Chapter 3

Stranded With Seventeen

There are sudden, loud shouts in the distance, shocking your little group out of the conversation. Seungkwan clings to Jun for protection, and Joshua cranes his neck, in the direction of the noise, hoping that S. Coups and Hoshi aren't eaten alive by possible predators. Instead, it's the reverse: S. Coups and Hoshi are the predators, pulling along a couple of figures back to the base. It's Wonwoo and an incredibly grumpy Woozi, both of them dishevelled than ever. All the boys rush over for a joyful reunion, tackling the new additions to the ground. S. Coups looks happier as he finds more of s, and all of you sit outside the shelter to hear Wonwoo's tale, since Woozi wouldn't speak; sitting on the sand with a heavy sigh. Hoshi sits down next to him, patting his back reassuringly.

Wonwoo unshoulders a backpack he's been carrying along and dumps it next to the opened crate. Everyone looks at him expectantly, and Seungkwan prods for him to share his experiences.

"We woke up on the other side of the beach." Wonwoo says. "I found this backpack – I think it's Dino's – so maybe he's somewhere out there." There's a silence as everyone remembers the other missing members – Dino, DK, Mingyu, Jeonghan and Vernon – before Hoshi speaks up, grabbing the bag. The little dinosaur keychain hanging from the zipper of the bag hints at the identity of its owner: it's certainly Dino's, a nod to his carefully chosen stage name.

"Won't hurt if we go through his bag to see if there's something we can use." Hoshi s the pack, trying to salvage anything useful from it. He finds a torchlight, and a Swiss army knife. The rest of it is filled with Dino's clothes – Hoshi contemplates on exchanging Dino's underwear with his dirty ones, only to be shot down by S. Coups and Joshua, and even Wonwoo throws a disgusted look at him – so you quickly zip it back up and put it aside, hoping that maknae Dino is alright. The8 hugs the bag for comfort, the soft material almost doubling as a pillow.

"I need to get home." Woozi's voice is haunted, and S. Coups immediately pulls the small boy into a tight hug. Jun expertly cracks open a coconut, and offers it to Woozi, who takes it without a word, and goes to sit in the shelter – his usually milky white skin is burning red thanks to the sun. S. Coups sets to crack open more coconuts to feed himself and his other members as well; and you pass around a bottle of water to make sure that everyone keeps hydrated because you remember that it's the most essential step for survival.

Hoshi starts complaining about his short-lived fishing attempt with S. Coups - instead of fish, they found Wonwoo and Woozi instead.

"We found some food, too." You mention Seungkwan and The8's findings. Seungkwan looks really proud of his contribution, and puffs his chest out with a big smile. No one sings his praises, like he expects to, and the mood is sombre, which snuffs Seungkwan's momentary pride. Silence engulfs, since everyone is deep in thought – you don't know what the boys are thinking about, but your headache is back, spreading to the base of your skull, making you wish that this ordeal would be over soon.

"We need a fire before we can think about what we're going to eat." Wonwoo decides for the group, and his words hold some truth: you can't cook or boil water without fire.

S. Coups is staring at the unlit campfire, then looks up at the sky, which is a brilliant blue, with tinges of pink and yellow as the sun slips dangerously low on the horizon. It's going to get dark, and there's still no fire. Hoshi still wants to fish, albeit not having a proper fishing rod. He says that he wants to try catching fish with his bare hands, which interests Wonwoo and Jun; and the three of them get absorbed into a conversation about crude fishing theory. Joshua and The8 join Woozi in the shelter, hoping to raise his spirits, and you can't help but notice that The8 is still clutching onto Dino's backpack. Seungkwan stares off into space, so it's up to you to help S. Coups light up the campfire.

Both of you have no inkling about how to light a fire from scratch, though S. Coups mentions that he's watched a couple of shows where people spark fires by simply using friction. He picks up a little twig from the driftwood pile, and starts rubbing it against a larger piece of driftwood. His motions are quick as he rolls the twig back and forth into the driftwood using his bare hands. It smokes a little, but there's no spark; so he works harder, grunting in labour.

It's a painstaking process, and you volunteer to take over from him when he stops after a while. There's a notch in the piece of driftwood S. Coups has been drilling in earlier, and you copy what he's been doing, hoping for a spark of ember. He stops you for a while and shows you how do drill faster, and more efficiently – you barely notice that his face is just inches away from yours – and you get to work, steeled with mental determination to light a fire before the sun sets completely.

Five minutes later, S. Coups, who's been watching you, puts a hand over yours and stops you. "You'll get blisters. Let me do it."

