The cold water flowed over Eun-Ae’s skin as she descended into the darkness, pulled along by Key. She hesitantly opened her eyes, finding that not seeing anything was much scarier, but even as she did so all she could see was black, and the vague outline of her trusted friend swimming in front of her. Her arm brushed along the rough stone wall, and her fingers traced over the rocky surface, finding some relief in the fact that the massive structure was beside her. Deeper and deeper they went, leaving the light behind, and Eun-Ae was beginning to grow terrified that they would be lost in the darkness and drown until a flash of blue rose into her vision. At first it was just a small circle of shimmering light, pulsating with the waves above, but it grew larger and larger until the water became clear once more. Their heads broke the surface, and the pair of them gasped for breath as they looked around curiously.

They had wandered into what seemed to be a crude dome, where a large air pocket had accumulated. It was considerably large, perhaps half the size of a football field. Water dripped down from the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and the plink as the drops hit the water echoed through the stone hall, bouncing around before fading into silence. The soft blue light came not from the sun above, but from millions of bioluminescent colonies clinging to the rock face far above their heads. Eun-Ae was not sure what they were, but they were beautiful, radiating a sapphire-teal glow that felt positively magical.

“Wow,” she breathed, simply in awe. As they tread water in the small dome, Eun-Ae gasped when she felt something brush her leg, and she glanced down in alarm; however, she was relieved to find that it was only the sea turtle they had followed into the dark, its fins waving as it glided about underneath the water. Now that there was light, Eun-Ae also noted that a collection of small minnow-like creatures and larger fish, most likely predators of the small species, were swimming around in the water as well. A few feet forward, the ground sloped up, and various plant-like growths waved gently in the sand.

“I told you something good would be down here,” Key grinned at her, then patted the sea turtle’s shell as it slowly swam by. “I just knew it wanted us to follow it.” Still holding her hand, Key pulled her forward to the incline, and Eun-Ae was slightly grateful to feel the sand between her toes. Unsteady in the water, they slowly climbed the ascent, and Eun-Ae shivered as the cold water gave way to even colder air. Stumbling slightly, they maneuvered through the half-rocky, half-sandy terrain out of the water and onto a crude beach. Finding a spot devoid of uncomfortable rocks, they grateful sat down and tilted their heads back to once again stare at the shining world above.

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful,” Eun-Ae whispered as her eyes absorbed the radiating light.

“Hmm. Me either,” Key agreed, and when she glanced back down at him she was embarrassed to find that his eyes were not on the strange creatures above, but on her. She hoped that in the strange blue light that he could not tell that she was blushing, and she hastily glanced down into the sand, watching a dark brown crab scuttle through the fine white crystals.

“I hope the others don’t worry about us,” she frowned slightly. Excited by Key’s insistence, she had neglected to consider how the other boys- and the adults, for that matter- would react to their disappearance. She could imagine them right now, trawling through the reef in a panic. “Maybe we should go back-“ she started, but she stopped mid-sentence as she looked up and found Key’s face inches away from hers.

“Don’t worry about it,” he mused, and she heard the sand shifting as he slid his hand over the rocky ground to place his hand over hers. “They’ll be fine. You worry too much.”

“I have plenty to worry about,” she huffed, not finding his nonchalant attitude amusing. She pulled her hand away, as much as she would like to hold it. I can’t be doing this. I don’t have much time left, and it’s unfair of me to be doing this to him, she told herself firmly, staring out at the water. It was dark, black with only the slightest hints of blue from the bioluminescent glow from above. The only motion came from the ripples sliding over the surface when a dropped splashed down from the ceiling, or when some fish popped its head out of the water. Despite the strange beauty of the dark cave, Eun-Ae felt the ever-present sadness sneaking out of its hiding place.

