KyuJong sighed a little when YoungSaeng pulled away, opening his eyes to look into the older man's. "...Maybe I—" he blinked, the smell of smoke reaching his nose. "We doused the fire already right?" he asked, breathing in again. "Do you smell smoke?"

Frowning, YoungSaeng breathed in as well. "…We douse the fire a while ago…it shouldn't smell so…" He let go of KyuJong and went to the stairs, leaning over to look down.

"It's coming from the lower floors," he looked back at KyuJong before running down the staircase. "Find the others and get them out, I'm checking on the caravan!"

"Saeng, wait!" KyuJong tried to stop him, swearing when YoungSaeng disappeared down the stairs. He didn't take any time to decide, running back through the door and back to where the others were the others were still bickering amongst each other. RyeoWook had found Kevin and KiBum by that time luckily.

JungMin opened his eyes when he heard the door slam open and KyuJong leaning against the door frame. "Fire, lower levels!" he said, slightly out of breath before disappearing again.

"Kyu!" JungMin called after him to no avail, struggling to get to his feet. "HyungJoon, go after him and find out what the hell is going on."

HyungJoon scrambled to his feet, grabbing his gun and running out of the door. KyuHyun's lips pressed into a thin line and he grabbed JungMin's hand, pulling him up to his feet. "We need to get out of here."

"KyuJong, what happened?" HyungJoon caught up to the older man. "Where's YoungSaeng?"

"He went to go check on the caravan, the building is on fire," KyuJong said, barely acknowledging HyungJoon as he went back into the stairwell and started down the stairs.

They had left the caravan in one of the back halls, guarded by a steel door. Reaching the first floor, YoungSaeng coughed and covered his mouth against the heavy smoke. It was very warm, and when he stepped out into the hallway, he found why. The front half of the building was on fire, flames up the walls and charring them black.

Heading towards where they'd left the caravan and glad to see there was no fire in the back of the building, YoungSaeng ducked back out of the way when a bullet ricochetted off the wall next to him. So the fire was to flush them out. Pulling out his gun, YoungSaeng pressed his shoulder against the wall and waited for the bullets to stop before taking the corner. He fired three rounds, hearing a yelp of pain from behind an old desk. Gunfire rang out again and YoungSaeng ducked back around the corner. He hissed in pain, looking down at where blood slowly seeped through his sleeve.

The sound of gunfire made KyuJong pause if but briefly, nearly stumbling down the stairs. "," he exchanged a glance with HyungJoon as he continued down. Reaching the first floor, he pulled his shotgun from the strap on his back and edged out of the stairwell, weapon at the ready as he glanced left and right. "Saeng!" he called, wincing at the sound of more shots being fired. "Right or left?"

Waiting for an opening to return fire, YoungSaeng glanced behind him at KyuJong's voice. "Right!" He yelled back. When the bullets stopped, he leaned around the corner and fired back, scowling when whoever was attacking him hid behind the desk.

KyuJong motioned to HyungJoon. "I'm going to Saeng, you cut around and try to flank whoever the hell it is that's shooting at him," he murmured, crouching down as he left the stairwell.

It was easy enough to figure out where YoungSaeng was, following the sounds of gunfire. "You able to see how many?" he asked, coming up beside the older man. His eyes narrowed when he saw the blood but chose not to say anything right then, it would do little good.

"At least three, who knows if there's more farther on," YoungSaeng glanced at KyuJong. He could see the smoke behind them getting thicker. "Where are the others?"

"Upstairs, getting together to get out," KyuJong said. "And HyungJoon's out picking daisies. How are we going to get through these s?"

YoungSaeng's lips thinned, eyes searching their immediate surroundings. There was nothing they could use, but there were things to hide behind farther down. If they could reach them. "I'm going to get closer and take them out. Cover for me?"

"You be careful, here," KyuJong held out his shotgun. "Give me your pistol, shotgun is better for close range. Please don't get yourself killed."

Exchanging his pistol for KyuJong's shotgun, YoungSaeng's lips quirked into a grim smile. "Don't plan on it." He shifted position, crouching low. "Ready?"

"Ready," KyuJong nodded. Taking a deep breath, he rolled around the corner and started shooting. He saw a couple heads drop, whether from being hit or to get away from the gunfire he had no idea, but he wasn't going to bet on them being that lucky.

The second KyuJong started shooting, YoungSaeng ducked around the corner. He made it to the desk he'd seen one attacker hide behind, skidding around the side. The guy hiding from KyuJong's bullets didn't stand a chance; one shotgun blast later he was sprawled out on the floor dead.

