Yogurt is one of the best frozen treats in the world, in Si Cheng’s opinion. 

 

He had a lot of yogurt in his house. None of that boring stuff (though he always had vanilla, as it was an important base for deserts) but he was a big fan of the yo crunch yogurts that had candy in packages that you could stir it in the yogurt, like oreo, snickers, M&Ms, you name it. All delicious flavors. He was also a fan of peach yogurt and putting various fruits in it, sometimes even freezing it as a homemade ice cream of sorts, which is what he did this afternoon before coming back to school to watch the movie for the wayv meeting. 

 

As you can tell, due to unfortunate circumstances, Si Cheng has not been able to go back home and eat his yogurt, and this was making him very, very mad. 

 

The group was walking deep into the forest and Si Cheng stomped dramatically the entire time, dangerous blades in his hands. Why did he have to fight aliens again? Why couldn’t Korea deal with it? They always made fun of him for being Chinese, well, they certainly didn’t deserve any help from him. Half of the group wasn’t Korean anyways. He just wanted to go home and eat his yogurt for crying out loud"

 

“Uh, Si Cheng, you’re going to accidentally stab someone if you keep swinging- uh-” Yuta stopped when he noticed Si Cheng giving him a death glare. “Nevermind, keep doing what you’re doing, babe.”

 

Si Cheng rolled his eyes at the guy who’s been his boyfriend for, like, half an hour. Certainly not the confession he had been daydreaming for a while now, but you can’t really be picky when you’re about to die. “Why do you even call me babe?” he asked Yuta, crossing his arms across his chest. “I’m taller than you.”

 

“If I were one inch shorter I would be made fun of like Ten and Taeil,” Yuta agreed. “‘Kay, what terms of endearment do you prefer?”

 

“Uh, my nickname?” Si Cheng reminded him. “You better not be calling me any weird -”

 

“Can you guys be quiet?” Mark hushed both of them. He was walking behind Yuta, his arms wrapped around Haechan. “I plan to live at least one more day with Donghyuck here-”

 

“Yo, you finally asked him out, I’m proud of you,” Yuta said, reaching out his hand to high five Mark. “I told you that Haechan liked you.”

 

Haechan frowned. “Wait, how did you know?”

 

“It was kind of obvious,” Yuta explained. “Y’all don’t act slick in the 127 meetings with all your lovestruck eyes and-”

 

“Yes, thank you for reminding me that I’m an idiot,” Mark interrupted him, pulling Haechan away from Yuta and Si Cheng. “Everyone here is ing stupid-”

 

“Guys, stop,” Taeyong announced to the whole group, everyone immediately stopping in their tracks. “Where’s…” he looked around as if trying to find someone. “Oh no.”
 

Si Cheng did not like how that oh no sounded. It was getting darker here in the woods with each passing second and he just wanted to eat his ing yogurt-

 

“Why did we stop, can we go now?” Hendery whined. “I want to go-”

 

“Where did the two Americans go?” Renjun asked. “They’re gone.”

 

“Exactly,” Taeyong agreed. “Where are they?”

 

Jisung grabbed Chen Le and picked him up, ignoring the latter asking him what the . “Welp, that’s it, time to make a run for it-”

 

“Do you think the aliens got them?” Ten asked, surprised. “I thought Yangyang would be the first to die-”

 

“I’M NOT GOING TO DIE, YOU’RE GOING TO DIE-”

 

It was safe to say that Si Cheng was never going to taste his sweet, sweet yogurt again. “They’re probably not dead, idiots, they would have screamed if they were killed!” He shouted. “They probably left our stupid asses!”

 

Taeil sat down on the floor of the forest. “I’m going to take a nap, wake me up when you guys are done-”

 

“No the you aren’t.” Doyoung grabbed Taeil’s wrist and pulled him back up again. “Just someone go get them! It’s not that hard, this isn’t linear algebra-”

 

“Unfortunately,” Kun muttered under his breath. 

 

“I thought we weren’t going to separate,” Lucas reminded Doyoung. “And it’s getting dark-”

 

“Ah, Jesus christ, I’ll go!” Si Cheng yelled, turning around and marching away. Aren’t most scientists supposed to be smart? Why did those two leave anyway?

