Noona [Ateez]

Fun and Games IV - The MVP

Moments later
Yunho's POV

"Where is it?" Wooyoung asked. When the door opened and we squeezed inside the small office, we were surprised to find... no zombie.

And even more bizarre... we could still hear it. "Good question," Hongjoong said, cautiously looking around the room. I couldn't tell if he was looking for whatever valuable thing might've been beyond the locked door or if he was looking for the zombie. Still, I joined him in the search.

"Let's stay outside," I heard Jaehyun-hyung say, asking Seonghwa, Wooyoung, and Jongho to let us inspect the small space on our own, since it was pretty cramped when all of us were inside.

As I looked around, I found a can of coke and checked the expiration. I smiled as I realized it was still good. "Here, can you carry this for me, bud?" I asked, holding the can up over my shoulder so Rowoon could take it. "Mhm!" Rowoon said, eagerly taking the can. "Thank you," I said, continuing to scan the room for anything of relevance.

As I looked through the desk, my eyes lingered on a picture frame. Inside, there was a picture of a family. A woman with long, black hair and green eyes, a man with curly, black hair and a neatly groomed beard, a baby, a bit younger than Rowoon... with pretty, brown skin like his father, and beautiful green eyes like his mom, and an older kid, probably around twelve, another boy, with lighter skin, brown eyes, and curly, dark hair. All four of them, smiling brightly. I knew I shouldn't be getting distracted, but I couldn't help wishing I could have something like that with Bosam... it had always felt a bit impossible since she rejected me so adamantly, but it started to feel less impossible when we got together, and I had began to get my hopes up... but now, it felt even more unreachable. Would this ever end? Could society rebuild itself after an apocalypse? Was the rest of the world suffering the same fate? Or were we just unlucky to come trap ourselves in America? Was everyone back home alive and safe? Mom, dad, Gunho...

"Find anything?"

Bosam's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Huh? Oh. Not really." I said, trying to shake away those thoughts and stay bright and happy, like my group relied on me to be. But the lightly concerned look on Bosam's face told me she could see past my fake smile. She opened her mouth to say something, but something caught her eye. "A key," she mumbled.

Glad that something distracted her, I followed her gaze and saw her take a key from behind the picture frame. We looked at each other and nodded, knowing we had to find what the key opened.

"The door?" I suggested. "Let's see," noona said. "Oh no, it's way too small. I don't think it's for a door at all," she said after comparing it to the slit in the doorknob. I nodded. "So what are we looking for?" I asked, "Like a lock or a safe?"

Bosam nodded. "Exactly, something smaller like that."

"Hyung, my butt fell asleep," Rowoon said behind me, making everyone smile a bit. "Sorry to hear that, bud."

"Can I be put down, please? I want to help," he asked. I felt bad for the kid. He was forced to come out with us only to be strapped to my back, and now he was getting uncomfortable.

I looked to Bosam for approval. "There's no zombies around," I pointed out.

"Except for the one we have yet to find," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Still, it's just one, Sam. We find it, we kill it, and we're good." Jaehyun said.

Bosam let out a small sigh. She ran her hand through her hair before saying "fine."

"Yay! Thank you!" Rowoon squealed, making the invisible mystery zombie freak out again. Everyone's heads whip towards Rowoon. "Rowoon-ah. You need to be quiet. And alert. If you hear a monster, you run to Yunho. If Yunho can't carry you, what do you do?" She asked as she began to untie the cloth that kept him strapped to my back.