Jisun jerked awake. Her eyes widened in fear as she felt a hand on . Before she could scream though, she heard someone whispering to her.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's just a dream."
She recognized Himchan's voice and she realized she was still in the cave. Then his hand moved away and she sat up. She breathed heavily, trying to slow her racing heart.
"You were having bad dream." Himchan whispered.
She swallowed and nodded. She glanced around the cave and saw all the others. Save for one person. "Where.."
"He's having a hard time sleeping too." Himchan commented with a little smile. He indicated towards the front of the cave.
Jisun peered through the darkness and saw a figure sitting by the entrance. Then she jumped a little when Himchan touched her again. She turned her attention back to him and saw the sad look in his eyes.
"I... I need you to tell me something." he slowly said. "What happened with Zelo? How did you get out?"
She pressed her lips together as a wave of sadness washed over her too. She her dry lips and looked down at her lap. "He was... trying to get me to tell him where Yongguk's tags were. Then he suddenly restarted and was himself again. He got me out of the mine. We tried to get Suyun too but they already took her somewhere." She took a shaky breath. "Then he told me to run and he... He had a knife. He said he didn't want to hurt anyone else so he..." She trailed off and reached her right hand up to her neck. She felt her eyes watering as she remembered clearly the sound of his voice as he told her to not look.
"That's enough." Himchan hurriedly assured her. He grabbed her right hand and moved it away from her neck. "Thank you."
She nodded as he squeezed her hand. Then she looked over at Yongguk once more.
"Go talk to him." Himchan encouraged and let go of her hand. "About everything."
She quickly looked back at him in surprise. "What?"
A small, sad smile formed on his face. "Just... some things he said. Go on."
Jisun blinked at him for a bit before glancing at Yongguk. She swallowed thickly and hesitated. But she eventually got to her feet
She made her way to the front of the cave. Yongguk was sitting by the entrance with his arms on his knees. In his hands were his dog tags that Daehyun must have given him while she slept. He stared out at the forest and the pouring rain. Only when she sat across from him did he look at her.
"Hey." she quietly uttered, not sure what else to say.
"Hey." he replied. "Are you alright?"
She went to shrug but a pain in her left shoulder made her stop real fast. She winced and then sighed. "As well as I could be I guess."
His eyes flickered to her shoulder before he looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."
She raised her eyebrows. "For what?"
"You're the one that found me." he answered. "So you got dragged in to all this cause of me."
She wasn't sure what she had expected but it wasn't that. Not with how she felt about him and the happy memories they made together. Even if he didn't remember them. "I've never regretted helping you Yongguk." she declared. Then she smiled a little as she looked away. "I even went searching for you."
"You did??"
She turned her gaze back to Yongguk and saw the surprised look on his face. She blushed and quickly looked away. "Uh... yeah." she shyly confessed. When he didn't say anything, she chanced peeking at him. He was staring off at the trees again, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips pressed together. And his hand clutched around his tags.
Seeing him this way, it reminded her of the morning she found him in his room and how he wished he remembered something. Anything. That was the same day she took him to her secret tree house and shared her memories with him.
"I saw my parents." she blurted out. "Well, more like my mother. When we went off the road."
Yongguk looked at her and nodded. "Daehyun filled us in after you fell asleep." Then he tilted his head curiously. "What do you mean though?"
"Just before we went over, everything went black. Then I saw myself in a car. In the backseat and looking up at the sky through the front window. My mom leaned over from the passenger seat and smiled at me. Then the tress suddenly disappeared and..." She trailed off and bit her bottom lip.
She looked at Yongguk and saw him patiently waiting for her to continue. Taking a deep breath, she said, "That's how my parents died. It was snowing and their car slid off the road. When the search crew found them, they were..." She swallowed and shook her head. "It's funny cause I wasn't even in the car. I was staying with my grandparents for a few days. And even then, I would have been to small to remember it." She let out a heavy sigh. "I thought I was going to die and my mind created a fake memory of my parents. Maybe because I have no memories of them."
She looked at Yongguk who was still watching her and frowning. She wondered what he was thinking as the silence between them grew.
"So what your saying is, that all my memories are fake."
Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "No, no. That's not it." She reached forward and grabbed his hand with her hand. "I just... I mean... I thought you would understand. That I understand." She sighed again. "I just..."
She noticed Yongguk kept glancing down at her hand touching his. Her face heated up as she blushed and she went to pull away. She didn't make it far though before his hand shot out. He grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
"That I'm not alone." he sincerely said. A small smile formed on his face. "Thank you."
She felt herself blushing even more as her lips spread in to a smile as well. Which made his smile grow bigger. Then he reached up with his other hand and brushed his thumb across her cheek as he pouted a little.
