The lantern had burned itself out hours ago, leaving only the faint gray light of morning seeping through the cracks in the shed. Y/N stirred, her body aching from the cold floor, her mind heavy with grief. Beside her, her little brother slept fitfully, his small hand still clutching hers as if letting go would mean losing her too.
She listened to the silence outside. No growls, no screams — just the eerie stillness of a city that had died overnight. But she knew better than to trust it. Silence was only the pause before the next horror.
Her stomach growled, sharp and insistent. Hunger gnawed at her, and she knew her brother would wake soon with the same ache. They couldn't stay here. Not without food, not without water.
She shook him gently. "Wake up. We have to move."
His eyes fluttered open, wide and fearful. "Where?"
Y/N swallowed hard. "We'll find somewhere. A store, maybe. A hypermarket. If there's anything left."
He nodded, though his lips trembled. He trusted her — blindly, desperately. That trust was heavier than any weapon she carried.
They stepped out into the morning. The city was unrecognizable. Smoke curled from distant fires, cars lay abandoned in the streets, and bodies littered the sidewalks. The air was thick with the stench of rot.
Y/N tightened her grip on the pipe she had carried from the alley. Her brother clutched a smaller piece of wood, his hands shaking. She wished she could take it from him, shield him from the fight, but she knew he needed it. If she fell, he had to survive.
They moved cautiously, every sound making their hearts race. A crow cawed overhead, startling them both. Y/N forced herself to breathe, to stay calm.
Then — movement.
An infected staggered from behind a car, its mouth dripping red, its eyes clouded. It snarled, lunging toward them.
"Stay back!" Y/N shouted, shoving her brother behind her. She swung the pipe, the crack of bone echoing as it connected with the creature's skull. It fell, twitching, but another emerged from the shadows.
Her brother screamed, swinging his piece of wood wildly. It struck the infected's arm, barely slowing it. Y/N lunged forward, slamming her pipe into its chest, then again into its head. Blood sprayed across the pavement.
Her breath came ragged, her arms trembling. She had killed again. She had to.
Her brother clung to her, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry… I tried…"
She pulled him close, her voice breaking. "You did good. You're alive. That's all that matters."
They moved on, the city stretching before them like a graveyard. Every corner was a risk, every shadow a threat. But hunger drove them forward.
Finally, they saw it — a hypermarket, its glass doors shattered, its sign flickering weakly.
Y/N's chest tightened. "There. We'll find food there."
Her brother nodded, his face pale but determined.
They approached cautiously, stepping over broken glass and abandoned carts. Inside, the aisles were chaos — shelves overturned, products scattered, blood smeared across the floor. The silence was heavy, broken only by the distant shuffle of feet.
Y/N gripped her pipe tighter. "Stay close."
They moved through the aisles, scanning for anything useful. Cans of food, bottles of water, medicine — anything. Y/N stuffed what she could into a torn backpack, her hands shaking.
Then — voices.
She froze.
From deeper inside the store came the sound of footsteps, low murmurs, the clink of metal. She pulled her brother behind a shelf, her heart racing.
The voices grew clearer. Familiar.
"Check the back," a deep voice said. "We need more water."
"Hyung, look out!" another voice called, followed by the sound of something heavy striking.
Y/N's breath caught. She knew those voices. She had heard them a thousand times through speakers, through interviews, through songs.
BTS.
She peeked around the corner.
There they were — seven figures moving through the aisles, weapons in hand, their clothes stained with blood. Jungkook swung his rod at an infected, the crack echoing as it fell. Namjoon directed the others, his voice calm but firm. Jimin helped Hoseok lift a box of supplies, while Taehyung and Yoongi stood guard. Jin clutched his weapon, his face pale but determined.
Her heart pounded. BTS. Alive. Here.
Her brother tugged at her sleeve, whispering, "Is that… them?"
She nodded, her throat tight. "It's them."
Jungkook turned, his eyes scanning the aisle. His gaze locked on hers.
For a moment, the world stopped.
His eyes widened, recognition flickering. He stepped forward, his voice low but urgent. "You… what are you doing here?"
Y/N swallowed hard, her grip tightening on her brother's hand. "We're… surviving."
