Mingi returned two days later on the day Jongho expected to finish the gun. He was amused to find Wooyoung still loitering around the cave.

"You're more patient than I thought. If he doesn't get it done soon, I'll have a word with him. There are better things to do," he chuckled as he dragged up the tarpaulin from his cart and restocked his ware. The crates with resources dominated one of the side rooms, never stopping to awe Wooyoung in their amount.

Wooyoung lounged at the working table, engrossed now that the rifle was so close to being born.

"He's still hurt. Can't push around a wounded man."

"He doesn't need his leg to build the gun, does he?" Mingi asked with a glance at Jongho's merry tinkering.

"I also decided to stay," Wooyoung continued, picking at his sleeve nonchalantly. Now, he properly caught Mingi's attention.

"Oh?" The trader asked, leaning back against his cart with a protein bar in his fingers. It crunched when he chomped down on it. "Did they convince you?"

Wooyoung nodded. "Seonghwa isn't what I expected, but he makes believing much easier. And there're guns and ammunition here," he chortled. Mingi toasted his snack to that.

"True, true. In that case, I will take you and San along to a raid one of these days. We will get an extra batch of metal for you to shred the fouls with," he promised. He went back to work while Wooyoung lingered.

"Can I ask why you aren't joining? You believe enough in this mission to help, but you don't want to come along?"

"I know a good deal when I see one. It's a wager, our lives against the world's cure. But what use does the world's cure have for me? I live comfortably as I do. Instead of unnecessary risks, I only take deals where I know I make a profit," Mingi elaborated his shrewd tactics. Wooyoung was left to ponder it but Jongho gave a mild reply.

"Mingi helped me a lot, but he knows his place is here."

"If you make it, I can offer you a great new world sale, though. I would hope business booms as more people dare venture outside."

"I bet it will," Wooyoung grinned. He couldn't imagine such a world, but he didn't have to. Either he would see with his own eyes, or reality would snatch them back and lull them into the usual routine. For now, foolish hope was a welcome distraction.

"Seonghwa should get a free lifetime supply for all that. Speaking of, he wanted to try out exerting his power on a smaller level so we can be sure they are up to date," Jongho threw in. He picked out tiny screws holding the gun together so it wouldn't blow up in Wooyoung's hands.

"How so?" Wooyoung imagined a bigger net of electricity and technology was needed to broaden his range.

"With magnificence, of course! You saw the water in the cave downstairs?"

Both Wooyoung and Mingi hung from Jongho's lips, curious where this would go.

"If we locate him nearby, his electrodynamic waves or whatever he calls them should spread far enough to coat any nearby metal with enough magnetism to disturb the ball's gravity core. It sounded super complicated, but the gist of it is that we should be able to pull down the whole ball. That would mean infinite water!" Jongho's eyes sparkled at the imagination. No water gatherer could get this much at once. The cave might drown in all that water, but Wooyoung wanted to see it.

"Can we bathe in it? A real bath?" He asked, baffled at the idea alone. The water seemed too precious to soil with their dirty bodies, but a bath sounded heavenly.

"We will have so much of it, you can definitely bathe in it. There will be designated bath water and designated drinking water and designated just to look at water!" Jongho snickered.

Wooyoung wanted to get right to it, but he needed to be patient. Though the idea was in the making, it was far from ready.

"Let's trade, Mingi. And I want to see the car now that I am part of the team," Wooyoung said, pushing off the table to follow the beckon of Mingi's hand. He didn't know where San wandered off to, and he didn't care. Every minute free from his penetrating stare was a blessing.

Jongho brandished his screwdriver.

"You will be baffled. It's almost done and as soon as I finish it, we can depart. She's a beauty, yes, she is."

Wooyoung instinctively picked up the bag of raisins and nuts Yunho always liked to salvage. It reminded him painfully of his boyfriend, but was such sentimentality worth the trade? They couldn't share them anymore. Yet they reminded Wooyoung of his merry munching in the most heart-wrenchingly sweet ways.

"I have high expectations," Wooyoung snickered. Mingi watched as he bit his lip and contemplated the sorrow in his heart against reason.

"Right after we are done here," Jongho promised before he buried himself in work again. His overgrown hair was tied back and still kept falling into his eyes.

He took the bag. It was provisions, Yunho or not. Wooyoung could nibble them on lonely nights when his heart ached for his lost lover.

While he and Mingi traded back and forth, San, unfortunately, made his way into the entrance area. He was amused to see them all gathered there, Jongho working with a hum while Wooyoung and Mingi argued about the worth of a battery.

"Right on time," Jongho greeted him. "I was about to show Wooyoung the car."

"Oh, I can't wait," San snickered. "My village has a rackety old car I occasionally got to steer."

"You can drive?" It burst out of Wooyoung before he could remind himself to hate San quietly. Instantly, he returned to his scowl when San grinned at him.

"It's not that difficult once you know what things to press at the same time."

"Then you can be our driver," Jongho decided, satisfied with the skill his recent casting amassed. San shrugged.

"Why not?"

