*FLASHBACK*

                With little force, Hana threw her ragged blanket over the fence. After walking back several paces, she sprinted toward the tall wooden divider and jumped. Her slender fingers gripped the top and the dirty Converse she wore hooked onto the other side. With a grunt, she was then able to hoist herself to the top. As she sat there, she looked at the ground that seemed so far away. The drop was taller than what she would have liked, a good 8 feet, but she had gotten used to the height and the splinters that would appear in her palms. After quickly glancing around, she pushed herself off the fence and landed squarely on the other side.

               It was like clock-work. Every evening at six, Shin would close himself in his room to take a nap after school. Her aunt would go to work sometime in the morning, and wouldn't come back until after sundown. Ever since she moved here six months ago, Hana would take it upon herself to jump the fence in her aunt's backyard and disappear in the woods for a few hours.

                She picked up the faded blanket and began the treck through the thick greenery. The colorful leaves had began to fall during this time, and she stepped on a few as she manuvered through the trees. Once she made it to her destination, she laid her blanket down on the grassy hill. This is where she went every day. The hill she stood atop overlooked a long stream that was decorated with several large rocks. The area was secluded, quiet, peaceful- and she claimed it as hers the moment she found it many months ago.

             She laid on her stomach across the faded fabric as she remaining sunlight bled through the trees. In a place like that, it was easy to forget why she was even there. But the truth was, the hill was a place for reflection. A place where at the end of every day, Hana would sit and think about the good and bad.

                I didn't offend anyone in any of my classes, she thought, smiling to herself.

                But I made that girl cry during lunch.... her smile faded, and she picked at the grass. 

                I didn't fail my math test, Hana continued.

                But I got a zero for class participation....

                By the end, the bad outweighed the good. Her rude, loner girl reputation was getting nowhere close to disappearing, "Oh, who am I kidding?" she angrily asked aloud.

                She sat cross-legged on the blanket and held her face in frustration.

                "Who are you talking to?"

                Hana immediately swiveled around, only to be met with a familiar face peering confusedly at her over the hedges.  To her surprise, she fell backwards, and tumbled down the hill into the stream below.

                Shin heard the splash and quickly jumped over the hedge. He ran down the hill and landed roughly next to his cousin.

                "Are you okay?" he asked.

                Hana slowly turned her head towards him, and Shin realized that he was in trouble from the look in her eyes that he knew too well. He got a hard punch to the shoulder.

                "What are you doing here?!" she yelled, standing up. Her clothes were soaking wet and her hair stuck to her face.

                "I was going to ask you the same thing." 

               They stared for a while, waiting on the other to explain further. Shin sighed and stood up, wincing due to the hard fall he took on the rocks. His eyes traveled to Hana's arm and saw that under her jacket, a thin trail of blood was running down her fingers.

                "Your arm..."

                Hana looked down for the first time, "Oh. How did that happen?" she asked as she raised her sleeve, inspected her arm further, and turned it so that the scrape glistened under the dull sun.

                Shin rushed over and grabbed hold of her wrist to get a better look. He expected a wince, a complain, or maybe even a few tears. Just something to indicate that she was in pain, but there was nothing.

                Hana saw the puzzled look on Shin's face, "What? I'll put a band-aid on it when I get back home." she pulled her sleeve down, trying to cover the damage. The cut barely classified as 'band-aid' material, and Shin knew that.

                "Doesn't that hurt?"

                "Not really, but it's just a scratch. Not a big deal." she sat back down on a rock and began to wash off her hands in the water.

                This was the first time Shin noticed Hana's high pain tolerance.

                 Or maybe she just hid it all under a straight face.

                 He could never tell.

                He wanted to go home right then, but he knew that she would be stubborn and insistent that she was fine. Ever since Hana had moved into the house from America several months ago, he had gotten to know her better than anyone. In that short time, they had gotten unbelievably close, and came to know the ins and outs of each other's personality.

               He reluctantly sat down next to her and watched as she washed off the dirt from her hands, "You never told me why you were out here," Hana said. She didn't understand how someone as uncoordinated as him could have made it over that fence.

