"Wow, you're all kitted out now. Where are you off to?" asked Gara (Heeseung) of his friend, who was already dressed head to toe in black.
"The usual—I've got a few things to buy," said Nael (Jake).
"I've just noticed our food supplies are running low too," said Joan (Jungwon).
"Oh, right. Where have you been buying your groceries all this time? Surely not in public places like supermarkets," asked Sean (Sunoo).
"No way. We're still on the run, aren't we?" said Nael, with a touch of humour.
"So where, then?" asked Bian (Jay).
"Exactly, let's take turns every now and then—it's a bit of a shame you're always the one going out to buy food," said Nero (Niki).
"It's at my friend's shop," said Nael.
"Your friend?" said Alka (Sunghoon) suspiciously.
"Nicholas—you remember him, don't you? He's the one from the organisation who's quit," said Nael.
"Ah, right, I remember. He's EJ's partner," said Alka.
"Yeah, after he left, it turns out he opened a small shop like that, but it's actually quite well-stocked," said Nael.
"Oh, that's good then, but I'd suggest we still be careful, even though he is our friend," said Alka.
"Oh, come on. We've been fine so far, even though it's been nearly a year. Plus, our savings are running low, so I might end up applying for a job at Nicholas's place," said Nael.
"Oh, all right then. Just say hi to that lad for me," said Alka.
"OK," replied Nael.
*******
"Woah bro, you're back again," Nicholas greeted his friend warmly as he arrived at his shop.
"Yeah, I've run out of veg and meat in my dorm; all I've got left is instant food," said Nael.
"Oh, veg and meat, eh? Come on over—as it happens, the new stock's just arrived, so it's definitely still really fresh," Nicholas said, pointing to the goods in question.
Nael began selecting the meat he wanted to buy.
"Mate, you can tell the good meat from the bad, can't you?" Nicholas asked his friend with a blank expression.
"No way! I'm the one who usually picks it out for him," replied Ej, who had just arrived.
"Oh dear, El, it seems like all you can think about is ramen," said Nicholas.
"100 for you," said Nael.
"And he's actually agreeing with him," replied Ej, giving his friend a tap on the head.
"It won't work, Je. You'd better choose the meat; I'll pick the veg," said Nicholas.
"I'll choose the ramen," said Nael, handing his shopping list to Ej.
"God, please give me patience," said Ej.
"Don't talk like that, Je—the customer is king," said Nael.
"If the king's like this, I'd have staged a coup from the start," said Nicholas.
Nael ignored the remark.
"Good luck, Ije and Nichol," he said before dashing off to the shelf full of noodles.
Time passed, and before they knew it, the sky outside had begun to darken.
And here was Nael now, standing in front of the till bearing the name tag 'Nicholas'.
"Here you go, mate, your change. It's not just for me, is it?" said Nicholas.
"No way, mate," said Nael.
"Well then, it's for me," replied Ej, who'd just finished loading Nael's shopping into the car.
"Bro, I'm really sorry about this—my savings are running low because I haven't found a job yet," said Nael.
"Oh, I've heard you've actually left the organisation," said Ej.
"Yeah, I overheard it by chance too—even though you and Alka were known to be absolutely unbeatable in the organisation," said Nicholas.
"Actually, I wanted to tell you guys, but I don't think I can right now," said Nael.
"It's a tough one, isn't it? We understand," said Ej.
"I'd already asked about that job vacancy before—what's the latest?" said Nael.
"Oh, that. We've already been talking about this too, haven't we, Je?" said Nicholas.
"Yeah, we do need one more person. Do you want to come with us for a bit?" said Ej.
"Where to?" asked Nael, a little suspiciously.
"To be a tutor, of course. You couldn't even choose the meat earlier," said Nicholas.
"Oh, right, I'll come along," said Nael.
He walked along behind Ej and Nicholas, who introduced him to the various sections of their shop and gave him a brief explanation of each.
They eventually arrived at a red door—a colour that stood out from the other doors in the shop.
"Right, this is the last one: the control room," said Nicholas as he opened the door.
Inside were lots of electronic components.
"This is the control room," said Nael.
"Yeah, why?" said Ej.
"It's really high-tech. Usually, the ones I've seen just have a computer or a laptop in them," said Nael.
"Doesn't this look a bit like a laboratory?" said Nicholas.
"Actually, it looks exactly like one—oh."
Nael suddenly realised that Nicholas's smile, which usually looked friendly, now looked terrifying.
"Nicho, you've really left the organisation, haven't you?" said Nicholas.
"I have. We've both really left the organisation, but—"
His words trailed off as Nael felt something pierce his neck.
"Je, I haven't finished speaking," said Nicholas.
"You're taking too long," said Ej.
"Ije, Nichol,"
Although his body was growing weaker, Nael was still trying to break free from Ej, who was roughly tying his hands.
"W-What are you doing?" he said, his voice growing fainter.
"Just shut up," said Ej, tightening the bonds on Nael's wrists that were on the verge of coming loose.
"I'm your friend, why are you doing this—"
"Right, that's sorted," said Nicholas after he'd finished taping Nael's mouth shut.
After that, they dragged Nael's helpless body away.
*****
Alka got out of bed; he turned his head to the side and saw Nael lying next to him, though the young man still seemed to be sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed.
"El, you're still alive, aren't you?" he said, shaking his friend's body.
It was only a few moments later that the young man showed any sign of response.
"Al," he said, confused.
"No, I'm Sunghoon from Enhypen," said Alka.
"You're so corny," replied Nael flatly.
Nael sat up and looked around.
"Let's head back to the flat," he said.
"Yeah," said Alka.
"How did that happen?" asked Nael.
"How should I know, El? I just woke up here," said Alka.
"What do you remember from before this? Anything strange?" asked Nael.
"I don't remember a thing," said Alka.
"Seriously, nothing strange at all? Like, did you bump into Nichol or Ej?" asked Nael.
"No, I haven't seen them in ages," said Alka.
"You don't remember anything?" asked Nael.
"No… Actually, what about you? Do you remember anything?" asked Alka.
Nael fell silent immediately; he still remembered clearly when Nicholas and Ej had attacked him in their shop.
"I-I don't remember either," said Nael.
He then got up and went outside.
It turned out that all his friends had already gathered in the living room.
"Guys, you're here too," said Nael.
"Yeah, we didn't know we'd suddenly be able to come back to this flat," said Sean.
"Whatever it is, I think we need to hurry back to Jeongin's house before anyone sees us here," said Joan.
They all immediately rushed to the exit.
However, all they found was a building that had been reduced to rubble, except for their own flat, which was still completely intact.