Chapter Text
Jaehyun didn’t know what he was expecting when Jungwoo opened the door to the trailer, but it definitely wasn’t this. The guy who opened the door seemed completely normal. The combination of his height, gentle smile, and finally the apron resting on his body combined to almost shock Jaehyun out of defense mode. He tried not to look at the pastel stripes that decorated the apron wrapped around the guy’s waist. He wanted to be as vigilant as possible. Looks were deceiving in the world before the war, but after, they almost never told the truth.
“This is my friend, Jaehyun,” Jungwoo said as he grabbed Jaehyun’s forearm and dragged him to the trailer entrance. Jaehyun’s muscles tensed when Jungwoo’s delicate hands wrapped around his arm, but he forced them to relax. He belatedly realized, with surprise, that Jungwoo had called him his friend. He caught himself wondering how someone as trusting as Jungwoo survived this long in the new world. From what he’d seen, trust was basically a death sentence. He told himself internally to remember that fact.
“Huh,” the guy wearing the apron laughed, “leave it to Jungwoo to bring in a stray.” Jaehyun was about to take that as an insult, but he looked at the guy’s face, and the only thing he could see was kindness, so he decided that he didn’t mean it maliciously.
“I’m Taeil,” the guy said, reaching his hand out to shake Jaehyun’s. Jaehyun shook his hand, once again shocked at the formality of the gesture as he had been when Jungwoo shook his hand when they first met. Jaehyun again found his guard slipping down, with both Jungwoo and now Taeil in the room. Once they had shaken hands, Taeil went back into the trailer, and Jungwoo pulled Jaehyun inside after him.
The moment that Jungwoo had Jaehyun fully in the trailer, the door shut behind them. The loud noise of metal clashing caused Jaehyun to instinctively rip himself from Jungwoo’s grip and back up into the now closed door, causing everyone in the room to look at him with wide eyes. The main face Jaehyun noticed was Jungwoo’s. He was looking at Jaehyun with surprise, and something underneath that Jaehyun assumed was fear.
Jaehyun felt guilt immediately settle to the bottom of his stomach. He’d seen Jungwoo scared in the woods, during the standoff with the Agents, but this time, it was him that Jungwoo feared. He shot Jungwoo a smile, which Jungwoo returned, causing some of the pebbling guilt to dissolve.
Jaehyun widened the focus of his vision to the rest of the room he was standing in. The first thing he noticed is that it was small. He couldn’t imagine being cramped in here by himself, let alone his whole group. The size actually reminded him of the Cells, of the “bedroom” he shared with Mark and Taeyong. The second thing he noticed, perhaps contributing to the cramped vibe of the trailer, was that it was messy. There were empty cans and random pieces of clothes littering the floor.
Jaehyun thought to himself that this place was the exact opposite of the Cells. Though it was cramped in the trailer, he didn’t mind it. There was a warmth to this place. Everything in there was in disorder, something that made the room feel very alive. In the Cells, on the other hand, it was cold and spotless, almost clinically devoid of life. Every inch of the place was grey and dark, contributing to a monochrome that was smothering.
Jaehyun realized that he was spacing out of whatever conversation was taking place, and that’s when he noticed the third person in the room. He was sprawled on the couch, thin limbs draped over the crumbling fabric. He looked comfortable, something Jaehyun hadn’t seen in a long time. His hair was a light purple, which also stood out to Jaehyun. The most noticeable thing about the guy was his eyes. They were piercing, and Jaehyun noticed that they were looking right at him. He realized the guy was waiting for the answer to a question he hadn’t heard.
“Um, I’m sorry, what?” Jaehyun asked. This caused the guy to chuckle.
“Man, he must’ve been a horrible Agent. So, you really were in the Cells?” The guy spoke in a casual tone, which was off-putting to Jaehyun considering his intense gaze.
“Come on, Yuta, be nice,” Taeil, who was now washing dishes, said to the guy on the couch, who Jaehyun now knew was Yuta.
