The third time they met was deliberate on Junjin’s part.

Junjin had no idea why he sought him out. Perhaps he was just curious about the other—what he did, what his life was like—or perhaps he finally found the need to fulfill his thirst for companionship. Someone to talk to. Someone who could listen. A human presence that could offer life in the silence and death and decay that was the world around him. Maybe. Junjin didn’t know, and he didn’t want to waste his energy mulling over it.

So he sought Andy out to fulfill an unknown need inside of him. Trudging past piles of fallen rubble and the ruins of the metropolis that was once Seoul. He had memorized the path to Andy’s house, swiftly ducking into the familiar building and searching for the steel door that leads to Andy’s room. He didn’t even know if Andy was home, but it was worth the try. He found the door with ease—the shining steel a stark contrast to the peeling paint and dust-covered walls—and reached out to open it, only to find it locked.

Junjin cursed, he forgot that there was a latch in the inside as well.  Well, now he knew Andy was home, but his journey had still proven futile.

He kicked a pebble with an irritated huff. Now what will he do? Andy’s home was actually quite far from his, and while Junjin did take walks practically every day, knowing that he had expended energy for nothing still irked him. Energy was precious. He ate only the bare minimum, and rested the minimum six hours (it was dangerous not to keep alert), he had little energy to spare for anything other than sitting at his house counting down the seconds and his walks.

Just as he was about to head back home—too irritated to care anymore—the steel door behind him opened with a loud creak, and out popped Andy.

Andy looked surprised to see him, if the slight jump was any indication, but quickly gestured Junjin to go inside and closing the door as quickly as he opened it. He rotated the crank and the yellow mist dissipated to clear air. Andy took off his mask once he was done, and offered Junjin a wan smile. “I didn’t expect you to come. I was just about to go out.”

Junjin replied with a shrug, “I was bored.”

“Ah, boredom can certainly kill you,” Andy nodded in understanding—it wasn’t a joke when they were both aware of what boredom can really do to the mind—walking back to his room, “I was just about to seek you out actually, but then I realized I don’t know where you lived, so this coincidence is really convenient. I found some tea the other day, don’t worry, it’s safe as far as I know. You’ll have to take it cold though. I haven’t gone hunting for matches yet.”

As Andy spoke Junjin trailed behind him, observing how Andy’s gait was stout and his pace was quick. Junjin wondered where he got that much energy to walk so quickly. An hour of walking normally had Junjin panting and heaving for breath. He couldn’t imagine even a few minutes of walking in Andy’s pace. Junjin was too immersed in his musings that he barely heard what Andy was talking about.

“What do you think?”

Junjin snapped out of his thoughts when Andy turned around to address him. If he were his old self he’d be flustered and embarrassed for not listening, apologizing profusely to the other party, but this was Junjin after everything rained down on him and beat him on the shoulders, weighing down on him until he was could no longer stand up and defeated. So Junjin just gave Andy a lazy blink and said unabashedly, “I’m sorry, I was thinking. You were saying?”

Andy stared at him, an unreadable stare that seemed to try to pry into his mind, and turned around to continue his trek back home, “I was saying we should meet regularly. It’ll be really inconvenient if either you or I go looking around for each other. It’ll be best if we just spare some time, perhaps each Tuesday and Thursday, for each other. What do you think?”

Junjin frowned, face scrunching up as he contemplated what Andy had said. They barely knew each other, and Junjin only looked for Andy out of a whim that day. Did he really want to commit himself to meet up with Andy on a regular basis? Not really. But he guessed it was best to first find out Andy’s intention behind his offer.

“Why?” Junjin asked, slowing down to a halt. He kept his tone flat, but he couldn’t help but let a trace of intrigue and curiosity dance in his eyes. Not that Andy could see it anyhow, even if his back wasn’t facing him, Junjin was still wearing his gas mask.

“Why?” Andy stopped, turning around to face him once again, confusion written all over his haggard face. “Why what?”

