Chapter Text
His body hit the ground hard. The bag full of cans barely softened his fall and only managed to make it louder. Metal clanging echoed over the stone bridge they wanted to cross. Immediately, he felt everyone’s eyes on him. Sharp pain stung in his knees. His blood froze just as his limbs did. All he could do was stare at his friend a few feet ahead of him. Despite his better judgment, his friend called out.
“HONGJOONG!”
Hongjoong didn’t dare look back. He knew what awaited him. All he could do was wait. From all around him, people started running. He could hear their deranged mumbling coming closer and closer. Someone grabbed his arm, and he flinched back. Only to realize it was his friend hoisting him up. Before he knew it, he was standing again.
“RUN!”
As Yunho dragged him away, his legs almost fell victim to a tin of soup that had dropped out of his bag. But Yunho had his arm linked tightly with Hongjoong’s, helping him keep up with the speed. A baseball bat swung in his other hand, ready to defend. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, frantically looking for any side street they could disappear into. Thankfully, the bridge led directly to an intersection surrounded by tall brick buildings. Immediately, a particularly tight alley to their right caught his eye. Their shoes squeaked on the cobblestone as they made the sharp turn. Almost immediately, Yunho pressed himself against the wall, holding Hongjoong and his bag tightly. Hongjoong felt his chest rising and falling rapidly, his pulse pounded in his ears. He covered his mouth with his hand to muffle the sound of his breathing.
Just then, the first one appeared from around the corner. A disheveled man stared straight ahead, eyes glossy and unfocused, shifting his head stiffly. His mouth muttered words that were too quiet for them to understand. The others from the bridge weren’t far behind. Some staggered faster than others, bumping into each other clumsily. One woman cocked her head unnaturally and stared right down their alley. Unblinking. Instinctively, Hongjoong held his breath. Anything to not make noise. All he could hear now was his heartbeat rising to his throat. The sound was driving him crazy. Okay, just breathe. Slowly. After what felt like hours of unbearable tension, the woman turned away again, slowly making her way back to the bridge. Almost dragging her limbs behind her. Hongjoong had to stop himself from letting out an audible sigh of relief. Every day, he thanked the fact that these things had no object permanence.
Once the last… person?... left, the two slowly continued making their way down the alley. Hongjoong clutched his bag tightly, hoping to prevent the cans inside from rattling. Now he placed every step more carefully than ever. A shaky breath left his lungs. It felt like the first breath he took in ages. Yunho led ahead, checking every corner cautiously. Even the slightest bit of movement would make him hold his arm out, signaling Hongjoong to stop. Thankfully, it was never more than a plastic bag rustling in the wind. But still, such a sound was enough to attract them. It was never wise to stick around.
The plastic strap of the bag dug into Hongjoong’s shoulder. He wanted to move it, switch it onto the other side, but he couldn’t. It would risk making too much noise. When he first moved here, he had marveled at how close the grocery store was to his new place. However, being able to walk freely without having to worry about getting attacked over a random sneeze did shave off a lot of time. Lost in thought, Hongjoong almost bumped into Yunho as his friend halted. They had finally reached the apartment streets. Buildings, traditional and industrial at the same time, lined the streetside canal. Hongjoong used to love sitting on one of the benches looking out on the water and listening to music. Yunho turned back to him and whispered.
“The red car is gone.”
Hongjoong furrowed his brows and looked past his friend. Indeed. They passed this house every day. And every day, there had been a red car parked on the sidewalk. Now it was gone. Without even a tire mark on the asphalt. Hongjoong could have sworn there weren’t any inhabitants left in this street. But someone must have taken this car and driven away. Envy tugged at his chest. Oh, how he wished he could flee this damned city. He never bothered investing in a car. He thought he could be environmentally conscious and make use of the public transport system. How stupid he felt in hindsight. However, even with a full tank, it would be difficult to get anywhere safe. Regular cars made too much noise. Electric cars had no way of charging anymore. And still, he had no idea where to even go.
“I guess someone took their chance and got the hell out of here.”, Hongjoong whispered back.
Yunho nodded solemnly and started walking again. Normally, they had used the red car as a marker that their home wasn’t far. Just two more streets before they had to turn left. Hongjoong’s apartment was the basement unit of the brick house on the corner. Nowadays, it immediately stuck out due to the tarp they had attached to cover the areaway. It was pure luck that Yunho had found this old material lying in his basement. In the beginning, they hadn’t learned how to secure it properly, so with every breeze, it fluttered and made a horrendously loud noise. Thanks to Yunho’s ingenuity, it has since been reworked and is now quiet as a mouse in almost every weather condition.
The two men quickly crossed the street, and Yunho already pulled out the keys to the gate. Carefully holding them with two hands, so that they wouldn’t jingle, he unlocked it. As he let Hongjoong pass through, his foot caught the metal gate to prevent it from slamming back shut. Immediately, being under the tarp made Hongjoong exhale heavily. He could feel the comfort of safety wash over him. When Yunho joined him at the entrance, his friend mirrored the gesture. As soon as he got the door open, they couldn’t get inside fast enough.
