"Here we are."

IU smiled widely as she opened the door. Jungkook and Jin entered first with Mingyu's arms hanging around their shoulders. The rest could hear rustling inside as if the people in the room were scurrying up on their feet. IU gestured Eunbi, Yoobin and Dongmin to enter the room. They slowly walked in with Jieun following behind them and closing the door.

"What the hell, Jin? Who's this?" The rather young-looking man scowled when he saw several strangers enter the room. "Did you let IU do as she wanted? I told you guys to keep watch, not to bring useless people!"

"Where's IU?" The second man with a dark aurora coldly looked at Jin. He had a black scarf wrapped around his neck. "You better have not done anything to her."

"Relax! Apparently one of the people in this group is IU's friend," Jin said quickly. "Also, patch this guy up. I shot him."

"You shot someone that we're going to patch up? Jin, I told you to use our resources carefully!" the first boy yelled.

"I tried, Sandeul! It's not my fault that IU didn't warn me in time!" Jin shouted as he and Jungkook brought Mingyu closer to the man with the black scarf.

"But where's IU?" repeated the man with the black scarf.

"I'm here, L!" IU exclaimed, raising her hand in the air. "Guess who I brought?"

Sandeul sighed. "IU, this isn't the time—"

"Ta-da! I present you, Eunha!" IU introduced the familiar friend to the two boys in the room. They all looked up and widened their eyes when everyone scooted to the side, revealing Eunha standing awkwardly near IU. 

"Hello, again," Eunha said. Her eyes wandered around the room as if she was looking for someone specific. Mingyu noticed this, but didn't say anything. He only groaned in pain while he grabbed his bloody arm. This grabbed everyone's attention. 

Before they could continue their little reunion, Jin and Jungkook quickly laid Mingyu on the floor. L scurried over to Mingyu's side and checked his wounds, searching for the bullet. 

"This guy is going to be fine. Just give me a few minutes with him and I'll get him patched up," L told them. Jungkook sighed in relief, glad that his friend would be saved. "Does anyone in your team know anything about patching up wounds?"

"I-I do," Yoobin said. She walked over to L's side.

"Perfect. I'm going to ask you to help me a little," L said. He began to give her instructions and the two continued to patch him up. Jungkook decided to step away and reunited next to Eunbi's side.

IU, Eunbi, Dongmin and Jungkook gathered near Sandeul's desk. Sandeul's eyes were glued back to the screen. Jin approached him and placed his gun next to Sandeul's computer. 

"I used one bullet," Jin informed him.

"You're wasting resources, Jin." Sandeul grunted.

"I know. Hopefully Park Kyung will come back with something soon," Jin said.

"Are you not going to say hi to Eunha?" IU asked Sandeul, frowning at him. "I get that L is saving a life, but what are you doing?"

"Excuse me, but I am doing important work for us. I'm trying to see if I can predict the zombie's movements and calculating our group's best chance of survival. I don't think you're doing anything helpful," Sandeul murmured.

"I brought friends!" IU exclaimed cheerfully.

"You brought more mouths to feed and more bodies to protect."

"Wow, is that how you see your friends?"

"Don't be like that," Sandeul said. He looked at Eunbi and smiled. "Hey, Eunha. So you joined the game again?"

"Yeah. Actually, I joined because I'm trying to find Yuju," Eunha said. "She's been in game for a really long time. In real life, it's been two years."

"Two years? That's really unusual," Sandeul said with a deep frown. "Are you sure that she's stuck in the same game?"

"I can't tell, but I know that she's stuck in Timepiece," Eunha told him. "Have you heard anything from her?"

"I haven't. Have you?" Sandeul asked IU.

"Nothing."

Eunbi looked dejected. "That's what I thought."

Mingyu groaned loudly in pain. Everyone turned their heads, looking at Yoobin who panicked while L calmly took care of the problem.

"Don't worry," L told them. "He's good. We got the bullet out." He finished wrapped the bandage around Mingyu's arm. "He'll be fine."

There was a look of relief from Mingyu's teammates. Eunbi thanked him for helping out their team. As he cleaned up the area, Eunbi turned around and looked at Sandeul and IU.

"So Park Kyung is out?" Eunbi asked.

"Yeah. He's been out for a while," IU said. She frowned. "Which is a little concerning."

"Not surprised," Sandeul said. "This is a weird game setup. I wouldn't be surprised if it started to hinder Park Kyung's way of playing." He exchanged a brief look with L, who quickly looked away. Sandeul took a deep breath. He closed his laptop lid. "Well, it doesn't look like we can stay here long."

"What do you mean?" Jin asked, staring at him with wide eyes. "You said that we were safe here."

