Naeun needs to recharge. After weeks of endless promotion with interviews, fanmeetings and concerts, it was hard for her to relax and enjoy some solitary leisure. She shuts all the blinds and puts on a pair of headphones to let the music drown out the outside world.

But a booming knock richochets from the front door. She prays that it isn't a sasaeng fan. Her address is unlisted, how would they find her? As she approaches the door, the knocks get louder and heavier, and the hinges rattle. She peers through the eyehole and sees...

Jessica Jung, Naeun's closest friend. She lives in the building down the street, and judging from her red face, she ran the entire way to see Naeun. She opens the door and finds her wide eyed and panting. "Unnie, what is wrong with you!" Naeun said. "I thought you were a crazed sasaeng!"

"WHY didn't you answer the phone?! I heard your electricity went out but haven't you heard the news?!" Jessica said, clawing her way in the door.

"I- my phone's battery was dead! The electricity was out for a while." Naeun said, taken by surprise at Jessica's explosive fervor.

"We need to go NOW." Jessica drags Naeun into the bedroom and shoves a backpack to her. "Pack the essentials. Clothes, photos. I'll go pack the supplies" Jessica rushes to the kitchen and fills a bin with water bottles and food. She opens all the drawers and finds matches and candles.

"Unnie, what is going on?" Naeun stands motionless, staring at her friend.

"I told you to pack your things NOW! You'll know what's happening when we get out." Jessica flicks her chestnut hair back as she starts collecting ice from the fridge. "It won't be long before all the streets get jammed."

Naeun speechlessly complies and packs her clothes and a family portrait. She helps Jessica lug the heavy bin of supplies down the elevator. As she walks down the apartment corridors, she finds that almost all the doors are ajar and the interiors of the flats are cluttered and abandoned... like people were scrambling to find what they needed before hastily leaving the complex.

But when Naeun crosses the threshold of her building and sees the outside, she drops her bag and freezes in disbelief.

The streets scream in cacophony. In the tender summer air, the sheer volume of commotion leaves Naeun immobile. People on the streets are frantically dashing to their cars, behind buildings, holding onto their kids and loved ones. In the distant horizon, streaks of orange light flash and illuminate the clouds, each followed by a deep rumble. "They're destroying the bridges", Jessica said. "The infection started down in Buyeo and they're trying to isolate it there".

Naeun could also see why her building had no power. A car drove into an electrical pole, in an attempt to drive off the shoulder.

Jessica picks up Naeun's backpack and pulls her to the car. She tosses everything in the trunk before they speed down the road. Signs on the pavement displays messages like "NATIONAL EMERGENCY" and "BE PREPARED FOR DELAY".

"Where are we going?" Naeun stares at Jessica.

"Upper Seoul. The news said they have a shelter with food and protection. They told everyone to go there. Turn on the radio and listen for anything important." Naeun turns on the radio and listens to a recorded message adivising everyone to do the same.

The voice continues, "This disease is highly contagious, although method of transmission is not clear. Stay clear and avoid affected persons at all costs. Doctors and scientists are still searching for the source and behavior of this disease".

After a few miles, the car treads a steep hill on the mega highway. As they reach the crest, the car lurches to a stop as they see the largest traffic jam that South Korea has ever witnessed.

Jessica and Naeun have been in the same stretch of road for hours now. It is getting close to sundown, and they have given up hoping that the traffic would move. Most of the people came out of their cars, hoping to find information about the country's situation and the authenticity of the government shelter. Hushed conversations choked the air and the rising suspicion of the people became a tangible thing.

"I heard they closed the road on purpose..." Nearby, a worried mother said.

"There's already too many people at the shelter, they probably don't have the capacity for more", said a man sitting on the roof of his car.

"How would you know that?" An austere looking woman said from behind. "Are you a government insider? Let's save the speculation for later."

In midst of the panic, Naeun and Jessica stayed seated in their cars, taking water to drink from the trunk that Jessica prudently gathered beforehand. Naeun lets out a stifled sob. "Do you think our parents are safe?" Although Jessica and Naeun aren't siblings, they were old family friends, both of them grew up in Buyeo and that's where their parents lived.

Jessica says, "They're smart, and they'll help eachother out. I'm sure they're going to be fine", but her lips are tightly pursed and frowning, like she doesn't fully believe her own words. Her eyes well with tears as she says, "Let's not think about them right now."

