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Chapter Text

Wooyoung, Yeosang, Mingi, and Yunho have survived this post-apocalyptic world for the last two years together. While scavenging through an abandoned town, they encounter another group of boys: San, Jongho, Hongjoong, and Seonghwa.

jung wooyoung
- ex-doctor who has a kind heart, but knows how to make the hard decisions.

choi san
- ex- military who has a stone cold appearance, but cares deeply for his friends. he will protect the ones he cares for.

kang yeosang
- wooyoung's best friend who worked with him in the hospital before the apocalypse began. he's an overall wholesome guy, but knows how to fight his battles.

song mingi
- ex-police officer who is experienced with combat. he joined his group with his close friend, Yunho. he is a funny, caring guy who loves his friends.

jeong yunho
- mingi's best friend, and someone who puts others before himself. he always makes jokes and is overall the one who energizes the group.

choi jongho
- the youngest of all the boys, but is one of the strongest. an ex-athlete who is reliable in all situations.

kim hongjoong
- the leader of his group, and a very hard worker. always ensures his team is in good health and spirits. his brain is his strength, and has more knowledge than anyone else.

park seonghwa
- hongjoong's best friend, and mom of his group. he likes to make sure everyone is in good hygiene. he is gentle and polite, and a good mediator for the boys.

this is my first fanfiction, so it's probably not the best :/ feel free to leave your opinions!

Chapter Text

Wooyoung had just woken up, groggy and sore. The night before, his group was forced to fight a horde of undead that wouldn't seem to end. For hours, the four boys (Wooyoung, Yeosang, Mingi, and Yunho) fought what seemed hundreds of these monsters until they had found a safe haven in a blocked parking garage. These boys were nomadic, which meant they had no permanent home. They spent their days scavenging, hunting, and fighting in order to survive. That's been their way of life for the last 2 years.

2 years before..

When the apocalypse began, they all happened to be in the hospital at the right time. Wooyoung and Yeosang worked there for a couple of years, becoming best friends in the meantime. Mingi and Yunho were there because Mingi had suffered a gunshot wound from a previous encounter with a criminal. Yunho always stayed by his side and helped Mingi recover. 

Nobody would have ever thought that things would take a turn for the worst. Mingi was Wooyoung's patient, and as Wooyoung was redressing Mingi's wounds, a loud announcement came across the hospital intercom. A woman, who sounded distraught, frantically said,

 "Attention! This is an emergency announcement from the Korean Government. A viral illness has taken over many major cities in Korea, causing people to become agitated, violent, and cannibalistic. Please, if anyone has been infected with this illness, avoid them at all costs."

Wooyoung and Mingi looked at each other in shock, not knowing how to react to this announcement. Wooyoung couldn't even fathom what was truly happening, but all he could think of was his best friend, Yeosang. He immediately called him and ordered him to come to Mingi's hospital room, number 1117. Yeosang, clueless, did not understand the worry in Wooyoung's voice. 

Wooyoung yelled "YEOSANG, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! DIDN'T YOU HEAR THE ANNOUNCEMENT?"

Yeosang became scared, and told Wooyoung, "No, I wasn't paying attention! I don't know what's happening but you can explain once I get there. Just don't scream at me."

Wooyoung was relieved; at least he didn't have to worry about Yeosang. Mingi and Yunho were both extremely frightened, because Mingi was in no state to defend himself if an infected person was to invade. 

Unfortunately for them, the invasion was already in effect. In the emergency room, an unknown person had come in with a bite mark and wanted to be seen by the doctor to treat it. Only minutes later, he had become erratic and couldn't form words. The nurses on duty had tied him down, but he had already started to try to bite them and succeeded in doing so. 

The nurse only changed in a matter of minutes, going after any human in sight and attempting to devour them. 

The virus spread rapidly through the hospital, and Yeosang happened to be on the ER floor where ground zero was. He had just hung up on Wooyoung when a patient ran at him with his mouth open, attempting to eat him. Yeosang quickly took the scalpel on a tray next to him and defended himself, stabbing the infected man in the chest. He did not hesitate for a minute. 

Yeosang ran up the stairs as fast as possible to reach Wooyoung, but was stopped when he felt someone grab his leg. A woman who looked not too much older than him was begging for help. It appeared as if she had a broken ankle, and with all of the people running around in terror she was left alone. He quickly pulled her up and put her arm around his shoulder, helping her up the stairs to get to the room. 

Mingi's room was only on the third floor, so the journey up the stairs was not too difficult for the woman to climb, especially with Yeosang's help. 

But, the woman had fallen down after she took a wrong step. Yeosang attempted to pull her back up, but she was too weak to move. He had to eventually pick her up and carry her up the stairs, which proved to be a lot harder than expected. 

Hundreds of people were rushing up and down the stairs, screaming and shouting in fear. Down on the first floor, Yeosang heard growling and aggressive sounds. He knew that the infected were attempting to climb the stairs. 

The people going down the stairs had realized this too, all decided to turn around and go back up. Yeosang was a pretty small man, so he did what he could to withstand the crowd of people rushing upstairs. 

Yeosang finally had reached the door to the third floor, but when he opened it he heard those same sounds coming from down the hallway, exactly in Wooyoung's direction. The woman in his arms was crying and pleading him to save her, causing Yeosang to build that courage to go down that hallway no matter what. 

As he began running to room 1117 with the woman in his arms, he saw an infected nurse feasting on a patient. The infected nurse saw Yeosang and immediately ran after him. 

Yeosang had no choice but to run as fast as possible, because he couldn't defend himself while holding the woman. 

The infected man was much faster than he thought. He caught up with Yeosang in only seconds and attempted to grab him by the shoulder. The woman made nothing better, screaming and crying as loud as possible. Yeosang turned around and kicked the zombie, only stunning it for a few seconds before it grabbed the woman's leg. Yeosang tried to pull her away as much as he could, but he saw the infected man take a bite out of her calf. 

As soon as he heard the sound of flesh being bitten and devoured, the woman screamed louder in pain and begged Yeosang to save her. Yeosang looked at her with sympathy and wanted to save her as much as possible, so he grabbed her and attempted to drag her away. 

Until he felt someone grab him and drag him instead. Wooyoung heard the woman screaming, and came quickly to try to help. He saw Yeosang with the bitten woman and knew that she wouldn't make it. So, Wooyoung grabbed Yeosang to get him into Mingi's room where it was safe. Yeosang fought and fought to save the woman, begging Wooyoung to let him go. But Wooyoung refused to let him go and succeeded in getting him into room 1117.

Chapter Text

When Yeosang got into the room, Wooyoung locked the door behind him and let out a sigh of relief. Yeosang was sobbing with his hands covering his face. 

Yeosang yelled at Wooyoung with a strained voice, "WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME SAVE HER! I COULD HAVE SAVED HER WOO! SHE WAS SUFFERING AND I COULD HAVE HELPED HER!" 

Wooyoung saw Yeosang's teary eyes filled with guilt, and couldn't help but feel sorry for what he did. But, Wooyoung knew that the woman was far from saving at that point. She was bitten, which means she'd become a zombie anyway. 

Wooyoung replied, "Yeosang, didn't you see she was bitten by that infected? She would have turned anyway! There was no way to save her. I'm sorry for pulling you away, but it's for the best. I'm sorry you couldn't save her Yeosang."

"Wooyoung, she was suffering! I couldn't just leave her there to be devoured by a crazy zombie! We could have at least got her away from that thing so she didn't have to be in agony from being eaten! You don't understand Woo, I could have helped her. But you stopped me. It's your fault she's out there being torn apart."

Wooyoung sat there in silence, realizing Yeosang is right. The faint noises of growling and flesh being ripped apart only made his guilt worse. 

Mingi and Yunho didn't know what to say either, as both of them weren't there to see anything anyways. 

The boys hid in the room for hours, barely even speaking to each other. The television was only playing static on every channel. Nobody's phone could work. The landline was cut off as well. No communication with the outside world meant that none of them truly knew what was going on outside of that room. But they knew that it was bad out there. 

Eventually it became dark outside, and the noises outside the room finally quieted down. All of them were starving, so Wooyoung volunteered to get some food for them. The boys seemed skeptical at first, because they didn't want to see him in danger. Wooyoung brought a spare scalpel with him from one of the cabinets by the sink, just in case he encountered an infected. The boys didn't really object; if he didn't go search for food, they would all starve anyways. 

Wooyoung came back only minutes later with a lot of snacks from the vending machine down the hall. Apparently a lot of the zombies had evacuated the hospital, most likely because everyone had been turned. Since the boys had sat in silence for so long, the zombies were unaware that they were still there. Wooyoung didn't even see another living thing in sight. He broke into the vending machine (which made a lot of noise) expecting a zombie to pop out at any moment. 

Luckily, there was none around to hear it.

Wooyoung came back with food and he even picked up some medical supplies for Mingi, who was still quite injured from the gunshot wound. Yunho was especially glad to have some food, seeing as he didn't eat anything since the night before when he came home after spending the whole day with Mingi in the hospital. 

As they all began to eat, Mingi started to come up with a plan. 

"Well, for now I'm not strong enough to fight any kind of monster, but I think I can walk with some help. Our best bet is getting out of here with as much supplies as possible."

All of the boys agreed; the hospital was empty for the moment, but who knows how long that will last. 

The boys began searching for any kind of food, medicine, and protective clothing. There was a few backpacks in the supply closet as well, packed with first aid supplies. They all changed into different clothes, seeing as Mingi was in a hospital gown and Wooyoung and Yeosang had their scrubs on. As soon as they made sure they had everything, they left the hospital. Yunho ended up being the one to help Mingi walk. He was a pretty tall and muscular boy, perfect to help Mingi.

Ever since then, the boys always stayed together. With Mingi's strength, Wooyoung and Yeosang's medical background, and Yunho's intelligence, the boys had become an extremely strong force to be reckoned with.

Chapter Text

2 years later... (present day)

Wooyoung looked around at all of his friends. Mingi seemed the be the one who was most exhausted. Wooyoung saw his left eye, purple and bruised. When fighting off the horde, one of the infected had hit him straight in the face as hard as it could. The infected might be dead, but they are supernaturally strong.

Yunho and Yeosang had woken up a few minutes later. Yunho laughed at the sight of Yeosang, whose hair had seemed to stand straight up. Yeosang tried desperately to tame it, but failed and made it worse, making Yunho laugh even more. 

Mingi woke up because of Yunho's loud laughter, groaning at him, "Yunho, do you have to be so loud? My head is aching."

Yunho apologized to Mingi, but he was still laughing quietly at Yeosang who made an annoyed face at him. Wooyoung couldn't help but smile at them. Despite the fact that they fought hard the night before, his team could still make light of the situation. 

Woo collected his belongings and stuffed it in his backpack, getting ahead of everyone else. He walked to the edge of the parking garage and looked out on the devastated city. He saw the vine-covered, collapsed buildings at every turn. Everything was destroyed. Only few places remained intact, especially after the military bombed some of the most populated areas. Honestly, Wooyoung had gotten used to seeing these shattered cities, and nowadays he finds them to be beautiful. 

Finding the beauty in the worst places is one of Wooyoung's best qualities. He always finds a way to become optimistic in the low points of life. His friends never know why he was like this, but since he was optimistic, it inspired them to be positive as well.

Wooyoung told the boys , "It's time to move out guys, I saw on one of the maps that there was a village outside the city. I think that's where we should head to next. There could be more supplies."

"I don't know Woo, last night was pretty rough and some of us are too sore to be walking that far today, plus it could be really dangerous. If that horde last night is only a fraction of  the infected in the city, we are screwed," Mingi said.

"That's exactly why we need to leave the city as soon as possible. We can't be sitting ducks for long. It's a pretty hot day today, which means there will be a lot of infected inside rather than out. Today is a good day to move out." Yeosang said, agreeing with Wooyoung.

"Yunho, what do you think we should do?" Mingi asked.

"I don't know, I hate to disagree with you Mingi but the zombies already know where we are and the longer we stay here the less safe it is. I think it's better to go to that village. The whole city's been raided anyways. There's nothing left here."

Mingi, visibly frustrated, reluctantly agreed to go to the village. It was pretty early in the morning, so it gave the boys plenty of time to get to the village by tonight. 

The boys packed their makeshift beds (that weren't the most comfortable), and started walking down the stairwell of the parking garage. 

The parking garage was practically filled with dusty cars, most of which couldn't even start without some serious maintenance. Wooyoung tried to fix one before, but the car hadn't been touched since the outbreak started. It was no use getting it to start.

As they walked out of the exit door into the streets, the sun hit them harshly. Their clothes covered most of their body from the sunlight, but they all knew they'd be sunburned by the end of the day. 

No infected were in sight. Infected were more active during the night in the summer, because summer temperatures were extremely high. 

As they walked, Mingi and Wooyoung began to talk about what Wooyoung had heard a couple of days before. 

"Mingi, you know that one couple we met a couple of days ago? The one in the cabin?"

"Yeah, what about them Woo?"

"Well, I had overheard their radio on their bedroom nightstand. It was connected to federal communications and government agencies. Apparently the scientists had finally found a breakthrough with the virus. They said the cure should be complete in the next year or so."

"They say that at LEAST every 6 months Woo, don't be surprised when they say it failed. It always does."

"I don't know, I just have a lot of hope for this one. I have a good feeling this time." 

"Whatever you say, Woo. Just don't get your hopes up. It's sooo annoying when you mope around because you were let down. It makes all of us in a bad mood."

"Oh whatever Mingi, at least I don't complain every time I get slightly hurt. If an infected even puts a finger on you, you act like you died. Then you expect me and Yeosang to fix you up when there's nothing wrong with you. For someone so experienced in combat you sure are a crybaby." 

"Shut up Woo, that's not even true."

"Whatever you say, crybaby."

Mingi walks away from him and falls back to Yunho. At least Yunho won't make fun of him. 

The boys follow Yeosang who has the map. He's the best with directions. They come across an alley, hearing strange sounds coming from it. Yeosang quickly pulled out his baseball bat, ready to fight whatever it was. Yunho did the same, pulling out his kitchen knife from his pack. The boys approached the alleyway and spotted an infected roaming the area. 

Mingi stepped forward slowly, but accidentally stepped on a piece of broken glass. Immediately the infected turned to his direction and ran with mouth open. Yeosang jumped in front of the zombie and used his bat to fend off the creature, with Yunho stabbing the infected from the back. 

Wooyoung took the a broken bottle lying on the street and stuck it in the infected's head. The only way the kill an infected is damaging its brain. 

The infected immediately fell to the ground, still having a hold of Yeosang's bat. Its stiff hands refused to let go of it. Yeosang pryed off the fingers, breaking them while doing so. He grabbed his bat and threw it back in his pack. 

Mingi said to the boys, "Sorry guys. Didn't see the glass there."

Yeosang whispered , "Will you just be quiet? If you keep going there'll be another horde coming for us. And then it'll be your fault all over again."

Mingi looked down in guilt. He didn't mean to cause trouble for his friends. 

Yunho put his arm around Mingi to comfort him. Mingi grabbed Yunhos hand in acceptance, and decided to move forward. Yeosang took out his map once again and went through the alleyway to the street that led out of the city.

