Like Sunday mornings before the end of the world, this one was oddly calm. Washing machines jostled, calm conversations were made, and the aroma of breakfast flooded the first floor.

              As Amber carried new sheets into the room, Hana was attempting to reorganize her cabinet. She sat on the floor as she unloaded her backpack, which was filled with clothes and toiletries she had managed to grab when she and Shin had visited their old home not too long ago. She took out all of the oversized garments from the drawers, meant for men twice her size, and replaced them with her own. There was something about the act that made her feel odd, as if she was permanently sealing her fate at the mansion by doing this. Though, she brushed this off when she remembered that there weren’t many other options at this point, and her fate had already been locked into this mansion long before she decided to personalize her room.

 As she neared the bottom of her backpack, her fingers grazed something thin and flimsy much to her confusion. She pulled out a single picture, the dust rising from the bag and into her face. As she looked at it, she was confronted with a moment of befuddlement, wondering how on earth it had managed to find its way into her possession.

A vague memory came forth of her grabbing it on the way out the door.

Hana pushed herself off of the ground. She walked the empty halls until she made it to the room she was looking for.

“Come in!” yelled a familiar voice from the other side.

              “Hey,” she said as she entered.

              Usually whenever she would come into the room, Shin and Chanyeol would be deep into some conversation, but that morning the rapper was downstairs helping Henry with the meal and the cousin was alone folding clothes, looking a bit lonely, “Good morning. What’s up?”

              “Nothing much. Just came by to give you something,” she said, “Here.”

              She extended her arms, holding the picture out to him.

              Shin approached her, confusion covering his face until it softened, “You grabbed this?”

              “Yeah, before we left.”

              Shin took it gingerly in his hands, admiring the picture with childlike eyes. He looked it over for what could have been the hundredth time, taking in the faces of his parents and his miniature self in silent admiration.

              “I…I don’t know what to say,” he laughed, “I was literally thinking of this picture last night, and was mad at myself for not taking it when I had the chance. But here it is, because you were thinking one step ahead when I wasn’t thinking at all.”

              “It’s no big deal, really—,” she began to say, before she was taken into a tight hug by the older boy.

              “Thank you, Hana. I don’t tell you this enough, but I really love you.”

              She began to squirm, “Ugh, don’t get all mushy on me.”

              “I’m not going to let you go until you say it back.”

              She began to squirm again, but Shin’s grip only got tighter, “Are you serious?”

              “Yeah! Come on, only three words! You wouldn’t have taken the picture for me if it wasn’t true. And you had no problem saying them to me when you were back at the kitchen of the SM headquarters stuffing your face!”

              “I recall no such thing!” she sang as she attempted to wiggle her way out of his grip, but there was still no change.

              “All you have to do is say it!”

              “Fine! I love you! Now let me go!” she yelled. He finally released her, and she feigned gagging as he laughed. She began to walk to the door with an annoyed expression.

              “It’s us to the end, Hana,” she heard him say.

              She nodded before she closed the door behind her, “It’s us to the end.”

_________________________________________

             After breakfast, the house was pretty much done with all of the morning’s productive activities. The clothes were washed, the laundry was folded, and the rooms were reorganized to their liking. From then, the group went on to do whatever miscellaneous activities they pleased to waste time for the rest of the day.

              For IU, this meant a moment to catch up on some much needed relaxation. The stairs creaked under her bare feet as she made her way down to the basement. She carried a towel in her arms, looking around the space in admitted amazement at all the things she passed on the bottom floor. She was approaching the sound of music, and when she looked into the dance studio it was coming from, all peace she felt stopped. She locked eyes with Eunhyuk who was dancing inside through the glass window, and he immediately stopped to run to the door. AT that moment she wished that she had never gone down there.

              “Hey! Wait!” she could hear him yelling as he ran to catch up, “What are you doing down here? You missed me?”

              This was the first time the two were completely alone since their encounter in her room a few days prior. Everyone else was either a floor or two above them, which was a curse and a blessing all at once for the entertainers.