“Ah, relax, he’s fine,” Yuta said with a smirk to Taeil and then continued. “So, were you?” The gaze was now fixed fully on Jaehyun again.
“Yeah, I was,” Jaehyun replied apprehensively. Yuta jumped into a sitting position and clapped his hands once in what looked to be a cheer.
“That’s pretty badass,” he said. Jaehyun let out an exasperated breath.
“Yeah,” Jaehyun said with a near-humorless tone, “that’s one way to put it.” Yuta was about to respond when Jungwoo interrupted him.
“Alright, so yeah, that’s Yuta,” he said gesturing to Yuta on the couch, who had already reverted back to laying down. He threw a lazy peace sign in Jaehyun direction when Jungwoo said his name. “And you’ve already met Taeil,” Jungwoo continued. Jaehyun looked over to the sink, where Taeil was hunched over, using a bucket of water to wash the dishes.
“So, Woo,” Taeil said in a casual tone, looking over his shoulder to where Jungwoo was standing, “where are the others?”
At the question, Jaehyun started to get anxious again. He spared a quick look at Jungwoo, who was already looking at him, a subtle panic in his eyes. They both knew that this could quickly turn sour once Yuta and Taeil found out about Donghyuck’s condition. Jungwoo had assured Jaehyun in the car that Taeil and Yuta weren’t violent people, but Jaehyun knew that everyone had a potential to be dangerous.
Jungwoo gulped in a breath of nervous air and then spoke slowly. “So…they’re not here. I’m gonna need you both to not freak out.”
Yuta sat up from his position on the couch, looking less relaxed than he was just moments before, and Taeil stopped his actions in the sink and fully turned around.
“Where are they?” he asked, voice sounding a little sharper than before.
“Why don’t we sit down? It’s… kinda long story,” Jungwoo said sheepishly. Taeil nodded, looking concerned, and headed to sit down next to Yuta, who sitting in the center of the small couch. Taeil looked down at Yuta, waiting for him to move to make room for him, and Yuta just looked up with a smile that was anything but innocent.
“Come on,” was all Taeil said. He sounded annoyed, but not surprised at whatever was happening. Yuta didn’t show any signs of moving and still sat there smirking.
“What’s the magic word?” Yuta asked, very pleased with himself. Jaehyun felt the corner of his lip turn up at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“Really? You’re gonna do this? Right now?” Taeil asked back. Yuta still didn’t move.
“Come on, Taeil, you know he’s not gonna move until you say please,” Jungwoo said over his shoulder, laughing. While he was talking, he dragged two chairs from the kitchen across from the couch for him and Jaehyun. Taeil seemed like he didn’t even have the energy to roll his eyes. He simply looked back at Yuta with a deadpan face.
“Please,” he said in a monotone voice, still glaring at Yuta. Yuta’s lips formed into a dazzling smile.
“See,” he said, moving over on the couch so Taeil had room to sit. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Yuta and Jungwoo both burst into laughter and Taeil sat down. He had a look on his face not unlike the look a tired mother would give to her screaming toddlers. Jaehyun had to hide his smile. He sat next to Jungwoo in the chair he got him and made sure to angle his chair, so he could see the exit to the trailer. Just in case.
“Can you please tell us what’s going on?” All the humor in the room dissipated at Taeil’s question. Jungwoo took in a deep breath and then began to fill Yuta and Taeil in on what’s happened since their group left to get supplies.
As Jungwoo spoke, Jaehyun watched the two people in front of him closely, ready for however they were going to react. He also noticed how Jungwoo had subtly changed his voice while giving the news. It was louder than his normally quiet tone, just enough to take command of the entire room. It still held the same softness to it, though, if not more so currently. It was gentle, as it always was, but there seemed to be something in it that was extremely soothing. Jaehyun wondered if it was intentional on Jungwoo’s part if he was trying to lessen the blow with what seemed like an expert grasp on how to keep things peaceful. If this was the case, Jaehyun found himself impressed. He might’ve underestimated Jungwoo.
