Chapter Text
"This is just amazing," Hyunjin mutters unhappily, vigorously wiping zombie guts from his shoe into the single patch of clean grass he found by the side of the road. "I should be playing Uno right now, not going on our second supply run in as many days."
Changbin throws him a quick glance over his shoulder from his spot on the road before going back to surveying their surroundings carefully. "Yeah well we wouldn't need to go on a run if you and Han had kept better watch last night and we didn't all wake up to him having almost lost an eye because you, and I quote, couldn’t hear the zombie sneaking in over your own voices ."
"Hey," Hyunjin protests, rubbing his sole into the abused foliage a few last times and straightening up, pointing his makeshift spear towards his companion. "his eye had nothing to do with the zombie, technically. We disposed of the little dude very efficiently and off-grounds."
Changbin levels a look at the taller boy as the latter joins him on the road. "And how did Jisung get hurt then, Hyunjinnie?"
Hyunjin stands in front of him, a pout in his eyes, mumbling his answer.
"Sorry baby, you’re gonna have to speak up, my hearing isn’t what it used to be." teases Changbin, his playful tone in contrast with the large knife in his hand and the way his eyes still scanned the area behind Hyunjin for any danger.
Hyunjin turns away from him with a scoff, stomping off down the street, raising his voice so Changbin can hear him even from behind. "He tripped on our own traps while coming back to the base!"
Changbin feels his lips pulling into a smirk, catching up and falling into step with his friend. "So heroic!"
Looking down on him with mild disdain, Hyunjin sticks his tongue out before pointing his spear at the shorter man again. "Maybe if you hadn’t freaked out and poured two thirds of our medical supplies on Hannie’s face without thinking we wouldn’t need to go on a run this soon anyways!"
Choosing to ignore the weapon pointed his way, Changbin looks away, shuddering at the memory. "There was so much blood…"
Hyunjin’s arms go slack at his side as his face falls at Changbin’s quiet voice.
It’s a couple of minutes of them walking in silence before he speaks up again.
"Hyung I can’t believe we’re in a zombie apocalypse and it’s a scratched eye that gets you to squirm."
"Yah!"
"There wasn’t even that much blood, in the grand scheme of things."
"Listen-,"
"You screamed so much that when Channie-hyung came out he thought you were the one hurt and no-"
"Alright, alright enough, we’re both to blame for this unplanned supply run!"
Hyunjin bumps into Changbin lightly, a large grin on his face, drawing a chuckle out of the other.
"At least we know that one pharmacy just inside the city is still pretty well-stocked." Changbin continues. "Other than the long ass walk there and back it shouldn’t be too complicated of a trip."
Hyunjin hums his agreement.
"Let’s get it, hyung!" he says, holding out a fist towards the other boy that Changbin readily bumps with his own.
----
The trailer park their little group has set up camp at is relatively remote, meaning it is past midday by the time their mostly uneventful walk brings them to the side entrance of a large pharmacy.
Surprisingly, if you ask Minho, after shit went down people appear to have largely kept their decency, so besides the power supply to the sliding front door being cut off to avoid zombies wandering into the store, the pharmacy is largely untouched.
Of the small percentage of survivors in the wake of the first wave of the virus that has turned their world upside down overnight, some chose to leave the big city for good, while many others took the same approach Changbin and Hyunjin’s group did, moving to remote locations just outside the city, aiming to both avoid larger gatherings of the flesh-hungry dead while remaining close to the biggest source of supplies they had at the moment.
While people remained wary of groups outside the ones they naturally formed at the start, most were still considerate of the fact that there are other survivors out there. As such, while some places were already ransacked, others were treated much like a store would be pre-apocalypse - sans the money aspect that is. Factoring in the small number of survivors and the fact that it had barely been a few months since things went down, supply runs had not yet turned into much of a challenge, zombies aside.
Medical supplies especially are rarely hoarded and aren’t that hard to come by most of the time.
Luckily for us, thinks Hyunjin as Changbin shoulders the door to the pharmacy open and they shuffle their way inside quietly.
Despite everything, their little team seems to be very lucky in that aspect, this being the most serious injury any of them had suffered since the start. Scrapes, bruises and small cuts are a daily occurrence of course, and a few weeks back Jeongin caught a cold after getting drenched in the rain that had him running a fever for 2 nights straight, scaring the rest of the group into the quietest they had ever been.
Hyunjin doesn’t really like to think about those few days, when everything felt out of place.
He’s pulled out of his thoughts by Changbin stopping him in his tracks with a raised hand, indicating that he hears something with a flick of his hand.
Hyunjon strains his ears and hears it too - some light shuffling towards the front of the store.
Zombies? he mouths towards Changbin, who shrugs and gestures for Hyunjin to follow him as he slowly moves towards the source of the sound as quietly as possible, both of them gripping their weapons in front.
