It’s been three hours. Three ing hours since the world as they know it has ended. Three hours since he was stuck in their college biology building’s top floor. Three hours since he has uttered anything coherent – a great feat for him, really.

Jongdae contemplates going to the roof to scrutinize the situation. To check if the world has gotten any better.

“The zombies wouldn’t vanish in the span of 20 minutes. You’re wasting your breath,” says a boy with rimmed glasses just as Jongdae was about to get up. Kyungsoo – the gorgeous TA who looks like he hates everyone in the world. The only company he has as the world is ending. The only person who renders Jongdae speechless.
Blushing in both embarrassment and at the attention, he settles down again.

He knows that. Despite his reputation, Jongdae is fairly smart and logical. He just can’t believe there really is a zombie apocalypse. He used to laugh at Baekhyun when the latter suggested the possibility in mild seriousness. So, he keeps checking to see if it is all just their imagination.

Baekhyun. Jongdae wonders if his best friend is safe. Baekhyun hadn’t answered his phone after calling Jongdae and screaming at him to run and hide. He didn’t understand at first. He thought Baekhyun was playing a prank again.

But then he saw them. The zombies. Some of them resembled his classmates. One looked like his Ecology professor. He even saw a zombie resembling the pretty girl in his Genetics class. Well, any tint of attraction he felt for the girl was thrown out the window as soon as she wanted to eat his brains. A pity, but not really a loss.
So, he ran. Ran like the hell is chasing him, quite accurately, until he reached the ninth floor of the biology building. And then he was stuck. There was no way to go, and the zombies are slowly catching up. The collapsible stairs can only be accessed by research students.

Oh, why didn’t he study harder? Why didn’t he do better? Now he’s gonna die… or worse, become one of those ugly zombies!

“This is not the time to regret your academic choices, Jongdae!” he told himself, hitting the staircase entrance.

“Move away! You’re gonna get hit,” a muffled voice came from above him. Startled, he looked up to find none other than Kyungsoo through the glass floor (or roof from his floor). Dazed, he did as he’s told.

The staircase ascended soon enough and Jongdae scampered along them just as the zombies were ten feet away. When he was on the last step, the young TA pulled him up and hurried to close the staircase. Jongdae just lay there on the floor as he stared at the boy.

And THAT is how he ended up trapped on the Laboratory of the biology building with the boy he desperately wishes to say something to. It’s a cliché teenage book trope if he thinks about it. But Jongdae prefers not to think about it.

It’s been the weirdest three hours of Jongdae’s life ever. You would think he would be sad and depressed at the thought of all his family and friends possibly being dead. But apparently, a zombie apocalypse makes those things seem like the better option.

And if he could survive this tragic clichéd fate (and the zombie apocalypse of course), he would then go look for his family (and Baekhyun!).

Busy with his own useless thoughts, Jongdae didn’t realize his own physical needs – until his wretched stomach decided to remind him.

Contorting his face in embarrassment, Jongdae prays that Kyungsoo would not address the deafening growl from his stomach.

“I have two protein bars. We can share,” the TA says.

Being the eloquent speaker he is, Jongdae spluttered, eliciting sounds he would rather not talk about. Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow, looking at him oddly as he throws a bar to him without moving.

Thankfully, Jongdae catches it (yay for not embarrassing himself again!) and mumbles a small ‘thank you’ without looking at the younger’s face.

“This is the first time,” Kyungsoo says with an amused smile.

“What?” Jongdae asks, confused.

“This is the first time you said anything to me in these three hours.”

Jongdae parts his lips in realization. He forces an awkward laugh as he tries to play it cool. “R-really? Wow! I didn’t notice.”

Kyungsoo only looks at him like he’s thinking ‘Really?’, but Jongdae ignores the look.

Luckily, Kyungsoo doesn’t try to talk to Jongdae after that. Figures… Kyungsoo is a very quiet and reserved person. Not that Jongdae stalks him or anything. Heck, he only knows about Kyungsoo since a month when the semester started and he took the class where the former is the teaching assistant. That is not enough time to stalk somebody (right?).

Nevertheless, Kyungsoo, as he found out, has quite a reputation in the college. Handsome, smart, quiet and cold. Now, all these wouldn’t normally make Jongdae speechless. But somehow, Kyungsoo’s sharp, no nonsense look makes him nervous and flustered.

And fine, maybe he has a teeny-weeny crush on the younger. But he has like 3 crushes a week, so it doesn’t count.

“Do I know you from somewhere?” Kyungsoo asks suddenly, making Jongdae startle a little.

“Umm… I’m in Prof. Kwon’s Biochemistry class,” Jongdae answers, mentally high fiving himself for not stuttering.

“Oh! You’re the guy who sleeps half of the time! Byun Baekhyun’s friend, right?”

Great. Kyungsoo remembers him as the guy who sleeps and fricking Baekhyun’s friend! He can’t decide which one is worse. He can only hope Baekhyun didn’t piss Kyungsoo off as he nods cautiously.

“Your friend owes me a new laptop screen.”

Of course. How could he even have imagined Baekhyun wouldn’t ruin something?

Nervously laughing, Jongdae mutters a sorry.

Kyungsoo raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t break it,” he points out.

Jongdae shrugs, “I doubt he apologized. So, I’m doing it for my friend.”

Chuckling, Kyungsoo shakes his head in amusement. Jongdae takes it as a good start. He finally held a conversation with Kyungsoo and even made the younger laugh! That’s gotta count for something, right?

Before he could celebrate his small victory, a huge booming sound rings in their ears. Instinctively closing their ears, Kyungsoo and Jongdae wait for the ringing in their ears to stop before letting their hands go and rushing to the window.

A huge cloud of smoke appeared a few miles away but they could not see anything else. Kyungsoo immediately takes out his phone and fiddles with it until they hear a panicked voice.

A bomb made by the police to kill the zombies has backfired and is said to have destroyed the police academy in Seoul just now. With no trained personnel active now, the city is foretold to be destroyed by the zombies. Survivors are advised to find a place where they can sustain and keep the zombies out. Help is not expected to arrive.

The woman in the video now looks scared and hopeless.

We’re all on our own. You’re on your own.

 

After hearing what could possibly have been the last news they will ever hear, both Jongdae and Kyungsoo sat in silence for 20 minutes. What hopes they had that the apocalypse is temporary and that they will be rescued have crashed and burned. The severity of the peril is just settling in.
They may never see their friends and family again. They may never make it out alive to even look for their loved ones. They may never live their life to the fullest.
And somehow, it still doesn’t make him give up.

Jongdae blinks away his daze and looks towards the TA. Kyungsoo looks to be deep in thought while staring at the window where they saw the blast from.