“He what?!” Yuta yelled, his eyebrows turned down, sharp eyes widened. Taeil, on the other hand, sat still, looking at the floor.
“He’s gonna be okay, though, they have a doctor and he patched Hyuck up and he’s fine,” Jungwoo replied with the hurried voice of one trying to tame a wild animal.
“Fine, my ass, he got fucking shot!” Yuta was full on screaming at this point, and Jaehyun very much wished he could disappear into the chair he was sitting in. It was in that moment that Yuta turned the full force of his rage onto Jaehyun.
“You.” Yuta started to stand up, and Jaehyun felt his whole body start to curl tight as he stood up in reaction to Yuta, causing the chair to shoot back and squeak against the floor. The deadly, coiled snake deep inside of him started to unravel through his limbs, all the way down to his fists, which clenched in preparation for a fight.
“Yuta, please, they’re not bad people,” Jungwoo said, panic piercing the tranquil cloak of his voice. He stood up after Yuta and placed himself in front of Jaehyun, hands out in front of him. “Hyuck is fine. He’s fine,” he repeated.
Yuta was having none of it. He took his first step towards where Jaehyun, and now Jungwoo in front of him, was standing. Jaehyun analyzed Yuta. He was shorter than him and skinny, sure, but Jaehyun knew to never underestimate an opponent.
“Stop, Yuta.” No one moved at Taeil’s quiet voice. He remained seated on the couch, no longer looking at the floor. Yuta whipped around to give Taeil and incredulous look, but Taeil was looking at Jungwoo. He inhaled deeply, eyes shutting momentarily as if to calm himself down. On the exhale, Taeil looked back at Jungwoo.
“Hyuck’s okay?” Taeil asked. Jaehyun was still tense. He didn’t take his gaze off the immediate threat, which right now was Yuta, still perched and looking ready to fight.
Jungwoo vigorously nodded his head and then smiled. “Yeah, you know him. He’s still cracking jokes, giving everyone a hard time,” he said fondly, and then looked at Yuta. “He told me to tell you to not annoy ‘gramps’ that much, cuz that’s his job.”
Taeil let out a relieved breath, smiling. Jaehyun noticed Yuta’s posture relax slightly at Jungwoo’s statement, a smile creeping onto his now less intense face.
Taeil stood up abruptly, looking determined. “Alright, let me get a few things and then we can go.” As he headed to collect his things, he gave Yuta a pat on the shoulder. “Calm down,” he said with a smile. He glanced over at Jaehyun, who was just now starting to relax, and then back at Yuta. “You never would’ve won that fight anyways,” Taeil finished. He walked off, his laughter joined by Jungwoo’s. Yuta rolled his eyes and even laughed along with them, which was something Jaehyun was not expecting.
After Yuta stopped laughing, he slowly made his way in Jaehyun’s direction and stopped right in front of him. Jaehyun’s hands twitched, wanting to clench again, but he fought it.
“Maybe we’ll get another chance to test that theory out some day,” Yuta said, not seeming even a little intimidated by Jaehyun. He started to walk away and then stopped for a moment, turning back towards Jaehyun. “Oh,” he added, “and I call shotgun.” Yuta then winked and sauntered off to get his own things. Jaehyun stood there for a moment, blinking in confusion. The last hour had exhausted him, and he almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“Well,” Jungwoo sighed, moving to stand next to Jaehyun, face pleasant as always, if not a little strained. The two stood in silence for a few comfortable moments.
“That wasn’t so bad,” Jungwoo said, breaking the silence.
Now Jaehyun did laugh. Come to think of it, the whole thing could have gone down a lot worse, and now that it was over, all he felt was relief. He looked over at Jungwoo, who was already looking at him and replied with a smile.
“Not bad at all.”
♜♜♜
“We’ve been drinking from that?” Jeno asked, looking at the contraption in front of him.
