After the final credits rolled, the group exited the theater, stretching and groaning as their joints popped into place after not moving for hours.

              “That was such a great movie,” IU mused with a smile, “Thank you all for inviting me, that was the perfect way to get my mind off of all that’s been happening.”

              “No problem Jieun, we loved having you here, right guys?” Henry said, making the other young men nod, Amber roll her eyes and Hana give an emotionless smile.

              “Aww, you guys are so sweet,” she laughed, “See you tomorrow!” she said as she turned to walk to the stairs.

              “Wait, you’re really going to walk back to your room alone?” Chanyeol asked in disbelief, looking down the stairs and seeing the first floor enveloped in darkness.

              “Yeah, the room isn’t that far I’ll be fine,” she assured.

              “I don’t think I could sleep knowing I let you walk all the way to your room by yourself in a place this big at night,” Henry said, “C’mon, I’ll walk you there.”

              “Me too!” Kai and Sehun yelled at the same time.

              Though she refused, the boys insisted. Henry, Chanyeol, Kai, and Sehun led IU to the staircase, “Goodnight everyone!” IU called over her shoulder as they disappeared down the stairs and walked to her room.

              Shin sighed with a smile, “Wow. That was actually a pretty good movie.”

              Amber scoffed, “Maybe it would have been better if some people would have shut the hell up,” she muttered before walking back to her room, leaving Shin and Hana alone in the hallway.

              “What’s up with her?”

              Hana shrugged, “Well, you and Jieun were talking kind of loud throughout the whole movie,” though she had tried her hardest to listen past Shin and IU’s chat, she honestly didn’t think she ever learned the main character’s name.

              Shin raised his eyebrows, “Really?”

              “Yeah, really. It was just a little inconsiderate for everyone else that was trying to pay attention,” Hana had seen the others look back at the two as if they wanted to ask them to quiet down, but none of the boys wanted to offend Jieun in the process, so they let it slide.

              “Huh, my bad. I didn’t even know that we were talking that much,” Shin said in a low voice, though his gaze seemed to be far away as he smiled at some thought he was having.

              “Yeah…but goodnight,” she said as she walked to her room.

              “Goodnight…” Shin replied, walking in the opposite direction with a small grin plastered on his face.

_____________________

              TOP restricted Henry’s food usage the next morning, telling him he had to ration the meals in order for it to last longer. Even with this limitation, breakfast was nothing short of exquisite. As usual, after the feast the group dispersed from the table and went about their business, finding anything to get into to cure their boredom.

              Kai and Sehun had been busy playing soccer in the front yard for a while before they finally decided to come back inside the house. As they walked into the foyer, the sound of their squeaking shoes echoed around the room, getting Eunhyuk’s attention immediately as he was passing by.

              “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” the blue-haired performer said as the younger boys entered, “What the hell do you think you’re doing to my floors?!”

              “Huh?” Kai asked, confused until he looked down. The ground outside was still wet from the previous day’s rain spell, and the boys had managed to track in globs of mud and streaks of dirt in the shape of their shoes onto the glistening marble floors, “Oh…my bad,” Kai said as he began to walk away.

              “My bad? That’s all you’ve got to say? You two aren’t even going to clean this up?! These floors alone are worth more than your entire career and you’re going to just ignore the mess you two made?!”

              “Eunhyuk we’re sorry, we’ll clean it up-“

              “Henry!” Eunhyuk called in a loud enough voice to reach the man in the kitchen.

              A few seconds later, Henry ran into the room, worry painted on his face, “What’s the problem? Zombie attack?!”

              “No, just these two idiots,” he said, “Go get me the scrubbing brush and a bucket from the storage closet and fill it with water, now!”

Henry scurried off and to retrieve the things his friend had asked for.

              Kai and Sehun slowly backed away as Eunhyuk continued to mutter swear words under his breath, breaking into a full run when they reached the stairs, trailing more dirt along with them.

              Henry ran back into the foyer, water splashing from the bucket with each movement and tired breath. As soon as he reached the brush to Eunhyuk’s hands, the dancer dropped to the floor and began to scrub the dirt away vigorously, it looking as if he would break through the marble all together and make a tunnel if he continued this way.

              “Hey, Eunhyuk, maybe you should relax,” Chanyeol said, breaking away from his conversation with Shin to place a hand on his shoulder.

              Eunhyuk shrugged it off, “Relax my ,” he said without slowing his pace.

              Chanyeol raised his hands,” Okay…fine…but Sehun and Jongin didn’t mean any harm, they were just being dumb. No need to get all worked up over it,” Eunhyuk didn’t react to his words, and continued to work as he had been.

              “You know,” Henry began, still fighting labored breaths, “We bought a cabinet a few years back for us to put our shoes in when we came into the house. That way the floors wouldn’t get dirty and Eunhyuk wouldn’t kill us.”

              “Do you still have it?” Chanyeol asked.

              “Yeah it should be in the garage. It’s been sitting in the closet there forever because none of us had the time to build it back then…but I guess we’ve got all the time in the world now.”