              IU decided to ignore his question, “I was told by Henry that there was a sauna down here, and I was going to pay it a visit if that’s okay with you,” she said, picking up her pace.

              “Listen, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for being a jerk to you, and for what happened in your room that one time. I wasn’t thinking. I had too much to drink and I wasn’t being myself. But I still want to be with you, Jieun. Like old times!”

              “Ugh, just leave me alone, won’t you?! I don’t want to deal with this today, okay?” she had come down to the basement in order to separate herself from the drama above, but somehow it was literally following her around.

              “No,” Eunhyuk said flatly, grabbing her arm to turn her around so that she was facing him, “I love you, Jieun. The least you can do is not lie to yourself and show me the same affection,” Jieun tried to rip her arm from his grasp, but it was still firm, “Just give us chance. Just give me a chance to show you how much I love you,” the look in his eyes was pleading, and the urgency made her uncomfortable.

              “Fine,” she breathed, his grip loosening a little, “Where is the best place to meet? It has to be away from everyone else, and it can’t me my room.”

              Eunhyuk’s eyes widened, and he smiled in excitement that she was actually complying, “My room isn’t an option either since I’m sharing it with Donghae. The attic! That’s the best place.”

              “Okay then. Let’s meet in the attic tonight at 7 o’clock,” she said.

              “That sounds great. 7 o’clock it is,” he smiled. Before she could separate herself, the dancer grabbed her waist, and leaned in to plant a kiss on her neck, making the singer stiffen, “You promise?” he asked.

“Mmhmm” she hummed.

“Great, see you then,” he said, skipping back to the dance studio.

              IU returned the smile until he disappeared.

              She walked in the opposite direction towards the sauna, promising to rid her body of any trace of the kiss and the filth she felt in that moment.

______________________

As the lazy Sunday continued on, Hana sat on her bed with her iPod. She had managed to grab it from her house before she left, and was clicking through her playlists in disappointment, wondering why she didn’t have better song choices.

              “Hey!” Amber said, running into the room with a smile on her face, “The boys and I just found something. Come check it out with us!”

              “What is it?” Hana asked skeptically, as she pulled her earphones out.

              “It’s like some secret room, and it has stairs that lead up to something. We haven’t gone up and taken a look yet. Hurry up, I asked them to wait so I could come and get you!”

              Hana gave Amber a look mixed with fatigue and annoyance before dropping her iPod and jogging behind her.

              In the hallway stood Kai and Sehun, where they were waiting in front of an inconspicuous door. There was nothing special about it, and it almost blended in completely with the rest of the wall.

              Sehun opened the door, where he exposed a staircase leading upwards towards another door.

              “I’m not going up first.”

              “Me neither.”

              “Hell no! Don’t look at me!”

              Hana was growing agitated and was about to turn back to her room before Kai put his pride aside and began to climb the stairs.

              When he reached the top, he slowly pushed the door open, as a look of amazement crept onto his face, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

              “What? What’s up there?”

              “This place really does have everything!” he replied as he walked completely into the space and left their sight.

              The three shrugged and followed the boy up the stairs, where their eyes rounded like saucers.

              Hana felt the urge to laugh. Just when she thought she had seen it all, this house never ceased to amaze her.

              Before their eyes was a collection that any arcade would envy. Across the space, in what they could only assume was the attic, were ping pong tables, pool tables, an air hockey table, a competition sized poker table, a single bowling lane, and many more games that Hana couldn’t even begin to count.

              “I think I’m in love,” Kai whispered.

              “Is this what heaven looks like?” Sehun asked.

              “As close as we’ll get to it for now,” Amber replied.

              The four of them continued to walk around in amazement, not sure where to begin.

              “Who wants to play me in ping pong?!” Kai said as he ran over to the table, and the two other entertainers followed.

              Hana looked on, continuing to take in all the room had to offer. It was enormous, almost twice the size of the garage. It was one of those places, so full of things and so big, that if she played hide and seek there she doubted she would ever be found.