Jongdae clears his throat, bringing the other’s attention to himself. “So… what do we do?”

Kyungsoo stares unresponsively, making Jongdae wonder if the younger is scared. But before he can ask, Kyungsoo responds, voice deeper than he expects.
“We survive.”

Looks like survival instinct triumphs over terror and desolation for everyone.

 

He needs his phone to be charged. That’s the first thing he realizes he needs. Unfortunately for Jongdae, he is too lazy to carry a charger in his back pack. So, he starts looking in the lab, hoping someone was forgetful enough to have left their charger.

As he continues his unfruitful search, he feels a tap on his shoulder. When he turns, he finds Kyungsoo wordlessly stretching his hand, a charger in his extended palm.

Ecstatic, he takes it with a murmur of thanks, blush creeping on his cheeks. Even during the apocalypse, his body betrays him.

The charger has a DKS written in small letters on it. Doh Kyung Soo.

Jongdae wonders if Kyungsoo carries it with him or if he keeps a spare charger in the lab. Connecting his phone to the charger, he turns to look at what the other is doing.

Kyungsoo has disappeared into the store room. The lab takes up the whole floor, so the store room is quite big. Jongdae has never been there, but he hopes there’s food in there to survive.

Deciding he should go take a look along with Kyungsoo, and maybe lend him a hand with whatever he is searching for, he makes his way towards the room.

The room really is big, with numerous things stacked on the shelves. He can see Kyungsoo rummaging through a closed cupboard.

“What- what are you looking for?” he asks, cursing himself at the stutter.

Kyungsoo doesn’t spare him a look or reply, continuing to look for something. After a few awkward (for Jongdae) seconds, he seems to find the thing.

“Sleeping bags? Wh-why are there sleeping bags in the store room?” Jongdae asks, bewildered as he stares at the two, bright orange sleeping bags Kyungsoo pulled out of the cupboard.

“For biology camps,” came Kyungsoo’s simple reply.

Jongdae looks around the cupboards to find all sorts of things they would need. From tooth brushes to first aid to utensils even!

“There’s a colander,” Jongdae states in wonder, following the other back to the main room.

Kyungsoo doesn’t even look back. “For vegetables from the green house on the roof.”

Right. He heard about the green house. It was not open for everyone, except on the campus tour days. But Jongdae couldn’t go on the tour for the biology building because of Baekhyun. His best friend used the kitchen and almost burned the house down.

Setting everything up didn’t take very long with Kyungsoo giving instructions and Jongdae following them obediently. They now have a place to sleep, shower and even cook. Kyungsoo picks up the colander after setting the towels in the shower. He walks towards the roof entrance and Jongdae can only stare at him wordlessly. He still can’t seem to talk to him sometimes.

Maybe Kyungsoo felt the stare on his back, he turns around to barely glance at Jongdae for a second. “I’m going to collect some vegetables for dinner.”

Is that an invitation to help? Either way, Jongdae scrambles on his feet to follow the other.

They silently collect the tomatoes, potatoes, garlic and even onions! There are still other plants but Kyungsoo didn’t want to collect them yet.

Kyungsoo looked like he knows what he’s doing. Jongdae wonders if he also knows how to cook. It would be ideal if he does because Jongdae and cooking have never gone well together. Still, he supposes he’s not as bad as Baekhyun.

Kyungsoo does end up cooking and when Jongdae takes his first bite, he swears he could almost see hearts floating around the younger. How could the boy cook something so delicious during a zombie apocalypse?! He almost thanks his luck for getting stuck with Kyungsoo. Almost.

Jongdae offers to do the dishes as a thank you and Kyungsoo just nods, moving to get something out of a shelf.

“A dish wash liquid and scrub?” Jongdae finds himself bewildered yet again.

Kyungsoo glances at him and smiles a little. “I am a well-prepared TA.”

“Prepared for what? A zombie apocalypse like this?” Jongdae couldn’t help the tiny snark which slipped in.

Bemused, Kyungsoo signs towards the dishes, prompting him to do the dishes as he answers. “I was a TA and an RA here. This lab was practically my second home.”

Jongdae didn’t miss his use of past tense. But he cannot tell if the other is sad or just accepting of their current situation.

Once the dishes are done, Jongdae sees the sleeping bags in opposite corners of the lab. All arranged and ready to sleep in.

“You can pick whichever side you want. If you don’t like the corners, you can set it anywhere you like,” Kyungsoo says.

“Umm… I’ll take the one near the window if that’s okay?”

Kyungsoo nods as he moves to the other side. He switches off the light, leaving the moonlight from the window in its full intensity.

Kyungsoo proceeds to remove his pants, making Jongdae blush and turn his head away. After he hears Kyungsoo get in his sleeping bag, he glances at the younger again, admiring how soft he looks in the moonlight.

He falls asleep soon enough, dreaming of moonlight and cute biology assistants.

 

The sun rays were piercing him. He shouldn’t have taken the window side. After half an hour of subconsciously trying to avoid the sun, Jongdae gives up and opens his eyes. Yawning, he looks around, finally noticing the missing sleeping bag opposite him.

That wakes him up completely.

After ensuring that he wasn’t in the store room or the washroom, he starts to go up to the roof. Just as he reaches the last step and opens the door, he hears soft humming. Surprised, he keeps quiet and still as the humming continues on to actual words now.

The voice is deep and sturdy, but at the same time, fluid like a river. It reminds him of hot chocolate on a cold winter’s evening. Mesmerized, he continues to listen and stare as Kyungsoo picks vegetables from the garden.

The song suddenly stops and Jongdae finds the younger looking straight at him.

Jongdae fumbles and ends up bursting through the door, managing to stop himself right in front of the man.

Chucking nervously, Jongdae waves at Kyungsoo’s still stoic form. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, I put an extra toothbrush on the sink for you,” Kyungsoo informs before going back to his collecting.

Okay, maybe Jongdae shouldn’t have spied on the guy. But he can’t be mad at him for that, right? Or is he not mad and Jongdae’s just overthinking? Whatever it may be, Jongdae doesn’t think now’s the time to ask. So, he decides he should make himself useful and fresh up soon so he can give Kyungsoo a hand.

 

Once he comes out of the make-do shower, he finds Kyungsoo in the kitchen, washing the vegetables he collected.

“You-you seem to wake up pretty early,” Jongdae nervously smiles as he approaches the TA.

Kyungsoo hums in agreement, not bothering to say anything in return.

“You have a great voice!” Jongdae tries talking again. And he does. Jongdae could listen to the younger's voice all day, preferably while lying on the his lap…

No Jongdae! Stop thinking about romance when the world is ending!

