Toughen Up, Kid

"Hakyeon, I'm scared," Taekwoon hears Sanghyuk mumble and from the corner of his eye, he can see him move closer to the said man.

"There's no need to be scared," he assures him and smooths down his hair. "We'll be okay, Sanghyuk. Stay positive." Taekwoon can't help but mentally curse him out because he knows what he's telling him is pure bull. They're not going to be okay. In about two months, all of them will either be six feet in the ground or just another meal for another souless shell of a human.

"But Jaehwan." Sanghyuk tries saying but his voice cracks and Hakyeon can tell that he's trying hard not to cry. "He hasn't been back in weeks!"

"He's trying to find us more supplies, Hyuk." At the sound of his given nickname, Sanghyuk relaxes a bit. "He'll be back soon. I promise."

Sangyuk removes himself from his leader's arms. "What if he doesn't? What if he never comes back?"

Hakyeon sighs and grunts as he sits up. "We can go find him ourselves, okay? Now go check up on Hongbin and see how he's doing with the food rations." Sanghyuk nods and swiftly disappears down the hall. What Sanghyuk doesn't know is that Jaehwan is dead. He's been dead since the first night he didn't return home. How is their leader, the one that has the role of caring for everyone in the group, supposed to tell their youngest that?

With a scowl on his face and his arms folded tightly across his chest, Taekwoon rounds the corner to tower over Hakyeon. "You've got some nerve, Hakyeon."

Hakyeon stands and brushes off his pants before returning Taekwoon's hard stare. "You have some nerve, Taekwoon. You don't seem to be that concerned about anything that's happening right now. At least I'm trying to ease the tension. You know, it's not easy taking care of people that are scared beyond their wits. And it's especially stressing with your attitude."

Taekwoon shrugs and whatever the guy in front of him seems to say, goes right through one ear and out the other. "And your point is? You shouldn't be lying to him." He crosses the room in two strides to stand by the curtain covered window. With one quick pull, the curtains are apart and revealing the gloomy skies and dead city. "Take a look at this and tell me we'll make it out alive. Go on. Look me straight in the eyes, Hakyeon, and lie to me just as you lied to him."

"You know I can't do that," he says with a cough.

"Look at you; you're already starting to contract the virus. Soon you'll be just like one of them." Taekwoon redirects their attention to a trudging Souless on the sidewalk. "Let me guess, you just told Sanghyuk that it was the common cold." Hakyeon says nothing and just stares out the window to which Taekwoon scoffs and mutters something degrading to him and moves to the next room over.

Wonsik is there, counting the guns and making sure all of their weapons are loaded and ready to go. He holds up an M-16 and pretends he's shooting a Souless. "Bang. Dead." He chuckles and sets the weapon back down before spinning around on his heels and leaning back against the edge of the table. "What's up, fresh meat?"

Taekwoon rolls his eyes and runs his fingers over a newly cleaned Desert Eagle. "Hakyeon's still lying to Sanghyuk."

Wonsik lets out a mix of a laugh and a scoff. "I know. It's pathetic. The kid's gon' die if he isn't toughened up. It's gotten worse the past week and with Jaehwan dead, he's a gonner."

"Hakyeon's contracted the virus," he murmurs as he spins the pistol around his index finger.

"I know," Wonsik says and picks a shotgun. "The signs are obvious."

Taekwoon nods. "So is Hongbin. The only ones that seem to be clean are you, me, and Sanghyuk."

Wonsik hums and takes the shotgun, a Remington 870, and brings it up to eye level again. "You know how to use one of these?" he asks him with the shotgun still near his eye.

"Yeah."

"Good, 'cause I have a feeling it won't be long before we actually start shooting these babies."

-

It's weeks later and there seems to be tension all around. As Hakyeon and Hongbin's health deteriorates, the remaining healthy trio are put on edge more and more as they await the two's death.

"Taekwoon," Sanghyuk calls as he raps lightly on the door frame. "Could we talk?"

Much to luck, Taekwoon ushers him in despite his irresistable want to sleep. It's been days since he's been able to sleep properly with caring for Hongbin and Hakyeon and whatnot.

"What?" he demands.

"What's going on?" he asks after a long while. He knows he's probably not going to like what he hears but what's going to happen after they both die has been lingering on his mind.

"What do you mean 'what's going on?'" His voice is hard and he almost feels as if Taekwoon wishes he would leave but he continues.

"What is happening with Hongbin and Hakyeon? Why are they dying and why am I being taught how to handle a gun?"