The hallway was dark and stuffy. They barely dared to open windows anymore. It was too risky. With a huff, Hongjoong placed the heavy bag on the ground. He rolled his shoulders, happy to feel the pain leave his muscles. Meanwhile, Yunho dusted his shoes off on the doormat. It wasn’t much, but just this small gesture gave them back a bit of normalcy. And it also had the useful side effect of showing that they were, in fact, still human. As soon as Hongjoong did the same, a face appeared from behind a doorframe.
“You’re back!”, a gentle voice greeted them.
“Seonghwa, you’re up!”
Yunho’s voice almost cracked as it reached a normal volume for the first time in hours. He picked up the bag and carried it over.
“We brought food.”
Hongjoong followed him into the kitchen, where the smell of stew wafted in his face. Seonghwa stirred in a small pot on the stove. Well, one could hardly call it a stove. It was a portable gas cooker that Yunho had bought back when he could still go out camping and hiking.
“That smells really good, Hwa.”, Hongjoong said with a smile.
Seonghwa smiled back at him.
“It’s almost done. Come, take a seat!”
Just as Hongjoong walked over to their small table, he felt Seonghwa’s careful eye on his back.
“Did something happen while you were out?”
Hongjoong looked down at himself. Where he had fallen earlier, his jeans were scratched and stained with dirt. Oh great.
Instead of answering, he shot an unsure glance at Yunho, who had stopped in the middle of sorting their groceries into the shelves. With his brows furrowed in worry, Seonghwa looked back and forth between the two of them. Trying to sound nonchalant, Yunho said:
“Nobody got hurt, it’s all okay.”
They didn’t like telling Seonghwa if there had been complications. He always got so worried.
“Did you fall?”
Seonghwa asked pointedly, making direct eye contact with Hongjoong. Uncomfortable, Hongjoong sighed, barely able to look back at his friend. Until finally…
“Yes…”
Seonghwa’s face shone with painful knowing. He didn’t need to hear anything else. Pressing his lips together, he turned back to the stew.
“But I’m okay, really!”, Hongjoong began.
But Seonghwa turned off the gas and put on a smile.
“I’m just glad you’re safe.”
And with that, the conversation was finished. The three of them ate their meals in silence. Hongjoong had stopped counting the number of times they had had this exact stew. But he couldn’t complain. They were lucky they even had this gas cooker. Electricity had gone out faster than anyone had expected, and it was pure coincidence that their grocery store carried replacement cartridges. All they could hope for was that the stock would not deplete too quickly. Hongjoong shook his head just slightly. It was no use fantasizing about morbid futures. All he could do was work with the here and now.
Seonghwa was the first to finish his bowl. Without a word, he stood up, placed his dish in the now useless sink, and left the room. Hongjoong couldn’t help but watch him go. A small sigh left his lips before he turned back to his food. Still stirring his stew, Yunho spoke.
“Give him time. He’ll get over it.”
He didn’t have to look up to know the sullen expression Hongjoong had on his face. But Yunho was right. He should let Seonghwa have his space.
“Yeah… I’m happy he’s having a good day today.”
Yunho nodded in between chewing.
“Me too. I mean, he was up and moving. Plus, already making dinner. That’s saying a lot.”
Humming in agreement, Hongjoong finished his meal too.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”, he announced before leaving the table.
With a huff, Hongjoong closed the bathroom door behind him. His eyes caught the mirror above the sink. He hated how his hair fell in greasy strands, how acne had appeared back on his skin. But all he could do was look away. They didn’t have the water. And they were not about to waste the little they had on something as superficial as skincare. As he looked down at his clothes, he chewed on his lips. The dirt on his jeans worried him. He pulled the fabric up to take a closer look at his knees. The skin was still slightly red and chafed from where he had fallen. But Hongjoong let out a small sigh of relief when he couldn’t find any deep scrapes or, god forbid, blood. For just a moment, he leaned against the wall. Any injury was a risk in these times. You didn’t even need an injury, really. All these creatures had to do was spit, and if you’re unlucky, it would land in your mouth or your eyes. Then you’d be a goner.
Hongjoong took a deep breath. Stop thinking about it. You’re safe. There’s nothing to worry about right now. However, he still grabbed the first-aid kit they kept in the cabinet. Some simple disinfectant wipes should do the trick. Better safe than sorry. With that, his chest did indeed feel a bit lighter. Once he left the bathroom, he saw Yunho continue sorting their treasure from today. To be fair, it was mostly tins and cans full of non-perishable food, but today they also brought back some toothpaste and toilet paper. They even found some dry shampoo. Hongjoong had never even heard of something like that before. But right now, it felt like the most important invention in the world.
“Hey! Don’t just walk past without helping!”, Yunho called for him from the kitchen.
With a smirk, Hongjoong joined him at the table. He was barely within reach when Yunho already shoved the toiletries into his arms.
“Bring that into the bathroom, will you?”
Hongjoong nodded and did as he was told. The near-empty toothpaste tube that they’ve been squeezing to hell and back finally landed in the trash. Placing the brand-new tube in its place felt immensely satisfying.
