phobia (sequel to insomnia) | stray kids ff

zone 3: balloon

[walking while looking

at the blue sky]

Hana's POV

I follow Joy to her apartment after she returned from her run. When she came to see me in Taeyeon's office, she looked pretty frazzled and flabbergasted. Once she closes the door to her apartment, she sits me down on the couch with a serious look in her eye. I feel a tense grip on my heart as I wait for her to speak.

"What's up?" I ask. "How were the boys? Were they being a handful again?" Remembering that she went on her run with Johnny and Jaehyun.

"Johnny and Jaehyun actually opted out on going on the run." Joy scoffs. "I had to beg Yeri to come with me which was not a good idea."

"Why? Did something bad happen?" I ask in a concerned voice.

"Almost until..." Joy's voice trails off which makes me grow curious. She suddenly pulls out the polaroid I asked her to try and get on her run. I smile wide and hug Joy to thank her.

"Ahh! You got it!" I exclaim.

"Yeah, I almost died getting it," Joy says and then hands it to me. It's been so long since I've taken pictures of people and documented them into my journal which I lost.

"I'm so sorry you went through the trouble to get me this," I say. I notice Joy's smile soon turn into an uneasy look. "What's wrong?"

"You said your old camp was called District 9 right?" Joy asks me. "The one that was overrun with walkers two years ago?" I nod and furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"Why are you asking?" I question. Joy rubs her face in frustration.

"I..." She stutters. "I don't think all of District 9 is dead." My eyes grow wide in shock and happiness. My friends! They might not be dead? Joy notices my reaction and bites her lip nervously.

"How do you know? Did you go back to their safe zone?" I question, eager to understand this situation and to know if my friends are alive.

"While on my run with Yeri, we came across three people who helped us fight off zombies that almost killed me and Yeri. They told us they were from District 9." I feel my hands and feet get lighter when I hear this as my face begins to glow for the first time in a while.

"So you're saying that my friends are out there still?" I ask. "I knew it." I smile. "They're too tough to die so quickly."

"I thought they were all dead." Joy says. "That's what SM said. He even said he did a sweep to find any survivors." I feel like something really sketchy is going on here.

"He said it but does that mean he actually said the truth?" I question and Joy looks over at me with uneasy eyes. I start to feel a rush of happiness as I think about my friends being alive. "The people you saw. What did they look like?" I ask eagerly.

"There were two boys about the same age as you and one girl. One of the guys had a sharp chin while the other had squirrel cheeks." I feel my heart jump.

"No way." I say, feeling my eyes water in joy.

"Hana, you're crying." Joy points out and smiles a little, realizing I am so relieved to hear that my friends are still out there. Does this mean... Hyunjin could still be alive?

"Joy, you have to help me," I sniffle and look at my friend with big eyes.

"You want to see them again, don't you?" Joy asks me and I nod frantically.

"I have to see them for myself," I say and feel a tear roll down my cheek.

"You know how high security is here. It would be impossible for you to leave," Joy says and I shrug.