On account of disrupted sleep and all nighters, what was supposed to be "first thing in the morning" turned into first thing in the afternoon, everyone catching the last few minutes of the A.M. as it rolled over into the heated hours of noon. Sehun and Luhan stumble out of the room together to find Kyungsoo, Jongin, and Yixing seated at the table, each of them disinterestedly poking at a bowl of oatmeal. The only thing saving the entire scene from utter blandness was the brown sugar Yixing found hiding in the back of the cupboard. Sehun bluntly thought that maybe they all needed something sweet to spruce up the mood because he found the awkwardness surrounding everyone almost unbearable. Especially for Jongin, who shrunk in his chair under the scrutinizing gaze of Kyungsoo, a stare mixed with distrust and anger. The helpless look in Jongin's eyes made it clear that any kind of defenses he had were effectively disabled and so he endured the fire of Kyungsoo's wrath for the rest of breakfast. Poor Yixing didn't know how to react in the situation.

"Anyone need anything?" Yixing sheepishly offers. "More sugar? Some milk? I have - Oh! Sehun, Luhan! You're up!" The doctor notices, already halfway out of his chair when he realizes two perfectly fine excuses to leave have appeared before him. "Here, here, sit down," he says, giving up his spot to Luhan, seeing as there are only four spaces at the table. "Let me get you something to eat."

Yixing's chatter fills the otherwise silent room, and the two sleepy boys fall into the chairs across from each other, joining the other tense couple. The remaining tiredness was still enough to cloak Sehun and Luhan in a layer of indifference, so Kyungsoo's and Jongin's standoff didn't faze them, unlike Yixing whose constant perkiness made it difficult for him to handle.

"Here's some oatmeal," Yixing says, serving a couple colorful bowls to Sehun and Luhan, the plastic clattering against the wood as he set it down. "There's some brown sugar if you want." The doctor ordered the two to eat up, as their task would require them to be focused and energized. Mindlessly, the two spoon clumps of oatmeal into their mouths, taking advantage of their apathy as much as they could considering just how tasteless the food was, regardless of brown sugar.

"Where's Kris?" Luhan finally asks, inspecting the room for the tall blonde.

"He's asleep," Yixing responds from the sink, scrubbing a pot clean.

"I mean, shouldn't we get going pretty soon though?" the older replies. He scrapes the last of the oatmeal from the bottom of the bowl, feeling much more awake than he did a few minutes ago. Sehun is still coming to his senses, but he's always been a slow eater. For a brief moment, Kyungsoo looks over to inspect Luhan, noticing how the overhead light makes his hair appear redder than usual. It's almost enough to distract him from the apprehension knitted in Luhan's brows, but that kind of thing doesn't get past Kyungsoo. With the cop's attention occupied, Jongin finally feels like he has a chance to breathe, though the freedom is short lived because as soon as he attempts to straighten up in his chair, Kyungsoo's eyes are back on him like a hawk, forcing him back down into submission.

"I'll go get him," Yixing says. "I was letting him catch up on some sleep, but I think he should be rested well enough by now." The doctor climbs up the stairs to the room he and Kris share, and Sehun watches with half-closed eyes as he disappears into the next story. When Yixing's back disappears, everyone's attention gets lost in space once again, the silence in the air carrying their focus away from anything in particular. But the quiet moment is lost to a loud thud from upstairs, followed by cute shouting from the upbeat doctor.

"Krriiisss~!! Wake up, wake up, wake up! Big day ahead of you!"

An agonizing groan can be heard afterward, the deep noise belonging to none other than Kris, and the rest have assumed that the bang they heard before could be none other than Kris' tailbone meeting the ground after having fallen off the bed. Even though the four boys downstairs had never seen Kris and Yixing's room, judging from the loudness of the sound, they all gathered Kris probably slept on a taller bunk. The realization made Jongin wince a little, reminding him of the time he broke his arm after rolling off his top bunk in the third grade. It may also remind him of how his sister was there to hold him and wipe his tears away, but he tries not to think about that.

Luckily for Jongin, Yixing hopping back down the stairs is enough to garner his attention and pull his thoughts out from the depths of dark places. Although the humorous sight of a half-limping Kris hobbling down the stairs is what pulls him over the ledge to safety. Despite the sharp features of Kris' face that make him look like he's about to beat someone up, Jongin can see that he's really a softie on the inside - at least for Yixing. But he knows Kris isn't the only one contrary to his looks. Yixing's commanding stature over Kris completely defies his pure and innocent face, which slightly intimidates Jongin, but as far as he's observed, he's only like that toward Kris. Toward himself and the others, Yixing has been nothing but kind and hospitable, somehow managing to take care of them while dedicating countless hours to his work.