              “I’ll build it,” Chanyeol said.

              “Really?” Henry asked.

              “Yeah, it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do, and starting a project sounds kind of fun.”

              “Fun,” Henry scoffed, “Let’s see if you’re still saying that when you get started.”

              “Why?”

              “It’s just too big, and it’ll be even harder to build if you’re working on it alone.”

              “I’ll help,” Shin said, “You shouldn’t have to work on a project that big by yourself, the least I can do is be useful. And plus it sounds like it actually could be…fun,” Shin said, scrutinizing the word when it left his mouth.

              “Then it’s settled. With the two of you on the job, the cabinet should be built in no time,” Henry said, patting Chanyeol’s shoulder before walking back into the kitchen to finish cleaning.

              The two looked down at Eunhyuk, who was on all fours, muscles tensed as he focused on removing every particle of filth from the ground. Shin and Chanyeol shared a glance, shrugged, and ducked into the garage.

              The two walked past the many luxury cars and approached the closet, a space in the far corner of the ridiculously sized room.

              When Chanyeol pulled open the door, they saw a large box placed in the very back; so massive that Chanyeol could fit his entire body inside like a sleeping bag if he really wanted to. It looked like it had never been touched, as it was completely sealed and covered with cobwebs. He pulled it out, dragging it across the floor as he and Shin examined it.

              “He wasn’t lying when he said it was big,” Shin said, reaching over to a nearby counter for a box cutter. He sliced through the cardboard and tape, peeling it apart to peer inside. He tilted the box over, letting nails and abstract pieces of wood come tumbling out with a clatter. 

              “Oh, here’s the instructions” Chanyeol said as he bent down to grab the small book, flipping through the dozens of pages with a tinge of regret, “um…well this should be fun right?” he chuckled, sitting down on the ground next to the materials.

              Shin sighed, looking at the mound of wood on the floor, “Yeah…fun.”

              Chanyeol looked up at him, “You’re not doing this because you think you owe me, are you?” he asked, “Because if that’s the case, I don’t want your help. I want you to realize it’s not your fault.”

              Shin was taken by surprise, “No…I genuinely want to help you.”

              He and Chanyeol shared a look for a while, the rapper trying to figure out if he really meant what he was saying, “Okay. Let’s get to work then.”

             Sehun and Kai raced up the stairs, elbowing the other as they tried to get away from Eunhyuk’s wrath. As soon as they rounded the corner of the hall, Sehun knocked shoulders with Amber nearly sending him barreling onto the floor.

           “Ow, what the hell are you two running from?!” she yelled in annoyance, gripping her aching shoulder.

           “Eunhyuk, he just exploded on us out of nowhere,” Kai explained.

            “Well did you do something wrong?”

                         “Yeah, maybe, but that’s not the point!” Kai said, leaning over to catch his breath, “What are you doing?”

               “I’m looking for new sheets and towels, but I can’t find any and I’ve looked everywhere.”

          “Henry might know where some are,” Sehun suggested, “He’s in the kitchen cleaning now.”

           “Cool, come and ask him with me.”

              “We literally just came from down there-!” Sehun whined, but Amber pulled him and Kai by the sleeves before they could protest more. She led them down e staircase, past a still scrubbing Eunhyuk and into the kitchen to see Henry placing dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

          He looked up when he heard Amber and the boys stomp into the kitchen, all wearing annoyed expressions “Hey, what’s up?”

           “Do you have any extra bedsheets or towels anywhere around here? I need to make up my bed and take a shower but I can’t find any on the entire second floor.”

             Henry chuckled a little nervously, rubbing a hand through his hair with a shamed expression, “Oh yeah, about that. Uhhhh we don’t have any extras.”

                 Everyone’s eyebrows joined in confusion.

                “How can you have a sauna in your basement, but not own any extra towels in the linen closet?” Kai asked, making everyone realize the Super Junior members really had their priorities straight when they got the place.

                   Henry shrugged, “I don’t know, we just never got around to making that purchase I guess.”

                 Amber folded her arms and leaned against the counter, “Well, where are we going to get them? I don’t want to use the same dirty towel anymore and washing one at a time takes up too much energy.”

              “You know,” Sehun said, “We could just get some from another house. I’m sure one of the neighbors wouldn’t mind.”

              “So you want to steal from someone’s uninhibited home? Huh, well that sounds awfully familiar,” said a deep voice suddenly. The four of them turned to see TOP strolling into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, barely sparing them a glance as he chugged it down.

              “It’s better than risking a run to the city for something that small, especially after everything that’s…happened.”

              “I agree. I’m not too fond of stealing either, but the city is too dangerous. I’m willing to consider it borrowing for today,” Amber said.

              TOP nodded, “Fine, but I have to come too. I don’t want there to be any unwanted surprises.”

              “So this is actually happening?” Sehun asked a little surprised that his idea was even being considered.

              “Yeah, I needed some things anyways and going into the city again isn’t an option,” he said, “Everyone go to the garage, I’ll meet you after I get the artillery,” TOP said, walking out of the kitchen and going to the basement.