Taekwoon sighs and repositions himself because he's going to be in the same position for a while so he might as well be comfortable. "They've caught the virus and soon enough they'll be Soulesses unless we kill them or miraculously manage to improve their health. You know, Sanghyuk, I am not going to lie to you like Hakyeon has been. Jaehwan was killed by a Souless, okay? He's not out looking for supplies. He's dead and everyone else here is too. That's it."

Sanghyuk has no words. His mind seems not to process fast enough and everything Taekwoon tells him just jumbles up in his mind and sits there, slowly processing word by word. Next thing he knows, he's out the door and running to Hakyeon for comfort. Once Sanghyuk rounds the corner, Hakyeon is no longer lying there in his bed. His blanket is strewn across the floor and a small amount of blood could be seen. Sanghyuk opens his mouth to say something but he's suddenly knocked to his feet by an insane Hakyeon who spits black liquid all over his face and torso.

"Taekwoon!" he yells as he tries to fend off the creature. "Wonsik!" Sanghyuk is kicking his legs this way and that and trying to get out from under him because the Souless Hakyeon has the upper hand as of now.

The Souless whispers something in another language he can't seem to recognize and the side of his face before grabbing both of wrists in one hand and forcing his arms above his head. Oh God, this is how I die, he thinks and closes his eyes. With a loud bang, Sanghyuk's eye snap open and he watches as the Souless slumps and falls to the side of Sanghyuk. He looks up and there is Taekwoon, with his pistol still pointed at him.

"Did he bite you?" he asks, his voice cold. "Because I will not hesitate to kill you right ing now."

"N-No," he stutters and shakily pushes the rest of Hakyeon's limbs off him. "W-Where's Hongbin? Is he okay?"

"Hongbin's dead. We killed him hours ago when you were sleeping." He lowers his gun and places it beneath the waistline of his jeans.

A sudden burst of rage stirs in his chest and Sanghyuk can't seem to gain control over himself as he abruptly stands and shoves Taekwoon so hard he hits the wall with a thud. Removing the gun from his waist and throwing it onto the couch, Taekwoon lunges at Sanghyuk and takes him down to the floor. He throws weak punches but manages to succesfully deliver a blow to his face. Tightening his jaw, Taekwoon slaps him hard and rolls him over so that he's seated on his back.

With his hands collected, he whispers something to him, "You do not want to get in to a fight with me, Hyuk." As they both slow their hard breathing, Sanghyuk starts to sniffle and Taekwoon can tell that he's starting to cry.

"That's not fair!" he shouts and he tries to get his wrists free from Taekwoon's harsh grip. "Why did they have to die? They were the only ones that cared about and now they're dead. I rather be a Souless!"

Wonsik then runs into the room and stops. He has to remind himself that they're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and that all of are straight before continuing.

"What is going on here?" And suddenly, he regrets asking because he remembers all the different way people tend to come out and...

"Hakyeon turned into a Souless and attacked him," he replies blankly.

"Yeah," Wonsik slowly nods, "but why are you on top of him like that?" He feel his face slowly starting to get hot because... well... it's kind of weird talking to fellow members in that position. He finds himself turning around to prevent further secondhand embarrassment.

"He went bizerk and tried to hit me. Well, he did hit me and I slapped him and now he's crying." He says it as if it's the most normal thing in the world and Wonsik can't help but laugh.

"You two have some issues to sort." Wonsik crosses his arms and shifts legs. "Just a heads up; we need to pack and leave 'cause with Hongbin and Hakyeon dead, we'll be attracting a lot of unwanted company." He removes himself from the room and heads back to where Taekwoon thinks is the weapons room.

The said man removes himself from the youngest and retrieves his gun from the couch. Sanghyuk is still crying and he's tempted to run his hand through their late leader's hair but his hand is smacked away before he could do so. Taekwoon doesn't say anything, only stares him down.

Back in the other room, Wonsik lights a cigarette and runs a hand through his hair. Carefully placing each gun into a duffel bag, he chooses three guns: the Remington 870 from earlier, the M-16, and with Taekwoon still carrying the Desert Eagle, that makes three. He takes a long drag from the cigarette and releases the smoke from his mouth. Sure, cigarettes kill but so does a Souless and right now, he rather take the stick of poison.

"You guys ready in there?" he calls from inside the room and he can faintly hear them arguing again. "Jesus Christ," he mutters under his breath as he takes another drag. When he heads back into the living room, it's far from an argument since both parties need to be putting in input, right? Instead, Sanghyuk is screaming things at Taekwoon and the look on his face says it all. Before he has the ability to choke Sanghyuk to death, Wonsik shuffles over to him, whispers something in his ear, and hands the poison stick over. He mutters a small "thanks" and blows the smoke right into Sanghyuk's face.