After everyone finishes breakfast, Jongin eagerly offers to wash the dishes as a means of temporarily escaping Kyungsoo. He meticulously scrubs each bowl until it sparkles and shines as much as plastic can, purposely taking as much time as possible. Kyungsoo disappears into the room, paying him no mind.

"Here are the keys."

Yixing walks straight past Kris and hands the jangling set of keys to Sehun. The younger guy thumbs the charms on the keyring, feeling each stitch of the handcrafted ribbon Yixing has on there. Upon further inspection, Sehun sees that the red strip of material has a Chinese character stitched into it in gold thread. He wonders what it means, but blinks a couple times and loses interest, unwilling to ask Yixing or Luhan what it says.

"So what are these keys for?" Luhan questions, appearing at Sehun's side.

"The RV," Yixing replies. Everything he says is so matter-of-fact and blunt, it almost makes Luhan feel a little stupid for asking.

"RV?" Luhan echoes.

"Yeah, it was the only vehicle Yixing and I could get," Kris explains, reaching for the keys only to have them swiped away by Sehun. He clears his throat, sounding like an engine. "Well uh, you guys ready to go then?"

"Let's go," Sehun agrees, and he's already on his way out the door before anyone else can say anything else. His urgency takes Luhan by surprise, causing the older boy to shuffle on ahead to catch up with him. Kris follows from behind, his long, leisurely strides worth two or three of Luhan's short, stubby ones.

Sehun s the driver's door open and climbs up into the seat. After circling round the back of the RV, Luhan stands aside to allow Kris entrance first. As he watches the taller guy climb up the few steps and bumble into the back of the vehicle, Luhan realizes the RV isn't so much an RV, but more of a camper - similar to the one he and his parents used to take out for weekends when he was a kid. Upon further inspection, or rather, upon Kris' ungraceful flop into the back cabin, Luhan realizes it's the exact same type his family used to have. He could tell from the way Kris had to slip his way in through the crevice much too small for a grown man to go through. As a kid, he'd never had any issues getting back there, but when his father would slide through at night to sleep in the back, he looked pretty similar to how Kris looks now - just shorter. Although when Luhan peers into the back, he notices that it's rather empty. Instead of a mattress or any kind of accommodation, the only things left are the bench mounted on the left side of the cabin and the cabinets across from it. Luhan reasons that Kris and Yixing probably got rid of anything that was taking up unnecessary space to open up more room for all the medical supplies they managed to transport. Of course, even with all the extra space, a pacemaker didn't seem to make the cut.

After Kris' dramatic entrance, Luhan hops into the passenger seat with ease, pulling the door handle behind him. Sehun fiddles with the rearview mirrors, briefly making eye contact with Kris when he glances up to test his adjustment. He quickly flicks his eyes away. Unwilling to risk another encounter, he figures he can see just fine out the back and he could just adjust it while he's driving if he really needs to.

"Where are we going?" Luhan asks. Sehun sits behind the steering wheel, staring out the windshield for a few seconds before he finally answers.

"I don't really know. Kris, how do we get into town?" Sehun says, turning around to finally look directly at the other guy.

"You're gonna need to head east," Kris answers, appearing in between the two seats. His sudden closeness repels Sehun, causing the younger boy to lean back into his seat.

"And that would be?"

"Thataway," Kris points. "Better get going," he advises. "Sun's gonna be setting on the way back, and this thing didn't come with any sunglasses."

Sehun doesn't respond, jamming the key into the ignition instead and reaching for the gearshift - but not before checking if Luhan's wearing his seatbelt. He isn't, as per usual.

"Aish Lu, how many times do I have to tell you to wear your seatbelt?" Sehun whines with a hint of playfulness.

"What?" Luhan says. "I never used to wear them in China." His eyes grow wide and his eyebrows arch upward, rounding to match his cute lips now shaped into a small 'O'. It's such an innocent expression. Of course he always does that when he's in trouble, and Sehun hates how much he loves it. It makes it hard for him to actually be angry at his boyfriend.

"Well we're not in China."

"What's your point?"

"You're gonna get me a ticket!" Sehun jokes.

"From what cop? Kyungsoo?" Luhan banters back, breaking his 'O' into a wide smile. Whenever he smiles like that, little crows' feet form at the corners of his eyes, and Sehun always used to that he's going to look like an old man for being half-fifty.