Just as they’re about to round the corner of the aisle that would bring them to the registers, a high pitched giggle makes them pause mid-step. Sharing a look that tells Hyunjin he’s not the only one mildly relieved the other occupants of the store are alive, the two simultaneously lean ever so slowly to peek over the edge of the aisle.
In front of the registers they see two men, visually around their age and likely on a similar mission as theirs, large backpacks already heavy with what Hyunjin would safely assume are supplies on each of their backs.
One of them lets out another high pitched giggle, louder this time, bending over and away from his friend as he covers his mouth in vain, his laughter filling the quiet store. The reason for his outburst seems to be said friend, who appears to have taken a liking to the sunglasses display and had several pairs on his face and head and was seemingly carrying out some impression to his audience of one.
Something about the boy, whose general stoic posture seemed contrary to his goofy display is so amusing to Hyunjin that before he has realized it a loud snort has left his mouth.
Abruptly he feels three pairs of eyes on him. Two hostile ones that meet his straight on, accompanied by the strangers’ weapons pointed in his direction, and Changbin’s exasperated stare boring into the side of his face with all the weight of the older’s judgment.
Hyunjin throws an apologetic look towards his hyung before the two of them straighten up and walk out from behind the aisle to face the strangers apprehensively, weapons drawn still.
"Did you have to be so loud?" Sunglasses Man reprimands his friend as they do, his deep voice barely loud enough for Changbin and Hyunjin to make out even in the ensuing silence.
Said friend, apparently not so good at keeping his voice down, takes his eyes off of the intruders briefly to shoot him a reprimanding look at the accusation. "It’s because you made me laugh - look at yourself." he looks back at Hyunjin and Changbin then, adding slightly quieter, "Dummy."
Hyunjin struggles to keep a straight face as Sunglasses Man mouths the insult indignantly before realizing the state he is still in and shaking his head vigorously, sunglasses raining around him.
However, when the last pair of bright yellow sunglasses gets caught on the man’s ear and dangles there as he stares straight ahead with a freshly revealed uncertain gaze, Hyunjin has to duck his head, another snort of a laugh escaping him. Changbin elbows him in the side, though as he’s looking up Hyunjin can see him struggle not to laugh as well.
Sunglasses Man’s friend in the meantime appears to have given up on the meager standoff the four of them were in, having lowered the katana-like sword in his hands and turned around to his companion with a disappointed look.
"Seonghwa hyung..." he starts to reprimand his friend, and when the other turns his head the sunglasses lose what little grip they had on his ear and clatter loudly to the floor to join the rest of the eyewear there.
All three now appear to be struggling to stay serious as Sunglasses Man ( Seonghwa, Hunjin corrects himself), still frozen, mutters a "Sorry…" to his friend.
"Seonghwa hyung," the latter starts again, "I don’t think even a zombie would take us seriously at this point." Seonghwa nods solemnly in agreement as the other gestures towards Changbin and Hyunjin with his sword. "Let alone actual people." At this, he actually turns towards them and gives them a tight-lipped smile. "I’m sorry, I swear we’re usually more intimidating than this."
Next to Hyunjin, Changbin also visibly relaxes, the standoff now seemingly completely canceled.
Hyunjin, still a little wary, doesn’t fully lower his spear, though he does allow most of the tension to leave his body. Across from him Seonghwa seems to hold the same sentiment, a bit of an edge to the way he held his own sword, identical to the one held loosely by his friend.
His friend, who appears to have dropped all pretense of hostility, giving a short, friendly bow, the small ponytail in his two-toned hair bobbing with the motion.
"Jung Wooyoung." he states simply pointing to himself. "Park Seonghwa." he points at his friend, who seems a bit affronted at that. Whether it was at the fact Wooyoung was quick to warm up to two complete strangers or the impolite way he introduced them, Hyunjin can’t tell.
The proper bow Seonghwa takes as he greets them, albeit still gripping a sword, seems to answer that question.
Next to Hyunjin, Changbin follows suit with a proper bow and hello, and Hyunjin instinctively joins him in the polite greeting, feeling a bit out of place doing this for the first time in several months.
"My name is Seo Changbin."
"I’m Hwang Hyunjin." he completes the impromptu introduction politely.
Wooyoung groans loudly, throwing his head back.
"Do we really need to do all of this? Even in an apocalypse?" he bemoans.
Seonghwa slaps him lightly on the shoulder, mumbling something quietly to him. Wooyoung turns towards the other two, a sparkle in his eyes.
"They look like they’re about our age. What year were you born in, Changbin-ssi, Hyunjin-ssi?" he throws a look at Seonghwa as he emphasizes the polite suffix before looking back at Hyunjin and Chanbin with an expectant smile.