                Shin rolled his eyes, "Well I was taking a nap, but I got a sudden urge to pee so I got up to use the bathroom-"

                "I don't want to know anymore."

                "-but on the way there I looked out the window and I saw you jumping the fence and followed you here."

                Hana noticed his pajama bottoms.

                 "Now enough subject changing, why are you out here?" he motioned towards the blanket on top of the hill, "You look like you come here a lot."

                "I like the solitude."

                "There has to be more than that."

                That was the only thing she hated about Shin- he never stopped prying for answers, "It helps me think, okay?"

                Shin could read her like a book, and he knew she wasn't the type to just think unless something was bothering her.

                When she didn't talk, she was nearly harmless (good things looks couldn't kill). But when she did, Shin would always hear about the people Hana would embarrass or even make cry with her unintentionally brutal honesty and sarcastic comments at school.

               Usually, the twenty-one year old wouldnt concern himself with what was going on in the lives of nineteen year old underclassmen at his university. But Hana was different. She was committing a kind of social suicide that even he didn't understand. It was like she didn't have a filter between her brain and . He studied her face, but it was now of blank indifference, "I'm optimistic, Hana. If you keep trying to make an effort, it'll get better."

                Hana scoffed, "And I'm a pessimist," she said, "pessimists are happier than optimists because they don't get disappointed when things don't go their way."

                "And that's the problem, you're not happy. And nothing is going your way."

                "When are you going back home, Shin?"

                "Whenever you are," he said, putting his hands behind his head, "I'm not letting you stay out here in the woods by yourself, especially while its getting dark."

                "Why? I do it everyday."

                "Well, you don't have to anymore." Shin said. After squeezing her shoulder, he walked back up the hill.

                That's the memory that stuck in her head the most.

                Because at that moment, Hana came to realize that seclusion was no longer an option.

___________________________

                "Rise and shine, sleepyheads!"

                Hana woke up with a start. It was disorienting, confusing to say the least, to not be able to look around and know what time of day it was. She had worn the blindfold for several hours and her face was now hot and clammy. Somehow during the night, she overcame her fear and anxiety and succumbed to her relentless, lingering fatigue. This was the last mistake she wanted to make. But she had to admit that a car was definetly better than an alley floor.

                She then noticed the weight of her cousin's head on her shoulder. By his steady breathing, she could tell he was still fast asleep. She nudged him several times, but instead of waking up he snored even louder. She pushed him off of her side and his body shifted in the opposite direction. His head smacked against the cold glass window.

                 "Owwwwww!" Shin groaned, holding his head.

                "Are you okay?" Chanyeol asked with a yawn.

                 "Yeah, its just hard not being able to see where your head is falling."

                "Where are we?" Chen asked as he stretched awake.

                "We've been driving forever." Sehun said groggily.

                Eunhyuk turned to the boy, "Sehun, stop exaggerating, its only been four hours."

                Once the group had made it out of the city, the skyscrapers and high-ways were replaced with dense forests and one-way roads. They made their entire journey in the complete darkness, nothing else to guide them but their headlights. They were still surrounded by countless trees, but this was their first time stopping after hours of driving. The lull of the tires and the awkward silence from the night before made sleep come easy, and the group had unknowingly began to doze off one by one.

                "You never did tell us what that plan of yours was." Chanyeol said.

                Amber pointed ahead, "You're looking at it," through the windshield, there was an enormous brick wall that seemed to go on for miles in both directions; there was a tall, iron gate in the center.

                "And what exactly are we looking at?" Kai asked as he scrutinized the barrier.

                Donghae put the car in park and faced his label mates, "Have you ever heard of the Hallyu Village?" he asked, eyes practically sparkling.

                "Who in this industry hasn't heard of it?"

                "Hearing about it and seeing it for yourself are two completely different things, kid." Eunhyuk grinned.

                "Isn't it just a fancy neighborhood for celebrities?" Chen asked.

Eunhyuk and Donghae exchanged a look and immediately burst into a fit of almost maniacal laughter.

                "Just a neighborhood?!" they screamed.

                "Look, I'm not really in the mood for riddles." Chen said in exasperation.

                 Eunhyuk wiped away the tear that had formed in his eye, "By 'just a neighborhood', do you mean the most elite living quarters for South Korea's top entertainers?"