"Probably," Sehun chuckles back. He knows he could continue to argue, but he instead takes charge, reaching over and across Luhan's body to grab his seatbelt for him. He pulls the belt from its side and clicks the silver buckle into place, ignoring any protests from his smaller boyfriend. Even though Luhan is four years older, sometimes Sehun feels like he's a child.

"Yah!" Luhan yells. His smiley creases turn to frowny ones, relocating from his eyes to between his brows.

"Shut up," Sehun says, and before Luhan can say anything else, he pecks him on the lips to quiet him down. Despite the briefness of the touch, Sehun finds it refreshing, feeling like it's been ages since the two of them have just joked around like this. He wants to soak in the moment - in the warmth of his hand on Luhan's thigh, in Luhan's adorable smile, in the feeling of the tip of his nose brushing against Luhan's - but a third voice extinguishes Sehun's happy little flame, bringing him back to reality.

"So.. We gonna get going?" Kris says.

Once again, Sehun opts not to answer except with a scoff and a switch of gears. He purposely slams on the gas, sending the RV into a harsh acceleration and, consequently, Kris onto the floor.

"Whoa!" Kris yells as he staggers back from the sudden change in motion, back hitting the flat surface with yet another thud. A smirk plays across Sehun's lips. "Was that really necessary?" Kris mutters.

"Yes."

~ ~ ~ ~

Broken glass litters the main street Sehun turns onto. Almost every first story window is in pieces, leaving gaping holes in the building faces. Luhan looks into each building as they pass by, but it feels like the same scene every time. The ransacked places are left bare, looters probably having taken anything and everything. Unlike the last town they were in though, there are still some people roaming about, staring at the RV as they drive by. Some look on with fear while others usher the younger children inside. They apparently aren't used to visitors. Either that, or they haven't had many good experiences with them. Luhan begins to think it's the latter, evaluating the current state of things, which only discourages him from the success of their mission. If all these places are empty, they probably won't be so lucky to find something as rare as a pacemaker just lying around, he thinks. But Luhan doesn't want to bring down the rest of the team, so he keeps his mouth shut and hopes for the best.

"There's a hospital a couple blocks ahead," Kris alerts Sehun. "Take a left at the stoplight." Sehun obeys the directions and swivels the steering wheel with one hand, eyes scanning for the hospital Kris mentioned. 

"There?" he asks, pointing to a light gray, multi-story building. Kris confirms with a hum, and when Sehun drives up a little closer, he's able to read the Korean letters mounted at the top of the facade. The backlights no longer work, save for the last letter, which occasionally flickers on and off. Sehun doesn't recognize the name of the hospital, thinking it must be a family owned hospital or something, specific to this town. It isn't a huge medical center or anything, but the main street only spanned a handful of blocks after all; this obviously wasn't a very large town.

The RV rolls to the front of the hospital entrance, stopping with a tiny jerk as Sehun pulls the handbrake up. Exiting the vehicle proves a little easier for Kris, now that he's more aware of the space he has to squeeze through to get out. Sehun double clicks the remote to ensure the RV locks properly as he walks through the revolving door and into the lobby. He hears the shuffling of Luhan's feet behind him; it reassures him, boosting his confidence slightly to know that Luhan is trailing close behind like he depends on Sehun to keep him safe. Luhan hooks the back of Sehun's shirt to follow him into the same compartment which gives Sehun that childish vibe again. But he doesn't mind. 

Kris lets another compartment pass before he steps in to the revolving entrance because the glass pane of the one that passes by on his turn is totally wrecked, and some of the shards are still attached to the door frames, jutting out with razor sharp edges that converge to piercing points. They may be at a hospital, but Kris would rather not have to admit himself into it, and judging from the lack of lighting, people, and general hustle-and-bustle of any regular hospital, he figures he'd probably bleed out before getting any kind of medical attention.

"Where should we start?" Sehun prompts, looking to Kris for direction once again. Pressing the back of his hand against his own back, Sehun slides it down his shirt to find Luhan's still clutching the fabric. A slight touch of his fingertip eases Luhan's grip, and Sehun hooks his finger onto Luhan's, delicately detangling his boyfriend's hand from his shirt. He intertwines their fingers with ease, gently holding Luhan's hand in his.