              As the three played and trashed talked each other, Hana saw a space in the level above, nestled in a corner that could only be reached by a ladder. Hana climbed to the top, where she found a pit-like space filled with plush sofas and blankets. It was like the perfect napping area.

              But this was not the best part.

              This spot undoubtedly held the best view of their surroundings that Hana had ever seen. Being the highest point of the house, this all gave her the chance to see everything for miles. As she stood on the balcony, she could see the entire neighborhood, along with the gorgeous flower covered rolling hills and roads that lead there, and if she looked hard enough even a faint skyline could be seen in the distance.

              Hana took a seat and stared off at the horizon, her mind wandering. It was almost funny to think that she was there, in a place so big and beautiful, filled with luxuries not essential to anyone’s survival, while the world was literally being torn to pieces by flesh eating carcasses.

And all that was separating her from that world was a few walls and hills.

The entertainers yelled as a game came to an end, saying how someone had cheated and added unnecessary points, but Hana wasn’t paying attention.

“Either way, I won,” Kai laughed as he twirled a paddle between his fingers.

              “Who’s next?” Sehun asked.

              “I want to play with Hana,” she could hear the dancer say.

              She looked down and found him sending a wink her way.

              Hana rolled her eyes, “No thank you, I’m fine up here. I don’t play games.”

              Kai pouted, “You’re no fun.”

              “So I’ve been told.”

              “Well if you’re not coming down, we’re coming up,” Amber said as the boys followed her up the ladder.

              The three of them threw themselves across the sofas, “This view is amazing,” Amber thought aloud, taken aback by its beauty, “Life is funny isn’t it? I mean, the world has ended, but we just ended a ping pong game, and are somehow still able to appreciate a nice view.”

              “It is, but I’m grateful. It could be a lot worse,” Kai said as he nestled deeper into a pillow next to Hana, making her cringe away.

              “Speaking of life, you’ve never told us about yours,” Amber said to Hana, “You’re such a mystery to everyone.”

              Hana crossed her arms and shrugged, “There isn’t much for me to tell, I’m really not that interesting.”

              “Oh, come on. Of course you are. You’re amazing with guns and can climb fences like a ninja, that’s not normal.”

              “Really, I’m not—“

              “Where are you from? You have a slight accent but I can’t pinpoint from where.”

              Hana sighed, “America.”

              “Really? So you speak English?” Amber asked excitedly, making Hana nod, “Then why did you come to Korea?”

              “For university,” she replied.

              “What year were you?”

              “A freshman.”

              “What were you studying?”

              “I was undecided.”

              “What about your family?”

              “What is this? 21 questions?”

              “What about your family?” Amber restated.

              Hana sighed, “They’re still in America…I think.”

              “Do you have any siblings?”

              “No, I’m the only child.”

              “Have you ever had a boyfriend?” Kai asked, making Amber slap his arm.

              “No.”

              “What’s your favorite color?”

              “Navy blue.”

              “Favorite song?”          

              “I don’t have one.”

              “Your favorite food?”

              “Pizza.”

              “Favorite sport?”

              “Soccer.”

              “What’s your best friend’s name?”

              Hana paused, “Shin?”

              Amber’s eyebrows raised, “Really?”

              “Yeah…I’ve never really thought about it before, but I guess he is.”

              “I knew you two were close, but I didn’t know how much.”

              “Yeah, we’ve been through a lot together. He’s always been there for me, even when I moved in with him and my aunt for school a few months ago, he went out of his way to make sure I was at home. He never once stopped trying to help me be better. He would never let me live it down if he heard me saying this, but he really is the best person I know. So to put it simply…yeah. I guess he is my best friend.”

        The next few hours were spent in that attic in relaxation, the two girls continuing their conversation as the boys fell asleep. They had lost track of the time at this point, but the sun was setting, covering the room in orange and pink tones. It felt as if the entire day had passed by in a blur, but unknown to them, it was already nearing 7 o’clock.

              The serenity and calm of the moment came to an end when the attic door suddenly bust open, hitting the back of the wall with a loud crash.

