The skyline Taehyung once knew—the busy roads, the cars, the crowded junctions, the glittering high-rises—was gone.

Or rather... it was still there, just transformed. Overgrown. Claimed by nature.

Trees and vines wrapped themselves around the towers like the city had been abandoned for decades. Creepers clung to glass façades. Rooftops bristled with wild green. The streets below were silent, unmoving.

Not a single soul.

Not even an animal.

It looked as though the world had quietly moved on without them.

"Jungkook," Taehyung whispered. "Look."

Jungkook stepped beside him at the window. His jaw tightened, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. Soohee joined them, her eyes widening so much they looked ready to burst out of their sockets.

"Wait. How long were we in here?" Soohee's voice cracked. "It was just a two-hour movie. Just two hours."

Neither Jungkook nor Taehyung answered.

Because no answer made sense.

"Did time fly?" Taehyung asked, his voice small against the vast silence.

Jungkook didn't reply. He just stared out the glass window from the 123rd floor, expression unreadable.

They returned to packing. Moving felt safer than thinking. Thought led to panic, and panic—right now—was dangerous.

While they worked, a thousand questions gnawed at them. None had answers.

Jungkook grabbed another bag and stuffed it with canned food. Taehyung found a roll of plastic wrap and some old Tupperware from a Subway counter and wrapped everything tightly—not as snacks, but as supplies for survival.

Then the realization hit them all at once.

123 floors.

Their car was in the basement—one hundred and twenty-two floors below them.

Between here and there:

Dark hallways.

Silent floors.

Shadows that moved.

Creatures that should not exist.

Jungkook sat on the counter and rubbed his temples. "Even if we move fast, carrying all this down will take hours. And we don't even know what's on the other floors."

Taehyung sat opposite him, clutching the food bag strap tightly, as if someone might appear and snatch it away. The fluorescent light above them flickered twice before steadying.

"Elevators are dead," Taehyung murmured.

"Stairwells have those things," Soohee said, biting her nails.

"And the emergency shafts are locked," Jungkook added with a sigh.

The building creaked again—closer this time. A hollow, metallic groan that echoed through the atrium.

Taehyung exhaled shakily. "We can't stay here forever. Food won't be the problem. But the top floors... if those things learn how to climb..."

"They already can," Jungkook said softly. "We saw them on the stairs."

The truth cut like a blade.

Soohee looked down at the heavy bag of supplies in her lap. They could only carry so much. And they needed their hands free if they had to fight... or run.

"Then we plan," Jungkook said at last, forcing his voice to stay steady. "We go down in steps. Secure floors as we move. Rest when we need to. Use emergency exits, service hallways. No more open areas."

"And if we run into more of those things?" Taehyung asked quietly.

"Then we fight. Survive," Jungkook answered. His jaw was set, his hands steady—even though Taehyung could still see the fear in his eyes.

They were terrified.

But they had no better plan.

Before they left, Taehyung wandered to the Burger King counter. It felt surreal, standing at the register where the scent of fries and burgers once lingered. Where they had laughed. Where life had seemed unbreakable.

He picked up a plastic tray, wiped the dust off with his sleeve, and slid it across the counter.

"What are you doing?" Jungkook asked.

"Making sure it feels real," Taehyung whispered. "If we start thinking this is a nightmare, we'll lose our heads."

Jungkook and Soohee exchanged a quiet glance, then gave him a tired but genuine smile.

"Then let's make it real," Jungkook said, lifting the food bag onto his shoulder.

They took one last look at the silent, broken food court before heading for the emergency stairwell.

The red light above the door pulsed slowly.

Below, the shadows waited.

Only one hundred and twenty-two floors between them and freedom.

Every step would cost them something.

Their bags clinked faintly as they walked. Every sound echoed unnaturally far in the hollow space—the soft scuff of their shoes, the rustle of wrappers underfoot, even their breathing.

The stillness here wasn't like the lower floors. It wasn't suffocating yet...

but it felt aware.

Like it was watching them.

They moved with deliberate caution between the counters, checking every dark corner. Soohee tightened her grip on her bag, and Jungkook and Taehyung held the long steel rods they'd salvaged—the broken legs of a chair from Burger King's storage. Not much. But better than nothing.

Taehyung paused near the Subway stall. Its half-broken sign buzzed faintly, casting a weak, sickly green light over the counter. Something was wrong.

"Jungkook," he whispered. "Look at the door." He pointed.

The sliding panel behind the counter was slightly ajar. Not wide open—just barely. But enough to notice. Enough to suggest movement.

Something—or someone—had been inside recently.

And whatever it was...

might still be inside.

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