They stood around the body—save for Youngjae because he got sick just thinking about it—trying to figure out why there was an exact copy of Youngjae on a table in a hospital morgue. 

"Identical twins?" Daehyun asked, continuously glancing at Youngjae's back in concern. 

Himchan shook his head. "The Republic would have controlled that. It's impossible for a couple to have twins without the Republic not knowing."

"Is it a robot?" Yongguk asked. 

There was silence, and Youngjae dared to turn around to see what they were doing; he found Himchan prodding the body carefully with deft fingers. Youngjae felt an ache begin to prod the inside of his head. He turned around again, hoping the others would just finish up what they were doing already. 

"Definitely not a robot," Himchan replied. "A robot wouldn't have the decomposing properties this body has."

"It's gotta be a clone, then," Yongguk reasoned. 

"Guys, please, let's just go, okay?" Youngjae called out, crossing his arms atop his chest. He suppressed a shiver, and tried to ignore how cold the room had gotten. "We might be found, and I don't want to be here when that happens."

The other three turned to look at Youngjae. It must have been something he said because they immediately backed away from the table. 

Daehyun walked up to Youngjae, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"

Youngjae nodded, shaking off Daehyun's hand. He tried to ignore the way Daehyun's concern turned into mild hurt. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let just...go. Please."

"Hold on," Himchan said. Youngjae turned around, and found Himchan stripping out of his surgeon scrubs. "Bbang, hand me my clothes. You guys can't go out dressed like patients. If they haven't already, they've found out of your disappearances and are looking for you two. They're expecting you to still be dressed like that."

Yongguk opened a bag, and held out a set of neatly folded clothes to Himchan. 

"Where are we getting clothes then?" Daehyun asked, looking at Himchan, then quickly averting his gaze. "I don't see any here."

"You're not looking hard enough," Himchan replied, taking his own clothes from Yongguk's arms. He slipped into them, then walked off into an adjacent room. "Over here!"

Daehyun and Youngjae followed Himchan, and found the room filled to the brim with clothes. Youngjae stared in amazement—which quickly turned into horror as he came to realize what they were about to do. They were going to wear dead people's clothes. 

Himchan walked through the racks, browsing the clothes as if he were shopping. He grabbed shirts, pants, jackets, and threw them all to Daehyun. 

"Try those on," Himchan ordered. "They're clean. Don't worry."

In a moment of shock, Daehyun stood with an armful of clothes, but Himchan glared at him, which finally pushed Daehyun to put them on. 

"Youngjae, don't just stand there! Help me get you some clothes!" Himchan exclaimed, randomly grabbing clothes and throwing them behind him. The scene would have been funny if not for the situation—and the fact that they were dead people's clothes. "Youngjae, come on, a little enthusiasm here."

"These clothes belong to dead people!" Youngjae exclaimed, spluttering when he got a mouthful of pants. 

"You'll get regular clothes when we reach the car. No need to yourself," Himchan said. He turned around when he reached the end, and stared at Youngjae exasperatedly. "Hurry up! Here, I'll even leave to give you two some privacy."

Taking a deep breath, Youngjae removed his current clothing and put on the ones Himchan handed—threw—to him. Youngjae turned away from Daehyun as he slipped into the pair of pants.

"This shirt is one size too small," Daehyun complained. Youngjae turned around as he pulled on a shirt, and found Daehyun tugging at the collar of his own shirt. He quickly bent over to pick up a cap and two pairs of sunglasses. He gave the cap and one of the sunglasses to Youngjae before putting on the other pair of sunglasses. "Take these."

"Thanks," Youngjae said, putting the items on. 

"You guys done in there?" Himchan asked, peeking around the door. "Yongguk thought he heard someone coming down."

Daehyun and Youngjae looked at each other, then at Himchan, and they both nodded. 

"Good. Come on," Himchan said. 

As the four of them exited the morgue, Youngjae silently apologized to whoever previously owned the clothes he wore. 