Chapter Text

Yeosang decided to take the lead again, with Mingi beside him. Yeosang and Mingi both liked to take the lead at times, so might as well join together. Wooyoung and Yunho followed right behind them. Yunho kept telling dad jokes, to Woo's annoyance. 

"What do you call a cow with no legs? GROUND BEEF!! HAHA!"

"Yunho I am absolutely begging you to stop. I've heard that joke 3 times in the past 45 minutes. I get it. The cow is on the ground and beef comes from the cow."

"Ugh you're so boring Wooyoung, at least Mingi will listen to my jokes. You know, you should really cheer up. You're usually pretty positive. What's going on?"

"I don't know Yunho, I just have a pretty bad feeling that something will happen. Something terrible. Or great? I don't know what it will be but I know it's going to be a big change."

"Okay but that's just an assumption. I hate to say it but your gut feeling isn't always right. Like that one time you felt a connection to this building you  swore there was food in. Instead there was dozens of infected and not one crumb in sight."

"Oh whatever. But if something does happen, I'll get to say I told you so."

"Deal. And if nothing happens you can give me those leftover candy bars in your pack because I know you're hiding them."

"Yunho! Don't say that so loudly. Fine. I'll let you have a candy bar if nothing happens."

"YES!" 

Yeosang and Mingi couldn't help but smile at them. Even if Yeosang was pretty upset with him earlier because of the zombie situation, he still knows Mingi didn't mean to. They learned a long time ago that arguments and fights don't help any situation. It's better to move on.

As they walked along the path on the map, the sun was visibly going down. If they remembered

 correctly, it was most likely about 4 pm. Luckily, they weren't too far from the village at this point.

They continued their trek for about 2 more hours until they finally reached the village. At first sight, the village looked basically untouched. The houses were rebuilt and remodeled. The center had a large bonfire that wasn't lit, but had fresh wood laid on it. Chopped wood was stacked right beside it.

The boys carefully walked to the gate of the town. They saw the outskirts of the town through the fence surrounding the village. Mingi first attempted to open the gate, only to find it was locked. Wooyoung began to help Mingi attempt to open it as well. Yeosang looked around the gate, suspicious of how tidy-looking this village was. 

Yunho was the first to notice a man through the fence, with his face covered almost fully except for his eyes. He wore an all black outfit, and held a gun through the fence at Yunho. 

Yunho slowly backed away with his hands in the air, whispering to Wooyoung and Mingi to stop trying to get the gate open. The rest of the boys saw the dark figure as well, and backed away with their hands raised. Yeosang put his hands on his head, but secretly had a grip on his metal bat.

The strange figure asked the boys, "Who are you?Why are you here?"

Wooyoung decided to be the messenger, saying "We are just trying to find a place to sleep for the night. We've traveled here from a nearby city where it wasn't safe. Please, we mean no harm. We don't want trouble. Just a place to rest."

If the boys would have known a team had already lived here, they wouldn't have even gone near it. Most people nowadays kill other people on sight just because no one trusts anyone. It was a good sign that they weren't already dead.

The dark figure took off his mask and revealed his face, which was pale. He had large eyes with an intimidating expression on his face, and his hair was fluffy and black. He instructed someone behind the gate to open it, and the gate opened slowly. One of the other men behind the gate gestured for them to come in, holding a gun to them. The boys walked in single file with their hands behind their head. 

The man who revealed his face came to them and said, "I'm Hongjoong. For the moment, you are still considered not to be trusted, but if you prove you can be trusted, you can stay here." 

The boys nodded their heads in agreement and followed one of the dark figures into a small house. 

There was 4 men, and Hongjoong was the only one to reveal himself. Wooyoung looked to Yunho, and whispered, "I told you so.."

Yunho gruntled because he lost his chance for that chocolate bar. 

One of the men instructed them to give up their weapons and lay them on a table outside on the porch. The boys were reluctant, but their weapons were no match for their guns anyways. They all laid down their bats, knives, and any other items that could be considered a weapon. 

The boys sat down against the wall of the house, while the 4 figures sat down at the dining table in the house. 

A masked man revealed his face to them as well. He was not much taller than Wooyoung, but he had sort of a baby face. He didn't look like a baby though. He had an angry look on his face, and combined with a built appearance. 

The man said, "My name is Jongho." Short and sweet, but at least he's straightforward.

The man beside him followed Jongho, revealing his face as well. He had a very emotionless expression, with a wider face. He looked down on the boys with a sense of curiosity. He looked at them and said,

"I'm Seonghwa, and I apologize about Jongho. He  is sometimes not so good at looking friendly."

The man behind Seonghwa was last to introduce himself. He was by far the most intimidating man. Wooyoung took notice to him almost immediately. He looked extremely strong, with a large and muscular body. He wasn't very tall, but his muscles made up for his lack of height. His face was stone cold, with large cheekbones and a sharp jaw. He almost looked deadly. 

The man looked directly in Wooyoung's direction and stated,

"I'm San. If you try anything, I promise I'll kill you dead."

Chapter Text

After Hongjoong heard what San had said, he told the boys, 

"Don't mind him. He can get a little territorial at times."

San looked at him with anger like Wooyoung had never seen before.

Wooyoung thought to himself, "Why was he looking at me when he said that? Does he not like the way I look? I haven't even told him my name yet!"

Mingi was first to introduce himself, followed by Yunho and Yeosang. 

Wooyoung went last. As Wooyoung told the other men his name, San shot him a look of spite, which  seemed to pierce Wooyoung. He didn't understand what he did for that guy to hate him so much, but he decided to ignore it when Hongjoong offered them some water. 

They had walked in the heat all day and ran out of their water supply a few hours back, so they were all exhausted and thirsty. 

Hongjoong passed around a few plastic cups full of water from a raincatcher in the backyard of this house. Yunho was impressed with the way the raincatcher was set up, it was nothing like he had ever seen.

Seonghwa had pulled Hongjoong away for a couple minutes to talk in private, leaving Jongho and San with the boys. It was a pretty awkward sight to say the least. 

San stood far away from the group, shooting daggers at Wooyoung every now and then. Jongho had struck up a conversation with Mingi and Yeosang. Yunho stood beside Wooyoung and admitted that he was wrong about Woo's gut feeling. 

Wooyoung told him that he knew he was right all along, and as reward he would eat the chocolate bar in front of Yunho.  Yunho was begging Woo for just a tiny bite, until San came over and snatched the chocolate bar from Wooyoung's hand. 

His face struck fear into Wooyoung, with his ragged appearance and a scar across his cheek.

"Share with your friend. Don't be a selfish asshole."

San said with a straight face.

Wooyoung listened to San like it was his duty, breaking the chocolate bar in half for Yunho. San, looking satisfied, walked back to his spot across the yard. 

Yunho couldn't help but laugh at Wooyoung's shock. 

"You should really see your face right now! Haha that's priceless! Are you scared Woo??"

Wooyoung just looked at Yunho with an annoyance in his eyes. He punched Yunho in the shoulder, quickly shutting him up.

"How rude could he be? First impressions are supposed to make someone like you. I've done what I can to be nice, so what's his problem?"

Woo thought.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong came back outside and announced that they all could stay in one of the houses for the night, and dinner would be soon.

The boys sighed in relief. Seonghwa must have put in a good word for them. 

Seonghwa added on to the announcement, "If you guys stay here, please make sure to clean up after yourselves. I've worked hard to keep this place spotless."

Seonghwa's hard work really showed off. When the boys walked into the house they were assigned to, it looked as if nothing bad had happened there. There wasn't a spot of dust anywhere, and the whole house looked untouched since before the outbreak. Nostalgia ran through the boys; they hadn't seen anything like this before.

"It reminds me of my old house. It's oddly comforting." Wooyoung said. 

Yeosang put his hand on Wooyoung's shoulder, "At least this house has better mattresses." 

"At least we finally HAVE mattresses," Mingi chimed in. 

Seonghwa smiled at their conversation, feeling accomplished. Hongjoong showed the boys to their own rooms and where they could put their stuff. 

Mingi, of course, called dibs on the best bedroom and no one even tried to argue with him. There was no need to fight over it. They were all just glad that they had a bed for the first time in ages.

San was leaning in the corner of Wooyoung's room when he entered. 

"So, you like it here?" 

The cold voice gave Wooyoung a chill.

"Yes. Thank you very much for letting us stay."

"Oh no, I would have shot you on sight if Hongjoong hadn't been so welcoming. I would shoot you right now if I could. But that would just cause more problems than I want."

Wooyoung stared at San with a frightened smile, thinking he was joking or something. He had to be joking...right?

"It's not like you're staying here for a long time. It's only a night. Don't get too comfortable, Wooyoung."

The way San said his name made Wooyoung feel something he had never felt before. He didn't understand why San hated him so much, and only him. But the way he said his name, gave Wooyoung a mix of emotions. 

San walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Wooyoung decided to ignore it, and threw himself on the bed. Artwork covered the walls, and a picture of a family laid on the nightstand. 

A mother, a father, and two sons were seen smiling beside each other underneath a tree. It reminded Wooyoung of his family. When the group left the hospital those years ago, they all found a way to get back to their own homes to see if their family was still there. 

 2 years earlier...

When Wooyoung stepped inside his home, he saw that the house had been basically destroyed. Picture frames were broken on the floor with almost all of the furniture thrown across the house. Wooyoung yelled out for his family, searching frantically for any signs of life. He ran upstairs, and heard those same groans coming from his parent's bedroom. 

He opened the door to find his now infected father feasting on his own mother. Yeosang heard Wooyoung scream, and rushed upstairs as well. When Yeosang saw the scene, he grabbed his knife and stabbed Wooyoung's father in the head. 

Wooyoung began to sob harder, when he dropped to the floor to see his mother. 

"Woo, you're okay." She said quietly. 

She began coughing up blood and a tear rolled down her face. 

"Mom, please don't die. I'm not ready..."

"Woo, you have to get out of here. I'll turn soon and you can't die by my hands."

Wooyoung grabbed his mother's hand and squeezed it as hard as he could. He couldn't stand to watch his mother turn into a monster. His father was already dead, and now his mother too? 

"Mom, I promise you I'll stay until you turn. I love you so much mom. I have people to protect me and soon you won't suffer anymore. I'm so sorry I didn't make it in time."

"Woo, don't blame yourself, I love you too..."

Her words were cut off by the cracking of bones in her body, and her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Yeosang knew she was turning, so he grabbed Woo's hand to pull him away. Woo couldn't even move. He just watched both of his parents die in front of him, all because he was too late to save them. Yeosang locked the bedroom door and guided Wooyoung out of the house where Mingi and Yunho waited.

When Wooyoung saw this picture on the nightstand, his memories began flooding back to him. He tried to forget this scene as much as possible, but who could forget the faces of their dead parents? Especially one who turned into a monster.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung had awoken from his replay of memories when Yeosang burst in the door and screamed "DINNER'S READY!"

They hadn't eaten a real meal in weeks, only snacking on what they scavenged from homes and stores they stumbled upon. Wooyoung was ecstatic to hear that it was an actual meal.

When he stepped into the Dining House, (what Hongjoong called it), All of the men were sat down except for him. The only seat available was the one right across from San.

Wooyoung sat down despite this, but still didn't want to be stared down while he eats his dinner. 

Deer meat sat on a plate in the middle of the table, with candles lighting the room, making the sight seem heavenly. Portions of vegetables lay on side plates as well. The new additions to the table couldn't believe their eyes.

Hongjoong left the table for few minutes after telling the boys not to dig in yet. When he came back he brought a bottle of vodka. 

"I saved this for a special occasion, and I have a feeling this is one of those times."

Mingi hadn't even thought of drinking alcohol since the outbreak began. He used to go to the bar  a lot before to hang out with his coworkers, and he had never realized how much he missed it.

Hongjoong went around the table pouring some into everyone's glass, and poured some into his before he sat down. 

He raised his glass and said, "To our new friends. May we all have a good nights rest with a full stomach."

The boys raised their glasses as well, and few of them clinked their glasses together. They took a drink, and you could tell some of them hadn't really drank alcohol that much before this.

Yunho was the first to take a cut of the meat on the table, and grab some spoonfuls of peas and carrots. 

Everyone else followed his lead, and the smiles on the men's faces showed their happiness as they shared a meal with new and old friends.

Everyone except San. 

San eyed Wooyoung harshly again. Angrily, he stood up and left the room.

Jongho decided to get up and follow him, hoping to talk some sense into him. 

Wooyoung couldn't help but feel scared, wondering if he would come back and try to kill him or something. I mean, he threatened to do so very openly. But, Wooyoung was too hungry to focus on what San was doing. 

The boys had been eating like dogs with no manners and making messes of themselves, much to Seonghwa's surprise. He was pretty grossed out at their behavior, but he decided to let it slide since he knew they hadn't eaten this much for days.

A few minutes later, Jongho and San came back into the dining room. They both sat down accordingly, with Jongho seeming pretty satisfied with himself. 

San didn't even look at Woo anymore, just avoiding him entirely. 

Wooyoung was just glad that he wasn't giving him the death glare anymore. But he still wondered what Jongho said to him to make him change so quickly.

At last, they all finished eating. Yunho let out a loud burp, making Mingi laugh so hard he hit the table. Seonghwa was about to get up and say something to make them stop this behavior, but Hongjoong grabbed his arm and nodded his head as a sign for him to let it be. Seonghwa obliged, but he still didn't like how primitive the boys were acting.

San immediately got up and left, going to his room for the night. Wooyoung had a spark of curiosity, wondering what was going on in his mind. 

"Did he know me before the outbreak? Or does just not trust me? I want him to like me. I don't want an enemy here." Wooyoung muttered under his breath.

Jongho was catching on to Wooyoung's worried expression on his face, so he called him over and told him there's a bonfire outside with seats all around it, so we can all get to know each other a bit better. Wooyoung gave a half smile while Jongho guided him to the bonfire.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa sat next to each other, seeing as they're the closest out of their group. Wooyoung sat himself between Yeosang and Jongho, with Mingi and Yunho beside each other as well. Wooyoung was glad that at least one of the other guys was being nice to him. Jongho seemed nice enough to be able to talk to.

As the boys settled into their old lawn chairs, Hongjoong began asking questions about where the boys came from and how they survived this long. 

Wooyoung decided to speak up first, seeing as some of his team weren't the best public speakers. He explained to Hongjoong the story of how they were all at the hospital at the right time. 

Yeosang told his story of how he tried to help the woman he met and run from the zombies, becoming teary-eyed in the process.

Mingi chimed in and told them why he was in the hospital. Wooyoung had taken care of his gunshot wound after they left the hospital, but it still left a visible scar on his abdomen. Mingi got up and showed the other boys the scar, getting different reactions such as "ooh" and "oww". 

Wooyoung had taken his attention away from Mingi's scar show and looked in the background at the familiar figure on the front porch of one of the houses. 

San stood there, staring right at Wooyoung with his dark eyes. His scar seemed to glisten from the firelight, causing it to sort of glow. Wooyoung couldn't help to stare back at him, noticing how handsome he was with the fire glow. 

San looked away from him when he noticed Woo was staring back, and quickly ran inside the house. 

Wooyoung was truly confused at this point. This time, San's stare didn't seem threatening at all. It almost seemed...

No. 

Wooyoung was just overthinking it. San was just giving him the death stare as per usual. He quickly snapped back into reality and began talking with the other guys again. But, he couldn't help but wonder what San's true intentions are.