              Everyone shared a quick look before following TOP out of the kitchen and walking to the garage. As Amber passed by the living room, she noticed Hana sitting idly on the sofa, eyes scanning the pages of a book in concentration. Amber went over and tapped her on the shoulder.

              “Hey, a few of us are going on a run, you want to come?”

              “A run? After all that happened the other day?” she asked.

              “No we’re going to scavenge some bedsheets and whatnot from one of these mansions. Come on, we’re about to leave.”

              “Last time you convinced me to go somewhere with you I almost drowned, I’ll pass.”

              Amber rolled her eyes, “Okay, true, but that probably won’t happen this time. Come on, you might find some things you need too.”

              After a moment of consideration, and remembering the things she needed, Hana released a deep sigh. She closed her book and left it on the sofa, following Amber’s lead into the garage. On the floor, sitting between a pile of wood and tools, sat Shin and Chanyeol.

              “What are you two doing?” Hana asked as she approached them.

              “A spur of the moment project,” Shin yelled as Chanyeol drilled a piece of wood. He noticed everyone getting into the cars, “Where are you guys going?”

              “We need some things around the house so we’re going to scavenge one of the houses in the neighborhood. Do you want to come?” she said.

              “Nah, I’m going to stay and help Chanyeol work on this cabinet. Just be safe out there,” he said, turning away to go back to the job.

              The garage door suddenly opened and inside walked TOP, carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder with what Hana could only assume to be guns. When he saw her he looked surprised, “You’re coming too?”  Hana nodded, “That’s good, we can use your help if this run goes bad.”

              The two walked to the pickup truck, jumping into the back with Amber, Kai, and Sehun before Henry started the engine. In no time they were out of the garage, through the gate and off their property. They contemplated stopping at G-Dragon’s place once again for their run, but TOP assured them that the house was completely empty of anything useful. They traveled the distance of four football fields before they decided on a house.

They parked in the middle of the street, stopping in front of a tall iron gate. The six of them exited the car and stood in front of the barrier.

              “So whose house is this?” Kai asked, admiring its Mediterranean style, lush plants hanging from the walls and gardens surrounding the property.

              “Park Shin Hye,” replied TOP, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. He stared up at the gate before them, wondering how they would get to the house on the other side. He shook the iron, making the gate creak loudly. It was manually locked from the inside from what he could tell, “We need someone to unlock it from the other side,” he said, getting nothing but blank stares.

              When no one volunteered, Hana cleared , “I’ll do it,” she declared, making everyone eye her in astonishment.

              “I don’t think that’ll be good for your shoulder,” TOP said, “Maybe someone else can volunteer?” he said, raising his voice for emphasis and looking around, “Someone can be at the bottom, and someone can stand on the other’s back. Or better yet, two people can hold someone else’s feet and lift them over.”

              “Its fine, I’ve got it,” Hana raised the sleeves on her sweater, “Excuse me,” she said, making everyone move to the side as she backed up. It had been a solid month since she had made a jump like this, and the gate looked about a foot taller than the fence at home, but she might as well try.

              “Hana, wait-,” but before he could convince her to stop, she was off. She bolted for the gate, and when she was close enough, she leaped from the ground and latched onto the top. She pulled her weight up, ignoring the nagging of her shoulder wound. She hooked her shoes onto the other side until she had managed to get her entire body on top. She looked at the drop below; there wasn’t a blanket or grass on the other side, but instead gravel and concrete. She took a deep breath and jumped. She almost landed on her feet, but lost her balance on the way down and fell on her instead, skidding backwards.

              It honestly wasn’t bad for a month without practice.

              She looked behind her and saw those on the other side of the fence standing speechless. Hana pushed herself up, brushing the dirt from her pants and approached the gate. She unlatched the metal handle and pulled it open, motioning for the others to enter. They walked in, quickly nodding in thanks as they passed, except for Amber who gave her a grin and an expression that read “good job”.

              “You didn’t have to do that,” TOP said as they approached the house.

              “I know, but no one else wanted to do it, so why not me? I knew how to solve the problem, so I did. It just made sense.”

              TOP nodded upon hearing her reasoning, “How’s your shoulder?”

              Hana stretched and checked her arm, “The bandage is a little bloody but nothing hurts.”

              “Good, I can change it when we get back home.”

              When they made it up the path to the mansion, they checked every door and window only to find them all locked. They had to resort to their last choice. TOP took a rock from the garden and launched it at the back door, sending glass flying and leaving the space open.

              They cautiously walked in, looking around in awe and what Hana could only describe as a tinge of disgust. Everything was remarkably immaculate and manicured. From the couch cushions, to the picture frames, to even the wilting flowers in the corner, it was all too perfect; it looked like the place had never been lived in. It didn’t make any sense to her why any of it was necessary; to live in a place this big with so many material items, for some reason it made her sick.

              She wouldn’t call her old home with Shin and her aunt squalor, nor her home with her parents back in America, but a house of this magnitude made it appear so. It was interesting to see how people could live their lives in such careless luxury with everything they could ever ask for while someone else laid on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, unaware of what else there was in the world.

