Sehun sat on the bed as Tao slept in it. He had come to check on him after giving him an hour to cool down. Gently, he brushed the hair out of Tao's face, so that it didn't hinder his breathing. "I didn't mean to make you so upset.... I don't know why you took it so wrongly this time. What is it about marriage that upsets you, Tao? Were you married once? What has happened to you? I wish you would tell me something day", he whispered with a sigh as he held Tao's hand carefully, over it lovingly with his thumb. 

"You seem to care an awful lot about someone who doesn't return the feeling. It's sweet and all, but this kind of thing can't be good for you", Fea surprised him when she suddenly spoke. Sehun looked up to see her looking at them from where she stood in front of the open doors of the truck. "I know it's none of my business.... I just couldn't help saying something. You look like a lovesick puppy whenever he's asleep, and like you're so afraid he won't wake up again that you can't leave his side. Yet when he's awake all the two of you do is sass and bicker. It must hurt a lot to love someone like him. So why do you carry on?", she asked curiously as she leaned lightly against one of the truck's doors.

Sehun seemed to have a somewhat amused reaction to Fea's question, offering up a small chuckle in response. "Yes, that's exactly what this is, unrequited love. I love him, but Tao could never love anything. I carry on because he needs me, even though he denies it. He doesn't need my physical help, but more my emotional help. Even though I know so little about him I know him well enough by now to know his true feelings are always hidden, yet I see glimpses of them from time to time. He is lonely, and longs so desperately inside to be able to trust someone again. Therefore, I'm here to be that someone. I want to be the one he'll trust, and possibly confide in one day. I hope soon he'll see that I will never harm him. I promised him I wouldn't, but I want to protect him. His inner light has shone on me, and taken away the darkness that I once lived in. For that, I owe him everything", his lips formed a smile of pure joy as he finished his little speech of devotion.

Fea simply nodded in agreement after listening to him. She understood now why Sehun stayed with Tao, even though it was hurting himself. Feeling a little bad for the couple, she silently prayed in her head that Tao would see how lucky he is to have such a good friend such as Sehun someday. Then she heard Chanyeol calling for her, so she left the two alone. As she left, Sehun laid down beside Tao. He wrapped his arms gently around him, and brought him close to his chest in a protective manner. Sehun wanted nothing more than to make Tao happy. Since Tao seemed to never be happy, he knew this would be a challenge, but that would never scare him into giving up. As he shut his eyes to turn in for the night, he thought about how he'd even give Tao his sight if he could just to put a smile on Tao's face, although he would never see it.

When Tao awoke the next morning to feel a strong pair of arms around him, he felt himself break a little. His first thought was to shove Sehun away, but he became too weak to, and instead crumbled. A few tears rained down, but only a few. He would not give in so easily. Tao fought back the tears hard with much bitterness. "Get away from me!", he said loud enough that it woke Sehun up with a fright.

Instantly, Sehun backed off to give Tao some space. He bit his lip a bit, because the last thing he wanted to do was upset Tao again. Stress and yelling probably was way worse for him than usual in Tao's delicate condition. "Calm down.... It's just me, okay? Sorry, there wasn't much space left for sleeping so we have to make do with what space we have", he quickly thought up an excuse to cover up his true intentions.

Tao calmed significantly when he heard Sehun's voice. Hearing his voice let him know that the past was still the past. Every time he woke up these days he never really could tell, and having a pair of arms around him reminded him of darker days. That was what he hated most of all about being blind. Whenever he woke up he was always so disoriented to the point it frightened him greatly. " Couldn't you have slept on the ground?", he muttered grumpily. He was still very upset from yesterday, and even more so today. Tao had thought he'd pushed all thoughts of the wretched man that used to run his life, and being reminded of him so often lately put him in a sour mood on top of his already typically pessimistic disposition.

Sehun looked around first to make sure that they were alone, then he pulled Tao close in his arms again even as the other squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm not trying to hurt you okay? I just thought you could use a hug. You're crying...", he said as he gently dabbed away at Tao's tears with a rag. Tao actually had been crying a lot more than he thought he had, simply not noticing it. When he finally did notice the dams of his eyes seemed to burst as the rivers flowed freely over his face. Embarrassed that he let anyone see him like this, Tao hid away in Sehun's chest while he softly sobbed away the pain the memories had brought. Patiently, Sehun waited for him. When, or even if, Tao wanted to talk about it he would be right here to listen intently to it all. While he waited for his beloved to calm again, Sehun rubbed his back gently, caressing over his sides from time to time to deliver a soothing touch to his physical as well as emotional wounds.