                The silence rung with questions.

                Shin and Hana were beyond lost.

                Donghae continued to laugh as he rolled down the window and punched in a code into an electronic lock. The rounded gate slid open.

                "Hey, you two can take those blindfolds off now if you want," Donghae said, looking at the battered and confused pair in the rear-view mirror, "We made it here, so you can just enjoy the view from now on. You'll want to."

                They didn't dare to question the sudden change in the fear that someone would jump in and take the offer back. But all Eunhyuk did to show his disdain was shoot Donghae a scornful glance. They cautiously removed the bandanna from their faces and waited for their eyes to adjust. The car began to enter the secretive community and the gates closed soundlessly behind them.

                The first thing they noticed were the flowers. Beautifully arranged tulips covered the rolling hills that lined the road as far as the eye could see. The rising sun peaked over the green mounds, creating orange-pink hues in the morning sky.

                Eunhyuk rolled down his window and took in a deep breath, "Just how I remembered it!" he screamed into the open air.

                "I still don't know what the big deal is," Kai said, "all I see is flowers."

                 Donghae turned around one of the hills and, for once, everything made sense.

                Calling it a neighborhood of "houses" would have been beyond insulting.

                On the other side of the hills were sublime mansions, each different in style but similar in size. Every one sat on several acres of land; the front yards alone were massive, and some even had running fountains and hedges cut into the shapes of animals.

                "What...how-?" Chanyeol began, his eyes round like saucers.

                "How could you not tell us about this?!" Sehun demanded.

                "Most celebrities don't even know where this place is. No one can even go past those gates until they reach a certain point in their popularity, let alone buy a house." Donghae said. He continued to drive until he made it to the end of the street.

                There, nestled between the trees, was a castle-like residence covered in smooth stone. Vines hung from the spacious iron balconies.

                "Welcome home, everyone!" Eunhyuk announced.

                "What?!" Everyone yelled in unison as they craned their neck to get a better look. The closer they got to the abode, the more they began to feel like ants.

                "We like to call it the Super Junior Playhouse," Donghae said with a chuckle, "All the members kind of vacation here together when we're done with promotions."

                They drove into one of the garages, only to find that it was filled with several luxury cars.

                "Who are all those for?" Chen asked.

                "The Ferrari is for Eunhyuk, but the Porsche, Mercedes, and Audi are for Siwon," Donghae said, sounding a little bitter, "And that one..." Donghae eyed a Honda in the far corner, "I have no idea. Eunhyuk, do you recognize that car over there?"

                 "Nope."

                Shin and Hana sat motionless in their seats.

                "What did we just get ourselves into?" Hana asked as she eyed the cars.

                "I don't know, but I think I like it." Shin said. He opened the car door and almost fell to his knees when his feet reached the floor. He hadn't felt solid ground in hours, and long car rides distorted his sense of balance more than usual, "This garage looks like its the size of our house!" he whispered as Hana followed him out.

                "Who has money for stuff like this?"

                "Celebrities I guess."

                Donghae approached the garage door and lifted the place mat. There, he found the key.

                The rest eagerly rushed over, looking like excited children on Christmas while Shin and Hana  watched on curiously from the back. Donghae twisted the doorknob and pushed the heavy door open.

                He flicked on several light switches to illuminate the room, "It looks like how we left it."

                The expansive interior was modern and stylish. There were high ceilings, pillars lining the walkways, two huge staircases, and sparkling white marble floors. The cousins, nor the young idols, had never seen such a flashy display of wealth.

                "This is ridiculous." Chanyeol said as he eyed a diamond encrusted chandelier.

                "Ridiculously amazing!" Amber said, her voice echoing around the room.

                "Yeah, and this is just the foyer." Eunhyuk said proudly.

                "What are those doing there?" Donghae whispered to Eunhyuk, pointing to an unknown pair of sneakers placed by the garage door. Eunhyuk raised his eyebrows at his friend.

                "Um, why don't we look around a little bit?" he said nervously, leading the rest out of the foyer and through the staircases into the living room.

                The space was open, and sofas encircled what looked like a dance floor. There was a bar, a flat screen TV, and large speakers in every corner.