Kyungsoo finally looks at him and sends a small smile. “Thank you.”

His cheeks form a pink hue, almost unnoticeable if not for Jongdae’s intense observation skills. Jongdae stares at Kyungsoo’s cheeks in wonder. He has never imagined the younger would blush!

“The cell signals are working again. You should give your family a call.”

Jongdae’s stare breaks away at Kyungsoo’s words. “O-oh? Yeah, I will. Thanks!”

He ends up crying, hearing his mom’s voice. Jongdae hasn’t realized how worried he was for his family. They were all safe, at a refugee camp in the military grounds far away from Seoul.

Apparently, the zombie action was more concentrated in the capital city so about 40% of the population managed to get into the refugee camps. Seoul had a whopping 85% of the population turn into brain-eating zombies!

Kyungsoo also informed him that he contacted the emergency help-line which was sent to everyone’s phones after the signals were up. They were told to stay put if they can survive until the few remaining rescue teams reach out to them. Kyungsoo didn’t say it, but it isn’t hard to imagine the ‘if not’ of the conversation.
Which reminded him to call Baekhyun, hoping he survived the zombie fest. He did, much to Jongdae’s relief.

Baekhyun is stuck in an E-mart along with Sehun – which in itself is a disaster, if you ask Jongdae. They both hate each other, for reasons he assures are stupid. But that, is a story for another time. He can only hope they don’t kill each other before any zombies get them.

Well, Jongdae thinks, at least they can survive in the mart for months before they would need to go out. They can also use certain products as weapons against the zombies if they get in – which he can’t say for themselves.

But then again, it’s highly unlikely that Zombies can fly and reach their floor – what with the collapsible stairs.

“We need to check the solar panels soon.” Kyungsoo’s voice pulls him away from his thoughts.

“What?”

“The panels, that’s how this floor gets electricity. There’s probably no need, but we would end up losing electricity if there is something wrong,” he explains as he waters the plants.

Nodding, Jongdae picks up another water can to help water the rest of the plants.

He wonders if Kyungsoo’s family is alright. And his friends. Kyungsoo didn’t ask him – does he want to keep a distance? Maybe he thinks they are not close enough to talk about family yet? But it’s the apocalypse! Surely, it’s appropriate in these dire situations to talk to even a stranger about these things!

For that matter, Kyungsoo looks so calm and composed. Jongdae wishes he knows what the younger is thinking.

 

Jongdae has never been afraid of heights. He has always been a wild child, climbing roofs and walls; much to his mother’s horror. He has gotten in trouble so much and still has a couple of scars from the injuries.

So, he offered to go up the roof alone and check the panels – wanting to help Kyungsoo with something. Only, he forgot he is still as clumsy as he was back then.
He inspects the panels and deciding they were without any issues, he starts to walk down the top of the slanted roof, crouching a little. Suddenly, he feels his feet slipping and falls flat on the roof, rolling as he does. He manages to hold on to the edge of the roof, hanging 7 feet off the terrace.

He hears Kyungsoo gasping and calling for him. Wishing he could see the other’s face as he worries, Jongdae manages to let him know he’s fine.

“Can you hold on for 2 minutes?” he hears Kyungsoo ask.

Jongdae manages to nod and waits there, his hand aching as it tries to hold his body weight. Within a minute, he hears Kyungsoo again, shuffling below him. He manages to look down to find sleeping bags at his feet.

“Jump! The sleeping bags should absorb some of the shock,” the TA calls out once he’s done.

Relieved to let go of the grip, he does as he’s told immediately. A sharp pain shoots up his feet as they hit the ground first. His body rolls as he tries to lessen the shock. Once the roll is complete, Jongdae lets his body lie on the ground. The pain is still there, but the soft landing certainly made it better.

“Are you okay?” he hears Kyungsoo ask and he looks up to find the other staring down at him, eyes wide in worry. This is the first time he’s seen him without his poker face. Well, not really, but it’s still rare.

Gasping a little for air, he nods. “Just a little sore.”

“Can you get up?”

Jongdae nods again, trying to stand when Kyungsoo holds his arm for support. Blushing at the contact, Jongdae wills himself to not think about it as they head back into the lab.

 

Kyungsoo gets a first aid box from the store room and Jongdae shouldn’t even be surprised anymore, but he is. He wants to ask why everything is available in the lab but doesn’t dare to.

He looks at Kyungsoo as the latter takes his hand and starts to clean the scratches from the roof. The younger seems quieter than usual. Is he angry that he was clumsy? He certainly seems angry as he continues to clean and dress the wound. But his touch is still careful and gentle. Jongdae blushes again as Kyungsoo adjusts his hold on the hand.

“Are- are you okay?” Jongdae dares to ask, still blushing.

Kyungsoo pauses and then continues to dress the wound wordlessly.

Jongdae is certain he’s angry now. That’s why he isn’t responding, right?

Before he could ask or say anything, Kyungsoo lets go of his hand, his palm now all bandaged.

“I’m sorry,” he says, biting his lip.

Jongdae furrows his brows, trying not to stare at his lips. “For what?”

“The solar panels weren’t even giving any trouble and I made you climb all the way up the roof,” Kyungsoo explains, looking down at his clasped hands.

“No,” says Jongdae, “You didn’t make me do anything. I volunteered to go up. And it wasn’t for nothing. Now we know that our electricity won’t go out anytime soon.” Kyungsoo looks up at that, attentive and a tad bit hopeful. Jongdae wants to coo at how innocent the younger looks. “I’ve always been clumsy. It’s my manufacturing defect.”

Kyungsoo chuckles at that and Jongdae smiles. All the nerves he had around Kyungsoo seem to dissipate seeing the other look so worried and guilty.

He was wrong. Kyungsoo may look icy but he has one of the most expressive faces he’s ever seen when the other allows it. Now, Jongdae wonders if Kyungsoo purposely hides his emotions.

 

The rest of the day went without any incidents. Kyungsoo didn’t let Jongdae help as he did all the cooking and cleaning.

Night fell and Jongdae is now looking out the window, admiring the full moon. It almost feels normal, the routine – like the impending doom of the apocalypse is far away. Despite it being only two days since it happened, there seems to be an unspoken agreement between Kyungsoo and Jongdae that this would be their daily routine until otherwise. And Jongdae isn’t sure if he likes it or hates it.

Having a somewhat normal day in midst of the terror around them sure is a blessing. But having to spend those days with his crush?

Contrary to popular opinions, Jongdae wasn’t able to flirt or make any sort of moves on the said target. Now, one might say that he hasn’t really embarrassed himself either. But that’s only because Jongdae hasn’t talked as much as he normally would. He’s been trying so hard to keep his mouth under control that he’s sure he would lose it soon. Kim Jongdae is a chatterbox and he needs to chatter!

