Panic and dread surges through Sunggyu as he follows Woohyun down narrow hallways, up stairs, and towards a portion of the ship he’s never been to before. He feels like he’s marching to his execution and wonders if this is the moment he gets thrown off the ship for being disrespectful.

He’s trying to wrack his brain for ways to protect Yunho when Woohyun opens a heavy door and gestures for him to enter.

Then they’re facing each other, in a nicely furnished, single occupancy room, and not even Woohyun’s good looks can distract Sunggyu from the fear boiling in his stomach.

Before Woohyun can make a move or say anything Sunggyu falls to his knees in a deep, traditional bow. He presses his forehead to the cold floor and says, “I’m very, very sorry for the things I said to you. I was disrespectful and out of line.”

It isn’t that he lacks pride. In fact Sunggyu is a very prideful creature, and he doesn’t apologize to just anyone, but the reality of the situation is that Sunggyu doesn’t know how much of the old world is left. Is the new world at least a little civil still? Maybe, maybe not. He knows that something bad happened to the people who incited the riot, and something bad can happen to him now without so much of a blink of the eye from the captain.

He has to make Woohyun feel like he is the most important person on the ship. He has to repent and humble himself and beg if necessary. He has to do whatever is necessary to keep Yunho safe, and himself on the ship.

“Wait,” Woohyun calls out, an odd inflection in his voice.

Sunggyu presses on, “I should be more careful who I speak to with such a severe tone. I realize my mistake now and I should have sought you out much earlier to apologize.”

The shame almost burns right through him, but he bows again, hands pressed flat on the floor.

Suddenly Woohyun drops next to him and grabs Sunggyu by the shoulders. He drags him up into a seated position, a horrified look on his face.

“Don’t,” Woohyun says, and the two of them lock eyes for the first time since their initial meeting. Woohyun’s dark brown eyes are watering a little, filled with such regret, and they’re beating down on Sunggyu’s heart like some kind of apology. A frantic one. “Don’t you dare.”

Sunggyu can feel Woohyun’s hot and heavy fingers through the simple shirt he wears. The pressure on his shoulders is almost unbearable, and it kills him to be touched by Woohyun right now, but he endures it. He doesn’t move, doesn’t make a sound. He lets Woohyun control the situation completely, no matter how much it destroys him to do so.

“Do not,” Woohyun says slowly, “ever lower yourself before me.” And then Woohyun is the one bowing, startling Sunggyu.

“I …” Sunggyu is speechless.

“Sunggyu,” Woohyun all but cries out. The fact that Woohyun knows his name makes fear stab through Sunggyu’s heart. “I thought you understood?”

“Understood what?” Sunggyu asks, sitting back further, placing more pressure on his legs. Woohyun’s still bent over, rocking a little as he speaks.

“I’ve been trying to apologize to you over the past day. I was in the wrong! I was an !”

Sunggyu dryly swallows and has to ask, “Did you … are you the person who sent me those … gifts?”

Finally Woohyun pulls his forehead from the floor and he nods almost frantically. “I really didn’t know how to apologize at first. I didn’t even know you. So I thought maybe if I sent gifts, and made you feel better in a bad situation, that you’d be more willing to accept my apology when I worked up enough courage to give it to you. I wanted to give it to you now, but I think you misunderstood. You weren’t in the wrong, Sunggyu. I was rude and it was uncalled for. You did the right thing, defending someone’s personal choice and I’m so ashamed of my behavior.”

Sunggyu’s heart is beating so hard in his chest it is physically painful. He takes in Woohyun’s words, the apology, the explanation, and all the information. It hits him a moment later that Woohyun is not the harsh person the thought he was. Woohyun isn’t planning to have him thrown off the ship, and Yunho isn’t in danger.

Sunggyu feels a sudden rush of anger, having spent so much time being afraid over the situation, and that anger gets the best of him.

He doesn’t mean to hit Woohyun. Not really.

Okay, maybe just a little.

“Wah!” Woohyun cries out, cradling his head protectively from where Sunggyu has just struck him. “That hurt!”

