Shells fell into the tall grass and loud pops echoed off of the edge of the forest.

            “Okay everyone, finish your clip and then we’ll head back home,” said TOP as he observed the group from the back.

            They were practicing out in the forest, an occurrence that had become more frequent as of late. Three times a week, the crew would pack up their bags, drive to the old golf resort, and fire off rounds to sharpen their shooting skills. Gradually, they were all becoming better, and were less afraid of the weapons they held.

            “Hey Shin, when you aim, try holding your arms like this,“ Hana said, walking up behind him and positioning them, “You’re still too stiff.”

            “No but when I shoot like this I look cooler, kind of like a cowboy” he said, shrugging her off and continuing to shoot, missing the tree completely.

            “We’re in a zombie apocalypse not the Wild West, Shin. Pay attention,” Hana said exasperated.

            Instead of changing his grip, he continued as he was, cracking jokes and making the group laugh.

            Hana just walked away, shaking her head in disappointment.

            When they first began these training sessions, Shin would have taken her advice in an attempt to improve. But lately, whenever she would try to correct him, he would just crack a joke and brush her off, assuring her that she was fine the way he was.

            She noticed this change when IU began to join their group to shoot about a week ago. The two would mostly talk the entire time in hushed whispers and giggles. Shin would miss the target, he would make a joke about it, and she would laugh. IU wasn’t a skilled shooter either; at first, she would squeal whenever a shot was fired, and the group had to ask her if she wanted to go back home. She eventually became more comfortable around the guns, but her accuracy was definitely the worse after Shin.

            The two weren’t as awkward as they were in the beginning, and for the most part Hana was glad to see this. Shin was somehow able to overcome his fear of being around her, but this came at the price of Shin’s already short attention span.

            “Alright everyone, pack up and let’s go back to the car,” TOP said laying the duffle bags on the floor, the group coming up and dropping their guns inside before trekking across the un-manicured grass.

           In the distance, past the dozen zombies cluttered across the course at the bottom of the hill, was the clubhouse they had rescued the singer from a couple weeks before.

          As the group climbed into their cars, IU looked over her shoulder with a somber expression as she settled into the bed of the truck.

         “You okay, Jieun?” asked Sehun as he claimed his spot on the opposite side of the truck.

         “I’m fine,” she said, “It feels like a lifetime ago that I was there, trapped in the kitchen and living off of packaged food with…him,” she said. Her lips suddenly formed a tight line and she looked away to keep the tears from forming as the visions of her manager took over, “Looking at that place now just gives me bad anxiety.”

         “I can only imagine. You didn’t deserve to go through what you did in that clubhouse.”

         IU spared a glance back over to the abandoned building with a shudder.

         “You sure you’re okay?” Shin asked from his seat beside her.

         IU gave him a reassuring smile, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

         They drove off the property and onto the empty roads of the forest. As the group that sat in the bed of the truck spoke in lazy, calm voices, IU stared off with a vacant expression. She would have normally been a part of the conversation like everyone else, but she was absorbed in her thoughts. Her body was rigid and the lump in failed to pass. 

       Shin noticed this, and as he continued on with the conversation, he rubbed small circles into her back, making her sink slightly into his side.

______________________________________________________

        Once everyone got settled in back at home, Shin and Chanyeol went to work in the garage. The project they had begun a couple weeks ago was slowly showing progress. The two would sit in the garage for a few hours every day before calling it quits, but as of late, one left sooner than the other.

        “Ah, it’s already four o’clock,” Shin said as he looked up at the clock on the wall from his seat on the floor, “I should probably go now, I told Seunghyun I would, uh, help him arrange the guns around this time. You’ll be okay, right?” he asked as he pushed himself up.

        Chanyeol shrugged, “Yeah, go do what you have to do,” he insisted.

        “Thanks, man. Sorry again for leaving early,” Shin said as he jogged out the garage door.

        Chanyeol looked after his retreating figure as he sat on the ground. He dropped his hammer and sighed, “See you later.”

        For the past week, Shin had been leaving Chanyeol and the garage early, giving a new reason every day for why he couldn’t stay to help. This meant Chanyeol would be left alone to finish the day’s work, a feat that was nearly impossible for one person on such a huge project. Even their conversations weren’t as fun lately. Their words would just kind of fall to nothingness and the two would end up working in silence until Shin got up to leave. Chanyeol never objected, though he felt a bit disappointed that his roommate would leave him alone to finish a task that the two of them were supposed to complete together, and disappear into the house to do whatever “task” called him that day.

