'So...let's just say...if the world were to come to an end tomorrow, what would you guys do in the time remaining?'

Mr. Hwang said, as the chalk in his hands aggressively echoed his words on the old blackboard. His students were so used to this signature method of him, using either seemingly deep-ass thought-provoking questions or those umbrella philosophical terminologies, just to lead into some stuff like a career guidance section, like today. It still worked anyway, since the idea of death, and the vision of humanity reaching an end altogether, were not really the types of thought that often entered these young innocent minds.

'I think it depends on what sort of catastrophic event we are talking about...like is it an asteroid hitting the Earth or a zombie or a robot apocalypse...I mean...if the circumstance was so abrupt that we were allowed no time to prepare for it, there'd be no point in asking th-'

'Hey, stop that nerdy ass of yours, Wonwoo! That's a rhetorical question!'

'And do you even know what a rhetorical question is, you dumb hamster? Mr.Hwang's literally asking us to provide him with an answer.'

'I'm sorry on behalf of these two, sir' – the petite boy sandwiched between Wonwoo and Soonyoung finally voiced, before giving a meaningful look to his friends, 'stop embarrassing me, you fools'.

'So you tell me, Jihoon, what would you do then?'

...

**************

'I'm a man of his words, y'know?'

'Huh?', Soonyoung asked, still fixating on how to sweep as many edible things as possible into their cart and make it back to their team on time. They only got less than 24 hours left anyway.

'Mr.Hwang, 10 years ago, he asked us what we'd do on the last day of earth...'

Jihoon could tell he'd succeeded in reliving the moment in Soonyoung's mind from the brief pause in the older's movement, which was a cue for him to continue, 'and my response was that I'd love to throw a party with my loved ones, cause what'd be worse than dying is dying and starving at the same time'. The little nugget of memory enabled Jihoon to hear his friend's giggles again after what felt like an eternity. Soonyoung's high-pitched laughs that were filled with breathless gasps, Soonyoung's eyes that'd shrink into two mere thin lines whenever he found something hilarious. This was so uncharacteristic of Jihoon, but he had to admit that he'd been missing this playful side of Soonyoung a little bit too much.

'So Wonwoo's a fortuneteller then', Soonyoung struggled to state, in the midst of attempts to catch his breath.

'Why?'

'Since he was true about the asteroid part.'

----

About the asteroid part, it had been believed to be a mere tale of the ancient past, yet exhibited itself as a real Grim Reaper to the entirety of mankind 3 months ago. It was one fine day when folks from NASA cut off whatever that was being broadcast on every television in every household to inform what was later referred to as 'the worldwide death bell': that an asteroid the same size of Chicxulub – the massive killer planet that wiped out dinosaurs 65 million years ago – was going to hit the Earth in 3 months, and nothing could be done about it. No matter how hard they tried, it was eventually concluded that current technology advances were insufficient to perform any kind of deflection that could possibly make the object miss us.

It was one fine day when all of a sudden, all civilizations were sentenced to death.

It was comical actually, considering how much humans had always been taking pride in being superior in the food chain, facing every challenge in the course of history, unfolding new possibilities and new insights into the world. Then boom. Just one moment and everything'd go back to nothingness. That vision shook the core of individuals and societies all alike. It challenged ideologies, beliefs and religions. It destroyed social manners and orders as if such concepts had never been in existence. And when a sense of purpose was absent, and notions like money, status or power held no more substance, life became absolute chaos. While parts of humanity were able to keep their final cells of sanity and finally accept their miserable no-future future, waiting for the end of time next to their important people, the remaining threw their tantrum in pretty extreme ways. Some had an urge to kill themselves. And some killed others, which obviously did nothing but worsened the scope.

And so there came the third type in the spectrum. Those who saved. The idea might sound like a unnecessary one given the context, however, such selfless souls were called for in order to give people the peace of mind before confronting their mutual capital punishment.

So Yoon Jeonghan sent a text to the group chat of his dearest friends one day that said:

'Hey darlings, seems like the government is in desperate needs of some volunteers. Y'all wanna join and then spend that doomsday together?'