              And she hated it.

              “Alright, some of us can go upstairs and see what we can find while the rest can stay down here,” TOP said.

              Amber, Sehun, Kai, and Hana walked up the massive staircase while Henry and TOP went to the kitchen.

              Amber began to open random doors searching for any sign of sheets, “Why does she have so many rooms in this place, my god,” Amber commented.

              While the rest looked, Hana broke off from the group and went down another hallway. When she opened one door and found a bathroom, she filled a basket with toiletries and continued on to the next room. She did this for every room, filling the basket with whatever she deemed a necessity. At the very end of the hall was what could only describe as a fitting room.

              The space was filled with racks of clothes and mannequins wearing outfits of designer brands she couldn’t even pronounce. As Hana combed through the clothes, she couldn’t find anything practical for her to take, given the fact that she didn’t think that she would be in need of a sequined miniskirt or six-inch stilettos anytime soon. Though, in the corner of the room was one item that she couldn’t take her eyes off of.  Hanging on its own rack was a navy blue gown, Hana’s favorite color.  She placed her basket on a nearby desk as she went to get a closer look, the dress having some sort of magnetic pull.

 She eyed the gold accents on the straps and let the silky material slide between her fingers. Hana wasn’t really a dress person, but she had to admit it was rather amazing to the eye.

              “Beautiful,” said a voice from the doorway.

              Hana jumped, dropping the dress from her grip and grabbing her chest in shock as she turned around. Casually strolling into the room with a mischievous grin was Kai.

              “Oh it’s you,” Hana breathed in relief. She turned back to the dress, “Yeah, it is really nice.”

              “I wasn’t talking about the dress,” she heard him say.

              Hana froze. Her eyes widened as she turned around slowly, realizing Jongin was a lot closer than she had thought.

              What?

              Whenever Hana thought Kai would stop approaching her, he wouldn’t. He kept walking, causing Hana to back up until she felt her back hit the side of the desk.

              “Um,” Hana began, her heart thudding erratically and her mind racing in search for a response as she looked up at him, “excuse me?”

              Kai finally stopped. He was but a foot from her when he put a hand on the wall next to her head, making him lean even closer, “Why don’t we ever talk? We’re in the same house, our rooms are right next door to each other, but for some reason we never say a word. Why is that?”

              “Well you did almost kill me. So there’s that.”

              Jongin’s eyebrows raised briefly, thrown off guard by her quick reply. He nodded, “Can’t deny it. Sorry about that by the way,” he his lips and leaned in more, making their faces only inches apart. Hana gripped the edge of the desk and gulped. She didn’t know where to look, her eyes traveling from the dress, to his jawline, to the mannequins, to his warm brown eyes. She wasn’t used to being at a loss of words, snappy comments was what she was known for and none were coming to mind, “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

              “Um, I-,”

              “We found the sheets!” she heard Amber yell from somewhere down the hallway.

              Hana immediately ducked under Kai’s arm and grabbed the basket, “It’s time to go,” she muttered, walking away as fast as she could out of the room. Her mind was still racing, wondering what the hell all of that was about when she heard the sound of faint snickering behind her.

              “I just thought it would be funny to seduce you. I didn’t think that it would actually work though,” she remembered Kai saying after she was rescued from the pool.

              It all made sense.

              That .

              When Hana met Sehun (who still wouldn’t look at her) and Amber in the hallway, they walked back downstairs together, Kai not far behind. TOP and Henry were waiting at the bottom of the staircase, sifting through their boxes. TOP had gathered some blankets and towels while Henry appeared to have assembled a plethora of spices and liquor.

              When it seemed like everyone was ready to go, they began to walk to the back door.

              Hana looked around the house with an unimpressed expression, “Something about this place rubs me the wrong way,” she said to no one in particular.

              “What do you mean?” TOP asked.

              “It’s just too perfect here. Nothing seems natural. It’s like one of those places you see in home decorating magazines where the couch never looks like it’s been sat on and the beds look like they’ve never been slept in. It looks more like a museum than a home,” she said, “Something about it makes me want to just destroy it.”

               “Well why don’t you?” he asked.

              “Huh?”

              “Why don’t you destroy it? It’s not like anyone lives here anymore and will miss any of this when it’s gone, it won’t hurt.”

              “Oh no, it was just a thought, I don’t know if I can actually go through with it.”

              They were passing a display of decorative porcelain plates and cups in the living room. It was a long table adorned with expensive pieces from some exotic country, and it too looked completely untouched.

              TOP walked up to the table and took a plate, handing it to Hana, “It’s all yours.”

              Hana took it gingerly, weighing it in her hands for a bit. She had never purposefully ruined anything before, and she never though she would be given the opportunity to destroy anything with a stamp of approval and no repercussions. She cautiously stretched her arm back and launched the plate against the wall like a slingshot, hearing it connect with a loud crash and watching as the pieces became indistinguishable on the floor. The once prized, over-priced porcelain plate was now a heap of shards and dust, and Hana felt great. 

