"Hey. There's something I need to talk to you about. But you can't tell Seonghwa," Hongjoong whispered in Minho's ear.

Minho looked over at the sleeping form on the other end of the room.

"Are you sure? Ever since I've joined your group you two have practically shared the same brain cell."

He noticed Hongjoong's eyes were red around the edges, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Please."

Minho glanced over at his other members and made sure they were distracted. He nodded and with Hongjoong's support, he walked over by the door, trying to give him some privacy.

"What do you have to say that's so secretive you can't even tell your other half?" Minho said jokingly but regretted it almost immediately.

"I got bit."

Minho's attempted humor fell short, his expression falling rapidly.

"What?"

"It must have happened while we were racing through the hallway."

"But-you would've-how are you still-"

Hongjoong put a hand over his mouth, not having the energy to audibly shush him.

"Keep it down. I don't want Seonghwa to wake up."

Minho stared at Hongjoong, eyes wide.

"You didn't tell him??"

"No. He can't know. Not until I'm already gone."

"Hongjoong...he won't get to say goodbye."

"We already said goodbye. He just...didn't realize it."

"Still...are you sure you're not just doing this to protect yourself? Because you don't want to face his reaction?" Minho asked hesitantly.

Hongjoong shook his head.

"This has nothing to do with me. I just...after hearing about Yunho and Mingi...I can't...what if he..."

Minho understood.

He was scared Seonghwa would do something crazy.

"But...who is to say he won't still try to follow after you?"

"You. I need you to tell him. I need you to help him get through it. To do what I can't."

Hongjoong's voice broke as his eyes swelled with tears.

"Fuck! I don't want to hurt him!" Hongjoong whimpered, looking away.

Minho knew he had a lot going on in his mind. And he could see the black veins on his neck, creeping their way up.

"Okay. I can do it. You can trust me. If...if that's really what you want."

Hongjoong turned to him, his expression softening.

"Thank you, Minho. I know it's way more than you ever signed up for-"

"I mean, without you I'd be dead. At least three times over. You've saved my ass so many times. The least I can do is save his."

Hongjoong smiled, laughing quietly.

"Thank you."

Minho looked at his hands for a moment, trying to stop himself from crying.

"Do you want me to...you know..."

Hongjoong shook his head.

"You don't have to do that. I'll be okay. It's better if Hwa doesn't have a body to come back to. And then my blood won't be on your hands."

Minho nodded but tears started to drip down his cheeks.

"If you'd left me in that coat room..."

"Hey, don't you dare blame yourself. Hwa and I knew the risks. Okay? We knew it was dangerous. Hell, you didn't even want to leave. We made the decision for you. This is not your fault. You are so strong, Minho. Stronger than you think. You've made it this far because of that, not anything else. I want you to know just how incredible you are."

Minho nodded, shaking with tears. He tried his best to turn away from the others, not wanting to draw attention to Hongjoong.

They might freak out and wake Seonghwa.

Though he didn't agree with it...Minho would do what Hongjoong asked.

Hongjoong looked at his hand, noticing a tremor starting up in his pinky finger.

The one he and Seonghwa had both painted before they'd left Seoul.

"I need...I need to go now."

Minho nodded, unable to say anything without his voice catching.

"Thank you, Minho. I'm sure you'll find your other members. You're getting out of here, okay?"

Hongjoong smiled brightly but Minho could only watch the crimson ring forming around his irises.

"Okay," he whispered and Hongjoong opened the door just a crack, stepping out into the hallway and running as far away as he could.

Minho collapsed against the door, tears flooding from his eyes.

"Woah-Minho what just-where is he going?!" Jeongin started but Seungmin shushed him, pointing at Seonghwa sleeping in the corner.

"He was bitten, wasn't he," Seungmin whispered.

Minho looked up at him sadly, nodding.

"What!? This whole time?? But he hadn't turned yet!" Jeongin stammered, keeping his voice lower.

"I saw him checking his ankle earlier...he was bitten low enough that it didn't take effect for a while," Seungmin muttered.

Jeongin sank into a chair, holding his head in his hands.

"Everyone keeps dying," he whispered, his eyes shimmering with tears.

"Hey, there's still four of us here. And at least five others on the south side. Not everyone is dying," Seungmin said, standing behind him and wrapping his arms over his shoulders.

But Jeongin shook him off.

"For all we know, the rest of our members are dead!" he snapped, turning away.

Minho had finally calmed himself enough to focus on Jeongin's words.

"What does that mean?" he asked, his words laced with concern.

Seungmin gave Jeongin an angry look.

"Nothing. He's being dramatic," Seungmin said, shaking his head.

"No, what does he mean? Where were they?! Were they in the hallway somewhere? Can we get to them?!"

Seungmin angled his head towards Seonghwa's sleeping form, reminding Minho to be quiet.

They all wanted to avoid dropping that bomb for as long as possible.

Jeongin turned to face Minho, his eyes red around the edges.

"We didn't see them."

Minho stared at him.

"What?"

"They weren't on any of the cameras."

Minho felt the ground under him shake, his hands grasping either side of him to keep steady.

"Are you sure? You didn't miss them? They weren't just hiding?"

"We checked every room over twenty times. We didn't see Changbin, Felix, or Han."

Minho felt his chest tighten as his lungs tried to remember how to breathe.

"But that doesn't mean they're not out there! There aren't cameras in any of the maintenance closets or bathrooms. They could be hiding out somewhere," Seungmin interjected, trying to ease his mind.

"But a room with a camera is safer," Minho whispered, his eyes darting back and forth across the floor.

"A maintenance closet has weapons, and it's easy to slip into without having to worry about zombies being inside. Otherwise they probably saw it was dangerous and ran back to the bathroom. The doors on the bathrooms here are super heavy. They would be safest there."

Minho nodded, praying that Seungmin's words would make him feel even a little bit better. But he kept thinking of the worst case scenario.

Seeing their zombie faces on the camera. His friends, no longer in control of their own bodies.

Jisung...

He shook the thoughts away.

Hongjoong told him he had to take care of them. If he let himself spiral, they'd all follow. He needed to be strong.

"They're still out there," Minho said, locking eyes with Jeongin.

Jeongin looked away, shaking his head.

"They are. We'll find them."

Seungmin nodded.

"You didn't find them yet?"

All of them froze as Seonghwa stood, walking over slowly as he rubbed his eyes.

No one spoke.

"Sorry, I must have fallen asleep. How long was I out?"

Minho looked at the ground, his hands shaking.

"Not long," Seungmin whispered.

Seonghwa looked around the room. He took a shaky breath, looking down at his feet.

"He's gone, isn't he?"