And they did.

**************

10 days prior to the end of world

At this point, a meteor shower was no longer a thing of romance or good luck that people would look forward to with high hope and excitement. That excitement was now replaced by pure fear and despair. There were literally dropping rocks from the sky, some with boiling temperatures, and worse, some even exploded when they reached the ground, hurting anything and anyone in their proximity. Once again, humans were sarcastically reminded that Judgement Day was just around the corner.

Hundreds of meteorites rained down Changwon today, destroying what had been once one of the most livable cities in South Korea. Houses engulfed in flames, cars left abandoned on the streets. People fled their own neighborhood in search of any alternative shelter that could give a roof over their head for their last couple of days.

Vernon was guided to a school hall several blocks away from where he'd been staying earlier. To be more precise, someone literally had to pull his hand while he was rooted to the spot with terror. Couldn't blame him though. Cause apparently, no matter how frequently disastrous events might occur, one could never get accustomed to them. Not to mention Vernon'd just witnessed a person get hit and burned right in front of his bloody eyes.

It was not until nearly half an hour later when he was able to get himself together and took in his new surroundings. This place was going to reach its full capacity in no time, he thought. The floor was filled with tents and depressed faces, and the air was so suffocating he wondered if he could even continue to hold on for-

'Holy shit, Chwe Vernon, why the heck are you here?'

'M-Mingyu hyung?'

In utter shock, Vernon looked up to the face that was unmistakably Mingyu's. Said man was holding a safety light stick while looking ridiculously presentable – raven hair perfectly parted and impeccable skin as always, as if he still managed to set aside time for his skincare routine each day. What were the odds of one running into his friends in thousands, maybe millions of people, in such chaotic times? But Vernon couldn't care less about that, for his heart felt so relieved right now, with the appearance of his beloved hyung.

'So you saw the group chat and came here? And hey, are you alright? You're one of those who've just arrived from that street struck by fireballs right?', Mingyu said in one breath, eyeing his brother up and down for any signs of injuries.

'Uhm...no, I didn't. My phone's broken. And yes I was almost barbecued just now but well...you see...I'm still alive now, so no worries...', Vernon, flabbergasted as he was, still managed to speak in his usual steady manner, and before he could even finish, he found himself enveloped in his hyung's big and very warm arms.

'My gosh...I'm so happy, bro. You have no idea how miserable we've been believing that we'd never get to see your face again, especially Seungkwan, you know...that boy adores you so much-'

'Wait...what? What do you mean by 'we'? The others are also here?'

'Yes...Vernonie, yes. We've been here for a while. All of us.'

Vernon barely cried. Almost never over the course of the 10 years they'd known each other. Not when he was badly bullied at school. Not when his first pet dog died 5 years ago. Nor when everyone was bawling their eyes out at an emotional scene in the cinema. It wasn't that he was indifferent, crying just wasn't his medium for responding to and dealing with things.

Yet the moment he was led to the room behind the main hall and his eyes came in contact with those of Jeonghan, Seokmin and Minghao, it was as if he'd been saving all the tears throughout his life for this. He dropped to the floor and started weeping into his palms, which at some point were replaced by the soft fabric of Jeonghan's jacket. Vernon'd been running for God knows how long, days, perhaps weeks, he'd basically lost any track of time. He should have been by his family's side by now, but those fucking meteorites had rendered him homeless by mercilessly exploding the railway just right before he could grab a ticket to his town. He literally had to fish a phone out of the pocket of a dead body to make a phone call to his family. Needless to say, the pain of knowing that your dear son and brother had to wander around in the middle of what was like a battle field, highly destined to die a lonely death, was indescribable. And all he could do was to keep his pent-up emotions and try to be a strong man, promising that he'd call from time to time so that they could feel like he was still with them. So he tried, yet it was too tiring. And when he thought he couldn't do it no more, hope manifested itself in the form of friends whom he cherished with his every piece of heart.

The older guys listened sympathetically as Vernon narrated his trauma, nodding along at times, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Seungkwan and Chan showed up shortly after, the former made a scene, just as expected, followed by Seokmin having to brief them on the series of events that had just happened.