You're about to protest but he takes the battered twig away from you and starts drilling again. His pride as a man is on the line – besides, he's not the kind of guy who'd let a girl do all the hard work. You notice that the 96-liners – Hoshi, Wonwoo and Jun – are going towards the water, still with the silly notion of fishing; when suddenly S. Coups lets out an excited cry and looks at you.

"I saw a spark!" He's like a child when he's happy, and a proud grin adorns his face.

"Don't stop, keep on going, then!" You urge him, and he sets back two work with renewed determination, producing wisps of smoke from the friction. A few more minutes pass by, and you notice a tiny spark and point it out to him enthusiastically. S. Coups protects the little ember with his hand and carries it over to the stack of firewood, but in his haste, the ember dies out. He looks at you, and you look back at him and laugh as he pulls his face into a puppy-dog pout.

"Coups hyung! Hwaiting!" Seungkwan calls from his spot in the shelter, where he'd joined the other members. "I'll sing you a song to get your spirits up!" The Jeju boy launches into a medley, his powerful vocals echoing out to sea.

S. Coups doesn't relent in drilling the wood with his hands, and uses all his strength as more smoke emanates from the wood. A few moments later, there's a spark, and the wood lights up. This time, you help S. Coups feed the ember to the waiting fireplace, blowing air gently to keep it alive. Seungkwan runs out from the hut and helps the both of you fan the flame, as it grows bigger and catches fire; and the fire pit is now ablaze, the majestic flames drawing Hoshi, Wonwoo and Jun back. S. Coups yells in excitement, proud of his achievement; and pulls both of you and Seungkwan into a group hug, jumping up and down.

"Wow, you self-produced the fire!" Wonwoo interjects as he holds his hands out for the warmth of the fire. Woozi, sitting under the shelter, laughs at Wonwoo's lame joke, a witty prod because Seventeen are known in the media as self-producing idols; creating their own songs and choreography. At least the Busan boy is alright, probably thanks to Joshua and The8's reassurances with the Seventeen mantra: you'll be fine as long as you're all together.

Everyone huddles around the fire as the sun sets – on the other side of the island, so you can't watch it – and S. Coups takes charge again, worrying for everyone's welfare as he tries to figure out the next step.

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Thank you!
sleepyscoops
ugly crying because this story is DONE. Thank you so much for sticking with me all the way, readers. 'Til the next fic :)

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Wooyaboya
#1
Chapter 12: OMG the story ended I'm not sure how I feel anymore but it sure was an unforgettable ride! I really like this story idea, it's very unique and refreshing compared to the other stuff I read :) looking forward to your other works!
Wooyaboya
#2
Chapter 9: A RAFT! Omg so many things can go wrong! and what about the others??
Wooyaboya
#3
Chapter 7: I almost teared but KWON FIYAH IS TOTALLY MY THING. And i am no spreading the gospel of the coconut song to all my friends. thank you
Wooyaboya
#4
Chapter 4: The8's characterisation is so spot on ahhhh
damnationSUruck
#5
Chapter 12: So I just finished this the other night. And boy, did it end on a bit of a bittersweet note. T T
A part of me really wanted to see some romance budding, but the other part was just too caught up in the flurry of relief and--I don't know--endearment the end came with. The seashell bracelet as well... feels!
Thank you for writing and sharing this story! It was a really lovely concept, and you pulled it off so well.
AngieBaby
#6
Chapter 12: It's OVEEEER! IT WAS SHORT BUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!! I LOVED IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AUTHOR NIM ♡♡♡
Wooyaboya
#7
Chapter 3: SCOUPS FOR THE WIN. And you know what they need? Mingyu. Every man needs a Mingyu when they are stranded. This story would have ended happily in one chapter if they found Mingyu lol
damnationSUruck
#8
Chapter 7: The coconut song preview was enough to wreck me. So creative, LOL, go Wonwoo!
I'm really curious to see what Woozi's deal with the forest. Of course, I probably would react the same as him considering it's a forest on a foreign island and they're less than prepared to venture into it, but I'd still like to see what's going to happen here concerning it. The end of the chapter was super cute, especially the rookie mistake part. Oh, Coups. That was just too cute, haha.
AngieBaby
#9
Chapter 11: Oml they're Already gettibg rescued?!?! Aghhh im so hapi!!!!
damnationSUruck
#10
Chapter 4: So cuuuute! The bit about S.Coups sleeping next to the protagonist was super adorable. Enjoyed this chapter and how they went about the whole sleep rotations! Seventeen is doing a pretty good job at survival so far, I must say, haha.