Well, if they’re stuck with each other until the world ends, he supposes Kyungsoo might as well get used to it. It’s not like he can escape Jongdae.

The trouble with that logic though, is that Jongdae can’t escape Kyungsoo either.

“Good night, Jongdae,” Kyungsoo’s soft voice suddenly breaks his thought trail.

Kyungsoo wished him good night. He didn’t wish him last night. But he did now.

“Good night, Kyungsoo,” he smiles as he wishes back.

He wonders if one day can make Kyungsoo warm up to him already.

Maybe being stuck with his crush isn’t so bad after all.

 

Jongdae has always thought he was a fairly tidy person. His ex-roommate Junmyeon hyung and his now roommate Baekhyun (if not for the apocalypse), would vouch for him. But Kyungsoo puts him to shame. Hell, he might be as bad as Junmyeon hyung’s boyfriend, Minseok hyung!

Speaking of Minseok hyung, Jongdae cannot for his life understand how the elder puts up with Junmyeon hyung. His ex-roommate is the laziest creature he’s ever seen when it comes to cleaning! The man doesn’t even have the decency to throw out orange peels! And Minseok hyung is suspected (by Jongdae and Baekhyun) to have Obsessive Cleaning Disorder. So that should tell anyone what a disastrous pair they make.

At any rate, Kyungsoo is almost as ‘neat’ as Minseok hyung. He wakes up at the crack of dawn, which wakes Jongdae up too, much to his distaste; and packs his sleeping bag neatly into a corner – which Jongdae doesn’t understand. He will have to sleep again that night. So, why go through the trouble of packing it all up? Jongdae on the other hand, just kicks his bag to the corner after he wakes up.

Kyungsoo then proceeds to clean the lab with a broom. Again, what? Where’d he even get a broom from?! Everything is so suspiciously available in this so-called lab, Jongdae is almost 70% sure that Kyungsoo is homeless and secretly lived here in the guise of research.

Like cleaning the lab is not enough, Kyungsoo even cleans the terrace! Jongdae is glad that they are stuck in this lab and not some run down garage or something. He doesn’t think Kyungsoo can survive there.

So, after a couple of days of this routine, Jongdae decided to humor his crush and offered to do the cleaning – allowing the younger to cook instead.
Jongdae would happily clean even the plants if he can get some edible food!

When he’s out of Kyungsoo’s earshot, Jongdae starts singing the song Kyungsoo has been humming a couple of days back. He may be a great singer, but that still doesn’t give him enough confidence to sing in front of his crush – especially when the other can sing so well.

The song has been stuck in his mind since the day Kyungsoo hummed it. It feels good to finally let it out. He ends it by raising the broom in his hand as a makeshift standing mic as he belts into it.

“That was amazing!”

Jongdae stumbles on the broom at his feet and ends up falling face flat on the floor.

“Are you okay?!” comes Kyungsoo’s voice again as he rushed to help Jongdae up.

Great. He has embarrassed himself in front of Kyungsoo again. His clumsiness index seems to have hit the roof since he personally met Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, I’m good! No broken bones!” he manages to joke nervously.

“I’m sorry if I scared you. I was just admiring your singing. You have beautiful technique and control,” Kyungsoo says, pulling him off the floor. “Did you train to be a singer?”

Jongdae blushes. “No… I mean yes, I did train in singing but not to be a singer.”

Kyungsoo nods as he lets go of Jongdae. “Let’s go, food’s done.”

Jongdae obediently follows him, trying to keep his face from blushing.

They eat in silence, as is the case every day.

Jongdae fidgets. It’s been extremely hard to not talk while having meals. And it seems like his body has enough of the silence.

Kyungsoo glances at him. “Is everything okay?”

Jongdae’s eyes widen. “Ha! Yeah! Everything’s fine! I just get restless when I don’t talk for too long.”

Why did he say that?! There goes his last strand of non-existing pride!

“Oh,” Kyungsoo stares in confusion. “You can talk if you’d like. I don’t mind.”

“Right,” Jongdae nods slowly, relieved that the other didn’t seem put off.

And so, he does talk. He tells Kyungsoo about the time when drunk Baekhyun started leaving empty beer bottles outside every dorm room, knocking and running away; and he had to pick them up from behind, so the other occupants wouldn’t kill them.

Kyungsoo doesn’t say much, but hums and smiles at the right times to show that he’s listening.

Jongdae also talks about the weird student in his class who dresses up as a different superhero every week. Kyungsoo raises a brow at that and Jongdae swears he saw a tiny smirk.

Jongdae keeps silent after the story. After a few seconds pass without any word, he looks down at his food, stabbing the tomatoes with his chop sticks.

“Do you think we’ll never see our classmates and professors again?”

Kyungsoo stops eating and looks up.

“Probably. But we know our families and friends are alive. And most of them are safe. So, all we can do is hope to be reunited with them soon.”

Jongdae appreciates the honesty. Kyungsoo’s right. Everyone they know may not be alive. But everyone important to them is. And for now, that is enough.

“Do you think we can go out and find them?” Jongdae asks.

After a minute of silence, Kyungsoo replies. “There might be considerably less zombies now, assuming that their source of food is limited. But it’s not safe to go out yet.”

Jongdae sighs, already expecting it.

“But,” Kyungsoo continues, “we can try to go out after a few days, just to scout the area and rescue our friends if possible. Needless to say, we have one of the safest hideouts. We may not even be able to leave the floor. But we can try.”

Jongdae beams and nods fervently.

Kyungsoo then promptly gets up and goes into the storeroom again. He comes back after five minutes with what looked like clothes. He throws some at Jongdae and the latter barely manages to catch them.

“I only had 2 pairs, so I didn’t take them out till now. I figured its high time we change into something cleaner,” Kyungsoo says as Jongdae looks at the shirt and pants in his hands. “They are my size but it shouldn’t be too small for you.”

Jongdae loses it. “Why do you have everything here!? It’s almost like you lived here!”

Kyungsoo chuckles. “How long have you been wanting to ask that?”

“Since the first day.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “Technically, I did live here. I had a project which required 24/7 observation and I temporarily lived here for that time period. All these are from then.”

“Oh!” exclaims Jongdae. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For thinking you’re homeless.”

Kyungsoo bursts into laughter and Jongdae, despite being embarrassed (yet again) feels giddy that he made Kyungsoo laugh out loud.