Jaemin looked at him. “Yeah, it’s totally safe. Better even,” he said. Jeno did not look convinced.
“So, you’re telling me running water through some sand and rocks purifies it?”
Jaemin rolled his eyes, sighed, and set down his nearly-empty coffee mug on the ground. “It’s not just ‘some sand and rocks.’” Jaemin stopped and Jeno looked at him as if waiting for him to go on.
“So, the gravel filters out large impurities at the top, okay?” Jaemin didn’t wait for Jeno to answer. “And then the sand filters out the smaller impurities.” He took a breath. “And then the charcoal filters it again, for some reason that I didn’t ask Taeyong about, and the water comes out of the bottom through the cloth, pretty much purified.” Jaemin’s voice was hurried and excited. “And then you boil it and voila! Clean, safe water.” Jaemin frowned and looked at the water tank. It was almost empty. “And not a lot of it, apparently.”
He was finally done talking, and Jeno still didn’t say anything. He was standing in the same position, squinting his eyes at the makeshift water purification system.
“But it’s…sand,” Jeno said skeptically, still looking at the thing as if it was about to come alive and bite him.
“Ugh,” Jaemin groaned, realizing that this was going nowhere. He didn’t even know how the conversation had started. He’d gone inside to check how much water they had left and Jeno must’ve been bored because he followed him.
Jaemin gave up and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, none of us have died yet,” he stated. At this Jeno smiled.
“I guess that’s as good as it gets nowadays, huh?” he chuckled, and Jaemin found himself laughing and nodding along. He reached down to grab his cup off the ground with his good arm. As he did this, his wrapped arm grazed against the filter and he winced in pain, which Jeno noticed.
“So, uh, what happened to your arm?” he asked, voice more hesitant than before.
“What, this?” Jaemin asked back, gesturing to his wrapped arm. “It’s not a big deal, really. We ran into some Scavengers on our last supply run and, one of them got me on the arm before Jaehyun and Mark knocked ‘em out.” He stood back up from his crouched position and absentmindedly crossed his good arm over the bad one on his chest, mug forgotten on the ground.
“Holy shit,” Jeno replied in frightened awe, “that must’ve been terrifying.”
Jaemin scrunched his brows and looked over at Jeno. “You’ve never seen a Scavenger?”
Jeno shook his head. “No, I’ve never seen a Scavenger or an Agent or anything.” He paused and bent down to grab mug on the ground and hand it to Jaemin. “Well, I mean, at least before we ran into you guys.”
“Thanks,” Jaemin said, grabbing the mug, and then remembering what Jeno had just said. “Wait, really? Never?” he asked, brows now turned up in surprise. As Jeno answered, the two started walking towards the front of the hangar to join everyone else outside.
Jeno nodded again. “Yeah, I guess I’ve been lucky?” He hesitated for a moment, and Jaemin gave him an encouraging look as they walked, intrigued. Jeno continued.
“I don’t know... Hyuck and I were hiding out in this bunker his grandpa built before the war. We stayed there for a while. There were enough supplies to last us almost the whole year. Then we ran out and found the others and I’m still getting used to...” They were now at the hangar entrance. Through the doorway, Jeno looked around at the rubble that decorated the world around them. “All this.” Jaemin didn’t know how to respond, so he kept quiet.
Jeno smiled suddenly, nostalgia embracing him. “Man, we used to think Hyuck’s grandpa was nuts for building that bunker,” he laughed until it tapered off at the end, “too bad he wasn’t around to see how right he was.” He shook his head, not wanting to think about the life before the war that didn’t exist anymore.
Jeno and Jaemin had joined the others outside, where Taeyong, with the help of Mark and Lucas, was teaching Jisung how to fight. It must’ve been the sheer boredom of having nothing to do, but everyone was outside watching the ordeal.
Doyoung was sitting, back against the hangar exterior, next to Donghyuck, who had to be carried outside earlier. Jeno went to sit on the other side of Donghyuck, gesturing for Jaemin to follow, which he did. The four sat there like spectators at a game. Mark and Taeyong were quite a sight to behold.