'So now you guys tell me, why on Earth are y'all here?' Vernon questioned as he was munching on his ham bread. How come all of a sudden bread tastes like high-end food now, he admired inwardly.

'It was all my idea, darling. So instead of sitting at home for 3 months straight waiting for that alien shit to come to us, I thought it'd be better to lift your ass up and be...you know...impactful.' Jeonghan shrugged, as if going out into meteor showers and deciding to die far away from home were not that much of a big deal, '...but more importantly, I want to spend my ending chapter with you guys...I don't know...your faces just automatically popped up in my head when I saw the news. So my plan was simply to spend as much time as possible with my family, and then the last 3 weeks would be dedicated to you my bros...And you know what is the best part? That everyone, including our families, really approves of it. They love us and always know how much we love each other.'

'One thing Jeonghan-hyung didn't mention tho, we've in fact been looking for you, Vernonie.' Jun, who'd joined the pack 15 minutes ago, chimed in, without failing to notice the way Vernon's pupils got wider at the new piece of information.

'The phone signals've been shitty, but we tried to call you and your fam and eventually got through your parents once. All we've got to know is that you're in Changwon so that's why we're here, in hope of finding you...and...you know the rest...our prayers have been heard.'

Thunderstruck, Vernon could do nothing but shake his head, his eyes closed, trying the best not to break down yet another time. These guys...even on the verge of getting wiped out very soon, still cared so much about him, and even went the extra mile just to look for signs of his existence. He felt so loved, to the point that all the hardships he'd been suffering seemed worthwhile.

'As long as I'm with them, even if the world ends tomorrow, it'll probably be just fine.'

**************

5 days prior to the end of world

Seungkwan rested his head on Seungcheol's shoulder, who was looking back at him with unmeasurable amounts of adoration. Sitting opposite them was Joshua and Soonyoung, with their respective cups of coffee. They'd just finished their 'shift' for today, which was intense and exhausting as hell. Totally made sense considering they were the only souls with a medical degree here, so every time they were hastily dragged to a bunch of newcomers with either a bleeding head or a burned arm, they knew they weren't going to have a good night's sleep that day.

'Stop making that face, Seungkwan-ah, you should feel lucky cause we don't need to run errands outside like the other guys, at least it's more breathable here, don't you agree?', Joshua said as he sipped his coffee, small dreamy clouds released from his mouth. Seungkwan's gaze followed them as they faded into the morning canvas-like sky. 'Geez, I know...sorry...I guess I'm just tired', he pouted, earning a loving pat from the older.

The four spent the next couples of minutes immersing themselves in their own admiration for the beautiful sky, intentionally ignoring the fact that said sky was also throwing fire rocks and a whole damn planet at them. Yet it felt strangely calm and relaxing, sitting on top of Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital, the very same place they used to spend seasons cramming for exams and dreaming about a bright future, where they'd become honorable doctors and nurses, dedicating their lives to saving others. Looking at them now, one might point fingers and laugh at how paradoxical their fate had turned to be. But they'd like to think otherwise, just like Cheol'd once said, 'Think of it as a blessing in disguise, since we get to be doing exactly what we were trained to, it's only the context that's a little odd.'

'I guess we're basically everyone's heroes now, aren't we?', Soonyoung finally decided to interrupt the comfortable silence they were enjoying, 'I mean...I'm aware we've been doing such wholesome jobs under this insane circumstance...but, did y'all see the other guys yesterday?'

'Well yes but..no? What did they do?', Seungcheol asked in an arch tone of voice. They did have breakfast together yesterday, but apart from that, his medical team had to have their asses glued in the 'emergency room' for almost the rest of the day.

'So I was heading to the hall to get the supplies, right? And guess what, for a moment I thought I was entering a cult or something. Everybody was literally jumping and cheering for Jeonghan, Mingyu and Minghao as if those dudes've just won the national triathlon race.'