I shouldn’t be doing any of this, she realized. None of it is fair to him. I am giving him false hope. It was clear by Key’s actions that as time went on, he was becoming more and more attracted to her, and had some idea that Eun-Ae could possibly survive this ordeal. As much hope as she would like to have, Eun-Ae knew better. Fifteen days. That is all I have. She was not going to spend it pulling her absolute best friend along on a chain, baiting him with false hopes and playing a game of chase. I have to make it clear to him. I have to tell him- Yet, when she looked up to face him, all the words died in as he looked into those dark eyes, and found warmth and affection swimming in their depths. No, don’t look at me like that…

“Whatever you were thinking about, forget it,” he smirked, and his hand found hers again. His fingers slid between her own, gripping tightly. Ah, that feels nice… she thought absentmindedly, all trace of logic now. Her illness was far away, outside under the sun and in reality; in here, it was just the two of them, underneath the pulsing glow in the soft sand. She struggled to remain focus, captive to that heat-filled gaze.

“Key,” she warned quietly. “We can’t…”

“Why not?” he asked as he tilted his head slightly to the side, smirking. Ugh, that smirk of his… She thought as her head began to pound.

“You know why,” she replied, almost angrily. She felt herself trembling, overcome by an array of different emotions. Please, don’t do this to me. I don’t want to do this to you. However good it might be, I can’t leave you broken, I can’t, I can’t…

“Eun-Ae,” he murmured, and all the thoughts running through her mind ceased. Her mind was bent on those soft eyes, that arrogant smile. “It doesn’t matter what happens in the future. All that matters is right now, this moment, this instant.” Eun-Ae released a breath, feeling slightly dizzy. Was it her cancer acting up? Or was she feeling light-headed because of him? She wasn’t sure. His face came closer, filling her vision. I can’t… fight it… she thought wearily as she allowed her eyes to close, giving in to the will of her heart.

She leaned forward, closing the centimeters between them, and their lips met. Everything faded around her, the rippling of the water, the sound of the droplets, the brilliant blue glow, the softness of the sand. She felt like she was just floating in space, in her own time, aware of nothing but Key’s lips moving against her own. Somehow her arms ended up around his neck, and she pushed her body against his, feeling the muscles of his abdomen flex as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her further against him. She parted her lips, allowing his tongue to slip inside and tangle with her own. The feeling left her breathless and dizzy, and when they finally broke apart they just sat there in the dark, their arms still around each other and breathing hard.

As the light returned to her vision, Eun-Ae realized what a grave mistake she had made.

No. No, no, I shouldn’t have done that, I shouldn’t have let him, now everything is ruined… she thought frantically, sliding her arms off of him and scooting across the sand in horror. Key’s expression turned concerned, and he reached out for her. “Eun-Ae?” he asked, but she retreated away from him, scrambling down the slope unsteadily into the water. She stumbled, half-falling, half-sliding into the water, and she gasped at the abrupt chill. “Eun-Ae!” he shouted, and he heard her splashing after her. in a breath, she dove down into the water, kicking strongly to descend into the tunnel. Using the stony wall to guide her, she swam frantically through the dark, and had there been no water to catch them, tears would have been spilling down her face.

Stupid! Stupid! Why would you do something like that? She scolded herself. I’m dying! I am dying! Nothing can change that, nothing, and you are selfish for giving in! She lost grip on the wall, and she d around angrily, spinning around in the dark. She couldn’t feel anything, only the cold of the water and her own self-pity. It’s not fair, it’s not fair! She screamed. She wanted him, so badly, and she could not have him. She hated herself, because she knew now nothing would be the same. She could not stand the thought of breaking his heart any more than she would already, and now there was nothing she could do. She opened to scream, but bubbles only came out, and water rushed in. Writhing around in the darkness, terrified, furious, she crashed against the rock roughly, and her head slammed hard into the stone. Immediately she felt much calmer, and her vision began fading.

I… Can’t think anymore… she thought wearily, sinking down against the floor of the tunnel. All the rage, all the regret, it was all gone, replaced with just the coldness. As her eyes drifted closed, her last thought was of him.

“Eun-Ae!”