Jeno looked back at Jaemin. “What about you?”
“Hm?” Jaemin asked, not knowing what Jeno was asking.
“Have you ever seen an Agent?” Jeno asked, looking back towards the view in front of him, where Mark and Taeyong were moving in a way he didn’t know humans could move. “I mean, other than them?”
Jaemin frowned and shook his head. “Nope,” he said. He followed the line of Jeno’s focus back to where Mark and Taeyong were sparring. “I don’t know, though, I don’t really consider them Agents, not really.” Both boys were watching the fight, transfixed.
“Do you ever wonder what it’s like?” Jeno mumbled, not taking his gaze away from the sight in front of them.
Jaemin subconsciously nodded his head, entranced by the sight just like Jeno was. “All the time.”
Taeyong was showing Jisung how to get out of a choke hold, with Mark and Lucas demonstrating, and for some reason, Donghyuck couldn’t look away. Everything about the scene in front of him was odd, that was the only way he could think to describe it. It was odd, seeing Taeyong act like a normal human, even smiling occasionally whenever Jisung would do a good job. It was odd, being outside, surrounded by the bare concrete bones of what once was a place where the promises were endless. It was odd, seeing Mark so calm with someone’s arm wrapped around his windpipe. Donghyuck found himself wondering how many times Mark had been in this position before.
“Okay, watch closely,” Taeyong said to Jisung. “He’s gonna turn his head to the side.” As Taeyong spoke, Mark moved his head to the side, as much as Lucas’ arm would allow. “That’s to relieve the pressure and give your airway more space to expand.” Jisung was nodding along, an eager student. “This is critical, okay? If not, you’ll pass out, and there’s nothing you can do after that.”
Donghyuck’s leg was starting to hurt again, and though there were streaks of sun that had managed to break past the ever-present clouds, he could feel a hint of frost start to seep under his skin. He must’ve shivered because Doyoung seemed to have noticed.
“Are you okay?” Doyoung asked, turning to look at Donghyuck. Donghyuck noticed that Doyoung’s back straightened when he asked the question, his dark eyes more alert.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Donghyuck breathed out, “I think it was just the wind.” Doyoung didn’t look convinced, so Donghyuck continued. “You know, it’s kinda like we’re at the movies. I’d kill for some snacks right now.”
Though the pain in his leg was growing, Donghyuck smiled at the thought of going to the movies. He remembered high school when he and Jeno used to go and watch those cheesy horror movies that were all-too-predictable whenever they could. Afterward, they’d go back to his house and gush about that one cute guy who they always bought concessions from, no matter how long the line. They preserved their precious routine all through high school, and even managed to keep it up during their first year of college. Donghyuck wondered where that guy was now.
One of the corners of Doyoung’s lips turned up at Donghyuck’s statement. “Yeah, me too,” he mumbled, thinking about how many times his sister had dragged him to see the stupid romantic comedies he would never admit he enjoyed.
Donghyuck saw Doyoung’s back relax slightly against the wall behind him. They both turned back to the current source of entertainment, and Donghyuck acted like he didn’t see Doyoung side-eye him every few moments to check on him. He tried to focus back on what was happening in front of them.
“Hit me with your best shot,” Lucas boasted, his arm still wrapped around Mark’s neck, with a grin on his face.
“Don’t tempt me, Lucas,” Mark replied, a smile on his face as well. His hands balled into fists, and Donghyuck noticed that he bent his knees ever so slightly. It was amazing that he could almost see the energy build up in Mark, waiting to spring into action. Lucas taunted again, and Donghyuck saw Taeyong smirk, something he still wasn’t used to, and whisper something to Jisung that made him laugh.