Reloading, YoungSaeng crouched down and aimed again. When KyuJong's cover fire stopped, one head poked up to return fire. YoungSaeng didn't let him, shooting him in the head and watching him drop. The third person he could see was already down thanks to KyuJong, face-down on the floor. "Clear," he called, keeping an eye out for anyone else hiding.

Keeping low, KyuJong made his way over to where YoungSaeng was. "We have to assume there's more outside. I doubt three people would go against anyone in a fortified position, even if they did set the building on fire. We run out of here with the caravan we'll be mowed down."

"If we stay in here much longer, it won't matter." YoungSaeng coughed against the smoke. Suddenly he heard gun fire erupt outside. "That must be our daisy-picker. He'll need help," he held out KyuJong's shotgun to the younger man. "You're a better shot with this, I'll stick with my pistol."

"You did just fine," KyuJong chuckled, taking back his gun. "We need to go and support HyungJoon before he's taken out. What's the plan?"

"Take them from different angles. Joon went around the other side? I'll go after them from the door straight ahead, there's another exit to the south you can take. Pick them off from the windows if you can." YoungSaeng took his pistol back. "If you see any of the others, we need KyuHyun helping us, JungMin and the others need to get the caravan ready to roll. Maybe Joon was right, we've overstayed our welcome here."

"Not the time for that," KyuJong said. "Keep your head down." Touching YoungSaeng's arm briefly, he backtracked down the hall to where it let out to the larger hallway. The smoke was a thick haze that burned his eyes but he could see the others coming from the stairwell. "KyuHyun, we could use your help right now," he said. "JungMin, get the others to the caravan and be ready to run when we say so."

"I don't like that there's a fight I'm not in," JungMin said, KiBum helping him walk. "Where's Saeng?"

"End of the hall, we have to move quickly, this whole place is about to go up," KyuJong said, coughing into his elbow.

"Well what are we waiting for," KyuHyun hurried down the hallway, drawing an arrow out of his quiver. Kevin carried their packs with RyeoWook, eyes wide as they all followed JungMin. He swallowed thickly when he saw the dead bodies up ahead and their pools of blood, averting his eyes.

KyuHyun took one of the back hallways, finding what used to be an office area with large windows opening to the outside. Most of them were smashed, and he ducked down behind the window frame out of sight of the chaos outside. Looking out, he could count at least five enemies still alive. Some were down on the ground. Those alive were focused on a nearby building, HyungJoon shooting at them from behind the cover of a dumpster.

Another gun shot rang out, one of the men dropping. YoungSaeng ducked back around the door when he was shot at. KyuHyun got into position, pulling the string taut and waiting for a clear shot.

Finding a window with a clear view, KyuJong frowned at the scene outside. His weapon was useless at this range and he knew YoungSaeng and HyungJoon didn't have an unlimited supply of ammunition on them. They needed a diversion to be able to get the caravan and the rest out. Getting an idea, he scooted back away from the window, he made his way to where they had the caravan stored. The horses were understandably anxious and frightened with the smoke in their noses and the sounds of gunfire.

"Wook, I need whatever liquor you've got," KyuJong said, hopping into the back of the caravan.

"... Do you really think this is the time to start drinking?" RyeoWook said, though he helped in digging in one of the trunks, bringing out two bottles of vodka. "JungMin's not going to be happy, those are his."

"I'll repay him," KyuJong said, opening the bottles. Taking one of the bedsheets, he ripped off small strips and stuffed them into the necks of the bottles. Gathering the bottles up in his arms, he hopped out of the caravan and raced back towards where YoungSaeng was. "Hey, you got a lighter?" he asked, dropping down onto the ground beside him.

Breathing unevenly, YoungSaeng glanced back at KyuJong, reloading his pistol. It was the last round he had on him. "Yeah," he nodded, eyes going to the bottles. He fished the lighter out of his pocket, passing it to KyuJong. "Try not to catch Joon on fire." He heard a sharp thwack and peered around the corner to see someone who'd tried to sneak up on HyungJoon on the ground, arrow in his back.

"I won't miss," KyuJong said. "Go get KyuHyun and get to the caravan, once these go off we're not going to have a lot of time to get clear before they shake it off. I'll grab Joon and be right behind you."

YoungSaeng nodded, meeting KyuJong's eyes. "…You better be." he clasped KyuJong's shoulder lightly before slipping around him to disappear into the hallways.