The following week passes without any issues. Jongdae is proud to say that he’s way past the ‘timid’ stage of his crush (well, almost) and is actually friends (kinda) with Kyungsoo. Jongdae has also stopped being quiet and finally let his usual charm (yes, charm!) and sociability take over. Kyungsoo still doesn’t say much. But thankfully, he doesn’t seem to hate Jongdae’s nonsense.

They bicker now, seeing as how Jongdae is no longer scared of embarrassing himself too much. And he must say, the bickering is entertaining. It keeps their days as lively as possible.

Jongdae also manages to draw out information from Kyungsoo – barely.

He learns that Kyungsoo has never been to a house part before – not very shocking. The TA was also in a high school band – now, this is shocking; did Jongdae miss the memo where Kyungsoo is cool?

But that somehow doesn’t surprise him.

Kyungsoo however, was quite surprised when Jongdae admits his days as a high school heartthrob in a band himself. How insulting! He really was a heartthrob!
Well, he supposes, Kyungsoo couldn’t possibly know his actual charms… yet!

It was exactly three days later when Jongdae’s phone rang.

It was Baekhyun.

“Baek! Are you okay? Is everything fine?” he half shouts into the phone.

Baekhyun’s shaky voice greets him. “Jongdae! Dae, help us!”

Jongdae feels his heart drop. “Baekhyun, what’s wrong?”

“Sehun is hurt and I tried to do first aid, but I don’t trust myself and he’s in pain. I don’t know what to do and I think the zombies are surrounding us!”

Jongdae feels worry pool in his gut. “Baek, calm down. You said you’re at the mart two streets down our uni right? Which section will you be in? I’ll meet you there.”

Baekhyun protests, worried that Jongdae might get hurt too. But Jongdae is not gonna leave his best friend to die. Not if he can help it. After weaseling out the details of his location and situation, Jongdae hangs up, reassuring Baekhyun.

When he turns around, he finds Kyungsoo calling someone. Pursing his lips, Jongdae waits; a tad bit impatient.

Kyungsoo moves away to talk on the phone and Jongdae couldn’t make out enough words to figure out the subject. Not even two minutes later, Kyungsoo hangs up the call with a soft goodbye.

Jongdae wonders who he was talking to. He could ask. But he doesn’t. Kyungsoo will tell him if he should know.

Jongdae has figured out how to deal with Kyungsoo; for the most part. He needs to be patient – something which he never learned. But, he’s trying. He doesn’t want the younger to close off.

“We can go after we have lunch,” Kyungsoo says as he approaches Jongdae.

Jongdae blinks. “What?”

“To E-mart, where your friend is in trouble,” he replies casually as he proceeds towards the makeshift kitchen. “We don’t know when we will get to eat again. So, we should eat as much as we can now.”

Jongdae stares at the younger like a fish. “How – how’d you know? And you’re coming?”

Kyungsoo frowns, just a little. “I heard you on the phone. It’s not hard to decipher the other half of the conversation. And of course, I’m coming. We’re each other’s responsibility now. Besides, I did promise you we’d go out.”

Jongdae couldn’t help but break into a huge grin.

 

Before they start, Kyungsoo wanted to make sure they carry necessary items with them – ever so thoughtful. Luckily, they both have their college backpacks.

Kyungsoo neatly starts packing some food – which is essentially just tomatoes as they can eat them raw. Jongdae helps by washing and drying them.

It’s a pity they couldn’t pack any potatoes. They were Jongdae’s favorite.

It’s not that they have to travel for days really. The mart takes about 20 minutes by car. But they are dealing with brain dead zombies and Kyungsoo wanted to be prepared for any detours; and Jongdae agrees with him.

Next, they have to find something they can use as a weapon. But weapons would be the last thing they find in a college biology lab. Still, Kyungsoo doesn’t give up as he thinks while glancing around the room.

After 5 minutes of checking all the equipment, Kyungsoo starts picking them. He takes out two burettes and syringes. And then some dissecting equipment like scalpels, tongs, etc. He then hands one of each to Jongdae and keeps the other half with himself.

Confused, Jongdae gestures to the equipment and asks, “What are we doing with these?”

Kyungsoo momentarily looks at the taller before explaining calmly. “We need to make do with these as weapons. I’m also going to make pepper bombs for us.” He pauses as he thinks. “Well, without the pepper, but still.”

Jongdae’s eyes widen in surprise. “Huh? You’re making a pepper grenade?”

Kyungsoo just hums as he moves to get the ingredients out.

“How do you even know how to make one?” Jongdae tries, curious.

Kyungsoo doesn’t answer immediately, instead collecting the required things like vinegar, baking soda, etc.

“My best friend needed one for his comic conventions,” he simply says, not bothering with further explanation.

Doh Kyungsoo keeps surprising Jongdae and he doesn’t mind it a bit.

It takes more than an hour to make ten grenades. Kyungsoo would have made more but they ran out of air tight containers. Kyungsoo then proceeds to tie them into group of two.

“When you encounter a group of zombies, you can use them. Just shake the bottles up and down four times and throw it at them immediately. Be careful or they might blow up in your face,” he explains as he hands five of them.

Jongdae nods obediently, still a little in awe at the bombs. Kyungsoo is so… useful and Jongdae feels bad for not being able to help. He wonders what would have happened to him if it wasn’t for Kyungsoo.

“Make sure we stick together and if we do end up losing each other, you are not allowed to search for me. Go straight to the mart, okay?” Kyungsoo’s voice brings him out of his thoughts.

He nods and smiles. “Then we’ll just have to make sure we don’t lose each other.”

The other looks at him for a few seconds, not giving away any of his thoughts before nodding back.

“Okay then, shall we start?”

 

When Kyungsoo opens the collapsible staircase, they were already expecting the impending zombie ambush. Jongdae throws a pepper grenade down below the tiny opening as the stairs start moving. They hear the blast and by the time the staircase opens completely, the 4 zombies down below are hissing and cowering away in pain. Taking this as their chance, Kyungsoo and Jongdae rush past them start running towards the nearest building exit.

They don’t have any trouble exiting the building as the automatic doors still seem to work. Once they do exit, however, three zombies appear in front of them.
They look just as ugly as every other zombie Jongdae has encountered. Only, a little more tortured. He figures it’s because of the sun. The military broadcast they managed to hear had advised them to move in the day if they need to as zombies are sensitive to the sun.

Kyungsoo and Jongdae immediately try to escape the zombies by running. But as they ran, there seems to be an increase in their zombie following. All the undead hiding in the shade start coming out as soon as they see them. They are certainly slower than normal humans. But the sheer number of incoming zombies is enough to trap them if they aren’t careful.