//

Youngjae didn't realize how much he missed the feeling of the sun on his skin until he stepped out of the hospital. He took in a breath, trying to relish the feeling before he was tugged by the arm and into a shaded alleyway.

"Goddamn, what took you guys?" Zico asked once the four met up with him. His hair had changed from platinum blonde to soft brown, something that blended into the crowd; he'd also gotten rid of the white iris. He looked so normal, it almost seemed surreal.

"We just got caught up in some stuff," Yongguk replied. 

Yongguk, Himchan, and Zico took the lead, talking quietly amongst themselves, with Daehyun and Youngjae trailing behind them. As they walked, Youngjae kept his head ducked, his eyes glued to the ground. 

"You look suspicious," Daehyun whispered into Youngjae's ear. "Keep your head up. Walk like you have nothing to hide."

Hesitantly, Youngjae lifted his head. He felt nervous, his entire body threatened to begin trembling, and he took several deep breaths. He prayed to some more powerful being up in the sky to maybe keep them from getting caught. He tried to remember the days before he met Guernica, tried to turn back into that Youngjae. 

It was impossible. 

Then, Daehyun's hand came up to Youngjae's, and gave a reassuring squeeze. Youngjae glanced at Daehyun, but Daehyun simply continued walking, sometimes tugging Youngjae forward. The longer they walked, Youngjae felt his confidence grow, and his strides eventually matched up with Daehyun's. 

"Why'd you have to park the car so damn far away?" Himchan asked, his voice slightly louder than Yongguk and Zico's. 

"It's an unmarked ing car. Do you want me to look suspicious?" Zico hissed. 

"Well, a little closer would have—"

The anthem suddenly played on every citizen's transceiver watch, echoing down the streets and against the buildings, and Youngjae knew exactly what was happening. The Empress had been notified already. With alarming synchronization, everybody raised their watches to see what the Empress had to say. 

". We don't have watches. Get out of the streets. Go. Go. Go." Zico ushered the other four into an alleyway, and they waited for the announcement to pass. 

"Citizens, this is Madame Hyosung. Two patients have left without prior consent from New Seoul Regional Hospital. Their names are Jung Daehyun and Yoo Youngjae," Madame Hyosung announced, her voice all-encompassing and mocking. Youngjae tensed at the mention of his name, but Daehyun gave his hand a gentle squeeze, acting as an anchor. "They are presumably still in New Seoul. Please report any suspicious persons to an Auxiliary or Legion patrol within your area. Thank you for your cooperation."

Youngjae glanced at Daehyun. Patients? They weren't injured, not in the slightest. Was Madame Hyosung trying to cover up the fact that they were actually kept as prisoners? Was she trying to keep the citizens calm?

"Well, the fun's just begun, hasn't it," Zico muttered with a wild smirk. Youngjae wouldn't have denied being just a tiny bit scared at seeing the crazed look in Zico's eyes. 

"What the hell are you smiling about?" Yongguk asked. 

Seemingly ignoring Yongguk, Zico headed out of the alleyway, scanning the sidewalk for a moment before giving the signal to move again. The others quickly followed, straightening their backs and putting on calm facades. Just by their footsteps, though, Youngjae could see the underlying tension. 

"Here we are," Zico announced, stopping just beside a gray car. He pulled keys out of his pocket, and unlocked the door. "Come on, get inside."

They all piled in, with Yongguk in the driver's seat, Zico beside him, and Himchan, Daehyun, and Youngjae in the back. Youngjae slumped in his seat once the car started moving; he knew they weren't out of the clear completely, but he couldn't help resting against Daehyun, feeling the warmth of the other beside him. Daehyun shifted, taking his hand from Youngjae's own (Youngjae tried to ignore the disappointment in his mind), and wrapped his arm around Youngjae's shoulders instead. 

Taking a deep breath, Youngjae scooted closer to Daehyun, leaning into the welcoming comfort. 

//

"We're staying here for the night," Yongguk announced.