Namjoon approached, his expression wary but not unkind. "Are you bitten?"
She shook her head quickly. "No. We're clean."
The others gathered, their eyes filled with exhaustion, fear, and something else — relief.
Jimin smiled faintly, though his eyes were wet. "You're lucky. We almost didn't make it here ourselves."
Taehyung's gaze lingered on Y/N, protective, suspicious. Jungkook's eyes, though, were different — sharp, searching, filled with something she couldn't name.
Namjoon nodded. "Then you stay with us. At least for now. We'll survive together."
Y/N's chest tightened. She had lost everything, but now, in the ruins of the world, she had found something — someone.
Her brother clung to her side, his eyes wide with awe. "We're with BTS…" he whispered.
And Y/N realized — survival had just taken a new shape.
The hypermarket was dim, its aisles littered with broken glass and overturned carts. The faint light filtering through shattered windows painted everything in shades of gray. BTS and TXT had gathered near the back, supplies piled around them — water bottles, canned food, medicine.
Y/N stood awkwardly at the edge, her brother clutching her hand tightly. She could feel their eyes on her — wary, suspicious, calculating.
Jungkook's gaze was the sharpest. His jaw was tight, his grip on the metal rod firm. He looked at her not with recognition, but with doubt.
"They'll slow us down," he said flatly, his voice cutting through the silence. "We barely survived last night. Adding two more… it's a burden we can't afford."
Her chest tightened. She wanted to speak, to defend herself, but the words caught in her throat.
Yeonjun stepped forward, his bat resting against his shoulder. "Jungkook's right. We almost died out there. We can't protect everyone we meet. If we take them, we risk all of us."
Soobin nodded reluctantly, his face pale. "We don't even know them. What if they're bitten and hiding it?"
Hueningkai clung to Beomgyu, whispering, "We can't… we can't lose anyone else."
Y/N's brother pressed closer to her side, his small body trembling. His eyes were wide, pleading, but he said nothing.
Namjoon's voice broke the tension, calm but firm. "Enough. Look at them. They're not infected. They're just… survivors. Like us."
Yoongi crossed his arms, his expression cold. "Survivors, yes. But survival isn't charity. Every mouth we feed is less for us. Every weakness is a risk."
Seokjin's voice trembled. "He's not wrong. We can barely fight as it is. Hoseok and I… we almost didn't make it."
Hoseok nodded, his hands shaking. "I don't know if I can protect more people. I don't even know if I can protect myself."
Jungkook's eyes burned. "Exactly. We can't afford to babysit. If they stay, they'll get us killed."
The words cut deep. Y/N's throat tightened, tears stinging her eyes. She wanted to scream that she wasn't weak, that she had fought, that she had killed infected to protect her brother. But the weight of their doubt pressed her down.
Then — Taehyung stepped forward. His voice was low, steady, but filled with fire.
"You think leaving them is safer?" he asked, his eyes locked on Jungkook. "You think abandoning a child in this world makes us stronger?"
Jungkook flinched, his jaw tightening. "It's not about morality. It's survival."
Taehyung's gaze didn't waver. "Survival without humanity isn't survival. It's just… existing."
Namjoon nodded, his voice calm but resolute. "Taehyung's right. We can't lose ourselves. If we start leaving people behind, we're no better than the monsters outside."
The silence was heavy. TXT exchanged uneasy glances, their fear palpable. BTS stood divided — Jungkook and Yoongi cold, Jin and Hoseok trembling, Jimin torn, Namjoon and Taehyung unwavering.
Finally, Jimin spoke, his voice soft but clear. "She has a brother. He's just a kid. If we leave them, they'll die. And we'll have to live with that."
Jungkook's grip on his rod tightened, his knuckles white. His eyes flicked to Y/N, to the way she held her brother close, her shoulders trembling but her chin lifted. For a moment, something flickered in his gaze — doubt, conflict, something softer. But it vanished as quickly as it came.
"They'll die anyway," he muttered. "And they'll take us with them."
Namjoon stepped forward, his voice sharp. "That's enough. I'm the leader. My decision stands. They stay."
The group fell silent.
TXT shifted uneasily, but none of them argued further. Jungkook's jaw clenched, his eyes burning with frustration, but he said nothing.