After running for five minutes and gathering about 20 zombies along the run, Kyungsoo stops running, making Jongdae follow suit. Confused, he whips his head to face Kyungsoo, but the other is turned backwards, towards the fast approaching zombies.

“Jongdae, go,” he says, without turning his head.

Confused yet again, Jongdae stares at the back of Kyungsoo’s head. “What? No!”

Kyungsoo brings out his pepper grenades in one hand and a scalpel in the other. “It’s a dead end down this road. There’s a wall with rails on it. Climb over it and you’ll be able to enter the street which leads straight to the mart.”

Jongdae doesn’t understand. “What? What about you?! I’m not leaving you alone here!”

“Just listen to me and go! I’ll be behind you!” Kyungsoo all but shouts.

“No,” Jongdae says before walking to stand beside Kyungsoo, his own pepper grenades in his hands.

“Damn it!” he hears Kyungsoo curse as he shakes a grenade. “Close your eyes and nose!”

Jongdae does listen to that.

He hears the bomb go off and promptly feels it too. His eyes sting a little and Jongdae realizes how powerful the grenades must be if he’s affected from a distance even after closing his eyes and nose.

“Throw yours now!”

Jongdae obeys. He is a little late in closing his eyes, making them sting even more. Before he could even open his eyes again, he feels a hand wrap around his wrist and pulling him through the groaning zombies.

They don’t stop running. Not until they reach the end of the street where no zombies were in sight.

And Kyungsoo didn’t let go of his hand either.

But that happiness didn’t last very long as Kyungsoo drops his hand harshly.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” he shouts.

Jongdae winces, cowering under the younger’s glare. “What? I wasn’t going to let you die!”

“I wasn’t planning on dying, you idiot! Climbing the wall together would take time, by when the zombies would have caught up. I was going to hold them off until you cross and when the zombies were paralyzed from the pepper bombs, I would have climbed the wall too.” He pauses to take a breath. “You almost got us both killed! We had to run through those zombies! What if one of them was unaffected and caught us?!”

Jongdae cowers even more as he realizes Kyungsoo is really pissed. “I- I didn’t know your plan,” he tries to explain.

Kyungsoo’s glare seems to intensify and Jongdae murmurs a small ‘sorry’.

They start walking towards the mart in silence. There seem to be no zombies in sight. Jongdae wants to say something. Anything – to fill the deafening silence.

“I wonder if the mart is a better place to live than the lab,” he tries.

Kyungsoo doesn’t even acknowledge, let alone reply.

Jongdae decides to be bolder. “How many pepper grenades do you have left, Kyungsoo?”

No response.

“Come on, I apologized! I won’t do that again! We’re stuck together, so let’s not fight. We’re supposed to be on the same side. So, can we get along again?”

Silence.

“Or you could just not talk to me… that will work too,” Jongdae sighs in defeat.

The duo continues in silence, much to Jongdae’s disappointment. They don’t face any more zombies, thanks to the mid-day sun. They finally reach the E-mart and just like they had expected, there were about 10 zombies waiting outside the doors.

As soon as the zombies detect their presence, they start making their way towards them, albeit slowly.

Jongdae immediately whips his phone out and calls Baekhyun.

“Baek, We’re outside the main doors. Get ready to open the doors when I say so.”

He doesn’t even wait to listen to the others reply. He looks at Kyungsoo to find the younger already looking at him. They both share a curt nod and retreat backwards while eyeing the approaching group of zombies.

Once they are a safe distance away from the doors, and the zombies almost encircled them, Kyungsoo and Jongdae repeat the same attack they did earlier and throw out pepper grenades one after the other. They are in sync and four grenades later, they are running towards the door with Jongdae shouting ‘OPEN!’ into his phone.
The doors open promptly, and they rush inside, shouting for the doors to close immediately. They both straighten up after catching their breaths to find two guys looking at them in bewilderment and relief.

“Jongdae! You made it!” exclaims his familiar pink haired friend.

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae returns the excitement and moves to hug him.

Sehun smiles at him in greeting, looking somewhat thankful. He seems to be crouching and Jongdae wonders if he hurt his back.

Kyungsoo nods at them both curtly as he talks on his phone. Jongdae wonders who that is. He seems to be talking to the same person as he did before they left the lab.

Once he hangs up, Kyungsoo looks at Baekhyun. “Even your hair is loud, Byun Baekhyun.”

Baekhyun laughs. “Doh Kyungsoo… just say you were bored without me in your classes anymore.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and turns to Sehun. “Hello, I am Kyungsoo.”

Sehun smiles and nods. “Sehun. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he behaves.”

Jongdae raises a brow at that. But lets it go for now.

“Are you guys okay? You sounded distressed on phone,” he says, turning to Baekhyun to check for injuries.

“Yeah, I hurt my waist but otherwise, we are just fine. Baekhyun’s just being a drama queen,” Sehun supplies, looking pointedly at Baekhyun.

“Hey! You were groaning in pain! I did what I could think of!” comes Baekhyun’s loud complaint. Then, turning to Kyungsoo and Jongdae, he continues in a softer voice. “I’m sorry. You guys had to go through so much because of me.”

Jongdae shakes his head. “No, we didn’t really have much trouble. Besides, this is good. We can help each other, right Kyungsoo?” he turns to the younger, hoping he’d talk to him now.

Before he could choose whether to grace Jongdae with a reply, a loud ‘KYUNGSOO!’ boomed through one of the aisles.

A tall mop of hair seems to be running straight towards the short TA and everyone stares in shock as the newcomer envelopes the other in a tight hug. Kyungsoo, to Jongdae’s surprise, hugs him back and pats to calm the boy down.

They let go of each other, the taller being more reluctant to. The boy doesn’t let go of Kyungsoo’s hands and starts crying.

“I was so scared and alone! I thought I’d never see you again! The zombies almost ate me!” he starts hiccupping as he recites his experiences in brief.

Kyungsoo shushes him, rubbing his back to calm him down. It’s a comical scene, if they forget about the seriousness of their circumstances.

Still, Jongdae feels a pang of jealousy in his stomach. Kyungsoo never even touched him so gently, let alone hug him. He wonders if the tall boy is his boyfriend. He takes a clear look of the crying boy. And suddenly, he recognizes him.

“You-you’re that guy who dresses up as a different superhero every week!” he blurts.

The boy sniffles as he turns to look at the other people like it’s the first time he noticed they were there. And then he smiles bright like he wasn’t just crying a second back.

“You’re Jongdae! The funny guy who doesn’t find Professor Junmyeon’s jokes funny!” he states cheerfully.

This guy is weirder than Baekhyun…probably.

“I’m Chanyeol, Kyungsoo’s best friend,” he continues as he waves at all of them.

