Wooyoung postponed figuring out his newest developments with San. He stole out of his room in the morning while San still slumbered, bandages loose around his jaw to expose softly breathing lips and expression lax. Though his rugged handsomeness begged Wooyoung to stay, he shut the door behind him quietly.

He didn't pretend it didn't happen. But he needed time to sort his thoughts. San wasn't teasing him any longer. Genuine interest carried in his every gesture. But Wooyoung felt both hot and cold with his pursuit.

During his quick trip to his room, Wooyoung picked up his belongings. He shouldered his new rifle and slung his bag over the same arm. As he grabbed his bottle of water to carry by hand, he couldn't believe the luxury he experienced here. Even water had become a regular consumption good.

Would he return? If everything went well and the clouds disappeared from the sky, would they still come back? Wasn't this place the best home?

No, once the fouls and the deserts were gone, they could live as Yunho wanted. In a beautiful house above the ground, with windows looking out over the landscape instead of being barred up.

Wooyoung would find out. For now, he bid his farewell to this room and thanked it for its service.

Since he was the first at the car, he loaded the bags and crates with the equipment they gathered inside. Jongho joined him later, with Seonghwa in his arms. He still yawned and Seonghwa chirped at him to take it slow, as excited as he was.

"Mingi went out to check the route for fouls. San?"

"Still asleep," Wooyoung muttered. He didn't mention how peaceful San was in sleep. How warm his body and how soothing the weight of his arm. The water stripped away their filth as if taking away armor.

Thankfully, Jongho didn't ask how he knew either. He simply accepted the response and continued munching on his breakfast.

"How are you feeling, Seonghwa? Are you ready?"

The AI was perched in the open trunk of the jeep, overlooking the room. Instead of his usual screen with the torch, he displayed a map. A green line marked the path from their location up to the CRC. Right now, he was zoomed out so far that Wooyoung had an overview of various state and country borders. This would be a long trip.

"I can't wait to go on this adventure since I was made for this purpose. Though I am glad my power functioned so far, I'm afraid it won't operate on such a grand scale."

Wooyoung gnawed on his fingernails. For once, they didn't taste like dirt or had crunching sand stuck below. His squeaky cleanliness weirded him out.

But remembering his bath meant remembering his kiss with San and the night of coziness that followed. Wooyoung wasn't ready yet to address the tingle in his lips.

"Don't worry. You have the satellites to help you, right? You only need to do as much as you are able to, and they will take care of the rest."

Of course, none of them understood the details as well as Seonghwa did, but their support helped his nervousness.

"You're right. I should concentrate on the pilgrimage first. We need to be safe since many dangers lurk out there." Seonghwa declared it as if he planned to defend the rest of them and Wooyoung chuckled where he sat with his gun against his shoulder. He slept unfairly well, yet he was exhausted from his escapades.

San joined them soon when Jongho finished his checkup on the jeep's fuel. They transported several canisters of it but it wouldn't last them all the way. They would need to find old fuel stations and hope they had leftovers that didn't get blown to bits.

When their last companion entered the room, his eyes automatically skimmed it. He found Wooyoung on the ground and their eyes lingered helplessly. Though there was so much to say, neither had the words. Nonetheless, when Wooyoung glanced away, the heat in his cheeks wasn't unpleasant. Somehow, he couldn't wait for the time when he and San tried to get things rolling. They were on a similar page.

After all, Wooyoung decided to move on. To stop digging in a past that was already lost. The future bore too many dangers to be distracted, and San had become part of his life, as unlikely as it seemed at first.

Soon, the jeep was ready. Seonghwa was strapped into the middle back seat, secured against all bumps and shaking from the car. San found out that he could adjust the chairs and spent a while perfecting his. Mingi would sit at the front with him to guide the safest route. Wooyoung and Jongho would stay at the back and the former would shoot out of the window in case dangers trailed them.

From their perspective, it was a sustainable plan. How fate would treat them on their way up to Anda would be a surprise. Thankfully, all of them knew how to adapt.

Seonghwa kept chattering about things none of them could comprehend in his excitement. He couldn't wait for these doors to open to reveal the world and Wooyoung listened to him, endeared. He wanted to show Seonghwa everything he knew and more; wanted to share that joy over the surroundings Wooyoung found bleak. During his limited time out in freedom before the next facility, Seonghwa should see only the nicest things. Not the clouds and the fouls but the rocks and the peculiar artifacts left from the world before the holocaust.

As soon as Mingi returned, they would depart and both nervosity and giddiness swirled in Wooyoung's belly. He looked forward to getting out of this place and move on. It was natural to him. Perhaps it could help him overcome his lingering remorse about Yunho. Their lives were never meant to be long and happy. They could dream all they wanted, but the reality of their lives was their sudden and unwanted death.

Wooyoung would miss him for a long time.

Leaning against the jeep's side, Wooyoung contemplated the package with cigarettes Mingi left on the table. He often relished their calming function, but he tried not to smoke too many of them so he wouldn't crave them when none were available.

On cue, San slipped from his seat and seized both package and lighter. He put one stick between his lips and offered another one to Wooyoung. Amused over the mutual thought, Wooyoung accepted it.

Jongho exchanged his bandages.