Sunggyu slams up to his feet and all but shouts at Woohyun, “Do you have an idea how terrified I’ve been! I stuck up for Seungri because it was the right thing to do, and because I want to be a decent person. Then he told me that I just disrespected the captain’s son, and all I could think was that the captain was going to throw me in the brig, or maybe overboard, or something even worse. I couldn’t sleep! I couldn’t eat! I was scared!”

“I’m sorry,” Woohyun says, winching as he rubs his head.

Sunggyu continues, “But I wasn’t just scared for myself! I was more scared for my brother. My brother never did anything. He’s a good solider and an amazing officer. He’s the kind of person who does the right thing by using his head, and doesn’t lose control like me. What if I got him hurt or in trouble because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut? The guilt was killing me.”

“Sunggyu--” Woohyun reaches for him, but Sunggyu twists away, pressing his back against the cabin door.

“I was terrified you were the kind of person who’d feel slighted and have his dad hurt my brother some how. But now … to find out you’re the one who’s been sending me presents, and you’re sorry, and I just …”

He slides down the door slowly, pulling his knees to his chest. He just breathes, in deep and uneven puffs, and tries to hold himself together.

Woohyun moves silently to his side, and there’s just enough room for him to sit next to Sunggyu, mirroring his position.

“I was going to beg,” Sunggyu confesses, his voice scratchy. “I was going to forget myself as a man and beg for my brother not to be hurt over my actions.”

Tentatively Sunggyu sees Woohyun’s hand reach out, the fingers shaking a little as he does. And Sunggyu allows Woohyun’s hand to cover his own as the man says, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I’m eternally sorry for letting my prejudices and personal feelings hurt you and the other cadet. But I’m even more sorry that you thought I was the kind of petty, insignificant person that would punish someone for defending another. I’m sorry you believed I was that bad of a person.”

Woohyun’s hand is heavy on Sunggyu’s, but more importantly, his voice rings with truth. He means what he says, and Sunggyu can hear it.

But still, Sunggyu has to ask through lidded eyes, “You aren’t going to try and get me thrown off the ship? You won’t try to hurt my brother?”

“I didn’t even know who your brother was until today. But no. I won’t hurt him. And I would … I could never hurt you.”

The way Woohyun chokes out his words, like the idea of Sunggyu being hurt is the most offensive thing he’s ever heard, really gives Sunggyu pause.

“Okay,” Sunggyu accepts, and then breathes easy for the first time in days.

Woohyun offers, “You can hit me again if you want. If it’ll make you feel better.”

“No,” Sunggyu says right away. “I shouldn’t have hit you the first time. I’m sorry for that.”

Woohyun’s hand tightens over Sunggyu’s and their knees are pressed alongside each others right now. It feels okay.

“How do you know my name?” Sunggyu asks.

It occurs to Sunggyu that civilian curfew is mere minutes away, at twenty-one hundred hours, and he’s going to miss it. But he doesn’t trust his legs to support him right now. He’ll have to risk a quick run back to his cabin when the me comes, and hope Dongwoo doesn’t report him missing or anything.

“I asked around,” Woohyun confesses. “Because how could I apologize properly if I didn’t know who I’d wronged? That’s how I found out about your brother. He seems to be very popular here. All the men respect him, and they say you’re very kind.”

Sunggyu scoffs, “They’ve known me a couple of days. I’m not as nice as they think.”

“No,” Woohyun insists. “I think you are.”

“Don’t be foolish.”

Somehow over the next few minutes the grip they have on each other goes from Woohyun holding Sunggyu’s hand, to their fingers interlocking. It’s an intimate hold, the kind Sunggyu thinks should be reserved for dating couples, but he allows it. Woohyun isn’t the person Sunggyu thought he was, and maybe, just maybe, his heart does match his pretty face.

After a minute more, Sunggyu asks, “Why did you say the things you did? About the military?”