Chapter Text

Hongjoong and his boys didn't quite feel comfortable sharing their origin story just yet, but he was very appreciative that the other boys trusted them enough to tell them theirs. 

"Alright guys, it's getting late. We can definitely save story time for a later date. I'm beat, aren't you guys? Since you've been walking all day." Hongjoong asked.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted. I just can't wait to hop in that bed with a full stomach and relax." Yunho said. 

Mingi agreed with him, and Wooyoung nodded in agreement as well. 

"Well boys, I hope you all have a good nights rest. By the way, when you wake up, please make your beds. It bothers me when it's messy like that. But, we will see you guys in the morning." Seonghwa added.

The boys all said their goodnights to each other, but before Wooyoung could walk into the house, Jongho stopped him at the porch. 

"Listen, don't worry about San. He comes off as arrogant and rude at first, but I promise he won't be an issue. Once you get to know him he's a completely different person. You have nothing to worry about." 

Wooyoung smiled at Jongho and thanked Jongho for the words of comfort, and walked inside the house. He could take Jongho's word for it, but he knew he could be in danger tonight. San was a bulky man who could take on Wooyoung, even if Wooyoung had a lot of strength himself. 

He decided to search through the kitchen drawers in search of any weapon in case San decides to sneak attack him during the night. Luckily, he find a small knife. It was dull, but still a good defense. 

He walked up the stairs to his bedroom in which he threw himself on the bed, mind racing. 

"What if we are blindly trusting these people, and they're just fattening us up to eat us or something? We've dealt with cannibals before. Or what if they're just sadists who could torture us just for fun? We just don't know enough about these people."

Wooyoung didn't know what to think of the situation, all he knew was that he was utterly exhausted. It had been a very long day; it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

All was well within his bedroom, for a couple of hours maybe.

He woke up to a man holding a knife to his throat. 

San.

Wooyoung stayed very still. A sudden movement could cause a slice across the throat. 

"You can't be trusted Wooyoung. I can't let you live."

Wooyoung struggled to talk with the man's full weight on his chest, holding him down.

"W-What did I do to you? I d-don't understand.."

He struggled to breathe.

"You don't remember who I am..do you?"

"No! Please just take the knife off my throat so we can talk this out San!"

"No. You killed my father Wooyoung. Dr. Wooyoung. What a fucking joke."

"What do you mean?? I've never met you before!!" Wooyoung still struggled under San's weight.

"My father. Your patient. Only days before this damn outbreak happened. Died because of YOU."

Wooyoung had only a couple of deaths on his table. He was overall a very good surgeon, but he remembered every single loss. He tried to remember someone with the name Choi.

He remembered.

"Oh so you remember it now?"

He pushed the knife closer to his throat. 

"San...please hear me out.."

"Why should I? I never got a chance to hear my own father have final words. Why should you get to have what he didn't?"

"San, his death wasn't anyone's fault I swear... please just listen to me..."

"NO. YOU WERE THE LAST ONE TO EVEN SEE HIM ALIVE. YOU FUCKING BASTARD. HE WAS FINE BEFORE YOU PUT HIM UNDER THE KNIFE." 

Footsteps came up the stairs.

"San, they'll know you killed me and they'll try to kill you next. Please just let me go and I won't say a word."

"If they kill me, at least I got my revenge for my father."

Mingi and Yunho bursted into to door, seeing San about to slit their friend's throat. Mingi jumped into action almost immediately, and Yunho attempting to push San off of Wooyoung. 

Mingi tackled San, wrestling him on the floor. Yeosang came upstairs after he heard the noises from downstairs and immediately ran to get help. 

Mingi and San struggled with one another for a minute or two, with Yunho trying to help Mingi and much as he could. 

Wooyoung was in no state to fight anyone. He was still catching his breath from being held down. To make matters worse, he had suffered a deep cut on his shoulder from when Yunho pushed San off of him. 

Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Jongho rushed into Wooyoung's room to restrain San and escort him outside. Yeosang came to Wooyoung's aid and saw the cut on his shoulder. He yelled for some first aid which was conveniently in Woo's dresser.

Mingi handed Yeosang the first aid kit. Wooyoung was bleeding pretty badly, so Yeosang applied pressure to his wound.

"Woo, what the hell? What even happened? Why was he trying to kill you?!"

"Yeosang. Do you remember Mr. Choi? The one who died in my OR room a few days before the outbreak?"

"Yes...what about him?"

"It was his dad Yeosang."

"But, wait... what? I don't understand. His death was a complete accident. It wasn't your fault. He went into cardiac arrest because the stress of surgery was too severe for him."

"I know. He doesn't though. He blames me for everything. I tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. He was going to kill me... until Mingi and Yunho came to the rescue. Thanks by the way."

Mingi nodded his head to gesture a "You're Welcome" to him. Yeosang continued applying pressure to the wound, relieved that Wooyoung was okay. 

Hongjoong came into the room with a heavy sigh. 

"Wooyoung. I am so sorry that San did that. We didn't know you were his father's doctor. We got him to calm down and he'll be isolated from you from now on. I hope you know that we don't blame you for his father's death. All of us read the report because San keeps it with him. It was a freak accident. San just wants someone to blame, so he chose you."

Wooyoung looked at him. He seemed very sincere. 

"It's okay Hongjoong. It's not the first time I've had someone try to kill me. Besides, it's not your fault. You didn't know what was happening."

Hongjoong explained that San was locked in their house in order to keep Wooyoung safe for the night, and he'd be let out in the morning. 

Wooyoung was semi-relieved that something had been done. He trusted Hongjoong. If he was an enemy he would have just let San kill him. 

Yeosang decided to sleep with Wooyoung and keep watch over him, just in case. But, Wooyoung couldn't sleep at all. Instead, he relived the surgery of San's father. Over and over. Until the sun rose.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Yeosang, Mingi, and Yunho were all in Wooyoung's room watching Yeosang suturing Wooyoung's cut. They all decided to watch over him and protect him until they left. 

When Yeosang was finished, he wrapped up the now-closed wound in rolled gauze and helped Wooyoung change into some clothes. Yeosang had some ripped clothes in his pack, just for some extra cloth for bandages. He decided to create a makeshift sling with Yunho's help so Wooyoung wouldn't reopen the wound.

Wooyoung and the boys walked out of the house only to meet Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Jongho with guns trained at the gate. 

"What's going on Hongjoong?" Yunho asked.

"There's a horde of them. Coming straight for us."

Seonghwa added, "Be prepared. We have some extra guns in the shed over there. Ammo should be in the boxes. Grab one and get ready."

The boys followed Seonghwa's directions and grabbed what guns they could find. 

Mingi was trained with a gun as an ex-policeman, but the other boys had never got to use one. Let alone know how to shoot one. 

Mingi tried to give a quick rundown on how to shoot their pistols, and the boys seemed to understand enough to try and make do with it. As for him, Mingi grabbed the assault rifle mounted to the wall. He knew how to handle it. He got to shoot one a lot during training.

They ran out to meet the others, gathered at the gate with a couple of ladders. 

"We can't let them get in! Try and shoot them through the fence as much as you can. Me and Hongjoong will shoot from the ladders." Jongho yelled. 

Seonghwa was seen running into his house, and when he came back out, San was right behind him. 

Wooyoung froze in place. 

Seonghwa came to him and said, "We need all the help we can get. I'm sorry. Please try to ignore him."

Knowing Seonghwa was doing what was best for the team, he ignored San's presence. Seonghwa got Yunho to help him barricade the gate in case they did break through. Wooyoung took a stance kneeling behind the fence. His sling helped keep his trigger finger steady as least. 

San shot Wooyoung a look from the opposite side of the gate. Instead of angry looking, it seemed guilt filled. Wooyoung, confused, shook it off and focused his aim on the horde coming this way. 

"Save as much ammo as you can! Aim for the head. It's the best way to kill them!" Hongjoong took up his role as a leader. The boys lined the chain fence with full focus on the incoming footsteps and groaning noises up ahead.

Jongho was the first to spot an infected, shooting it straight through the forehead. 

Seconds later, dozens of them came running full speed at the gate. The sounds of gunshots echoed through the town, most likely being heard for miles. They'd have to fight off a lot of these fuckers.

Mingi seemed most talented with the rifle, almost never missing a straight shot through the head. Jongho looked at him in admiration and gave him a nod of approval. Mingi felt proud. 

Wooyoung had terrible aim with his pistol, but he got a few kills in nonetheless. Yeosang was visibly becoming more skilled with his pistol with every shot he took, something that Mingi noticed immediately. 

Hongjoong and his crew were a lot better than Yeosang, Yunho, and Wooyoung though. They'd been experienced with fighting infected with guns. Mingi was the only one who could outshoot them.

For the next hour or so, the guys shot any zombie in sight, with San running back and forth with ammo to reload the guns. While he was running to Wooyoung's ammo refill pile, an infected had grabbed Wooyoung's free arm and attempted to bite him through the fence. San, although hesitant at first, pulled Wooyoung away from it and Mingi shot it before it could grab him again. 

Wooyoung whispered a "Thank you" to San, who silently nodded back. He didn't have time to figure out why San had the sudden change of heart. He kept shooting the infected one by one. 

The horde was beginning to thin out, eventually ending with a singular zombie left. Mingi took his final shot and a bullet went through the infected's temple. Hongjoong applauded Mingi's shooting skills. Mingi visibly blushed at the compliments he received.

Now that the fighting was over, Wooyoung needed to process what had happened. San had saved him from that infected. But why? Literally not even 12 hours before he was trying to slit his throat. What happened between then and now?

Yeosang came up to Wooyoung and went on and on about how confident he felt while killing those infected, and how good he was at shooting. Wooyoung was most definitely not in the mood to hear Yeosang bragging. 

Yunho came to Mingi and congratulated him by messing up his hair. Mingi laughed and did the same to Yunho. Yeosang can't tell if they're dating or not sometimes. They're basically inseparable.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa approached Wooyoung and Yeosang and thanked them for helping with the horde. 

"Despite what happened last night, you helped us a lot Wooyoung. How's your cut?" Seonghwa asked.

"It's fine. Yeosang stitched it up and Yunho made me a sling to help keep it closed."

"That's amazing! I forget you guys were doctors before this craziness. We could really use someone like you guys here." Hongjoong said.

"I mean, if you're offering for us to stay here permanently, we'd definitely have to sort things out with Wooyoung and San. Personally I'm not going to sit by and watch your friend try to kill mine every night." Yeosang said.

"Yeah, I know. I think San is better now that Jongho talked to him basically all night. Jongho stayed locked up with him in the house and talked him down. He always knows how to calm San down." Hongjoong replied.

"San had moved on from his fathers death a long time ago. I guess when he saw you, it brought back memories. Jongho knew that his death was an accident, and he reminds San as much as he can. San just has some... anger issues. He can get out of control. I guess it's a military thing." Seonghwa added.

"Military..?" Yeosang asked.

"Yeah. Before the outbreak he was in the navy for a couple of years. He came home to see his father before his surgery. I guess it really affected him in some way. When his father died, it broke him. We all took him with us in order to help him heal. It's been a really rough journey and we had made some progress, but he snapped again. I'm very sure that the talk Jongho gave San snapped him back into reality." Hongjoong explained.

"Well how do we know he won't try to kill me again?" Wooyoung asked.

"You'll just have to trust us." Seonghwa said.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung still didn't trust the other boys. The fact that he HAD to trust them for the time being was worrying for him. 

Hongjoong asked the boys to stay another night because another horde could come, and they could use the extra hands around here.

Yunho gladly wanted to stay here. They had everything they needed to survive for a long time. They had an entire stash of canned food, guns for hunting and defending themselves, and a way to get fresh water. Yunho overheard Seonghwa talking about the freshwater creek a little outside of the village. What else could they need?

Mingi wanted to as well. He was starting to get along with Hongjoong pretty well. Although he was still worried about San, he felt as if the good outweighed the bad.

Yeosang needed a minute to talk it out with Wooyoung. 

"Woo, what do you think we should do? I just think that there's a better chance of us surviving here. I know San is a problem, but everyone has your back. Even the other boys. You'll be safe."

Wooyoung didn't know what to do. He was pretty frightened of San, but at the same time he couldn't help but have a bit of curiosity about if his episode was a one time occurrence or something that happened often. He wanted to know more.

"I trust you Yeosang. If you think we should stay here for awhile, then I think so too. Maybe San just had an episode. I'm just glad that i have you guys to make sure I'm okay."

"Alright, then it's settled. We will stay for awhile-until we've overstayed our welcome at least. Hongjoong, We'd be glad to help you out around here. It seems that all of us love it here." Yunho said.

"Great! We will get you guys some lunch. Jongho already left to go hunting. Wooyoung, I hope you don't mind if San sits with us at the table. He won't even be in your field of view. It's just best to reinsert him with everyone." Hongjoong said.

Wooyoung nodded at him in acceptance. He honestly had become more accepting of San in general. Everyone has their episodes because you never know what someone has had to deal with. Hongjoong and everyone else seemed to think San was the complete opposite of angry, cold, and violent. Maybe they're right.

Around an hour later, Jongho came back with some jackrabbits. He must be pretty skilled at hunting, because not many people are able to catch multiple animals in one trip. 

Seonghwa, being the cook, began cooking the rabbits over a fire. He had an assortment of spices in a small bowl and he make the rabbit meat look gourmet. It honestly looked better than the deer meat from the night before. 

Yunho and Mingi decided to start setting the table. While doing so, an unexpected visitor came in the Dining House. 

San.

He approached Yunho and Mingi, both of whom stood upright and had scornful eyes towards San. San began to look down at his feet, but he said,

"Hey. I wanted to give both of you an apology. Something had gotten into me yesterday. I promise you it will never happen again. I swear it."

Mingi and Yunho looked at each other in confusion. Why was he apologizing? 

They could see a tear run down San's face.

"Umm thanks for the apology. But really you should apologize to Wooyoung. I mean it's one thing to be mean to someone but you did try to kill him- literally. That's not something that can be resolved in a day, but an apology would be a good start. Plus, we are staying here for awhile now. It's better to forgive and forget." Yunho replied.

"I understand. What I did was really uncalled for and unnecessary. I'll go talk to Wooyoung. So I don't scare him off, does one of you mind to escort me to him?" San said, sounding a lot less cold and more apologetic.

Mingi agreed to escort him to Wooyoung, who was sitting beside the dying bonfire in the center of town.

San began to speak, but Wooyoung looked as if he'd seen a ghost, causing San to stay silent.

Mingi looked at Wooyoung and mouthed "He's trying to apologize, let him talk" barely below a whisper.

Wooyoung decided to relax because at least Mingi was there in case something went wrong. San began to speak again, very quietly and calm.

"Wooyoung, I am so sorry for attacking you. Yesterday my old way of thinking consumed me. Jongho explained to me in detail how my father's death was not your fault, but in the past I vowed to find you and kill you. Living here the past two years, my friends helped me to forget this revenge fantasy. But, you finally showed up right at the front door. It was gut wrenching. I held back from killing you then and there, but I didn't last night. I should have let you talk things out. I'm sorry. If I could take it back, I would."

San put a hand out to place on Wooyoung's shoulder, but Wooyoung flinched away and Mingi stepped forward with a stern stare. 