_____________________________________________________

         “Did you have fun arranging the guns?” Hana asked as Shin stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway. His hair was damp and a cloud of steam flooded into the empty space behind him, “It’s a lot more complicated than it looks, right?”

         “What?” he replied.

         “Arranging the guns. I talked to Chanyeol a little while ago and that’s what he said you were doing…you were arranging guns, right?”

         “Arranging guns?” A look of confusion left his face as soon as it had come, “Oh yeah! Seunghyun asked for my help when we were leaving shooting practice. I thought it was the least I could do,” he laughed.

         “Huh. I thought he and I were the only two that he allowed to have access to the guns when we weren’t outside. It’s weird that he asked you to help him and not me…” Hana said to herself.

         Shin’s eyes widened, “Um, yeah, that is weird,” he said before walking past her quickly and towards the direction of his room.

            Hana followed behind him and lightly closed the door once they were both inside.

            “Hey, Shin, I need to talk to you about something.”

            “Yeah, shoot,” he said as he pulled a shirt over his head.

            “It’s about Jieun…I think there’s more to her story than she’s letting on.”

            Shin’s eyebrows knit together, “Why would you say that?”

            “Because she just seems a little iffy to me. Actually, a lot iffy. I know we already talked about it, but I can’t stop thinking about it. The story about her scratches still makes no sense to me. I know you want to be optimistic, but I really think she’s hiding something—“

            “Yeah.”

            “Yeah, right? She has to be—“

            “We did already talk about it, Hana.”

            Hana paused, “What are you saying?”

            “I’m saying that I think you should let it go.”

            “Let it go? Don’t you want to know the truth too?”

            “The truth, a lie, what’s the difference at this point, right?”

            Hana shook her head at her cousin, “No, there’s a huge difference. The hell are you even talking about?” she said, “Why are you so defensive of her?”

            “I’m not!” he said, a sudden urgency in his tone, “I just think you’re looking into things too much. You’re looking for trouble when there is none. And so what if she isn’t being truthful? She hasn’t hurt anyone, has she?” he asked.

            “No, but I mean—“

            “Then let it go. When we need a detective around here, you’ll be the first person I call, I promise. But for now, I think you need to relax and leave her alone.”

            Hana just stood there, looking back at the boy that had her back so many times before. For the first time in a long time, they weren’t on the same page.

            “Now let’s go back downstairs before people start looking for us,” he said, brushing past her yet again and opening the door.

            As the sun began to set, the house had joined together in the backyard. The sun slowly descended on the other side of the hill, and their feet warmed as they sat on the edge of the fire pit. Everyone borrowed deeper into their plush patio chairs as they rested contently with full stomachs and made conversation. All but IU was awake, talking about their day’s adventures.

            “I saw a bunny rabbit today,” said Amber excitedly, like it was the most extraordinary thing, “I was doing laundry, and I looked out the window and saw the little guy run past. It was so quick. One second he was there, and another he ran back into a bush. I know that seems small, but I forgot small things like that still existed in nature. That some things in the world still exist normally past all this zombie crap. I don’t know, I just felt like you would all enjoy hearing that,” the group laughed.

            IU began to stir, her nose scrunched up and her head shook slightly.

            “I didn’t…no…sorry…” she whimpered, her eyes were shut tightly and her fists clenched around a pillow, “I didn’t….sorry…so sorry…” the conversation slowly dwindled around her, “NO!!!” she suddenly yelled, scrambling to sit upwards. She breathed heavily and looked around her, only to be greeted with concerned and confused faces.

            “Jieun, are you okay?” almost everyone asked at once.

            “Yeah, I’m fine,” she laughed weakly, “I was just having a nightmare, that’s all.”

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Shin asked from his seat beside her.

            “I can’t even remember what it was about,” she assured, “I’m fine. Sorry to jump up like that and scare all of you.”

            “We’re fine, just making sure you are too,” Chanyeol said.

            “Who wants to have some fun?!” Henry exclaimed as he slid the back door open, coming outside with a tray of glasses and a bottle of some clear liquid and placed it on a side table.

            He poured everyone a cup and passed it around the semi-circle they were seated in.

            “No thank you,” IU said when the glass came to her. She passed it to Shin who shrugged and sipped whatever was in the cup curiously.

            Amber passed Hana a cup, and she eyed the glass for a minute, smelling the substance before taking a slow gulp. The drink burned as he slid down , and she could feel her face getting hot already. She looked across from her at Shin, who looked to be asking IU a whispered question. She nodded her head in what seemed to be reassurance, and he took another sip of his drink. The two cousins locked eyes only for a second before Shin broke the stare and chose to look into the fire instead.