"Let's leave now," Sanghyuk coughs as he shooes the smoke away. "The faster I'm away from him, the better." He leaves the apartment with no weapon and slams the door on his way out.

"You could have at least shown him a little sympathy." Wonsik snatches the cigarette out from between Taekwoon's lips and replaces it in between his.

"Kid needs to toughen up," he says and leaves the same way the one before him did.

-

"Keep shooting!" Wonsik demands from the driver seat of the abandoned pickup they somehow managed to find. Sanghyuk is manning the passenger side as Taekwoon fires clip after clip of ammo from the bed of the Toyota. The car stops and Taekwoon shoots the head off of a Souless as he cautiously removes himself from his higher position in the car.

"Quick. Inside here." Wonsik is the last one inside since he has to make sure the weapons are safe.

It's been two months since Hongbin and Hakyeon had died and also two months since they had left their hideout in Seoul. They now reside somewhere in Busan, but more of the country part of Busan. Sanghyuk's grown, much to Taekwoon's disbelief. How they still have ammo and weapons left is a miracle since they've having to stay on guard 24/7.

"Where are we at?" Sanghyuk asks with his gun still cocked.

"I... don't know," Wonsik says truthfully, but it's more of a whisper since he doesn't know where they are and if the diner they're in is completely deserted.

"Nice," Sanghyuk whispers and goes over to the windows to check for anymore Soulesses.

"You think coming here was a good idea?" asks Taekwoon. He checks the counter behind the register before taking a seat on one of the swivel chairs. There's poor lighting and the windows are closed off with planks of wood nail to the frame of them. The seats are dusty and they creak when you sit on them. There's blood stains on some of the booths and someone else has been there since are bloody footprints leading into the back.

He laughs. "No." At the window, Sanghyuk's grip on his SPAS-12 tightens and he the gun back to switch it so it's semi-automatic. Taekwoon notices this and reloads his Daewoo K2.

"Wonsik," he whispers, "get your Remington ready 'cause I feel a horde coming on." Sanghyuk's eyes widen suddenly and soon enough, he's sliding across the counter, readying his aim on the door.

"I guess that's our cue," Wonsik says with another lit cigarette between his lips. All three are on battle mode as they watch the door with hawk eyes. Outside the door, the Soulesses are gathering. They managed to follow the scent all the way from their quick pit stop in Daegu. And of course with Taekwoon outside of the car, that just gave them the confirmation of them inhabiting the diner.

Something hits the door and all three of them jump. It sounds again and low growling can be heard from the other side of the door.

"Hyuk," comes a familiar voice and Sanghyuk almost runs to open the door. "Hyuk, let me in."

"Don't do it, Sanghyuk!" Wonsik drops his gun and wraps himself around him. "Don't. He's gone, Sanghyuk. That's not the Jaehwan we know. All he wants is to see you dead." His resistance against Wonsik weakens and he stands there, tears falling from his eyes.

"But that's his voice." His voice quavers. "That's his voice."

"That may be his voice," Wonsik says, "but that's not him."

"Guys," Taekwoon speaks up and his hands are shaking. "Guys, they're coming. Get in position." The duo take no time in returning to their position and as Sanghyuk is wiping at his eyes, they burst through the door, growling and saying something in the mysterious language Hakyeon once spoke in.

They get to shooting, taking each one down with ease. 

"I'm out! Cover me!" Wonsik manages to say through the loud noise of firing.

"I got ya," Taekwoon mumbles, and watches the area he was covering. Within a few seconds, Wonsik is back in position and blowing more smoke. The sound of metal clinking together draws both of their attention away and to the youngest who has a grenade pin in his mouth.

"Bombs away!" he sings as he throws the frag over the counter and ducks down.

"Kid's gotten better," Wonsik whispers to Taekwoon.

"I know. I don't like it. And give me that." Taekwoon draws from the cigarette and snuffs it out on the counter. Sanghyuk kills the last Souless with a headshot and wipes the sweat from his forehead.

"That's the last of 'em," he huffs and throws his gun to the ground. "I'm tired and hungry. Any food yet?" Taekwoon shakes his head and goes to check the register for any money. Nothing.

"Hey," Wonsik calls to him, "where did you learn to fight like that?" And he jerks his chin towards the Soulesses staining the tile with their blood.

"I learned from the best," he replies and sends a wink his way. Taekwoon mentally makes a promise to God that he won't kill Sanghyuk if he will just not speak for the rest of his life. Then he makes another promise not to kill them both when he sees Wonsik slowly turning red. They all reload their guns in silence and lean back against the counter.