              “Yo, what the hell?” Amber said as she jolted up from the couch.

              In walked Eunhyuk, a look of confusion plastered on his face. He wasn’t expecting anyone else to be there. He only had minutes left before it was 7, he had to move fast.

              “I need you all to leave,” he said plainly.

              “Why? Is something wrong?” Sehun asked as he woke up.

              “No, I just need you to get out.”

              “You’re not making any sense,” Kai said, “We’ve been up here for hours, you can’t just kick us out like this without a reason.”

              “I don’t care, get out! Hurry up! Move, move, move!” Eunhyuk shouted, making the four young adults climb down the ladder as he shoed them towards the door.

        Amber stopped as the others walked back down the stairs, “Eunhyuk are you sure everything is fine?”

      “Yeah, I just need to use this room for a little bit,” he says closing the door in her face before she could ask another question.

     He stood there, smoothing down his clothes as he looked in anticipation at the door. He looked down at his watch.

          6:59

       One more minute. She’ll be here in one more minute.

___________________

“I think we’re done for the day, don’t you?” asked Chanyeol as he admired their work.

“Yeah…but does it look any different to you than it did four hours ago?” asked Shin.

“Honestly? No,” Chanyeol laughed, “I guess we’ll just continue working on it tomorrow.”

The two of them began to clean up after themselves, placing the drills, screws, and wooden planks in a neat pile.

“I’m about to go in,” Chanyeol groaned, stretching out his limbs as he began to walk towards the door, “You coming?”

“Nah, I’ve got some business to take care of in here first,” Shin said, “Jieun asked me to teach her what I know about cars tonight.”

“Lucky,” Chanyeol sighed, “I’d give anything to get a second of her time. Don’t mess this up!” he said before leaving Shin alone.

He looked at the clock on the wall.

6:55

Shin ran over to the nearest mirror and began to smooth down his shirt, angry that he hadn’t ironed it earlier. He ran a hand through his thick black locks and flashed a smile.

Just be yourself. Don’t mess this up.

The garage door opened and a head peeped inside.

“Hey,” IU said timidly.

Shin glanced up at the clock.

7:00 exactly.

“Hey,” Shin said with a small smile.

“Are you ready?” IU said, taking off her sweatshirt and chucking it into a corner. She was wearing a fitted long-sleeved shirt underneath.

“For…?” Shin said, thrown off by this action.

“To teach me about cars, silly,” IU laughed.

“Oh! Yeah, cars,” Shin said, his face turning red.

The two went over to a red Mercedes in the far corner of the room. Shin took the keys off the shelf and popped open the hood, “This car is probably the closest model to what you had. So what do you want to learn first?” he asked, never looking in her direction.

“Can you teach me about the parts and what they do?”

“S-sure! So, um, this big piece of metal right here is the engine. It burns the gasoline which then puts the car into motion,” he said, scratching his arm, “And this right here is the air filter,” he spared a glance at IU, who looked at him attentively, “It p-prevent debris and d-dirt from, um, getting into the engine and stuff. And this right here is the radiator,” he looked at IU again, who was not looking at the car, but at him directly. She was standing only a foot or so away from him, and he could feel her body heat coming off in waves, “No, wait, that’s actually the battery. Sorry! So the battery is what—“

“Shin.”

He stopped, “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” she asked, a look of concern on her face.

“Absolutely! Sorry, I’m just not feeling like myself right now,” he laughed. He had the urge to smack himself, to get his mind back in the right place and find his words again. He was growing flustered, his sentences didn’t flow like usual, his palms were sweaty, and he couldn’t look her in the eye. Shin closed the hood of the car.

IU walked closer, making Shin immediately back away from the car and nearly hit against a wall, his foot nearly grazing over the pile of materials he and Chanyeol had set aside earlier, “Why are you so nervous around me? You always seem so confident any other time,” she asked curiously.

“I-I don’t know,” he stuttered.

