The dreamy mist in Hyesung’s eyes changed Eric’s course of actions - he decided to express himself clearly in the form of actions. He slowly leant forward and stopped just a few centimeters away from the lovely face.

The closed in distance sent Hyesung’s pulse up the roof; he daren’t breathe a word as anticipation build up a lump in his throat. Eric’s breath grazed upon his cheeks and that sent electricity up his spine. Unknowingly, his hands was clutching tightly into Eric's hands. 

Eric took Hyesung's response as a hint to advance and slowly he moved forward  “Hyesung-ah, I lo…” 

“Eric, Andy?” a voice suddenly sounded at the door interrupted Eric’s confession and as though they were caught doing something wrong, the pair of them jumped apart. Seconds later a lean figure barged into the room and they snapped their heads towards the intruder.

“Hyung! You are awake?!” Junjin continued with a wide smile across his face oblivious to the pair looking at him with a look of shock.

“Ya Junjin!” another voice in the room boomed.

Andy was awake.

 “Why did you have to come in at this time? You ruined my show!” Andy wailed.

“The sun has risen; I’m just coming in to wake you guys up. What do you mean by ruin your show?” Junjin was confused by the look on their faces and scratched the back of his head absently with his free hand.

Andy couldn’t control his laughter anymore when he saw the look on the pair that turned their head towards him simultaneously “Oh My God, hyung! You… you should see your face right now, it so funny! HAHAHAHA!!!” Andy burst into laughter with tears were spilling from his eyes.

Eric blinked twice before finally registering the situation in his head and was about to throttle the shaking Andy on the floor when Hyesung caught his attention. He was literally burning crimson from head to toe -  Eric found it so cute that he had the urge to bring him into his arms and kiss him senseless, but with the current audience in the room, it’s almost impossible to do so.

Deciding to stop that shaking little on the floor first, he rose up from the bed and walked over to Andy who’s clutching his stomach in pain and kicked him lightly on the side. “Aishi! Shut your trap will you! It’s not funny! And when did you wake up?! You sneaky bastard!”

“Hyung… hahahahaha! Omo, my stomach hurts… ” Andy continued ignoring Eric’s kicks.

“Ya! All of you get out of here!” Hyesung roared startling everyone. Even the laughing Andy managed to hold his laughter and turned to look at Hyesung but wasn’t for long before burst into laughter again.

“Ya! I said get out now!” the irritated Hyesung shouted again when none of them was taking him seriously.

“Hyung, what did I do?” Junjin blinked innocently at his hyung.

“Yeah Hyesungie, relax… You are turning so red like a cooked crab… Omo, you look so cute like that.” Eric smirked and stretched his hands forward to pinch his crimson cheeks. He loved the way Hyesung blushed and couldn’t resist the urge to further.

“Shut up Eric!” Hyesung growled shoving Eric’s hand away from his face and tried to change the subject. “Ya Jinnie! What the heck did you come in for? Aren’t you supposed to keep watch?” If Hyesung was a teapot, he would be blowing steam right now. He could feel himself burning from top to toe and Eric weren’t helping. “And Andy! If you don’t stop your laughter right now, I’m gonna personally kick your out of here”

Upon hearing Hyesung, Andy could only laugh harder and that pissed Hyesung further. He was about to get up from the bed when Eric stepped in.

“Ya Andy, stop it! Our Sungie is gonna kill you any minute now and I don’t want to choose between you two. Let’s go prepare to head town” Eric chuckled and pulled Andy up by his collar. He too wanted to kill his little brother for eavesdropping and laughing like a maniac but he had also redeemed himself by making Sungie flush like a girl in love and that was enough to make Eric’s day.

“Hey, hold your horses! What do you mean by prepare to head town? No one is going anywhere” Hyesung voiced before Eric and Andy could step out of the room.

“Sungie… we need to get medical supplies from the pharmacy in the town we passed by yesterday. I actually wanted to grab some stuff but you were in such a hurry, you told me to get you to Junjin first. Remember?”

“I remember bout that but what I don’t get is why you have to go. I’m feeling better already and don’t worry, that small injury will heal eventually.” Hyesung replied and Eric could see the worry in his eyes.

“Andy, Junjin can the two of you leave us for a while” Eric asked but not breaking the eye contact between them.

Junjin looked at Hyesung and he nodded, signaling for him to leave first and Andy sensing the seriousness in Eric’s tone sobered up from his silly grin and left with Junjin.

“Sungie” Eric breathed and sat down on the bed again facing him.

“Eric” Hyesung interrupted before he could speak. “I know what you’re going to say but you know I won’t want you to risk your life again for me. It’s so dangerous out there and the worst is I won’t be there to look out for you. I can’t let you go.”

Taking a deep breath, Eric cupped Hyesung’s face gently with his hands and the sudden touch made Hyesung shudder in response. “Sungie, don’t look at me with that puppy eyes. I can’t resist that and I will do anything for you. But the situation now doesn’t allow me to make such decisions. Andy saw your wound yesterday, he said that he will need to clean your wound with a stronger disinfectant and sew it up to prevent further infection. He’s going there with me so you don’t have to worry too much alright. Most importantly I will be back fast to continue our little conversation earlier. Wait for me Sungie. ” with that Eric concluded his speech with a peck on Hyesung’s cheek and that did the job.