"Whoever's infected will stay away from both of our parents' houses. I'm pretty sure they'll be repulsed by all the cheongukjang they cooked" Naeun joked and patted Sica's shoulder.

"Enough to scare away the dead and the living." Jessica laughed.

"Remember at that sleepover when a foreign exchange student who knocked on the wrong address-" Naeun said, smiling.

"I remember that! When I opened the door, he thought there was a rotting body in the house. How old was I back then, 15?"

"And I think I was 10. Good times."

Naeun notices someone over Sica's shoulder. A boy, fairly tall, covering his face with his jacket. He stumbles over sticks as looks around, searching for someone. For a split second he uncovers his face, and Naeun knows instantly who it is. "U-unnie..." She points at the boy. "Does that guy look familiar?"

Sica whips around and sees him. She gets out of the car and approaches him. "Kai?" she asks as she dips her head to see his face.

"Sica, Naeun!" Kai's face lights up. "Thank god I found people I know!" The two small talk for a bit until Sica offers Kai the food she has brought. He sees Naeun and says, "Have you gotten rest lately? You look really tired." He takes his hand and touches the bags under her eyes.

Sica throws a venomous glance. Kai knows this look all too well. He quickly steps away from Naeun and clear his throat.

"So what happened?" Sica asks. "You were promoting in Seoul, where are the other Exo members?"

"Well, I shoe shopping with Tao when we heard the news. All the SM staff agreed to meet at the government shelter. Tao and I had seperate cars, and I lost him when we came to this traffic jam." He cranes his head and looks around. "He should be close by, but I can't find him."

"What happened to your arm?" Naeun notices deep scratches running along the length of Kai's pale forearm and elbow.

Alarmed, Kai quickly pulls his sleeve down. "It's- it's nothing."

Sica notices someone. In the far distance, she sees a guy sitting in the back of his car truck. Someone who looks an awful lot like Tao.  Prominent nose, slender build. But the biggest giveaway is the small crowd of fangirls that surround him. "Look," Sica points. "Over there."

But at the same time, Naeun sees something down south, far off the road and on the grass. She sees a gargantuan cohort of moving people behind some tall trees. The figures are masked in sillouhette, but the way their heads are slung forward and bodies aimless in gait makes Naeun extremely uncomfortable. She pulls her silky black hair away from her face and squints her eyes.

Sica points to Tao. "Look at all the girls around him! It looks like they're giving him food and water!" Kai can see it too. Girls are lining up at his feet, their faces frozen in a dazed state and staring at their idol. Some give him bags of non- perishables while others are handing firewood and matches. Surrounding the girls, off to the side, are the parents. They look stunned and some are chastising their daughters for giving away precious supplies.

Kai said, "Wow, he's extorting from his fans. Their families need it more than he does." And indeed, small heap of food was forming next to Tao.

Naeun, not listening to their conversation, climbs on Sica's car to get a better view of the moving horde on the south side. As she looks over the trees, she realizes that the creatures are much nearer than she first thought. Could these be the infected people? Or are they normal, exhausted people looking for the main road? The crowd is a stone's throw from the highway.

Kai yells, "TAO HYUNG!" And that's when the trouble begins.

Everyone nearby looks around to see him. "IT'S KAI!" A delirious girl screams. Others shout, "THAT'S JESSICA! THAT'S NAEUN FROM A-PINK!!!!!" This triggers a chain reaction. The stunned gasps and indistinct monolougue begin spreading up and down the highway.

And the sound that comes next is the aggregated fan-screaming of the entire highway section. It sounds like these people saw the second coming of Christ. The sound was so deafening, If a rocket launched at the same time as this screaming, you would not hear the rocket. The uproar can be heard in the five mile radius and echoes in the distance.

Naeun, still standing on the car, sees the shadowy group off the highway suddenly stop in their tracks. Every head in the assemblage turns toward the her, like a collective cat ear twisting to locate the sound of prey. They start to advance toward Naeun,  and the streetlights now illumate their faces. She sees bodies with dark, discolored flesh. Many have chunks of skin and limbs missing from their bodies. Their cold, unflinching eyes fixate on their source of food.

"We need to go!" Naeun jumps off the car and shakes her two friends. "GET IN THE CAR!!!!"