Everyone had assumed that the land north of Seoul would be different somehow, but Seoul and Uijeongbu were zombie-ridden urban clusters connected by a congested highway. There was no haven to be found. It was the same here as it was everywhere.

They flew low along that highway, looking down upon all of the destroyed buildings and houses that straddled the road and parallel waterway. From that height, even through the darkness of night, they could see the zombies on the streets below. They looked like ants, like an infestation – something that would likely only be eradicated by bombing the entire country.

T.O.P. was wondering about this, as to whether that was what his father meant when he said that this land would soon be gone. Did he mean that it would be evaporated by nuclear warheads? Or did he mean merely that the country would be abandoned? He planned to ask him this later, after they had settled in at the base.

Even the base itself, Camp Stanley, was not the refuge they had assumed it would be. The base had been nearly overrun in the first few weeks of the outbreak. Since then, the American and Korean soldiers stationed there had worked together to drive the zombies out and fortify the wire fence around the perimeter, but this fencing was not meant to protect against relentless feral hordes. It was weak and in constant need of repair.

As the Black Hawk hovered above the dimly lit airfield, everyone saw just how shabby this fencing was. The zombies were ing their bodies against it in forceful spasms as they salivated over the patrolling soldiers on the other side, the fence tottering back and forth from their push. It looked as if it would take just one concerted effort to push it down entirely.

While the others stared at the surrounding fence and worried about how secure the base was, Jong Kook was trying to think of a way to go back for those on Sido, but he knew that couldn’t happen, not now due to the Black Hawk being at maximum capacity with fourteen people, and not later due to the inevitability of those in charge finding out about this rescue attempt and possibly reprimanding T.O.P.’s father or, at the very least, heightening patrols in the airfield to prevent future rescue attempts.

As it turned out, those in charge had already found out about Lieutenant Colonel Choi’s secret mission. One of the patrolling soldiers had logged the disappearance of the Black Hawk an hour earlier and a quick roll call revealed Lieutenant Colonel Choi as the only one missing.

Two American soldiers, First Lieutenant Smith and Second Lieutenant Johnson, had been instructed to wait at the airstrip for the Black Hawk to return. When the helicopter landed just before ten that night, they stood at attention and then saluted Lieutenant Colonel Choi as he exited the aircraft.

“Lieutenant Colonel, sir!” they yelled in unison. First Lieutenant Smith spoke up then. “Colonel Matthews has asked that we your party directly to medical,” he said.

“Understood,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said. He looked back at everyone stepping out of the helicopter and gestured for them to follow him and the two lieutenants to the transport bus.

The bus took them from that dark airfield to a main road lined with cargo trucks and patrol jeeps and crowded with soldiers tasked with stabbing the zombies through the fence with bayonets in an attempt to hold back the horde.

Those on the bus stared with wide but tired eyes through the dirt-covered windows at the action on both sides of that main road, and were all relieved when the fences finally ended and the threat was behind them. Ahead, the base grounds seemed quiet. If one ignored the occasional Humvee or patrolling soldier, the base could have been mistaken for a university campus. The buildings surrounding them were connected by walking paths, which included the smaller building to which they were heading, the medical clinic.

Two ambulances were parked out front. Beside the ambulances, at the main entrance, a soldier was standing guard. He saluted Lieutenant Colonel Choi and then opened the door for him and the others to pass through.

First Lieutenant Smith and Second Lieutenant Johnson directed the group toward a processing area and told them to empty their pockets. “Remove all weapons and any personal items,” First Lieutenant Smith said.

“Will we be getting guns?” Ji Hyo asked. She didn’t feel comfortable with the thought that they would be unarmed.

Her question, however, went unanswered, as the lieutenants were distracted by Taeyeon. They stared in awe at the knives attached to her wrists and elbows, having not seen anything like that before. All of the civilians they had previously taken in had arrived at the base shortly after the outbreak. They hadn’t survived for months on their own like this group had.

A bit intimidated by Taeyeon, and perhaps in an effort to establish dominance, First Lieutenant Smith resorted to teasing. “Those are some, um, big knives for such a little girl,” he said, smiling.

Taeyeon ignored him and continued to unwrap the duct tape from her arms.

First Lieutenant Smith winked at Second Lieutenant Johnson and then continued to . “Do you take those off when you sleep?” he asked.