Changbin raises his hand "‘99" he says, then points at Hyunjin. "Hyunjin is a ‘00."
Wooyoung positively beams at that information, taking a few rushed steps towards them, Seonghwa flailing his arm belatedly to try and stop him.
Hyunjin takes a step back instinctively, his grip on his spear tightening, but Changbin barely flinches as Wooyoung slaps a hand on his shoulder with a blinding smile, his eyes disappearing.
"I’m a ‘99 too! Yah, hyung, we got another one, how cool is that!" he all but screams, punctuating his sentence with a short laugh. Seonghwa looks less than enthused about the new information, nodding with a polite smile. "We can be friends then! Seonghwa hyung is still the oldest, he’s a ‘98."
He then turns his attention towards Hyunjin, who is once again taken aback at the power of his smile. "Hyunjin-ah, you can speak to me however you like." at which Hyunjin can just nod quietly.
Behind Wooyoung, Seonghwa has propped up his sword against the register and bends down, carefully starting to pick up the discarded sunglasses from the floor. "Wooyoung, you’re scaring the poor boys." he says without looking up, "Back off a little." He stands up and throws them a soft smile. "They might not be looking to make friends." he finishes, turning around to begin putting the sunglasses back on their display.
"Not many people are, nowadays." Changbin chimes in.
"Come on," Wooyoung whines with a pout, shaking his shoulders in a mock tantrum. "You guys are such downers. Next time I’m taking Yunho on a run. At least he-"
"Quiet."
At Seonghwa’s urgent command, all four of them still at once.
Hyunjin’s eyes go to Seonghwa, who is slowly reaching for his sword, eyes trained on the window of the pharmacy. Following his gaze, Hyunjin instinctively moves his own weapon in front of his body.
Shuffling slowly down the sidewalk in front of the large store window are a couple of zombies, tattered clothes dragging behind them. They don’t seem to have noticed the four men, empty eyes trained somewhere further along the street.
Neither of them move at all for several minutes as the zombies make their way around the pharmacy, and for several long breaths after.
"So," starts Wooyoung once they feel the danger has passed - though Hyunjin can’t help but note that the older’s voice seems significantly lower than before. "You guys come here often?"
His humor hasn’t left him it seems, and Hyunjin finds himself smiling at the wink Wooyoung throws his way as Changbin lets out a dry laugh next to him.
"Quite often these days, it seems." he says with a sigh and Hyunjin hums his agreement with a grimace.
"We were just here yesterday, actually." he adds, rubbing his eyes.
"You must be settled close by then?" asks Seonghwa, joining them and completing the awkward little circle they’re standing in.
Hyunjin groans loudly at that, growing his head back in exasperation. "I wish!"
Changbin gives him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, clarifying with a tight smile. "We’re actually all the way in Sangsangok-dong. There’s a pretty remote campsite there that we’re currently set up in."
Seonghwa’s mouth forms a delicate ‘o’ at that information as Wooyoung whistles loudly. They share a look that feels very much like A Look™ to Hyunjin before the oldest turns to the two.
"So...why are you here again today?" he asks hesitantly, probably wary of stepping on any fresh wounds.
It’s now Hyunjin and Chanbin’s turn to share A Look™, albeit with a very different weight to it, coming to a silent agreement before providing an answer.
"A small mishap." Chanbin provides.
"Series of unfortunate events really." Hyunjin adds.
"Nothing that serious."
"Though we did acquire a minor wound and major lack of medical supplies."
"Through no fault of anyone specific."
"Precisely."
Wooyoung gives a laugh that can only be classified as a cackle at this, prompting Seonghwa to tap his arm a couple of times in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to quiet down.
"You guys are fun." Wooyoung declares once his laughter dies down. "You have a long walk back right? Why don’t you come stay with our group for tonight and go back tomorrow?"
Hyunjin gapes a little at the suggestion, while Seonghwa levels his friend with a glare.
"Wooyoung, you can’t just ask strangers to crash with us as if you’re inviting your best friend for a sleepover." he reprimands, though to Hyunjin’s surprise he doesn’t sound truly upset. "Do you know how angry Hongjoong is going to be if we walk in with two new people in tow?"
The shorter man grins mischievously at the suggestion. "Ah hyung, don’t threaten me with a good time."
Seonghwa lets out a breath of a laugh at that, opening his mouth to retort in some way but is interrupted by Chabgin.
"Uh…" he starts, throwing Hyunjin a questioning look to which Hyunjin can only shrug - he’s honestly feeling completely overwhelmed. "We- we really couldn’t impose on you guys…"
The oldest waves his hand dismissively. "Honestly, I know you have no reason to trust us and come with us so if you refuse, it would be no surprise. But it really wouldn’t be too strange for our group and you guys are probably really tired, so if you don’t want to make that long trek back you’re welcome to join us."