"We were," Sandeul muttered. "Not anymore." He walked over to the window and peered down between the blinds. "Looks like these zombies know how to open doors and climb stairs at a fast pace. If we stay here any longer, we're going to get killed."

"Then let's go," Jin said, starting to pack his belongings.

"Did you forget that we're missing a member? Did you also forget that you shot someone and that person is injured?" Sandeul asked.

"Like I said, if IU had told me earlier, I wouldn't have shot him!"

Jungkook pulled Eunbi to the side. The boys continued to quarrel a little.

"Do they not get along?" Jungkook whispered to her.

"I don't know Jin at all. I'm sure that he's a new member of the team. It's usually Park Kyung, IU, L and Sandeul together," Eunbi explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if they have their differences. Sandeul is more of a tech-guy and the one who keeps track of everything. L is quiet and can give off a scary vibe, but he has a good heart. IU—as you can see—is pretty carefree and a little bit loud. She's a good person, though."

"What about the Park Kyung guy?" Jungkook asked.

"Park Kyung is amazing. He's perfect," Eunbi told him confidently. A shy smile appeared on her face. "He's the perfect leader. Likable, brave, and lucky."

Jungkook stared at her before he made a grin. "Holy . You like him."

She quickly gave him a cold look. "Don't spout weird stuff, Jungkook."

Before he could do anything, she walked away. She approached Sandeul and Jin, who were bitterly ending their little argument. They managed to compromise the situation and decided to leave in five minutes. Although it seemed like Jin had no faith in that Park Kyung would arrive in five minutes, Sandeul thought otherwise.

"Fine. Five minutes, but after that, I'm leaving—with or without you," Jin told him.

"Whatever," Sandeul muttered as Jin walked away. He looked over and spotted Eunbi staring at him. "Eunha, come closer. I need to talk to you."

She did. "What's wrong?"

"There's too many of us gathered here. Escaping is going to be chaotic. Our best bet is to escape in a small group or individually," Sandeul told her.

"That's not going to work with my group. Everyone is clumsy and inexperienced," Eunha said.

"I thought so, so I'm thinking of having one of us go with two or one of your members," Sandeul explained. "You know, separate into smaller groups."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Eunha muttered.

"Because we might leave them behind?"

"I don't know if they trust you."

"Well, they're going to have to trust us if they want to live," Sandeul said as he packed his laptop in his backpack. "I've already planned out who should go with who. IU and L will take Binnie, Mingyu and Jungkook to safety. Jin will go with you. I'll take Cha Eunwoo."

"Isn't that a lot of people? IU, L, Binnie, Mingyu and Jungkook?" Eunbi pointed out.

"Mingyu is injured. Our best bet is to have L and Binnie look after him while they escape, but you know that L doesn't like to keep IU out of his sight. Everyone has a better chance of surviving if we let L and IU in a team."

"Then we should take Jungkook."

"And let IU and Binnie help L drag Mingyu around? You know how IU's personality is. She gets reckless and that's not going to guaranteed your friend's safety. As for Binnie… I don't trust her to do her work very well," Sandeul murmured.

Eunbi grimaced. "Fine. Where are we meeting?"

Sandeul handed her a quick drawing of a map. "It's about thirty to forty minutes away from here. I imagine that I will get to the location first with Cha Eunwoo. We'll arrive first and clear up the area. Hopefully the bigger group will come in second. I predict that you and Jin will arrive the latest."

"You want us to leave the building last? Jin seems eager to leave."

"I know, but I need you to stall some time. You know, just in case Park Kyung comes."

"What happens if we arrive earlier or late?" Eunbi asked.

"If you arrive early, search for us. Don't try to clear up the area—it's too dangerous. If you arrive late… Well, you two can split ways and do whatever you need to do to survive," Sandeul said. Eunbi had a look of concern. "Don't worry about your friends. We'll take care of them."

It took her a few minutes, but she nodded. "Okay. I trust you."

"Sandeul," Jin said, raising his voice, "it's time to go."

Sandeul closed his eyes and sighed. "I got it, I got it."

He quickly reached over and grabbed Dongmin's shirt. Dongmin widened his eyes as Sandeul dragged him towards the door. 

"We're splitting!" Sandeul announced loudly. "I'm taking this boy!"

"Wait, what?" Dongmin stared at Eunbi. "Eunha, do something!"

"Trust him!" Eunbi yelled. 

"L, IU! You two are in charge of Binnie, Mingyu and Jungkook," Sandeul ordered. He looked at Jin. "You take care of Eunha!"

"Sandeul, we didn't agree to this," Jin said in a low strained voice.

"Go to the second safety spot! We'll meet you there in half an hour," Sandeul said. He glanced at Dongmin. "Let's go."

Before Dongmin could protest, Sandeul opened the door and bolted out of the room. Dongmin stumbled, but followed, confused and worried about separating from the group.

