"Hey, Bin."

Changbin stared at him, unable to move.

His eyes were dark crimson, his body coated in blood.

But that smile...

He watched as a red tear slipped down his cheek.

"Yongbok," Changbin whispered.

His hand shook as he reached up, using his hand to wipe the tear from Felix's cheek.

"I'm here, Bin."

They heard footsteps as Kyungsoon approached, moving to stand behind Felix.

"Don't touch him!" Changbin shouted, his eyes filling with tears as he held onto Felix's cheek.

"I wouldn't dare mess with your temper," Kyungsoon laughed, putting her hands up in mock surrender.

"Why are you doing this?" Changbin sobbed, as Felix reached a hand up to his face, wiping the tears.

"It's alright, Bin," Felix whispered with a soft smile.

Changbin shook his head, pulling his hands back to hold Felix's in his own.

"I can bring him back. For a price," Kyungsoon said, her eyes glinting with amusement.

"What do you mean—bring him back?" Jongho asked.

"He's nothing more than a broken toy. I can't do much with him and that hobbled leg. So, I'll turn him back. Undo the zombification."

Changbin looked up at her, his eyes soft. They were almost hopeful.

"Bring him...back?" he whispered.

Jongho knew he'd have to be objective.

"How do we know you can even do it?" he snapped.

"See, there's my skeptical little Jongho. Why don't I show you?" Kyungsoon sighed, pulling a syringe from her pocket.

Changbin pulled Felix back, defensively as she approached.

"Well, do you want me to turn him back or not?" she sighed, holding the needle between her fingers.

Changbin looked at it. His eyes danced between the needle and Felix's soft expression.

Jongho stepped up, putting himself between Kyungsoon and Felix.

"What makes you think we would make a deal with you? Aren't you going to tell us your conditions?" he said sharply.

"Ah, you're right. I almost forgot! But these conditions aren't for you, Jongho. Only Changbin can decide."

Suddenly, a zombie approached from her side, grabbing Jongho and holding him tightly. Changbin leapt to action, reaching to save him but Kyungsoon placed a hand on his.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt him until you answer my questions. I just have a few things I ask of you. Are you ready to hear the conditions?" Kyungsoon asked, teasing him with the syringe.

Changbin looked at Jongho who struggled aggressively to no avail. He wasn't going anywhere until Changbin did something.

"Fine. What do you want?" he asked, still holding Felix's hand in his own. He tried to ignore how icy it felt in his warm hands.

"That's a good boy. First, I get Jongho. I didn't lie about you being my bias, Choi Jongho. It'd be such a shame if I did all of this for nothing."

Jongho started squirming aggressively, trying to break free.

"Changbin! You have to listen to me! We don't even know if that syringe is going to work! Please, don't do anything you're going to regret!" he screamed, trying to escape.

"Can you shut him up? He's interrupting me," Kyungsoon said to the zombie, who brought a hand to cover Jongho's mouth.

Jongho didn't dare to bite down, not sure how easy it was to contract the virus.

Kyungsoon turned back to Changbin.

"You hardly even know the kid. I'm sure Felix is worth much more than him. I do have one other request. I'll need you to leave the others upstairs where my brother can take care of them. I'd like to leave with as many puppets as possible—seeing as three of mine decided to shoot themselves. So, what do you say?"

Changbin just stared at her.

He knew he should be hearing how awful her words were. How crazy she sounded.

But he couldn't get past her first words.

I can bring him back.

He looked at Felix. His little freckles. The way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. His soft hands.

What if...

What if she could do it?

Jongho screamed into the zombie's hand, tears streaming down his face.

"Do you want proof? Here."

With a sharp motion, Kyungsoon stabbed the needle into Felix's leg, causing Changbin to grab him in fear, sweeping him into his arms.

"I said don't touch him!" he yelled, looking down into Felix's eyes, searching for a semblance of life.

When he'd just about given up hope, his heart skipped a beat.

The red started to disappear from his eyes.

"Felix?? FELIX!!" he yelled, reaching a hand up to his cheek, trying to meet his eyes.

"B-bin? Wha—what happened—"

Changbin's face was coated in tears. They dripped down onto Felix's soft cheeks, rolling down to the ground.

"FELIX! Can—is that—is that really you??"

