Chapter 1:

Meeting

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

It seems like just yesterday, everything was normal. Now, Kim Kibum was holed up in his apartment, trying desperately to get ahold of his friend Taemin, his parents- anyone. The first week he was able to manage. Though sleep was scarce due to the fear pumping through his blood, provisions were fine and Kibum was actually able to live comfortably, save for the undead monsters and their gnashing teeth outside his apartment complex. His neighbors were gone; they fled the city as soon as possible. But Kibum was young a naive, and he stayed. Now, a week and a half into the apocalypse, he needed food. Plumbing was still good for the time being, but he hadn't eaten in three days.
Now on January 2nd, 2013, Kim Kibum was about to go out into the undead infested world for the first time, and all so that he could eat for a couple more days. He creeps out of his apartment, the flickering lights in the hallway outside giving him the creeps. He takes the stairs, in assumption that the elevator is wrecked. But as he nears the second floor and hears the and footsteps of those horrible creatures, he begins to get cold feet, leaning against the railing and holding his pocket knife close. He knew it was a bad weapon, but he didn't have anything else, and he felt like he was going to starve.

To say that Key was scared was totally wrong.

He was ing horrified.
As he walked down the stairs and pushed the door open, he was met by the sight of those undead bastards walking about the street in hoards. He'd learned from his observations out his balcony that they reacted to sound. 'So...I'll just be quiet then,' he thought, beginning to tip-toe and weave his way through the crowds of monsters. He spotted the supermarket not far off. It was practically in ruins, but that didn't change the fact that there had to be some remnants of food there. And where there was food, there was going to be Kim Kibum. He snuck over to the abandoned place, sighing in relief when he saw there were no undead lurking in there (at least, from what he could tell at a first glance).

Jonghyun was trying to stay calm to not scare Micha more than she already was. He thought that they would be able to hide in their small flat – they had enough food to keep them from starving for at least a week. He had to admit that he kind of hoped that everything would just turn back to normal after some time – he knew that he was probably being a bit too optimistic and naïve, but he tried to not go completely insane with the thought that nothing will ever turn back to how it used to be.

However, his wishful thinking was thrown completely out of the window, as he was woken up from an already stressful sleep by noises coming from outside the flat. For the passed week Jong had been sleeping in the same bed with his little daughter – both of them felt more comfortable and save that way. His girlfriend had been cowardly enough to just leave them on the first day of the apocalypse, she ran away, deciding that staying with her parents would be the better solution than to be ‘burdened’ by her own child.

So, not only was Micha having to go through the horrors of an apocalypse, but had to do that without her mother. Of course his girlfriend had never been quite the role model for the perfect mother, but still her presence gave Micha an additional feeling of safety. Jonghyun didn’t quite know how to replace that unconditional love that his child was experiencing and the continuous questions about her mother’s whereabouts, were getting increasingly difficult to answer.

On that faithful day, when the hideous creatures that were causing the chaos outside, at last realised that someone was still inside the building where Jonghyun’s flat was located – he finally decided that it was time to leave their ‘save’ place. So, he took the small backbag that he had prepared some days ago for an occasion such as this one. He then turned to the bed and gently picked up Micha, who was still sleeping soundly.

Once they made it outside, Jonghyun let a deep, relieved breath pass through his lips. He gazed around and his heart pounded frantically in his chest, as he realised for the first time what had become of the city in the few days that he hadn’t left his home. It was a horrible sight to behold, truly and Jong was glad that Micha was still sleeping in his arms. He moved her small body up a bit, so that her head was resting on his shoulder now. He left a soft, loving kiss on the top of her head, and couldn’t help but smile at the cute noises that she made in reaction to his affections.

Jonghyun knew that he needed to do something, which would make Micha cheer up a bit. So, he made his way to a nearby supermarket, hoping that they would still have his daughter’s favourite brand of cookies. He was aware that it was something rather insignificant, but the prospect of seeing Micha’s sweet smile, was a goal that he really wanted to reach.

It seemed that the supermarket, which was the nearest to his place, had been thoroughly destroyed. The apocalypse had admittedly one plus point – you don’t have to pay for the items that you wanted to purchase. Jongyhun entered the supermarket, hopeful that he would be able to find something fitting for his daughter’s taste.

Micha suddenly stirred in his arms, as they entered the shop - gazing around with round, curious eyes. She blinked cutely, and Jonghyun couldn’t help but smile, when he saw her eyes brighten as her gaze fell on something placed upon the shelves.

“Daddy! Daddy! I wanna have that,” she demanded, pointing her little, chubby finger in the direction of a box of her favourite cookies. Jonghyun gave a relieved sigh as he spotted them as well.