Donghyuck realized he must have missed part of the instruction, but thankfully he tuned back in just in time to see Mark jab his elbow into Lucas’s side, causing his grip to loosen. He then watched in awe as Mark ducked his head under Lucas' arm, taking a hold of it and spinning around at a shocking speed. In turn, this caused Lucas to whip around, held by Mark, who was able to then twist his arm behind his back and wrap his other one around Lucas’ shoulder, holding him in what looked like an inescapable grip.
Donghyuck would’ve laughed at the ridiculous look on Lucas’ face as he tried to get out of the hold if it weren’t for the mere shock of what he just saw. He suddenly wished he and Jeno would’ve branched out from their movie-watching routine when they had a chance. Maybe they should’ve given action movies a chance.
Mark let Lucas out of his tight grip moments after it happened, and the two busted into laughter as soon as he did.
“Damn, that was awesome, man,” Lucas said, his classic goofy grin plastered on his face even as he rubbed his now sore wrist. He lifted his other hand to give Mark a high five that was returned instantly.
“Oh, I wish I could’ve seen your face,” Mark howled out.
“It was a face, alright!” Jaemin teased from where he was sitting.
Mark looked over to see Taeyong now helping Jisung learn the move. Taeyong was smiling, something Mark hadn’t witnessed in a while. They locked eyes for a second. In that second, he saw the smile falter and knew exactly why. He knew Taeyong was remembering the days when they fought each other for survival, not fun.
He heard the bell ring.
He felt the collar tighten.
The sound of clapping thankfully shook Mark out of his thoughts, and he turned around to see Jeno and Jaemin cheering Jisung on. Doyoung wasn’t scowling, which Mark took to mean he was enjoying himself if even a little bit. Lastly, his eyes landed on Donghyuck. He expected him to be cheering with Jeno and Jaemin, but the sunlight illuminated a paling face and drops of sweat journeying down his face instead.
“Okay,” Jisung said, breathing heavily, “I think we can take a break now.” Taeyong chuckled at this. Jisung walked over and plopped down next to Jaemin
“We’ve got a firecracker over here,” Lucas said, coming up to Jisung. “You’re doing great, bud,” He ruffled his hair and then turned to Taeyong. “I, on the other hand, would like to keep going.”
“Seriously?” Taeyong asked, amused.
“Yeah,” Lucas replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in mock preparation. “I wanna be a badass, too.”
Doyoung snickered. “Oh, now this will be entertaining.”
“Oh, come on! It’s not as easy as it looks,” Lucas replied, taking the bait. Doyoung just gave him an unimpressed look. Lucas added, “Well, I don’t see you doing anything over there either.”
“Classic deflection,” was all Doyoung said.
“Seems like he’s not the only one deflecting,” Taeyong said, surprising even himself by joining to the debate. He didn’t know why he was egging this on. It must be all the adrenaline from fighting, Taeyong thought to himself. All he knew is something made him wanna wipe that damn smirk off Doyoung’s face.
Doyoung seemed surprised when Taeyong added in and turned his focus to Taeyong, a single eyebrow raised.
“As much as I would literally pay to see that,” Donghyuck said, coughing before he could continue, “I think I might have to-” he coughed again “pass this time.”
Both Taeyong and Doyoung snapped out of their pettiness when Donghyuck spoke.
“Hyuck?” Jeno said, touching Donghyuck’s shoulder, “what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” he mumbled back, “just wanna sleep.” His eyes were drooping. Taeyong bent down, followed by Mark, and felt his forehead.
“Dammnit, I think he has a fever,” Taeyong said under his breath. “Mark, help me take him inside. I think we need to double his dose of antibiotics. We need to keep him hydrated and warm.”
Mark nodded, grabbing Donghyuck’s left arm and draping it over his shoulder. Taeyong was taking the right side, but then Doyoung appeared next to him.
“I’ll do it,” he hissed at Taeyong, shoving him out of the way before he grabbed Donghyuck’s right arm.