Felix looked around, suddenly uneasy. He leaned over, vomiting on the ground. Changbin held him steady, setting him back on his feet with an arm for support.

"Felix!? Are you—are you okay!?"

Felix stumbled back in horror.

"Bin—did—did I—was that—"

Changbin looked around Felix to see the human parts in his vomit. He almost gagged himself but he stayed strong. He turned Felix around, pulling him into his chest.

"That wasn't you. That wasn't you," he whispered.

"I—I—"

Changbin shushed him, holding him tightly.

"Well, you either pay up or give me my puppet back. What's it gonna be?"

Changbin looked up, meeting Kyungsoon's eyes.

Felix looked around, finally seeing Jongho. He stood, looking defeated. His empty eyes.

"They'll never...Mingi...Yunho...they could've..."

Felix looked at Changbin.

"Bin...what is she talking about? What did you do?"

Changbin looked at him helplessly.

"I didn't—I didn't do anything—not yet—she just—I couldn't—"

"Save your friends or save Felix? What's it going to be?" Kyungsoon said, laying it out plainly.

Felix turned to Changbin in horror.

"Bin...no...you can't..."

Changbin looked into his eyes, his own brimming with tears.

"How can I—how can I—lose you again?" he whispered, starting to sob.

"Bin. You have to let me go. I'll never forgive you. I don't want to...not after what I've done...I can't live with it...I told you to forget about me. Please."

Changbin stared down at him, his lip quivering. He shook his head.

"I tried! I tried, Lix. But when I saw you..."

Felix grabbed Changbin's shirt collar.

"Bin! Don't do this! Don't do this to yourself! I'm not worth it!" he wailed, shaking his head as his eyes erupted in tears.

"Clock's ticking," Kyungsoon said and Changbin turned, seeing the crowd of zombies beginning to swarm them once again.

Changbin looked down at Felix, holding his face in his hands.

"I love you, Yongbok. I love you so, so much."

Felix shook his head, trying to pull away from Changbin's grip.

But suddenly, Changbin felt a slight tremor. Felix's ankle twitched.

"Come on! Third option is I get all of you! What's it gonna be?" Kyungsoon asked, her voice hiking in impatience.

That's when Changbin realized.

She didn't have an antidote.

It was only temporary.

Felix was turning again.

He wouldn't be Felix much longer.

Felix felt it, too.

They locked eyes and Changbin nodded.

"You haven't found a cure yet, have you?" he said quietly, looking Kyungsoon in the eye.

She stared back at him, her expression cracking.

"What do you mean? Clearly, that was Felix talking to you! He doesn't look like a zombie to me!"

"You want to use them as test subjects until you find a cure. Because...you must have infected someone else. Someone you didn't mean to hurt."

She stared at him, scoffing.

"If you don't trust my antidote, then I'll just take Felix back. It's your choice," she said, trying to maintain her composure.

Changbin stepped forward, twisting his gun in his hands.

"I have a fourth option," Changbin said, his expression dark.

She looked at him in fear.

"I kill you and your brother and we get the hell out of here."

He held up his gun, pointing it at her head.

"Wait!! WAIT! Please! Don't touch my brother! I can't lose him, too!"

Changbin lowered his gun.

"Let my friends go. If you work with me, we can get real help to find a cure."

Changbin held his hand out, his waiting for her to grab on.

She looked at him, her eyes watering.

The zombie holding Jongho released him, backing away. The others moved back into the auditorium, leaving the four of them alone.

"You promise? You'll help me? Even after everything I've done?" she whispered, her voice shaky.

Changbin nodded.

"You can still save them."

She held onto his hand and Jongho looked between them, unsure what to do. He still didn't know what Changbin's answer would've been if the cure had worked.

It should've been no right from the start.

"Come on, Jongho. We need to get out of here."

"I don't trust her," Jongho said, not moving from his position.

"I don't either. But she's our only hope of finding a cure. You said we needed to save as many people as possible. If we can reverse the effects..."

Jongho nodded, understanding.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was right. She was the only one who could do it.

They ran together, heading to the stairwell. Changbin dared one glance back, meeting Felix's eyes.

Felix smiled, as a red tear fell down his cheek, the crimson finally consuming his eyes once again.