San pulled his hand away slowly with a sad look on his face, but awaiting Wooyoung's reply.

Wooyoung knew that it must have been some kind of episode. The way Jongho described San seemed like an entirely different character, one who's funny, passionate, and overall wholesome.

As Woo looked into San's eyes, he saw these traits. Something in the air had changed. Drastically.

"San. It's okay. We all have our moments, although I wish yours was slightly less violent. I'm extremely sorry about your father. All is forgiven. You didn't trust me, and in these times I don't blame you. There's a lot of evil people in the world. I want you to know I'm not one of them, and neither are you." Wooyoung said with sympathy.

San was visibly teary-eyed at the mention of his father, but nodded at Wooyoung's statement and walked away.

Wooyoung was utterly stunned at what had just occurred. 

"He seems to be a pretty emotional guy. Mood swings can make someone change in a heartbeat." Mingi whispered, making sure San didn't hear him.

Wooyoung nodded at Mingi with raised eyebrows. There must be something wrong with him mentally to be able to change personalities like that. It was just bizarre to him, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel bad for him. He knew what it was like to feel out of control in your own body. He's had his own thoughts consume him before. 

Mingi walked away from Woo to leave him alone to let him think about all of this. 

"At least I don't have a full on enemy anymore," Wooyoung muttered quietly.

Seonghwa had finished cooking the meal for the boys and began putting the food across the table. Hongjoong opened his eyes widely at the food, basically drooling over it.

San sat across from Wooyoung again. This time, without a death stare. Instead, a warm smile.

Chapter Text

The boys finished up their meals and began talking more about their plan for tonight. 

"We are running low on ammunition from this morning's battle. Luckily, we know exactly where to find some. We've been getting supplies from the Armory about 3 miles west from here. San knows the lock combination. It's a great place to get weapons for yourselves instead of using the spares in the shed." Hongjoong said.

"Start packing a travel bag guys, we should be home after sundown. Be sure to take food and water with you, it's a rough way there." Jongho added.

All of the boys went to their rooms to pack their supplies, and the first ones ready were Wooyoung and San. 

San looked at Wooyoung and smiled once again. 

Wooyoung smiled back only halfway. "Now he wants to be my best friend or something? I guess it's better than the knife to my throat."

"Sooo, what all did you pack?" San asked awkwardly. 

"Oh. Just some knives, food, and water. Yeosang is packing the medical supplies in his pack." Wooyoung said softly.

"You should probably pack some medicine for your cut on your shoulder. I'm sorry about that by the way. Really sorry." San said with empathy.

"Yeah, no worries. I'll grab some from the first aid." 

Wooyoung went back inside to Yeosang's room and grabbed some pain-relievers from his pack. Yeosang snatched them back in an instant.

"Why are you taking the whole bottle of pain pills? If you need some you can ask." 

"San said I should probably get some. Sorry for barging in and taking them."

"Wait...SAN? So all of a sudden he cares about your wellbeing?" Yeosang said with a confused laugh.

"Yeah. It's really weird. I'm just going along with it at this point. I don't want to be back on his bad side." Wooyoung sighed.

"Well that's true. Just grab a few of them. We have to save as much as we can." Yeosang gave Woo a couple of small white pills and Woo swallowed them.

"Thanks Yeosang." 

Wooyoung walked back out of the house and saw Mingi and Yunho talking with San and Jongho.

"I guess they're getting along just fine as well." Wooyoung thought.

Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Yeosang came out a few minutes later as well. Hongjoong made sure everyone got that they needed, including weapons for all. Since the ammo was low, they stuck to melee weapons. 

Hongjoong had Yeosang's bat, but it was completely covered in old barbed wire. Hongjoong handed it to Yeosang with a wink. Yeosang grabbed it and was in awe of how cool it looked. It was much more efficient as well.

Jongho and Mingi were armed with huge machetes, both pretty cool looking as well. Wooyoung was armed with an old axe. It wasn't much but it could definitely do some damage. San  had a dagger with his name carved into it. 

"Badass." Mingi told San.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong both had pickaxes as their weapon of choice. Pretty sharp on the tip too. 

Now that they were armed and ready to go, Hongjoong unlocked and opened the gate. The boys walked outside the gate and Hongjoong  closed it behind him and locked the padlock on the outside of the large metal door. 

The journey was through the woods, and it was basically a hike just to get there. There was no trail or openings for a path. It was rough.

San had decided his buddy for the journey would be Wooyoung. Wooyoung didn't know if he was just trying to make up for his past mistakes or what, all he knew was that it was beginning to get a little annoying. 

"So, where are you from?" San asked.

"Goyang-si. And you?" 

"Namhae-eup." San replied.

"Wow. That's quite a difference." Wooyoung smiled.

"I moved to Seoul for my military service, and left my family behind. But yeah, I'm originally from Namhae." San said with a sense of pride for his home.

Wooyoung looked at San's face, relaxed and smiling. He couldn't help but notice his hair perfectly fall into place, and how sharp his jawline looked. His eyes were dark, but had a sense of comfort. His skin looked soft and pale, except for the dark line across his cheek that was his scar. He looked heavenly. 

"What the hell? What is going on with me?" Wooyoung thought to himself. 

San began more small talk with Wooyoung, talking about their favorite foods and colors, what hobbies they did before the outbreak, all that stuff you'd talk about when getting to know someone.

The woods were quiet except for the birds in the trees singing all around them. And, of course, Wooyoung and San's conversation.

Yeosang was talking with Jongho.

"They seem to be getting friendlier by the minute. What the hell did you say to get him to switch up?" Yeosang asked Jongho.

"We reread his father's autopsy report. Word for word and line by line. To prove to him that what happened isn't anyone's fault, not his, not Wooyoung's, and not anyone in that operating room. We went through the steps of the surgery as if we were there. Eventually, he got it in his mind and he calmed down. He was overwhelmed with guilt though."

Yeosang was impressed. Jongho must have been a true friend to be that dedicated to helping his friend. 

The boys heard Hongjoong up ahead yell, "Hey! I think we found it!"

They all rushed to the tree line and saw a large building through a fence, which looked high tech but very secure. The fence was broken, most likely from infected damaging it. It would open just enough for people to climb through.

San went ahead of all of them, looking both directions in case there was any sign of infected. A group of them were herded to the left across a small roadway. San turned back and put a finger over his lips telling them all to be quiet.

"Group of those things to the left. If we go quietly, we can avoid them. But, once the door is opened it'll set off an alarm. It'll definitely get their attention, so be ready to fight." San whispered to Hongjoong and Seonghwa.

Hongjoong nodded and gestured all of the boys over to him to circle up. 

"Alright. We all need to be as quiet as possible. Tiptoe if you have to. Once we get to that door right there, San will unlock it but the infected will hear the alarm and come straight for us. You can't straggle behind. Every needs to get in the door as soon as it's opened. You got it?" 

The boys silently nodded or gave a thumbs up. Wooyoung stayed behind and held the fence open for the rest of them.

Hongjoong and San led the way, and Wooyoung was stuck in the back. They all walked slowly, watching every step they took. Debris and bottle lay on the ground in the parking lot, and a lot of it. Tiptoeing their way through what seemed like an obstacle course, San reached the door first. 

Hongjoong and Seonghwa got there a little afterwards, and that's when San began to put in the code. Jongho reached them as he put in the numbers, with Mingi, Yunho, and Yeosang quickly catching up. The door opened, but a loud alarm began to go off. Wooyoung was still really behind. Yunho was stepping inside as the infected's footsteps and groans began rushing to the door. 

"Wooyoung!! Run!" Yeosang yelled. 

San held the door open for everyone. Wooyoung began running as fast as he could to the door. He heard the sounds of creaking bones and heavy breathing right next to him, but all he focused on was getting to San... I mean the door. 

An infected reached out and grabbed his shirt as he was only feet away from the entrance. It pulled him back and threw him to the asphalt. He looked up and immediately saw a figure kicking the hell out of the zombie that pulled him. 

San put his arm down to help Wooyoung up, and they ran to the door. San pushed Wooyoung in first, and shut the door as fast as he could. San fell against the door and sighed, resting his head on his fist.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung watched as San breathed heavily after fighting off the infected for him. This is the second time he's saved him, but why?

"Thanks for saving my life, again." Wooyoung smiled.

"No problem. No hard feelings anymore, right?" San got up from the floor and shook Wooyoungs hand.

Wooyoung noticed his calloused hands, every single detail of them. They were scarred and bruised, but something about them made Wooyoung feel warm inside. Or it was the heat.

The sweat poured down Wooyoung's forehead, making his hair wet. It was so hot outside, and inside the building it wasn't much better. No air conditioning was something the boys were used to. They had to adapt any way they could.

The armory was in rough condition, but it still seemed unreal and almost futuristic. It was dark, although the small rectangular windows near the ceilings lit the room just enough to see. Thankfully they came during the afternoon, just enough time to get what they needed and head out as soon as possible. 

San went to a red button between two large shelves and pressed it, causing the alarm to shut off. It was definitely a good thing he knew his way around here. If not, they probably wouldn't survive it here.

"The ammo storage is just upstairs. This room has been cleared out except for some spare parts and stuff like that." San said.

"Yeah, we came here awhile back to get some supplies. But, that's been a year or so. Today was the first day in a long time where we used up a lot of our ammo supply. The zombies must have heard the commotion last night." Hongjoong shrugged.

"We better hope there's some supplies left. I think there should be. Most of the military moved out from here and into Seoul. They kind of gave up on the rest of the country." Seonghwa added.

"That's pretty fucked up." Mingi said, pretty shocked. He was sure that the military would eventually come back one day, but after Seonghwa said that, no wonder why he hadn't seen any helicopters or vehicles around in the past 6 months.

"We knew it would happen. I did, at least. The infected have taken over basically every part of the country, except for Seoul. It's the most secure place. We want to go there one day, but only whenever we gather enough supplies and maybe find a working vehicle for once. It's about a week journey if we walk all day. And that's not even counting the number of times we have to fight the infected. It's better to find a vehicle." San explained.

Everyone else looked at each other with a glimpse of hope, but they knew deep down it was taking a big risk to travel that far and have enough supplies to support them. But, it was a nice dream.

"Well, it might have been impossible for you guys to do it before WE got here. The more the merrier. And the more people the more chance of surviving. Plus, we are pretty awesome." Yunho giggled.

"That's a plan for another time. For now, let's focus on getting the supplies and getting the hell out of here." Jongho stated.

The boys began walking towards the stairs through the large doors in the back of the room. Wooyoung and San led the group, mostly because Wooyoung wanted to be beside San. He felt safer with him for some reason. Probably just because he knew his way around better.

"Here it is." San said, arriving at the top of the stairs in front of two large doors, identical to the ones they walked through the go to the stairs. Next to the door a small sign read "Ammunition". 

Wooyoung and San headed inside first and saw green metal boxes lined across shelves on all walls. It was a treasure trove, but just ammunition. 

"Jeez, how much ammo do they need?" Yunho laughed.

"Enough for the apocalypse." San replied coldly. 

"Well, I guess not much of them survived in order the USE it." Yunho said.

San became angry at this sentence. 

"Don't ever joke about the deaths of soldiers. Not ever."

Yunho stepped back a little.

"Okay dude, my bad. Didn't mean to offend you." 

San rolled his eyes and began to open his pack to pull out an empty duffel bag. He went to the furthest wall and began filling it with the ammunition boxes.

The others began doing the same, but they just stuffed it in their regular bags.

Wooyoung walked over beside San and began filling his backpack as well.

"I'm sorry if Yunho offended you, sometimes he's not the best at reading the room." Wooyoung said, looking down at the full ammunition box.

"It's fine. I just don't like when people make jokes about the dead. Especially soldiers."

"I get it. So, did you train at this specific armory? It's amazing how well you know the layout of the place." Woo asked.

"No, but all of them are built the exact same. I trained in Seoul before I came back home to visit my father. When he...you know... I packed a bag and ran away to wherever I could, just trying to get away from the mess. When the outbreak started, I ran into Hongjoong and Seonghwa at a hostel. Jongho waltzed right in at the right time and we all just met coincidentally. Isn't that how you and your guys met?" San explained.

"Yeah basically. Right place right time. Never split up since." Wooyoung smiled at the statement. 

"Pretty amazing huh." San said with a peculiar expression.

"What is?" Woo asked.

"How such a traumatic and terrible event led us to find the best people." San said with a small chuckle.

"It's dark when you think of it like that, but yeah. I guess it's pretty amazing. And sad at the same time." Wooyoung looked down.

"Well, we should probably get back to packing. It's still a long journey back home. It'll be super late by the time we get there, let's save daylight." San placed his hand on Wooyoung's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Wooyoung didn't flinch this time. He felt his hand on him again and he felt warm. He didn't feel deadly anymore to him. He proved himself by saving his life not just once, but twice. He had his doubts deep down, but now he just wanted to know him more. He felt like he understood San.

"My pack is pretty much full guys." Mingi announced.

"Yeah mine too." Jongho said. 

Basically everyone else's were full as well as the words "Me too" echoed around the room. San only added a box or two more to his duffel bag and threw it over his shoulder.

San must have been extremely strong, because everyone knew that duffel bag had to be over 70 pounds. Probably a LOT more than that. and on top of that he still had his backpack on. But, San looked like he wasn't even bothered by it. 

"Impressive." Yunho said, with a jealous tone in his voice. 

"Thanks." San replied with a smirk.

San began walking down the stairs with everyone following him. Most everyone's packs were extremely heavy with their supplies they brought plus the amount of ammunition they had. Hongjoong circled up the boys around him and began to come up with a plan for escape.

"San turned off the alarm, so we should be safe from zombies swarming us right away. But, they're definitely still lingering out there. If we open the door from the inside, the alarm won't go off thankfully. So, I think someone should take a peek outside just to see what we are dealing with." 

"I will!" Mingi jumped in.

"Alrighty then. We have our volunteer. If you make a noise though, it's your fault we get trapped here." Hongjoong replied.

"Yeah never mind that's a lot of pressure." Mingi said and stepped back.

"Fine, I'll do it." Wooyoung scoffed. 

"Great! We will be right behind you." Seonghwa smiled.

"Don't open the door quickly. It'll make a loud opening sound and attract them here." San looked at Wooyoung worriedly. 

"Got it. Thanks." Woo replied in a determined tone.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung took a deep breath before he opened the door, slowly but surely. The sun had an orange glow, indicating it would go down soon. 

Not good. 

The darker it is outside, the more active those zombies would become. 

He looked around at the empty parking lot and all of its surroundings. The barbed wire fences had no effect on the zombies. The gate was open anyways, and if they were that desperate they'd climb over it in a heartbeat. 

A small group of them were on all sides. Luckily, none were blocking the way out through the hole in the fence back into the tree line. But the "small" groups of infected were only a fraction of how many there truly were. As Wooyoung stepped out a little more from behind the door, he saw this. 

Knowing he saw enough, he closed the door slowly in order to not make any loud noises.

"So, what did you see?" Mingi asked.

"They're surrounding the building. But, there's none blocking the way to the exit. If we're super lucky, and if no one makes a mistake, we could make it out." Wooyoung said.

"Alright then. I'll lead the way. If anyone gets stuck behind, I'll hold the fence open for you. If the zombies hear us, run for your life to the fence and anyone there will pull you through. After that, run as fast as you can following me. The infected can climb the fence. They'll chase after us forever, so be ready to run long distances." Hongjoong said with confidence.