Wooyoung grumbled to himself. He hated San had a skill he didn't have, though driving couldn't be that hard. Wooyoung had to find something to outdo him with.

Jongho stretched his leg and invited them to come along to check out the car. Mingi stayed behind to take care of his cart while Jongho brought them down the sole tunnel big enough to fit a vehicle.

"I moved it over here so it wouldn't take up all the space at the front. Mingi needs it," Jongho explained as he limped ahead of them. San brandished a lantern and shone into the shadows shrouding them.

"Did you test it?"

Jongho shook his head.

"No, but we have time. Now that I have a team, we can leave as soon as it's ready. I wouldn't risk carrying Seonghwa and his battery by hand all the way to Anda."

Perhaps Wooyoung hadn't given him enough credit. Where Jongho failed on the social cue not to fucking talk to strangers, he knew how to strategize his mission.

No more words were needed when they entered another massive cavern. Jongho took the lantern from San and lit various light sources around the room with its fire. Gradually, shadows peeled from the darkness and formed the metal housing of a vehicle. It stood taller than many others Wooyoung had seen, and its thick tires were stripped from its axis. The outside was a deep black, and it smelled of petrol and iron.

San whistled through his teeth.

"That's an impressive one," he lauded. Though Wooyoung had no idea about cars, he followed San to circle around it.

"It's called a jeep, or rather, we guess so, since it's written on the back. It's sturdy enough to resist the desert and some rougher terrain. Seonghwa recommended it. It can fit five people and has storage space and wheels and another wheel for steering," Jongho listed. He joined their ogling, proud of his work on it.

"I can't wait to try it out," San replied. Wooyoung knew the tires had to be on there before it went anywhere, but he had never seen a car in action. How fast could they go?

He would probably find out soon. San wasn't the first person he would trust at the wheel, but also not the worst.

"Seonghwa can help you if you need some tips and tricks."

Wooyoung ran his fingers over the smooth coating of the metal beast. It suited San.

"You can trust me. I might not be the best driver, but Seonghwa and I can get us through the desert," the raider assured, confident in his abilities.

Jongho sunk into a chair and equipped himself with his tools.

"I will have her ready soon, so you can test her out before we leave. I would hate to finish our preparations and depart, only to have her fall apart a day in. Seonghwa will check on as much as we can pinpoint and once she survived her first journey, we are good to go."

"Mingi suggested we join him on a raid," Wooyoung blurted out. He regretted it when San caught his gaze and he was utterly unprepared for its intensity. Purposefully cold, he jerked his chin at the car.

"He wants us two to accompany him to get more equipment and ammunition for the mission. Perhaps we can try it out then."

San probably would have continued staring until Wooyoung melted into a puddle on the ground, but Jongho saved them. He worked merrily, twisting and screwing on things Wooyoung couldn't name for his life.

"Sounds good!" He sang. "I will have her ready, yes, she will be a beauty and get you anywhere."

Once more, Wooyoung studied their new method of transportation. He and Yunho never had anything but their own feet to carry them. Like many others, they were fascinated with the metal monsters buried under the sand. Most had the best loot since people used them to get away from the bombings as far as possible. As scary as they were, they were also practical.

Perhaps he would enjoy traveling by car more than he thought. It definitely was the safer option than going by foot, and much quicker. A journey this far would get them to the brink of their human capabilities either way. This way, they could save some energy.

"I will stay and see if I can help. Tell Mingi that we can depart anytime. He makes the call," San ordered Wooyoung.

Who was he, his dog?

Wooyoung rolled his eyes. He was about to argue back, but his words died in his throat when San pushed past him and rolled up his sleeves. He exposed the lean muscles Wooyoung fantasized about last night, and a blush crept into his cheeks.

No one could ever know.

Not in the mood to squabble anymore when it only fueled his depraved brain, Wooyoung whirled around.

Perhaps San was much worse at driving than he pretended and would get them in trouble. At least then, Wooyoung could take the lead and show that he had more potential. Looking at San was much more humiliating when his brain kept finding new things to like about him.

Wooyoung wished Yunho were here. Not only would he charm everyone with his grins and make them forget about San's presence, but he would occupy Wooyoung's treacherous mind. It should be thinking only about him, not about getting ravaged by some rotten guy who thought he was hot shit.

Grumbling, Wooyoung made his way back to the main cave. He should talk more with Seonghwa once the opportunity arose. The AI had so much to tell him and perhaps he could calculate the likelihood that Yunho made it out and was waiting for Wooyoung out there. What if he came back from the mission and found Yunho under the blue sky? How sweet would their kiss of reunion be?

Dreamy, Wooyoung informed Mingi that they were willing on their first expedition as members of the team. Then he went to scavenge some food. Jongho's pantry was extensive and though they would take most of the food along anyway, Wooyoung liked that he only had to go to that closet to get a meal instead of having to chase down coyotes.

He sat alone in his room as he wolfed down his food and promised himself to find only the best loot once they went out with Mingi. If he could reduce San's worth to no more but the body behind the jeep's wheel, he would. No more credit that could make him any more cocky. His arrogant stare and brazen smirks clearly weren't good for Wooyoung's sanity.