 

He heard Yuta shout behind him, but Si Cheng didn’t care, he wanted his ing yogurt now.

 

***

 

It was really hard to check out Jihoon’s injured ankle in the cramped space that they currently found themselves in, but the last thing Soonyoung wanted was for his injury to get worse, so they had to manage. 

 

“Can you try to criss cross your legs?” Soonyoung asked him. “I can’t really bend forward to reach your ankle.”

 

“Don’t try to flex your height right now,” Jihoon mumbled before trying to get into a criss cross position. “- this hurts, Soonyoung-”

 

“Come on, you can do it.” Soonyoung extended his arm out to pull Jihoon’s leg closer to him, instantly regretting it when he heard the latter whimper. “Ah, , well, maybe we can wait a little."

 

They said nothing after that, remaining quiet as they heard more noise outside, probably from aliens roaming around. Soonyoung had tried to kill any that came close to their hiding spot and doesn’t know if it was all of them, but he wasn’t about to be a stupid main character in a horror movie and check out the noises outside. 

 

He ripped off the bottom of his shirt, using the blade to hastily cut it off, and used it to tie around Jihoon’s ankle. “I really should have taken more science classes in college,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. 

 

It only resulted in proving how dumb he was. “Soonyoung, you have a master’s in astrophysics,” Jihoon reminded him. 

 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it- HOLY , I’M SO-”

 

Soonyoung had tightened the piece of cloth a bit too tight, making Jihoon wince again. However, Jihoon shut him up, clamping his hand over the latter’s mouth. “What part of ‘there are aliens outside’ do you not understand?!”

 

“Sorry, sorry, I’m just trying not to hurt you,” Soonyoung admitted. 

 

He tied it slowly, adding pressure bit by bit until he saw Jihoon get uncomfortable again. “I think that should handle it,” he said. “Hope you don’t have any broken bones, though. I’ll just carry you for now.”

 

Jihoon rolled his eyes. “Soonyoung, we’re trapped.”

 

“Point taken,” Soonyoung said. “But we have to get out of here eventually.”

 

“I’d rather be here until I die,” Jihoon said, scooting forward so that he could lie down, placing his hands under his head. “Goodnight, it was nice knowing you-”

 

“We’re not going to die,” Soonyoung said. “Not when aliens are finally confirmed! This is no time jokes-”

 

“ them aliens, they’re the reason why I’m here in the first place.” Jihoon closed his eyes. “Bye.”

 

Soonyoung scooted towards the front at the tight front opening, slowly getting out of the hiding spot. “I’m going to get us out of here,” he said, grabbing his blade. “I refuse to die until I get my Yuri on Ice movie.”

 

“ ice and skating, I hate sports,” Jihoon mumbled, before opening his eyes after realizing Soonyoung’s statement. “What do you mean you’re getting us out of- SOONYOUNG!”

 

Soonyoung, who had gotten out, grabbed Jihoon’s legs and pulled his body out. “Come on, let those kids pretend they’re on Mortal Kombat, I’m taking you to the nearby hospital.”

 

“You have a stab wound on your arm and I don’t see you getting emergency services for that,” Jihoon muttered under his breath, crossing his arms as Soonyoung pulled him out. “I can’t even die in peace now.”

 

“It’s because we’re obviously on our phones all the time, according to boomer logic,” Soonyoung said. He managed to get Jihoon out, helping him sit up. “I just realized that we are in Seoul and don’t know the closest direction to any hospital.”

 

Jihoon shrugged. “Soonyoung, it’s a sprained ankle, we don't need a hospital-"

 

“NONSENSE! We are getting you out of here.” Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon into his arms and lifted him up, ignoring Jihoon’s death threats. “Now come on, let’s go find a street and get out of here.’

***

 

If you asked Haechan if he was scared about this whole situation, the honest answer would be yes. 

 

However, Haechan doesn’t like to think of himself as a coward. Obviously, there are some exceptions of him clearly not being brave, like talking to his parents or confessing to Mark. (Glad one of those things is behind him.) So, he always tries to find the positive of every situation and make the best of it. 