                It felt like they had just walked into a night club.

                "What happens in here?" Chen asked.

                "We have a lot of parties." Eunhyuk said a bit distracted. He was looking for anything else that looked misplaced while the rest observed in awe.

                "Is this sofa velvet?" asked Kai. He walked around to have a seat, only to see that it was already being occupied by a man wearing nothing but boxers.

                Kai jumped back and screamed, startling the man awake and making him fall to the floor. He scrambled up in a hurry, and the group came face to face with a frightened brunette.

                "Henry?!"

                The guy stopped, his eyes were wild with a mixture of confusion and fear, "Donghae?!" he looked over at the rest and a smile lit up his face as he ran over for a hug, "What- how did you- you're alive!"

                Donghae stood rooted in his spot as the half- man embraced him, "Y-yeah, we are...but could you please put some clothes on?"

                Henry looked down at his body, and his cheeks reddened as if he noticed his lack of clothes for the first time. He grabbed a robe from the back of the sofa. The bottom pooled around his feet, and it was clear that it didn't belong to him.

                "I see you've made yourself at home." Amber said when she noticed a half-eaten bowl of ramyun on the floor.

                Henry rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, its pretty much the only place I could have gone in all of the...craziness." he said with a chuckle.

                "It sounds like you had the same idea as us." Eunhyuk said, "How long have you been here?"

                "Almost a day. I left the city as soon as all the stuff hit the fan. But I can't believe you're here! You all look exhausted though," he said, looking at the faces of his friends. He then came across two that he had never seen before, and their blood-stained clothes made him take a step back, "Who are...?"     

                "Shin and Hana," Amber said, speaking of the still gawking pair, "We met them when we were stuck at the SM building."

                "Stuck?" Henry asked, confused.

                 Donghae, who was leaning on a wall, had begun to doze off, and his body unknowingly slumped onto Eunhyuk's.

                "We can do introductions later," he said, supporting a drained Donghae, "some of us didn't get any sleep at all."

                "Yeah, we can just catch up in the morning." said Henry. He then noticed the sun, and that they were already well into the day, "Or whenever we wake up."

                Donghae and Eunhyuk disappeared around the corner and went up the staircase, leaving the rest in silence.

                 "So where are the bedrooms?" Chanyeol asked.         

                "There are two on the first floor and five on the second floor. But every room on the second floor has two beds since there are so many members," said Henry.

                "What about the rooms on the first floor?"

                "They have one bed. But no one should take those unless you mind sharing..."

                Everyone eyed each other and silently came to the agreement that that wasn't the case.

                 "Just out of curiosity, which is the biggest room on the second floor?" Chen asked.

                "I think it's the last one on the right-"

                "Called it!" Amber yelled as she ran to the stairs, resulting in a full out race to the room.

                The cousins followed, jogging up the staircase and found the complete maze of halls that waited for them at the top. The floors were covered in a thick white carpet so soft it could be slept on. At the end of one of the hallways, a shout of protest was heard.

                They followed the noise only to belatedly enter the room and see that it was packed. Amber was sprawled across one of the beds with an expression that read 'victory', "Its not my fault you're slow," she taunted, earning a few grumbles.

                "So, who's rooming with who?" Kai asked. There was a silence as the group considered their options. Donghae and Eunhyuk had already claimed one of the rooms, leaving the rest to pair up accordingly.

                "I'll share a room with Jongdae," Henry said.

                "Me and Sehun can share," Kai said.

                "I like you guys and all, but not enough to share a room." Amber yawned.

                "Well that means you'd have to share with..." everyone turned to the only other girl in the group. Hana stood firmly next to Shin.

                "I don't mind sharing with her," Amber said with a shrug.

                "And I can share with Shin," said Chanyeol, motioning towards the other tall, baby-faced boy.

                "Well its settled then," Henry said, "There are bathrooms all over the place and there are clothes in the drawers and closets, so just make yourselves comfortable."

                With that, the boys exited the room and dispersed to find their own. Shin and Hana continued to stand by the door.

                "Are you sure you'll be okay?" Shin asked.

                Hana shrugged, "What about you?"