"I'm thinking the operating room," Kris suggests, looking around for a hint of where to go. Since the signs are mounted from the ceiling, most of them are still intact, out of harm's way. "Ah, this way!" he says, leading the couple down the southernmost hallway. When they get to the operating wing, all the rooms are eerily empty. The three men split up to expedite the search, each peeling off into a separate room. Each of them find the same kinds of things, empty operating tabes, overturned medical carts, and ransacked equipment cabinets. Although, Luhan encounters an entirely different scene in the second room he enters.

"Um, Sehun?" he calls with a low voice. Luhan stands at the door in consternation, his head telling him to look away, to run to Sehun and forget what he saw, but the shock was like a metal trap, gripping Luhan by the ankles. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. "Sehun!" he shouts, eyes fixated on the scene before him.

Slightly out of breath, Sehun appears at the doorway behind Luhan, noticing the stillness of Luhan's figure. "What? What is it? Are you alright?" Sehun asks, peppering the other with his questions.

"Sehun," Luhan repeats at his original volume. To get a better look at his boyfriend's face, Sehun steps up beside him. When he sees Luhan's concentrated stare, he follows it with his own eyes so he can understand what's entrancing Luhan so much.

He utters a small "oh."

There's no one left in the room, but both Sehun and Luhan can imagine the scene perfectly, imaginations filling in the missing pieces based on the artifacts of the room. There were metal tools scattered all over the floor, along with broken medicine bottles and ripped open IV packets. Frayed and torn fabric laid still on top of the operating table, now indistinguishable. It could have been sheets or possibly hospital robes, but its stained current form gave no hints. Dark red streaks were sporadically smeared throughout the room, accompanied by some splatters on the floor and on the equipment.

"Is that... blood?" Luhan whispers.

"I think you already know," Sehun replies with a small gulp, Adam's apple bobbing as he does so. He again reaches for Luhan's hand and squeezes it. It's clear the danger is long gone, but Sehun can't help but feel hyper-protective.

Luhan imagines how everything went down: a frail body on the operating table, weak and barely alive, most likely infected, hooked up to machines and IVs. A few doctors, probably the only few left in this town, swarming the subject. One of them probably recorded notes while another spearheaded whatever experiment or surgery they were about to perform. With his omniscient view, he notices a slight twitch of the patient's finger. It's nothing big. In fact, it went unnoticed by the doctors who were so hectically preparing for what was probably a carefully thought out procedure. From its subtlety, Luhan would think it meant nothing, but judging from the state of the room now, it definitely meant something. Luhan can't possibly imagine the face of the patient, but he can just see his form begin to come back to life from the anesthesia wearing off. Unlike Chanyeol, Luhan thinks he must have been totally affected, more or less a full-fledged zombie. As the scene progresses, the memory of Jongin's sister flashes in Luhan's memory. He remembers how her eyes seemed to flare up with a certain hostility, but he shakes the memory after that point, if only to restrict his imagination from fabricating the ensuing events after his, Jongin's and Kyungsoo's departure. Luhan decides to quit while he's ahead, merely accepting what happened in the room before them, rather than thinking about it further. Everything looks fresh and untouched - preserved. The two staring boys couldn't determine how long ago the room was ransacked, but they knew it didn't end well, which was enough explanation for them.

The smooth tone of Kris' voice comes from out of nowhere and sends shivers down the two boys' spines, who were so captivated by the eerie operating room.

"Any luck?" Kris asks. He places a hand on a shoulder each and he can feel them rise when the two jump from his touch. He raises an eyebrow at the two and questions what's got them so jumpy, but both Luhan and Sehun decide to turn around and usher Kris away instead of lingering in the doorway any longer. "Whoa what happened here-?" Kris tries to ask but is turned and pushed away before he can really take in the visual.

"Yeah so we couldn't find it," Luhan admits. He feels himself walking briskly, but he can't tell if they're all walking fast or if he's just scurrying to keep up with his long-legged partners again.

"What do you think we should do now?" Sehun inquires.

"Upstairs?" Kris suggests.

"Wouldn't hurt."

They find the staircase at the end of the hall. The metal bar horizontally plastered across the door is broken when Sehun presses against it, so the door opens a little too smoothly, slamming against the concrete wall behind it. Sehun mouths "oops," and leads the way up the staircase, each of them bounding up the steps two at a time.

Before Sehun can suggest splitting up again, he's interrupted by Luhan, who grabs him by the arm and points down the hallway behind him.

"Sehun, look!" Luhan says. The taller boy turns around and Kris whips his head in that direction too to see what Luhan's pointing at. A soft light shines through an open doorway, drawing the three toward it. A light blue tints the rest of the hallway as natural light floods in from small, rectangular windows lining the top of the outer wall. As they get closer, they hear a jumble of voices along with some laughter here and there. It heavily contrasts the somber atmosphere of the hospital and the whole town in general. 

