“Is that light coming from a water tower or something?” Xiaojun asked, confused. He still wasn’t used to this city, after all. 

 

Kun squinted his eyes, trying to focus intently on the light. “I- I think so? I’m not really sure, though-”

 

“You think it’s the aliens?” Chen Le questioned, both visibly excited and terrified. “Are they going to find us-”

 

“I can’t believe Mark and Haechan are gone again,” Jeno said, sighing. “Everytime they leave, something important happens.”

 

“Gotta love them being boyfriends now,” Jisung said, rolling his eyes. Thanks to everyone’s arguing and questioning, he was now awake with an awful crick in his neck. Where did he wake from again? And where were they? “I bet they’re going to frick again.”

 

“You- if you’re going to cuss, use , Jisung, that sounds even worse,” Kun corrected him. 

 

“Oh my gosh, Kun is forcing Jisung to say bad words!” Chen Le exclaimed. 

 

“Wait, Kun cusses?” Jeno asked, confused. 

 

Kun rubbed his right eye with his hand, hating how he could feel scratches and dried blood on his palms. “Can we focus on the task here? We’re separated from the main group, Mark and Donghyuck are gone in the woods with no one, they are aliens around us and there’s a mysterious light coming from a water tower here! What are we going to do?!”

 

“Why are you asking us?!” Jisung questioned him. “You are the oldest out of everyone here! I just started high school, old man!”

 

“I am not an old man!” Kun yelled back at Jisung. 

 

Xiaojun curled up, bringing his knees to his chest as he tried to rest his head above them. “Can we not yell, please?” he asked quietly. “My head, my head hurts-”

 

“Oh, , we really need to get some help,” Kun said, reaching out his hand to hold onto Xiaojun’s. “Hey, on a rate of 1 to 10-”

 

“Please, not that stupid scale,” Xiaojun muttered under his breath in Mandarin. “I- I don’t know, my head hurts and I’m tired, it’s been the same thing all day.”

 

Jeno looked out at the forest. “We really need Mark and Haechan to come back,” he said. “Where are they? It’s dark out here and they’re going to get hurt-”

 

Kun held Xiaojun’s hand and stood up, prompting the latter to do the same. “So right now, as far as I can tell, we have three options and you guys probably aren’t going to like any of them.”

 

Jisung laid back down on the concrete again, his head on Chen Le’s nap. “Well, let’s hear it,” he said coolly. “I just want to cut my arms off and a neck massage.”

 

“You want to WHAT?!?!” Jeno shrieked at him. 

 

“I can give you a neck massage!” Chen Le rolled up his sleeves and massaged Jisung’s neck, the latter leaning his head back a little more. “Kun, what’s your idea?”

 

Kun slung his arm around Xiaojun’s shoulders, helping him stand straight. “One, we all wait for Mark and Haechan to come back in order to get the out of here-”

 

“Yeah, they’re not coming back,” Jisung mumbled. 

 

“Two, we go look for them,” Kun continued. He felt Xiaojun hold onto his waist, pressing closing into him. He must have been struggling to stay awake. “Or three, I go with Xiaojun and you guys wait here.”

 

“You want to leave us?!” Jeno screamed. 

 

“Fine by me,” Jisung said, shivering. “Ah, , it’s cold- wait, hold on.” He sat back up. “I want to go, my arms are burning, man-”

 

Chen Le stopped messaging Jisung’s neck, choosing to poke his chest instead, confusing him. “Why don’t we all follow that light over the water tower?” he asked, pointing off towards the distance with his free hand. “As the fourth option. No doubt Mark and Haechan would head there, and maybe the police will come as well so that Xiaojun and Jisung can go to the hospital. It’s not like we know our way out of here, anyways.”

 

Xiaojun let out a small laugh, his eyes blinking slowly; he was forcing himself to stay awake, which was not an easy task. “Same, I don’t even know what city I’m in and at this point, I’m too afraid to ask.”

 

“You don’t- excuse me, what?” Jisung asked him, raising an eye. He sat up and rubbed his sore neck, wincing at the pain in his arms. “Dude, we’re in Seoul, how do you not know this?”

 

“I am a new student from China,” Xiaojun reminded him. “Well, soon it’ll be was. I’m not going to live.”

 

“Let’s not joke about that,” Kun muttered. “Kay, let’s hope Mark and Haechan don’t die and follow that light. Wonder how the others are doing.”
 

