Weeks had passed, and the Bunker Boyz’ small group was still growing. Additional people had been rescued nearby which greatly increased the chances of survival. One new couple had also suggested making an area in the bunker for hydroponics so the bunker would have food. Luckily, there was a sunlit room which no one had needed to use yet. Hyunjae gave the agriculturists the go-ahead and it was all set up nicely. They would all just have to take care of and wait for the plants now.

As some of the newcomers were getting more comfortable with going outside, some of the Bunker Boyz found that they needed to learn self defense. It was soon settled with Hyunjae and Juyeon as the teachers since they had more experience. Then, the whole base was used as part of the training with Changmin and Eric teaming up against Haknyeon and Sunwoo. The teams would switch up who had to be the “zombies” which attacked the other team.

Changmin and Eric were overjoyed whenever it was their turn to be the zombies. Sunwoo was less than happy about it and screamed every time while running away as he already couldn’t stand the real zombies attacking him. Even though it was all training, it was actually hilarious for anyone who happened to be watching the whole fiasco. Juyeon tried to stay serious but would crack a smile every so often. Hyunjae fell over laughing too many times only to feign strictness the next minute like he was a sergeant.

The trainees were exhausted after a day of practice and entered a new area which had been deemed the “Common Area.” With a room bigger than the weapons room, it was more comfortable to accommodate the many people in the bunker. Some old couches had been placed nicely by Chanhee who had attempted to make some decorative order in the room. Eric, Kevin, and Younghoon had decorated the walls with things they had found to make the place feel nicer too.

Haknyeon crashed onto one of the musty couches, “I’m starving.” Sunwoo rolled his eyes, “You’re always hungry.” Everyone snickered, but Changmin retrieved some snacks from a cabinet which they all began eating.

In the corner of the room, a card table had been set up with sturdy wooden chairs around it. Chanhee and Younghoon had been sitting at the table for a while due to being in a neck and neck battle with Solitaire. Chanhee had taught the kid a game to get his mind off of what had happened and to cheer him up. Little did he know that the kid would be ruthless when it came to winning even if he was playing a game alone.

“Aha! I have it!” Chanhee exclaimed, which made everyone in the room jump in fright. Switching his cards around, Chanhee was finally able to find the order he needed to finish his game. Younghoon’s head fell onto the table as he pouted, “That’s the sixth time you won.” No matter how nice Chanhee wanted to be, he couldn’t help but boast of his victories, “Yes, I’m quite good at this. I told you.”

Changmin had the urge to turn around, which he did, “You couldn’t beat my time though.” With that, Chanhee snapped, “SHUT UP! I told you to stop talking about that!” Those present were momentarily surprised at Chanhee’s second outburst of the day, but they were getting used to it.

In the kitchen, Juyeon and Kevin were preparing lunch. Kevin was silent except for an occasional sentence related to the food. He hadn’t been speaking for a while which Juyeon found odd even for Kevin.

“Hey, are you alright?” Juyeon questioned cautiously. With his knife in midair above a tomato, Kevin froze for a second before chopping down on the fruit. “Not really. No…” Kevin muttered. “What’s wrong?” Juyeon stopped what he was doing, truly concerned.

“I’ve been having weird dreams lately where I can’t see anything, but I keep hearing voices talking all at once. The bad thing is that I’m even hearing it when I’m awake. It’s freaking me out,” Kevin admitted. Unsure how to go about the conversation with this information, Juyeon stood dumbfounded and looked around slowly as he tried to figure out Kevin’s dilemma.

“Could it be multiple personalities?” Juyeon wondered without realizing what he had just said. Kevin gave him an offended look, “Juyeon! Seriously?” “Oops, I’m sorry. I just read it in a book before,” Juyeon scratched his head in embarrassment. He was trying to help Kevin, but it seemed like he was making it worse for him.

Knowing for sure that he himself wasn’t a potential sociopath, Kevin had a hunch, “I think… I think I’m hearing the thoughts of zombies. They must be somewhere near here or something.” Skeptical of Kevin’s idea, Juyeon just nodded as to not make him upset.

“Is lunch ready yet?” Haknyeon appeared in the doorway with six hungry people behind him. “We’re about to turn into zombies in here!” Eric yelled. Sunwoo hit him, “Don’t even joke about that.”

