For the next few days, the survivors settled in at the base and began to acclimate to a life of routine. Each morning, they’d eat breakfast at eight o’clock, complete their required physical training from nine to eleven, and then either depart for assigned duties, if scheduled, or return to the civilian barracks. Because of the limited supply of weapons and ammo, none of the civilians carried guns and were therefore not assigned the more dangerous duties such as patrolling the perimeter or bayoneting the surrounding zombies through the fence. Instead, they were assigned more menial tasks such as mopping the floors or cleaning the dishes. As there wasn’t much of this work to go around, they were left with a lot of free time.

The results of the psychological evaluations were delivered to the fourteen newcomers just this morning, shortly after their scheduled physical training. None were deemed a threat to others or to themselves; however, Taeyeon, Krystal, and Gary were selected for daily follow-up therapy sessions to begin that very afternoon.

The three of them had returned to their room in the civilian barracks since receiving the news, and were soon joined by Thunder, Youngjae, Kris, and Chen.

“It’s not so bad,” Youngjae said, hoping to cheer up Taeyeon. “Maybe it’ll actually help.” He was sitting next to her on the cot and wanted to extend a comforting hand, but was still too bashful around her.

Taeyeon shrugged. She didn’t like the idea of having to rehash the horror each day with the counselor. She preferred to keep things to herself. She had always been this way. As the leader of SNSD, she had always dealt with her personal problems on her own, not wanting to burden the girls.

Kris, trying to change the subject, asked Gary if he was still writing lyrics.

“Not on paper,” Gary said. “But my head is always swimming in poetry.”

“You wanna hang out with us sometime?” Kris asked. “I was thinking that, since there are so many idols around and we have nothing to do, we should all collaborate on something.”

“None of us have really written any songs before,” Chen said.

“Yeah, and you write good stuff,” Kris said.

Gary smiled at the thought of making music again. It was the first time that he had smiled in a long time. “Yeah, I’m up for that,” he said. “I have so many ideas, like, with everything that I’ve been through… I can incorporate a lot of that stuff.”

Thunder, sitting on one of the cots with Krystal, then spoke up. “I’m… I’m pretty much a solo artist now. MBLAQ is… gone. You think I can join up with you guys?”

“Yeah!” Kris said, getting excited. “What about you, Youngjae?”

Youngjae shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t want Himchan, Yongguk, and Daehyun thinking I’m leaving B.A.P.”

“What about me?” Krystal asked.

The boys all looked at her then.

Krystal raised her eyebrow. “Why not make this interesting and have a mixed group?”

“Girls?” Chen asked.

“Ai, Chen Chen,” Kris said. “What’s so weird about having girls in the group?”

“I’m just used to… being with boys,” Chen said.

Kris started chuckling to himself. “Yeah, Chen Chen, we all know you like boys.”

Chen’s mouth fell open. “That’s not what I meant! Who do you think I am… Tao?”

Everybody started laughing then.

“Wait… is Tao gay?” Gary asked.

“Erm… time to go!” Kris said, laughing as he stood up. “Seriously though, we better go before we’re late.”

Thunder, Youngjae, Kris, and Chen were scheduled for cleaning duties at the fitness center at noon. Because Gary, Taeyeon, and Krystal’s therapy was scheduled at that same time, and because the medical clinic was on the way to the fitness center, they decided to all leave together.

When they arrived at the medical clinic just a few minutes later, Thunder pulled Krystal aside and kissed her goodbye. They had kissed before, but not usually in front of others, and not usually so passionately. He didn’t know what came over him. It was almost like he had some premonition that it would be a long, long time before he saw her again… if ever.

Xiumin, Lay, and Tao were just leaving the fitness center, having decided to shower there after physical training rather than trying to fight for access to the bathroom on the idol floor. They met up with Thunder, Youngjae, Kris, and Chen on the path.

“You four have cleaning duties at the fitness center?” Lay asked.

“Unfortunately,” Thunder said.

“Have fun cleaning up our sweat!” Tao said.

“Ew, did you not wash any of the machines you used?” Chen asked.