“Sure, angel. Let’s go get them,” he said, pinching her rosy cheek, which made her let out an adorable giggle. Moments like these made Jonghyun forget in what a downright desperate situation they were.

Kibum walked into the store, taking deep breaths as he moved and keeping his knife ready. He wasn't prepared to die- not yet. Some aisles were completely barren, while others were just barely stocked. Kibum grabbed everything he could carry without too much difficulty, putting some into the bookbag that he had. Finally, he reached an aisle at the end of the store that was practically b with food. He grinned, jogging down in and checking out what was there. He gasped, however, when he saw a figure walking toward him. The flickering lights didn't help his vision, but as the figure got closer, he saw the man and immediately held his knife at him. He saw him carrying a child but...he couldn't be too careful, right?

"Who are you?" Kibum said, his voice laced with venom. "Have you been infected?"

He looks to the girl, who appears to be awake (though drowsy) and well. "Is she yours?"

Jonghyun was happy to see his daughter's eyes light up at the prospect of eating some of her favourite cookies. Micha rested her head against his shoulder again, he could sense that she was still tired, afterall it was probably rather early in the morning right now. However, in situations like these, time was passing in a different, unpredictable way - he assumed that they would have to get used to it.

Jong finally reached the shelf and was just about to grab the box when he heard the sound of footsteps to his right. His arm halted in mid-reach as he tried to control his heart that was suddenly beating frantically against his chest. He pulled his arm back, putting it around Micha's body - so that she was pressed more closely to his chest.

His eyes turned to where he had heard the footsteps come from and he was soon met by the figure of a boy. Jonghyun couldn't see him too clearly, as the result of the flickering lights above them. Admittedly, it was creeping him out a bit. He swallowed heavily, regarding the other boy more closely.

Jonghyun saw a pale face, slightly too thin, maybe as a result of the apocalypse. But even in this malnurished state and in the weak light, he could tell that the other boy's face was of an angelic beauty.

He was woken up from his observations as the other started to talk, his voice sounding confident and a knife fixed towards Jonghyun. On impulse he stepped back, hearing Micha whimper quietly in reaction to the knife.

"I'm Kim Jonghyun...and no, I'm not infected," he tried to keep his voice calm, absentmindedly moving his hand in soothing circles over Micha's small back.

"And yes, this is Micha, my daughter," he replied, his eyes fixed on the knife in the young man's hand.

"Now, please could you put away that knife? You're scaring her," he gazed down at Micha, who had buried her face into Jonghyun's chest.

"And also...who are you if I might ask?"

Hearing the young girl whimper, Kibum put away the knife. "Sorry," he said softly, bowing in apology. He looked at the man in front of him, rather surprised by how fit and overall attractive he was. But that didn't matter now. Though Kibum was glad he wasn't infected...

"My name is Kim Kibum. I work...er...WORKED as a dance teacher over at the studio down the street. I mean you no harm...I was being precocious. I'm sure you can understand," he said, his voice not as harsh anymore. "Again, I'm sorry about scaring your daughter."

He looked to the box he was going to grab: a box of cookies he bought every Saturday to fill his snacking addiction. He looked to the box, and then the child, then grabbed it and walked up to her.

"Annyeong~" he waved to her, speaking softly. "Would you like these, sweety? They're very good; I have them all the time," he said, handing the box to her and earning a smile. He then turned to Jonghyun and smiled at him, though it was more out of respect than friendliness. "Do you need help carrying anything? I'm assuming you don't live far, and considering you have a kid to protect, I'd be more than happy to help."

Jonghyun felt his lips move upwards in response to the other boy’s smile, it was infectious. He chuckled softly as he listened to his apology.

“Ah, that’s alright, don’t worry. I understand, you can’t be too safe in times like these,” he felt himself starting to relax more, Kibum didn’t seem to be a threat,” Nice to meet you, Kim Kibum then,” he gave another warm smile.

Jonghyun couldn’t help but grin widely as Kibum reached for the cookie box on the shelf and gave it to Micha – his heart made a strange movement in his chest and a pleasant warmth spread throughout his body as he saw their interaction.

“Thank you, she really likes those cookies,” he nodded his head in gratitude, his eyes moving over Kibum’s face, which was still being obstructed by the poor lightening.

Jonghyun could hear his daughter struggeling with opening the package, so he gazed down, seperating his stare from the other boy’s eyes, which seemed to have a sort of glint to them, that he was oddly attracted to. He was met with the sight of his daughter, looking up at him with widened eyes and a pout on her lips. Damn, she was really good at this aegyo thing. He shook his head with a smile, taking the box from her little, chubby hands.

“Come on, I’ll open it for you,” he said, his voice soft.

Soon, the package was open, so he handed her one of the cookies. She smiled brightly, immediately biting into it.

