“I don’t get paid enough for this ,” Doyoung said, looking at an impaled Yuta in front of him. 

 

“Save the sarcasm for later, Doyoung,” Jaehyun said, holding Yuta up, who was talking about how sleepy he was, no doubt from the concussion he gave himself earlier. “Yuta, we’re going to leave the spear in you-”

 

“You’re gonna leave the spear in what now?” Yuta asked him, eyes wide. “I can’t just walk about with a spear in me!?”

 

Si Cheng grabbed onto Yuta’s shoulders, forcing him to make eye contact. “We can’t just walk around in a dark forest infested with aliens but yet here we are!” he yelled at him. “You’re going to walk around with that spear and toughen up, Yuta!”

 

“NO! I look ridiculous!” Yuta screamed back. He didn’t even want to talk about how one of his favorite shirts was ruined. “Can’t you guys do something?”

 

“You looked ridiculous before you had the spear in you,” Hendery said, laughing as he high-fived Yangyang. 

 

Taeyong came forward and pressed a balled-up shirt onto Yuta’s side, trying to stop some of the bleeding. “We really have to find a hospital, guys,” he told the group. “I don’t know how much blood he’s losing nor how much longer we have.”

 

“Quick, who has O- blood?” Johnny shouted at them. “Y’all, give up some of your blood, we know you have it.”

 

“That sounds vaguely threatening,” Renjun said. “How do you know, anyways?"

 

“Hey, just- Taeil, don’t you have O blood or something?” Jaemin asked Taeil. “Can’t you give him some?” 

 

Taeil hid his arms behind his back. “I mean, yeah, but do you guys have more syringes?”

 

“If Taeil gives out any more blood, he's going to faint,” Jaehyun said. “Did you guys not learn this in school?”

 

Renjun glared at him. “Don’t say that while we’re at school, I don’t need to be more traumatized-“

 

“Having a spear in you is more traumatizing and we’re in that situation right now!”

 

“Guys!!” Ten interrupted them. “Lucas here has O blood, just ask him,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Gosh.”

 

Lucas stared at him, wide-eyed. “I have blood?”

 

Taeyong grabbed Yuta’s hand to make him grab a hold of the shirt, giving Taeyong the chance to let go real quick while he reached for his bag. “We have some empty syringes, Lucas, I’m going to take a pint from you, okay, it shouldn’t hurt you too much, you haven’t been seriously injured, right?” he said quickly in one breath.

 

“Uh- no, I just hurt my head earlier,” Lucas said.

 

Despite all the commotion going on about Yuta being stabbed with a spear, Jaemin was able to pull Jaehyun aside for a second. “Hyung, do you not see the bigger problem we have in our hands?” he asked him, pointing off to the distance.

 

“What could possibly be a bigger problem than Yuta getting- oh, ,” Jaehyun trailed of once he saw what Jaemin was pointing at.

 

It was that source of light that Yuta had seen minutes prior, where he was trying to check out. The light was getting dimmer, and Jaehyun was able to get a better glimpse of wear it was coming from.

 

Spaceship or flying saucer wouldn’t be the right word, though it is when aliens come to mind. No, it was more like a small airplane with no wings, a space pod more accurately. 

 

Is that where the creature came from? 

 

“Stay here,” Jaehyun said, pushing Jaemin back a little to make sure the younger wouldn’t follow him. “We don’t need another Yuta.”

 

“I HEARD THAT!” they both heard Yuta screeched, immediately hearing Doyoung afterwards telling him to shut the up.

 

Johnny came over to where they were. “Jaehyun, you’re ing insane, let me go with you-“

 

“Did you seriously not hear what I just told Jaemin here?” Jaehyun scolded him. 

 

“I’m older than you, I get more rights,” Johnny reminded him.

 

“, I don’t give a -“

 

“Jesus Christ, you guys argue over everything!” Ten yelled at him, making his way towards the space pod, actually paying attention to where he was going this time unlike a certain Japanese. “We can’t do one thing right-“

 

“Uh, babe, don’t do that, don’t- Ten!” Johnny said, running to catch up with Ten.

 

“You motherers, this was my idea in the first place!” Jaehyun yelled after them, running as well. 

 

Jaemin stood there, confused when he saw Hendery stand next to him. “Do you think we’ll be able to fly that weird space alien plane?”

 

Sighing, Jaemin replied, “Who knows. They’re insane.”

 

***

 

“Donghyuck.”

 

No answer.

 

Mark tried again. “Haechan.”

 

Nope.

 

He sighed, playing with the torn hems in his jeans. 

 

Donghyuck was “asleep”, laying on his side on the concrete, facing away from Mark. Why in quotations, you ask? Because as his best friend, Mark knows that it’s practically impossible for Donghyuck to fall asleep on concrete, only being able to do it if the latter was practically passing out. Which he wasn’t.

