A Day In September - BTS Zombie au

40: Lovesick Drunk

Yoongi sighed in frustration, taking his gloves off and allowing his bare fingers to twist and pick at screws and wires. He looked down at the mess of entangled cables, attempting to find the outlets each one belonged to. The dark recording booth was dingy, a strong smell of corroded metal pervading the room as a focused Yoongi worked. He held a flashlight in his mouth, as a somber Hoseok preferred to stand by the door in the room adjacent, both men separated by a window. The other two men were at the main entrance, watching over the horses and keeping an eye out for unwanted guests.

Yoongi pulled the flashlight from his mouth, "This feels like going in circles," he muttered to himself, "Days go by and nothing changes. No progression, nothing new, just rummaging around for remains," he held the light over small components of the radio he worked on.

Hoseok turned to check on Yoongi, crestfallen with an empty gaze as he, too, spoke to himself. The empty hallway only echoed with unintelligible utterances that faded into nothingness, with nobody to hear them or understand them.

"But I gotta survive, right?" Yoongi sighed, "I guess it serves more of an honorable death than a worthwhile one."

"Did you say something?" Hoseok called out, interrupted from his own soliloquy to concentrate on an equally unsatisfied Yoongi. The latter simply shook his head, returning to his work with a quieter, less noticeable mumble. He placed the flashlight back in his mouth, flexing his hands and tightening his fists to keep the cold from tensing them up. His fingers, although thin and nimble, were no match for the freezing temperatures that had layered cars and windows with a thin layer of ice. It was no temperature to be in, but survival came at a great cost to one's comfort.

Yoongi gathered his things after a few hours, sliding his gloves back on with a hiss, attempting to warm them after being exposed for quite a while. Yoongi placed everything carefully into his bag after wrapping it in thick layers of cloth for travel. Hoseok noticed him packing up and prepared himself to leave as well, throwing his backpack over his shoulders and carefully bearing his gun. The two nodded at each other, Hoseok giving him a grateful look.

"We appreciate you," Hoseok mumbled awkwardly. He couldn't maintain eye contact but the sincerity in his voice was palpable, and thus Yoongi softly smiled to himself as all earlier internal conflicts and existential crises seemed to grow...quiet—for the time being.

The crinkle in his eyes told everything and even Hoseok noticed, rolling his eyes before muttering a quick, "Let's go."

Taehyung and Namjoon did not speak for the entirety of those few hours. Not even a glance or acknowledgment of the other's existence. Everyone seemed too absorbed in their own worlds and qualms to really pay any mind to anybody else's. A group that worked for each other all the time, every time, seemed so isolated. They repelled any bond that could form at any moment they let their guards down. When Yoongi and Hoseok finally came back down, Taehyung and Namjoon finally looked at each other. It was a wordless agreement to start heading out, for it was starting to near the hour of sunset, and navigating back home in the darkness was difficult.

"Can somebody hold onto this?" Yoongi held up his bag, "Two people and a heavy bag is too much for a horse." Taehyung didn't hesitate before taking it from his hands, slipping it on as everyone else climbed onto their horses.

"Handle with care please," Yoongi reminded, "That's an antenna and without it we've got no way to communicate."

Taehyung simply nodded, everyone looking at each other before beginning their journey home. Hoseok looked back at the building where he'd seen Owen and Oliver. Come to think of it, he already missed them. Those few years of not seeing them had taken a toll on Hoseok. He'd gotten progressively grumpier, bitter, and his emotions were all over the place. With no one to ground him (or rather not letting anyone do so), Hoseok's past became the bane of his existence.