Somehow, marvelously, San had no interest in a conversation. He avoided Wooyoung and, though the other raider gladly brushed it off in favor of their departure; he knew it would come back to haunt him later. They didn't look at each other anymore, and the playfulness in San's eyes had disappeared. While he loaded out the crates on the left side of the car, Wooyoung worked by Yunho's side on the right. Their eyes never crossed and Wooyoung wondered if he could pick up on the mutual tension between Wooyoung and Yunho.

Wooyoung could tell his sweet boyfriend was hurt. He had been nothing but patient with Wooyoung, searching for him when they got parted, yet the truth soured their reunion. In such a short time, Wooyoung ruined his loyalty to Yunho and got San involved, also hurting him. Though he would never wish Yunho had stayed away, he wished things were different. Both of them deserved an apology.

"Let me," Yunho muttered. His warm body crowded into Wooyoung's side, so familiar as he slipped his hand under a bundle stuck on the seat. They needed to rearrange their equipment to make space for another person and tried to squeeze in impossibly more food to accommodate Yunho. While Jongho hopped around and instructed them, ecstatic to have recruited Yunho and thus completed his short-term goal, Mingi's sharp eyes picked up on the tightness of Wooyoung's lips. His gaze followed him under the wide brim of his hat and Wooyoung squirmed whenever he passed by him.

"Go ahead," Wooyoung replied, just as awkward. Yunho and he had been such a well-rounded team for eight years. They could read each other's thoughts without uttering a word, but it seemed all that evaporated in those few weeks apart. When Wooyoung squeezed past him to allow access to the car, he tripped over Yunho's leg. He apologized on reflex, holding on to Yunho's waist to brush past. His boyfriend's large hand splayed over his back, guiding him as if he were a newborn foal.

Wooyoung glimpsed at San. He wasn't looking at them, and the expression behind his eye was unreadable.

Once he had some air to breathe, Wooyoung ducked into the corner that was Mingi's blind spot. He exhaled, resting himself from the constant burden of their eyes on him. This was exactly why he shouldn't get involved with groups. So many judgmental stares. So many whispers behind his back. He couldn't bear that pressure. Yes, he messed up. Yes, neither San nor Yunho deserved to be pushed around as his playthings. But it wasn't his intention. He needed them to understand.

Seonghwa perched on a crate nearby, so Wooyoung sunk into a heap by his side. They were far enough that their murmurs drowned in the noise of the others working.

"We are almost ready," Seonghwa assured Wooyoung, mistaking his dilemma as an eagerness to leave. Seonghwa was just as curious to perceive their world by himself, gloomy as it was.

Wooyoung sighed.

"You don't happen to know about relationships, do you?" It was worth a shot. Seonghwa had knowledge no one else could access and Mingi didn't seem like the type to give kind advice on this matter. And Jongho was, well, Jongho.

"I have no personal experience, but I can tell you my opinions and share my wisdom. What troubles you?" Both Mingi and Jongho knew of the flirt going on between Wooyoung and San. And they both knew of his relationship with Yunho. The fallout explained himself and Wooyoung frowned when he noticed Yunho glancing at San multiple times, studying his hidden features and the bandaged skin. Something inside Wooyoung wanted him to stop, wanted Yunho to keep his thoughts to himself since San detested being stared at. Yet, who could blame Yunho? He just found Wooyoung and instead of a sweet reunion, another person was in the picture.

"I fucked up. Yunho missed me but I feel I can't bring back the one he knew me as. And San, he... he expected more, but now I can't even look him in the eye." Wooyoung gnawed on his fingernails. His issue was petty compared to Seonghwa's place in their world, but the AI heard him out and the insight of his voice took some burden from Wooyoung's heart.

"Feelings cannot be forced and the likelihood of two people loving each other equally at the same time is low. You and Yunho dealt with your separation differently."

The only one Wooyoung could fault was himself. He wrung a hand through his hair.

"I don't know what to do. I don't even know what I want at this point. My loyalty towards Yunho should be blind; we spent so much time together. But if there is doubt, are my feelings genuine? Shouldn't I be sure?" Especially since he barely knew San. He just came into Wooyoung's life out of nowhere and stuck to him like a fungus growth.

"San was there for you during a tough time, so you are bound to be grateful to him, the same way I am eternally grateful to Jongho for saving me. Have you asked them?"

"Both of them expect me to choose them without hesitation," Wooyoung replied, shuddering. He never thought to find himself under the attention of two people at once. Shit, it was always him and Yunho, being everything to one another, since there was no one else.

"I haven't," he continued. "Not enough to hear their view. Yunho doesn't hate me, but... I feel San does."

"Start there," Seonghwa suggested. "Hear them out, and then you know if this situation is reasonable. If you cannot speak or look at each other, teamwork becomes difficult."

"Right," Wooyoung breathed. He chuckled to himself as he watched how San loaded in the last crate so all of them would have space. Thankfully, he sat in front because Wooyoung would die if squished between those two.

"We have bigger concerns right now. None of us have been to Anda before, and you need to make it up there. My issues with them won't become a burden to this voyage, I swear," Wooyoung promised. Today, Seonghwa displayed an image of a lush forest, impossible in their world because of the lack of water. Some stubborn trees still found a way around their limited resources, but Wooyoung had never seen plants so tall with leaves so green. Was that what Anda looked like in the past?