“That’s your job,” Tao said. “My job is making sure my ’s in shape to keep Xiumin’s eyes glued on it.”

Xiumin shook his head. “Aish,” he said.

“You know you like looking at my ,” Tao said, winking at him.

“Well, that’s because you walk around in that tight leopard print underwear!” Xiumin said. “One can’t help but look when you’re practically flashing all of us.”

Lay interrupted the nonsense then. “When the three of us were in the locker room, we heard the soldiers talking about leaving,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Youngjae asked. “Leaving the base?”

Lay nodded. “It’s not a rumor anymore,” he said. “I think the negotiations with Australia finally went through and we’re getting out of here.”

“When?” Kris asked.

“I don’t know,” Lay said. “Maybe as soon as today.”

“Yeah, the way those soldiers were talking, it sounded like it would be soon,” Xiumin said.

Kris, realizing that Luhan was the only EXO-M boy not standing on that path with them, then asked about his whereabouts, but nobody knew where Luhan was.

Luhan brought the broom handle to his lips. Pretending that it was a microphone, he closed his eyes and quietly sang… Listen, do you feel it? With his eyes still closed, he began swaying and riding up on the broom. My heart stopped its rhythm. He quickly cleared his throat and tried singing in a lower register in an attempt to mimic Kris’s part. My heart be breakin’.

Jong Kook and Ji Hyo were standing at the other end of the hall. Their assigned duty was to clean the floors of the soldier barracks, starting with the top floor designated for officers, which is where they were now. Luhan was supposed to sweep the floor while Jong Kook followed with a wet mop and Ji Hyo with a dry mop, but the two of them had stopped when they heard Luhan singing to himself and were now just watching him.

“I want to keep him,” Ji Hyo said.

“What?” Jong Kook asked.

“That boy is just too cute,” she said, smiling as she watched Luhan hum the next parts of the song while continuing to dance with the broom.

“Maybe we can adopt him,” Jong Kook said, playing along.

“I can stand here all day just watching him,” Ji Hyo said.

Jong Kook feigned jealousy, his mouth agape. “Should I be worried here?” he asked.

Ji Hyo teasingly pushed him. “About what? You think you have competition?”

“I don’t know,” Jong Kook said. “Do I?”

Ji Hyo smacked her lips. “Please,” she said, dismissing him as she continued to stare at Luhan. “I’m his noona! That boy is just a baby.”

Luhan must have felt their eyes on him because, at that moment, he peered down the hall and stumbled back a bit when he saw that he had been caught. “What… erm…”

But before Luhan could grow too embarrassed, a door in the middle of that hallway swung open. Colonel Matthews and Lieutenant Colonel Choi stepped out of the room and walked down the hall in Jong Kook and Ji Hyo’s direction. Colonel Matthews continued past Jong Kook and Ji Hyo to the stairwell, but Lieutenant Colonel Choi stopped to talk with them.

“You two doing okay?” he asked.

Jong Kook and Ji Hyo nodded.

“I know you’ve only been at the base a few days,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said. “I hope you haven’t gotten too comfortable here.” He paused a moment. “Because we’re leaving today.”

It took Jong Kook and Ji Hyo a moment to absorb what he was saying.

“Really?” Ji Hyo asked, stunned by the announcement.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi nodded. “We reached an agreement with Australia just this morning,” he said. “The details are all worked out. We’ll have to spend some time quarantined once we get there, but no more than a week at most. They just want to be absolutely sure that none of us are infected.”

“When does the plane leave?” Jong Kook asked.

“This afternoon,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said.

Jong Kook bowed slightly in respect before asking about stopping in Sido. “Just a quick stop,” he said. “It won’t take long. Just to pick up the others.”

“There are children there,” Ji Hyo said. “We left them behind because we knew they wouldn’t survive the journey. We thought, if we ever made it here, we’d find a way somehow to go back for them.”

“This plane… this is our chance,” Jong Kook said.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi sighed. “If it was up to me, I’d say yes, but I’m not in charge. This plane is on a straight shot to Australia.” He paused a moment. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I really am.”