“Are you kidding me?” Taeyong shot back. Doyoung just glared at him before he turned around to help take Donghyuck inside. Taeyong grimaced and then darted into the hangar, headed straight for the plane. Once he was inside, he managed to rip a few seat cushions out. Once he was out of the plane, he laid the cushions out to form a make-shift bed.
“Um, why aren’t we taking him in there,” Doyoung asked, pointing his head to the plane Taeyong just exited.
“We need to keep him close to the fire,” he replied curtly. “Trust me.”
“Oh, trust you?” Doyoung grunted as him and Mark cautiously put Donghyuck down along the cushions. “We were supposed to trust you to make him better. Look how that turned out!” By the end of his sentence, Doyoung was practically screaming.
Taeyong went to go grab a few more pillows and the few blankets they had and then dropped down next to Mark, who had already wet a cloth to put on Donghyuck’s forehead. As Taeyong started to drape the blankets over Donghyuck, he replied to Doyoung.
“Oh, I’m sorry that I can’t control infection rates after surgery,” Taeyong scoffed. “I mean, look around you, doesn’t this place just scream sterile to you,” he said, voice dripping in venomous sarcasm.
“Maybe that’s why you shouldn’t go around shooting people!” Doyoung yelled back.
“You know what-” Taeyong started.
“Enough!” Mark’s voice pierced through the room. “Just shut up, both of you.” Silence from both Doyoung and Taeyong followed.
Mark turned to Taeyong. “If he has an infection, the best thing until we can get him to hydrate and take more antibiotics is sleep, right?” Mark didn’t know what the hell was going on with Taeyong, but he’d never seen him act like this.
Taeyong blinked in shock and then slowly nodded his head. Taeyong glanced at Doyoung, who was now looking down at Donghyuck, all the anger drained from his face. Taeyong realized, with a sharp pain in his chest, that he’d seen this face countless times in his patients’ families. Even worse, he knew exactly how it felt. With the realization, all the pressure building up inside of him seemed to deflate all at once.
“Okay, so how about you guys go cool off, so he can sleep in peace,” Mark said in a quiet voice. Taeyong nodded and gave Mark a pat on the back before standing up and heading outside. He stopped when he passed Doyoung, who was narrowing his eyes at Mark.
“I don’t know who you think you are telling me what’s best-” Doyoung’s statement was cut short by Taeyong placing his hand on his shoulder. Doyoung looked at the hand on his shoulder in a frozen shock.
“Do you want him to get better?” Taeyong said, looking down at Doyoung, voice a tenth of the volume he had used previously.
The tenderness in Taeyong’s voice made Doyoung look up from the hand on his shoulder, eyes trailing slowly up the thin arm and all the way to Taeyong’s face. For a moment, painfully stretched like a rubber band about to snap, Doyoung analyzed. He searched that face above him for a semblance of the monster he saw that day in the city. And in the face he looked at now, he was troubled to find that that monster was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Mark watched the scene with wide eyes.
After that brief moment, Doyoung brushed Taeyong’s hand off his shoulder forcefully and stood up, walking away without another word. Taeyong looked at his hand as if it wasn’t attached to his body. He sighed, shook his head, and walked off in the opposite direction. As he headed outside, he couldn’t help but smile to himself when he thought of how proud of Mark he was at that moment.
♜♜♜
Sitting in the back of a ten-year-old van while driving along a path demolished at every turn wasn’t exactly Jaehyun’s definition of comfortable. To make matters worse, every time they hit a bump in the road, causing Jaehyun’s backside to painfully buck against the ridged floor of the van, he would look up to see Yuta smirking at him through the mirror in the passenger seat.
Jaehyun breathed in and out slowly, telling himself that he wasn’t gonna give Yuta the satisfaction of seeing him in discomfort. That wish was hopelessly dashed the second they drove over their next pothole. Taeil seemed to be having just as much fun as Jaehyun was.
“How much longer, Jungwoo?” Taeil grunted as they hit another bump.
“Like, half an hour maybe?” Jungwoo replied from behind the wheel. “Does that sound about right, Jaehyun?”