The others had been too preoccupied with the processing and their own chatter amongst themselves to notice the interaction between the lieutenants and Taeyeon, not until they suddenly heard both lieutenants shout.

“Whoa!” First Lieutenant Smith yelled, reaching for his gun as he backed away from Taeyeon, who was holding her fist up to him with that knife jutting out at her wrist.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi cut through the group then and stood between the lieutenants and Taeyeon. “Stand down, Lieutenant,” he said, eyeing First Lieutenant Smith while subtly pushed Taeyeon’s fist down in an effort to ease the tension. He then led the group out of the processing area and through the double doors leading to the examination rooms.

The lieutenants watched them go.

“No way that girl’s going to pass her psych eval,” Second Lieutenant Johnson said.

Those in the group who had been through processing back at the stadium rescue center two months earlier were reminded of that now. The guys were separated from the girls, with both groups ushered into separate examination areas so that the medics could check them for any bites. Afterward, they showered and were given one set of plain clothes similar to what they had received at the stadium – a t-shirt and loose fitting pants – and one set of standard issue camouflage uniforms referred to as cammies. They were told that they could wear the plain clothes only inside the barracks. Elsewhere, they must wear the cammies.

The barracks referred to the buildings that housed the soldiers. One building was designated as the civilian barracks, with the top floor of that building reserved for idols.

As they walked to the civilian barracks now, Bom wanted to ask Lieutenant Colonel Choi about which idols were there, but she felt too nervous to speak to him, not only because of his stature, but also because he did not yet know that she was in a relationship with his son. Plus, Lieutenant Colonel Choi didn’t seem to be amenable to casual conversation. On the helicopter, he had been filled with joy and seemed more approachable, but that all changed when they returned to the base. He had since resumed his militaristic ways, directing their group down that path in such a hurried, orderly fashion, as if leading a troop.

The civilian barracks were just down the path from the medical clinic. The hallways inside were dimly lit, as it was late and most everyone was sleeping by then. Lieutenant Colonel Choi lowered his voice as he continued to instruct them on proper protocol.

“You’ll be expected to follow orders,” he quietly said. “That means eating at certain times, exercising at certain times, and performing whatever duty you’re assigned,” he said.

They entered the stairwell and climbed up to the top floor.

“Breakfast is at 0800,” he said. “You’re scheduled to return to medical for psych evals at 0900. Don’t be late.” Earlier, while the group was being checked by the medics, Lieutenant Colonel Choi had returned to the processing area, which is when the two lieutenants had informed him that the group would undergo full psychological evaluations as a matter of safety. Colonel Matthews, who was the top-ranking officer at that base, had ordered the evaluations personally, as he wanted to be sure that none of the survivors Lieutenant Colonel Choi had brought in would be a threat to others.

Everyone followed Lieutenant Colonel Choi out of the stairwell and down the hallway of that top floor, careful to walk lightly so as not to wake any of the idols sleeping behind the closed doors that they passed. Perhaps because it was so quiet, they were all startled then by the sound of door suddenly creaking open from one of the rooms ahead. They saw someone walk out of the room then, but because he was wearing a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled low, they couldn’t recognize him, not until he abruptly looked up, just as startled by their presence as they were by his.

“Oh my god,” G-Dragon said, stepping forward out of the group when he saw who it was.

“Hyung?” Jinwoo asked. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing before him was his YG family, the family he was sure had been lost to this horrible outbreak. He glanced around at all of them and then looked at G-Dragon again. “You’re… alive!” he said, rushing toward them now.

The Big Bang boys and 2ne1 girls huddled around and embraced their dongsaeng.

“Is Seungyoon here, too?” Daesung asked.

“And Taehyun?” Bom asked.

“And what about Dumb and Dumber, Minho and Seunghoon?” G-Dragon teasingly asked.

“Yeah, yeah, they’re all here,” Jinwoo said, nearly crying.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi quietly made his way toward the back of the group where Jong Kook, Ji Hyo, Thunder, Krystal, Taeyeon, and Gary stood, watching with smiles at the YG reunion before them.

“Your group has the two rooms at the end of the hall,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said to Jong Kook.

“Thank you,” Jong Kook said. “For everything.”

Ji Hyo nodded. “We know what you risked. We’re so grateful.”

Lieutenant Colonel Choi nodded, glanced back at his son in the middle of that happy reunion in the hallway, and then continued on his way, his heart content.