"Do you think we can all sleep in the car?" He asked Seonghwa as he stored his rationed medicine box under the front seat. In the meantime, San lit his cigarette and leaned in. The other two were too occupied figuring out the space inside the vehicle to glance up as Wooyoung lit his cigarette on San's. Their lingering eyes conveyed a silent message, but San didn't dare anything beyond that. He slumped back into his seat while Wooyoung contemplated the ceiling. The smoke filled his lungs to tickle and itch at them all the same.

Already, he felt calmer. Yunho and he had smoked occasionally like this. Never before a grand mission, but after narrowly escaping death. They needed the smoke to calm their hysteria.

Seonghwa piped up in his seat.

"Those aren't good for your health. Don't smoke too much."

Wooyoung snickered. So that was a common comment. Even Jongho berated Mingi for it.

"Do they harm us?"

"They can give you illnesses, yeah. Perhaps the effect dulled after all the years they spent buried in the dirt, but I wouldn't count on it."

San and Wooyoung exchanged a look. Then, with mutual shrugs, they decided one would be fine.

They didn't have to wait much longer after that. Steps crunched before the gates, alerting them of someone's presence. With bated breath, they paused. Often, strangers spotted the massive doors and drew in to solve their mysteries. They failed on the elaborate locks, but it was best not to tempt their curiosity further by making noise.

But then, fingers tapped the buttons on the keypad and a key twisted in its lock. The small door within the larger gate opened, and a ray of daylight crept across the floor. Mingi wore his long trench coat and a similar long-range gun to Wooyoung, but less elaborate. Wooyoung lit up and pushed off the car to check on him, but his step fell short when Mingi turned his head under his wide-brimmed hat. He addressed a person coming inside behind him.

"Watch the threshold. Here you go." Mingi held the door for the stranger and, stunned, the others watched. Everyone sat at the ready; what was going on? Mingi seemed too unfazed to be in the middle of getting kidnapped. And, of course, he wouldn't betray the mission so close to their departure.

Jongho also emerged from the car to approach them. Silent and with his hand on the wheel, San scrutinized the person shrouded in light and shadow at the same time.

"What happened? Who is that?" Jongho asked as he took Mingi's gun from him. The tall trader took his hat off to ruffle through his fiery hair.

"I found him outside, wandering the cliffs, and he looked starved, so I brought him here. Do we have a quick meal for him before we leave?"

Instantly, Wooyoung felt bad for suspecting this stranger. No one knew about Seonghwa and their mission. How would anyone blackmail Mingi about it? No, outside of this haven, people starved and died to the desert and its coyotes as regular.

Ashamed of his assumptions, Wooyoung glanced away. He held his cigarette between his fingers while he didn't need it and the heat of San's thigh by his side offered enough distraction so he wouldn't stare rudely while they fed the poor, wandering soul. Reading his mind once more, San nudged his knee against him. They grinned at each other, and maybe this entire ordeal wasn't so bad. Ducked on this side of the car and hunched over, he didn't mind exposing the fungus crawling up his cheek. His grin was shrewd and handsome, and that dimple added a certain softness to it. It lured Wooyoung to another kiss, but that would have to wait. Wooyoung wasn't ready to make this public, and they needed privacy to get used to each other.

"Oh, you poor you. Are you injured? We have medical supplies." Jongho gushed as they helped the man sit on the other side of the cavern at a desk. His huff was labored.

"I'm fine," their guest whispered, voice hoarse from the time spent outside without any drink. He gladly accepted a candy bar and a can of soup but hesitated towards the water.

"That's too much. I can't take that from you," he muttered. Mingi waved it off, and Jongho also insisted.

"Have it. We have plenty and we are about to leave."

Though reluctant, their guest accepted. Wooyoung tiptoed to glance over the roof of the car. Seonghwa stayed silent in his seat so as not to expose himself. Wooyoung didn't see more of the stranger than a head of dark hair, but he resonated with his shyness. Many others submitted to greed in the desert. Didn't hesitate to shoot up a shelter to loot it. This person had some manners; the same reason Jongho liked watching Wooyoung during his raids.

But something was off. Perhaps it was the bob of his head as he ate, or the choice of his words. Jongho and Mingi seemed unbothered, but something irked Wooyoung.

He glanced down at San, but he was nonchalant behind the shadow of his hair over his eye. He finished his cigarette and accepted Wooyoung's with an arched brow when Wooyoung handed it to him.

Wooyoung rounded the car, blinking against the bright lights of Jongho's working station.

"Did you come from far? What's your name?" Jongho made small talk while they paid their dusty guest company. They couldn't offer him shelter for the night, but he didn't seem to depend on it.

The stranger opened his mouth to speak and finally, finally, Wooyoung saw him well enough. The long legs clad in dirty black jeans, the worn leather jacket, and the pale green bag.

Stab after stab, each a painful reminder of a recently buried past.

"Ah, his name is-"

Though Wooyoung was speechless, the words burst from him without a prompt. This wasn't a person who assumed his appearance. It was him. The same eyes, the same pale skin. The same skittish smile that made Wooyoung's heart flutter.

"Yunho."

**********

Yaay end of book 1! We will leave this one on a cliffhanger but part 2 isn't far, I promise ^^ I hope those who want to know how it continues stick around, I will update you on my twitter (Susimau_s) once it drops!

As of now, I will take a two day break because I have certain captains to square up with. Afterwards, we will take a little detour to WooSang in an angel/demon setting before we continue here! Stay tuned for that one ^^

I hope to see you soon and thank you for reading and leaving feedback! I have fun sharing this with you ^^