Vengeance

three

Once they'd arrived at their living quarters, the group began to split off to find rooms. Wooyoung followed San to see which spaces were available, reading the different names taped to each door. His heart raced in his chest as he scanned them, knowing there was someone in particular he wanted to find. San knew as well, keeping close to him.

It didn't take long to find it. The two came to a stop in front of the door as Wooyoung reached up, running his fingers along the paper name tag.

Choi Yeonjun.

San placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go. Talk to him."

Wooyoung nodded, bringing his hand back and knocking lightly on the door.

"Jun, it's me, Woo."

He heard the bed creak as the person inside scrambled to the door, throwing it open. Their eyes met as they stared at each other in silence. Wooyoung could see from the moment their eyes locked how much his friend had changed. He could see the pain in his eyes, the redness surrounding them from days of crying, the dark circles from nights spent awake.

His heart broke as he rushed forward, pulling him close. Yeonjun cracked in an instant, collapsing against his embrace as he gripped his friend tightly.

"You're alive," he sobbed, his hands holding on so tight, it seemed he was afraid he'd disappear if he ever let go.

"Yeah, I'm alive," Wooyoung chuckled softly, but it quickly broke as a sob got caught in his throat.

San wiped the tears from his own eyes, having to look away before the sight got to him.

As Wooyoung held onto him, his eyes scanned the room and his chest ached at how empty it was. His friend had been here all alone. After everything he'd seen himself, he couldn't begin to imagine how horrible it felt.

He slowly pulled away, wanting to see his face again. He scanned him for injuries, noticing a few cuts along his cheek and a large cotton pad secured to his left ear. Yeonjun followed his eyes.

"I lost half of it when one of the security guards tried to shoot a zombie behind me. But I can still hear alright."

Wooyoung's eyes widened but he nodded, trying not to let his emotions overtake him.

"How...how many did you lose?" Yeonjun asked quietly, certain Wooyoung already heard of his own losses.

"Four of our members...three of Stray Kids," he replied, realizing after he'd spoken how hard it was to admit. He wiped his tears, trying to stay strong.

Yeonjun nodded solemnly, grabbing Wooyoung's hand and holding it tightly. Wooyoung knew he had only grown close with a few of them, but quickly remembered another he might be worried about.

"Changbin made it out. He's still back on the plane but he's okay," he said with a sad smile as relief washed over Yeonjun's features.

"That crazy little bastard. I bet he bashed hundreds of zombie heads in," he chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes.

"He was pretty epic. I don't think we would've made it out without him."

Though they'd tried their best to avoid the emotional toll of the events of the past few days, they couldn't last long, once again breaking into tears as they hugged one another.

"I'm really sorry, Jun. You didn't deserve to go through any of that," Wooyoung sobbed, running a hand through Yeonjun's hair.

Yeonjun was at a loss for words. This was the first time in days that he hadn't felt utterly and completely alone.