The boys nodded in agreement and lined up at the door, Hongjoong in the front. He opened the door with care and made sure to make no sound at all. Seonghwa stayed behind to hold the door open for everyone. Both of them seemed so selfless, they were perfect leaders.

As the boys walked out one by one, each one walked slowly and watched every single step they took. Most of them looked straight down at their feet, knowing that if they saw the infected they'd probably get scared half to death. 

It was only about a 100 foot distance, but any wrong step would alert the enemy. 

Most of the boys had taken their weapons out of their packs and had them ready to fight. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared. 

Hongjoong reached the fence first, as expected. He stepped through the opening and held the fence from the other side, motioning each of the boys through. 

Yunho, who was 4th in line, had stepped on a stray soda can near the edge of the fence. You could heard the aluminum scratch the concrete like nails on a chalkboard. 

Run.

That's all the boys thought to do.

Hongjoong yelled that exact same word as dozens of infected ran after them. Yunho quickly jumped through the opening and Mingi followed behind. Jongho grabbed Wooyoung's hand and guided him through the opening as quickly as he could. At this point, Hongjoong abandoned his role of keeping the fence open, but San still hadn't made it through. 

"SAN! COME ON WE HAVE TO GO RIGHT NOW!" Jongho yelled.

San reached the fence and pushed it open, but his duffel bag got caught by the metal wires. Wooyoung rushed to save him, but the infected were closing in fast...REALLY fast. 

Wooyoung yanked the bag as hard as he could and a stunned San fell through the opening and onto the ground. 

Wooyoung grabbed his hand and pulled him up as San caught his breath. The boys began to run as fast as they possibly could. The sound of the rattling fence behind them made their adrenaline rush. They knew those stupid monsters were climbing. 

"DON'T STOP RUNNING. FOLLOW ME, I KNOW THE WAY!" Hongjoong screamed. 

The infected had made their way over the fence in a record amount of time, and their running footsteps only made the boys run faster.

Wooyoung held San's hand as they ran through the thick woods together. I'm sure it was hard enough for San to be running with a packed duffel bag across his shoulder. 

They ran for what seemed like hours. The sound of infected slowly died down, but they never stopped. The sun was setting and the temperature dropped, which meant even more trouble. They needed to get home.

Hongjoong slowed down and eventually stopped, resting by putting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath. 

"We fucking made it." Hongjoong said with a breathy tone. 

Up ahead was the gate, with the padlock still in place and everything as it should be. 

Hongjoong ran and put the key into the lock to open it, and pushed the door open as quickly as possible. Everyone rushed inside and just sat down. They don't know how in the hell they made it. 

"We've only been with you guys for a little over two days, and I think it's the most adventure I've experienced these whole 2 years." Yunho said, clearly struggling to breathe.

"Welcome home." Seonghwa said with a smile, catching his breath as well. 

They boys just sat there as they drank their water supply and tried to recuperate from their escape from the armory. 

"San how in the world did you run with that heavy bag all the way home?" Wooyoung asked.

"I'm a lot stronger than you'd think. Trust me." San smirked.

"Was he flirting?" Wooyoung thought to himself.

"Surely not, but at the same time he might've noticed my stares at him and caught on the fact I'm admiring him. That's embarrassing." 

Wooyoung blushed at the thought. San lied down in the dirt with his hands crossed behind his head, looking for relaxed than ever. 

"Guys, I think we should just sleep at this point. My whole body hurts from running so long and I miss the bed." Mingi said.

"Of course you do, when do you not miss your bed?" Yeosang scoffed jokingly.

"I agree with him. We should all get rest." Seonghwa said.

It was already dark outside, so the boys headed to their rooms for the night, but before Wooyoung walked into the house, San stopped him.

"By the way, thank you for saving me at the fence. I guess you paid me back for me saving your life..twice." 

Wooyoung smiled.

"I thought I should at least return the favor, especially to you." 

San laughed and looked at Wooyoung, from head to feet. He saw how caring he was, and how truly beautiful he was. He never thought how he could have hated someone like him. He just never knew him. 

"Can I say something? Without it sounding weird?" San asked.

"Yeah, go for it." Wooyoung replied and leaned on the door of the house.

"I don't know how I could have hated you. I never realized how beautiful of a person you are." San smiled and his face turned red.

Wooyoung froze at the statement. 

"What the hell?"

He thought.

"Did he know I was checking him out earlier? Is he trying to gain my trust by flirting? This is so confusing." 

"T-Thanks. You're a pretty cool guy too." Woo replied nervously.

Shit that was terrible. He thought.

"Well, goodnight Wooyoung." San said.

"Goodnight San." 

Wooyoung walked into the house, confused as hell, but oddly happy. Did San mean he was beautiful on the inside, the outside, or both? None of it made sense to him. 

But, the boys had all collectively agreed that they would stay here permanently. Hongjoong was very open to it, and so were Seonghwa, Jongho, and San. They had never met people who were so friendly to them like they were, and who took them in as if they were best friends. They agreed, it must have been...

Fate.

Chapter Text

One week later...

The boys finally settled in and found where they belonged. It was truly fate that brought them together. 

Wooyoung and San have become extremely fond of each other, much to everyone else's surprise. Every meal, they sit together and laugh about basically everything. Yeosang noticed how much Wooyoung liked San, he noticed it a little too much.

Yeosang pulled Wooyoung aside after lunch one day, with a curious look on his face.

"Wooyoung, don't laugh at me when I ask you this." 

"Uhh, okay. I won't promise you anything though. Depends on the question." Wooyoung chuckled.

"I'm serious." Yeosang said with a straight face.

"All right, all right. I won't laugh I promise."

"Woo.....do you like San?" Yeosang asked seriously.

"Well, yeah I like San. He's a good friend to me even if we had a rough start." Wooyoung said, cluelessly.

"No, not that...I mean- do you like him as more than a friend?"

"Yeosang don't be stupid. Of course I don't. I haven't crushed on anyone since before the outbreak and I haven't planned on it since it happened. Don't worry." Wooyoung said, with a little doubt in his tone.

Wooyoung honestly didn't know about his feelings toward San. He was very protective of Wooyoung, with a kind and passionate heart. It made Wooyoung feel something he hadn't felt in a long time. But he chose to ignore it.

But Yeosang couldn't know this. No one could. Mingi and Yunho didn't even know Wooyoung was gay, only Yeosang did. 

Woo had a couple of boyfriends back in the day, but none of them were serious relationships. He dated for fun mostly. When the outbreak happened and he met Mingi and Yunho, he just decided to keep quiet about his dating life. He never thought he'd actually meet someone during the apocalypse, much less someone who used to vow to kill him.

"Whatever you say Woo, whatever you say." Yeosang shrugged and walked away.

San gestured for Wooyoung to come over to him by the bonfire, and Wooyoung ran with a smile on his face. He had made really good friends with San and there was no bad blood between them anymore. At least, Wooyoung hoped so.

When Wooyoung finally reached San, San put his arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair like an older brother would. San's bicep wrapped around Wooyoung's neck and squeezed, making Wooyoung melt inside a little. He was so strong and so unbelievably handsome sometimes he couldn't help but to crumble at San's touch.

"I'm glad you decided to stay here Wooyoung, and I'm glad we can be friends. You're an amazing friend to have." San said, looking at Wooyoung, blushing.

Did he really have to say the word "friend" so many times? Way to kill the mood.

"Thanks San. You are pretty amazing too." Wooyoung smiled softly.

It was a cloudy afternoon, and the firelight made their faces glow. Wooyoung took a longer-than-normal look at San once again, showing his rugged skin and his scar, and yet it still looked perfect. San noticed the way Wooyoung looked at him, and he smiled at the thought that he might have been actually admiring him. Maybe just a coincidence he thought.

Woo snapped out of it eventually and thought about how he had maybe found someone who would be worth fighting for. Yeosang was his best friend obviously, and he would fight for him and his friends any day. 

But there's a difference between fighting for survival and fighting for love.

Wooyoung's heart flutters at the thought of love. Having someone be with you until the end, through the hard times and the good times, helping you to survive everyday, pouring your own love into someone else, and having them reciprocate that...that's love. It can be beautiful yet messy. And that's why it's every person's dream to find it.

Wooyoung looked at the man beside him and began imagining what it would be like to be in love with him. 

"Snap out of it!" He told himself, and put his hand against his head.

"What's the matter Woo? Head hurting?" San asked with a look of worry.

"Yeah, I might have a nap soon. I chopped some more firewood earlier and I guess it's made me exhausted." 

"Alright, I'll walk you to your room okay?" San grabbed Wooyoung's arm and began escorting him, still having ahold of him in the meantime.

He almost acted like a personal bodyguard for Wooyoung. He definitely looked like one.

As they began walking towards Wooyoung's bedroom after climbing the stairs, San stopped Wooyoung. 

"You sure you're not lying about not feeling well just to get away from me?" He chuckled.

"No..of course not. I would never want to be away from you." Wooyoung said, feeling a little in shock after.

"Oh really?" San asked with a smirk.

Why did I just say that? Wooyoung thought.

He's definitely catching up to the fact that I might have a slight crush. I've definitely have to tone it down a little.

"Well, if you really don't want to stay away from me I don't mind to nap with you. I'm pretty beat myself." San yawned.

He doesn't mean that...does he? 

Wooyoung laughed, he had to be joking.

"I'm serious! Swear it's not weird or anything like that. Your bed is more comfortable than mine anyways." San defended himself.

Well, it couldn't hurt anything. 

"Fine. I hope you don't kick in your sleep." Wooyoung agreed.

They both walked into Wooyoung's room and laid down in his bed, facing opposite ways. 

"Goodnight San. I'm sure they'll wake us up before dinner." Wooyoung said, facing the door.

"Goodnight to you too. And yeah, they better wake us up. I heard dinner will be Seonghwa's rabbit again." San said, facing the opposite wall.

"Ooh! I definitely don't want to miss that!" Woo laughed.

"Same. Goodnight, for real this time." 

"Goodnight again." 

Wooyoung began thinking as San closed his eyes.

He's in my bed with me. He's right beside me, laying in MY bed. In my room. 

Wooyoung couldn't help but become flustered by that fact. San was right beside him and sleeping in the same bed. 

My prayers have been answered. Wooyoung said to himself.

He began to feel his eyes becoming heavier by the second, becoming more relaxed reminding himself San was beside him.

Little did he know, San was still awake. He had turned his body to face the back Wooyoung's head, staring and every detail. His neck was exposed, his hair lay perfectly on his head, and his tank top revealed his muscular shoulders and back. San admired every inch of him. Every small detail he could find.

“He's perfect.“

San whispered with a smirk.

Chapter Text

San fell asleep, with Wooyoung still beside him. He fell asleep facing his back. They stayed like this for a few hours, until someone walked in.

"What the hell did I just walk in on..." Yeosang said out loud.

The boys were half awake anyways, so Wooyoung heard him and jumped to sit up in his bed.

"ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK I SWEAR!!!" He yelled.

"Hey, I mean.. go you! Somehow having a chance to have sex during the end of the world." Yeosang laughed.

"YEOSANG I SWEAR I DID NOT!!!" Wooyoung yelled very loudly.

Pretty soon, the sounds of footsteps came rushing up the stairs. 

EVERYONE came to see what was going on.

"Wowww Wooyoung, so you get to have some but I don't?" Mingi said with a jealous tone.

"Oh come on, I didn't want to do laundry today. After you guys are finished I'm gonna come and wash the sheets. That's nasty." Seonghwa sighed.

The rest of boys were shocked at the sight of Wooyoung and San in the same bed together. But,  San had enough of the jokes and the laughter.

He stood up and walked to the group of boys. In a strict tone, he said 

"What the fuck are you guys looking at? Nothing happened. We both were tired. Stop being assholes and go back to whatever you were doing. Seriously, grow the hell up." 

"Okay. Sorry San." Jongho said first, followed by all the boys apologizing and walking away.

San shut the door when they all left, and turned to Wooyoung.

"Jesus. Can't a guy sleep in peace?" He said.

"Great. Now they all think we hooked up." Wooyoung sighed.

"And what exactly is wrong with that?" San said with a slight smirk.

"Um, basically everything. I'm not even gay." Wooyoung lied straight through his teeth.

"Yeah sure, but it's just a rumor they'll talk about. Both of us know it's not true. What's the problem?" San laughed.

"Fine. If you say that it's not a big deal then I'll take your word for it. But still, I want to reiterate that if someone mentions it to you, shut it down. I'll do the same. I should have known better than to let you sleep in my bed." Wooyoung said, annoyed.

"Oh please. You know you slept like a baby. I heard you snore like a grandpa." San giggled.

"No I did not!!" Woo punched him in the arm. 

"Mhm. I was the one who heard it, you were asleep." 

"Shut up San." 

"Never." He replied, looking straight into Wooyoung's eyes.

I cant even tell if he's flirting or not anymore. I think I should just let it be. If he truly likes me like that, I'll let him make the first move. Wooyoung thought to himself.

San opened the door and let Wooyoung go before him, and followed Woo out while shutting the door behind him. It was just about dinner time, and San was right. Seonghwa was making rabbit again.

When Wooyoung came outside of the house, Mingi and Yunho were there, waiting for him.

"I didn't know you were GAY Wooyoung. You think you know someone." Yunho sarcastically said.

"Yeah for real. I was so in shock." Mingi said.

"Guys, please. I am not gay and I did not have sex with San. Will you leave it be?" 

"You realize that we have known you for two years at this point, and you never thought that we weren't suspicious? We already knew your ass was gay AWHILE ago. You don't have to lie." Yunho laughed.

Well shit. I'm clueless I guess. Wooyoung thought.

"Well. If you guys already knew then why didn't you say something? Also, even if I am I still did NOT mess with San like that. He's not even gay I don't think." Wooyoung said.

"We just didn't want to bring it up. We never thought we had to." Mingi shrugged.

"Well now we have confirmed it. And your secrets safe with us. But honestly man, don't sleep in the same bed as a dude if you don't want us to think you guys did something together. It's a terrible sight that's engraved in my mind now." Yunho made a disgusted face.

"Yeah whatever Yunho. Just leave it be okay?" Wooyoung said.

The boys walked together towards the Dining House, where Jongho and Hongjoong were setting the table. Jongho glanced up at Wooyoung and then quickly looked away.

"Guys. I did not have sex with San." Wooyoung stated.

"Okay, if you say you didn't then you didn't. No need to explain yourself to us at this point." Hongjoong smiled.

"Thanks for understanding. I just wanted you guys to know that I'm not even gay or anything like that." Wooyoung said with a nervous tone.

Yunho laughed at Wooyoung's obvious lie and Mingi hit him on the shoulder to shut him up. 

"Alright. Even if you were, it makes no difference to us. Just so you know." Jongho said warmly.

"Thanks." Wooyoung said and walked away.

San was outside watching Seonghwa cook the rabbit over the fire. Yeosang sat on the front porch of one of the houses.

Wooyoung walked over to him by himself. Mingi and Yunho left him to it.

"Yeosang...I-"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me. I don't care if you slept with him or not." Yeosang said.

"Well, for your information I didn't. If I did, wouldn't you think I would have told you if I had feelings for him? Seriously, I did not do anything with him. He was tired so he just decided to crash in my bed because he said it was comfier." Wooyoung explained.

