It appeared as though the thing Daehyun was supposed to show Youngjae was a...garage of some sort. No, not a garage exactly. More like a storage space. The room stretched easily farther than twenty feet, but wasn't nearly as wide. Boxes were neatly stacked against one wall. Pale yellow electric lightbulbs lined the walls, some blinking on and off. The entire place had a much earthier smell than the rest of the place. Youngjae wondered when the last time the place was visited. Surely, not for a while, but then he remembered that the entire place hadn't been used in a very long time.

"It seems like a good workspace for you," Daehyun remarked behind Youngjae.

Youngjae blinked. "I... I don't understand. Why are you showing me this?"

"I feel like...you're not used to being in the bunker," Daehyun replied, ambling around the room with a sort of jump to his step. "There's a lot of space for you to work here, so..."

Youngjae soon drowned out Daehyun's voice. Why was Daehyun doing all this? It was understandable that he was trying to make Youngjae's stay more comforting, but he still felt out of place. What else was he supposed to do? Hey, so, um, yeah, thanks for everything, but I think I want to go back home now.

That obviously wasn't going to happen.

Taking in a deep breath, Youngjae turned to face Daehyun. "Thanks for this, but, uh, can I be left alone for a little while? Please."

Daehyun blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Sure. I'll just be across the hall, then. Yeah."

With a small, polite smile, Youngjae watched Daehyun leave the room and close the door behind him. Youngjae sank to the floor, his knees giving out from under him, and he stared at the dim ceiling above him for a solid minute.

"Just why am I here?" Youngjae mumbled quietly.

Everything just felt too unreal to him.

//

The following couple of weeks after living in the bunker with Guernica, Youngjae found himself growing unbelievably bored. He kept to himself unless somebody (usually Junhong or Daehyun or Yongguk) talked to him first, but even then...it was quiet. Back in New Seoul, Youngjae didn't have much interaction with many people in the first place, but he kept himself busy with his jobs and classes and homework. Youngjae just wasn't used to having so much time on his hands. Now, he stayed inside that humongous room and worked—worked on the Republic robot, worked on scrap circuitry he picked up or was given, worked on various appliances around the bunker.  The others––namely Daehyun, Junhong, and Jongup––tried to get him out of the shell he'd retreated into, but... Youngjae found he was vastly disinterested in whatever they tried to get him to do.
 
It was weird, Youngjae thought, how he was withdrawing into himself even more than he usually did.

Sometimes, Youngjae found himself falling asleep in that storage room, but he always somehow ended up back in his and Daehyun's bedroom. Other times, he'd get lost trying to find his way around the entire bunker, but somebody would always guide him to wherever he needed to go. He appreciated the kindness these people were showing him, and he didn't know criminals were capable of such actions.

Youngjae felt his eyes beginning to droop, and he was determined to actually get back to the bedroom this time without somebody carrying him back.

With a grunt, Youngjae heaved himself off the floor, hissing in pain as the blood began flowing back into his numb leg; he leaned against the wall for support as pinpricks shot through his leg. He eased the door open before slipping out and into the hall.

Youngjae yawned, his eyes twisting shut. He really needed to get more sleep. It wasn't like he was doing much else anyway. As he ambled to his and Daehyun's room, he heard voices in one of the other rooms. It took him a moment, but he managed to discern Yongguk and Himchan's voices. A faint yellow line of light spilled from under the door, and a shadow moved back and forth, as if somebody was pacing.
 
"Was it really a good idea?" That was Himchan's voice. Or was it Yongguk's? Their voices were so similar, it was difficult distinguishing them apart.
 
Despite his better judgement, Youngjae couldn't help but eavesdrop.
 
"Was what a good idea?" No, that voice was definitely Yongguk's.
 
"You know who I'm talking about, Bbang."
 
There was an exasperated sigh, the scuffling of sheets. "He's essential to our cause, Himchan. Besides, he's repaired plenty of our stuff in the time he's been here."
 
They're talking about me, Youngjae realized after a brief moment.
 
"Yeah, but...what if he betrays us?"
 
"If he wanted to, he would have done so a long time ago. Plus, Daehyun and Junhong trust him, and Junhong had plenty of time to determine whether or not Youngjae is safe––a few years, for God's sake. Channie..." There was a pause, and the shadow stopped pacing. "Why are you so paranoid?"
 
"Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Yongguk." It was obvious there was annoyance in Himchan's voice now.
 
"Okay, fine. Let me rephrase. Why don't you like him?"
 
The shadow began pacing again, and Youngjae felt the need to leave before he heard any more. Yet... He couldn't move away.
 
"Himchan?"
 
"I'm sorry, but... I just can't, okay? Not after what happened. . Sorry."
 
As the doorknob began turning, Youngjae turned around and hastily started walking away before the door swung open with a creak. He turned a corner just before the yellow light flooded the hallway. With his back pressed close to the wall, he prayed that Himchan wouldn't come in his direction. When the door closed, the corridor engulfed once again in the dim light, Youngjae relaxed, but only slightly. Himchan's footsteps were close, but they soon faded away.
 
Letting out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, Youngjae sank to the floor. What did he do? Was he being a burden to the group? Honestly, he thought he was being useful to them. He felt his chest begin to compress, as if something had punched him. He pulled his legs up to his chest and pressed his forehead to his knees.
 
All Youngjae wanted was to return home. At least back in New Seoul, he had some sort of meaning, some sort of purpose or path leading him to the next stepping stone in life. Here, he had nothing to guide him, nothing to fall back on. He hated to admit it, but he was scared.
 
He felt like a puny mouse among cunning street rats.

Taking a couple deep breaths, Youngjae picked himself up, brushed his pants, and walked back to his and Daehyun's bedroom before he fell asleep on the floor. He'd figure something out tomorrow.

When Youngjae opened the door to the bedroom, he found Daehyun sitting atop the bed, reading a book. "I thought you fell asleep in there again."

"No," Youngjae said, collapsing on the bed beside Daehyun.

"Saves me the trouble," Daehyun muttered almost to himself. It was quiet enough that Youngjae just barely caught it.

Youngjae turned his head to look at Daehyun. He knew immediately what Daehuyn meant by that, but Youngjae decided to play dumb for a bit. "What do you mean?"

A pink tint spread across Daehuyn's face, and he suddenly grew more interested in his book. "Nothing. You should sleep."

"Hmm," Youngjae groaned in agreement, but before he surrendered himself to unconsciousness, he let out a half-coherent, "Why does Himchan not like me?"

Daehyun turned his attention from his book to Youngjae. "He'll come around eventually."

"Mhmm," Youngjae responded as he closed his eyes.

"If it makes you feel better, when Junhong first came, Himchan openly snarled."

A/N: Whoa ok so this chapter's been super delayed partly because school and mostly because procrastination. Please expect more delays like this, sorry. But man I do not like this chapter and how it turned out, and I'm pretty sure it shows. Better chapters will come up. I hope. Basically what I'm trying to do is explore the relationships Youngjae has (will have?) with the other members and his development but that's a lot harder than I thought. Somebody please tell me if this gets too boring and I'll add something exciting. Probably romance, probably action, probably character death.

So here's a very rough map of Korea and the districts in this fic. And a playlist if you wanna get in the mood. A bunker blueprint will come up eventually as well.

Thanks for reading / subsrcribing / commenting~