Lieutenant Colonel Choi walked to the civilian barracks to find his son and tell him the news, but when he entered the building, just as he was about to climb the stairs and head up to the top floor, he heard some ruckus resounding out of the lounge on that first floor. He could hear music and what sounded like a bunch of people whooping and clapping.

Inside that lounge, Jackson stood in the center of a crowd, swinging a sword around him as he demonstrated fencing moves. V and Jimin were there, hanging out by the boombox and nodding their heads along with the music. Himchan, Yongguk, and Daehyun were there, too, as were the two American soldiers, First Lieutenant Smith and Second Lieutenant Johnson, who had escorted the new arrivals to the medical clinic a few days earlier.

“And this is how I slay the zombie heads!” Jackson yelled, as he advanced into a lunge while slicing the air in front of him. “Yah!”

V caught sight of Lieutenant Colonel Choi in the doorway at that moment and quickly shut off the music. Everyone turned then and stood red-faced. The soldiers stood at attention and saluted him. The idols saw this and tried to copy their stance and salutes.

“At ease,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said.

The soldiers lowered their salutes, as did the idols.

“Where’d you get that sword?” Lieutenant Colonel Choi asked.

“Erm, I…” Jackson looked down.

“Lieutenant Colonel Choi, sir!” First Lieutenant Smith called out. “I gave it to him, sir. We found out that he was a fencing champion and, well, we couldn’t find an épée.”

“Have you heard about the negotiations?” Lieutenant Colonel Choi asked.

“Yes, sir!” Second Lieutenant Johnson said. “That’s why we’re in such a good mood, sir!”

The idols and two soldiers couldn’t help but smile then, knowing that they would be leaving the base for a chance at a normal life in Australia.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi’s stern expression broke at that moment as his face relaxed into a smile. “Carry on then,” he said.

As he walked away from the lounge and headed back to the stairwell, he could hear the music turn on again and the whoops of the boys resuming. He nodded a bit, understanding how they felt, and then continued on his way to see his son.

When he reached the top floor, he walked the hallway to the room at the end, which Big Bang and 2ne1 shared. He could hear laughter inside and wondered if they, too, had already heard the news. He knocked and slowly opened the door, surprised at the sight before him.

Everyone was sitting around on the cots and laughing at Seungri, who was standing in front of CL and holding up his shirt while rolling his stomach so that his abs rippled in sequence. “Not impressed yet?” Seungri asked.

CL could do nothing but hide her face in embarrassment.

“Oh!” Minzy said, standing abruptly when she noticed T.O.P.’s father in the doorway.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi scanned the room but didn’t see T.O.P. there. He looked over at G-Dragon, sitting next to Dara on one of the cots. “Do you know where my son is?” he asked.

“Yeah, he and Bom are down in Winner’s room,” G-Dragon said, bowing slightly.

“Is he… in trouble?” Daesung asked.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi shook his head. “No, I just wanted to inform him about the plane leaving today. Have you all heard about that yet?”

“We’re leaving today?” CL asked.

“I’m sure there will be an official announcement later,” Lieutenant Colonel Choi said. “But yes, the negotiations are settled with Australia. We leave this afternoon.”

“Oh my god,” Dara said, her hands clasped in front of . She felt like crying out of happiness.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi then departed just as abruptly as he had arrived, leaving the three couples paralyzed in astonishment.

Inside Winner’s room, Seungyoon was playing Se7en’s song “Somebody Else” on acoustic guitar while Seunghoon sang. Jinwoo, Minho, and Taeyhyun were sitting on the cots around them, as were T.O.P. and Bom.

Seunghoon closed his eyes as he sang. I can’t bear to hug you, who is in front of me…

T.O.P. saw Seunghoon open his eyes then and look directly at Bom before closing them again and continuing with the song. I can’t say a single word, so every day I am only looking at you like this…

T.O.P. wasn’t sure if he was reading too much into this or not. All he knew was that he felt this incredible jealousy, whether or not that jealousy was warranted. Threatened by what he saw as Seunghoon subtly flirting with Bom, he wrapped his arm tightly around her and pulled her close to him. Just to make sure Seunghoon got the message, he planted a kiss on Bom’s forehead and then rested his cheek against hers.