"Do I look that bad?" she teasingly asked.
"Yes." he said with a smirk, causing her to giggle. Then his face softened. "And no." he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.
She stared at him in disbelief, wondering if she had heard him right. Before she could think about it too much though, he moved his hand away from her face and stood up. "Come on." he told her. "You should rest."
She let him help her to her feet, feeling a bit disoriented over what just happened between them. Then a loud boom of thunder made her yelp and she quickly wrapped her right arm around herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. A second later, she felt herself being held. She let out the breath she had been holding and slowly opened her eyes.
She pulled back only a little bit, not intending to move away, but she felt him stiffen anyways. As if he didn't want her to move away either. Which made her heart skip a beat before beating faster. She looked at his face and saw that he was staring at her. Then he leaned his head in, connecting their lips.
Her eyes widened in surprise before several other emotions took over. Relief, hope. The softness of his lips kissing her made her melt and the way he desperately held on to her made her knees weak. Another crack of thunder roared outside but she didn't even flinch. She felt... safe. The safest she's been in a while.
He suddenly pulled away and turned his head, avoiding her gaze. "I'm sorry." he whispered and started to take a step back.
She hurriedly clutched his shirt with her right hand, stopping him. He froze but still didn't look at her. "This isn't the first time we've kissed." she quietly told him.
He finally looked at her, his eyes full of surprise and hope. He brought one hand up to cup her cheek before a tiny smile spread on his face. "Good." Then he kissed her again.
There was a fluttering in her chest and she eagerly kissed him back. It was like they were having their first kiss all over again. Instead of feeling remorseful about that though, she felt blessed to be able to experience it twice. That he still came back to her.
He pulled back and she gasped for air. Then she gently pecked his lips with an amused smile. The same smile showed on his face as he pecked her lips back. Then he turned his head and leaned in. She took a deep breath and held it in anticipation. Only to have him suddenly turn his head and rest his forehead on her shoulder.
She blinked in surprise as his hold on her tightened. "Yongguk?" she whispered curiously. Then she heard a strained whine come from him as his body shuddered. Panic seized her. "Yong.... Youngjae. Youngjae!"
She heard movement at the back of the cave. At the same time, Yongguk let go of her and fell to his knees. He grabbed his head with both hands as he cried out in pain. dropped open as she stared at him.
Youngjae and Himchan quickly went to Yongguk's side. Youngjae set the lantern down while Himchan pried one of Yongguk's arms open. He held on to it while Youngjae took a syringe and poked the needle in to a vein. He emptied its contents in to Yongguk's blood before pulling it out. Then Himchan released him.
While Jisun watched, she felt something brush her hand. She jumped a little and quickly looked over to see Jongup beside her. He was looking at her rather than the scene before them. Then he took her hand in his and squeezed it.
"Come on." Himchan urged.
She turned her attention back to Yongguk. He was on his hands and knees, his gaze on the floor. Himchan stood by him, ready to help him move to the back of the cave. When Yongguk sat up though, his body swayed. A trickle of blood came out of his nose and he reached up to wipe it away. Then his eyes rolled back and his body slumped.
"." cursed Himchan as he quickly knelt and caught him.
Jongup let go of her hand and moved forward. He helped Himchan pick up the eldest and they carried him to the back of the cave.
Jisun stood where she was, unable to move. She stared after them as she felt her entire world disappear. Which was why it took so long for her to notice someone talking to her. She managed to tear her gaze away from Yongguk and saw Youngjae standing next to her.
"Noona?" he softly repeated, his face etched with worry.
She opened but no sound came out. He his lips and stepped closer before slowly reaching his hand out. When he grabbed her hand, she realized her whole body was shaking.
"It's okay noona. He'll be fine." he told her while enunciating every word. Then he gently pulled her towards him.
She stumbled forward and put her head on his shoulder. That's when he took both of his arms and hugged her. As she cried, he reassured her that everything will be fine.

Jisun glanced between the two sleeping males, Daehyun and Yongguk. There was a space between them for her but she refused to lay down. So instead they gave her some water and food. Himchan sat by her, glaring, as she ate. Once she finished the last of it, his face softened and he nodded approvingly. Then he went to lay down for some sleep. Everyone kept telling her that everything would be fine but she couldn't make herself believe it.
A noise beside her broke her out of her thoughts and she felt her body stiffen.
"It's just me." Jongup quietly assured her.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly letting it out. Then she opened her eyes and looked over at him.
"Turn." he instructed as he sat down and faced her.