Jaehyun sighed and tried to get up on his knees so he could see the road. As he did so, he was nudged back by Yuta putting his seat back, flashing Jaehyun another one of his vindictive yet stunning smiles as he flopped his legs onto the dashboard. Jaehyun felt a scowl pull his lips down, and it got even deeper when he heard Taeil let out a chuckle next to him.
“Uh, yeah, I know where we are. Probably more like fifteen,” he said, trying not to let his annoyance leak into his tone. It wasn’t Jungwoo’s fault that Yuta was a dick.
“Cool,” Jungwoo said in a chipper voice. Jaehyun looked up at the rearview mirror to see it reflecting Jungwoo’s large scenic eyes looking right at him, a single strand of bluish hair drooping down past Jungwoo’s forehead the only thing that seemed to separate the two.
The serene moment was splintered when Yuta suddenly gasped.
“Jungwoo, look out!”
Jungwoo looked back to the road just in time to see something in the middle of the road and quickly swerve out of the way, breaking hard soon after. Jaehyun lost his balance and tumbled sideways, knocking into Taeil, who on the rebound landed on his back. Once the car was completely still, the silent air was permeated only by the sound of quick breaths in and out.
Jaehyun felt extremely disoriented and slowly got up, helping Taeil once he found his balance again.
“Is everyone okay?” Jungwoo asked, still catching his breath. This was returned by three groans of varying length. “W-what was that?”
Yuta was staring out the window at the thing in the road, and Jaehyun saw him reach for the door handle. He shot his hand out on Yuta’s right side just in time to grasp the handle and forcibly close the door that Yuta started opening.
“Are you crazy? This could be a trap!” Jaehyun exclaimed, still gripping onto the handle through the small area between the passenger seat and the side of the car.
Yuta ripped Jaehyun’s hand off the handle and grabbed it again. He turned to Jaehyun. “Well, you’re the fancy Agent-guy. Cover me,” was all he said before opening the door and stepping out of the van.
“Shit!” Jaehyun yelled, pulling his gun out. He turned towards Taeil and Jungwoo, who both looked just as panicked as Jaehyun felt. “Stay here.”
“But-” Jungwoo started, eyes pleading.
“Stay in the car!” Jaehyun yelled, louder and harsher than he intended. He saw Jungwoo’s eyes widen in hurt, and Jaehyun tried to ignore the ache in his chest as he stepped out of the van. He shut the door quietly and plastered his back against it, holding his gun up near his face. He saw Yuta creeping closer to the thing in the road.
Jaehyun let his eyes scan the area around them meticulously, watching for any sign of movement. Today, the sun was actually visible through the grey sheen that usually blanketed the sky. Normally, Jaehyun would be glad to see the sun, feel it on his face. But now, all those streaks of sun did was shine a spotlight right onto him, revealing his location to any predator in search of prey. The forest lends its dark disguise when necessary, but today, on the road, there was nothing to protect them.
“Hurry up,” he whispered, just loud enough for Yuta to hear. When Yuta didn’t answer, Jaehyun looked away from the cloudy forest surrounding them and to where Yuta was hunched over the thing on the road. Jaehyun tightened his grip on his gun. He hoped that Jungwoo and Taeil would have enough self-preservation to drive away without them if things went bad. He thought about what he’d learned about Jungwoo in the past days, and the impression he got from Taeil. In a bittersweet realization, he knew that they weren’t the type of people to leave anyone behind.
“Holy…” Jaehyun’s heart started beating faster when he heard Yuta say that. The thumping of his heart could pass for the ticks of a grandfather clock, counting down his last seconds. He braced himself for whatever fight may come.
“What?” he asked Yuta, still trying to be quiet.
“Holy….” Yuta repeated.
“What?” Jaehyun asked again, louder this time. “Yuta!” He didn’t even try to keep his voice down now. He was about to go to Yuta, when he turned around to look at Jaehyun with big, round eyes.
“We need to go.”