"So...That's it? Damn Wooyoung you definitely could have had an opportunity to get some of THAT," He slightly pointed at San, who was wearing a tight fitted black shirt with cargo pants. Wooyoung couldn't lie and say he didn't look handsome.

"Shush. I don't even know if he's gay,

let alone if he likes me like that." Wooyoung replied.

"Who the hell cares. We are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and you're worried if a guy who VOLUNTARILY slept in the same bed as you is gay. Please be so for real right now. I see the way he looks at you. Don't be so clueless Wooyoung."

"How does he look at me?" Wooyoung asked.

"Puppy dog eyes." Yeosang said with a smile.

"I never noticed." 

"Of course you didn't. You don't ever pay attention to ANYTHING do you? Take your chance and go with it." Yeosang made fun of Woo.

"I'll see."

Wooyoung walked over to San, who was cleaning his gun. That only meant that the group was preparing for an outing soon. 

"We going out there soon?" Woo asked.

"Yeah, the day after next. Hongjoong knows a place with some good non-perishables. Plus, I think we're gonna go get some new clothes." San said excitedly.

"That's good. It sure beats these raggedy cargo pants and button up." Wooyoung looked down at his clothes.

"Yeah. I'll make sure to give you some style. I'll dress you really well." San smirked.

Okay yeah that's definitely flirting. 

"Mhm. You don't seem like you're the type to be a fashionista." Wooyoung replied with a laugh.

"Hey. You'd be surprised." San insisted.

Seonghwa called the boys for dinner from the porch of the Dining House. Wooyoung and San walked together, while San put his arm around Wooyoung.

No way he's not into me.

Chapter Text

Two days later

The boys were awoken by Jongho, who told them to get ready for their outing. 

Hongjoong knew a small town near the camp, which had some stores that could have some supplies. He also knew there was some clothing stores there, in which he knew the others would be excited for. Shopping trips were always fun.

The boys all began to pack their bags and made sure to pack plenty of food and water. They also took their new-and-improved weapons, just in case. 

Hongjoong heard that the town wasn't very populated by zombies, mostly because there isn't any real living people living there. Hence why there's surplus supplies. 

"Good morning Woo." San said with a smile, meeting the boys outside in front of the gate.

"Morning San." Wooyoung smiled back.

"You guys ready to go?" Hongjoong chimed in, smiling and placing his hand on the gate, ready to open it.

"Uhh definitely. Get me out of these raggedy clothes." Yunho scoffed.

"Yeah yeah I know you're all excited about shopping but remember we need actual supplies too." Seonghwa said.

"Duh. We know that." Mingi laughed.

"Alright then, let's head out." Hongjoong began to unlock the gate.

The town was only about an hour walk away, and it was opposite the direction of the armory. Hongjoong had visited the town pretty often before the apocalypse, so he knew the surroundings very well. So, he led the way as usual. 

Wooyoung and San walked beside each other, talking and laughing like school children.

Yeosang and Jongho had formed a bond together as well, so they walked beside each other talking about their lives before the outbreak.

Seonghwa and Hongjoong always led the way. They just had the leadership mentality that was just right for the group. Hongjoong had a bright mind and a determination for goals, and Seonghwa always knew how to take care of the boys needs in any way, shape, or form. It was the perfect duo.

As the boys kept talking basically the entire way there, they began approaching the outskirts of the town, coming across a road leading into it. It was still about a mile walk, but at least they had a path now.

"Well, it's eerily quiet." Yeosang stated.

"I don't hear a single thing. It's freaking me out." Mingi said with a scared face.

"It's fine guys, I told you this town has been cleared out for at least a year. No humans, no zombies, no anything. But, it's not the best place to stay because sometimes raiders come in searching for people. Luckily they don't find anyone." Hongjoong said confidently.

"Whatever you say..." Yunho shrugged.

As they drew closer to the town, many shops came into view, attracting the attention of everyone in the group. 

All around them were clothing stores that were basically full, just broken windows and run down buildings. But even if the outside looked bad, the inside is what counted.

"This is like heaven." Wooyoung said. 

"I can finally find some stylish things. I can fight infected looking cool." He added.

"Yeah, depends on what you consider style." San chuckled.

"Hey, I have style. You just never knew me before the outbreak." Wooyoung defended himself.

"Mhm. Well, I know for a fact that I have a bit of a taste for fashion. If you let me dress you, I promise you won't be disappointed." San boasted.

"Fine. But if what you pick out is horrible, I'm never letting you pick out ANYTHING for me again." Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

"Deal. You should be a runway model by the time I'm done with you." San grinned.

"As if there were a runway anywhere." Wooyoung said with sarcasm.

The boys walked closer towards the streets of the abandoned town. Everything was silent - except the sounds of shoes hitting the asphalt beneath them. You could hear everyone's breathing and their slightest movement. It was extremely uncomfortable.

"Guys let's just get this done quickly. This place freaks me the hell out. It's like it's frozen in time or something." Yunho cringed.

"I'm going to head to some of the stores and pharmacies to check for needed supplies. Jongho and Seonghwa can come with me. We will meet you guys at that clothing store right there." Hongjoong pointed to department store with a smirk on his face.

Before they left, San asked "Hey! Why am I not coming with you guys?" 

"San, go have fun with your boyfriend. We are letting you have your time." Seonghwa said, sounding oddly sincere.

"He isn't my boyfriend." San said angrily at the boys. 

"Ok jeez, it's just a joke man." Hongjoong backed off.

San walked away with an angry expression and just went into the department store, meeting the rest of the boys inside.

"Why that look on your face?" Wooyoung asked.

"Forget about it." San changed the subject as fast as he could and began looking around at the abundance of clothes.

Wooyoung, scared to upset him, let it be and began shopping for himself. He and San stayed near to each other, asking each others opinions on the things they found.

"What about this?" Wooyoung held up a light denim jacket with a few rips on the shoulder and the torso.

"Definitely looks your style. Especially if you layer it with a nice hoodie of some kind." San said, looking focused.

San wasn't really shopping for himself, although he did find a few good things he kept. He was mostly shopping for Wooyoung. 

As they inquired about some other choices, the door opened at the entrance and Hongjoong, Jongho, and Seonghwa walked in with full duffel bags, looking like they found a ton of supplies. But, they all went their separate way and began looking around alone.

Around 10 minutes later, Wooyoung and San had found all that they wanted and made their way to the fitting rooms. 

"There's no doors? Not even a curtain?" San asked out loud.

"Guess not. Well, it'll make do. It's still semi-enclosed." Wooyoung shrugged. 

Wooyoung went first and took his pile of clothes with him. He didn't really have anything to hide on his body, so he went ahead and took his shirt off, not caring that San was right there looking at him.

San stopped dead in his tracks.

He saw Woo's shirt come off, revealing his chiseled body. His muscular build was extremely impressive, and his abs...well-you know. San couldn't help but stare at Wooyoung as he took that shirt off. He admired the details of his shoulders, his torso, his abdomen, his waist, his everything. He saw the scars from the past years as well. A large one stretched from the middle of his chest towards his clavicle. It seemed healed, but it still looked rough. Another smaller one appeared on his left side, a pretty deep cut it looked like. 

Bruises and imperfections covered Wooyoung's body from the past 2 years of fighting. But San found it the most attractive sight he had ever laid his eyes on. 

"You've got a staring problem you know." Wooyoung looked at San and laughed, putting on his new shirt San picked out for him.

San got red in the face and looked away about as fast as humanly possible. 

Wooyoung chuckled a little more, looking into the  mirror in the dressing room and admiring his new shirt. San refused to look at him again, extremely embarrassed by what has just occurred. 

He refused to look at him the rest of the time he took in the dressing room.

Wooyoung tried on all of his clothes, and he liked all of them except a few that didn't fit him quite right. 

"You really are a good stylist San." Wooyoung patted him on the shoulder. 

Now it's your turn San. Go try on your clothes you got." Wooyoung shooed him into the dressing room.

San went into the dressing room, but looked at Woo with a frowned face. 

"I'm sorry for looking at you while you were changing. That was not right." San apologized.

"It's not a big deal I promise San. I don't mind at all." Wooyoung smiled warmly.

"Well..is it alright if you turn around while I change. I'm not as comfortable as you are." San said, facing the floor.

Wooyoung, completely accepting of this, replied with a "Sure!" and turned around, respecting his wishes.

San began to change into his first item, a black turtleneck.

Wooyoung looked back at San a little too fast before he was done putting his shirt on, but only for a split second. By the time he had fully turned around his shirt was on.

But the glimpse he got of San's body..it was hurtful for Wooyoung. 

He saw the scars that covered almost his entire abdomen, leaving almost barely any healthy skin on him. It hurt Wooyoung to see San in that state. San didn't notice Wooyoung's glance.

"What do you think?" San asked, checking himself out in the mirror at the same time.

"I think it looks amazing on you San." Wooyoung went up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, looking at San through the mirror and smiling. 

San couldn't help but get butterflies from the way Wooyoung said his name, and the hand he put on his shoulder. 

"You should have became a stylist for idols or something before the outbreak. It would have suited you well." Wooyoung looked at San up and down and could tell San was warmed by that statement.

"Maybe I should have." San looked at Wooyoung eye to eye.

The boys looked at each other, almost admiring each other's face and eyes. They were locked in a trance. Their faces slowly began moving closer and closer together, and-

"San!!! Woo!!! We're all ready to head out! Did you guys find everything you needed?"

San and Wooyoung snapped out of it and pulled themselves together, walking out of the dressing room. San replied, "Yeah! We got everything." 

They glanced at each other again, looking for an answer to what they just felt, but both of them were as confused as the other.

Chapter Text

The boys began walking back towards home, and things were a little awkward between Wooyoung and San. But they didn't know how to talk about it.

After all, they had just had a pretty intense moment all of a sudden. It was all new to them.

San became frustrated with the fact that he knew he had developed feelings for Wooyoung. 

He may not want to admit it, but he truly does find Wooyoung an attractive person with an attractive personality. He just can't help it.

To think that only a few weeks ago San was trying to kill Wooyoung, for something that wasn't even his fault. San decided to try and forget this fact and move forward, hoping to trust Wooyoung and for Wooyoung to trust him. 

"Something on your mind?" Wooyoung broke the silence.

"I don't know. Maybe." San shrugged.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." Wooyoung replied with a soothing tone.

"Let's not talk about it right now. We can meet in your bedroom when we get back home. A couple hours after the sun goes down. I'd rather not have everyone else knowing." San whispered.

"Alright then. Tonight after sundown. I'll see you there." Wooyoung smiled at the thought that they'd actually be together alone... and at night.

It made Wooyoung feel excited.

Wooyoung was pretty obvious with the fact that he liked San. Yeosang basically already knew about it because he saw the puppy dog eyes Woo gave to San... every single time he saw him.

San on the other hand, he was secretive with his feelings. San was always one to not open up about his feelings or his past. He instead chose to live in the moment.

He was sad when a situation was sad, he was happy when the situation was happy, and he laughed when the situation was funny. He was neutral the rest of the time.

His team knew this and wasn't used to seeing him any other way.

Yet, when he was with Wooyoung, he felt more emotion than he had in years. 

Something about him made him feel human again.

The way he smiled, to say he talked, the way he laughed, the way he looked at him....

the list goes on.

"You feeling alright?" Wooyoung interrupted San's trance. 

"Yeah.. of course! Why wouldn't I be?" San answered nervously. Yet, it's like Wooyoung could read San's mind.

"Thinking about me?" Wooyoung smirked. He knew what he was doing.

San's heart stopped and his stomach began to flutter. He had never been this flustered before.

"Seems like I was right." Wooyoung laughed.

San looked away from him, embarrassed. 

"No I wasn't." 

"You totally were. You're an awful liar San." Wooyoung laughed again.

The atmosphere took a sudden shift in mood, and everyone fell silent.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa had whispered loudly for everyone to be quiet. No one moved an inch.

All of a sudden, an infected had ran from behind a tree and onto San's back.

Wooyoung moved hurriedly to brutally attack the zombie, San could not get bitten. Not here. Not now.

"ATTACK!" Hongjoong yelled.

The members took out their guns and their extra ammo, lining up to shoot the rabid creatures who looked like they hadn't eaten in years. 

Gunshots were heard all around the woods, making even more zombies come rushing towards the group. It was true chaos.

"QUICK! RUN TOWARDS THE BASE AND SHOOT THEM AS YOU RUN! WE HAVE TO GET TO THE GATE!!" Mingi yelled, suddenly taking authority.

Everyone began following Hongjoong who knew the way back. Gunshots still rang out with what looked like hundreds of infected following behind them.

The guns were certainly a good thing to bring, seeing as they couldn't fight off these infected with only melee weapons. They probably wouldn't have survived. 

Dozens of the infected dropped dead as soon as they were shot, making the other zombies trip over the bodies in the process. This slowed the horde down only a little, but they needed to lose this crowd a lot faster.

San and Wooyoung ran side by side, looking back and shooting every infected in sight. Wooyoung looked at San for a split second, seeing a figure running towards him from the side. 

"WATCH OUT!" Wooyoung yelled to San, who was too late to respond.

The infected had jumped onto San, attempting to bite him anywhere it could. San fell onto the ground, breaking his fall with his arm which cracked very loudly. He landed on a rock.

Wooyoung shot the infected in the head and quickly pulled San up with his good arm.

They began running again, San holding onto his 

 arm to be sure it wouldn't get injured any further. 

At this point, the boys had stopped shooting the horde and began running full speed ahead to the gate in order to lose the horde faster. 

"Guys!! There's a secret entrance for a time like this! When we get there, go to the left side of the fence and there will be a miniature trap door. Jump down into it and crawl inside the base! I will fall behind and lock the door back." Seonghwa told the boys, gasping for breath as he explained. He then fell back behind San and Wooyoung, being the last one in the formation.

They began approaching the base again, heading to the side as fast as possible. As they arrived, Seonghwa began taking a stand and shooting the infected who still ran towards them at full speed.

"GO GET INSIDE!!" Hongjoong yelled as he opened the trap door and guided the boys in with a hand gesture. 

The boys began jumping down as quickly as possible with Seonghwa covering them. Wooyoung helped San down into the tiny tunnel and Hongjoong followed behind San. Seonghwa began to back up and jumped into the door, slowing it shut as he did so. He then took a padlock out of his pack and locked the door from the inside. 

Loud banging noises were heard from the infected throwing themselves on the trap door. The boys began to run towards the inside of the base and soon enough they had made it to the exit, which was the basement of one of the houses in the village. 

Seonghwa was the last to come out of the exit, locking the door behind him and putting a chair under the doorknob for extra security.

"Well, that was a journey wasn't it?" Yunho joked, making some of the boys chuckle even as they were out of breath.

"Is everyone okay? Anyone get bit or hurt by anything?" Jongho asked. 

"I hurt my arm. Got jumped by an infected and fell onto a rock. Heard it crack as I landed. I didn't get bitten though, thanks to Wooyoung killing it before it sank its teeth into me." San explained, looking at his broken arm and trying to move it, but wincing at the pain.

"Wooyoung, you were a doctor and so was Yeosang right?" Jongho asked.

"Yeah." they replied in unison.