Eunbi turned around and noticed that L and Jungkook had Mingyu's arms around their shoulders. IU was happily circling around them while Binnie made a frightful look. L glanced over to Eunbi, who only nodded her head. 

"Let's go up," L said. "IU, cover us."

"Okay!" IU exclaimed. She opened the door and gestured the boys to move along. The boys dragged Mingyu out of the room and up the stairs. Binnie followed quietly, keeping an eye on Mingyu's wounds. Before IU left, she turned and saluted Jin and Eunbi. "You two might have to take another exit! I think I hear the zombies getting in." She pulled out two guns from her pocket. Jin widened his eyes. "Also, Jin, I'm going to take your gun! Good luck!"

"IU, this isn't funny! This isn't a ga—" Before Jin could finish, IU dashed outside. He ran after her, but when he opened the door, she was gone. He growled under his breath and angrily started to look for an exit while muttering out curses.

"Why did she take your gun?" Eunbi asked.

"It's because they don't trust me," Jin said coldly. He glared at her. "Which is funny, considering that they entrusted you to me."

No, Eunbi realized. They entrusted me to you.

"Come on," Jin said urgently. "We need to get out of here—" Jin opened the door, but slammed it closed when he heard the taunting growls of the undead from the first floor. He quickly locked the door and widened his eyes. ". They got here too fast."

"Let's go out the window," Eunbi suggested. "Do you have anything we can break it with?"

"My gun, but IU stole it," Jin grunted. "Guess I'll just have to kick it."

"Wait," Eunbi said. She scurried to the corner of the room and grabbed a stone. "Let's try this."

"Give it to me," he said. 

She did. 

He quickly aimed at the window and threw the stone. It managed a small crack. Then, he began to kick the crack multiple times, trying to break it. When the crack grew bigger and bigger, he finally threw the stone again, shattering the glass. The zombies from outside looked up at the falling glass, then snarled when they saw Jin looming over the edge of the window.

Jin looked up and noticed the building across from them. "Can you jump?"

"I'm used to it," Eunbi said. 

"Great. Follow my lead," Jin said. He jumped across, landing on the roof of the neighboring building.

The zombies finally got into the room. Before they could grab Eunbi, she threw herself out the window, skillfully landing on the roof. She looked at Jin, who seemed impressed with her athletic abilities. Before she had the chance to smirk, the two could hear the zombies growling even louder. They turned and widened their eyes, noticing that the zombies were trying to jump. For a minute, they thought they were safe.

That was, until a zombie jumped and clung onto the edges of the roof. The zombie pulled itself up, growling and as it made eye contact with the two players. Their eyes went wide as some of the other zombies continued to successfully land on the roof. Neither of them said anything and continued to run, jumping on roofs and ledges—anything that could let them escape the zombies.

The zombies were wickedly fast. It would always seem like the zombies were right behind them, only a few centimeters away from grabbing the two. However, they would successfully jump roof to roof, using up all their courage to not think twice about jumping off. 

We can't keep this up, Eunbi thought. She searched around, trying to figure out a way to lose the zombies. 

"Duck!" Jin yelled. 

She did without a second thought. Something flew over her head. She could hear glass shattering behind her and zombies roaring as flame erupted from the broken bottle. She glanced over her shoulder, trying to figure out what had happened. She watched the creatures fall to the ground, attempt to run after them, but only to be slowed by the flames.

Nice! Eunbi cried out in her head. She continued to run with Jin, who spotted a safe spot nearby. He gestured her to follow and she did. They soon lowered themselves from the roof of the building by climbing down a pipe. Jin managed to pry open a window and snuck inside with Eunbi. He closed the window and the two waited. They could hear the zombies moan, demanding for food. They waited for a few minutes until the sound of zombies seemed to have disappeared.

"You're a good runner," Jin muttered.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself," Eunbi managed to say.

"It doesn't look like we can make it to the destination in time," Jin said. He looked around. "There's nothing in this room either. Damn."

"When did you have the bottle bomb?" Eunbi asked him.

"I always carried one and hid it from the group. It hasn't been long since I met them. I know that they don't trust me. I kept one just in case they would throw me into the dark like this," Jin explained. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I swear, once I get stronger, I'm going to leave this group."

Eunbi's ears perked up. "Leave? Why? They're a really good group. They win all the time."

"I don't have a good feeling about them. My guts tell me that I should avoid them."

"Then why are you sticking with them?"

"It's like you said: They're good. They're really good players. I haven't had a game where I failed with them," Jin pointed out.

Eunbi nodded. "I'm sure if you stick with them longer, you'll like them."

"I don't," Jin said strongly. "You can't convince me otherwise."

Eunbi sighed. She shook her head in dismay as she tried to find a source of light. 