Woohyun’s head tips back against the door they’re sitting against and he sighs wearily. “For the same reason that I never would have said anything to my father about you or anyone else, no matter how mad I was.” Woohyun’s grip squeezes Sunggyu’s hand. “I hate my father.”

Sunggyu frowns. “Did you miss the memo where the world ended? Billions of people are dead. Billions. And you and I are one of the very, very lucky few who have family still left alive. How can you hate your father?”

“Seventeen years of building, indescribable anger will do it, I guess,” Woohyun says. “Anger that he was never there when I was a kid. Anger that he let my mother suffer through her chemo and radiation and pills all by herself while he couldn’t be bothered to leave his ship. Anger that we had to burry my little brother three years ago after a car accident, and he couldn’t make it because he had military obligations. Anger because I see him maybe once a year, and it’s just so he can tell me what I disgrace I am and how I’m not living up to his impossible expectations and how disappointed he is in me. Anger that he wants me to be something I’m not, and won’t accept that I’m not going to change for him.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu says softly.

Woohyun confesses, “I was only here for visitor’s day because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. My mom’s dead. During the school year I’d stay with friends, but vacation? They all went places with their families, and all I had was this ship. Until I met you I probably would have rather been on land when those zombies started eating people.”

“Why would you say that?” Sunggyu asks.

“Because being trapped on a ship with my father, and knowing that he survived when a lot of more deserving people didn’t, seemed too much to take at first. At least until I realized that some deserving people did survive, and one of them had the guts to yell at me the second he realized I was being an to someone who didn’t deserve it. And imagine my luck that this person, with a strong sense of justice and honor, was also the most attractive person I’d ever seen before. How could I not be grateful afterwards that I survived?”

Things don’t happen like this in real life. This is what Sunggyu tells himself. Attractive, empathetic, honest to god decent people don’t confess how much they think Sunggyu is good looking. This is the sort of thing that only happens in dramas, and while Sunggyu’s life is now filled with drama, this isn’t one.

“Excuse me?” Sunggyu finds himself asking, because there’s no way he heard Woohyun right.

Bluntly, and without hesitation, Woohyun says, “I think you’re really cute.”

Sunggyu doesn’t know if this is the moment when he’s supposed to let it slip that he’s had his eye on Woohyun since before the world ended. Is it appropriate? Unlikely.

“You just gave me a heart attack,” Sunggyu says, “Don’t think you can butter me up with some fake compliments.”

Woohyun lets go of his hand in that moment, leaning back with a dark look on his face. “I’m not trying to mislead you or be a or anything. I think you’re cute. It’s not my fault if you can’t handle that. I’m not asking you to like me back or anything. I get why you wouldn’t.”

Sunggyu wants to tell him immediately that he’s wrong. He thinks that Woohyun is absolutely gorgeous. His eyes are so expressive, he’s tall and fit, and if Sunggyu is going purely based on looks, Woohyun is exactly his type. It helps, now, to know that he’s got a decent personality, and isn’t afraid to admit when he’s wrong or made a mistake. Not all people can do this so effortlessly.

But something keeps Sunggyu from saying anything. Instead, he gestures to the room around him and asks, “This where you’re sleeping?”

“I know, I know.” Woohyun gets to his feet with a groan, then holds a hand out for Sunggyu to help him up. He keeps his hand out, patient until Sunggyu is ready, and says, “It’s exactly what you’d expect the spoiled, captain’s kid to have as a room. It was my father’s first officer’s, but he was on land when … it … happened. I honestly inherited the room because of nepotism. I won’t try and hide that .I got this room because my father is captain.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Sunggyu agrees, “because I know four people who are sharing a space half this size. They each have a bunk to call their own, but that’s it. They don’t have any space for themselves, and no privacy.” The don’t have the ability to pace back and forth like Woohyun is doing now, they don’t have room for a desk and shelves like Sunggyu can see from where he is now.

But then he thinks of Sungyeol who has his own room, even if it’s only because of Jiyeon, and how he and Dongwoo have more space than what Hoya and Sungjong share with two others.