Wooyoung nods solemnly. "No offense, because you’re honestly really good looking - especially you, " he points an accusatory finger at Hyunjin, who is feeling more lost by the second. "but you guys look kinda rough ."
Hyunjin blanches. "It’s… we’re… we’re in an apocalypse…"
On his side, Changbin shrugs with resignation. "It was a long night."
"Up to you." Seonghwa says, turning around. "I’m gonna pick up some basics here and we’re about done for the day, so if you want you can ask Wooyoung anything about us in the meantime to help you decide." and with a last smile thrown over his shoulder he disappears between the aisles.
Wooyoung looks after him for a second, before turning to the other two with an expectant smile.
"Hit me."
By the time Seonghwa reappears, zipping up his backpack slung over his front, Wooyoung has, with very little actual questioning, explained to Changbin and a mildly perturbed Hyunjin that he and Seonghwa are part of a group of eight men (‘Hey, same as us!’) that gathered together pretty early on in the outbreak and have stuck it out ever since.
The eight of them had recently occupied the second floor of a department store nearby that they cleared out over the course of a few days, which was pretty impressive to Hyunjin since most large buildings like that were still, as Felix once said, spilling zombies out the wazoo. Except Felix didn’t say ‘wazoo’.
When Changbin asked if the group had lost any people, Wooyoung rather proudly exclaimed that of course they hadn't.
"We have some really strong guys," he explained, an excited glint in his eyes. "I once saw Jongho crush a zombie’s head with his bare hands."
Hyunjin is starting to think he’s having a fever dream. "I’m sorry, what?"
Wooyoung nods enthusiastically. “Uh-huh. And he’s the youngest. ”
Changbin throws Hyunjin a look, followed by a finger underneath the younger’s chin, gently closing his mouth that apparently had been hanging open in shock, which is when Seonghwa made his return.
“Let the record show,” he started, leveling Wooyoung with an unimpressed look. “That Jongho vehemently denies actually crushing the zombie’s head with his bare hands.”
Wooyoung leans into Hyunjin’s space, in response to which Hyunjin instinctively jerks back a little, but all Wooyoung does is whisper theatrically, “I saw it happen. He definitely crushed that fucker’s skull.”
Hyunjin lets out a nervous giggle as Seonghwa simply raises an unperturbed eyebrow at his friend’s antics before turning to the other two.
“Have you guys made a decision? We’ve picked up most of what we need so we’re going to head back as soon as you’ve made up your mind.”
Changbin and Hyunjin share a look and Seonghwa adds on,”No hurry, though. You haven’t stocked up yet either so feel free to discuss as you…” he pauses as he looks around the pharmacy with a grimace. “...shop around.”
“We’ll just wait here.” Wooyoung chimes in as he unceremoniously dumps his backpack on the floor, leaning against a column on the side of the store and sliding to the floor with a ‘thump’. “Hyung, come here, I wanna show you what I picked up at the convenience store.”
Seonghwa glances at Changbin and Hyunjin again, and with a peace sign and a smile walks past them to squat by Wooyoung and examine some magazines the younger was taking out of his bag, already excitedly explaining something in a rush.
Changbin and Hyunjin slink away silently, picking out various medical supplies in silence for a couple of minutes until they are some distance away from their new acquaintances.
“Hyung, it would be a terrible idea.” Hyunjin says in a hushed voice as he compares two different types of bandages.
“One hundred percent.” agrees Changbin.
“They could take us anywhere.”
“The others will be waiting for us too.”
Hyunjin puts one of the packages he is holding back on its shelf, picking up a second from the type he is still holding. Looking to his side he finds Changbin already staring back at him with a serious expression. Biting his lip, he speaks. “So why do I feel like we should go?”
Changbin holds his gaze before breaking into a teasing smile. “You really do look like shit.”
Affronted, Hyunjin punches his friend’s shoulder lightly. “What does that have to do with it?”
“Maybe your ability to make good decisions is proportional to your looks.” Changbin jokes, his smile unwavering as Hyunjin transitions from punches to shoving.
“That would make sense.” Hyunjin concedes. “Explains why you’re always making bad decisions.”
Proud of himself, Hyunjin throws down a smug look at the shorter man as he passes by him, stopping to browse at another stand while Changbin lets out a dry laugh behind him.
“And it would explain why I also think we should go.” Hyunjin hears him say.
“Hyung…” he says quietly, turning around to look at Changbin, who is once again already looking back at him. “Do you think Han will like this?” he finishes just as seriously, holding up a baby blue eyepatch with a rainbow perched on two fluffy white clouds embroidered on it.
A beat passes.
“Hyunjin,” Chanbin says. “I think he’ll love it.”