Youngjae lifted his head off Daehyun's shoulder, blinking away the drowsiness. Somehow he'd fallen asleep during the drive. Yongguk had parked the car in front of a building. 

"Where are we?" Youngjae asked as everybody began filing out of the car. 

"District 6 right now. Just a couple miles from the border to District 7. We'll be heading to Zico's warehouse in the morning," Daehyun replied. 

Youngjae nodded, following Daehyun out of the car. "So... What is this place?"

"My old hideaway," Zico replied. He turned to Yongguk and Himchan, and asked, "You remember this place right, guys?"

"Fondly," Yongguk said, but his tone was sarcastic. 

Himchan shook his head. "I just can't believe it's still here."

"Good ol' Blockbuster," Zico said, rounding the corner of the building. He snuck through a crawlspace in the back, and signaled for everybody else to follow. 

"Is it really okay to be here?" Youngjae asked as he crawled inside. 

"I own the place," Zico replied, flipping on a few lights. "Cute, isn't it?"

Youngjae blinked away the neon spots that appeared in his vision, and realized that the interior was quite nice, almost as nice as a house in New Seoul. He stood a few feet to the side of the entrance, taking in everything while Zico, Himchan, and Daehyun went around, checking the corners and rooms for anything out of place. Yongguk came in last, lugging a duffel bag. He shoved the bag through the crawlspace, then entered the building before closing the small door behind him. 

Did Zico really own this place? Wouldn't somebody have done a background check? Zico had to have created a false identity. How intricate were his plans?

"Hey, Youngjae, follow me," Yongguk called out. 

Youngjae turned around, and found Yongguk crouching to pick up the duffel bag. There were several cans of food inside it judging just by the sound of it. Youngjae followed Yongguk into another room that was presumably the kitchen.

"All we brought was canned stuff because we're just staying the night," Yongguk explained, dropping the duffel bag on one of the counters. "It's not the best, but it's filling, you know?"

Youngjae nodded, opening the duffel bag, and began removing cans of food while Yongguk opened them. In the silence, Youngjae's thoughts began to wander. Despite everything, he couldn't stop thinking about that...clone they saw in the morgue. Despite all of Youngjae's efforts, he kept seeing the ashen face and the listless eyes, and kept imagining himself on that table, staring up at the ceiling with those same glassy eyes, just. Dead. 

"You look like you're thinking too hard about something," Yongguk said, and Youngjae blinked out of his morbid thoughts, pushing them to the back of his mind. "If you keep scrunching up your eyebrows, they'll stay like that permanently."

Youngjae forced a smile, but it didn't seem like Yongguk bought it. 

"What's up?" Yongguk asked. He brought down a couple bowls from a nearby cupboard, but frowned at dusty they'd become. He the faucet to wash them.

Youngjae gulped. He wanted—no, needed—to get back to New Seoul, probably even District 1 and into the Empress's palace. He needed to find out what was going on from the Empress herself. Could he tell Himchan? Daehyun? Those two would definitely say no. Jongup and Junhong weren't here. Where were they? The bunker? Zico's warehouse maybe? Even if Youngjae did tell one of them, they'd still tell Yongguk or Himchan. 

Yongguk seemed like the most favorable person. 

Yongguk glanced sideways at Youngjae, scrubbing the dusty bowls. "Hey, if you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine and—"

"I need to get to District 1," Youngjae said quietly, and Yongguk ceased his movements as he stared at Youngjae in bewildered shock. "Look, I know it's sud—"

"What?" 

Youngjae's heart sank. He slowly glanced over his shoulder, and found a shocked and infuriated Daehyun standing in the doorway. 

-------------------

A/N: Ayyyyy I probably would have updated this sooner but stuff came up and I had to go to out of state, preventing me from actually sitting down and writing. But I managed to get this done on the ride home so it's all good. 

And oh man I just realized I wrote out any possibility of Yongnam (probably). Sorry Yongnam.

Thanks for reading / subscribing / commenting~