                "I'll be fine. Plus, Chanyeol seems pretty cool." Chanyeol suddenly appeared around the corner.

                "Shin, you coming?" he asked, "I found us a room."

                "Yeah, one second," he called back. He turned back to Hana and became suddenly stern, "Be nice. You don't now how long we have to stay with these people, so just keep safe conversation."

                "Yes, ma'am." Hana said, irritated.

                With a pat on the back, Shin followed Chanyeol down the hall to their room, leaving Hana alone in the doorway.

                Amber rummaged through the drawers, "Here, catch," she said. Hana looked up just in time to see a shirt and pajama bottoms flying at her face, and she plucked them from the air, "I think this used to be Shindong and Kangin's room...at least that's what it looks like from the size of these clothes," she said as she held up a large t-shirt, "But it'll have to do. You can change if you want..." she said, motioning to Hana's ruined ones.

                Hana wasn't one for changing in front of others, so she stood awkwardly to the side until she saw that Amber had already discarded her jeans and was now putting on a pair of sweatpants.

                Hana averted her eyes and practically ran over to a door, finding it to be the closet. It was filled with more clothes than she could ever think about owning, and more walking space than her room at home. She put the thought aside as she pulled the door closed and changed out of her soiled shirt and jeans that wreaked of sweat and blood.

                After she changed into the overly-baggy clothes, she opened the closet door to see that all of the lights had been turned off, the only brightness coming from the moonlight shining from the bedroom window. Amber laid under a plush comforter as she pulled a book from one of the two enormous shelves lining the wall. Hana walked over to her bed and folded her clothes, never looking in Amber's direction.

                Amber eyed Hana from across the room, and noticed the long, white scar on Hana's right arm.

                "Did you get that from fighting zombies?" Amber asked. That was the first time Hana had ever heard any of the idols use that word. It was as if all of the others didn't want to acknowledge that the threat really existed. But for Amber, it was exciting, and she was genuinely curious.

                Hana looked down at her arm and saw the scar she received the day Shin followed her into the woods.

                "No. I...fell." Hana said.

                Amber shrugged, a little disappointed, "Not gonna lie, I kind of expected a cooler answer," she joked. 

                "You're the one that asked." Hana replied harshly. She thought Amber would address her brusque response, but all she did was purse her lips.

                "True. I did."

                The atmosphere was awkward, and Hana just wanted to disappear. Unlike other times where she could just walk away from the conversation, she was stuck. She climbed under her own covers, feeling the cold linens against her skin. She then her side so that her back was facing Amber.

                 "Hana, can I ask you a question?"

                Hana grimaced, and her mind filled with all of the smart aleck retorts she could give.

                But Shin's words rang in her head, and she knew that she had to make some kind of effort.

                "...yeah." she said in a near whisper.

                "Was it scary?"

                "....was what scary?"

                "Running away from them. Fighting them. I still don't even know what "them" is, but obviously everything is messed up because of it," she sighed, "But, just by looking at you and your cousin I can tell you've been through hell. And I just can't imagine."

                "....are you asking if fighting for your life every waking second of the day is scary?"

                "Yeah. It's a stupid question I know-"

                "It's the scariest, most chilling, horrifying thing you'll ever experience. Ever."

                The two laid in silence for a few minutes as Hana's whispered words lingered in the air. Amber tried to take them in, and Hana wondered if Amber would speak again.

                "I have another question," Amber announced, "We have three friends who left and never came back. That's why we went to the apartment. To look for them. Is there a chance that they're okay? That they're still alive and out there somewhere?"

                Hana thought back to all the blood. The mess. The smell. She knew the answer, and she knew deep down that Amber did too.   

                For some reason, Hana just couldn't bring herself to ruin Amber's hopes.

                When she didn't get a response, Amber sat up to look at the still figure across the room.

                "Hello? Hana? Are you asleep?" the room was quiet. Amber slowly laid on her side. There was an anxiety in her chest that she couldn't explain, and she burrowed deeper into the sheets to mask it, "Goodnight." she said to the silence. She closed her eyes and was out within seconds.

                Hana on the other hand, was staring at the empty wall. In this foreign bed, in this unknown house, with these oblivious people, she had never felt more awake. 

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