"Guys, he's the only pilot we got. Either get on this plane or we leave without you." I said to the three idiots who refused to board the plane.

"I understand, but hear me out: why not drive there instead?" Dongju said with pleading eyes.

"It's faster this way." Geonhak said from behind me.

"True, but hear me out: traveling by land is actually safer than air travel now." Youngjo responded.

"We're leaving then." I said before ushering Geonhak in and closing the door.

"We're not going to leave them, right?" Geonhak asked as we sat next to each other.

"We do what's most beneficial to us. And if that means separating, so be it." I said before closing my eyes.

"You know, I used to think of you as the angel, but you're just satan in angel's clothing." he said before switching seats.

Why couldn't he understand that we didn't have time to waste on making a big thing out of simple solvable problems. I felt the plane move and buckled myself in before closing my eyes again.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

I felt my body being shaken, so I opened my eyes to see what it was.

"Finally." Geonhak said as he sat next to me.

"I thought you didn't want to be next to satan." I snapped.

"I was going to tell you that we're almost there." he responded flatly.

"How do you think the others are doing?" I asked while looking wistfully out the window.

"Probably better than we are." responded Geonhak.

"I doubt it. Dongju and Keonhee are together. They hate each other." I said with a shake of my head.

"They say fighting brings you closer to each other." Geonhak reasoned.

I laughed as I shook my head again. He was looking at it from the wrong angle. Everything from their words to their eyes screamed dislike.

"Are you a romanticist?" I asked in curiosity.

"Are you saying I want them to be together romantically?" he shot back.

Somehow this was where the conversation drifted. I sighed then gave him my opinion.

"I'm not saying that and I have nothing against men who swing that way. I'm sure they're straight anyway." I said.

"Still, it doesn't just have to be in a romantic sense. It applies to friendship." said Geonhak as he settled into his seat.

"Very true." I replied. "Maybe it could apply to them. Hopefully."

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

We stretched out as we entered JFK. I felt something latch onto me and saw Hwanwoong who didn't look too well.

"Hwan, you okay?" I asked softly.

"Just hungry." he said as we walked.

I plucked a bag of chips from a shelf then handed them to him.

"To hold you over until we can get some actual food." I said with a smile.

He gently tugged on his hair and avoided making eye contact. I lightly chuckled as a faint color tinted his cheeks.

"Are you hot? Want a drink?" I asked as I turned around.

He hugged me from behind and kept me from moving. I kept quiet as I waited for an explanation. If there was one.

"Could you not be nice to me?" he finally said after a long silence. "It hurts..."

I didn't catch the last part and wondered why he didn't want me to be nice. How else did he want me to act towards him?

"Why...?" I asked.

"Personal reasons..." he responded before letting me go and hurrying away.

Each and everyone of them were hard to understand and figure out.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

We got out of the car and started looking around. I hoped that Geonhak's weird feeling was right, otherwise I'd have some colorful words to say to him. As expected, it was dead silent minus the occasional wind. I felt someone hold my hand then frowned when I saw it belonged to Geonhak.

"Something doesn't feel right." said Geonhak as he looked around.

"Could you, like, let go of my hand? We're not 4, dude." I said as I pulled my hand away.

"Sorry, I just think better if I'm holding something." he replied as he moved to hug a tree.

I looked around and noticed Hwanwoong was no where to be seen.

"Geonhak, where's Hwan?" I asked.

"Pipsqueak? Dunno." he said as he hugged the tree.

The ground started to shake and soon multiple tendrils burst through both the sidewalk and streets. I groaned in pain as I had been struck hard on my waist. It then hit my back in rhythmic movements, forcing me to the ground. Geonhak wasn't better off as he was being held upside down and being beaten. I couldn't fathom what we did that could've angered the Earth. If anything, it should only be mad at me for leaving the others.

"Guys!" I heard Hwanwoong call out.

"Don't get any closer or else you'll end up like us. Run, Hwan." I squeaked out before a tendril slammed itself against my back with incredible force. I was certain I had a broken rib at this point.

"I'm not leaving you both. Give me a few minutes." Hwanwoong shouted before taking off.

I was soon being lifted in the air and my other limbs had been seized. I tried pulling free then remembered how high up I was. I looked over at Geonhak who looked close to passing out.

"Geonhak, stay strong. Hwan is coming." I shouted, hoping he'd hear me and be a bit hopeful.

What worried me was the fact he didn't move rather than him not replying. Did he already pass out? Things really weren't looking good for us. I heard Hwanwoong shout from below and turned to look at him. I winced as a sprout had grabbed his ankle and caused him to trip. He sprinkled water on it then ran over to me.

"Help Geonhak first!" I yelled then felt pain on the back of my head. Things started to look fuzzy.

ㅠㅛㅠㅛ

I groaned in pain and the back of head hurt like crazy. I felt something cool beneath me and wondered what it was. My eyes refused to open and that started to worry me. I felt something cold touch my forehead and so I reached up to feel what it was.

"Seoho?" a familiar voice called out.

"Are you awake...?" another asked with worry.

I opened my eyes slightly and saw a white ceiling. Or gray. I couldn't really tell. I looked to my sides and partially saw two figures hovering over me. I rubbed my eyes then willed them to open fully. It hurt, but I managed to open them.

"You're okay... thank god." Hwanwoong whispered before holding me tight.

Geonhak joined in and I could've swore I heard him sniffle.

"Where are we? What happened?" I asked as my memory was hazy.

"I helped Geonhak like you asked, but afterwards you were just up there all limp..." Hwanwoong said as he pulled away. He looked like he had more to say.

"What else, Hwan?" I asked as he was feeding my curiosity.

"There was blood..." he replied then touched the side of my head, my wrists and ankles. "It was scary. It was starting to eat you..."

Geonhak gave a nod of confirmation then showed me his ankle that had strange marks on it. I never thought they were carnivorous.

"The others. Someone call them." I said in a panic.

Hwanwoong held me close and rubbed circles on my back while saying comforting words. I relaxed and let my body lean into his. He would've put me to sleep if it weren't for Geonhak's voice.

"Where are you three? Nevada? That's so far... Have you ran into any trouble? That's good." said Geonhak. "Be careful on your way here. Seoho and I were eaten by those tendrils believe it or not."

I held Hwanwoong as we listened in on Geonhak's conversation. He noticed us listening then put them on speaker.

"Say hi to the others." said Geonhak as he held his phone out.

"Hi! Guess who?" said one of them with a higher pitch.

"Youngjo?" Hwanwoong said as he stroked my hair.

I couldn't understand why I found it comforting the way he rubbed my back and the way he currently stroked my hair. I heard him draw a sharp breath as I rubbed my head against his chest.

"Seo..." he said as he stopped stroking my hair.

"Yeah?" I said as I looked up at him.

He searched my face then cupped my cheek. What was going through his mind? I felt weird the longer he stared at me. We heard someone clear their throat and saw Geonhak was standing with his arms crossed.

"You two done with your staring contest?" he asked.

We quickly pulled away from each other and I rose to my feet. I started to feel lightheaded and leaned against the wall. I shouldn't have gotten up so fast. I felt Hwanwoong hold me as I steadied myself.

"Should we just head back to get them? I'm actually kind of worried." said Hwanwoong as we started making our way out.

"Yeah. I'm worried too." Geonhak agreed.

Even if I disagreed, they'd force me to go with them either way.