Oh lord, he recalls calling his crush’s best friend ‘weird’ to his face. How unlucky could he get?

“Where did you come from,” Baekhyun asks. “The other exits are all closed.”

“Oh, I was in the furniture section of the mart… for the most part. I kept moving around to be honest. Didn’t want to give the zombies an easy target!” he answers cheerfully.

“That… that explains why we haven’t seen you despite living in the same mart for more than a week,” Sehun nods thoughtfully, while Baekhyun looks surprised.

“I was surprised too when Kyungsoo said there were two other guys in the mart! I was gonna find you both immediately, but I got lost,” Chanyeol says sheepishly.

“You got lost in the mart?” Jongdae asks, voicing the disbelief in everyone’s mind.

“He’s capable of getting lost in a convenience store,” Kyungsoo twists the giant’s ears, eliciting a loud yelp.

They seem close.

Wait.

Kyungsoo just talked to him! Well, it was more of a passing comment about his best friend but it’s still an answer to his question!

Jongdae couldn’t keep the smile off his face, momentarily forgetting about the longing in his heart.

 

Everyone’s phones suddenly seem to blast notifications.

“Umm… guys?” Sehun calls everyone for attention. “I think we just got a text from the apocalypse help line.”

Everyone looks to their phones and sees the message.

“So, the rescue teams are finally coming to Seoul,” Kyungsoo summarizes. “Let’s send the help request immediately. We don’t know when the signals might go down again.”

The other four nod and follow the instructions in the message. Once done, they look at each other in silence before Baekhyun breaks it.

“So, all we gotta do is survive the next 1 or 2 days.”

Kyungsoo nods solemnly. “There’s a storm warning. So, the zombies might try to get in more actively. We need to set up watch every night.”

“That should be easy enough since we are 5 now. Wouldn’t take a toll on anyone,” Jongdae supplies.

Kyungsoo merely nods while the others start making the schedule. Jongdae pouts.

He backs up Kyungsoo when he volunteers to be in charge of the food by attesting to the youngers talents. Much to his annoyance, Chanyeol also seems to strongly agree with him.

He declares himself as Kyungsoo’s little helper before Chanyeol could. Kyungsoo doesn’t even seem to care and promptly starts walking towards the food section of the mart.

Though disappointed, Jongdae follows the younger faithfully. He tries to talk to Kyungsoo but the other still seems to be angry.

He doesn’t get it. Sure, he didn’t listen and could have gotten them killed. But he apologized! What else is he supposed to do?

“Soo!” he whines after the other has ignored the bottle of vinegar on his outstretched hand.

The younger stills, the poker expression on his face slipping away. Kyungsoo bites his lips, like he is confused.

Jongdae wonders if he shouldn’t have used a nickname on him. Before he could apologize, Kyungsoo turns to face him.

“Jongdae,” he sighs while biting his lips again. That is so distracting. But Jongdae keeps his eyes on the other’s eyes. “Just… just don’t do it again.”

Jongdae tilts his face to his left as he stares at the shorter. He seems genuinely distressed and though Jongdae doesn’t understand why, he feels bad.
“I won’t,” he promises sincerely.

Night falls and the impending storm rages through the skies. They eat the food cooked by Kyungsoo and Chanyeol. Apparently, the weird guy is a good cook who is lucky enough to help Kyungsoo.

Jongdae tells himself not to be jealous but fails every time he sees the two best friends being touchy. Baekhyun and Sehun seems to be incredibly touchy too, making him wonder what happened between them. He is sure they are either dating or like each other. He should confront his best friend soon.

They finish eating and there’s only praises for the food. Jongdae feels proud for Kyungsoo, despite the praises not being for himself.

They are now deciding who should pair up and before Chanyeol could say anything, Jongdae blurts out, “I’ll go with Kyungsoo!”

And before Chanyeol can speak again, he continues, “We can take up the north entrance as that is the side entrance. Chanyeol, Sehun and Baekhyun; you guys can take up the main entrance. You guys can get better sleep. I’m sure you couldn’t sleep well here all this time.”

The other three seem to think about it for a few seconds. Baekhyun gives him a cheeky smile and nods towards the others. “Yes, we can divide the night into 3 if we team up together. We can get more sleep.”

Jongdae doesn’t like the smile his best friend gives him but is ecstatic nonetheless. Beaming, he pulls Kyungsoo by hand towards their entrance after waving goodnight to the trio.

 

Jongdae doesn’t know why he wanted to team up with Kyungsoo when all they would do is sleep like the latter is doing right now; or keep watch like Jongdae is doing right now. Still, he feels content with just watching over the younger as he sleeps peacefully. If Baekhyun sees him now, he’d say Jongdae is acting cheesy and unlike himself. He’d wonder if Jongdae has finally gone mad. Hell, he’s probably not even gonna believe him and brush it off as acting.

And in anyone else’s case, his best friend is right. Jongdae is many things – a joker, prankster, loud, whiny, social butterfly; but what he’s not… is whipped. Well, until Doh Kyungsoo happened. It was just a crush before this zombie apocalypse started. A passing cloud of infatuation and attraction. And now it grew into a storm in his mind and soul.

The thunderstorm only seems to get stronger and louder. And the sleeping boy only seems to get more restless. A few thunders later, Jongdae hears low whimpers from Kyungsoo. He gets up from his seating place and walks over to the side Kyungsoo is turned to.

With his body in a fetal position, brows furrowed in panic, eyes shut tight and lips quivering, Kyungsoo seems like a whole different person.

Before any thoughts cross his mind, Jongdae’s protective instincts take over and he first checks for fever. But Kyungsoo doesn’t have any fever. Not knowing what’s wrong, he tries to wake the younger up, worried that he’s having a nightmare.

“Kyungsoo… Kyungsoo!” he shakes the boy gently, worried he might scare him.

Kyungsoo jerks awake with a gasp, causing the older to rub his back in hopes of calming the boy and bringing his breathing back to normal.

Several seconds later, Kyungsoo calms down and looks around in confusion – only now realizing Jongdae’s presence.

He grows red. “J-Jongdae…”

“Are you okay? Here, have some water,” Jongdae grabs a bottle from the corner.

Kyungsoo accepts it gratefully, gulping down half a bottle quickly like he was dying of thirst.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jongdae asks carefully once the other stops drinking.

Pursing his lips, Kyungsoo murmurs through his blush, “It’s silly.”

Jongdae has never seen the boy so nervous before. The cool and collected Doh Kyungsoo he always knew is gone. The boy in front of him wears his emotions on his face.

Another thunder, this time, louder than any so far roars through the sky. Kyungsoo startles with a whimper, hugging himself tight with his legs to his chest. Realization fills over Jongdae as he watches the boy seem smaller and smaller every passing thunder.