“Why do you think we should spare the time to see each other?” Junjin elaborated. “For all you know, I could just be using you to get to your food.”

“And for all you know,” Andy rebuked, “I could be luring you to a trap right this minute. Waiting for the opportune chance to kill you and roast your innards for dinner.”

“You wouldn’t have bandaged my hands yesterday if you did.”

“What if I didn’t want to die of poisoning because my food was contaminated?” Andy scoffed, “Besides, if you were really after my food, you would’ve knocked me out and taken all my rations once we were inside yesterday.”

“Then what if I was trying to trick you right now by gaining your trust?”

“You would have accepted my offer earlier if you did.”

“And you wouldn’t have told me your plans if you really are going to roast my innards.”

“Touché.”

Junjin didn’t know how it went from a curious question to a childish battle of wits. Though what really gnawed at Junjin’s mind was the fact that he didn’t care. He didn’t care that he was wasting energy engaging in their childish banter. He didn’t care that for the first time in a long while, he was enjoying a conversation with someone. He didn’t care that the weight on his shoulders seemed to have lessened considerably. Interesting…

“I don’t really keep track of time,” Junjin finally said, breaking the silence that set upon them. “How many days has passed, what month it is, all that stuff. I don’t really keep track anymore.”

Andy’s face seemed to have brightened, since Junjin wasn’t exactly rejecting his idea outright. “I can make a copy of my calendar for you. I started making one when the printing production stopped. Today’s May 5^th, by the way.”

May already? Junjin thought it was still December with how cold it was outside.

“And you can come over to my house,” Andy continued, turning to walk back to his house with a slight skip in his step and a giddy tone to his voice. “It’s pretty spacious, and I have some old board games from back then to entertain us. I’ll leave the door unlocked so you can come inside on your own. Just remember to filter out the dirty air with crank once you come inside. I don’t want to die of air poisoning yet.”

Junjin dutifully followed Andy inside as he continued with his excited chatter, closing the door behind him as Andy went to prepare some tea. Junjin took a look around once again, trying to commit everything to memory, before walking over to the couch and plopping down ungracefully on the soft cushions. Junjin had no complaints with meeting up in Andy’s place, Andy’s home was far more comfortable than his own house.

Junjin took off his mask just as Andy placed a glass of clear brown liquid in front of him. Junjin took the offered glass gingerly, taking a tentative sip of the drink. It tasted like any normal tea—albeit a bit bland and a tad stale—so he downed the drink like a man starved of water.

“You know,” Junjin said, scooting over to make some space for Andy on the couch, “You never really did answer my question. Why do you want us to keep meeting up?”

Andy, who had just taken a seat next to Junjin, looked up with a sort of startled expression. But then his features softened and a wide, almost innocent, grin decorated his face that made him look ten years younger. A grin that was reminded Junjin of a child’s own innocent smile. A grin that tugged at Junjin’s heartstrings because it looked as if there was nothing wrong in the world, that they were just normal friends coming over for tea, and that if Junjin stepped outside Seoul would be back to its normal self. It was a terrifying grin, because it almost made Junjin believe that there really was nothing wrong with the world.

Andy’s reply, though, was what shattered the illusion that everything was back to normal. “Two lonely souls in a world that might as well be dead should stick together to survive, don’t you think?”

With a reminder that they were just two people looking out to survive (not friends, you do not have friends in this day and age) Junjin found himself nodding in agreement.

You people deserve a thousand virtual cookies. TT^TT I don't even know how I got 1000+ view for this thing. Hope this will satiate you fans of Salvation for a while 'cause I'll be concentrating on my other stories. I've put them off for longer than this one D: Sorry it's kinda short, but I can't see myself expanding on the chapter any longer and I'm content with leaving it there. Again, thank you so much for giving JinDy and my story the attention! I do not deserve all you lovely people!!! TT^TT