'...Then it turns out there were some bastards in the camp who couldn't keep their dicks to themselves that they started to harass girls and women out there. That kind of went unnoticed for a while since the victims were too scared to speak up, until yesterday when they had the audacity to lay their dirty hands on Jeonghan-hyung-'

'Those motherfuckers did what?', Seungcheol growled at the mention of his boyfriend's name, which was what Soonyoung'd definitely expected, given how overprotective the older could be at times. To be fair, when it came to Jeonghan, everyone's protective mode would be automatically activated. Pretty privilege, as they often joked.

'Calm down, Cheol, you know Jeonghan-hyung isn't that weak, plus there were Gyu and Hao, our martial arts black belt holders. So of course they beat the shit out of those jerks. Someone even got it on camera, I watched it, 3 versus 6, it was bloody and...well, satisfying. Seems like that particularly helped Mingyu let off some steam, too, the kid appears to be really enjoying the fight. The funniest part? Jeonghan-hyung discreetly telling a nearby ajumma to send a flying iron to one of the dudes' head.'

'As expected from our angel, he always makes a scene in one way or another. I remember walking into him literally throwing a stand-up show the other day and people were laughing their asses off. I'm pretty sure only he can pull off that kind of stuff,' Joshua added, reminiscing how amazing his friend'd been in helping with people's mentality during this difficult time.

'Haiz..are you guys trying to make me fall even harder for him or what? Cause I am.'

'Oh my god shut up, simp lord!'

**************

3 days prior to the end of world

Nighttime. Wonwoo and Mingyu were sitting next to each other, their backs pressed against the vending machine behind them. In the distance, a group of teenagers were launching the fireworks which they had probably stolen from some convenience store. No one had the mood to care, tho, they'd already got too fed up with anything inflammable. The guys'd talked to those kids on more than a dozen occasions and had grown particularly fond of them. Rather, they felt bad for them. To imagine these young, innocent minds could never know what it'd be like to be a college student, the exhilarating rides of first loves and breakups, the thrill when they'd go out into the world and prove their worth was heartbreaking. If there were anything positive out of it, it'd perhaps be the fact that at least they'd managed to collect their own friend circle in the midst of this mishap, and choose to share some fun wild moments together instead of relentlessly crying over a predestined outcome.

Mingyu turned to his right, where the man of his dream was seated right next to him, a tip of shoulder brushing against his. The fireworks went on and off on the black velvet sky, casting flickering shades of light onto Wonwoo's cheeks. His eyes like a starry night, his lips gentle and slender. The very whole presence of Jeon Wonwoo was profoundly mesmerizing that it got Mingyu to say and do not so appropriate things in his wildest dreams. And he didn't tell anyone about it, of course, even Wonwoo. He didn't think he could handle the potential heartbreak that confessing to a friend may exhibit. Especially when they only got 3 days left.

'Have you done staring?', Wonwoo snapped, and Mingyu felt like jumping out of his own imagination that his head bumped loudly against the glass behind him. Couldn't be more embarrassing.

'N-no...I'm not!...I'm just...wandering in my own thoughts...And my eyes only happen to fix on you in the meantime.' The younger clarified, feeling rather satisfied with his quick explanation. In return, Wonwoo just laughed, his nose scrunching up amicably.

'Can I ask you something, Mingyu?'

'Of course, go ahead.'

'Have you ever heard of the suspension bridge effect?'

'The what effect?...well, it does ring something in my mind, but...no, I don't know. What is that?'

'So basically when you're under a pressure environment, like when you're on a suspension bridge, or in a catastrophic scenario like right now, your adrenaline is induced tremendously, thus your way of interpreting things may be strangely shifted. One such implication is your confession being more likely to be accepted-'

'Sounds interesting, hyung. But what are you trying to tell me from all of this?', Mingyu was about to tease his hyung for trying to be book smart again, but he got startled at the confession part, for he had also been daydreaming about the same thing. He wasn't dumb nor negligent, but with whatever Wonwoo was implying, he had to make it clear. Mingyu didn't want to have false hopes to begin with, nor he'd want to spend his last 70 hours dealing unsettling doubts about the other's feelings.