…ooooo…

On one cloudy day, despite Hyunjae's warning that it might rain, Kevin and Eric had a bright idea to take the go-kart out for supplies. "You won't be able to drive it back in the mud. You're going to get stuck out there," Hyunjae said while following them out the door.

"It's okay. We'll just be out for a couple hours," Kevin tried to reassure, "Plus, I think I have a little more control over my zombie whisperer skills, and Eric needs some more freedom. He has to be allowed to mature sometime."

"Shotgun!" Changmin screamed loudly as he rushed past and fought with Eric over the front seat. Kevin sighed in bewilderment at the two who kept acting like children every chance they had. Arching a brow at the scene, Hyunjae looked at Kevin again, "You were saying?" Kevin simply said nothing more and slowly pushed Hyunjae back into the bunker.

"This is going to be a long two hours…" Kevin said to himself with a second sigh. "Let's gooooo!!!" Changmin and Eric yelled impatiently at him in unison. After Kevin sat behind the wheel, he realized Eric would be breaking his eardrum from behind him. Apparently, Changmin had won the front seat.

…ooooo…

Time passed by pretty slowly, but Kevin made sure they would have enough time to get back to the bunker in his set time limit. Of course, Eric whined when they had to leave. It was amazing how such a short time spent with everyone at the bunker could bring out his personality so quickly. Maybe it was because Eric was still a kid.

Breaking from his thoughts, Kevin started the go-kart and they were on their way. A jangling sound could be heard at the back of the vehicle from a small load of supplies they found and random items Changmin wanted to collect.

Eric was still upset about leaving so soon, but he was also tired. He began dozing off when he heard something to the right of them. Sliding across the seat, he looked out to see a woman running from a ragtag group of zombies. The woman didn't seem to be scared although it was obvious that she needed help.

"Kevin-hyung, there's a lady over there!" Eric alerted him. "Hold on!" Kevin yelled, as he turned the wheel without another thought in the woman's direction. When she noticed that they had come to her aid, the woman thankfully took Eric's outstretched hand.

After Kevin saw that the woman was safely seated, he ignored the zombie's extremely loud minds and sped them away from the action. Noting that the bunker was close-by, Kevin felt affirmation about what he had told Juyeon earlier that week. Zombies actually had been close to the bunker. So, what was the radius with which Kevin could hear their minds? He would have to find out later.

…ooooo…

“Are you listening, Hyung? Hyung!” Eric screeched in Hyunjae’s ear. “Ow!” the leader cried out as he covered his injured ear. “Be calm, Eric. Be calm,” Kevin tried to help. However, Hyunjae hadn’t noticed how any of them were drenched from the sudden rain that hit them before they entered the door. He also didn’t hear any of Eric’s elaborate story of how they found the doctor whom Hyunjae was now staring at in awe.

None of the three who helped rescue the woman had even noticed that she was wearing a doctor’s uniform. Although he would always say otherwise, Hyunjae’s ideal type was a career woman. He didn’t think he had a chance though and attempted to use mind control to focus on the situation at hand.

“So, do we now have a doctor here? If you are, your skills would be very much appreciated,” Hyunjae queried the woman. Smiling gently with kind eyes, she nodded, “How observant. I am a medical doctor. My name is Kim Soorin.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Kim. I’m Lee Hyunjae. Welcome to the Bunker Boyz,” Hyunjae greeted. “He’s the leader!” Eric blurted out unceremoniously. Hyunjae almost shot him a glare but kept his composure as best as he could. Soorin gave an amused chuckle at Eric’s enthusiasm.

“Let’s find you a place to stay,” Hyunjae smiled as he discreetly pushed Eric away from his side. “Thank you. You’re too kind,” Soorin followed him down the hall as Hyunjae secretly made a sheepish little grin at her words.

MAP

NOTE

I'm still living! Sorry it took so long to update! I had the first half of this chapter written, but I still needed to finish it which requires physical and mental energy. Just had to recharge for a while as I binge-watched some dramas for inspiration *cough cough* Sweet Home *cough* 18 Again ;)

 

So, against my original plan for this story to have no romance, my sister insisted that I give Hyunjae (one of her The Boyz biases) a love interest... So, that's what happened. LOL

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying the story! Also, thank you to those who upvoted, subscribed, and bookmarked! We only have two more chapters to go, and I will have finally finished a story! Hope you continue to enjoy it!