“Sorry,” Sunggyu offers right away. “I shouldn’t be judging you, based on the room you have. That isn’t fair.”

“It’s okay,” Woohyun says kindly, then finally pulls Sunggyu up to his feet.

“Hey,” Sunggyu says, actually curious, “Where did you get those toiletries from? The ones that you gave me. And the candy?”

Woohyun gestures Sunggyu over to the bed, then nudges out a large sized crate underneath. “Whoever this first officer was, I never met him by the way, he must have been running some kind of smuggling ring on this ship.” Woohyun pops open the crate and everything from bars of soap are lined in the space, to alcohol, batteries and anything else that might be worth bartering with.

Sunggyu admits, “When my brother saw what you gave me, he accused me of masterminding a black market ring on this ship. I thought he was just joking then, but maybe not. Maybe these things do exist.”

“Maybe,” Woohyun agrees. “This ship doesn’t spend a lot of time in a port. It’ll be out to sea for months at a time. It’s all supply and demand to a degree, and if there’s a want for something, you’d better believe there’s someone who knows how to get it. For a price, of course.”

Sunggyu makes a face. “Is that where the candy came from?”

“What?” Woohyun laughs out. “What’s that face for?”

“I don’t really like candy,” Sunggyu admits, “and I like illegally obtained and distributed candy even less.”

“Nah,” Woohyun says, “candy is perishable. There doesn’t seem to be anything of that nature in here.” He closes the crate with his foot and nudges it back under the bed. “How about you tell me what you want then? I was just guessing with the candy. I can get you something else.”

Woohyun is too egger, and obviously is seeking to please him. But Sunggyu is still uncomfortable with him, and the near miss of miscommunication earlier.

“You don’t need to do that,” Sunggyu says seriously. “I don’t want anything. And anyway, it’s not like the candy was just wasted. My friends really liked it, and I liked making them happy with it.”

A nod from Woohyun makes Sunggyu feel a little better.

“But if not from there,” Sunggyu asks, gesturing to the now hidden crate, “where did you get it from? The supply drop?”

Woohyun looks surprised and sits a bit heavily on the bed. “How’d you find out about that?”

Sunggyu waves off. “I know about the deal with the Taiwanese. I know we took on some of their survivors, and we got supplies in exchange.” That’s the kind of information that’s safe to admit to. But he certainly won’t say who told him, or how he knows.

“I’m impressed.” Woohyun leans back on his hands. “You can have a seat, you know.”

There are two options in the cabin. Sunggyu can either sit next to Woohyun on the bed, which seems like a bad idea considering how attractive he’s becoming to Sunggyu once again, or the chair at the desk. He chooses the latter, saying, “I’ve heard people talking. Soldiers. They said a lot of stuff came in on those supply drops.”

“Yeah,” Woohyun finally admits. “There were a few … delicacies that came in with the regular food. I think my father gave me the candy to try and butter me up to actually spending time with him. Or just being in the same room as him. Sorry to pass my ty family bribery candy off on you.”

Sunggyu reminds, “My friends really enjoyed it, so I’m not complaining about your damaged goods.”

Woohyun cracks a smile. “I take it your family wasn’t nearly so messed up?”

It’s strangely easy to talk to Woohyun. There’s no pressure to be something he’s not, or say the right thing. And there’s no judgment from Woohyun. In fact, it kind of feels like they’ve been talking to each other, telling each other important things, forever. Woohyun is naturally relatable, and easily classifiable as likable.

Woohyun makes it easy for Sunggyu to admit, “My parents were still in love when they … died. And I never had to lose a sibling to an accident, or a parent to a disease. But …”

“But?” Woohyun prompts.

Sunggyu begrudgingly admits, “I always kind of knew that my brother, Yunho was their favorite. Maybe because he was their first? I was pretty much the baby they didn’t expect, or really want. My parents tried not to show favoritism, and I’ll give them that, but I always knew. Yunho’s the one who never let me feel that way, though. He’s the kind of big brother that only comes around once in a while.”