She hesitated for a moment before doing as she was told. She turned to face him and crossed her legs. He scooted closer so their knees were touch. Then he grabbed her right hand and something in to her. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized it was a knife.
"Close your fist around the grip tightly." he told her.
She her lips and closed her hand. It was a little small but it still felt comfortable. The blade itself had sharp edges on both sides and strange markings down the center. Then he took her hand in to his.
"When you stab someone, it's like punching. Put your weight in to it. Then twist." He held her hand so the knife was flat and twisted it until the edges were on the top and bottom. "That's how a knife this small can still cause a lot of damage. Just make sure you do it quick."
He guided her hand in to a small before twisting it and having it pull back. Then he let go and instructed her to do it herself. She mimicked the same motion a few times, moving faster when he told her to.
"Just like that." he said with a bright smile.
She blushed a little and looked down at the knife. She brought it up so she could examine it closer.
"It says strength."
She glanced up at Jongup before looking at the knife again. "Strength?"
He reached over and took the knife from her. He tossed it in to the air where it twirled before he caught it by the grip. "Each of our knives have a specific function. That's why they come in different shapes and sizes. They have different names too. This one, the smallest, is called 'Strength'."
She looked at the tiny blade and raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
He stopped playing with the knife and smiled at her once more. "Because strength comes in all sizes. No matter how small you are, or how small you feel, you can still be strong." He took the knife and placed it on top of one finger. It balanced perfectly. "See how well it balances? It's actually a throwing knife." He grabbed the knfe again and slipped it in to a small sheath. Then he took it and placed it back in to her hand. "When this is over, I'll teach you how to throw it."
parted in surprise as she stared blankly at him, causing him to giggle. She shook her head slightly and blushed. Then she slowly closed her fingers around the knife and held it tightly. "Thank you."
A sudden crack of thunder made her flinch and her hand tightened around the knife. Then she slowly let out a breath to calm her racing heart. She glanced towards the front of the cave before looking back at Jongup. He had a sad, pitiful look in his eyes.
"Sorry." she whispered and swallowed. "I don't know why..." She trailed off cause she knew exactly why she was being so jumpy.
"Don't be scared of the storm noona." he told her. "You have a storm inside you too." Then he glanced at Yongguk and Daehyun. "You should get some more rest. The storm shouldn't last much longer." He turned his attention back to her and gave her a pleading look. "And stay close with them please."
She surveyed the sleeping men and a wave of guilt washed over her. "Except I told Yongguk a memory which made him have a headache. And Daehyun said he'll kill me if I did that again."
Jongup slowly nodded. "Daehyun-hyung is direct. He won't kill you in your sleep. He'll do it when you're awake and can see it coming." he solemnly said.
Her eyes widened, horrified. Then Jongup's face cracked. "I'm joking, I'm joking." he declared while chuckling.
Jisun let out a scoff and rolled her eyes.
"It's obvious Yongguk-hyung remembers more than he's letting on. He may already have remembered what you told him." Jongup reasoned. "And Daehyun-hyung won't do anything. He..." He trailed off and pursed his lips in thought. "He's fiercely loyal. Once you have his loyalty, there's nothing he wouldn't do for you." He smiled brightly at her. "So he's not going to kill you." Then he turned and looked at Daehyun. "Right hyung?"
"Shut up." Daehyun quietly grumbled.
Jisun felt a chill run through her. Had he been awake this entire time?
Jongup looked at her face and chuckled. "Get some rest noona." Then he stood up and went to the cave entrance.
She slowly turned to see Daehyun laying still with his eyes closed. She swallowed thickly before slowly moving on to her blanket with her new knife. She laid down as quietly as she could, trying to not disturb either male.
"He'll be fine you know."
She froze for a second before slowly looking at Daehyun.
"Yongguk." Daehyun elaborated. "He'll be fine."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. Really, there was a lot about him that kept surprising her. She glanced over at Yongguk who was on the right side of her. She reached over with her right hand and grabbed his hand. "Thank you." she quietly said.
"Keke."
She quickly looked back at Daehyun. "What?"
"Keke." he repeated and reached for his neck. "My name is Keke. Kekemato." He slipped the chain over his neck and held the tags up.
She let go of Yongguk's hand and reached for the tags. Light reflected off of them enough for her to see the names. 'Jung Dae Hyun' and 'Kekemato'.
"Kekemato." she uttered out loud.
Daehyun moved his hand back and put the chain around his neck once more. "Get some rest. And no more bad dreams." he demanded. "If you wake me up again cause you're having a bad dream, I have no problem kicking you."
She quickly pressed her lips together and choked on a laugh. Then she closed her eyes while smiling. She reached for Yongguk's hand and squeezed it tightly before letting herself relax.