           It didn’t take long for the others to catch on to what Hana was doing, and in no time Amber followed suit. She grabbed a cup and flung it at a nearby flat screen television, watching as the two collided with a resounding crash and the screen split like a spider web. The boys shrugged and walked over to the table as well.

         “Wait. I’ve got a better idea,” TOP announced. He reached into his duffle bag and gave everyone a handgun, “Everyone back up a little and stand over there,” he instructed. They all shared confused looks and stood in front of the display like he said, “We haven’t had target practice in a while, and I was going to suggest we go out today to do it, but think this will do the job just fine. So, I want everyone to pick an object on that table to aim at. Like this,” he said, pulling out his machine gun and blasting a large plate on the table and sending it tumbling over onto the floor.

           “On the count of three,” he said, “One. Two. Three!” when their signal came, everyone inhaled and pulled their triggers. The room was filled with the echo of gunfire and flying shards of porcelain. The house was enveloped by the sounds of roars of accomplishment. Henry even got bold and stood on top of the sofa to get a better angle.

         As she watched the once spotless home get blown to pieces by a shower of bullets, Hana realized that she had never felt so free.

______________________

          “Should we call it quits for today?” Chanyeol asked.

              “Yeah I think we did enough for the time being,” Shin replied. In the two hours that they had been working on the cabinet, they hadn’t even built 10% of it. They spent the entire time gathering tools, reading instructions, and piecing together the wooden panels, and didn’t realize how little they had gotten done until this very moment. The part they had built stood pitifully small next to the pile of wood they had left to assemble.

              “We actually didn’t get that much done,” Chanyeol said in realization, “Damn I thought we made a lot of progress too. At least it felt like it.”

              “I know,” Shin sighed, “Well, I guess we can just continue tomorrow, right?”

              “Yeah, sure,” Chanyeol nodded.

              The two were in the middle of organizing their materials when the garage door suddenly opened. Clad in a sweater and pajama bottoms was IU. She walked into the space with a smile and curious eyes, “Hi, guys,” she said, “Where did everyone go?” she asked.

              “Hey Jieun! Everyone went out on a run to get supplies,” Chanyeol replied.

              “They went out again? But its so dangerous out there.”

              “Yeah, but they went to go take from a house in the neighborhood so they should be fine. They’ll be back at any time, don’t worry,” he assured her. Chanyeol said he was done working for the day and began to walk out of the room, and Shin assured him he would be leaving the garage soon also after he finished putting everything away.

           When Chanyeol left the garage, IU cleared . Shin jumped, he forgot that she was even still in the room. When he noticed that they were left alone, his palms began to sweat slightly.

        “What are you two building?” she asked.

          “A c-cabinet,” he stuttered. He cursed himself internally and avoided her eyes.

          “Oh that’s cool!” she said. She began to stroll around the garage, admiring the many luxury cars before her, “I really love these cars.”

              “Me too, I used to work on cars in my free time. You know, back when things were…normal,” Shin said, trying to recover from his embarrassment.

              IU’s eyes lit up, “Really? I bought a sports car about a month ago, but I don’t know anything about it. I honestly just got it because it was pretty,” she admitted with a wince, realizing how bad that sounded. She laughed, “I actually don’t even know what brand it was. I think it was a Lamborghini, but I’m not sure.”

              Shin smiled and turned away from her, averting his eyes to the materials on the floor as he continued to arrange them. His hands were fidgeting and his heart was beating erratically. He was in a room alone with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he didn’t know how to handle himself.

              Get a grip, Shin. Just pretend like she isn’t there, and maybe you’ll calm down. 

              “Could you teach me about cars, Shin?” he heard her ask in a timid voice. It was such a quiet, sweet sound that he almost thought he was imagining it.

              He turned around slowly, pointing at himself in surprise, “Me? You want m-me to teach you about cars?”

              IU shrugged, “Yeah, you said you used to work on them, so you know what you’re doing. Me on the other hand, am lost. It seems really interesting, and I’d love to learn…but…if you don’t want to do it I understand. You probably have a lot on your plate now, anyways,” she sighed, looking down with saddened eyes.    

              “No, no! Sure, I’ll do it. It’ll be my pleasure to teach you what I know about cars,” Shin said. As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted it. Did he really just volunteer himself to be in a room alone with IU, the girl of his dreams? Maybe at close proximity?

“Really?” she asked with shining eyes, “Oh my goodness, thank you! How does tomorrow sound?”

              “Uh, g-good! It’s not like I have anything else to do,” Shin laughed awkwardly as he internally cursed himself.

              The door suddenly creaked open, in walking a disheveled Eunhyuk. Shin wondered if he had been scrubbing the floors in the foyer for the past couple hours, but from the looks of him he already knew the answer.

              “Well, what’s going on in here?” Eunhyuk asked as he closed the door behind him.

              IU put her lips in a tight line and rolled her eyes, “We can work out the details another time. See you later, Shin,” she waved before turning away and brushing past Eunhyuk, leaving the two men alone in the garage.