"Can you two not?" Taekwoon mutters under his breath and turns towards the door again. What he sees makes him jaw drop and have him freeze up. There, surrounding the diner, are thousands of Soulesses standing and watching them. Why they haven't attacked yet, Taekwoon doesn't know since the door is on the floor in pieces. But that's not all; their eyes are glowing a dark blue, which he had never encountered since the outbreak started. And this seems to be the first time he's truly felt deep, deep dread and fear for his life.

"," he hears Wonsik gasp and he knows he sees it too.

"How much ammo do we have left?" Sanghyuk inquires and he too is staring at the gathered infected in front of the diner.

"Not much."

"That's very informing. Thank you, Wonsik." 

"I outta-" and he's stopped by Taekwoon's hand on his chest. He turns to look at him and he can see something in his eyes... Then all at once they come running. Wonsik mutters a handful of swear words as he scrambles to grab his gun again. They're running so fast and scrambling to get inside of the diner to the warmth that resides behind the counter.

Sanghyuk is shooting the Soulesses as fast as he can the shotgun back. He attempts to shoot again but an empty click sounds and that indicates that he's out already. He crosses over so that he's on Wonsik's left and grabs any gun from the duffel bag that's loaded and ready to go. He picks up a PP-19 Bizon and when he shoots it, the thing recoils so much it hurts the base of his shoulder but he rather take that pain than having a Souless eat his insides for dinner. Where do you even get these guns? he wants to ask but he can't being as there's still a thousand more to go.

"They're coming in too fast!" Taekwoon shouts in panic and he's tempted to just crouch down and hide. Wonsik shoves his gun in his face and pulls two grenade pins. Either they were crowding the door or his aim was extremely off, but within seconds, all three of them are on the floor and covering their heads as the ground shakes and the windows burst open.

"Up on your feet!" Sanghyuk commands and he's on his feet again, shooting. As Taekwoon gets back to firing, he wants to slap Sanghyuk for being such a commanding but then he remembers the promise he made to God not long ago. On the other side of him, Wonsik isn't doing too good and he's having to go hand-to-hand with a Souless that manage to pull his gun from his hands. They go back and forth, from Wonsik to the creature and back again. He grits his teeth and manages to twist the creature around and overpowers the thing, bringing the gun up to his neck and taking off his head. His triumph isn't long lasted as another Souless advances on him, getting him when he wasn't on guard and takes a huge bite from his jugular, leaving him bleeding profusely.

"Wonsik!" Taekwoon calls to him since he noticed that he was no longer firing. "Wonsik!" he tries again and what he sees when he glances over at his spot brings him to his knees. "No," he whispers as he examines the wound. Wonsik is barely still alive; if it wasn't for his slightly heaving chest and the small movement of his eyes, Taekwoon would have thought him dead already. He doesn't want to believe it. No, Wonsik is not going to die. The guy he had spent three years of his life knowing and loving, was going out this way? Taekwoon finds himself shaking his head, saying no to his death. Saying no to the evident sign of it being his time to go.

"Taekwoon! Taekwoon, what are you doing?" Sanghyuk shouts and he's throwing the last couple of fragmentation grenades they have left to buy him some time. He shuffles over to the two of them, dual wielding two automatic assault rifles.

The blood is still going and he only has enough breath to say a last few set of words. "Leo," he says, using the little pet nickname he had given him. "I love you, man. You'll make it out of this alive and if you don't... if you don't..."

"If I don't what?" he demands, the tears blurring his vision and making him sniffle. "If I don't what?" he repeats and he's slumped over his barely there body, crying into his shoulder.

"I'll be there to greet you on the other side," he says at last and he gives a weak smile before going limp under him. He quickly wipes the tears from his face and his eyes widen as he shakes his shoulders roughly. He's gone.

"Taekwoon, get up!" And he's trying to lift him to his feet.

"No," he mumbles and it's suddenly not worth fighting for. He knew they weren't going to make it and with Wonsik, his best friend gone, he really wasn't going to make it despite whether or not he's going to give up.

Sanghyuk heaves a long sigh. "I don't care what he meant to you. I don't care what I mean to you but I'm not letting you die. We're gonna make it out of this alive. Together. You're either going to get up and get to shooting or sit there and die with him because I will not hesitate to kill you." And there's a smile on his face as he says those last words because he truly has learned from the best.

"You're a little , I hope you know that," he murmurs as he wipes the wetness from his face and rises to the counter again. Sanghyuk slides him a gun and they get to shooting again.

And if they are to die, at least they'll be together because Sanghyuk refuses to be left alone with a Souless as his backup.

AU: Zombie Apocalypse