Woohyun gives Sunggyu an understanding look. “My mom was an artist before she got pregnant with me, and my dad was going to be a military career guy from the moment he graduated high school. They didn’t want kids. I know, that’s kind of shocking to hear, but it does happen. So when my mom got pregnant, and they decided to keep me, that’s the moment, I think at least, when my dad just sort of detached himself from the family. I never saw him much growing up, and I always felt like my mom resented me a little for being born--she had to give up being a full time artist and limit putting her pieces on tour like she had been. Having a big brother to tell me that I’m loved and wanted would have been great. I hope you know how lucky you are.”

Sunggyu gave an emphatic nod. “Yunho has always been there for me, and never asked anything in return. I’ve always been able to count on him, and there is nothing I wouldn’t do for him. He’s the reason I’m alive right now. He didn’t know it at the time, but getting permission for me to tour the ship during the maneuvers, kept me out of danger.”

After a moment of quietness, Woohyun asks, “You think about it? How close you came to dying?”

“I try not to,” Sunggyu admits, tapping a finger on the desk in front of him. “Mostly I think about the things I’ll never get to do again. Like hang out with my old friends, and go to the mall, and watch TV.”

“Graduate high school,” Woohyun suggests, stretching out on the bed. “You were a senior right?” When Sunggyu nods, Woohyun says, “I was a junior. We were months away from the end of the semester. But that won’t happen now. And neither will college.”

Softly, Sunggyu says, “I misjudged you, Woohyun.”

Woohyun, with his impossibly handsome face, replies, “I let my anger over my father, cloud my opinion of someone I didn’t know. I couldn’t even see the cadet as a person in that moment. I only saw the uniform, and what it represents to me. Do you … know the cadet’s name? I’d like to apologize personally.”

Sunggyu cracks a smile. “Seungri doesn’t really strike me as the kind who cares about apologies. But he might take candy in the way of making amends. He’s certainly hyper enough to indicate he likes that sort of thing.” Sunggyu can see Woohyun thinking it over in his mind.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Sunggyu glances down at the watch on his wrist and groans, getting to his feet suddenly. He says, “It’s after twenty-one hundred hours. I’ve broken curfew. I have to get back.”

“Wait!” Woohyun says, bolting off the bed, nearly lunging for him. “Just … wait. Sunggyu.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to see you again,” Woohyun bursts out, then he groans and runs a hand over his face. “Sorry, sorry. Let me try this again. I’ll try to be less creepy.”

Sunggyu says, “You’ve been leaving me gifts in my room without signing your name or letting me know who you are. That’s creepy enough already. It can’t get much worse.”

Woohyun seems to be getting himself a quick peptalk, scratching his fingers through his hair and straightening up before clearing his throat and saying, “What I meant to say is, I don’t have a lot of people on this boat I can talk to. In fact, I don’t have any friends. And the people who spend time around me are either there because they have to, or because they think they can use my connections for something. I can’t talk to any of them about the things that bother me, but I’ve known you for such a short amount of time and I feel like I can tell you anything. I want to be your friend.”

Maybe Sunggyu hesitates too long, because he can see the panic and the worry and the doubt slowly creeping over Woohyun’s face. Sunggyu can practically hear him thinking, and maybe being self-deprecating.

So Sunggyu mentions, “I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning. You got an identification badge, didn’t you?”

Woohyun points to the card that’s sitting on the bedside table. If Sunggyu goes close enough, he has s a feeling it’s say that Woohyun is in group A.

“I didn’t go,” Woohyun says. “To dinner, either.”

“Why not?” Sunggyu questions.

Woohyun is quiet, and has no answer, and Sunggyu realizes quickly that he already knows the answer to his own question. Woohyun just told him he has no friends. How can Sunggyu expect Woohyun to show up for a meal that’s based around social habits and group dynamics?

Sunggyu settles on a solution before he even realizes it. He puts his hands on his hips and tells Woohyun, “I expect all my friends to get along. Especially now. We watch out for each other, protect each other, and there are no exceptions to loyalty. If you want to be my friend, you have to be their friend. Understand?”