 

“Mark, can you be quiet, I’m trying to sleep,” Chen Le said. 

 

Mark frowned. “Chen Le, how the hell are you going to sleep while sitting up?”

 

Chen Le was, in fact, sitting with his feet crossed, Jisung’s head in his lap. Jisung was actually the only one who was able to really sleep, so Chen Le couldn’t move. He felt bad for the latter’s burned arms anyways. 

 

“Exhaustion can do a multitude of things, Mark,” Kun said, the only one who was supposed to be awake. 

 

Chen Le nodded. “What he said.”

 

Jeno groaned, getting up. “I’m going to sleep on the grass,” he said, brushing off his pants from the gravel getting on it. “My back hurts.”

 

“Me too,” Donghyuck said, suddenly getting up. Of course Mark was right, he knew his best friend better than anyone. “I’ll go with you, Jeno.”

 

“Haechan- HAECHAN!” Mark yelled, getting up as well. “Can you not ignore me?”

 

“Mark, not now, please,” Donghyuck said, still refusing to look at him. “Especially not in front of them.”

 

“I- you know what-” Mark grabbed Donghyuck’s hand, surprising him. “We need to talk-”

 

“Mark! You can’t just drag me- MARK LEE!”

 

Mark led him off the road back into the forest, where the others could still hear him say to Haechan “I am not about let another misunderstanding almost ruin our relationship-”

 

“WE’RE ABOUT TO DIE ANYWAYS!”

 

And soon the pair was gone. 

 

“Are they trying to get us all separated?!” Kun said in anger. “DON’T GET LOST, IDIOTS-”

 

“What part of Jisung is asleep do you not understand!?” Chen Le yelled after them, but it was no use anyways. Mark and Donghyuck were out of sight. 

 

Jeno, who had been standing up the entire time, sat back down, sighing. He really wanted to sleep but the ground on the road was very hard. “I’m tired.”

 

“Me too, buddy,” Kun said. “None of us signed up for this. Heck, I just wanted to watch a movie with WayV.”

 

Chen Le crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling. “I didn’t even get to finish my karaoke song,” he mumbled. “All because the wifi disconnected.”

 

Jeno sat down besides Chen Le and a sleeping Xiaojun, who was curled up away from him. “I hate high school, I hate being a sophomore!”

 

“And I hate the formal definition of a limit in beginning calculus,” Kun said, agreeing. “Jeno, I know this saying is such a cliche at this point, but-”

 

“Don’t say what I think you’re going to say,” Chen Le warned him in Mandarin. 

 

Kun squinted his eyes at Chen Le before turning his attention back towards Jeno. “Look, things will get better, Jeno-”

 

“OH MY GOD!” Chen Le yelled, accidentally waking up Jisung a little, the latter who had been asleep on Chen Le’s lap. “KUN-GE!”

 

“It’s the truth!” Kun yelled back at him, forgetting about Jeno who couldn’t speak Mandarin. “Look-”

 

“I don’t want to look! I’d rather-”

 

“Sometimes it does get better though.”

 

The three of them (including a confused Jeno) turned to look at Xiaojun, who they thought was asleep. He had been lying down, facing away from them, so they didn’t realize he was awake. 

 

“What did you say?” Jeno asked, since, just like everyone else, Xiaojun spoke in Mandarin. Damn, Jeno was going to have to take classes next semester or something. 

 

That is, if they even managed to live tonight. 

 

“Sometimes things get better,” Xiaojun repeated, this time in Korean, his voice quiet. “You don’t forget how bad things were before, but you appreciate being in the present a bit more.”

 

Kun leaned back a bit so that he could see Xiaojun more clearly. Xiaojun was laying his head on his hands, eyes staring down to the ground. “We’ll get through this.”

 

Xiaojun didn’t look at him, bringing his knees closer to his chest. “Who’s we though?” he whispered. 

 

“Uh, why do old people like to scare us into having existential crises,” Chen Le said, quietly so that only Jeno could hear him. Jisung, somehow, was still knocked out. “We’re sitting on the road in the middle of nowhere and meanwhile those two recite philosophy and are probably going to kiss-”

 

“They’re going to WHAT?!” Jeno shrieked.

 

“JENO, JUST LOOK AT THEM-”

 

Meanwhile, ignoring Chen Le’s and Jeno’s argument, Kun reached out to grab Xiaojun’s arm lightly. “Xiaojun, we’ll- we’ll get through,” Kun said again. “There’s going to be an outcome. It might get better, but there’s not wrong with hoping that it will.” 

 

Xiaojun rolled his eyes, pushing himself off the ground slowly, instantly wincing in pain. “Logically, I get that,” he said, “but when you’re just constantly stressed and that’s the only advice people give you, it gets really tiring hearing that over and over again- ah, -”

 

He collapsed back on the ground, head smacking with the concrete, causing him to groan again. 