Wonwoo held his breath for a moment, then exhaled and looked straight into the younger's eyes:

'I think I like you, Mingyu...in a romantic sense I mean. And I think if I can't utter these words to you now, I may die even before that motherfucking planet-'

As if his body had been waiting forever for those words, Mingyu leaned in and planted a kiss on the other's lips, cutting off the unfinished string of words. They were no longer needed anyway. All he now knew was that the feelings were mutual. Fuck the doomsday. Even it wouldn't matter now.

'I love you too, Wonwoo-hyung,' Mingyu said, after they'd finally parted. Seeing his own reflection in the older's eyes, feeling the older gently resting his cheek on his large palm, words failed to give justice to how ecstatic Mingyu was, '...so very much you have no idea. But if it's not for this bold move of yours, I'll probably let that little secret rot with us all, so...thank you for letting me know.'

'Because I know you are that dumb,' Wonwoo smiled sheepishly, and Mingyu mirrored the gesture.

They still sat next to each other, the only difference being their fingers interlaced and Wonwoo's head on the younger's shoulder. The near-death scenario saved them from cheesy words and unnecessary sexual tension. They were still the same young men of yesterday, a part of humanity that was going to be wiped out very soon. Yet now that their hearts were feeling so full, death did not appear so much of a scary notion like it used to.

In the background, the kids started singing. Presumably with some stolen guitars again . To Wonwoo's surprise, Mingyu suddenly rose from his spot, then proceeded to offer his hand and ask:

'Because you've bet your last chance on me, can I now have my last dance with you, Jeon Wonwoo?'

'But you know my dancing sucks.'

'It's okay, I'll guide you.'

Mingyu looked at his newly-claimed boyfriend with unveiling anticipation and affection. And Wonwoo thought it would be alright, he could entrust himself to the younger, just like how things had always been between them. So he took the hand that'd been waiting for him patiently.

'Okay.'

**************

20 hours prior to the end of world

'Mr.Hwang, 10 years ago, he asked us what we'd do on the last day of earth...'

Jihoon could tell he'd succeeded in reliving the moment in Soonyoung's mind from the brief pause in the older's movement, which was a cue for him to continue, 'and my response was that I'd love to throw a party with my loved ones, cause what'd be worse than dying is dying and starving at the same time'. The little nugget of memory enabled Jihoon to hear his friend's giggles again after what felt like an eternity.

'So Wonwoo's a fortuneteller then', Soonyoung struggled to state, in the midst of attempts to catch his breath.

'Why?'

'Since he was true about the asteroid part.'

'...Yeah...right, weird things always come from that dude's mouth, apparently...'

The nostalgia show went on as they headed back to the abandoned supermarket's entrance. They couldn't get much out of it, tho. An expired case of low-quality beer and a bunch of snacks that looked just as suspicious. Nonetheless, the duo was still positive for at least they wouldn't return empty-handed after the long-ass 40-minute ride. Hopefully, the asteroid wouldn't come after the diarrhea, or it would be very bad.

Then, just right before Soonyoung could land his hand on the doorknob, there came a deafening shout from none other than Chan, who'd been waiting outside with Jun:

'For the love of God, please hurry up, are you making out in there or what?'

Jihoon was thinking of ways to beat up the kid for screaming at their hyungs like that when he realized there was something off. An uncanny feeling crept up his spine as he and Soonyoung approached the vehicle which should have been ready for them to jump on.

And they spotted the culprit. A basketball-sized rock that lied innocently on a side of the street. But its surroundings said otherwise. Parts of the concrete material around it were either melting or burning fiercely, some already became blackened. Ill smoky odors lingering in the air.

And Jun.

Chan was crouching down next to him, trying the best he could to soothe the other, his face full of fright. When Soonyoung slowly pushed Chan away for a clearer look, Jihoon's heart felt like it'd just got hit by a truck. A large portion of the fabric covering Jun's back went missing, exposing his bare skin which had now turned red and moist. And bloody. And it released an uneasy kind of smell similar to that of the grilled meat which'd gone terribly wrong. Soonyoung calmly examined his friend in and out, before releasing a huge sigh of relief and informed the worried non-physicians that it was a second-degree burn that could be easily treated. As if on cue, Chan and Jihoon concurrently collapsed onto the ground, a stone falling off their hearts. They settled there for several brief seconds then rose up again to pack the groceries and start the engine, leaving the other with the first aid task. As Soonyoung was taking care of the wound, his attention shifted to the furry creature that Jun'd been embracing in his hands all this time:

'Don't tell me you've got yourself injured just because of that thing!'