            “I’m starting to run out of clothes,” IU announced, which was returned with offers by the men to give her the shirt off their back, “clothes that fit me,” she clarified, “I’ve been wearing whatever I find in my bedroom drawer since I’ve been here, but they obviously belonged to a grown man twice my size…it’s just a little uncomfortable.”

            It appeared as if a lightbulb had gone off in Shin’s mind in that moment, “Hana, didn’t you bring back some of your clothes from when we went back home?”

            “Yeah,” she replied dryly.

            “You wouldn’t mind sharing some with Jieun would you?”

            “Oh my gosh, would you do that for me, Hana? That would help so much!” IU said.

            Hana looked at the two. The fire continued to burn vigorously as the wheels turned in her head. Of course Hana didn’t want to give IU her clothes.  The very clothes she went out into the world and sacrificed for. The clothes she longed for ever since the world as they knew it came to an end. The clothes that contained the comfort and normalcy of home, pre-apocalypse.

            But Shin’s hopeful eyes Shined over the fire, as if saying to her “Please be nice. Just this one time, don’t make it harder for anyone.”

            Hell no.

            “Yeah…sure.”

            IU showered her in thank you’s and Shin almost visably relaxed.

            “I’ll stop by your room later tonight and give it to you.”

_________________________________________________________

             Everyone eventually called it a night and dispersed back into the house. Hana climbed the stairs to her room and folded a few of her clothes begrudgingly.

            “Well that was nice of you to do that. You’re a bigger person than me, I would have told her to go to hell,” Amber said as she walked into the room and sat on her bed.

            “Yeah whatever. I didn’t do it for her though, I did it for Shin. I thought he would appreciate me being nice for a change. I just don’t appreciate how he volunteered me like that.”

            Amber shrugged.

            Hana stopped, “Besides what you already told me about her, is there any other reason why you don’t like Jieun?”

            “Do I need any more reason than that?”

            Hana sighed, “No, I guess not.”

            “Why? What do you think about her?” Amber asked.

            “I don’t think she can be trusted,” Hana said in a hushed voice, “She’s never done anything to me personally…and she’s always so nice to me…but I don’t know. Something is just very off about that girl,” she said, “I don’t know, maybe I am over thinking it. Maybe Shin was right and I should let it go,” she sighed.

            “I have my own reasons, but what has she done to make you think that she shouldn’t be trusted?” Amber asked.

            “I feel like she’s not telling the whole story about her scratches. She said her cat did it, but no one even knew she had one until now. And on top of that she used to be deathly allergic to them until she got magically cured by a doctor.”

            “That’s true…” Amber said, deep in thought.

            “And whenever we go to the golf course to shoot, she always has this weird reaction when we pass the clubhouse. Now I know she must have gone through hell in there, but it’s probably more to that place than she’s willing to say out loud. Even just a while ago in the backyard, did you hear what she was saying while she was sleeping? I don’t know, Amber, but I feel like whatever happened to her there is messing with her really bad. I don’t know if I should keep digging or leave it alone. Like Shin said, she hasn’t ever done anything to me, so maybe I should just let it go. But something just doesn’t feel right.”

            “Oh man,” Amber sighed, “Something is definitely off. I knew something was off about her but this takes the cake. I may be reaching, but it’s also a little weird that Jieun never drinks alcohol in my opinion.”

            “Even if it’s more entertaining, its just not a good idea if she does,” said a voice in the hallway.

            The girls jumped when they saw Eunhyuk standing in the door.

            “What do you mean?” Amber asked.

            “For Jieun, alcohol is like a truth serum,” he said, “It doesn’t even take that much, but just get some alcohol in her system and she’ll be talking for hours.”

            “Really? How do you even know that?”

            The dancer smiled, “I’ve seen her in action at enough parties, clubs, and bars through the years to know how it works. That’s the reason she doesn’t drink anymore. She spills her guts and doesn’t remember it later. It never ends well.”

            “Wow…okay…” Amber said as she processed this information, “How much of our conversation did you hear?

            “Not much. I was on my way to the bathroom and I overheard the part about Jieun and the alcohol…why?”

            “No reason, just wondering,” Amber said.

            Eunhyuk nodded and walked off slowly, humming to himself with a smile on his face.

             Hana and Amber exchanged a look before pushing whatever thoughts and ideas that had just sparked to the back of their minds.

            Hana grabbed the folded clothes off of the floor, “I’m going to let Seunghyun change my bandage and give Jieun these clothes. I’ll be back.”

            Hana left the room, walking down the stairs and halls until she made it to the door she was looking for. She lightly knocked on the door, and almost immediately it was opened. TOP stepped aside to allow her to come in. Hana dropped the clothes on the bed before following him into the bathroom.