Kris leads the small pack of them and peers into the room with Sehun and Luhan just behind him. Even though it doesn't sound like there's any threat, they've all learned it definitely doesn't hurt to be extra careful. Unfortunately, among the three of them, Kris is the least careful, falling victim to his clumsiness almost every time.

He reaches for the doorframe to peer into the room, but somehow his giant hands miss the edge, pressing into the air as he leans forward, effectively causing him to lose balance and face plant onto the ground (aka the third loud thud for the day.)

"Yah!" one of the men in the room yells, taken by surprise at Kris' collapse.

"Who are you?" one of the others demands while Kris rises up onto his knees cautiously. Luhan and Sehun quickly jump behind him for reinforcement and learn that they're evenly matched, staring into three more pairs of eyes of the men in the room. 

"We mean no harm," Sehun explains. He notices that the three others are wearing white coats, although 'white' was a loose term, seeing as they were stained and dirtied with god knows what. Nonetheless, they appeared to be doctors.

"Are you hurt?" The youngest looking one practically lurches at Kris, inspecting him for any damage. Watching him makes the other two doctors giggle a little, always teasing him for being so motherly. Judging from everyone's reactions, Kris thinks he probably is the youngest between the three of them. The doctor's wide eyes scan all over Kris' body before coming back up to look at his face. They bulge from his eye sockets slightly, and with his face so close to Kris', Kris feels like he's lost in them. The doctor's gaze kind of reminds him of Kyungsoo's, but kinder - much, much kinder. 

"You're bleeding," he mentions matter-of-factly. Clueless, Kris' hand flies to his face fingers brushing the underside of his nose. Sure enough, red smudges onto them and Kris pinches his nose to help stop the bleeding.

"He's fine, Minho ah." The tallest doctor steps forward and places a hand on Minho's shoulder, crouching down beside him and offering his other hand to Kris. He slides his hand into Kris' grip easily, pushing himself up and pulling Kris with him. "Come on, we have some gauze in the ward."

"Ward?" Luhan echoes.

"Yeah, this way. I'm Changmin, by the way. This is Minho," he introduces. The third doctor tails the group and doesn't find it in him to introduce himself to the strangers. Sehun finds him a little quirky with his messy hair and round-rimmed glasses, and the way he walks with his hands in his pockets and eyes skimming all over the hallway makes Sehun think he isn't 100% present.

"That's Kyuhyun." Sehun's attention is very quickly redirected to Changmin when he realizes Changmin probably introduced him because he noticed he was staring. As if he was used to it, hints of a smirk tug at the corners of his lips and he even laughs a little. "He doesn't talk that much."

They don't have to walk very far to reach the ward, and Minho switches positions with Changmin, leading the group through the double doors. It isn't incredibly huge, but the ward is a more open space, with cots lining each side of the room. There are only curtains to separate sections, and each compartment comprises of four beds, pairs across from each other. With a quick survey of the room, the three notice the sides are divided by gender, the boys on their left and the girls on their right. It's also very apparent that all the people residing here are significantly younger than them.

"Are these all children?" Kris asks, still holding his nose. Instead of his usual smooth voice, a nasally version of it comes out and it makes him sound more ridiculous than not.

"Mm," Minho replies.

"Most of them were alone when we found them," Kyuhyun adds. It's the first time he's spoken since the three met him.

"What do you mean?" Luhan inquires.

"In case you couldn't tell, the EX-0 virus hit this town pretty hard," Kyuhyun explains. "Most of these children were abandoned, lost, alone. Some of them were sick, too."

Minho peels off from the group to tend to a small boy sitting in bed alone. His floppy hair rests over his eyes, which droop from tiredness. They look a little puffy as if he'd been crying some. "What's wrong Taeminnie?" Minho asks, petting the kid's hair before pulling out his chart at the foot of his bed. The doctor goes through the checklist of items on the clipboard looking up at the boy every so often. He gives no response to Minho, but the doctor knows he doesn't like to talk much.

Still standing in a little cluster in the middle of the room, Luhan watches as Minho completes the daily tasks, making sure to comfort the boy all the while. "Do just the three of you take care of all these children?" Luhan turns back to Kyuhyun and Changmin, eyes flitting between them. Changmin pulls a hand out of his pocket to comb his fingers through his hair before answering.

"Yeah," he confirms with a sigh. "Now, anyway. And Minho is still training. He's not actually a doctor yet like Kyuhyun and I."