“Ah, to be honest, I don’t quite know where to go right now,” he said, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly,” I don’t think that it would be too smart to go back to my apartment, as we fled from there because it got raided by those…creatures. It wouldn’t be save,” he sighed, really not knowing what to do right now.

His girlfriend leaving him in such a time, to fend for their daughter on his own – he didn’t know if he would be able to manage it. He tried to not show it, to not make Micha worry too much, but he was actually rather scared about the current situation.

"Well...I..," Kibum said, listening to the other. 'I can't believe I'm doing this...' he thought. "I live alone in an apartment that's rather high up. The place hasn't been raided, but it's pretty empty. There might be another person living on a level below mine, but I haven't heard from them. Would you...you and your daughter like to come stay with me? It doesn't have to be permanent, but quite frankly, living alone in a situation such as this can drive someone a little batty..."

He looked to Jonghyun, their eyes locking again. There was something alluring about the other than he couldn't quite put his finger on. Nevertheless, he managed to break the eye contact once more, looking to Micha. He knelt down and got to eye level with her, smiling. "Would you like to come stay with me with your daddy, sweetheart? I can teach you how to dance, and I'll grab you some more cookies!" he said softly, playing with a bit of her hair and making her grin.

He looked up at Jonghyun from where he was again, seeming to be in deep thought. "Kim Jonghyun...have I...seen you around by any chance?" he asked softly, more thinking out loud than anything.

He could have sworn he'd seen the other in passing. It couldn't be his imagination...could it? The girl looked familiar, too. Perhaps they lived in the complex down the street from his? Kibum did recall seeing the place get attacked- he remembered because of the guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach when he didn't do anything to help. Maybe that's why he was offering to take them in. Maybe he wanted to redeem himself, and make up for the lives he didn't help to save.

Jonghyun didn’t quite know what to say, the other boy’s offer caught him off guard. Obviously, he hadn’t been accepting to hear something like that, he was rather pleasantly surprised. Getting such kindness from a complete stranger, in times like these where most people only fought for themselves and their own survival.

He hesitated slightly, should he really agree to this? However, there was something...special and intriguing about the other boy, that made him want to get to know him better. And also the fact that Micha already seemed to have opened up to him – she was such a shy girl, but at Kibum’s question, she gave a soft smile and nodded her head. Jonghyun chuckled as he saw his daughter blush slightly when Kibum ruffled her hair gently.

“Uhm, if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother to you, I would like to take you up on that offer. I really don’t know what else to do in this situation. I would rather not roam around the streets with Micha, it would be dangerous,” he said, looking at his daughter with a love-filled gaze,” So, what I want to say, is yes, we would like to stay with you,” he finally said, a bright smile appearing on his lips.

He blinked his eyes in confusion at Kibum’s next, admittedly rather strange, question. He looked at the other boy’s face again, concentrating on trying to remember if he had ever seen him before. Suddenly, a memory surfaced in front of his eyes, and he knew why Kibum felt like he might have seen him prior to their current meeting.

“Ah, I think I know where you might have seen me before. My..uhm...ex-girlfriend, went to your dancing lessons,” he said, feeling like some missing piece was replaced inside his body,” I went there once in a while to pick her up. And sometimes I took Micha with me,” he gazed at the other boy, when their eyes met for another time on this day, a shock went through his body, as suddenly the memory of watching Kibum dance entered his mind.

It was strange, how this image was now repeating itself in his brain – to his embarrassment he could remember sometimes fixing his eyes more on the other boy’s sensual movements than on his girlfriend’s dancing form.

Kibum smiles and stands up, filling his bag with a few more things before turning to Jonghyun again. "Ah, that explains it. Your daughter does look a lot like Sekyung. I'm sorry to hear about your split.." he says. Though quite honestly, he didn't care. He never really liked Sekyung; she was cocky and would talk back to him during classes. Honestly, he didn't know what Jonghyun saw in her. Then again, seeing as she wasn't of the gender Kibum preferred, he could see where there would be perceptive differences.

"Anyway, we should get going, right? I'll carry Micha if you take the food," he says, handing the bag to Jonghyun and picking Micha up. She giggles and clings to him. "Now listen, sweetie. I need you to close your eyes for me, okay? Close them and don't open them until I tell you to. Can you do that for me?" Kibum asks. She nods. "Good. And one more thing, honey. You need to be very very quiet. If you absolutely need to say something, whisper it in my ear and I'll whisper to your daddy, ne?" She nods again, and Kibum kisses her nose. "Good girl."

Kibum had always been good with kids, having taught them at the studio for so long. He, however, could not deny the special bond he felt with Micha. She was such a shy little thing, and extremely obedient. Not only that, but Kibum simply had a soft spot for small children. As he carried her to the entrance of the store, he couldn't help but feel extremely protective. He looked to Jonghyun and whispered.