Hyesung was so stunned by the sudden kiss, he was momentarily speechless and Eric took the chance to leave the room. “See you later” Eric winked at the frozen Hyesung and sent him a brilliant smile before walking out of the room.

“Junjin, take care of your hyung while we’re gone.” Eric said brightly to Junjin waiting by the hallway.

“What about Hyung? He agreed?”

“Don’t worry about that, just make sure you keep him in bed and make him eat something.” Eric grinned and pointed at the pile of food stacked near the hearth and walked outside.

“Eric, take this with you and be safe.” Junjin passed the crossbow back to Eric and waited to close the fence after they leave.

“Let’s go Andy-ah”, Eric said with the huge grin still plastered on his face when he saw his little brother waiting quietly by the car, just like old times when they were hanging out after classes.

 “Okay” Andy replied lightly and got into the vehicle.

Eric started the car after passing a few boxes of bullets to Junjin and drove out of the porch while Junjin made sure he secured the fence surrounding the house.

“The weather is awesome! It’s still summer right?”  Eric cheered, he was so giddy with happiness everything was beautiful in his eyes and even the gloomy situation now had no effect on him.

"Hyung, are you okay? Can’t you see the dark clouds looming in front, it’s gonna rain soon and I think it’s already mid autumn.”

“Andy-ah, let’s play in the rain later”

“Ya Hyung! You have been grinning like an idiot ever since you exited the house just now. And what are you talking about? Playing in the rain? Are we still elementary kids? And for goodness sake, we are going to town right now, it’s not a good time for you to go crazy.” Andy reprimanded and gave a light knock on Eric’s head hoping to wake him up from his delirious mood.

“Oops sorry little brother, I guess I got too carried away” Eric gave a smile chuckle and turn to looked at Andy apologetically.

“It’s okay hyung.”Andy smiled back. “Besides I’m happy for you too! It’s not easy for you to meet someone you love and especially at a chaotic time like this.”

“Ya Andy! You sneaky little bastard! How much did you hear just now?!”

“Not much… just enough to know that our Eric is madly in love!” Andy giggled and was poking Eric in the ribs.

“Ya I’m driving!” Eric smacked Andy’s hands away roughly with his free hand, he was trying to get the younger one to stop the teasing but earned a fit of laughter from the younger instead.

“Omo…Uri hyung is getting shy. Hahahaha!” Andy continued giggling like a high school girl, ignoring the deadly glares the older was shooting at him.

Eric rolled his eyes and concentrated on the road ahead instead for he knew from years of experience with the younger one, there’s nothing he can do to stop him now.

“Andy-ah, later when we reach town please be careful okay. You know hyung cannot afford to lose you again. Stay close alright?” Eric said when Andy finally calmed down.

“Hyung, don’t worry. We will do this fast and I have learnt how to deal with those things through the years.”

Eric smiled in response and ruffled the Andy’s hair, earning a small pout from the younger one.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hyesung was still in a trance after Eric left; in contrary to his blank expression, his heart was running a hundred miles per hour. Subconsciously he raised his right hand to his chest as if he needed to hold his ribcage in place and his left hand went to the cheek that Eric had just pressed his lips on.

‘What is it that Eric wants to tell me? And what was this kiss about? Why does his lips feel so familiar on my skin? I’m sure that was the first time I felt it… or was it? ’ Hyesung’s mind was churning up so many questions at a time but he had no answers to any of them and this sent him into further confusion.

“Hyung, are you feeling better?” Junjin asked with a look of concern on his face when he entered the room carrying a bowl of porridge.

The sudden voice in the room woke Hyesung from the trance with a light jolt.

“Hyung?”

After hearing Junjin for the second time he turned to face his brother. “Yeah Jinnie, don’t worry. I’m feeling better already; it’s just that I can’t move my leg much.” Hyesung replied and tried to look out the windows into the front of the cottage.

“You won’t see anything from here. Finish this porridge first.” Junjin said and passed the bowl over to Hyesung.

“How long have they been away already Jinnie?”

“Almost an hour I think. Don’t worry, Eric seems to know what he’s doing, they’ll be safe. By the way hyung, you haven’t told me. How did you meet Eric? You seemed to have grown so close to him in a day but it isn’t like you to open up so easily to strangers.”

Hearing the question, Hyesung could feel his cheeks burning up again and suddenly the porridge in his hands seemed more interesting then the topic at hand.

“Hyung?”

“Yeah Jinnie?” Hyesung replied while giving the most innocent look he can conjure at the moment.

Hyesung tried to feign ignorance but Junjin know that the latter had heard his question loud and clear and he wasn’t about to let go on this one. He’s gonna get his question answered no matter how hard his hyung tried on his aegyo.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Both of them took in a deep breath as the town came into view and mentally prepared themselves for the task ahead.