Dividing the work among the two of them usually made things move faster. However, when the sun slowly started disappearing behind the buildings, Hongjoong frowned at how fast the day had moved past them again. He should feel happy and grateful to even make it to the next day, but he didn’t. Another new day meant another day where nothing had changed. They were still in his apartment. Surrounded by these… things. Still stuck here with no way out. Still stuck here with rapidly decreasing resources to survive. Of course, none of these thoughts were necessarily very helpful in helping him fall asleep. So, not unlike many other nights, Hongjoong found himself staring at the ceiling in the dark. Growing up, he had gotten used to the constant noise of cars and pedestrians even at this hour. So, even when he had moved here to get away from the hustle and bustle, he hadn’t planned on having to sleep with dead silence.
The wind hit a wall at just the wrong angle, and he jumped awake. Frustrated, he groaned but immediately covered his mouth. Sometimes he forgot that Yunho was now sleeping in his room. Thankfully, his friend was quite the heavy sleeper. He deserved the rest. The number of times he had saved Hongjoong’s ass just today, he shouldn’t have to wake to his now roommate making noise for no reason. A soft rustle of fabric told Hongjoong that Yunho had shifted on his side. He always did this right after falling asleep. For a moment, Hongjoong furrowed his brows at the weirdness of the fact that he knew this now.
Just as Hongjoong turned, starting a new attempt at trying to fall asleep, he heard something. Steps on the floorboards, shuffling, and the crack of plastic. In these times, it was a blessing and a curse that his apartment was this poorly soundproofed. As quietly as possible, he lifted himself out of bed and snuck past Yunho, who was quietly snoring in his sleeping bag. The door to the kitchen stood open, but no light was turned on inside. His eyes hadn’t fully adjusted to the darkness, but he could see an unmistakable silhouette sitting at the table. Hoping not to scare him, Hongjoong softly tapped the doorframe. It didn’t work.
Seonghwa inhaled sharply as he flinched. Immediately, Hongjoong felt horrible.
“Sorry.”, he whispered, “Didn’t want to scare you.”
The silhouette at the table let out a breathy chuckle.
“Well, you did a horrible job.”
As Hongjoong sat down next to him, he could hear Seonghwa take a sip of something.
“So… why are you up?”, Hongjoong asked softly.
“Was thirsty.”
Seonghwa held up his glass before taking another sip. However, as Hongjoong stayed quiet, he was left to sit with his thoughts for just a moment more.
“And I couldn’t sleep.”, he admitted quietly.
“Thought so.”
Hongjoong smirked, but when his friend didn’t mirror his amusement, he dropped it.
“Any particular reason why?”
Seonghwa shook his head.
“Just the usual.”
Hongjoong knew that Seonghwa didn’t like talking about his unfortunately rather common insomnia. But he didn’t want to leave his friend alone in his suffering.
“Thanks for cooking today.”, he whispered, hoping to lighten the mood.
After a short sigh, Seonghwa responded.
“Don’t mention it. It’s the l-”, he interrupted himself, “It’s nothing.”
Silence fell over them as they both stared out the window. Hongjoong still remembered the first night the streetlights went out. When he first moved in, he was annoyed that this one particular lamp shone right into his face when he was trying to sleep. Now, he missed its orange glow. The kitchen window faced the areaway, and with the tarp covering it, they were basically staring into black nothingness. A weak sigh escaped Seonghwa’s lips, pulling Hongjoong from his thoughts. He could now see his friend’s facial features a bit better. And the furrow in his brows made his heart twist with worry.
“I’m sorry-”
Hongjoong wanted to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. Confused, Seonghwa turned to face him.
“Why?”
Caught off guard by the direct question, Hongjoong stuttered.
“I… I don’t know…”
Internally, he wanted to punch himself. For the love of god, please just shut up. For a while, Seonghwa just stared at him. Whether he was trying to think of something to say or trying to understand what Hongjoong was trying to say, he shall never know.
“I’m just glad you can both go together.”, mumbled Seonghwa before turning back to his now-empty glass.
Hongjoong looked at his hands and nodded.
“Yeah, I don’t know what I’d do without Yunho.”
Seonghwa let out a huff that sounded like it was supposed to be a laugh, but something in his voice cracked right at the end. Maybe if Hongjoong wasn’t extremely tired, he might have noticed or even understood this detail. But unfortunately, his eyelids fluttered as he choked back a yawn. Fatigue hit him quick and hard. The hairs on his arms stood up as an ice-cold chill shook his body. The sigh he let out shook with it, perking Seonghwa’s ears.
“Are you cold?”
“No, I’m fine.”
How convincing. Hongjoong couldn’t blame Seonghwa for not believing him.
“You should go back to bed.”, Seonghwa whispered.
Just as Hongjoong was about to disagree, he stopped himself. He knew that Seonghwa rarely gave suggestions that one could simply ignore. And his friend wasn’t wrong either. But Hongjoong didn’t want to just let him sit by himself.
“What about you?”
Seonghwa shook his head softly.
“Don’t worry about me. Go to sleep.”
And as much as Hongjoong wanted to double down, he didn’t.
“Goodnight, Seonghwa.”