Woohyun nods slowly.

“Good. We have breakfast together in the mornings. The rest of the day is a bust because Dongwoo has afternoon duty and Hoya and I have it in the night, but in the morning we’re together. So, should you choose to turn up tomorrow morning for the breakfast meal, to meet everyone and sit with us and be a part of our group, I’ll know you’re serous about wanting to be friends.”

He knows he’s said exactly the right thing by the way Woohyun’s gaze softens and his mouth curls up a little. “Got it.”

Sunggyu heads to the door, reminding, “Breakfast starts at six. Don’t be late. Seats in the commissary go fast.”

Sunggyu’s only just starting to pull the door open, he’s got it that much about an inch, when a loud, blaring siren cuts through the air. It’s sharp and staccato and it’s unlike anything Sunggyu has ever heard before.

“No!” Woohyun slams into the door so ferociously that Sunggyu shouts loudly and leaps back himself.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Sunggyu demands.

But he only has a few seconds of reprieve before Woohyun is spinning the lock on the door, then wrenching around to hold tight to Sunggyu and throwing them both to the ground.

The ship lurches, metal screaming as it twists, and Sunggyu’s ears ache from the pitch of the explosion that follows. Woohyun is crouched over him, protectively shielding his head, and they roll together when the ship lists suddenly. They end up wedged under the bed just a little, Woohyun screaming at him to stay still and Sunggyu screaming because he’s scared.

The alarm cuts out a second later, and just as quickly a second one follows, this one much lower in frequency and longer in tone. Sunggyu doesn’t understand the difference between the two of them, but neither can be good. It’s the first time Sunggyu has heard either.

Woohyun levels himself off Sunggyu and slides out from where he’s been pushed a bit under the bed. He takes a long, deep breath, then turns to Sunggyu and asks, “Are you okay? We hit the ground hard.”

Sunggyu’s heart his thumping so hard he can feel his pulse at his temple, and he braces his own hands on the ground, trying to get up. “What just happened?”

Woohyun puts his back to the bed and drags Sunggyu close, keeping them both low to the floor and closer than can be considered comfortable.

An answer for Sunggyu’s answer is cutoff by the heavy sound of artillery being discharged.

“Oh, god,” Sunggyu mumbles. He understands all too quickly. They’re being attacked. They’re under attack. This is a military ship, but it isn’t a destroyer or carrier. It isn’t meant for heavy battle, but they’re engaging in one anyway.

“It’s going to be okay,” Woohyun says, palming his hand to the back of Sunggyu’s head.

Sunggyu can’t help shouting again as the ship rockets to the side, nearly throwing them with it. And it seems such a long time before the ship rights itself once more.

This is it, Sunggyu fears. This is where he dies. In a tin can, in the middle of the ocean.

“We’re going to die,” Sunggyu says, voice cracking as he fights for breath. “We’re going to die. Oh, god. We’re going to die.”

“Hey!”

Woohyun turns to him sharply, taking Sugngyu’s face in his hands. He forces Sunggyu to turn so Woohyun is the only thing he can see and focus on.

“We’re going to die,” Sunggyu says again.

“Close your eyes,” Woohyun demands, and it’s so rough of a request that Sunggyu finds himself complying. “Good. Keep them closed. Just focus on my voice. Nothing else matters. We’re not going to die and nothing outside the room matters. Just me and you. Focus. Are you focusing, Sunggyu?”

“I …” Sunggyu in a breath. “I am.”

“Good. Good. Now, this ship is roughly the same size as the Chungmugong Yi Sunsin class destroyer. Just a little smaller. It holds a full complement of two hundred and fifty soldiers, but right now we’re sitting at around a hundred, and thirty or so of those are officers. There are just over two hundred civilians, which puts us at max capacity.”

“Woohyun,” Sunggyu chokes out.