Eric slowly rolled his vehicle to a stop in front of the pharmacy. There wasn’t any zombie in sight but years of hunting and roaming around taught him to be cautious of his surrounding no matter how quiet and peaceful it seems. He took his backpack and griped onto Andy’s hand tightly when they sneaked into the pharmacy and thankfully besides the dried corpses littering the entrance and blood stains on the wall, the place looks empty.

“Hyung pass me the backpack, you keep an eye and I’ll go grab whatever we need.”

Eric nodded and passed the backpack to Andy and took the position by the window under the florescent signboard to keep watch.

 “Andy, you done?” Eric whispered after what seems like half an hour.

“Almost hyung, I just need to find the painkillers. Anything wrong?”

“Nope, still empty… hey, I’ve got an idea”

“What? Ah, found it. Okay we are set.” Andy tucked all the medical supplies needed into the backpack and crept back to Eric’s side.

“You see that mart over there?” Eric asked pointing at the opposite end of the empty street.

“Yeah, why?”

“Shall we pay a visit there too? It’s still early and for now I think the place still has yet been invaded.”

“But the sky looks like it’s gonna rain soon hyung”

“Come on Andy-ah; let’s just make a quick trip there. I want to hold a small celebration tonight, we need beer. Plus, we can add on more supplies to my rover.”

“Okay fine. But be quick alright? We don’t want to be caught in the rain.”

Eric grinned and led Andy out of the pharmacy, into the car to make a quick turn to the opposite street.

“Andy, you stay in the car”

“No, hyung. I’m not letting you out of my sight. Either we both stay or we both go.” Andy replied firmly while getting out of the passenger side.

“Okay fine. This time you keep watch and I’ll be quick.” After finishing his sentence, he disappeared behind the shelves and started shoving everything he can find into another backpack.

Suddenly a lightning bolt strike across the sky and the loud thunder caused Andy to jolt in his position by the counter and rain started falling from the sky.

“Hyung hurry up. It’s starting to rain”

“Okay okay, I’m done. Let’s go! Look what I’ve found” Eric smirked and showed his spoils to the younger one. “

“Awesome! It’s been so long since we have beer together! Let’s head back!” Andy grinned and pulled Eric out of the mart and ran towards their vehicle parked at the entrance.

“!” Andy muttered and pointed on the opposite end of the street, “Hyung look!”

In the distance, they can see several figures heading their way but they couldn’t make out whether it’s human or zombie as their vision was hindered by the heavy rain.

“Must be those bastards attracted by the lightning. Hurry, we’re done.”

Once both of them settled into the vehicle, Eric started the engine and drove off towards their new hideout, conveniently knocking down several bodies on their way.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Damn! What’s taking them so long? It’s almost five hours since they left and it started pouring heavily’ Hyesung thought to himself as he was getting agitated as the minutes ticked by.

“Jinnie, any sign of them yet?” Hyesung shouted for the tenth time in the past hour

“No, hyung. Didn’t I ask you to rest? I’ll let you know once I see them” Junjin was standing by the porch with the binoculars Eric passed to him the night before.

“But it’s almost five hours since they left. Shouldn’t they be back by now? Didn’t you say the town is just ten miles from here?” Hyesung asked as he painfully limped into the front porch.

“Yeah, that’s what Eric told me. I thought you guys passed that town together yesterday? Shouldn’t you know it better than me?”

“I didn’t notice.” Hyesung sighed.

“But yeah, they are taking a bit too long to come back. Hyung, I’ll go search for them.”

“But Jinnie…”

Hyesung was about to protest when the pair heard the sound of a vehicle approaching and their heads whipped towards the direction.

“Please be them…” Hyesung muttered.

“Hyung, it’s them.” Junjin announced and proceeded to open the fence for the vehicle to enter.

Hyesung let out a breath of relieve and waited for them to alight the vehicle, however the sight that met him wasn’t what he had expected.

 “Eric…” was the only word Hyesung could make out.

*Flashback*

The scene in front fits the perfect image of a disaster movie. The narrow road ahead was choked with stationery vehicles and dead bodies lying everywhere. An overturned SUV stacked on top of a sedan together with several other cars covered the entire left side of the road, while the other side was blocked by a blood stained caravan with a car stuck at the rear.

“!” was the only word the escaped Eric’s mouth as his vehicle rolled to a stop in front of the scene.

“What should we do now?”

“We have to remove the caravan.” Eric replied after letting out a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“But hyung…”

“We have to, there’s no other way around.”

The grave look on Eric’s face told Andy that they didn’t have any other choice.

“Okay hyung.”

Quietly, both of them geared up with as much weapons they can carry and headed towards the caravan.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Hi guys! Im so honoured by all the anticipation for my updates... hope I didn't disappoint you guys tho... 

SHINHWA'S 16TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT is HERE! For my fellow SHCJs like me, happy for those who are able to attend but sad that you can only wait for the DVD.. Hope my chapter is able to fill a tiny bit of the emptiness you guys are feeling right now. I totally understand... TT.TT

As for the other two missing members in my ff... I know, I know... Shinhwa exists because of all 6 of them... so they are definitely coming out but in later chapters... hope you understand~

Comments are very much appreciated~~