***

 

Ten was the first to approach the so-called space pod, staring at it in awe. “Woah, this certainly looks futuristic,” he said to himself. 

 

His boyfriend Johnny showed up right behind him, gasping for air. “Babe, you’re going to die if you keep doing that,” he managed to sputter out. 

 

“I’m not going to die,” Ten told him. “Haven’t you noticed that I’ve managed not to get a single injury on  me this entire time?”

 

“That- woah, , really?” Johnny asked, scratching his scalp. “Damn. Not gonna lie, that’s hot-”

 

“That’s ing disgusting,” Jaehyun said, standing next to Johnny. You can always count on those two to soon delve into their own little world. “Can you guys not do that right now while Yuta behind is impaled?”

 

Johnny shrugged. “Mark and Haechan managed to while we all running in the hallways, I can do what I want.”

 

“That- that’s not-” Jaehyun pinched the bridge of his nose. “I hate you.”

 

Ten stepped closer to the space pod. It was pretty small, not what you expected of big alien spaceships or flying saucers in the movies. “So who’s going to be the first to open it?”

 

“I’ll do it because I love you and Jaehyun is a coward,” Johnny said, rolling his sleeves. “Let’s see-”

 

“I am not a coward!” Jaehyun yelled at him. “We have had this conversation multiple times and I am not a wimp, I am way better than Mark!” 

 

Ten squinted his eyes at the two of them. “Mark- what type of ing conversations do you to have-”

 

“Well, last time I checked, Mark actually asked out his crush,” Johnny reminded Jaehyun. “And not you.”

 

Jaehyun straightened up his posture. “I’ll have you know, I asked out Taeyong on a date yesterday.”

 

“This is really not the time, you two,” Ten mumbled, though of coure, his statement was ignored. 

 

“Hold on, hold on, you asked Taeyong on a date?!” Johnny yelled at Jaehyun, not caring that ten of their other classmates were some feet away from them, hearing anything. He knows he always protected this secret of Jaehyun, but hey, people were dying, no one cared. “Like, you actually said the word date.”

 

“I’m pretty sure I made a fool of myself and said I was in love with him and wanted to be more than friends,” Jaehyun said. “And we were going on a date after school today, but guess what? There are aliens trying to kill us so it served no point anyways.”

 

“Oh, , I forgot we had school today,” Ten said. “Wow, I really had a test, I forgot all about it.”

 

“It feels like it’s been forever,” Johnny agreed. “But, Jaehyun, at least you can die knowing Taeyong likes you back?”

 

“I don’t think Taeyong likes me,” Jaehyun said, shrugging. “But… I just hope we can stay as friends, though I probably botched that opportunity, too.”

 

At that moment, Johnny started making stop hand motions, eyes widening. Jaehyun had no idea what he was trying to do, probably get him to stop thinking so miserably, but eh, whatever. 

 

Ten grabbed Johnny’s wrist, ignoring the alarming stare his boyfriend gave him. “What do you see in Taeyong?” he asked Jaehyun. “Not saying you shouldn’t, I’m just curious. We all like different people for different reasons.”

 

“He’s just- he’s so…” Jaehyun trailed off, running his hands through his hair. “He- I can’t describe it, I just like his presence so ing much, he makes my heart beat fast but it’s so comfortable being with him at the same time, and I don’t get it-”

 

By now, Johnny was mouthing stop over and over, but Jaehyun was too far in his rambling to even pay attention to Johnny’s weird faces. 

 

“-and he’s so ing gorgeous, it doesn’t even matter what he’s wearing, I get the sudden urge to just kiss him and I can’t because he’s not my boyfriend!” Jaehyun let out a cry of frustration. “And his thoughtfulness… I can go on for hours but since we’re about to die I would probably only have one and I feel like all the time because I feel like all I do is make him anxious but I just want him to be happy when he’s with me, either platonically or-”

 

“HE’S RIGHT ING BEHIND YOU!” Johnny finally yelled at Jaehyun. 

 

“-Romantically-” Jaehyun did a 180 degree turn when Johnny yelled at him, seeing Taeyong behind him. “I- oh no.”

 

Taeyong was clutching his bag close to his chest, eyeing Jaehyun the entire time. Jaehyun noticed how the cut on Taeyong’s eyebrow was still bleeding, drops of blood covering his eyelid. “Do… Do you mean all that?” he asked quietly. 