Y/N's breath caught. Relief flooded her chest, but it was fragile, tempered by the weight of their doubt. She knew she wasn't welcome. Not yet.
Taehyung turned to her, his voice softer. "You'll have to prove yourself. No hesitation. No weakness. If you fight, you stay."
She nodded, her grip tightening on her brother's hand. "I'll fight."
Namjoon's gaze lingered on her, steady and unreadable. "Then it's settled. We move together."
The hypermarket fell quiet again, the tension thick. Outside, the world groaned with death. Inside, the fragile alliance had been forged — not with trust, but with necessity.
And Y/N knew: survival was no longer just about fighting the infected. It was about fighting for her place among them.
The hypermarket had grown quieter as the day stretched on. The group had barricaded the entrances with carts and shelves, creating a fragile sense of safety. For the first time since the outbreak, Y/N allowed herself to breathe without the constant fear of claws at her throat.
Her brother sat cross-legged on the floor, clutching a half-empty water bottle. Hueningkai crouched beside him, offering a small smile. "You're brave," he said softly. "I was terrified last night. But you… you fought."
Her brother's cheeks flushed. "I was scared too. But my sister… she told me not to stop."
Hueningkai nodded, his eyes warm. "That's what family does. We don't stop."
Beomgyu joined them, tossing a small packet of crackers toward the boy. "Here. Eat. You'll need strength if you're going to keep swinging that stick."
The boy grinned faintly, breaking the cracker in half and offering some back. "We share."
Hueningkai's smile widened. "Then we'll share everything. Food, fights, survival."
Nearby, Soobin sat with Y/N, his long frame hunched as he fiddled with a broken flashlight. "You held your ground out there," he said quietly. "Most people freeze the first time. But you didn't."
Y/N's fingers tightened around the pipe resting across her lap. "I couldn't. My brother… if I froze, he'd die."
Soobin's eyes softened. "That's strength. Not everyone has it."
Taehyung approached, his presence steady, his gaze lingering on Y/N. He crouched beside her, his voice low but firm. "You fought well. Don't let Jungkook's words shake you. He sees danger everywhere, but sometimes… he forgets people are more than burdens."
Y/N's chest tightened. "He's not wrong. I'm not trained. I'm not… like you."
Taehyung shook his head. "You're alive. That's enough. And you'll learn. I'll make sure of it."
For the first time since the outbreak, Y/N felt a flicker of warmth — fragile, but real.
But not everyone shared it.
At the far end of the aisle, Yoongi leaned against a shelf, his knife resting casually in his hand. Jungkook stood beside him, his jaw tight, his eyes burning. Jimin, Hoseok, and Jin sat nearby, their faces pale with exhaustion.
"They're going to get us killed," Jungkook said flatly, his voice low but sharp. "She's strong, maybe, but she's untrained. And the boy… he's just a kid. He can't fight. He can't protect himself. That means we protect him. And that means we die."
Yoongi's gaze was cold, calculating. "He's right. Every mouth we feed is less for us. Every weakness is a risk. We can't afford risks."
Hoseok's hands trembled as he hugged his knees. "I don't want to leave them… but I don't know if I can fight for them. I barely fought for myself."
Jin's voice cracked. "We've already lost staff. Friends. If we take them, we'll lose more. Maybe one of us."
Jimin's eyes flicked toward Y/N and her brother, watching them laugh softly with Hueningkai. His voice was gentle, conflicted. "But if we leave them, they'll die. And we'll have to live with that."
Jungkook's jaw clenched. "Better them than us."
Yoongi's eyes narrowed. "Namjoon won't agree. Taehyung won't either. But when the time comes… when food runs out, when the infected swarm again… we'll see who survives."
The silence was heavy, broken only by the distant creak of the barricades.
Jimin's voice was soft but firm. "Maybe they'll surprise us. Maybe they'll be stronger than we think."
Jungkook's gaze lingered on Y/N, watching the way she smiled faintly at Taehyung's reassurance, the way her brother laughed with Hueningkai. His chest tightened, conflicted. But he forced the feeling down, burying it beneath the weight of fear.
"They'll have to prove it," he muttered. "Or they'll drag us all down."