"Oh, I really thought he was already practicing," Sehun adds. Next to Sehun stands Kris who's still pinching his nose like an idiot, nodding along to Sehun's comment. The motion of Kris' nods goes noticed only by Kyuhyun, the observer of the group. When he sees how ridiculous Kris looks, he exits the group too, off to get the gauze Kris was promised. It doesn't look like anyone else is going to make good on that promise anytime soon. Kris' nodding turns into a shaking instead, as if he were watching a tennis match, alternating his gaze between his two partners and Kyuhyun walking away. The other two seem pretty occupied with Changmin and he finds himself as dead weight in the conversation anyway, so he slides off to follow the quiet doctor. At this point, that's their greatest commonality and Kris would rather be in comfortable company - even if awkward silence is what defines that comfort. Plus, he'd really like to get his nose to stop bleeding.

"Wait," Luhan interjects. "What did you mean by 'now'?"

"Well, we used to have another intern other than Minho," Changmin explains. "He and Minho were both top of their class in med school. It's a shame that he left the way he did."

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. He left so suddenly and no one expected it out of him. Not even Minho."

"But what? He just left then?" Luhan presses.

"Well, not just that."

"Then?"

"He took everything we had with him."

A hand on Luhan's shoulder jolts him from the shock of Changmin's statement. He soon recognizes it to belong to Sehun, who steps forward just as appalled, mouth hanging wide open.

"Everything?" When Sehun asks the single-worded question, it's loaded heavily with desperation, and Sehun really hopes the doctor is exaggerating. "Surely you don't mean everything everything?"

"I'm afraid that's exactly what I mean." Changmin doesn't necessarily look distraught like Luhan and Sehun do. It seems he's already accepted the fact.

"But how are you taking care of these kids then?" Luhan adds, worrying his lip with his top teeth.

"Kyuhyun," is Changmin's simple answer. The call of his name prompts the other two to look for him, but realize he's nowhere in sight. Their confused expressions make Changmin chuckle. "Yeah, he tends to do that."

"So Kyuhyun takes care of everyone, or -?" Sehun's question trails off, cueing Changmin to explain further.

"Minho and I help too of course!" He almost looks offended at Sehun's assumption. He may sport a laid-back style, but the man does his job well, giving his all day in and day out. "It's just that we were fortunate because Kyuhyun's cousin is a doctor in the next town over. They were able to spare us some supplies. Not much, but enough."

"So I'm guessing you guys are fresh out of pacemakers then?" There's some slight optimism in Luhan's voice, in part from his phrasing of the question, but Sehun feels like he's faking it.

"Yes." Changmin's answers are so short and harsh, it stings a little bit.

"Well, maybe we can travel to the next town then," Luhan suggests. "How long will it take to get there?"

"About a day and a half."

"Lu, we don't have that kind of time," Sehun says. "Not to mention, we don't have that kind of gas. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not stop at another gas station after what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Changmin curiously prods. Despite being taller than the both of them, he still manages to look up at them through the little bit of fringe that sweeps over his eye.

"It's a long story," is all Luhan offers, trying not to relive all the he went through with Baekhyun. Instead, Sehun saves Luhan the trouble and tells the doctor an abridged version of how they almost got killed by a blonde, psycho-paranoid biker thug then proceeded to learn that they'd been deceived by a couple of top notch criminals. He decides to leave out the part about him doubting Luhan, considering the thought of it shames him. It's definitely not his proudest moment and he can feel the uneasiness bubbling inside him. It's apparent Luhan doesn't want to relive the event either, so it's better Sehun leaves it out.

"After all of that, Jongin somehow infected Chanyeol with the EX-0 virus," Sehun explains, finally making it clear to Changmin exactly why they're here. 

"Wow," Changmin breathes. His eyes grow wide and veer off to the side as he exhales, and it's pretty clear to Luhan and Sehun that he's glad he isn't them. Sometimes they wish they weren't themselves either.

"But Chanyeol must have a dormant version of the virus or something, I don't know." Sehun decides to add the fact to the story since it seems to be a unique detail.

"Dormant?" Changmin repeats, much more interested now that Sehun is talking about the virus itself. 

"Yeah, he's basically in a coma. Which is why we need the pacemaker. Yixing thinks it'll help him cure Chanyeol."

"Interesting.." Thinking about Sehun's statement, Changmin thoughtfully brings his hand to his chin, his jaw with his thumb. His handsome face becomes carved with contemplation, mind wandering on the possibility of Sehun's words. "I don't know that we've ever seen that here."