Woohyun continues, “There are a half dozen anti missile defense launchers, three anti ship launchers, several defense systems against submarine attacks, and if the worst should come, a highly advanced close range weapons system that will keep this ship safe. We are being attacked, Sunggyu. There’s no use in me lying about that, but trust in the people who run this ship. Trust that they know how to do their jobs, and that they will do them to the very best of their capabilities. Your brother isn’t the only exceptional solider on this ship.”

Sunggyu’s breath starts to calm just a bit as he takes in Woohyun’s words. The guns are still sounding, quick and defiantly, but they’re not so scary anymore. Not now that he realizes these are the defense systems. And the ship seemingly hasn’t been hit in a few minutes.

“We’re going to be fine,” Woohyun says, fingers carding through Sunggyu’s hair. “I hate my father, Sunggyu, but he’s the most brilliant captain I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot of them now. He will get us through this, if only so he can tell everyone how amazing he is.”

Sunggyu manages, “Who would attack us?” He opens his eyes and looks to Woohyun instinctively.

“Who wouldn’t?” Woohyun challenges. “We’re obviously carrying a lot of useful fuel, and with the civilian population on board there’s sure to be a lot of supplies. Someone--anyone more desperate would see us as a good opportunity.”

“But the other ships with us,” Sunggyu says. “Who would risk all of them?”

“I don’t know,” Woohyun says honestly. “Maybe someone who thought they had an advantage. I really don’t know. But what we need to do is stay exactly where we are. The first alarm was to warn of an impending impact. It’s the warning that you have only mere seconds to secure yourself somewhere as safe as possible. The second is the call to arms.”

“I didn’t know,” Sunggyu mumbles, and seconds later he’s fighting Woohyun’s grip to get to his feet.

“Stop!” Woohyun yells, trying to drag him away from the door Sunggyu is leaning for. Sunggyu is taller, but Woohyun is stronger, and he’s just able to snag Sunggyu at the last second and toss him back to the bed. He barricades himself across the door and says, “You can’t go out there!”

“I didn’t know about the alarms!” Sunggyu shouts back, so angry and desperate. “That means none of the other civilians did. They wouldn’t have known to brace themselves. They wouldn’t have expected the hit, or had someone like you to keep them safe. I have to get back to Dongwoo! No, wait. I have to go to Sungyeol first. He’s got Jiyeon.”

Woohyun grounds out, “You aren’t leaving this room.”

“Jiyeon is a baby! She or Sungyeol could be hurt!”

Something hits the ship again, though less severe this time, and Woohyun snaps, “Do you want to end up possibly being the one to hurt any of your friends?”

Sunggyu freezes, only moving as the ship sways, sending him rocking back on the bed. He rights himself almost immediately and demands, “What does that mean?”

Woohyun knocks his knuckles against the door. “This is a ship, and there’s always a possibility of flooring or worse, so this door is airtight. But if you could hear or see what’s going on outside this door, you’d realize that you can’t go out there. Right now everyone who is military is working to keep us alive. They’re either glued to their stations, or moving around as necessary. Behind this door people are running every which way, but it’s an organized chaos, and they all know what to do.”

When Sunggyu doesn’t speak, Woohyun risks leaving his position at the door to sit next to him on the bed. He takes Sunggyu’s hand in his once more, this time determined not to let go.

“I’d be in the way,” Sunggyu assumes.

“Yes,” Woohyun agrees. “But more importantly, you might slow someone down. And that someone might be carrying vital information, or going to man a gun that saves all our lives. Or what if you come across someone who feels duty bound to your brother to keep you out of harm’s way? You’d be interfering in their ability to protect this ship, so that they can deal with you first. We have to stay out of their way, Sunggyu. Seconds count in moments like these.”

The frustration is terrible in Sunggyu’s chest, but he recognizes reason for what it is. But he can still feel the urge to run in him, lurking too near the surface. He doesn’t trust himself. He can’t trust himself.

He can only trust Woohyun, and the truth of the statement is sobering.