              Eunhyuk watched her retreating figure until she disappeared behind the door, “I didn’t know you and Jieun were close.”

              Shin scoffed, “We aren’t. I mean yeah, we talk every so often, but that’s it.”

              Eunhyuk nodded and looked Shin in the eyes, “Good. Why don’t we keep it that way,” he uttered before walking away and following IU out. Shin stood there confused, wondering if he had just been threatened by the dancer.

              The garage door rose upwards with a surprising hum, getting Shin out of his thoughts. The pickup truck pulled into the space and out jumped the rest of the group.

              “Don’t forget to stop by my room, alright?” TOP said to Hana before he and the others walked into the house with the day’s findings.

              Shin watched as the rest shuffled into the house with the supplies, “Why does Seunghyun want you to stop by his room?” Shin asked curiously as Hana approached him

              “Ever since that stabbed me back at the market, Seunghyun has been changing my bandages, making sure it doesn’t get infected or whatever.”

              “Well that’s awful nice of him,” he commented, “It looks like you brought back some good stuff.”

              “Yeah, the cabinet looks…good?” Hana said as she saw the small block of wood the pair had built in the two hour period.

              Shin laughed, “Yeah, it’s going to take a lot longer than what we expected,” his voice suddenly got to a near whisper, though they were the only two in the space, “By the way, Jieun came up to me earlier and told me she wanted me to teach her about cars.”

              Hana’s looked in confusion, “She wants you to teach her? And why cars of all things?”

              “Yeah I know, I was confused too. She said she’s interested in them, and when I told her I used to work on them she asked me to teach her what I know.”

              “Well, are you going to do it?”

              Shin shrugged, “I guess. I already told her I would, but I haven’t worked on cars since I was in high school. I just get so nervous around her, I don’t know how I’m going to talk to her, let alone teach her something. Especially if we’re alone. Oh my God I’m going to make a fool of myself, I should cancel.”

              “I don’t think that’s going to do anything. We live under the same roof, it’s not like you can really avoid her. Maybe this will be good for you, and you’ll become friends or something,” Hana said, “And I don’t see what the problem is, you two were getting along just fine during the movie last night.”

              “Yeah, but we weren’t alone, and even then my heart was nearly beating out of my chest and I was sweating by just being next to her. Ugh I hate how awkward she makes me feel,” he explained in a pained voice.

              Hana thought back to the scars that covered the girl’s body, back to the conversation with TOP the night prior, the thick sweaters and sweatpants in warm weather, “Hey, speaking of Jieun—“

              “I mean I’ve never been so awkward around anyone in my entire life. It’s like when I’m around her, I’m not me. I can’t even talk! And I don’t know if that’s a good thing, or if I like it but….” He sighed.

              Hana searched the distress in her cousin’s face, and decided then wasn’t a good time to worry him with petty mysteries and speculation, “If you’re looking for advice with relationships, you know better than anyone that I’m not the one to talk to. But I think getting out of your comfort zone is the best way to get back to being yourself around her.”

              “Okay…thanks,” he exhaled, Hana turning and leaving him to finish cleaning up after his project.

              After leaving the garage, she went straight to TOP’s room. The long hallway she was used to walking down had an unfamiliar vibe, most likely due to the bits of sunlight coming through the curtains and skylight. When she made it to the door, she found that it was already opened.

              TOP was folding the new towels on his bed when he looked up and saw Hana in the doorway. He nodded towards the bathroom and she followed him inside. 

              “I know I already said this but…you didn’t have to do what you did earlier,” he said as he wiped down the blood from her shoulder.

              “Well since you already said it, why are you bringing it up again?” she asked.

              TOP smiled to himself, “Because I think you’re so used to doing things yourself you don’t know how to play with others.”

              “Excuse me?” Hana said, turning in a way that made TOP put more pressure on her wound than intended, though she kept a straight face.

              “I don’t see it as a selfish thing. It’s actually the opposite. I think you’re so used to being independent, that when it’s time to depend on someone else, you don’t know how to. So you just resort to doing things on your own when it’s not necessary, even when it’ll put you at risk."

              Hana wanted to shout, to yell “Who the hell are you? You don’t know me!” and storm off then and there, but for some reason she didn’t leave. She took this as her trying to be nicer like Shin said she should, but she had a fear that it was for another reason.

              “Well how the hell else would we have gotten inside today? If we had done what you wanted and climbed on each other’s backs to get over, I think that would have put more people at risk of getting hurt than necessary. So I stepped up. I knew what to do and how to make it happen. Yeah my shoulder got messed up a little bit more in the process, but I think it was worth it.”

              “But you don’t have to be so selfless all the time. You’re always putting your neck out for other people, which is nice of you, but I don’t think you’re doing it to be nice, you’re doing it because you don’t trust anyone besides yourself, and maybe Shin.”

              “I do trust other people besides Shin. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now with you in your bathroom, and me and Shin would have left a while ago,” she said, “And as far as selflessness goes, it’s easy to be selfless when you don’t have anything to lose.”