At that moment, everyone heard a knock at the door. Jinwoo stood and opened the door, letting in T.O.P.’s dad.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi saw his son sitting next to Bom with his arm around her, their faces so close. He hadn’t known that the two were dating and realized now that they must have been together for some time.

T.O.P. immediately stood and greeted his father. Lieutenant Colonel Choi returned the greeting and then told everyone the news. The Winner boys all hugged each other while trying to keep their emotions at bay. Each day that they had lived at that base, they had felt their hope of returning to a normal world dissipate. But now, upon hearing this news, that hope was renewed.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi looked down at his watch. “It’s past noon already. I have to get going,” he said. “I have a meeting.”

“Oh!” Bom leapt to her feet upon hearing the time. “I have to go, too,” she said.

“Where you are going?” T.O.P. asked.

“Oh, I…” Bom was a terrible liar. She fumbled with her words then, stuttering a bit. “I have… some… I’m on kitchen cleanup.”

T.O.P. didn’t have time to consider what she was saying. If he had, he would have remembered that the kitchen cleanup was only assigned at certain times, directly following meals. The breakfast cleanup had been completed hours earlier and lunch hadn’t even been served yet, much less in need of cleaning up. But Bom had hugged him goodbye and was out the door before he had a chance to realize any of this.

Lieutenant Colonel Choi followed Bom down the stairs and outside onto the base grounds, where Bom suddenly stopped, realizing that if she headed toward the medical clinic rather than the dining facility, T.O.P.’s dad would likely question her.

But as it turned out, he was already planning on questioning her. “There is no kitchen cleanup scheduled at this time,” he said. “Where are you really going?”

Bom turned around to face him, her expression mired in worry. “Oh, please don’t think I’m the type to lie like that.” She bowed slightly. “I have an appointment at the clinic. I just didn’t want Tabi… I mean, Seunghyun… to worry.”

Lieutenant Colonel Choi studied her face. It was clear that she was in love with his son. He wondered now as to the nature of her medical appointment. “I’ll you there,” he said.

“Oh, there’s no need…” she said.

But Lieutenant Colonel Choi cut her off. “No trouble at all,” he said, as he placed his hand on her back and ushered her forward. His meeting could wait.

They walked up the path to the medical clinic in an awkward silence. Once there, they headed past the processing area and went through the double doors leading to the examination wing, which was empty but for the one medic on assigned duty at that time, who promptly called for Bom to join him in the examination room. Lieutenant Colonel Choi stayed behind in the waiting area, certain that Bom was there for a pregnancy test. He could think of no other reason for the secrecy, or why she would be worried about telling his son about the appointment, particularly if the two were close.

For the first few minutes, as he sat there waiting, he was filled with worry at the thought of bringing a baby into this world. Although the negotiations were settled and the plane was set to leave that afternoon for Australia, the world they would be leaving behind remained infected. And that infection was continuing to spread. South Korea was gone. North Korea was gone. And the entirety of eastern China was gone, too. According to the latest reports, the infection had spread as far north as Russia and as far south as Singapore. If Bom was pregnant, her child would be born into a world in which it may never be able to travel. For now, and possibly forever, Australia would be their home.

As he continued to wait though, the pleasure of thinking of himself as a grandfather began to supplant his worries. He imagined taking the child to zoos full of koalas and kangaroos, to beaches covered in white sand and pink shells, and to outback country where they would camp underneath the stars. He smiled at these thoughts.

But these thoughts were then interrupted by the sudden sound of static crackling. He reached for the radio attached to his belt and began to hear some disturbing background noise coming through – what sounded like screaming.

A voice then broke through that noise. “Wire down!”

Lieutenant Colonel Choi recognized the voice as one of the American soldiers assigned to patrol the perimeter. He abruptly stood upon hearing that the fence had collapsed.

“I repeat! Wire down!” the soldier yelled again, before the radio erupted in static.

And then, the warning siren began to squeal out of the speakers throughout the base, that shrill alarm signifying the danger afoot.