“Woah,” Woohyun grunts out as Sunggyu’s arms come around him. It’s terribly embarrassing for Sunggyu, who’s not clingy in the least bit, and doesn’t thrive on skinship like Dongwoo seems to. But he sees their contact as a necessity, if only to stop himself from getting someone hurt. “Hey, now.”

Sunggyu snaps out, feeling Woohyun told him tightly, “Don’t get the wrong idea. And don’t be a .”

“Don’t ruin the moment,” Woohyung returns lightening fast, his fingers splayed out on Sunggyu’s broad back. “It’s not every day I get to have a beautiful guy in my arms.”

“Don’t call me beautiful, you jerk. I’ll hit you again.”

Woohyun chuckles, holding Sunggyu tighter as the guns really pick up, firing faster than before. Sunggyu tenses and Woohyun flinches, but otherwise neither of them moves.

Woohyun does say, however, “Alright. I won’t call you beautiful. Just handsome.”

Sunggyu clenches his teeth at the next round of gunfire, and almost at a whisper, repeats to himself that they will not die. They have not come all this way to die now. Yunho won’t let him die, and there is no one better at their job than Yunho.

“I said we would be okay,” Woohyun tells him, “and I won’t let anyone make a liar out of me. Not to you. We will be okay.”

Miraculously, they are.

The clock on the wall says it takes seventeen minutes for the last gun to fire for the last time. Sunggyu half expects to hear another one and for the cycle to start over again. But instead there are softer beeps sounding through the ship. Three long beeps, pauses, then the beeps again.

“It’s the all clear,” Woohyun says, nearly sagging with relief. “The captain wouldn’t give the all clear unless it was completely safe.”

“Safe,” Sunggyu says, feeling a little hysterical.

When Woohyun is finally willing to open the door, after another thirty seconds of listening to the all clear sign, Sunggyu sees what feels like the whole of the ship in the narrow hallway.

There are soldiers complaining loudly about the scared civilians, trying to squeeze past them. And plenty of civilians are looking shaken and terrified, looking for answers from members of the military who seem reluctant to say anything on what’s just happened.

“I need to go back to my cabin,” Sunggyu says when he feels Woohyun step into the hallway behind him. “I have to go check on Dongwoo. You said it’s all clear now, so I’m going.” He almost dares Woohyun to try and stop him now.

“Okay,” Woohyun says, closing the cabin door behind him. He nods down the hallway and says, “I’ll walk you there, then.”

Angrily, Sunggyu says, “I don’t need a babysitter anymore.”

Woohyun teases, “You’re even more attractive when you’re mad, you know.”

Sunggyu ignores him, taking off down the hallway immediately. He has to sandwich past people almost immediately, but it’s better than staying and being taunted by a boy he can never actually have.

“Wait!” Woohyun catches Sunggyu by the arm and jerks him to a stop.

“What?!”

Woohyun has the decency to look at least a little apologetic, as he says, “No joking, I get it. But Sunggyu, I didn’t offer to walk to back to your cabin because I think you’re a kid who’s going to wander off and get into trouble. Give me more credit than that, please.”

Sunggyu forces himself to be calm. “Then why?”

Woohyun pulls them further to the side and out of the way of several soldiers going by. He makes a point to ask flatly, “Do you actually know where you are on the ship?”

Sunggyu pauses. “Deck …” he looks around for the deck designations that are usually printed on the walls every couple of feet. “Deck C.”

“Aft or starboard side?” Woohyun presses. “And more importantly, when you figure out all that, will you actually know how to get back to your section of the ship? Without spending the next fifteen minutes wandering around? Sunggyu, I only wanted to help you back to your cabin so you could get there in a timely fashion, and avoid getting in anyone’s way. That’s it.”

“Oh,” Sunggyu breathes out.

Woohyun looks so damn smug as he slides his fingers between Sunggyu’s, locking their hands together. “Let’s go, then. There’s a stairwell we can take ahead that’ll get us to your deck faster than the main route.”

“Let go of my hand,” Sunggyu protests, allowing Woohyun to pull him along. “Are you listening to me?”

“Nope.” Woohyun grins.

Sunggyu endures.