 

Immediately, Kun leaned forward and placed his hand on Xiaojun’s back. “Are you okay?” he asked, worried. 

 

Xiaojun shut his eyes tight, tears pooling. “I don’t know,” he croaked out. “I’m just so- so tired, I-”

 

“Here, I got you-” Kun said, helping Xiaojun sit up again, holding him close to him. “You can keep sleeping, Xiaojun, it’s okay.”

 

“Xiaojun-ge?” Chen Le said, scooting over towards the pair. He had forgotten that Jisung was sleeping on his lap, so Jisung’s head fell against the ground, jerking him awake. “Are you okay?”

 

“Uh, guys?” Jeno said, pointing at the sky. “Do you see this light?”

 

***

 

Somehow, this became an efficient system for Kwon Soonyoung and Lee Jihoon. 

 

Said Soonyoung was in charge of running, carrying a small Jihoon in his arms, the latter holding a knife stabbing any alien that headed their way. 

 

At this rate, Soonyoung was now sprinting the hell out of the forest, the two of them screaming at each other. 

 

“WE GOT TO GET YOU OUT OF HERE!” Soonyoung shrieked, successfully managing to jump over a pile of branches without tripping despite being in the dark. Don’t ask Jihoon how he managed to do that, he had no clue, either. 

 

“SOONYOUNG, JUST KILL THESE MOTHERERS FIRST!” Jihoon yelled at him, reaching out to stab an alien that almost bit Soonyoung’s head, the alien shrieking in pain as he inched away, Soonyoung still running. “KWON SOONYOUNG-”

 

Soonyoung didn’t bother arguing with Jihoon, more concerned about finding help. Oh, god, this was a bad idea to come to Korea, this was such a bad idea, who knew that there were going to be aliens attacking them. 

 

All he wanted was for them to enjoy a nice, simple trip out of the country. It, quite honestly, had everything. They could focus on work and make advancements. They could visit their culture and ethnic roots. They could spend time with each other without any interruptions. And, most importantly, stuff their faces with delicious food that you can’t find back in the US. 

 

But no. They had to be stuck around a high school and have their lives on the line. All because the coordinates led them to this location. With Jihoon and Soonyoung injured, too, no less. 

 

Even though all these wild thoughts were running through his head, he was still running, adrenaline pumping through his blood, when something interesting caught his attention. 

 

There, up above the sky, was a tiny light beaming. 

 

Since the sky was dark, Soonyoung couldn’t see it very clearly, but the light was able to let him see part of what was surrounding it, which is when Soonyoung realized it was on what appeared to be a water tower of some sorts, a small one for the town. 

 

He didn’t know what was causing the beam of light, but one thing was for certain; it was probably their best bet towards safety. They could be all the way up to the top, away from any aliens. Plus, it’s easier to fight from one opening than all around. 

 

“Woozi, new plan!” Soonyoung said, using their childhood nickname as he started sprinting towards the water tower, desperate to reach the light beam. “We’re going up.”

 

“You’re not seriously going to be following that light, right?” Jihoon asked him, only to be ignored. “HOSHI!”

 

“WE HAVE TO GET YOU TO SAFETY!” Soonyoung repeated, heading deep in the forest. The last thing he needed was to lose his friend again. 

 

***

 

Donghyuck, although pissed, let Mark lead them a few yards away from the group, back in the forest where, thankfully, since they didn’t want to get lost, they were still able to see their friends. Not much, though, since it was dark. 

 

Unfortunately. 

 

Donghyuck pulled his arm away from Mark and crossed them over his chest. “What.”

 

“Haechan, you misunderstood me,” Mark started. “Don’t take what I said out of context.”

 

“Well, then, what did you mean?” Donghyuck asked him, rubbing his arms with his hands, as it was getting quite chilly outside. 

 

Mark ran his fingers through his hair, looking away. “Hyuck, why would I possibly say I regret all of that not even a few hours after telling you I’ve been in love with you for who knows how many years now??”

 

Donghyuck looked away as well, shrugging. “Well… I mean, it would just be my luck, you know?”

 

“What- what do you mean, your luck?” Mark asked him, confused. 

 

His best friend didn’t say anything, instead, choosing to shut his eyes tight, where Mark could see that Donghyuck was about to cry. There were only a handful of things that could prompt him to act like that, and Mark, of course, as the best friend, knew all of them. 

 

“Hey, Haechan, hey-” Mark stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Donghyuck, pulling him into a hug. “I’m sorry-”
 

Donghyuck wrapped his arms around Mark’s neck, burrowing his head onto the latter’s neck, where Mark could feel it get wet. “I- I just don’t know what else to do to make them happy.”