 

Jaehyun could feel his cheeks instantly get hotter. “I- yeah,” he finished. What was the point of saving himself, everything was out in the open now. “I’ve liked you for a while, and, well, I’m sorry if I can out as weird yesterday at your house, but…”

 

“Wait, you ask him out at his house?” Johnny interrupted him.

 

“Bro, not now, for crying out loud!!” Jaehyun screamed. “You have your own boyfriend, leave us two alone!”

 

Ten pulled Johnny back, ignoring his protests. “Wait, why are you acting like it's embarrassing for Taeyong to hear you if he already knows you love him or whatever-”

 

“Because I hate looking vulnerable,” Jaehyun explained in simple terms.

 

Taeyong chewed on his thumbnail, watching the whole interaction between the friends. “I just thought you were pulling a prank,” he said honestly. “And I’ve been confused about it.”

 

“I would never do that to you,” Jaehyun said. “Taeyong… I really do like you, I would never hurt you like that-”

 

“WE HAVE A ING PROBLEM!!” 

 

The four of them turned around to see Doyoung, Renjun tagging behind him. “Taeyong! Thanks for stopping them from entering that thing.”

 

“I- oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” Taeyong mumbled, continuing to chew on his thumbnail. 

 

“The- Doyoung, you have absolutely no faith in us,” Johnny argued with Doyoung. 

 

Doyoung shrugged. “Course I don’t, any sane person wouldn’t.” He turned his attention back to Taeyong. “So I know a lot of us got distracted with this space pod over here or Yuta getting stabbed but we have a bigger problem in our hands and I don’t know if it’s good or bad-”

 

“How can this day possibly get any worse?” Ten asked Doyoung. 

 

Doyoung didn’t answer Ten, merely choosing to glare at him until the latter raised his hands up in defeat. “Okay, ignore me, then-”

 

“Don’t worry, babe, you know I never ignore you,” Johnny said. 

 

“Doyoung, what’s wrong?” Taeyong asked, instantly getting concerned. “What’s going on?”
 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Doyoung started, pointing at the sky- oh, yeah, there was- wait, hold on a second, “but the light from earlier wasn’t from this alien space ship whatever thing, it’s coming from the water tower over there and it’s getting kind of strong.”

 

Taeyong slung his bag over his back, holding onto the straps tighter. “Do you think it can be authorities or something?” he asked tentatively, hoping everyone would maintain their cool. It was already hard enough when they killed that alien who could express coherent thoughts and Yuta’s injury.

 

“When they see how trashed the school is-” Johnny covered his mouth to cough. “Not our fault-”

 

“Do we investigate the light?” Jaehyun asked. “Doyoung, what do you think? How’s everyone faring?”

 

Doyoung scratched the back of his neck. “Yuta is really injured,” he said slowly. “I’m just afraid he’s not going to make it.”

 

He’s not going to make it.

 

Taeyong doesn’t know what caused him to feel angry at the moment. Something so trivial? So serious? A mixture of everything?

 

It was an awful feeling that was not universal. Spending whether a few seconds, minutes, or in their case, hours, wondering whether you were going to make it at the end or not was not a good one. Even worse, wondering who was going to live, who would be traumatized, and who just… wouldn’t.

 

Taeyong was the one who planned the 127 unit meeting today after school, after all. If he hadn’t, none of them would have been in this situation in the first place, at least, not those in that unit. 

 

He had to fix this himself. 

 

“Where’s Hendery?” Taeyong asked them. “He had a shovel, didn’t he?”

 

“Uh, what are you trying to do- TAEYONG!” Doyoung tried to pull Taeyong’s arm back, but it was no use; Taeyong got out of his grip and was heading towards the others, shouting for Hendery. “Wait, so what’s the plan?”

 

“Oh, god, I ing hate all these plans,” johnny said, groaning. “Babe, let’s survive and get married, I’m tired of all of this.”

 

“Mood, I don’t think god wants me in heaven just yet,” Ten mumbled. “Where is Taeyong going, though?”

 

Taeyong, in question, was shouting for Hendery, who appeared with Jaemin beside him. Taeyong didn’t appear to have said much to Hendery, though, because Hendery handed Taeyong the shovel that he had found earlier that Si Cheng used to kill the smart alien, and-

 

Ah, . 

 

When handed the shovel, Taeyong immediately marched away from the entire group, a deathly grip on the worn wooden handle, towards where the beam of light was coming from, a water tower near them. 