He found KyuHyun picking off another attacker from his vantage point. "Let's go, Kyu's going to blow them sky-high," YoungSaeng said, turning to go back to the caravan. KyuHyun followed after him, another arrow to the bow.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked as he reached the caravan, climbing up into the front bench.

"Ready as we can be," RyeoWook said, passing him the reigns. "KiBum and Kevin have the horses, where are HyungJoon and KyuJong?"

"They'll follow after us." YoungSaeng took the reins, wincing at a stab of pain from his arm. "Let's head out." He saw KyuHyun take HyungJoon's horse off of KiBum to climb up onto it. He went ahead of the caravan to make sure the way was clear.

"All good," KyuHyun called back, and YoungSaeng snapped the reins. The caravan edged forward, gaining momentum. "…Oh that's a lot of fire," KyuHyun's voice floated back to them as they made it out into the streets, heading away from the burning building and alley.

Sitting at the back of the caravan with a rifle drawn, JungMin watched out the flap with a grim expression. "I'm not seeing them Saeng, were they right behind—" He was cut off when a large bloom of fire went up and people in the street started screaming. KyuJong's molotav cocktails had hit their mark and one of the attackers was on fire. Before anyone had a chance to retaliate, a second fireball went up nearby and a hail of gunfire was pushing the attackers back toward a side street. "KyuHyun! They're going to need some cover fire!"

"On it!" KyuHyun wheeled his horse around. As he passed by the front bench YoungSaeng tossed him his pistol, the archer securing his bow behind him and firing with the pistol instead.

JungMin fired off a few rounds as well, aiming towards where the attackers were hiding behind a couple rusted out cars. From the metal doors the caravan had emerged from, JungMin could see HyungJoon coming out first, KyuJong not far behind. They took turns in covering for one another as they made their way towards the caravan.

"Fall back KyuHyun, we're leaving!" JungMin yelled, seeing KiBum riding past, holding out his hand for KyuJong to take and climb up behind him. "Pick up Joon on the way!"

KyuHyun grabbed HyungJoon's hand when the other man reached him, pulling him up behind him. "Don't break my bow," KyuHyun tossed over his shoulder as he wheeled the horse around to follow the caravan.

YoungSaeng guided the caravan through the maze of streets, the crackling of the fire and screaming slowly becoming muffled by concrete walls. "Are you both okay?" he asked as the two horses drew even with the caravan.

"Just fine," KyuJong said, a little out of breath. "When we get out of the city we're going to need to stop and regroup."

"I doubt we'll be followed, we hit them pretty hard," JungMin called from the back of the caravan.

"But I'm sure the noise alerted anyone in the area about us, we can't afford to stop," RyeoWook said. "What should we do Saeng?"

YoungSaeng looked between them, HyungJoon coughing harshly behind KyuHyun; he'd caught a few good lungfuls of black smoke. "We'll get out of the city, then stop. We're close to the city's edge. JungMin, keep watching our back."

"Yes boss," JungMin said, getting himself comfortable.

RyeoWook sighed, leaning back on the bench. "I can take the reigns boss, we'll get your arm looked at when we stop for the night but you should at least get the bleeding stopped."

YoungSaeng frowned but nodded, passing the reins to RyeoWook. "Keep them on this street, it leads right out." He went into the caravan to find clean bandages; by then most of his sleeve had turned red.

"Well this isn't comfortable," KyuHyun grumbled when HyungJoon accidentally hit his quiver and the strap pulled on his shoulder. "I'm moving to the caravan, you can have your horse back." He nudged the horse faster and stopped a bit ahead of the caravan, dismounting with his bow and quiver. When the caravan drew close, he swung himself up into the front bench with RyeoWook. "Hi."

Glancing over, RyeoWook gave KyuHyun a strained smile. "Hi. It's a good thing you didn't get shot, I would have killed you."

"Good to know you would have put me out of my misery." KyuHyun rested his quiver against the bench, bow in his lap with an arrow notched just in case. "Well, wasn't that fun."

"Yes, lots of fun," RyeoWook scowled, looking over at him. "Guess we stayed one too many nights huh."

"Yeah…It was nice while it lasted." KyuHyun watched the buildings around them. "Haven't had a chance to rest like that in a while."

"Probably won't again for a while," RyeoWook said, glancing at YoungSaeng over his shoulder. "Boss is going to be spooked now."