 

“Nothing, Donghyuck, you don’t have to do anything,” Mark said, rubbing a soothing circle on Donghyuck’s back. “Nothing, you’re literally perfect, Haechan, and it’s their fault for not seeing that.”

 

They stood there in silence for a while, Donghyuck silently crying while Mark held him. 

 

During the entire course of their friendship, Mark has always, always known, how ty Haechan’s parents were. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort Donghyuck put for his parents to like him or to actually care for him for once… nothing mattered. 

 

In Mark’s opinion, Donghyuck’s parents. They haven’t done one thing for Donghyuck, haven’t been there for when he has needed them, nothing. They probably don’t even know their son is missing, anyways, and that’s how they’ve always been. 

 

“I love you, Lee Donghyuck,” Mark whispered, patting down Haechan’s hair. “And I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to make you feel that way earlier, it’s just… be honest, no one dreams of confessing their love to someone else in a computer classroom at school after hours while a serial killer threatens to kill you guys.”

 

Despite having just been crying, Donghyuck couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. “They’re aliens, Mark, not serial killers,” he reminded him. 

 

“They are still trying to kill us,” Mark pointed out. 

 

Donghyuck shrugged. “True.” 

 

Mark looked up at the sky, ruffling Donghyuck’s hair as he saw a beam of light. Probably a star, he realized, though nothing could be brighter than the person standing in front of him. 

 

“When we survive all this, let me take you to an official date,” Mark suggested, cupping Donghyuck’s face with one of his hands. “”Wherever you want. Maybe- maybe go out for dinner or something.”
 

Donghyuck looked at the ground, though Mark could still see his grin. “When.”

 

“Hey, I am not about to die after getting together with you, you know how much that would ?” Mark said. “I read a Ukiss fanfic like that once-”

 

“The one on Tumblr,” Donghyuck said from memory, remembering how Mark cried for an hour after the bad ending. Donghyuck was this close to writing a Ukiss fanfic on the spot for his best friend, even though fanfictions were weird. “You heard the Always album for two hours straight.”

 

“That was a sad, sad story,” Mark recalled from memory. “I miss ukiss.”

 

That gave Donghyuck an idea. “Well, maybe for our date,” he said, teasing Mark, "We can go for dinner, and then we can do karaoke. Which, you owe me by the way, thanks to all these aliens here interrupting our plans today.”

 

Mark hid his face on Donghyuck’s shoulder, not believing what they had agreed on. Mark Lee, taking Donghyuck on a date?? Was this a dream?? Clearly he was dreaming, right??? He could believe the aliens being real, but Haechan going on a date with him???

 

“I promise to- to take you to karaoke,” Mark said, stuttering. “I- yeah, we should probably just survive all this first.”

 

Donghyuck squinted his eyes at him. “Probably.”

 

“I mean, it would be preferable,” Mark added. 

 

Rolling his eyes, Donghyuck grinned. “Well, we got over our first fight, but you still haven’t made up to me.”

 

That left Mark confused. “Why, what’s wrong?” he asked, seriously. 

 

Donghyuck pointed his cheek, pouting. “You’re not going to give me a kiss?” 

 

“Oh, um-” Mark leaned forward to peck his cheeks, only to pull back before leaning forward again. “Um- sorry, I’m not good at this-”

 

“Mark, it’s just a kiss-”

 

“I know, I know, just give me a minute.”

 

They stood there in silence, Donghyuck waiting for Mark to kiss his cheek, but nothing. “MARK LEE!” 

 

“I’m sorry!” Mark screamed. “I’m just panicking!”

 

“You’re panicking- MARK, WE LITERALLY HAD EARLIER!” Donghyuck reminded him.

 

“I KNOW! AND I WOULD GLADLY DO IT AGAIN!” Mark yelled back, only to cover his mouth when he realized what he said. “Um- Donghyuck, let me panic for a moment, I still think I’m dreaming!”

 

Donghyuck’s eyes widened for a split second before laughing. “At least now we know what else we’re doing on our date,” he teased. 

 

Mark’s face turned red. “I- I did not mean to voice that thought out loud- hey, what’s that?”

 

He pointed at the light in the sky earlier, which had become brighter, he noticed. It seemed to be perched on the water tower nearby. 

 

His stomach formed knots when he saw two men on the top, messing around with what appeared to be a satellite.

 

“What are you looking at?” Donghyuck asked, confused. He turned to see where Mark was staring. “Oh, that’s- oh, no.”

 

“It’s the aliens, right?” Mark asked him, grabbing onto his hand. “Their messing with something.”

 

“You don’t think- Mark, what do you think they’re doing?” Donghyuck asked quietly. 

 

Mark tightened his grip on Donghyucks’ hand, looking down to see their fingers interlocked. “We have to go stop them.”