 

For example, what good things have happened today? Well, for one, he found out that he passed an exam last week. He had eaten a good amount of snacks today. The love of his life is now his one and only. Oh, and he’s fighting aliens! That’s a good thing, right? This opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. 

 

Though it was a tad bit difficult, to say the least. Some people here were injured, and some of them were stupid so he knew he was going to get killed. Those were goals, though, the homies all getting killed together. 

 

Who was he kidding, if one of them died, he wasn’t going to be able to handle it. 

 

That’s why, when he heard that the two Americans were gone, even though he didn't even know their names, he ran after Si Cheng in order to help him find them. Horrific deaths were not on their to-do list today, no, only to make mac and cheese, try to get his parents to talk to him for once, and to find shoes online for homecoming. 

 

“Winwin, wait for me!!” Haechan yelled, running after Si Cheng. “I’ll help-”

 

“Don’t go!” He felt Mark grab his wrist, pulling him back. “You can’t get hurt, Hyuck.”

 

Haechan tried to get out of Mark’s grasp, failing miserably. “We have to help! They could be in danger-”

 

“I know, but you can’t go alone,” Mark said, the two watching how in the distance Yuta was hugging Si Cheng from behind, pushing him back to where the group was. “We’ll think of something, I promise.”

 

Haechan pouted but didn’t say anything else. Blame it on Mark to be overprotective all the time. Totally a different vibe than from his parents, who never cared about him in the first place. 

 

Jeno came up next to Mark, tapping him on the shoulder as the others in the group were “talking” (mainly arguing) with one another. “Uh, Mark, I think we have a problem,” Jeno whispered. 

 

Mark, who still hasn’t let go of Haechan’s hand, not trusting him, turned around to face Jeno. “Why, what’s going on?” he asked the younger.

 

Jeno pointed at Renjun beside him, who was currently in a coughing fit while Jaemin patted his back. “I think something’s wrong with Renjun,” he said. “I don’t like seeing him like this-”

 

Renjun, who overheard Jeno, spoke up between the fits. “I said I’m fine, Jeno- ack.” Renjun covered his mouth again, coughing one last time. “I want to beat up the aliens.” 

 

“Oh, Jesus, HELLO BOOMERS!! CAN WE GO NOW?!?!” Mark screamed at the whole group. “HURRY UP-”

 

Ten came next to Mark and covered his mouth. “Idiot, don’t you see we can’t make noise?!” he harshly whispered at him.

 

Mark frowned. “Like you guys aren’t arguing with one another-”

 

"I ALREADY SAID I'M NOT A BOOMER!!" Johnny yelled, despite his boyfriend telling Mark to shut up five seconds before. 

 

“I got Si Cheng back,” Yuta said, a struggling Si Cheng in his arms. “We can continue.”

 

“I’m going to break up with you RIGHT THIS SECOND if you don’t let go of me!!” Si Cheng yelled at him.

 

“I don’t care!! I love you too much for you to be in danger!” Yuta shouted back to him. “You have to survive if you want your yogurt-”

 

“Yeah, let’s get a move on,” Jaehyun muttered. “Let’s continue walking, guys, it’s getting dark-”

 

“If I hear that stupid phrase ONE MORE TIME, JAEHYUN-”

 

“DAMN, DOYOUNG, EXCUSE ME FOR POINTING OUT THE OBVIOUS TO THESE IDIOTS-”

 

Yangyang pouted. “I’m not an idiot-”

 

“Uh, Mark,” Jeno said again, tapping on his shoulder. “Can I tell you something else as well?”

 

“Is Renjun okay?” Mark asked him. 

 

“Uh… I think, but I was talking about those aliens over there heading towards us,” Jeno said, pointing in front of them in the direction they had been going. “Look, I think they’re trying to- oh no-”

 

“Guys, GUYS, WE HAVE TO MOVE IT, PEOPLE!” Mark yelled, tugging Haechan along with him to run to the right where there was a road nearby. “GUYS-”

 

“Mark, what happened to not separating?!” Haechan yelled at him. “MARK-”

 

Some headed towards the aliens, weapons out, as others followed Mark and Haechan somewhere else, the group being split into two. 