"Well, you can get in touch with Yixing then when he figures it all out." Now it's Luhan's words that are straightforward and he speaks them hastily. "But we can't do that until we find what we came here for."

"You're right, you're right," Sehun agrees, refocused. "But going to the next town is out of the question. Especially if that's the closest one."

All hope feels lost, and the couple can't think of what else they could possibly do to find a pacemaker. It's not like they can just make one.

"I have one idea," Changmin says. "But it'll probably be dangerous."

"What is it?" Sehun and Luhan reply in unison. Changmin's remark falls on deaf ears because the two are so desperate that it's really irrelevant anyway. Besides, it's not like their lives haven't been at risk before. Sad as it is to say, they're more or less used to it by now.

"The other intern," Changmin mentions. "He lives nearby. He has whatever pacemakers we had left. I heard he and his brothers turned their family's home into a stockpiled safe house."

"So is this like a stealth mission or something? High-profile theft?" Sehun wants to make sure he understands correctly.

"Pretty much. I'll tell you guys all the information I know about him and his brothers," Changmin offers. "And of course location, directions, and all those logistics."

The attention of all three guys is momentarily stolen away by Kyuhyun and Kris, the latter still looking ridiculous with gauze plastering his nose. Instead of his giant hand covering half his face, now he just has a great white splotch in the middle of it, but at least the bleeding is contained. Minho returns seconds after, having finished all the rounds for all the kids in the ward.

"What did we miss?" Kris asks.

"We're going on a secret spy mission," Luhan jokes, despite being completely serious.

"They need a pacemaker, and there's only one place in this town to get it," Changmin explains to Kyuhyun and Minho. The former gives a slow nod, but a more passionate response is elicited from the younger.

"You're sending them to Junmyeon?!" Minho blurts out. The air around him goes dark and his fear-stricken voice does nothing to comfort Sehun and Luhan's nerves. "But he's -"

"I know," Changmin says.

"He's different now!" Minho protests. "It's like I don't know him anymore." He's obviously still heartbroken over his friend, and unfortunately no amount of medicine will be able to fix his pain.

"It's the only way," Changmin reasons. "We've already considered other options," he pauses. "Which turned out to be none."

Luhan takes a deep breath. This mission isn't to be taken lightly, and that's made clear to him by the exchange between Changmin and Minho.

"Tell us what you know," Luhan requests. "If it's the only way, then we'll do it."

"Alright," Changmin agrees. He looks over to the younger doctor-in-training, before he begins, opening his mouth to speak but stopping himself, for some reason thinking better of it. "Well," Changmin starts. "Minho could probably explain better than I could." The sudden shift of the spotlight catches Minho off guard, and fidgety shifting and a clearing of his throat advertises his discomfort. He looks everywhere but at Luhan and Sehun, as if he could run away just by avoiding eye contact. Though in his panicked look-around, his eyes lock onto Kyuhyun's, the older doctor giving him an encouraging nod. Kyuhyun may not say much, but he somehow manages to convey just the right message every time. Minho sighs.

"Junmyeon - Kim Junmyeon - has two brothers: one older and one younger," Minho explains. "The oldest brother, Minseok, is probably the most dangerous. Ever since their parents died, he took on the role of the 'man of the house.' Not to mention, he finished his military training. Since he's shorter than average, his military training is in the support class rather than the front lines. Apparently, he's a really talented marksman." Minho's description elicits mixed emotions from the other boys. On the one hand, he sounds scary, but if he's small, maybe they could still handle him?

To further clarify what he's talking about, Minho digs around in his coat pocket and pulls out his phone, scrolling through his albums for a visual aid. "Here," Minho offers, finger stopping the hundreds of pictures on his camera roll. He taps a picture of four guys standing on a dock with arms thrown over each other's shoulders. The way Minho bites his lip when he first lays eyes on the photo indicates just how much he misses Junmyeon. It's apparent he was once close to not only him, but his family too. "That one's Minseok," he points to the smallest guy - save for the one, small child in the photo.

"He's not much bigger than Luhan," Sehun comments, as if sizing him up. "He's actually kind of cute."

"Yeah, he is," Minho concedes. "But don't be fooled. He can be intense. Minseok's always been pretty calm, but super protective. This photo was from two summers ago, so he's even more muscular now. You can't really tell in this photo, but he was even pretty ripped back then."