"Don't really blame him, but what happened is hardly out of the ordinary." KyuHyun looked at RyeoWook beside him. "Are you spooked too?"

"Of course I am, that was just a little too close back there, for everyone," RyeoWook said, his fingers tightening on the reins. "And we're not even out of this yet."

"We're just about there. Do you want me to take the horses?" KyuHyun frowned.

"No, no I'm okay," RyeoWook said. "You just... keep an eye out. I'm not the one with the weapon here."

"We'll be fine, Wook." KyuHyun clasped his shoulder firmly. "So just take a deep breath and trust me to keep your head on your shoulders, okay?"

"I do trust you," RyeoWook said. "I'll be okay, the sooner we get out of the city the better."

It took an hour to clear the city, and another after that until they were past the suburban sprawl and back in the relative safety of the trees. They'd gone that whole time without seeing another soul. When they reached a small stream, YoungSaeng called for a break.

"KiBum, Kevin, take care of the horses," he said, climbing down from the caravan and patting the lead horse on the neck.

"Yes boss," KiBum said, dismounting after KyuJong had dropped down.

"I'll get a fire going, we could probably use a hot meal right now," RyeoWook said. "KyuJong, could you look after Saeng and his injury?"

"Yeah, I'm on it," KyuJong said, walking towards the caravan. "You're not going to protest I hope?" he asked YoungSaeng.

"I don't think I have much choice in the matter," YoungSaeng sighed, turning to face him. "It's just a graze wound, it'll be fine."

"Doesn't mean it doesn't need to be looked at," KyuJong said, lips quirking slightly. "Let's get that shirt off and see if you need to be sewn up or not."

"Let's move indoors then," YoungSaeng wrinkled his nose a little before heading back into the caravan. Sitting himself down on a bench, he pulled off his shirt, jaw clenching tightly as his sleeve caught on the bandages he'd wrapped around his forearm. "See? Under control." He set the shirt aside.

"If by under control you mean it's not bleeding all over the place, then sure," KyuJong said, pulling the lamp a little closer so he could look at YoungSaeng's injury. Peeling back the bandage, he made a face. "Lucky for you I don't think this is deep enough to need stitches, but it's still pretty deep. We'll have to sanitize it."

"Someone used up all our alcohol," JungMin pointed out, sprawled out in the back of the caravan still.

"One more thing we'll need to pick up in the next town." YoungSaeng looked up at KyuJong's face, lips curled into a wry smile. "I'll wash it out, it's fine. You aren't injured after that stunt, right?"

"Just a little singed, I'm okay otherwise," KyuJong said, grabbing a canteen of water and a clean cloth. "I know it's not my place to say anything YoungSaeng, but if we're all in this thing together, then maybe you shouldn't run off without backup like you did back there. Could have ended up a lot worse than a graze wound running into a situation like that."

"Waiting for back-up could have just as easily gotten us all killed too," YoungSaeng replied. "Someone needed to scout out the situation, which is what I did."

"Two seconds to wait for me wouldn't have made a difference," KyuJong said, looking up into YoungSaeng's eyes. "I can't watch your back if I'm not there Saeng."

"He's kind of got a point there boss," JungMin said.

YoungSaeng wrinkled his nose at JungMin. "I wait for people to watch my back when it's necessary. Making sure everyone else was alerted and got out safely was more important. If RyeoWook and the kids hadn't been back, finding them would have been first priority."

"Well, at least we're all in one piece, that's the important part," KyuJong said, slowly and gently cleaning out YoungSaeng's wound. "Do we have a plan for what's next after this?"

Trying not to wince, YoungSaeng leaned back and closed his eyes. "We're…just about at the coast, so we'll head to the next town on the trade route. Running low on supplies. I'm sorry JungMin, I know you wanted to avoid Seoul but at this point we're going to need the trade."

"What I wanted to avoid in Seoul we already dealt with," JungMin shrugged. "We need supplies, and a job would be nice too. We're running low on tradeable goods."

"Maybe we'll find someone we can across the country," YoungSaeng chuckled. "For a good price of course." He flinched back with a quiet hiss at a stab of pain from the cloth against his arm. "Ow."

"We're going to have to heal up pretty quick, no one's going to hire us if our leader's been shot and I look like I went through a meat grinder," JungMin said. "Maybe the next town we can see if anyone needs transport to Seoul. Not too many hired muscle come through the smaller compounds, with any luck we'll find someone who needs to go."

"... What's the next compound we're going to?" KyuJong asked, his brow furrowing a little.