Then, she heard a cough. She looked at Jin, wondering if he coughed, but he looked at her, wondering if she coughed. It was a low cough and sounded human, but the two weren't quite sure. They became aware of their surroundings and tried to adjust to the darkness as quickly as they could. They waited patiently for another sound of coughing.

Cough, cough.

There it was again, this time two coughs instead of one. The two whirled around and the direction of the sound. Eunbi crept closer to the sound while Jin scurried over to the wall. He flicked the lights on right before Eunbi could stand in front of the coughing figure. Her eyes widened at the sight of the familiar dusty man sitting against the wall tiredly. Her cheeks grew red and her heart skipped a beat as she met the familiar brown eyes that she recognized.

"Eunha?" the man managed to cough out.

"Park…Kyung?" she whispered curiously.

He managed to laugh and coughed. "I must be dreaming."

"Park Kyung, were you here the whole time?" Jin cried out. 

Park Kyung weakly glanced at Jin. "Oh. This is definitely not a dream."

"What happened to you?" Jin asked.

"I was returning back," Park Kyung said. He closed his eyes. "But then I fell through a few floors and landed here. I think I twisted my ankle."

The two looked up and saw a hole above.

"I'm surprised you didn't break anything," Jin muttered.

Park Kyung managed a laugh. "Right? I'm pretty lucky."

"Park Kyung!" was the only thing Eunbi could think of saying. Her heart began to feel warm as he glanced over at her and grinned.

"Hey, Eunha. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

* * *

"Why did you take his gun?" Jungkook asked. 

The group of five decided to stop to stay hidden to fix Mingyu's wounds, which were starting to open up again. L had specifically asked Yoobin to assist him, leaving Jungkook and IU to look out the window and keep track of any zombies trying to enter the room.

IU was spinning Jin's gun in her hands as if it was a toy. She had a tight smile on her face, showing that she was only partially amused.

"Why wouldn't I?" IU asked him. 

Jungkook blinked his eyes. "So he would stay alive?"

"Why should I care about him being alive?" she asked again.

He was slightly taken aback. He grew a little scared, intimidated by the blank smile that she was giving him. L took notice and looked at IU.

"Don't scare him. He's Eunha's friend," L told her.

"Yeah.  A 'friend,'" IU stated simply.

"We don't trust you guys as much as you guys don't trust us," Mingyu managed to say.

"Mingyu!" Binnie whispered, widening her eyes. She looked at L and IU nervously. "H-He didn't mean that! I swear!"

"No, I meant that plenty," Mingyu spat out.

"Mingyu!"

"Binnie, they shot me and now they want me to forget about it and be friendly. What the hell am I supposed to expect from them?" Mingyu pointed out.

"Still, that's not…"

"No, he's right," L interrupted. "You shouldn't trust us completely. That's smart of you." He glanced down at Mingyu. "But you should have some faith in us. We've basically helped Eunha survive this game when she was a new player. Without us, she wouldn't be here helping you guys."

Mingyu kept quiet. L took his silence as a sign of respect.

There was a few minutes of silence in the air. IU grew bored as she looked outside with a dull expression. Jungkook couldn't help but keep staring at her. She was definitely cute, but her attitude and the way she acted bugged him a little. When she glanced at him with the corner of her eyes, he grew a little red from embarrassment and turned around. IU smirked and looked down.

"Funny," she muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Jungkook frowned a little. Funny? What did that mean? Was he funny-looking? Did something he do seem humorous to her? What did she mean by "funny?"

"Okay. That should be good for another thirty minutes," L said, stepping back from Mingyu.

"Are you sure? How long is it going to take to our destination?"

"Not too long. I've been noticing that the path is clearing up. It's going to take us another twenty minutes to get there," L said.

"Hasn't it already been fifteen?" Binnie asked nervously. "Twenty minutes means more than thirty."

"It's a thirty to forty minute run. We've been running and walking," L told her.

"But still…"

"Don't worry about it," L said. "Trust us. If things get bad…" He glanced at IU. She stared at him before flashing a smile. He let out a soft sigh and turned back to Binnie. "Well, things aren't going to get bad. Trust me."

Binnie bit her bottom lip as L got up.

"Is it time to go?" IU asked.

"Yeah. How's the situation outside?"

"We should definitely continue the underground path," IU said. 

"Great. You got the gun?"

"All loaded."

"Okay," L said. He turned to Jungkook. "Help me carry your friend."

Jungkook quickly nodded. He went to Mingyu's aid and helped pick him up from the ground. L and Jungkook each took an arm from Mingyu and wrapped it over their shoulders. 

"Alright, IU," L told her. "Clear the path!"

IU smiled widely as she faced the door and posed to kick and shoot. "Of course!"