date of birth too,” The nurse informed and Yoongi nodded, telling his brother’s information to the nurse. She typed a few things into the computer and nodded when a result popped up. “Ah, yes! He’s actually here.”

“What?” Yoongi replied, his eyes wide. Here? Here. His brother is here? Here? He felt tears in the corner of his eyes immediately after hearing the news.

“He got here a few weeks ago,” The nurse smiled. “You can all check up on your family members after I get all of your details into the database,” She said to the rest of the boys.

“Oh my God,” Yoongi whispered, wiping the tears away from his face. His brother is here. His brother is here and he’s safe. He felt Jimin hug his side and Yoongi pulled him in closer, holding him tight.

The boys began telling the nurse all their details in a hurry, eager to find out if their families were doing okay. Jimin thought his mother was in this camp and he was right - she was here. He was going to see her.

Taehyung found out that both his parents and his siblings were in the other centre in Seoul. He cried after hearing the news and hugged Jimin tightly. Jimin remembered how much he wanted to go home on the first day of the apocalypse. He was glad Taehyung would be able to see his family at some point now.

Namjoon’s father was in the other centre too and Hobi found out his sister was at this one. But Jungkook and Jin, they had no one.

“I’m so sorry,” Jimin whispered as he wrapped his arms around the two boys. He felt so horrible for them. He hoped they’d be okay.

“It’s okay,” Jungkook nodded as he bit his lip, his voice wavered and his eyes filled with tears. Taehyung quickly wrapped his arms around the youngest boy and hugged him tightly.

“We sort of expected it,” Jin spoke sadly. “When we called them on the first day, they ended the call so fast. We thought something happened to them anyway.”

Jimin saw Jungkook nod solemnly. Jimin remembered that. On the first day, in the staff room, Jin talked about how he heard their parents screaming through the phone and how fast it ended.

Jin ran a hand through Jungkook’s hair. “We’re going to go get some rest. It’s been a long day,” He gave Jimin a small smile. Jimin hugged them both once again and let the two leave to go to their bedroom, which the nurse had shown them earlier on.

Jimin suddenly turned to Yoongi. “Your brother. Let’s find him,” He nodded, determined.

“And your mom,” Yoongi recalled with a large smile. “I asked the nurse how we could find them and she gave me their room numbers but she said dinner starts in five minutes and that we could find them in the dining hall.”

So that was where they went. The lunch hall was huge and there were masses of people around but soon, Jimin spotted his mother. He ran up to her and engulfed her in a huge hug. The two were crying and his mother held him tightly. They cried and cried for what seemed like hours, just so happy they could finally see each other again.

“I’m so glad you figured out what I was saying,” His mother sobbed. “I’m so glad. I’m so happy you’re safe.”

Yoongi managed to find his brother too. There were big tears and big hugs shared between the two.

“I thought you didn’t make it,” Yoongi spoke quietly into his brother’s shoulder.

“I thought you didn’t either,” His brother responded. “I called you so, so many times but I guess they just never got through. I was so worried about you.”

Jimin and Yoongi talked to their loved ones for a moment longer before they all sat down with each other at a table and ate together. Jimin’s mother loved Yoongi immediately and Yoongi’s brother quickly got into conversation with Jimin.

Jimin’s mother told stories about Jimin’s father and all the things he did to protect her. Jimin cried. He thought that because his mother was okay, his father was too. It was a shock to find out that he wasn’t, that he’s gone. Jimin had his head leaning on Yoongi’s shoulder as his mother talked and the older boy had his arm wrapped around the crying boy, rubbing his shoulder softly.

Yoongi’s brother told a few stories too. He talked about how he saved two people from getting killed and how he had to run over and drive through masses and masses of zombies just to get to this centre.

Jimin and Yoongi both had stories of their own to share too. They talked about how a zombie broke into their cabin, the rooftop campsite that they were lucky to find, the huge scar on Jimin’s leg from the ladder - Yoongi was right; people did think it was cool. They talked about the cut in Yoongi’s eye, the scar on his shoulder and how he nearly turned - people thought that was even cooler.

Night soon falls. Jimin was happy.

He’s happy. He felt safe. He had never felt so safe.

Jimin and Yoongi were sharing a room together. They were cuddling. It felt nice to sleep beside Yoongi without worrying if he was infected or not.

But Yoongi seemed down. He was quiet and it looked like he was sort of lost in his thoughts. Jimin looked up at him, a little concerned, and asked what was wrong,

“Nothing,” Yoongi murmured.

“Are you sure?”

Yoongi sighed. “I miss my parents,” He then whispered. “Seeing you with your mom and seeing my brother again. I don’t know. It just reminded me that they’re really gone.”

“I’m sorry,” Jimin frowned before leaning in to kiss Yoongi softly. When Jimin pulled away, Yoongi began crying. Jimin ran a hand through Yoongi’s hair, trying to comfort the older boy with touches and eventually, Yoongi calmed down. Jimin wiped away his tears and kissed his cheeks, whispering small, quiet words of comfort.

“I love you,” Yoongi suddenly spoke and for a moment, the hand Jimin hand in Yoongi’s hair stopped moving. But he quickly resumed and Jimin smiled.

“I love you too,” Jimin responded softly, a faint smile on his lips. “I love you so much,” He repeated. He leaned in, kissing Yoongi again, placing his small hand under the older boy’s shirt, touching his chest and Yoongi pulled Jimin closer by the waist.

When they pulled away, Jimin laughed. “I forgot I was allowed to kiss you. I would've done it earlier if I had realised.”

Yoongi chuckled and kissed Jimin again and again, making up for all the times he didn’t get to kiss Jimin while he was locked away in the room back at the old house.

They soon lay in each other’s arms, bundled up all warm under a few blankets. Their legs are tangled together, their arms are wrapped around each other and they’re content. Jimin and Yoongi are happy. They’re safe.

For the first time in forty-two days, Jimin slept peacefully.