            “Are those the clothes you’re giving to Jieun?”

            “Yeah.”

            “That was awful nice of you.”

            “Don’t mention it,” she said rolling her eyes, “I still can’t believe Shin volunteered me like that.”           

            “He definitely put you in a tough position,” TOP said.

            “It’s also a little bold of him to be honest,” Hana said to herself, “I mean, he’s been acting so distant lately, more distracted than usual. It’s almost like he brushes me off sometimes and I have no idea why. And with all of that, he has the nerve to ask me to give my clothes to his celebrity crush and a girl I don’t even know.”

            “Maybe he just has a lot on his mind right now,” TOP said.

            “Like what? Nothing has changed since we’ve been here. I don’t get why he would act like that all of a sudden,” she murmured. TOP unwrapped her old bandage and threw it in the garbage can, reaching behind him for a clean gauze and sanitary supplies as she continued to talk, “Look, I know we talked about this already, and I’m sorry to keep bringing it up, but I know you heard her explanation at the dinner table that night, and I know that you know it made no sense.”

            “I heard some inconsistencies, yes,” he admitted.
            “So does that not bother you at all?”

            TOP sighed, “A little I guess, mainly because I don’t understand why she would feel the need to lie in the first place,” he said, “You obviously think she’s hiding something. What do you think it is?”

            “I don’t know for sure, but it has to be bad enough for her to have nightmares about. Did you see her earlier? She was talking in her sleep and screaming out of nowhere,”she said, “Something is really getting to her and whatever it is, I think it’s the reason behind the scratches.”

            “But until we know the truth, all of this is just speculation. So how do you plan to find out? Are you just going to out-right ask her? “Hey, I think you’re lying to everyone. What really happened?””

             ”I don’t know…I’ll figure something out.”

             “Be careful. Playing detective can be dangerous. Don’t get into something you can’t handle,” he said. He suddenly grimaced and held the crease of his arm.

            “You okay?” Hana asked.

           “Yeah, my arm has been bothering me all day. I think I may have pulled a muscle from shooting practice or something,” the area was red and splotchy, “I’m not immune to pain like you,” he grinned, breaking his stoic face and turning his intimidatingly dark eyes into half-moons.

         “Are you sure you’re okay?” Hana asked.

         “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

         “Thanks again for bandaging me every day.”

         “Once again, it’s the least I can do," he said, "Hey, can you help me arrange the guns sometime tomorrow?"

         "I thought you and Shin already did that today," she said.

         "Shin? No, I didn't even speak to him today. I wouldn't ask anyone to help me with the guns besides you," he replied.

          "Oh....okay," Hana said, confused.

         Hana backed out of the bathroom, grabbed the clothes, and closed the bedroom door behind her.

         Hana walked to the edge of the hall until she made it to an unfamiliar door. She knocked on it a few times, only to get no response.

        I told her I would be coming to drop them off, where the hell is she?

        After a few more knocks, Hana shrugged.

         Whatever. I just hope she won’t ask for them when I see her tomorrow.

         Before going back upstairs, Hana opted to go to the library before going to bed. A good book was all she needed to get her mind off life as she knew it.

         The library door was usually always open in some way, either all the way or slightly ajar but tonight the door was shut. Hana turned the handle lightly and pushed the barrier open slowly. Before she could open it all the way, she would already see that there was a lamp on in the corner. She stood there for a moment, assessing the room before hearing heavy breathing coming from inside.

        Painfully slow, Hana peeked her head from behind the door and looked at the far side of the room.

        Straddling Shin on the library’s grand desk, wearing nothing but a bra and underwear, was IU. He was beneath her, shirtless, grabbing at her lower back as the two kissed sloppily. The petite singer ran her fingers through the boy’s hair, making him moan before flipping her over onto the cold wood so that he was on top. With a swipe of his arms, he cleared off the remainder of the desk, causing papers and pens to fly. IU giggled and the two continued to devour each other.

        “Ughhh, Shin!” IU groaned as she dug her nails into his back.

        The clothes fell to the floor.

         The two suddenly stopped and looked towards the entrance, only to see nothing there.

        “What was that?” Shin asked in a panic.

         “Nothing,” IU whispered before pulling him back.

         Unbeknownst to them, Hana was already climbing the staircase, holding with a racing heart and mind.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I'm curious, what do you guys think happened to IU? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I know you guys are probably tired of hearing me say this, but I'm on summer vacation now so I will have more time to update!!! I also just graduated, so I don't have to deal with school anymore for a while, and I can finally focus on moving this story along.

I love you guys for reading, thanks so much again!!

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