"Take your time. I hold your dedication to my cause in high regard, so I hope you know you shouldn't have to rush an answer. All three of you can figure this out, so no one gets hurt. While I don't know much more, I can offer myself to mediate if need be," Seonghwa chirped, voice lighter with the magnificence of this device. Thankful for his guiding light, Wooyoung scooped him up.

"I will tell you if we need you. In the first place, I'm glad you make your judgment based on logic."

"Such is the way of computer programs," Seonghwa replied. "We are calculated from beginning to the end."

Relieved to have him as a partner for conversations, Wooyoung joined the waiting group with him. Yunho and San always stood with at least one person between them and Wooyoung wisely squeezed next to Jongho when he came in.

"Car's packed," Mingi announced in Seonghwa's general direction. He wore his long coat and his machine rifle over his shoulder, ready to shoot anything that as much as dared a peek at them. Trapped under his vigilant gaze from hooded eyes, Wooyoung awkwardly looked down at Seonghwa.

"Good work. I will trust someone to hold me," Seonghwa answered, not concerned with the new arrangement and the extra person. Though Yunho brought tension to their group, the other three had no issue with him.

Jongho handed San the keys, and the raider twirled them around a playful finger.

"Then let's depart, shall we? Everyone is rested and equipped for the desert," their leader frolicked. Finally, the others focused on the mission. Wooyoung located his rifle leaning against the car, and Yunho instinctively checked the ammunition in his gun. As promptly as he had joined, he never forgot how to survive.

Wooyoung wondered if he was the problem. Wouldn't Yunho make a fine addition to the team? Though Wooyoung had a similar set of skills, at least Yunho didn't go around causing chaos within the group.

"Everyone take a seat," San said as he turned. He slipped into his driver's seat and started the engine while the rest piled into the jeep. Mingi handled a map he copied from Seonghwa's images by his side. Since he had long legs, Wooyoung sat behind him and tucked his knees close. Though the distance to Yunho stung, they needed the window seats to defend the car. Jongho sat in the middle, happy with Seonghwa in his lap. Oddly, his quirk of a person was a welcome barrier between Wooyoung and the sources of his headache. Yunho glanced at the back of San's head while he got comfortable and tugged the door shut with a slam.

It was a tight fit, but the car was spacious enough to make it work along with their equipment. Along the journey, most of it would get used up, so Wooyoung looked forward to more room later on.

The buzz of the metal vehicle around them unsettled everyone but San. His steering was mindful as ever when he rolled them up to the gate, and Jongho turned Seonghwa in his lap so he could see the desert appearing once the massive doors slid open. When Wooyoung checked on Jongho's hopeful grin, he met Yunho's eyes already directed at him. Despite his instinct to glance away immediately, he forced himself to linger. He was rewarded as something in Yunho's eyes softened.

He had always been too forgiving, no matter what Wooyoung did.

Wooyoung didn't deserve him.

They focused on the sights through the front window when San steered them from the smooth concrete onto irregular rock covered in sand. It whirled across the dunes, gathering in piles under the dark clouds. It looked like another storm was brewing, but they would be safe in the car.

"Well, this is it," San said as he sat back. His foot stood on the brake while Mingi closed the gate behind them and clambered into his seat. He cursed when he hit his head on the roof that was totally fine for Wooyoung's height, but not for a man his size. From Yunho came an empathetic snicker.

"This is the world after the setback. Think you can fix it?" San looked back at Seonghwa, who showed no change as he took in the gloomy desert, the dried vegetation, and the crumbled buildings. The water orb in the distance floated menacingly and people crawled around it like ants.

"90 years since the Third World War," Seonghwa whispered. They got moving as San wrapped his fingers around the steering wheel and brought them in the direction their compass and the map provided. Wooyoung hugged his rifle to his shoulder. Watching the desert pass through the window detached him from it. The Wooyoung of the past wouldn't have such a luxury. He would grovel and crawl through the sand, scraping together resources. Now, he was on a mission to save the planet, maybe. Definitely in a more relevant crowd.

"Once, this was a country of bustling cities, high education, and lush nature," Seonghwa said as he took in the new information. He could calculate what happened and knew why he was designed, but he still seemed humbled by the difference.

"What happened? We never had people to clarify. We just know everyone slaughtered each other," Yunho brought up. That, and the book about the stars. Some fell, or so it said, not fixed in place in the sky, but this wasn't caused by a falling star.

"The tensions between the two mightiest countries reached their peak. When a third nation stepped in to use the chaos to its advantage, everything crumbled. Too much power in the hands of uncaring humans. Nuclear bombs dropped everywhere. No one was safe anymore. 90 percent of the world's population got eradicated within a few months. For the longest time, we thought there would be no survivors."

Silently, Wooyoung stared out of the window. He couldn't fathom destruction on such a scale, couldn't comprehend how quickly everyone died.

"Many survivors died from the radiation. Now is the first time humanity made it back on its feet," Seonghwa ended. A chill had settled in the car as everyone contemplated whether their current life wasn't so bad compared to experiencing that.

"And now we got the fouls eating the last of us," Yunho gritted as he loaded his gun. It clicked shut as he fixed his eyes on the back of San's head.

"Not if we make it," Jongho replied before they could burden themselves with more gloom. "Right, Seonghwa?"

"Right. I am the light this bleak place waited for."