"Do you think you guys could help get San bandaged up so he can heal?" Jongho asked again.

"Of course we can." Wooyoung happily said.

"Yes of course." Yeosang agreed as well.

"I'm glad everyone is okay now. That other entrance really came in handy. If we had gone through the gate it would have taken too much time to open and close it." Hongjoong said with relief overcoming him.

The boys began to unpack their things and put away their weapons, exhausted from the escape. Wooyoung and Yeosang had escorted San into his bedroom, and Mingi had been sent to fetch some medical supplies.

"Sure looks like a pretty bad injury, but I think it's just a tiny fracture." Yeosang said to San.

Yeah trust me San, it could have gone a lot worse. At least you didn't get bitten." Wooyoung shrugged.

"Thanks to you." San said warmly with a slight smirk. 

Mingi had come through the door in that moment carrying a ton of medical supplies, definitely more than they needed.

"Thank you Mingi. You can go now. Get some rest." Wooyoung said softly. 

"Yes sir." Mingi obliged and left to the other house.

Woo and Yeosang then immediately began to get to work to fix up San's injury.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung began wrapping San's arm with the bandages and coban that Mingi had brought. Yeosang was making a makeshift sling out of some old bedsheets. 

"This feel alright?" Wooyoung asked San in a concerned manner.

"It feels fine. You're doing good, I promise." San replied softly.

Wooyoung's body became warm after hearing this, making his face red and his face couldn't help but smile. 

Yeosang was at the end of the bed looking a little frustrated with the attempt of making a sling.

"Do you need some help?" Wooyoung looked at Yeosang and could tell he was struggling. 

"No, it's just hard to get a good knot tied in. I don't want the sling to fall apart when he's wearing it." Yeosang replied, still focused on the knot when was attempting to create.

"I think that maybe Jongho might be able to help. He's pretty strong and knows how to tie knots properly. You should try going and asking him while Woo here finishes bandaging my arm." San suggested, really only trying to get a moment alone with Wooyoung.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll be right back. Hopefully his sling will look a lot better than mine." Yeosang smiled and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Now, only Wooyoung and San remained in the room together, San looking at the other boy with a sparkle in his eye, as if waiting for him to say something.

Wooyoung noticed this, and said the first words.

"So..about the dressing room incident..." He said nervously, but San chimed in.

"No, I'm sorry for putting you in a position like that. It was wrong of me." San said with a guilty tone in his voice and looked down.

"San.. I promise you don't have to apologize about it. If anything, I enjoyed spending time with you today. Nothing changed that." Wooyoung smiled.

Is he saying he liked the moment we shared? He wasn't uncomfortable or anything? 

San thought to himself.

"Oh, well then I guess that's settled isn't it. But I want to let you know that if you ever feel uncomfortable about anything then just say so, I'll happily apologize for my behavior and not do anything like that again." San answered.

"Who said I was uncomfortable? Sure, I was in the past when you hated my guts and then tried to kill me, but we've been living together for weeks now. We've gotten closer and we are good friends now, so I'm not uncomfortable around you unless you decide to change your mind and try to kill me again." Wooyoung laughed.

San laughed at this too, but he assured Wooyoung, "I doubt I will do anything like that again unless I go crazy or become infected. Jongho reassured me, and you reassure me. I-"

"I like you San. I like you a lot. A lot more than a lot." Wooyoung cut him off, not hesitating for a second while saying this, talking fast and loud. Afterwards, he looked down at the ground until San replied.

Wooyoung hadn’t fully realized what he had said, only that a wave of embarrassment flooded over him like a bucket of water.

"Wooyoung, I-" San was cut off again.

"Please actually just forget I said anything. I'm sorry that was so sudden it just came out of my mouth and I couldn't control it. I'm just going to go." Wooyoung said, stuttering. He then quickly walked out of the room before San could even talk. 

San, now alone, was completely silent and utterly stunned.

He likes me like that?? Why... Does this mean he feels the same feelings that I do? What does this even mean? That moment in the dressing room was genuine? 

Thoughts flooded San's mind, absolutely overwhelming him with what if's.

Just then, Yeosang came through the door with his sling which looked pretty good for something made out of mildewed bedsheets.

"Where's Woo?" He asked.

"He left." San answered with a straight face.

"Well, here's the sling, courtesy of Jongho. It should work until you're healed." Yeosang was a little confused as to why Wooyoung left, but he was exhausted and just wanted to give San the sling and go to bed.

Yeosang left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving San back to his thoughts. 

All he could think of was that moment in that store, when they gazed at each other with eyes he had never seen before. In that moment, he felt his heart stop and time was frozen right then. He imagined that he stayed in this moment forever, no one interrupting them and no distractions at all. Just Wooyoung and him, staring at each other longingly. 

He relived this moment in his head over and over until he finally fell asleep. He would talk to Woo again tomorrow. He was so exhausted from the pain in his arm. 

The next morning...

Wooyoung couldn't sleep all night. Even after he had his eyes closed for hours, he never fell asleep. He was terrified of what he had just confessed to San, and probably at the worst possible time. It was way too sudden and unexpected.

San, woke up extremely early, no one else was awake, and had his mind set on clearing everything up with Wooyoung. He knew that he was embarrassed about it and he needed to tell him that there's no reason to be. 

Wooyoung paced around his bedroom, nervous about how he would face San after last night. 

San paced around his bedroom, impatient about getting to talk to Wooyoung. He eventually left his room and went outside to see if Wooyoung was awake at least. 

I should probably wait until tonight..

San thought to himself.

So, he turned back around to his home until a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around.

Wooyoung.

"Can we talk privately?" He asked San, obviously nervous and flustered.

"Yes of course." San replied, hiding the fact that he didn't have to wait until tonight to go through with his plan.

Wooyoung grabbed San's hand and led him into the Dining House and into the living room. There, they sat on the couch and watched each other, pretty awkwardly.

"San, I didn't mean to say all that stuff last night, I was overwhelmed and exhausted from the day and I said some things that I shouldn't have said and I just-"

All of a sudden, San leaned in and grabbed Wooyoung's face gently, kissing him softly on his lips.

As their lips touched, Wooyoung melted. 

San kissed him exactly the way Wooyoung dreamed he would. Wooyoung grabbed the back of San's neck and pulled him closer.

Chapter Text

San slowly pulled away from the kiss, face red and  smile wide.

"Don't apologize." He said.

He went through with his plan. San knew Wooyoung would come and talk to him and apologize over and over. San just decided to kiss him in the middle of his tangent just to really prove that he felt the same way Woo did.

"I didn't know you felt the same.." Wooyoung said, obviously flustered.

"Don't assume things you don't know. You never gave me a chance to say anything back to you last night." San explained.

"You're right, but what does this mean from here on?" Wooyoung's thoughts began racing. 

"I don't know really. But I know that ever since you arrived here you've lured me in somehow. Do you want to know why I truly hated you as much as I did?" 

"I thought it was because of your dad?" Wooyoung was puzzled.

"It wasn't just that. It was the fact that I thought you had done something to harm me and you were a bad person, but everything about you told me the opposite. The fact that you are perfect and handsome made me more angry, because truly I believed you had killed my father. And all I could ask myself was "How could he ever do anything like that to anyone?" It confused me to my core. And then whenever my episode was over and Jongho talked me down, I realized that you would never do anything like that. You're loved by everyone because you're so kind and caring. Even after everything, we saved each other's life many times. I could have let you die. But, I couldn't watch while a perfect man died by my careless hands."

Wooyoung sat in shock. San usually never opened up about his feelings, even if the past 3 weeks they had gotten closer as friends. No doubt, San was being genuine. 

"Wow, I mean this is just a lot to take in. So many things have happened in the past 24 hours my brain can't comprehend it." Wooyoung said putting his fingers on his temple and rubbing it.

"All you need to know at this point is that I have feelings for you, and you have feelings for me. Wherever that takes us, whether we keep it secret, whether we tell everyone, that can come later. We don't have to worry about anything else other than the fact that we like each other." San gazed at Wooyoung, realizing that this is the most intimate moment he may have ever experienced.

San never had any kind of relationship when he was younger. He stuck to his brain and not his heart. Even then, he never knew he'd develop feelings for a boy. He just never knew himself like everyone else seemed to.

He never really was into dating in general. He kissed a girl once in middle school, but that was it. He had never went past 1st base.

This was entirely new to San, but he knew some of the basics of dating someone. 

Wooyoung was surprised that San seemed like he planned everything out accordingly. He knew what to say and how to go about it. San talked about beginning their relationship with confidence.

"I trust you San. I think that we should keep us a secret just for now, and if things go further and we both agree on it, we can go public." Wooyoung smiled.

"I agree." San replied.

Wooyoung fell into San's chest in that moment, hugging him tightly. 

"I needed this." 

"So did I." 

San and Wooyoung sat and embraced each other for a few minutes, until San sat up. But Wooyoung did not.

Wooyoung laid in San's lap, exhausted from not being able to sleep all night. In only minutes, he was fast asleep in his lap, looking as peaceful as ever.

San admired Wooyoung from above him. He ran his fingers through Woo's hair and watched as it fell perfectly into place even while he slept. He laid his hand on Woo's head, still gently running his fingers through his hair. San eventually fell asleep, as peace ran through him.

A couple of hours later, Wooyoung awoke and sat up from San's lap, who was still dead asleep and snoring.

Wooyoung couldn't help but laugh at San's mouth being wide open as he slept, and his snoring sounding much more like an animal than a human. 

Wooyoung got up from the couch, leaving San to sleep some more while he went back to his room to get ready. Surprisingly, none of the other boys were awake yet. They were likely exhausted from the day before. 

He stepped inside his room and changed out of his pajamas and into his new clothes that San picked out for him. 

He put on a dark purple hoodie and layered it with the denim jacket that San recommended. He then threw on some cargo pants and his shoes and got ready for the day ahead with a smile on his face.

The boys awoke one by one soon after, still feeling sore and tired from running and fighting the horde. Seonghwa and Mingi were first to step outside their house and began to get a fire going at the fire pit. 

Hongjoong and Yeosang came next, starting the day off by doing chores and cleaning up the mess after the day before.

Yunho and Jongho came out and began to find some food for a slight breakfast, hoping it would ease the exhaustion.

Wooyoung came outside and checked in with Seonghwa and Mingi, who were sitting around the fire talking.

"Good morning Woo, how did you sleep?" Seonghwa asked politely.

"I barely did. I guess I just had a lot on my mind." Wooyoung replied, not trying to give any details as to why he couldn't sleep.

"Personally I slept like a baby the entire night. A princess needs her beauty sleep." Mingi chimed in and joked.

"You? A princess? Please. You wish." Wooyoung joked back.

"Okay Mr. Damsel in Distress. How many times have you had to be saved by one of us, especially San?" 

Wooyoung fell silent.

"That's what I thought, princess." Mingi sarcastically stated.

"Whatever." Wooyoung rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of San, where is he? He's the only one who isn't out here." Seonghwa changed the subject.

"Probably still asleep. I don't blame him." Mingi answered.

"But he wasn't in his room when I woke up because the door was open and the bed was empty." Seonghwa confessed.

"Maybe he fell asleep somewhere else. Maybe check the Dining House." Wooyoung vaguely said, not trying to give away the fact that he knew he was in there.

"I'm going to go check and see. I'll probably wake him up if he is there, since everyone else is too." Seonghwa got up and left towards the Dining House.

A few minutes later, a tired San walked out of the dining house, stretching his arms and yawning loudly.

"Sleep well?" Wooyoung asked.

"Could you tell?" San smiled, eyes half shut.

Chapter Text

"Come sit by me." Wooyoung gestured the newly awoken San to the seats by the fire.

San obliged and walked with Woo, putting his arm around him.

"Might wanna be careful doing that." Wooyoung whispered.

"Eh. They'll just think I'm in a good mood. I'm a morning person you know." San winked.

"Well I sure can tell." Wooyoung chuckled.

They sat down around the fire and talked with each other, laughing at each other and being pretty touchy all around. 

Yeosang and Hongjoong, who had finished their morning chores, noticed this.

"What's up with that?" Hongjoong asked Yeosang.

"No clue. I haven't seen Wooyoung that happy in a long time."

"Shit, I've never seen San look that happy since I've met the guy." Hongjoong let out a slight laugh.

"Who even knows. I'm glad that they aren't at each others throats like they were a couple weeks ago. I'm sure they just had that 'enemies to best friends' things going on." Yeosang said.

"More like lovers by the look of it." Hongjoong watched as Wooyoung was whispering in San's ear.

"Nah. Wooyoung is like that with everyone he's friends with. Trust me, I would know." Yeosang looked at Hongjoong and said.

"Ohh, I see. Well, at least they're having fun." Hongjoong smiled.

San spotted Hongjoong and Yeosang talking privately and staring at him and Wooyoung .

"You think they're onto us?" San whispered. 

"You gotta stop being so paranoid all the time. Weren't you fine earlier when you put you arm around me? Has your morning mood changed?" 

"You're right you're right, Just trying to be mindful I guess." San said.

Wooyoung punched him on the arm, pretty hard, but only jokingly.

"Hey! That hurt dumbass." San said, punching Wooyoung back. But he hit a lot harder.

Wooyoung hunched over, grabbing his hurt arm and letting out a breathy sigh.

"Are you okay?? I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you so hard." 

"Damn. I was just joking with you." Wooyoung looked at San and laughed slightly.

"Are you always that rough?" Wooyoung said to San, in sort of a seductive tone.

"Depends on the situation." San reciprocated the tone.

"Oh really? And what do you mean by that?" Wooyoung grabbed San's shoulder and leaned in, showing off his eyes that sparkled every time he looked at San.

Just then, Yunho and Jongho came over and sat down by the fire.

Wooyoung basically threw himself off of San and straightened himself out.

"What are you guys up to?" Yunho asked.

"Oh..uh....nothing." Wooyoung said with a tremble in his voice.

"Uhhh...okay. Well, breakfast is about ready." Jongho eyed them suspiciously.

"Ok, thanks for letting us know. We will be in the Dining House in a few." San stated.

The boys walked away, looking back at San and Woo as they did.

San and Wooyoung fell pretty silent.

They looked at each other awkwardly.

"Alright. Well. We definitely have to calm it down." Woo broke the silence.

"Yeah. That was embarrassing." San said.

"Also now a good time to suggest that maybe we should just act like friends during the day, and during the night we can do whatever we please." San suggested.

"I don't think that's a bad idea. Let's just do that."

Chapter Text

Two weeks later...

"Good morning San.." Wooyoung whispered to the other man in his bed, who was facing away from him.

"Go back to sleep." San grumbled quietly.

Wooyoung wrapped his arms around San and rest his head on his shoulder, with San feeling Woo's slow breaths on his neck.

"Please...Let me see your handsome face." 

San turned around, smiling slightly, but still had his eyes closed.

"Now let me see your beautiful eyes." 

San opened his eyes slowly, and Wooyoung smiled widely.

Woo leaned in and kissed San right there and then, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him closer.

He put his other hand on his back, slowly moving it up his body to his other hand. 

San grabbed Wooyoung's waist and pulled him even closer. 

"You're my favorite." San says softly.

"You're mine too." Wooyoung replies. 

Woo nuzzled his head into San's neck and wrapped his arm around his torso, getting as close as he possibly could to him.

"I'm so happy I met you." 