'It's not just 'that thing'! It's a kitty! A lovely and innocent one at that! How could you tell me to just sit there and watch it burned alive, Soonyoung?'

'Because you could've been dead if the rock'd gone for your head, dummy!'

'And why does that matter tho? Aren't we going to die the very same way tomorrow anyway?'

'MOON JUNHUI!'

----

The sight inside the car now was almost comical. Chan was in charge of the wheel, silently focusing on the dark road before him where there was almost no sign of street lighting. In contrast, the black cat had found itself a comfortable spot on Jihoon's lap and been staying there for a while, and Jihoon just let it. At the back, Jun was lying on his stomach, chin on Soonyoung's thigh, his back now well covered and his too long legs looking out of place in such a cramped space. The scene would ordinarily earn fresh laughs from its awkwardness if it was not for Jun's involuntary sniffles. He'd been murmuring countless sorrys for his little tantrum less than 15 minutes ago, which no one blamed him. Given the scenario that they were in, not even the saintliest souls could be free from catastrophizing thoughts, especially when the literal 'deadline' was coming near. The depression was too overwhelming at this point that many couldn't bear it, which was the same reason why Chan was making huge attempts not to run over the horrendous amounts of dead bodies on the streets.

Yet against all odds, their team had made a promise together, which was not to die before the very end, and to cherish every moment they got to have by each other's side. So as the naïve man Jun had always been, he felt terrible for the recklessness that could have well killed him as well as his dear brothers' hearts. That was why he'd been softly crying on his friend's lap like a house cat, totally shutting up about how the burn was torturing his poor back. And Soonyoung faintly smiled at that. He always wondered why all three of his same age friends were so cat-coded, Jihoon the grumpy one, Wonwoo the polite one, and Jun definitely a weird cat. He ran his hand through the fluffy hair of the one beneath him, soothing sweet words like he would do to a kid that'd come back apologizing after breaking his window. As if everything would really be just fine.

**************

30 minutes prior to the end of world

'Why does this beer taste like expired yogurt?', Seungkwan grimaced. Seemed like the bullet point of having a final good drink on his wish list could never be granted. Having said that, he still downed the can without any further care, his friends'd worked hard, one life at stake at that, to save their dry mouths anyway.

The similar frown appeared on Seokmin's forehead when he'd too done with his drink. Tossing the empty container into the metal barrel in front of him, he asked his friends, not even turning to look at them in the eyes:

'Are you guys scared?'

In their group, there was an unspoken rule: not to discuss death. If they did, it would mostly be in the form of a light-hearted joke. It was in order for them to stay in their right state of mind. It was also because they had more things to focus on rather than making a fuss over something that was decidedly uncontrollable - quoting Jeonghan's wise words. That was why they would not let themselves found when they needed to cry into the phone, where on the other side their family would do the same. That was why they had to seamlessly put on a smiley face and a strong persona, also because somewhere along the line, they'd become someone whom people looked up to and leaned on.

But now as they'd completed their duties, Seokmin thought it was time to let their walls down. Now that they were right in front of the threshold of death, he wanted to know and be able to share with his brothers' true feelings and vulnerabilities. Such a perfect occasion for an emotional talk.

Yet unlike his expectation, Seungcheol seemed pretty chill about that:

'I'm not trying to prove anything but...for real, I just...I don't feel frightened at all. It's like when you're too excited for something and look forward to it for days and weeks, you'll end up losing that hype when the day finally comes. We've got 3 months, and I'm grateful for that. I'm even more grateful for the fact that you guys are right here with me...'

'And I never said this before...but I love you guys...like...so fucking much, and I think you should know that.'