Without thinking, he reaches forward and hugs Kyungsoo, the latter being too shocked to push him away. “It’s okay, Soo. I’m right here,” he whispers as he pats the other.

Slowly, he feels the younger’s tensed body relax. He moves away once the boy is calm but leaves his hand in the other’s to comfort him.

“I’m sorry… it’s so silly,” Kyungsoo says guiltily.

Jongdae shakes his head. “It’s not silly to be afraid of thunders. In fact, it makes you human. I was worried you weren’t one as you seemed to have no flaws,” Jongdae attempts to joke.

Just as he’d hoped, Kyungsoo chuckles at that. “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

Jongdae smiles. “There’s nothing wrong with being human.”

And it’s true. As horrible as it may sound, Jongdae is glad he got to witness this. It makes Kyungsoo more human and feel closer. He has always received help from the TA and now it’s his turn.

Kyungsoo startles again when another thunder booms. Jongdae squeezes the former’s hand in reassurance, making him blush again. It’s so endearing to see him blush that Jongdae blurts it out. “You look so cute when you blush!”

Mortified, Jongdae shuts his mouth with his hands.

Kyungsoo bursts into laughter. “Now you know how I felt all this time,” he says in a quiet voice probably not meant for him to hear.

“What?” Jongdae’s eyes widen.

Instead of replying, Kyungsoo asks him if he’s not afraid of thunderstorms.

“No, quite the contrary actually. I am fascinated by them,” Jongdae responds, a small smile playing on his lips.

“How so?”

Jongdae looks at Kyungsoo before turning away to look at the skies from the glass window. “They only appear for a few seconds and yet leave such a huge impression in the skies.”

“Just like you then,” Kyungsoo says with a lopsided smile. “Can you sing me a song?”

Jongdae looks at him, surprised. “What?”

“Your voice… it reminds me of ice lemonade on a hot summer day. And I wish it was a hot summer day right now. So, can you sing for me?”

Jongdae doesn’t know what to say to that. Is he shocked? Yes. Is his heart floating in lemonades and hot chocolates? Yes.

For some reason, Kyungsoo looks even younger with the brilliant blush he’s adorning. He looks like someone who needs to be protected unlike his normal aura. Would Jongdae say no to such a boy?

Clearing his mouth, he starts to sing softly.

The way you cry, the way you smile
I wonder how much they mean to me.
The words I want to say, but missed the chance
I will confess and it’s a bit awkward, but
Just listen I will sing for you, sing for you
Just listen, I will sing for you.

He ends the song as Kyungsoo gives him his famous heart smile. There’s something different about this though. Something more… intimate.

“Kyungsoo?”

The younger hums in response as he brings his eyes up to Jongdae’s.

“Why were you so angry when I didn’t leave you there?”

Brows immediately closing together in a frown, Kyungsoo bites his lips. “I just… I just don’t like it when people sacrifice themselves for me. Especially when it’s people I care about.”

Jongdae nods absently before replaying the words. “Wait, does that mean you care about me?” he teases with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

Kyungsoo’s ears go red. “I care about the dogs I see on street. You’re not special,” he murmurs disgruntledly.

Jongdae chortles, “Sure.”

Kyungsoo and Jongdae spend the rest of the night chatting, teasing and dare he say… flirting.

 

“So… what is up with you and Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks, nudging Jongdae in the side.

“What is up with you and Sehun?” Jongdae retorts as he finally opens the canned kimchi.

“Touché,” Baekhyun says while plopping some opened kimchi in his mouth, “but I can admit that we crossed the line of hate and are accepting the sizzling chemistry between us. What about you? Any improvement on the crush?”

Jongdae punches his best friend, making him yell out in pain and shushes him.

“Jongdae?”, he hears Kyungsoo’s voice as the smaller approaches him. “Are you done opening the kimchi?”

“Ah! Yes, here!” Jongdae hands the opened can over.

“Thanks,” Kyungsoo smiles that beautiful smile of his at him.

Jongdae smiles back, waving a little at the younger’s back.

“Dude… you’re totally whipped!” Baekhyun giggles pointing his hand at him.

Jongdae scowls. “Shut up!”

“Don’t worry man… he seems just as whipped for you!”

Jongdae shouldn’t believe his words. But he wants to. Kyungsoo did open up to him last night. But then again, it could be because he was scared. People are generally more prone to open up when they are scared.

Either way, he’s made his decision.

 

The 5 of them spend the morning guarding the entrances, cooking and eating. As it approaches about 4 in the evening, they hear loud shots.

Just then, they receive simultaneous messages again.

The rescue team should be dealing with the zombies outside the mart right now. Drop your weapons if you have any and wait for the team to enter the building.
It is advised to stay away from the doors

It’s now or never.

Jongdae doesn’t know if they’re gonna survive the way back to the camps. He probably wouldn’t get a chance to do this again.

Turning to the TA, he clears his throat before speaking.

“Kyungsoo, this is probably not the time but I really like you. I know we are quite opposite but I believe we are also similar enough to work out,” he takes a breathe before continuing, “what I’m trying to say is… would you be my boyfriend till this apocalypse kills us? I promise I’ll try not to bite if I become a zombie.”

He waits, anxiously looking at the younger’s shocked face while the gun shots are still ringing in all of their ears.

Everyone is looking at Kyungsoo now, for his response.

Kyungsoo chuckles suddenly, making Jongdae feel sweatier in his palms. He suddenly pulls Jongdae to him and pushes his lips against the other.

Shocked, Jongdae doesn’t immediately respond but melts into the kiss soon. The kiss is soft and his lips, even softer. It tastes like the packaged rice cakes they had for dessert.

Kyungsoo’s hand on the nape of his neck is gentle and now leaving. Kyungsoo pulls back, much to his disappointment. He was just getting into it!

“That was cheesier than I’d pegged you for… but yes, Jongdae. I’d like to be your boyfriend.”

Chanyeol, Sehun and Baekhyun hoot just as the door smashed down. The rescue team stands there, surprised and apparently pleased at the joy everyone’s showing to be rescued.

And Jongdae smiles the brightest. Nevermind then, he’ll have plenty of opportunities to kiss his boyfriend!

Who cares if Kyungsoo doesn’t need him all the time? Jongdae can need the other.
Who cares if Kyungsoo doesn’t talk much? Jongdae can do the talking.
Who cares if Kyungsoo doesn’t like parties? Jongdae can accompany him to the library.

Maybe they’re not right for each other. Maybe they will never make it to forever. But Jongdae knows for certain that this feels right at this moment.