"I suppose you already know that these things react to sound..right?" he asks, realizing mid-sentence than carrying a child around around such creatures did not constitute him having that kind of knowledge.

It made Jonghyun feel a bit more comfortable knowing that he indeed had been in contact with Kibum beforehand. The other boy suddenly didn’t seem like such a stranger anymore. He hadn’t been at the dance studio too many times, but he could remember the odd fascination that he had felt when watching Kibum dance. He still didn’t understand why he could only move his gaze away from the other boy with great difficulty.

And now he was able to talk to Kibum, and see a side of him that he hadn’t really expected. Watching him interact with his daughter was heartwarming. He seemed to have a natural way to talk with children and from Micha’s reaction to the younger’s presence and words, she already accepting him into her heart. Her eyes were basically glittering when she gazed up at Kibum, looking awed. Jonghyun couldn’t remember her ever reacting this way to any other person before. Of course, the fact that Kibum had given her that box of cookies, already bought him a lot of plus points.

Jonghyun chuckled softly as Kibum particularly threw the bag into his arms. He took ahold of it and started to follow the other boy towards the entrance. He couldn’t help but gaze other at Micha, who had her little face buried in Kibum’s shoulder, her chubby hands clenching the material of the boy’s shirt. It was such a cute sight to see, it brought a gentle smile onto his lips.

His head jerked up, as he heard Kibum talking, this time addressing Jonghyun. He suddenly felt rather embarrassed after listening to the other boy’s words. He cleared his throat, awkwardly, gazing in front of him, not looking at Kibum.

“Ah, to be honest, I don’t really know that much about those creatures or...whatever they are. I feel so stupid now...but yeah, I didn’t find it necassary. But now...what do you know about them?”

They finally made it outside. Jonghyun was quite sure that it should be bright daylight right now, however the sky was cloudy, and grey, bathing everything in an eerie darkness.

Kibum sighed, though it wasn't out of disappointment, or even looking down on Jonghyun. It was simply because he'd never had to explain such things before. He gave Jonghyun a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, it's not like you had the alone time to take down notes, eh? Basically, these things react to sound. I haven't tested scent yet because one, that's risky, and two, it'd be gross to have zombie guts on me. That's just ew. Anyway, you need to be as quiet as possible. I also saw some people escaping a few weeks ago, and blows to the head seem to be the most effective. As you can probably guess, as dangerous as they are, close range weapons that are silent are best. Guns just bring more of those things. And well, I think you know one key point. They like flesh. LIVE flesh. And if you get bit, you turn into one of em," Key says, his voice in an eerie whisper. Micha clings to his shirt harder and he pats her back soothingly.

"Anyway, best to move fast. Luckily my building is right across the street. Just don't bump into them, and try not to breathe too hard," Kibum says to Jonghyun before beginning to walk. He goes slow, quietly thanking whatever sick, twisted of a higher power kept the number of undead low in that area at the time. He had to squeeze through a couple of them, but it wasn't too big a problem. He kept a reassuring hand on Micha's back as he moved, and constantly looked over his shoulder to check on Jonghyun. He refused to be useless any longer. He wasn't going to lose them. He vowed that to himself.

onghyun listened carefully to what Kibum was telling him. He really wanted and probably needed, to learn more about those creatures. It made Jong feel more calm and reassured that at least one of them had a bigger knowledge regarding the cause of their current misery. A shudder went down his spine, and he couldn’t quite tell if it was out of disgust or fear. He didn’t dare think about what would happen when they were attacked by those zombies, or whatever one could call them.

He decided to not ask Kibum anything further, on one hand because he didn’t particularly want Micha to hear what dangers they were facing, and on the other hand, he knew that they needed to be as quite as possible right now. He walked slightly behind Kibum, keeping a close eye, both on the boy, who was carrying his daughter, and on the horrible creatures that were staggering around.

They looked disgusting, like their flesh was rotten. He also noticed that their eyes seemed to be staring blankely ahead of them, so that was why Kibum said that they mainly reacted to sound. They couldn’t really use their vision. Jonghyun had to admit that this revelation made him feel more save, at least they had one advantage that they could utilize against them.

Jonghyun was looking in front of him, trying to not distract himself by the sight of the creatures walking around them, their nearness made him shiver. He kept his steps as quiet as possible, keeping close to Kibum. However, suddenly he stumbled over a stone or something similar lying on the ground. He fell forward a bit, touching Kibum’s back, but steadying himself before he put his whole weight on the other boy.

However, the damage was already done – the sound of his stumble, echoed throughout the eerily quiet street. Jong stopped abruptly, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Oh ,” he hissed, as he saw some of the nearby ‘zombies’ turn towards the sound...

CLIFFHANGER! <3