they didn't know each other from before.

they met when soonyoung was on a run with seungcheol, in some small little town he didnt know the name of. jihoon was there, a shock of bright pink hair amongst the living dead, trying to fight his way through with only a swiss army knife. soonyoung, immediately intrigued by the pastel locks, pulled out the knife he kept strapped to his belt to help. 

once the small group of walkers had been cleared, soonyoung figured it was time to make some introductions.
"so, uhhh... i'm soonyoung. that's seungcheol." the curious male said while nodding his head in the direction of his friend, "and you are?"
the shortest of them all threw a skeptical glare at him, before looking away and mumbling a quiet "....jihoon" under his breath.
soonyoung nodded, looking at seungcheol to see if he was on the same page. 
speaking for the first time, seungcheol said, "so jihoon, you lookin' for a group to stay with?"

it had been almost a year since then. soonyoung and jihoon were out on another run, just the two of them this time. seungcheol stopped going on runs when he started getting serious with jeonghan, but soonyoung didnt mind. in fact, he preferred the company he got from the smaller boy. he found his dry sense of humor much nicer than the nervous energy seungcheol always carried with him whenever he left the group behind. 

they were in the middle of scouting some old drug store for any leftover supplies that could prove to be useful, when jihoon let out a rare but pure shout of glee. soonyoung rolled his eyes with a smile on his face, knowing it meant the other boy had found a box of pink hair dye. 
"hyung, look!  you'll help me dye my hair tonight, right? my roots have been showing for like two months!" jihoon said with a pout.
soonyoung, overwhelmed with the sudden fondness he felt blooming in his chest, could only nod.

later that night, when soonyoung and jihoon were sitting by the fire, jihoon with foil and dye in his hair and a towel around his neck, soonyoung finally decided it was time to ask the question he had been wondering about since the day he met the younger boy. 
"so, jihoonie... you've never actually told me. why do you dye your hair pink? i mean, it's kinda the end of the world... there's really no need to try to be fashion forward." he rambled, finishing it with a nervous chuckle that made jihoon look at him way too closely for his liking.

"oh. well, uh, to be honest i just kind of think it'd be funny that, if i died, there'd be this walker roaming around with bright pink hair." jihoon said casually, not meeting soonyoungs eyes. 

soonyoung gave a soft snort at that, before leaning over and gently grabbing jihoons chin to turn him so he would look at him. with a blush on his cheeks at their sudden close proximity, soonyoung stated, "jihoon, c'mon. you can trust me."

jihoon gulped. his eyes went wide, and he was quiet for so long soonyoung started to retreat. realizing he didnt want soonyoung to leave his side, he quickly grabbed soonyoungs hand and started playing with his fingers. while looking at soonyoungs hand in-between his own, he started to talk.

"do you remember the day you found me?"
with a nod from soonyoung, who was staring at jihoon attentively with a blush as pink as jihoons hair, the shorter male continued. 

"that day, when you and seungcheol offered me shelter, a group, a home.... that was the first time i got to experience that since this whole thing started. my parents died when i was 18, and i was an only child.... plus i, uh, i was kind of a loner.... i didn't really have many friends. which meant that i was alone, in this awful, scary world, from the get-go. and i was alright for a few weeks, i got by... but then, i started to lose hope. in myself, in the world, in everything. i could only see the world as a horrid, dark place and i was really starting to think that there was nothing left in this world that would make it worth living. i told myself that i'd try to survive one more week, and if i didn't find some sort of beacon of hope, i'd... well, you get it. and then, i found the pink hair dye. and it probably sounds stupid, but when i saw the box on the shelf with the beautiful woman, smiling with her bright pink hair... she just looked so happy. so i grabbed it, and i dyed my hair, right there in that store. and the next day was the day that i met you, soonyoung."

"jihoonie.." soonyoung whispered, not out of fear of attracting the living dead, but instead because he was afraid to break the intimate atmosphere he currently shared with the younger. 

taking a deep breath, and finally looking into soonyoungs eyes, jihoon let out a quiet "you were my hope, soonyoung. and i dye my hair pink so i can remind myself to never lose hope.... to never lose you."

soonyoung, unable to hold it in any longer, lunged at the smaller boy. he gripped him in a tight hug, tears pressing into his shirt. after a few minutes, he looked up into jihoons shocked expression. his apology for his sudden outburst was cut short when jihoon moved his hands up to wipe away the tears staining soonyoungs face. even though the tears were gone, jihoons hands remained, cupping soonyoungs cheeks. it was only natural when they both leaned in, and when their lips touched, they both forgot about the world they were living in. they forgot about the fright, they forgot about the sadness, and they forgot about the walking dead. they both knew that as long as they had each other, they would never lose hope again.

so, no. they didn't know each other from before. but that didn't matter. because they would both live happily and hopefully through the after as long as they had each other.