 

***

 

Xiaojun had no idea how to tell the group that he felt like he was going to pass out. 

 

There was always some type of commotion going on, and even though he wasn’t the only one with injuries, everyone else seemed to handle it pretty well, including Kun who had been stabbed earlier on accident. Either Kun had no pain receptors in his body or he had a really high pain tolerance, because he had not complained about the incident once. 

 

So of course, Xiaojun wasn’t going to say anything about his dizziness either. 

 

It was getting really hard, though. His vision was getting blurred and he had a pounding headache, but he didn’t want to worry anyone so he kept his mouth shut and continued walking. Kun must have sensed his discomfort, however, since he put his hand around him to help him stand up. It worked for a little bit but Xiaojun felt like collapsing any second now. 

 

He was really dizzy; twice he bumped into a tree and he’s been tripping over branches, but he’s handling it better than how he thought he would. Barely. 

 

But these are NCT students, after all, so when they resulted in a commotion again and now the threats of aliens running at them again (they may have been fun for some people but Xiaojun was beaten up before he knew, which burned out any enthusiasm he would have had), Xiaojun knew he was going to die.

 

“We have to go,” Kun said, grabbing his hand so that they could follow Mark, who Ten once dubbed the biggest coward between everyone. “Let’s run-”

 

“I can’t run,” Xiaojun whispered, tears pooling in his eyes. “I want to go home-”

 

“We’ll get you home,” Kun reassured him. “Come on-”

 

“No, I-” Xiaojun fell on his knees to the ground, where black dots were forming in his vision. “I can’t-”

 

Kun lifted him up in his arms, taking one last look at the aliens running towards them, and followed where Mark and Haechan had run, along with  Chen Le, Jisung and Jeno. “Where the is Mark even going,” he muttered under his breath before chasing after him. 

 

Xiaojun didn’t want Kun to carry him, knowing it wasn’t good for the latter, as he had been stabbed in the shoulder earlier and it was surely going to reopen some wounds. However, his head was getting heavier and the thoughts of home filled his head, he just wanted to go home-

 

He thought of his old house back in China, where everything was okay, before being outed in school, before the incident with Zhangwei, before his grades dropped, before his father cheated on his mother. Why did everything have to change? What was so bad about his life before? Why can’t we remain happy throughout our lives?

 

He thought of his movie, back in that tiny house right now, away from everyone she knew in China with only her sister here in Korea. Xiaojun surely was going to die any second now, so his mother would have lost both her husband and her son in one year. Hopefully she remained happy, Xiaojun thought, and was thankfully out of this whole alien mess; she deserved a lot more. 

 

Xiaojun’s vision was getting as dark as the sky, and it eventually turned black, his body going limp in Kun’s arms. 

 

***

 

The group was separating. 

 

The 21 of them were separating, and there was nothing Taeyong could do about it. 

 

There was nothing Taeyong could really do, and as much as he really wanted to follow the others running away, he knew that he needed to help the others fight, as he couldn’t risk any other injuries to occur, or worse, death. 

 

So, Taeyong bit his lip, not caring of the blood he could hear flowing out, and ran with the others to help fight. 

 

Despite making a ton of plans today (yes, he didn’t care about his language anymore), he just couldn’t come up with one when it came to combat. He’s never played video games or watched many action movies, though he did study a bit of martial arts a bit, but that was more for… how would you say this, defending against a bad person, not aliens attacking the human race. 

 

Taeyong tried to remember his martial arts training, any rare fighting television scenes he had seen and fights between Yuta and Johnny when they were supposed to be working and did his best to fight against the aliens. 

 

His hand held the blade unsteady as his eyes darted back and forth between the creatures running towards them and those in their group willing to fight. This wasn’t safe, this wasn’t safe, this wasn’t safe-

 

But Taeyong knew that they had to fight back, so he tightened his grip on his blade, raised it above his head, and charged at the first alien that he saw, knowing that if one of them god, he will make god fear him back.