"Me too."

They laid embraced into each other for a while, at least until they knew it was time for San to go back to his room.

San sat up beginning to leave.

"Please do you have to go?" Wooyoung pouted.

"They still don't know about us yet Woo. It would be awkward if one of your friends bursted in the door and saw us cuddling or something." 

"I know but still..Mornings are the best with you in my bed." 

"I know Woo. They are for me too." San smiled sitting on the edge of Woo's bed.

Wooyoung sat up as well, leaning in towards San for a kiss. 

Their lips met each other, as the two became immersed in their own passion for one another.

San pulled away gently for a moment, whispering "I wish we could stay like this forever..."

"I know. Me too." 

Footsteps could be heard coming to Wooyoung's room.

"SAN. HIDE. NOW." Wooyoung whisper-yelled.

San panicked for a minute until he decided to climb under the bed.

Yeosang knocked at the door and opened it.

Wooyoung was very obviously nervous sitting on his bed.

San tried not to breathe.

"Was there someone in here?" Yeosang asked.

"No, what are you talking about?" Wooyoung replied with a shaky voice.

"I swear I heard you talking to someone." 

"No. It's just me in here. I talk to myself sometimes." Wooyoung had a drop of sweat fall down his face.

Shuffling could be heard under the bed, but Woo tried to move around on the bed to try and cover it up.

"Then what is that sound then?" Yeo asked.

"I'm just moving. The bed is pretty loud." Woo was getting more and more nervous by the second.

"Are you sure that no one is in here?" 

"Very, very sure." 

Yeo began to bend down and look under the bed, until Wooyoung stood up in front of him.

"Do you want to go get some breakfast?" He quickly grabbed Yeosang's shoulders and guided him away from San's hiding place.

"Uh yeah sure." 

Wooyoung tapped his foot, signaling San that he's going to leave.

As the boys left the room, San finally let his breath go.

"That was terrifying." He whispered to himself.

He heard the footsteps growing further away, so he crawled out from under the bed and dusted himself off.

He waited there for a few more minutes until he could sneak out of the house unnoticed.

Wooyoung and Yeosang were eating some canned soup for breakfast, and Wooyoung had spotted San sneaking out of the house.

He flashed him a look that screamed "hurry up" and San ran as fast as he could, as quietly as he could.

It was exhilarating being with him, but it sure was exhausting too. Sneaking around was not their specialty.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa had walked out of their house, arms around each other and talking.

"Oh hey! Do you guys know the plan for today?" Hongjoong asked Woo and Yeosang.

"Nope. What's up?" Yeo asked.

"We are going to teach you guys how to hunt. Can't have Jongho pulling all the weight when it comes to food sources for a fresh meal."

"Sounds pretty fun to me. And I'm glad we'll get some fresh meat for tonight. Kind of tired of the canned stuff that we've had the past few days." Wooyoung daydreamed of Seonghwa's rabbit.

"Don't worry, we'll have a good feast tonight." Seonghwa smiled.

Jongho and San came out of the house after Hongjoong and Seonghwa. 

"So who was going to tell me I'm hosting a hunting lesson today?" Jongho asked with a slightly angry tone.

"Sorry bro, to be fair at least you won't have to do it all the time now if you're teaching them." Hongjoong tried to make Jongho feel a bit better about it.

"Fine. Whatever. But if they scare away all the animals then we're going hungry tonight. Don't bring guns you guys. I have a bow hidden away. I'll go grab it."

"Just one bow?" Mingi asked.

"Yes. Eventually I'll have to make a few more but for right now there's only one. I'll let whoever shows the best skills use it." 

"Sounds fair to me." Wooyoung added.

Jongho left to grab his bow, leaving Wooyoung, Yeosang, Mingi, and Yunho waiting for him.

"Hongjoong, is it alright if I tag along with them? Might be useful to get a refresher on hunting skills." San asked.

"Sure, but let one of them shoot the bow. You've done it before." Hongjoong replied.

San walked over to the group of boys waiting for Jongho.

"Hey, I'm joining you guys. Figured I needed to get out of the village for a minute." San flashed Wooyoung a smile and a quick glance.

Wooyoung smiled back, happy that San would be with him for the day.

Jongho came walking back with a hand-crafted bow made of wood and the bowstring made of linen. It was actually a pretty nice looking bow considering it was made by hand in the wilderness.

"Hey Jongho, what about if we meet some infected while we are out here?" Yeosang asked.

"Don't worry. We're going to a certain spot in the woods where animals thrive and I have never encountered a zombie there in the past year. If you are really worried, grab your melee weapon." 

"Alright."

Jongho opened the gate up and the boys followed him out. San shut the gate behind them and they began the trek through the woods.

Chapter Text

As they walked through the woods, the boys were dead silent, making sure no animals in the area were scared away. 

Wooyoung and San stayed in the back per usual walking side by side, hands grazing each other, but never being held.

As they went deeper into the woods, you could hear animals in the trees and deeper into the woods, sticks cracking and leaves rustling.

Jongho, leading the group, came to a stop.

"This is it. Now, what you really have to focus on is being as quiet and as still as possible. The animals won't see you, giving you the time to make your shot. From here on, no talking and watch your step carefully. Don't make a sound." Jongho whisper-talked.

Mingi, Yunho, and Yeosang all froze, only looking around to spot any signs of movement.

San and Wooyoung froze as well, but instead of looking for prey, they locked eyes on one another.

"Wanna sneak away?" San mouthed to Wooyoung, very very softly.

"Yes." Wooyoung mouthed his reply. 

Mingi and Yunho suddenly spotted a small animal rustling in a bush, rushing towards a nearby tree to find a good spot to take the shot. 

Yeosang and Jongho followed them, leaving Wooyoung and San an opening to sneak off.

They silently tiptoed the opposite direction of the other boys, getting further enough away to start running a little.

"Is this the whole reason you came? To try and sneak me away?" Wooyoung asked and smiled.

"I knew you would agree." San winked.

Suddenly San pushed Wooyoung's back against a tree, kissing him hard.

Wooyoung was taken aback, but felt as if he was melting against the tree when San's lips met his.

San was in a deep trance, not being able to focus on anything else than kissing Wooyoung in that moment. Wooyoung pulled San's waist closer to his, wanting him closer.

"Can't get enough of me can you?" San pulled away for a moment and teased Wooyoung.

"Never." Wooyoung grabbed San's face and pulled him back into the kiss.

San went for Wooyoung's neck instead, kissing it roughly, leaving marks all over it. 

Wooyoung couldn't help but feel like he was at San's mercy. Not being able to form words, only slight moans came from his mouth.

"They could hear us..." Wooyoung managed to say.

"Doesn't matter." San pulled right back into the crease of Wooyoung's neck, going at it like a cannibal.

Wooyoung couldn't hold back his desire for San anymore, and just let himself go, letting San do whatever he wanted with him. 

"San..." Wooyoung repeatedly whispered San's name in his ear, making San overwhelmed with a primal desire for Woo.

Footsteps.

The sound of them came towards the boys at a steady pace.

"San? Wooyoung? Where are you guys?" Yeosang's deep voice echoed through the woods.

Wooyoung and San rushed to pull themselves together and fix their composure. 

"Hey! We're over here! We got lost!" Wooyoung called out.

The other group of boys came over a slight hill and spotted Woo and San.

"How the hell did you guys get this far away from us? Do you have any natural location skills?" Mingi seemed genuinely surprised.

"I have no clue, we've been searching for you guys for what seemed like forever until we heard Yeosang's voice in the distance." San lied straight through his teeth.

Jongho flashed him an odd look, knowing damn well that was a lie, while all the other guys believed him.

"Alright, well we already got our food for dinner so let's just head back okay? We don't want to stay out here longer than we should." Jongho said, gesturing for everyone else to follow him.

"Yessir!" Yunho saluted jokingly. Mingi was the only one who laughed.

As they headed back, Jongho kept flashing Wooyoung and San suspicious looks, making Wooyoung anxious about what his problem was.

"What's up Jongho?" Wooyoung slid beside him and talked to him quietly.

"Nothing.. why do you ask?" Jongho replied nonchalantly.

"Well it seems like you keep giving me some kind of weird look..."

"ZOMBIE!" a voice screamed.

An infected was running towards the group from the side, and it was HUGE.

Jongho whipped out an arrow from his sheath while running faster than the others, then quickly turned around and shot it straight in the forehead. He then got back up immediately and caught up with the others, still running.

"Damn that was impressive!" Yunho said, still running.

The arrow didn't kill the zombie though, so Jongho grabbed another arrow and got it ready in the bow. He then turned around again and pulled the string back, aimed directly at the zombie's eye and shot it perfectly. 

This time, the zombie fell to the ground immediately, grabbing its eye on the way down. 

The boys continued to escape in case there was more than just the one.

They ran all the way back to base, where Hongjoong and Seonghwa opened the gate for them as quickly as they could.

"Shit that was something." Mingi hunched over and caught his breath.

"I think that was the only one thank goodness." Yeosang said.

"It was only one guy but at his size he might as well count as two people." Yunho joked, making the others laugh.

"Well, what did you guys bring back?" Seonghwa asked eagerly.

"Two jackrabbits and a squirrel. Sound good?" Jongho pulled the carcasses out from his backpack.

"Absolutely perfect." Seonghwa grabbed the animals and took them to the bonfire to prepare them. 

Yeosang, Mingi, Yunho, and Hongjoong followed Seonghwa to watch him cook, leaving Wooyoung, San, and Jongho alone.

"Sorry our conversation got interrupted by the zombie." Jongho said to Wooyoung.

"All good, but you never did tell me what the matter was." Wooyoung looked at Jongho with a curious expression.

"You guys didn't get lost did you?" Jongho asked both of the boys, seemingly already knowing the answer.

"What do you mean? Of course we got lost. Why else would we have gone away from you guys." Wooyoung nervously defended him and San.

Jongho flashed San a look, and San looked at Wooyoung.

"I think we can tell him the truth Woo." 

"Really? I didn't know we were going public like that." Woo seemed worried.

"I trust him Woo," San looked at Wooyoung and then moved his gaze to Jongho.

"Listen, I know this is something that might sound crazy considering the past, but Jongho... I wanted you to be the first to know that me and Woo are in a relationship. The reason we left you guys in the woods was to have some alone time." San said to him.

Chapter Text

Wooyoung stood there, red-faced and frozen in place.

"Did you guys really think I was that clueless?" Jongho looked and laughed a little.

"You guys are about as sneaky as an elephant in a wide open desert. You're lucky I'm the only one around here who has some intuitive senses. Otherwise, this whole camp would know by now." Jongho continued to laugh.

"How the hell did you know? What gave it away?" San asked, red in the face and kind of embarrassed.

"I didn't need solid evidence. I just knew. You act like I can't read you San. You and I are pretty close. I know you." Jongho placed a hand on San's shoulder, reassuring him.

"So you're okay with us?" Wooyoung chimed in, finally able to move.

"As long as both of you are happy I don't see anything wrong with it, but San... don't let your feelings get the best of you. Be happy." Jongho said.

What's that supposed to mean?

 Wooyoung thought to himself.

"I wouldn't have started a relationship with him if I was scared to be overwhelmed Jongho, I know you're just looking out for me considering the past but please just trust me okay?" San quietly said to him, so that Wooyoung didn't have to hear it fully.

But he did.

"Alright, alright... I trust you. I'm happy that you're happy." Jongho smiled at San and patted his back.

"Thank you Jongho, just don't tell the others yet. I'm not very sure if I'm ready to tell them yet." San said.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He replied with a smile.

Just then, Mingi and Yunho came over, obviously looking to see what was up.

"What are we talking about over here?" Mingi asked, putting his arm around Wooyoung.

"Looks pretty serious to me," Yunho smiled a bit and eyed San.

"It's uh..it's nothing guys I swear." Wooyoung looked at Yunho and then shot his eyes downward, obviously lying.

"It doesn't seem like nothing to me," Mingi ruffled Woo's hair and chuckled.

"No I swear, it's nothing okay?" Wooyoung kept looking downwards.

San jumped in and pushed Mingi's arm off of Wooyoung, upset at the fact he keeps making Woo uncomfortable. 

"Leave him alone." San looked in Mingi's eyes seriously.

"Bro my bad, I was just curious about what kind of secret group conversation was going on here." Mingi replied with his hands in the air as if he was surrendering.

"Damn what's up with you guys? Didn't know San was so protective of you Wooyoung. You guys dating or something?" Yunho laughed.

Wooyoung froze at the statement and his face was blood red.

San stood still as well, until he randomly said...

"Yeah actually." 

What the fuck...

Wooyoung refused to even move an inch.

"Oh..." Mingi looked at San, confused.

"Well damn. You try to murder him and then you date him? Such a weird guy." Yunho said to San and then Mingi.

"And what about it? That was in the past. Now can you just leave us alone please?" San asked firmly to Yunho.

"Yeah sure man, whatever you want." Yunho and Mingi left, talking to each other on the way to their home.

Wooyoung, still frozen in place, turned to San slowly.

"What the fuck San?" 

"What? They were being assholes." 

"No, why the fuck did you tell them we're dating?" Wooyoung asked, obviously a little frustrated.

"I did? Oh...shit... I did." San places his head in his hands, feeling guilty.

"Well... I guess that secret's out." Wooyoung shrugs.

"So much for keeping it on the down low." San says.

"Watch this, give it 5 minutes and the whole camp will know and come ask us about it." Wooyoung dares.

"I'd give it three minutes, knowing how Mingi and Yunho are." San chuckles.

"Let's see then." Wooyoung challenges San.

"In the meantime, how is your arm? The sling holding up good?" Woo asked.

"Yeah, a bit sore but you did a great wrapping job. It's good to have a doctor here." San smiled.

A few minutes later, all of the boys come rushing to where San and Wooyoung are gathered, from all different directions.

"Was that 3 or 5 minutes?" San asked, wanting to win the bet. 

"I lost count." Wooyoung laughed slightly.

"You guys are..dating???" Hongjoong asked.

"Yes, yes, and yes." San replies.

"For how long??" Seonghwa chimed in.

"Just about 2 weeks, we didn't mean for it to get out until later, but San can't keep his mouth shut apparently." Wooyoung looked at San with a sarcastic smile.

"My bad.." San tells Woo.

"I told you you should have went for it." Yeosang exclaimed to Wooyoung.

"Well! I went for it, and now we are here! Any other questions?" Wooyoung replied nervously.

"Uhh... no." Yunho responded.

"Well if that's it the can you guys stop crowding around like you're at the zoo or something?" San joked.

"Sorry, our fault." Hongjoong replied sheepishly, feeling slightly bad.

The crowd of boys left San and Wooyoung to their own devices, relieving the both of them.

"That was quick, I thought they'd be more surprised." Wooyoung slightly laughed.

"I think we were pretty obvious to be honest." San chuckled back.

"Yeosang definitely knew, especially because of this morning's close call." Woo said.

"Oh well, now that it's over with, I'm beat. Let's go eat something and go to sleep." San rubbed his stomach.

"Seonghwa said he wanted to cook the meat tomorrow morning because it said it would taste better or something, I'm not a chef so I don't really know. But, I'm sure there's some snacks in the Dining House." Woo began walking there with San's hand in his.

"Woo..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad they know now." 

"And why is that?"

"I can show them that you're mine."