Seungcheol blurted out the longest sentences for the day and felt mildly proud of it. But the sense of embarrassment hitting afterwards quickly got him that he had to look up to avoid whatever looks there might be on his friends' faces. The sky filled his vision, and he heard sobbing sounds from near and far. From parents pitying their children, from terrified kids, from resentful adults, and from those right next to him. Seungkwan was literally crying into the bag of snacks he'd been holding. Minghao was blinking away the tears. Wonwoo's glasses became all foggy and Mingyu's hand gently patted his back. Seungcheol felt the clutch on his hand tightened and took it as a cue to reach out and wipe away the warm material on Jeonghan's cheeks. Probably Seokmin was right, they were not so strong after all.

'Damn, Cheol, stop stealing the show,' Jihoon chuckled among his tears, body still shaking with the force of his own emotions, 'cuz I can do that too...shit...I love you, assholes,...and I don't think you know about this, but more than half of my music is made when I think about you guys...so if next life really did exist, I'd like to write music for you again, and I hope y'all won't be bothered by it.'

There were teary giggles, there were gasps, and then there was Jisoo who pulled Jihoon to a loving hug, 'Okay, let's do it!'

'...do what?'

'Music. In our next life. Let's be a band, an idol group, a club, whatever. You'd be the producer, we'd sing your songs. Maybe add some dance and rap too. We'd be touring and having fun and inspiring people. That way we can always be together, don't you think?'

'Hey, I think I and Chan can take care of the dance part! In case your panic has made you forget, we do offer dance classes for a living,' Soonyoung chirped, the hypothetical scenario seemed to stir something deep-seated in him.

'Then I'll vote for Seungcheol-hyung to be the rapper, you've seen how fast he can go when he's angry,' Seungkwan chimed in amusingly, as if he wasn't the one who'd just cried his eyes out seconds ago, '...yeah and put Wonwoo-hyung onto that list, too, he's got that honey-like baritone voice that'll make girls and boys go crazy all alike.'

'So can I promote myself? I'm fed up with coaching people, so I'll just be your consoler then. Think of me as an island where you'll turn to every time you need some sympathetic ears.'

'Yes, certainly, that sounds so great, Jeonghan-hyung', Jihoon's mouth curved up into a slight smile. He hadn't expected everyone to be so invested in Jisoo's little suggestion. But if he was being honest, he wouldn't consider it a completely insane idea either. Maybe he was only delusional, or simply obsessed with his composing life, but there was this recurring dream where he was standing on stage with the other twelve, staring at what he'd refer to as the most magnificent view he'd ever witnessed. If his memory still functioned well, the things those people in the audience were holding...yes, lightsticks, that was a thing for idols and concerts nowadays. And the lightstick ocean he'd been seeing in his dreams...these were like literal diamonds shining, so aesthetically pleasing, not even the brightest and clearest starry nights could be comparable. The guys must love it too, if they saw it, he thought.

-----

If societies really thought about it, they'd actually been in a humane ending phase for such a long time. The slow processes of environmental destruction, economic crises, wars, diseases, famine. The poor had always been suffering, but funnily and fairly enough, the rich and powerful who believed they could fuck off to Mars could never pull off their plan. Therefore, a giant astrological object hitting Earth before a predictable dystopia unfolded itself didn't turn out to be a really pessimistic thing after all. If one was being honest, it actually allowed people to realize how meaningless their materialistic pursuits could be, and instead turn to cherish what truly mattered.

Seungcheol's group didn't need to be reminded of that, nonetheless. Disaster or not, they'd always have each other's backs. So even now, when fire stones were pouring down from the sky which had turned a disturbing orange hue, massive winds blew things over on the streets, from afar, the death ball started to revealed itself and the crash between two worlds would happen anytime now, they held their heads high. It was getting hotter and hotter by every second, and the overwhelming pressures of the atmospheres began to deactivate their senses.

Yet they still held each other's hands tightly. Seungcheol took a final look at his dearest friends, and claimed his final statement:

'We shall meet again...and I'll make sure to look for every single one of you!'

'...so for now...goodbye.'

In the end, they were so blessed, because the last thing they felt in their hearts, was love.

The End.