 

“He better not be doing what I think he’s ing doing,” Doyoung muttered under his breath. “LEE TAEYONG!”

 

Without thinking, Jaehyun ran after Taeyong, ignoring the wounds on his leg and arms and the fast beating in his chest. 

 

***

 

Mark tightened his grip, pulling Donghyuck closer to him as they followed the light deep in the forest. 

 

“Can I be honest?” Donghyuck whispered to him. “I’m really scared, Mark, I hope we all live-”

 

“We’ll live,” Mark said, cutting him off. He put his arm around Donghyuck’s shoulder, holding him close. “Don’t say hope, it’ll happen.”

 

“But- okay,” Donghyuck finished, not wanting to continue the conversation. He knew Mark liked to panic about a bunch of stuff, and it probably wouldn’t be a good time to talk about how you hope your friends don’t die. 

 

They walked in silence through the woods, trying to follow the light. It was coming from the top of the water tower, Donghyuck realized, and they had been close enough to realize there were two people on top messing with it. 

 

It was probably the aliens, it had to be. Even though they weren't as rabid as the ones who have been chasing them the whole day that they had to kill, it still looked out of place, in his opinion. They must be related to this whole incident. 

 

“What if these are the experiments in the Center 47 in that one country and they’re trying to take over the world?” Donghyuck whispered to Mark. 

 

Mark scoffed. “Highly doubt it,” he said. “And also, it’s Area 51, Haechan. Not Center 47.”

 

“Are you sure?” Donghyuck asked him. “I’m pretty sure it’s Center 47.”

 

“Hyuck, I’ve been to the states before, it’s Area 51, there’s been memes before,” Mark said, trying to prove his point. “There’s no such thing as Center 47.”

 

Donghyuck crossed his arms but didn’t pull away from Mark, who was still holding him close. “If only our phones were working so that we can search it up and prove who’s right,” he mumbled.

 

“Well, it’s not even certain there’s aliens there,” Mark continued, patting Donghyuck’s head with his free hand. “But there are here. Hey, we can be one of the few on the planet to say we saw aliens.”

 

“And Buzz Aldrin!” Donghyuck exclaimed, excited he remembered something from science class. “He went to the moon, right? I’m pretty sure he saw aliens.”

 

“Well, Neil Armstrong also went to the moon, and his name shortened is Neil A,” Mark said. “And if you spell it backwards you get alien in English.”

 

“Woah, why is this not a conspiracy?!” Donghyuck exclaimed in awe. “That’s- Mark, where do you come up with this stuff?”

 

“I think either Tumblr or Reddit,” Mark answered truthfully. “I’m not smart enough to come up with this on my own and you know that.”

 

Donghyuck immediately glared at Mark. “I don’t appreciate you talking about my boyfriend, you know,” he said.

 

Mark’s eyes widened. “Wait, who’s- oh, you mean- oh my bad.”

 

“I- Mark, do you not understand sarcasm?!” Donghyuck yelled at him. 

 

“So you admit I’m stupid,” Mark concluded. “I was right.”

 

“I- Mark, we are not having this conversation right now,” Donghyuck mumbled. “You- I hope you know you make me mad sometimes.”

 

“I am not surprised,” Mark agreed. “My Ukiss rants aren’t particularly the best, and I’ll admit it.”

 

“No, they can be informative sometimes,” Donghyuck said, encouraging him. “I like it when you sing their songs, too.”

 

Mark stopped in his tracks, stopping Donghyuck with him, and Donghyuck thought it was the singing comment. “Mark? You know I like your singing, right-”

 

“No, not that,” Mark said quietly. “Look.”

 

He let go of Donghyuck and had him slowly stand beside him, Donghyuck still confused about the whole ordeal. “Mark-”

 

“There’s four rabid aliens nearby,” Mark explained, pointing at the distance where Donghyuck could see the base of the water tower.

 

The aliens appeared to be looking for someone around the water tower, though Mark had a feeling they were protecting the aliens who were above causing the light, as these down on ground level were making no effort to try to climb up. 

 

“So…” Donghyuck grabbed Mark’s hand and wrapped his fingers around it, glancing down to look at their entwined fingers before making eye contact with Mark. “We’re going to fight them together, right?”

 

Mark glanced at the aliens again before looking back to Donghyuck. 

 

“Of course we will,” he said. “We’re best friends, after all.”