Luhan studies Minseok's photo carefully. While Sehun sees a cute-faced, attractive guy, Luhan can only see a well-trained sniper, with a subtle but strong stature. Although, Luhan's positive his gaze is his strongest feature, probably able to lock on to him from miles away and trap him in a precisely accurate death. A shiver finds it's way down Luhan's spine, and the boy shakes it off, asking about Junmyeon's other brother.

"Jongdae," Minho names while pointing to the little boy in the photo. "He's still pretty young. I guess he's probably seven now." Taking a moment to think about it, Minho decides that's the right age. He finds it hard to believe Jongdae's that age now and he wonders how tall he must be since he hasn't seen the kid in forever, it feels. Junmyeon used to tell him lots of silly stories about Jongdae during the few minutes of a break he and Junmyeon would have during the day, free from orders from Changmin and menial tasks from Kyuhyun. "Anyway, there isn't much to say about him I guess." Minho thinks for a moment, then adds, "Except, he's super close to his older brothers, especially since they're pretty much his parents now. So if he spots you, you can be sure he's going to tell either Minseok or Junmyeon right away."

"Noted," Luhan says. "And Junmyeon?"

Minho knew he would have to talk about Junmyeon. Of course he would. But it didn't seem to make it any easier for him to do so. In all honestly, Junmyeon was his best friend, and really his only friend. Minho's days in medical school could be defined by stress, struggling, and strife. Not like every other med student's wasn't, but for Minho especially, he had had a rough time. He's almost positive he would have fallen into depression had it not been for Junmyeon there by his side. A lump in his throat forms, and suddenly, Minho has no voice to speak.

"Junmyeon was kind, caring, and gentle," Changmin interjects, putting slight emphasis on the past tense part of his statement. "He still is for his brothers, I think. But when their parents passed away, it definitely changed him."

As per usual, Kyuhyun breaks his silence with no warrant, dive-bombing into the conversation and reminding everyone of his presence. "When the virus hit the town bad is when Junmyeon really changed."

"What do you mean?" Kris questions, effectively reminding everyone of his presence as well.

"Some people were evacuating, but a lot of people stayed because they had nowhere to go. Our hospital suffered, which I'm sure you noticed when you came in, and we were the only medical team left. We started this little ward here, but kids were getting sick left and right. There used to be more here. I could see the paranoia growing in Junmyeon more and more each day. One day, I think he finally cracked." Kyuhyun's explanation feels blunt, almost accusatory, which gives Minho the strength to speak more, if only to defend his friend.

"He told me one night he was worried for Jongdae," Minho says. "I remember him saying he couldn't lose another family member. Jongdae is everything to him and Minseok." Minho takes a long and heavy sigh before continuing. "He at least apologized before he left. He called me that night and told me that he was leaving and that I couldn't stop him. I tried," Minho defends. "I even rushed down to the hospital to try and convince him it would be okay, but by the time I got here, he was gone - along with all our supplies."

"Wow, that's... rough." Sehun's attempts at empathizing are severely lacking, but it's the best he can do right now. Minho merely nods, head drooping lower with each motion until he's staring at the tiles on the floor. A soothing hand from Kyuhyun rubs the younger boy's back. 

"We've tried going to the Kim house and talking with him," Changmin informs the other three guys. "But they've chosen to completely close themselves off from the rest of the world - even us. They'll claim trespassing. And since there's not really any law enforcement around to stop them, they'll use any means necessary to get rid of you. I guess since they know us personally, they were generous enough to give us a ten second headstart."

Grim, Luhan thinks.

"I know how it sounds," Minho's low voice sounds weary, and he's still looking at the ground as he speaks. "They're not bad people. They're just.. desperate, I guess. Like you guys." When he mentions the comparison, he finally looks up and stares them each down with glossy eyes. "They'd just do anything to help each other, like how you guys are doing for Yixing and Chanyeol."

Everyone takes a moment to consider Minho's words, only to realize he's right. They could compare extremities and motives all day, but in the end, they all have the same intentions - to help. And at least in Junmyeon's case, it's for the people he loves most.

"Just.. try to get in and out as quickly as possible," Minho advises. "As long as they don't know, you'll be safe."

"Alright," Luhan says, thankful for the advice. "We'll be careful."

//Annyeong! Dear readers, I have FINALLY returned! For those of you who have waited patiently, I sincerely thank you <3 I don't know how many of you there are, but to all my loyal readers, I really appreciate you!! Thank you for staying with me~ This is the longest chapter I've written so far. It's like 7k words :x Also, I'm updating with two chapters! Since it's been 6 months since i posted anything... Hope you all enjjoy~!