              TOP paused, “You really think you have nothing to lose?”

              “Of course I have nothing to lose. There are ing dead people walking around outside, civilization as we know it has fallen so it’s not like there’s an actual future, besides Shin I have no idea where my family is—“ she stopped herself, “Who are you, my psychiatrist? Why am I explaining myself to you?”

TOP looked on with thoughtful eyes “I asked a yes or no question. I didn’t tell you to go off on a tangent like that.”

Hana looked up at him briefly, a tinge of vulnerability there that he had never seen flashed in her eyes before she turned away.

The remainder of the time was spent in silence as TOP finished cleaning her wound and wrapped it back up. Hana had calmed down, and just watched her own reflection in the mirror as she waited for TOP to finish. She thought back to what he had said, trying to find every reason to why he was wrong but coming short. She hated when people acted like they knew her, telling her things about herself that they swore they knew…but she hated even more when they had a chance of being right.

“Alright, I’m done,” TOP said breaking the silence, “Come on. Dinner should be ready by now. We should get a seat before it’s all gone.”

After a moment, Hana made herself follow him out of the bathroom and to the dining room. Everyone was already seated, grabbing items off of over flowing plates and making light conversation. The two of them sat in whatever seats were available, luckily for Hana one was open next to Shin.

“Dinner is really good tonight, Henry,” complimented IU with a smile, as she spooned soup into .

“Thanks Jieun,” Henry blushed, “We found a lot of seasonings at the house we visited (he said the word a bit guiltily) today, which helped I think. I could have used some more red onions though, then it would have really been perfect.”

“I saw a whole barrel of them when we were back at the market, I wish we would have grabbed some back then before everything went to and our friend was killed and the other betrayed us —,“ as soon as Amber said the words she immediately regretted it, them slipping out without her realizing how insensitive they were. She was trying to make a joke in the light atmosphere. Her way of coping consisted of making light of hard topics, but she failed at realizing that this was not the right time. Everyone’s eyes dropped and all side conversations suddenly stopped, “Wow I’m so sorry I brought that up, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

ÏU shook her head, “Me neither. How insensitive can you be?” she said in a low voice, but just loud enough for Amber to hear. Amber’s fists clenched under the table.

“No…no it’s fine, Amber. You don’t have to apologize. Things happened, we can’t just pretend that they didn’t,” breathed Chanyeol.

“I’ve been wondering…how did Kyungsoo look when you saw him? Did he look…okay? Himself at least?” Kai asked in a strained voice.

After a moment of thought, Amber sighed, “Himself…? No. Okay…? I guess. Physically he looked fine, he had a few scrapes and he was a couple pounds thinner than what I remembered, but he looked like he was making it. But that was it. His aura, his tone, the way he carried himself, it was like he was a different person. I know living in a world like this can change you, but seeing him so emotionless and dry was very off-putting, and kind of scary.”

“I just can’t believe he didn’t want to come back with you guys,” said Sehun.

“He’s obviously in a very controlling situation with those men. Even when he could have easily left with us, he chose to stay behind and help. Whatever they did to him, they got him good,” TOP said.

“Maybe if we see him again, we can convince him to come back with us,” said Kai.

“If we see him again, that means we’ll be seeing the psychos he was with also, and I’m not too fond of that idea. I mean they killed Jongdae right in front of his face, and he still stayed to help them get away. I don’t think there’s any hope for him coming back at this point,” TOP said.

The table was silent as they took in his words, the environment going from light to heavy within minutes.

              “Yeah…maybe you’re right,” Kai said. He suddenly backed his chair away from the table, “I think I’ll be going now, I’m not hungry anymore. Thanks for dinner, Henry.”

              Henry nodded and Kai stood up and walked out of the dining room. There was a simultaneous sigh of exasperation around the table. They tried to get the conversation back on a more positive track, but every time it would falter and go back to silence.

              As IU reached for more rice, her sleeve pushed up almost to her elbow, fully exposing her arms as well as the red lines that adorned it.

              No one else seemed to notice except for Hana, “Hey Jieun, Seunghyun can help you with your scars if you want,” she said, making the singer pause in her tracks and her head snap to the side, “Ever since I hurt my shoulder a few days ago he’s been helping me clean and bandage it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you out too, even if it is just from your cat, “Hana said, giving a small emotionless smile. She wasn’t sure why she said it, but she knew she wasn’t just doing it out of the kindness of her heart.

              “Oh no, I’m fine, it’s not even that bad,” IU quickly raised her sleeve, but not before everyone else at the table could get a good look at it, which gained many gasps and questions from the guys, “I think time is the only healing I need,” she laughed.

              TOP was taken aback by the scars. He recalled Hana mentioning them to him earlier, but he didn’t think they would be that apparent, “Those don’t look good. They look pretty deep actually, and I’m sure they’ll take a while to heal on their own…you sure you don’t want me to look at them?”

              “I’m fine, I swear. They don’t even hurt that much. Honestly I barely even notice them anymore.”

              “Okay…and your cat did that to you? I could have sworn you didn’t have one, or was deathly allergic to them or something,” TOP said, face mirroring the confusion he felt.