However, Tao was not yet ready to tell anyone of his past. Just thinking about it brought him to such a state of vulnerability and weakness already. He was afraid of what state he might find himself in if he actually started conversing openly about it. So as another hour flew by he tried to focus on something else, anything else. Then, he suddenly became entranced by Sehun's magic touch. His pain melted as Sehun's hands rubbed low on his back. The tension in his body ceased for a while as for the first time ever in his life he found himself in a state of relaxation, which he greatly enjoyed. The longer he relaxed, the less grumpy he became, and the more he started to actually enjoy being in Sehun's arms. His head rested lightly against Sehun's chest, finally having stopped his squirming. Without a word, his own hand reached over to grab a hold of Sehun's robotic one. As he laced their fingers together he squeezed the metal hand as hard as he could to hopefully get him to feel something again. Their love became a silent, but understood one. They both knew deep in their hearts that the love was there, but so many other things got in the way, so their love never had a chance to speak up and be heard. The love being unspoken is what carried the beauty of it though, that two people could connect so deeply without looking at each other or saying a thing. Instead it was evident as they listened to each other breathe, and listened to their hearts beat in sync.

At a certain point Chanyeol came over to unentangle them. "We're gonna get going now. Sehun, come up front with me", he said with a gesture for him to follow. Tao sighed as Sehun let go of him, almost like he was sad that the other was leaving him. Sehun sensed this feeling and quickly leaned in closer, capturing Tao's lips in a soft, reassuring kiss. Through it he expressed all the passion that had grown inside him all this time, hoping Tao would reciprocate it. 

As Tao was kissed it overwhelmed him. He could feel all the passion and effort Sehun put forth, but could not return it. The kiss quickly turned dull as only one side participated. Tao laid back dumbstruck until Sehun pulled back finally. Despite all his efforts, he still had failed. His heart sank, but really he knew he shouldn't have expected so much of Tao. Perhaps he had been all too eager to capture his heart, enough to chase Tao away. Or maybe Tao really was just purely incapable of love. Whichever the case, he knew that now was too soon. Until then, he would remain patient.

Sehun left shortly after to go sit up front with Chanyeol. Choro and Fea joined Tao in the back. Then they all headed off for Incheon again with such high hopes set in their hearts. The hopes for peace, to find Baekhyun, and to get a fresh start with a new life. Maybe Sehun could help Tao have a better life this time around with their new start. As their wishful thinking helped keep them positive throughout the journey, no amount of thinking could lessen the burden of the bitter end this road came to. 

Chanyeol stood inches from the dome surrounding Incheon. He reached out slowly to press his palm against the glass. When he read the words plastered all over in red, black, and yellow, his chest tightened as though he were going to have a heart attack. In utter despair, he fell to his knees. All was silent as no one dared break his concentration while he tried to fully process what had happened. Everyone knew that he was hit worst of all by this news. In his deep state of shock he tried so hard to deny everything, even shaking his head to tell the others that it couldn't be true. "Baekhyun!!", he finally screamed out to the heavens in anger, because that was all he could do. Written and etched all over the walls of the dome from the inside were words like "Quarantine", " Dangerous", "Deadly", and "Epidemic". From where they stood outside they could all see bodies stacked up in giant piles all over the place. There didn't seem to be a single person left alive in Incheon, although nobody really wanted to go exploring around inside to truly find out.

Fea went over to comfort him, sitting beside Chanyeol and hugging him tightly. Although the thought that her brother most likely died inside this disease filled bubble like all the rest of Incheon's citizens did terrify her greatly she had to stay calm for Chanyeol's sake. If they both broke down then that wouldn't get anybody anywhere. What they really had to do was keep looking. " Hey, there's no real proof that Baek was in there. We were travelling by truck and he was travelling most likely by foot. Maybe he hasn't even reached Incheon yet. Maybe he's just lost out there in the wasteland, since he didn't have a map like we do", she suggested as she tried to lift back up both of their spirits. Chanyeol seemed to have given up though for the day emotionally. It seems that this was the final straw to break him. All he could do now was stare in silence at the warning signs, imagining all the most horrid things.Tao and Sehun joined him silence, because they too had no plan, purpose, or goals left anymore. There was no way left to turn for them. They couldn't go back to Seoul, and who knows how far away the next city after Incheon is. They had no idea if any cities besides Seoul and Incheon had even been restored. For a long while the silence consumed them, crushing their once lighthearted hopes, and provoking them into pondering their purpose now that all was lost.