Your head hurts, it's throbbing in sync with your heartbeat, which sounds abnormally loud in your mind. In addition to the pain, your thoughts are scattered and fuzzy, like a bad signal. You try opening your eyes, but they're glued shut; and you can hear waves crashing against the shore, much like white noise compared to the loud decibels of your pulse. Somehow your brain strikes this as an odd occurrence, as the last thing you remember was being on a boat with the members of rising K-pop group Seventeen in the middle of the deep blue sea, on the way to film a little something for one of one of those variety shows on TV. You're the only staff member who could fit on the tiny boat with all thirteen members of the boy group, so you're entrusted to take care of Seventeen's every need on the journey to the small island where filming is supposed to take place. It's practically a dream job for someone as young as you are, a sophomore in university looking for job experience to fill up your meagre CV.

Once these facts settle in your battered brain, you remember your responsibility towards the boys – their fans are going to riot if any of them even get a tiny scratch on their sculpted visuals. You attempt to open your eyes once again – why are you even sleeping on the job, anyway – but your brain tells you to rest as your headache worsens. You must've have knocked your head pretty hard, hence your sudden anterograde amnesia. You feel cold, as a breeze sweeps over your wet skin, and you can feel your face pressed up hot, grainy sand.

"Noona! Are you dead?" Hoshi practically yells into your ear, as he violently shakes your limp body. His rude awakening jerks all your six senses alive – though it does nothing good for your aching head – and you tear your eyes open, only to be blinded by the blazing afternoon sun. Inadvertently, you curse, scaring the nearby seagulls wandering around for a scrap of food. Hoshi simply laughs at your explosive reaction, though you can detect a hint of anxiety in his mirth.

Joshua, who'd pulled you into a tight hug the moment you opened your eyes, looks scandalised at your sudden outburst, and ready to wash your mouth with a bar of soap.

"Well, I'm glad you're still alive." Joshua says with a tight smile as he releases you from his warm embrace. His clothes are slightly damp, dried by the hot sun, and his usually perfectly coiffed hair is all mussed up, decorated by a strand of seaweed. His image is far from the picture-perfect gentleman the media makes him out to be – his expression's distressed and disorientated, which ominously tells you that something is horribly wrong.

"Sorry." You mutter, as you massage your temples. "What happened?"

"The weather got bad, and we got thrown overboard." Joshua says. "I think we're all separated – Hoshi found me first, then we found you."

"You okay?" You nod, and Hoshi helps you up to your feet. "Let's go find the others." He tries to inject some optimism, and it lifts the mood a little, as Joshua shoots a reassuring smile at you.

The three of you start combing the beach – the sand is soft and squishy and white, and every step seems heavier, as your little group towards the giant rocks at the other end. You spy a couple of figures sitting not far away, and as the three of you approach, they appear to be Jun and The8. Hoshi excitedly runs ahead when he recognises them, practically tackling them to the ground in what seems to be a hug. You don't hurry to meet the boys, thanks to your incessant headache and the fact that you're still dazed over these occurrences – are you all really stranded? - and Joshua limps beside you, though you can see the smile on his face, glad to see more of s.

When you and Joshua finally plop down onto the sand next to the Chinese boys, The8 only manages a feeble smile. Hoshi's already fishing information out of Jun, who says that S. Coups told them to stay there and wait for him. Apparently Seventeen's leader was washed up ashore with the two of them, and went off to search for more of s along the beach. You nod at Jun's anecdote, with a sigh of relief that at least five members are somewhat well and alive, and that Seventeen's leader is reliable and resilient, despite the situation.

The five of you sit there for a while, listening to the soothing sound of the waves. It could've been relaxing, sitting together by the beach, but the atmosphere's thick with tension. Hoshi can't stand the quietness, and turns his attention to The8, trying to pull him out of his misery. Joshua simply smiles at Hoshi's lame attempts; and Jun looks out to the sea like a statue, his expression unreadable. You sit next to Jun, copying him, though with your aching head, all you want to do is sleep and hope that all of this is a nightmare.

"I hope everyone else is okay." You voice out quietly to no one in particular. Suddenly anxiety strikes you – your job could be in jeopardy. A wave of realisation falls upon you: being the youngest and most inexperienced among the staff, but given the biggest job to babysit one of the biggest acts in all of Korea, albeit for what was supposed to be a short boat ride – the most inevitable outcome from all of this is being fired, if you even survive. You can practically see the headlines – BOY BAND GOES MISSING AT SEA; or some other quirky variation, splashed across tomorrow's media. The weight of responsibility burdens you even more – you're barely alive, and you don't even know where the rest of the group is. You don't want to think of the other outcome – mortality - but hopelessness washes over you. There's nothing that you can do, and every negative thought possible is now swirling in your brain as the sound of waves fade away, and you focus on one spot in the distance that gets darker and darker -

"Noona." Jun's deep voice is as smooth as caramel, and it pulls you out from your funk. You realise that you're hyperventilating, and Jun's gaze is fixed on you now. "Breathe slowly. In, then out." He gently grabs your arm so that you face him, and motions as he takes slow, deep breaths. You imitate him, breathing in the salty air at a slower pace. It clears your mind, slowly vanquishing those dark thoughts, though there's still a dull ache in your temples.

"Yes, that's it." Jun grins as you relax yourself. "You don't need to be scared. As long as we all stay together, we'll be fine." His words reassure you, and you're glad for his presence, and the others, as well.

A sudden scream sends all of you to your feet. It sounds almost primal, full of fear and worry.

"That's our Seungkwannie." Hoshi says, then runs in the direction in which the scream came from. The rest of you follow him, and is greeted with a dramatic sight – it could've been a scene out of a drama, only that it's real, and there are no cameras filming. S. Coups is holding a terrified Seungkwan in his arms, trying to calm the boy down. The leader is saying something straight into Seungkwan's ear, but the Jeju native doesn't seem to be listening to his hyung, as he yells for his mother, and is on the verge of tears as well.

"We're going to die! Vernonnie's missing! I want my mummy!" Seungkwan's pitying shouts echoes out to sea, if only someone out there's listening to rescue them...

Hoshi's already hugging Seungkwan as well, hoping that his touch would reassure his dongsaeng. Joshua joins the fray, and Seungkwan's loud sobs are unmistakable as his three hyungs hold him while he cries.

You, Jun and The8 simply watch the pity party, offering no words. All of you know how distressing this situation is, and Seungkwan, who simply wears his heart on his sleeve, is emoting the feelings of everyone on that beach right now. You know that the other boys are worried and scared too, only that they're bottling up because no one's as dramatic as Seungkwan. The8 joins the cuddle party too, and Jun awkwardly pats Seungkwan's back in a gesture of reassurance. You sit nearby, hoping that your presence will somehow soothe Seungkwan – like Jun said earlier, as long as you're all together, you'll be fine. This has been Seventeen's principle since they started: you noticed how tight-knit the boys are since day one on the job, and it's one of the best qualities they have. Leader S. Coups routinely reminds his dongsaengs – leave no man behind.

Eventually, Seungkwan's sobs turn into hiccups,and the sun slips a bit more to the west. Hoshi quietly says something, and Seungkwan barely manages a smile. There's a vacant look in his usually bright eyes as he looks at you, and you smile back at him. It's a sight to bear: allthe boys huddled up together like a broken family reunited after years – which is the exact representation of the brotherly relationship between the members of Seventeen. It seems even emptier with less members, and you hope that the rest of them are well and alive.