At the sound of her name, her eyes snapped open, and she was surprised to find that she was no longer cold, but warm. She was lying on her back, and whatever she was on was gently rocking back and forth. Her ears were filled with the sound of crashing waves, and the occasional cry of a sea gull. As her vision shifted into focus, seven extremely worried faces formed over her: the boat captain, the tour guide, and her five friends, all dripping wet and breathless.

“Oh, thank God, you’re awake,” Sandeul wailed, sniffling and rubbing tears out of his eyes. “You swallowed so much water; we were afraid you wouldn’t make it…”

“What the hell were you thinking?” Jonghyun scolded angrily, and Eun-Ae was surprised to find that the normally stoic boy had tears in the corners of his eyes as well. “I expect Key to pull some stupid stunt like that, but you?”

Key. Her vision drifted to him, and he was staring down at her with an oddly blank expression; not meeting her eyes, he huffed and sat back against the side of the boat, arms crossed.

“You’re lucky Key found you,” Onew remarked. Memory came flooding back to her, and she recalled thrashing around in the dark tunnel, slamming against the wall. She lifted a hand to the back of her head, her fingers tracing over the thick fabric of a bandage wound around it. She gasped as the boy suddenly whirled around, socking Key hard in the face. “If he hadn’t dragged you down there in the first place, it wouldn’t have happened!” he snapped angrily.

“Don’t hit him,” she begged, and the boy paused in the middle of a second strike. Key stared at her between his arms, raised to defend himself from the attack. “It’s my fault too. I agreed to go down there,” she insisted.

“What happened? Key was in such a panic, he didn’t tell us,” Minho asked. Key didn’t tell them? she realized, and she felt grateful to the boy for refusing to tell them even though she scorned them. When she looked at him again, he was staring out at the water, still emotionless. I caused him so much worry, she thought sadly. I truly am selfish.

“I slipped on a rock and fell,” she lied. “When I went down, I ended up in the tunnel and couldn’t find my way out.” That part wasn’t necessarily a lie. Key glanced at her out of her peripheral vision, and she wasn’t completely sure, but she thought she saw the hint of relief on his expression.

“It was careless of you two to go in there,” the captain scolded, but despite his stern expression he seemed genuinely relieved at Eun-Ae’s recovery.

“Indeed! Why, if this boy hadn’t acted so quickly and given you mouth-to-mouth, you might have been a goner,” the tour guide tutted, motioning to Key. The thought of Key, his mouth on hers again, made Eun-Ae sick to her stomach; though she was sure in the moment the only thing he was thinking about was saving her life, she felt another wave of guilt wash over her.

“I’m sorry,” she uttered, her voice barely a whisper. She was sorry for everything- for her reckless actions, for running away from Key, for the miserable situation she was in, and worst of all, for herself. The tour guide sighed, electing not to scold her any longer.

“Well. As long as you know what you did was wrong,” he conceded, leaning back. “I’m afraid we have to cut your excursion short. It is vital we bring you to a hospital so you can receive proper medical attention.” Upon his command, the captain took his place at the wheel, and the engine roared to life; soon they were speeding along the waves. It was quiet except for the sound of the spraying water, and it was too much for her to bear. She attempted to rise, but cried out as a splitting pain flared in her skull, and she began to fall roughly onto her side. However, rather than landing on the hard deck of the boat, she landed in someone’s arms.

“Don’t,” came a voice, and Eun-Ae peered up to see Key, who had swiftly caught her. Even after what I did to you? She questioned silently as he wordlessly pulled her up against him, resting her head against his chest. With the throbbing pain in her head, she was in too much agony to protest, and she pressed her face into the bare skin of his chest. She felt him stiffen, and he just held her loosely for a moment before gently caressing her hair. As his fingers moved through the wet strands, Eun-Ae felt simultaneously guilty and soothed. She knew he must be feeling something similar.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out.

“Yeah,” he murmured as he tightened his grip on her. “Me too.”