YoungSaeng's brow furrowed as he tried to remember what was next on their route. "Mmm… Yongpo, should only be a day away. After that we're on to Yesan, then north to Seoul."

"I'm sure we'll be able to find some supplies and a client between now and Seoul," JungMin said. "Our luck isn't that bad."

"Are we sticking here till morning or are we going to try and keep going all night?" KyuJong asked, fixing new bandages to YoungSaeng's arm.

"We'll move out once we've had some food, get some more distance from the city," YoungSaeng opened his eyes, looking down at KyuJong. "Still have some hours to go before dark, we'll stop again then. Min, once we're on the road again, get Wook to check your injuries. How're you feeling?"

"I feel like a pampered princess, how do you think I feel?" JungMin rolled his eyes. "I think I can sit on a horse now Saeng. I feel useless sitting in this box all day and it's bumpy as hell."

"If Wook says you're okay to ride your horse again, go for it," YoungSaeng chuckled. "You have to get through him, not me. And then get your horse back from Kevin, I think he's finally getting the hang of horseback riding."

"... Wookie! I need your doctoring skills!" JungMin called, struggling to get to his feet.

KyuJong rolled his eyes as JungMin got out of the caravan and started yelling for RyeoWook who was either ignoring him, or busy. "Guess he wants his horse back," KyuJong mused, sitting down next to YoungSaeng. "You know, I was thinking that tonight's probably going to be a little chilly, and we really aren't going to want to have a fire going in case there's more people out here waiting to rob us in our sleep."

"That's very true," YoungSaeng mused, tilting his head to look at KyuJong beside him. "Any suggestions on what we should do, then?"

KyuJong shrugged a little. "Was just thinking out loud is all. I don't know about you, but I'm going to be a little cold overnight."

YoungSaeng looked at KyuJong for a long moment, searching the younger man's expression. "…Could be warmer sleeping together," he murmured. "Share body heat."

"Well, that's an interesting idea," KyuJong replied, glancing up at him. "I'll keep it in mind."

"Food's up Saeng!" RyeoWook called from outside the caravan. "Better hurry before KyuHyun eats it all."

Lips curling upwards, YoungSaeng called back, "We're coming!" He didn't move off the bench just yet though, fingers lightly tucking under KyuJong's chin to press a soft kiss to his lips.

KyuJong returned the kiss, pulling away after a moment to look into YoungSaeng eyes before getting to his feet. "It's going to be a little inconvenient now that we don't have another room to hide in when we want some time to ourselves," he said, holding out his hand to YoungSaeng.

"We'll deal," YoungSaeng chuckled, taking the hand and standing. "At least you'll sleep better under the clear sky than in a closed-in room, hm?"

"Much better," KyuJong said, going to the back of the caravan and hopping out. He helped YoungSaeng down before letting go to walk over to where RyeoWook had the small fire going. The lunch was good, though it wasn't anything special.

They were back on the road within the hour, YoungSaeng not wanting to stay any longer than they had to. They didn't stop again until it was well into the night, the sun had long since set. It was dangerous to ride at night, the horses could stumble and come up lame and no one wanted to put the horses at risk.

Dinner was much the same as lunch, though it was a cold meal of dried beef and hard tack. They discussed plans til llate, deciding which route would be best to take towards their next goal. KyuJong took first watch that night, though he found it hard not to look towards a figure sleeping on the ground from time to time. Maybe he had woken up HyungJoon for his shift a little earlier than he should have, but he was cold. When HyungJoon found a place off in the trees to sit out his shift, KyuJong slipped over to where YoungSaeng was and quietly slid underneath the man's blankets.

Stirring, YoungSaeng's eyes slowly cracked open, hazed over with sleep. He blinked at KyuJong before his lips curled into a tired smile. "You're freezing," he whispered, voice a little scratchy. He didn't let KyuJong move away though, one arm slipping around the younger man's waist and tucking the blankets in around them.

"I know," KyuJong murmured in reply, nuzzling his nose into YoungSaeng's neck. "You going to warm me up?" he said as he pressed a light kiss to the man's skin.

Eyes half-closing at the kiss, YoungSaeng ran his hand slowly up and down KyuJong's back. "You'll be warm again before you know it," he whispered, KyuJong's hair tickling his nose as he settled back down to sleep. "Good night, Kyu yah."

"Night Saeng," KyuJong replied, closing his eyes and letting himself drift off to a well deserved sleep.