              “I was,” she clarified, “but then I went to the doctor and they gave me some medicine for my allergies. I got my cat after that.”

              “What’s your cat’s name?” asked Sehun.

              IU paused, “Boo.”

              Amber scoffed, “Like the name of your own song?” she was amazed by how superficial the girl could be.

              “I’m glad you were able to get over your allergy, Jieun,” TOP said.

              “Science is amazing isn’t it?” she laughed.

              “Yes it is,” he said. He looked across the table at Hana, the two of them sharing a quick glance filled with slight incredulity and many questions.

              “So I thought it over, and I’ve decided that I’m going to teach Jieun tomorrow,” Shin said as he and Hana grabbed new sheets from one of the many linen closets in the upstairs hallway.

              “Good for you for getting out of your comfort zone,” Hana said.

              “Yeah, after dinner she came up to me and we decided on a time. We thought seven o’clock would work because it’ll be after Chanyeol and I work on our project for the day, but before dinner, so not too late,” he said. Hana just listened as she grabbed mounds of sheets from the shelves. Shin realized that she was no longer talking, “What’s wrong?”

              “Nothing,” she replied, “What did you think of her story about her cat?”

              “I don’t know…it got her pretty good though. Those scratches were crazy. I guess that’s why she always wears long sleeved shirts, she’s probably self-conscious about them.”

              “Yeah...something like that,” Hana said, “So nothing about her story was weird to you?”

              “No? Why would there be?”

              “I mean she was deathly allergic to cats before, and suddenly she just gets some medicine and magically she’s not allergic to them anymore? And she had a cat this whole time that no one knew about? I don’t know, something about that is weird to me.”

              “Like she said, science is amazing. I didn’t know they could just get rid of allergies like that, but I wouldn’t put it past them. And maybe she just didn’t get around to telling anyone that she got a pet. If she’s busy with a ton of other things that’s probably the last thing she had on her mind.”

              “I guess.”

              “You don’t believe her?”

              “Like I said, something about the whole situation is weird to me.”

              “You don’t think those came from zombies do you? If that’s the case, she’s been with us for a few days already and she hasn’t shown any signs of changing. So you don’t need to worry about that.”

              That thought had crossed Hana’s mind in the past, and she realized that it was unlikely that a zombie had given her the scratches due to how long it’s been without any obvious change. Maybe it just took longer to take effect if it isn’t a bite? Her mind was racing with speculation, and she could tell in Shin’s face that he wasn’t understanding her concern. She didn’t know anything for sure, she just knew that her gut was telling her one thing, and her gut had never let her down.

              Hana shrugged, deciding to let it go because the boy obviously wasn’t seeing her point, “Yeah, maybe I’m looking into it too deeply,” she said, not believing a single word she was saying.

              “I think you are, but it’s okay. Jieun seems like a really nice person, I doubt she would lie about something as minor as a few scratches,” Shin said. They closed the closet door and began to walk in the direction of their rooms.

              Hana wanted to be as sure as he was. She wanted to be that optimistic. She wanted to believe him.

              She really did.

              There was a knock on the door.

              IU closed her book, pushed herself off of her bed, and quickly walked down the stairs towards the sound. Earlier, Henry had volunteered to bring her some fresh towels after dinner so that she could take a shower. She expected his welcoming face and brown hair when she pushed the wooden barrier open, but instead was greeted by a smug grin and an electric blue mane.

              “I came to give you your towels,” he said.

              “Didn’t I tell you to never come back to my room again?” IU was infuriated.

              “Yes, but technically I’m standing in the hallway. And last time I checked this is public property.”

              She rolled her eyes and reached for the towels, snatching them from his hands and attempting to close the door.

              “Wait!” he said before it shut, “How come I wasn’t invited to your house party a few weeks ago but Seunghyun was?”

              “Because he’s actually my friend and he knows when to leave me the hell alone,” she snapped.         

              “Fair enough,” he laughed, “I probably was free that night, though. I would have loved to come, it would have been nice to meet your…cat?”

              IU released a deep sigh, attempting to close the door again, “Goodnight, Eunhyuk.”

              “I mean that cat of yours, Boo was it? Really got you good with those scratches I mean damn,” he chuckled, “Anyways, I didn’t know there was a way to completely eliminate allergies like they did for you. Science is really evolving, wouldn’t you say?”

              “Goodnight, Eunhyuk,” she said through her teeth.

              “Oh, don’t be mad that I’m the only one that can see through you and your bull. I always could. That’s why when you say you don’t love me, I know you’re lying.”

              “I’m not lying about either of those things!” she exclaimed.

              Eunhyuk raised his hands above his head as if in surrender, his face painted with a smirk, “Whatever you say. Just know that lying has never been one of your strong suits,” just as he began to walk away from the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, “By the way, feel free to come by my room at any time. I’m more than happy to play doctor for a while and give those scratches of yours a look,” he said with a wink before disappearing around the corner.

              IU cursed the dancer before slamming the door behind her.

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