IU chuckled, “You don’t know why you’re so nervous around me. Oh come on, am I that unpleasant to be around?” she said with a tinge of hurt.

Shin shook his head furiously, “No! Not at all,” he averted his eyes to the walls, the ceiling, and the ground, “You’re just so…beautiful.”

              IU’s eyes widened, a smile creeping onto her face, “You think I’m beautiful?”

              When Shin finally looked at her, it was more like a stare. He was puzzled that it was even a serious question, wondering how there could ever be any doubt, “Of course…but anyways, I think we’ve learned all we need to for today. Maybe we can finish our lesson some other time—“

              Before Shin could turn away, IU grabbed him by the shoulders, stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

              Shin stood there motionless, his body stiffening almost painfully, “What was that for?” he whispered almost boy-like.

IU shrugged, “I just felt like it,” she rose to her toes again, but this time grabbing him by the hair. This kiss was less hesitant, and more sure from the both of them. As it grew in passion, Shin took the lead.

He pushed himself off the wall and towards the car, his hands gripping her waist. The two of them nearly tripped over the pile of wood and screws (the materials scattering all over the floor) before they landed on the hood of the car.

Shin separated their lips, “You didn’t really want to learn about cars, did you?”

IU smirked, “Is it that obvious?” she pulled him back.

“Wait, I’ve got a better idea,” Shin said.

He took her by the hand and brought her to the side of the car. He opened the door of the backseat, flinging it open in a hurry. IU quickly kissed him on the cheek before the two quickly crawled inside slamming the door behind them in a fit of giggles and sighs.

_______________________

The dining room table felt oddly empty that Sunday night.

              The group sat quietly as they stuffed food into their mouths, trying to revive conversations that slowly died. There were three empty chairs at the table that were normally filled, and they all wondered why.

              “There they are!” said Henry as IU and Shin walked into the room, their heads hung low as they tried to come in unnoticed, “You’re 20 minutes late for dinner, that’s very uncharacteristic of you, especially for Shin.”

              “Yeah, you’re usually one of the first ones here,” said Chanyeol.

              Shin laughed awkwardly, “Sorry you guys, we lost track of time. Our lesson took longer than what we expected.”

              “Its fine,” Henry said, pulling out the chair for IU and handing the two of them plates, “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”

              IU and Shin sat on opposite ends of the table. The entire meal, they spared quick glances and sly smiles, as the other sat oblivious.

              “Where’s Eunhyuk? He’s never missed a meal either,” said Henry.

              “He kicked us out of the attic earlier. He said he had some business to take care of or something like that. I haven’t seen him since,” said Kai.

              “Do you think he’s still up there?”

              “No way, that was almost 2 hours ago. He’s probably up in his room with Donghae,” the name of the other boy sounded slightly foreign, as none of them had even seen him in a few days.

              “Well he better come down soon before all the food is gone,” Henry said, passing a bottle of soju around the table.

              “No thank you, I don’t drink,” said IU when the bottle got to her. She reached over the table to grab the water pitcher at the same time as Shin. Their fingers grazed, and they shared a knowing grin.

              As the plates were being brought into the kitchen after dinner, IU pulled Shin aside outside of the dining room.

              “So are you up for tomorrow?” she asked leaning in close and grabbing his collar.

              “Definitely,” he said.

              She pecked his lips and grabbed his hand, letting it fall and their fingers part as she walked away.

              He looked after her with an entranced smile as he watched her figure retreat with a sigh.

              “How’d your lesson with Jieun go?”

              Shin jumped, grabbing his chest as his heart jolted in surprise, “Huh?!”

              Hana squinted, “You know, your car lesson with Jieun that you were so worried about? That ring a bell?”

              Shin burst into laughter, “Oh that! Yeah, it was great! Amazing.”

              Hana’s eyebrows raised, “Amazing? Wow. Well I’m glad it went well. See, I told you getting out of your comfort zone would help.”

              Shin nodded and smiled with an expression that Hana had never seen. It was serene in a way that made him look only half awake, “Thanks for convincing me to it, Hana.”