Taecyeon carried Wooyoung out of the water and put him carefully down on the sand. They were the only ones there. Wooyoung was shaking, partly from the cold and partly from the shock of it all. Taecyeon put his arms around him and tried to rub some heat into him. It seemed to be working, Wooyoung had stopped shaking at least. Wooyoung leaned into a hug, Taecyeon stopped rubbing and hugged him back tightly. After a while, Taecyeon released him and looked him in the eyes “I have to go back out there.”. Wooyoung shook his head, panic in his eyes “No! Stay. Stay with me.”. He looked down and fiddled with some sand, whispering “Please don't leave me here alone.”.

“Wooyoungah.” Taecyeon put his finger under Wooyoung's chin and raised it so that he would look at him. “I have to see if the others are okay. I'll be back before you know it.”. He gave Wooyoung a little wink before he ran back into the sea. “Be careful!” Wooyoung shouted after him, watching him disappear heroically into the water. If they ever made a Korean version of Baywatch, Taecyeon would be a shoe-in for the part, Wooyoung thought. His tall and muscular body running on the beach, the sun reflecting off his skin, it was a vision.

“I'm younger, you should carry me” Junho said to make his case. “And my leg is busted.” he leaned back into the water to raise his leg up, showing Minjun a tiny cut on his calf. “No, I'm older, so you should show some respect for your elders and carry me to shore.” Minjun said smirking, “Aaand I'll raise you that puny scrape on your leg with my gaping chest wound.”. He was going to raise his shirt elegantly to hammer the last nail into Junho's argument, but didn't factor in the extra weight of the water, since his shirt was completely drenched. As he was raising it, he lost his grip and the hem of the shirt splashed water in his face as it hit the surface. Junho burst into a laughing fit. The best part was the utter surprise on Minjun's face. Minjun splashed some water in his face to get back at him for laughing. “Aaa.. it stings!” Junho cried out. The mischievous look on Minjun's face vanished instantly. “Let me see!” Minjun said concerned, moving closer to get a better look. He examined Junho's eye carefully, their faces only inches apart. Junho could feel his face getting warmer. He was conflicted, should he tell him that it was only a joke and be embarrassed or keep pretending and enjoy the closeness to Minjun. He didn't dislike it when Minjun fretted over him like this. Minjun smelled good, how did he smell so good? The all too familiar urge to kiss him washed over him, taunting him, blinding him, testing the limits of his willpower. He knew Minjun didn't share his feelings and no amount of wishing could change that fact. He was straight and there was nothing he could do about it. That didn't mean he couldn't take advantage of moments like these.

Suddenly Minjun retreated, his expression a bit awkward “Ehm, your eye seems fine to me.”. He had stopped joking around, the atmosphere getting more serious “We better head to shore, see if everyone made it out okay.”.

Nichkhun was in a frenzy, he couldn't find Chansung anywhere. He had seen Taecyeon head to shore with Wooyoung, and Junho and Minjun were a little further out to sea but didn't seem to be in any trouble. But Chansung. Chansung was nowhere to be found. Nichkhun had carefully canvassed the area, looking under every piece of the plane that was strewn around him, but to no avail. He had tried diving, but the visibility was too low and he came up empty handed. He was beyond tired. His head was spinning and he was extremely nauseous, his stomach threatening to unite the food he had eaten on the plane with what was left of the plane floating on the surface of the sea. The knot in his stomach was growing. He had to find him, he just had to, it was the only option. He refused to acknowledge any other outcomes. He had to keep looking, keep busy. He couldn't allow himself to stop and think about what could happen, what could already have happened. No, keep looking, that's what he was going to do. Nichkhun wiped the tears from his tired eyes, dark circles forming below them.

An hour passed, then another. After his third pass over the area, paying special detail to the outskirts of the crash site, he was overcome by exhaustion. He decided to head for shore to check if he had missed him somehow and he was already safe and sound on the beach with the others. He had been in the water for hours, so when he got to the beach and stood up, his legs were like jelly. He had difficulty staying on his feet, his legs shaking uncontrollably. Taecyeon ran to him and supported him as they walked over to the group of tired, wet and shaken idol boys that were gathered together on the beach, getting their stories straight, trying to figure out what happened. “Chansung! Chansung! Has anyone seen Chansung!” Nichkhun spurted out anxiously. A lot of sad eyes stared back at him, nobody had the heart to answer.

Nichkhun turned back in the direction of the sea, barely able to walk on his own. “Nichkhun, you're in no state to go back out there. Both me and Yunho have searched tirelessly for more survivors, we couldn't find anyone.” Taecyeon said slowly, softly. He had a painful expression on his face. “No, you don't understand. I have to find him. He's out there all alone, I have to find him.” the tears started flowing down Nichkhun's cheeks. “Nichkhun..” Taecyeon started, “No! He's not dead, he's NOT dead!” he shouted back at him, entering the water. Taecyeon followed him, keeping a bit of a distance between them.

Nichkhun saw Junhyung and Dongwoon coming towards him, he rushed to meet them. “Have you seen Chansung anywhere?! Have you seen him?!?” he asked desperately, but they shook their heads no. Nichkhun's heart sank. It couldn't be true. Where are you? Nichkhun's head felt strange, woozy, and he had trouble keeping it above water. His body had stopped listening to his forceful commands, giving in to the exhaustion. Taecyeon arrived just in time to fish him out of the water. “No, no.. Chansung. We have to find Chansung”, as Taecyeon put Nichkhun down on the sand, he started crawling back in the direction of the water. “Okay, I'll take Yunho and we will make one last round. Will you please stay here then?” sadness shone through Taecyeon's eyes. Nichkhun nodded and all but passed out.

It was getting dark. Nichkhun had rested a bit, but was extremely weak. He stared out to sea, hoping to see Taecyeon and Yunho any moment, carrying Chansung between them. He thought about how tight he was going to hug him. He was never going to let him go, ever again. Those eyes, like a puppy looking for his treat, oh how he longed to see them. It always made him feel better having him beside him, spreading his Chansungness and overall happy go lucky attitude around, making it impossible for anyone to stay mad or irritated for too long. Nichkhun smiled weakly to himself, a single tear escaping from his eye.

Someone was coming out of the sea, it was too dark to see who. Nichkhun got to his feet with great difficulty, wobbling towards the dark figures. Yunho appeared out of the darkness, Nichkhun looked at him hopefully but Yunho avoided his gaze. Taecyeon followed, he had a sullen expression. He had been crying. His sad eyes met Nichkhun's, he shook his head slightly and looked down. “No.. no.. tell me it's not true! No!” Nichkhun fell to his knees, grabbing Taecyeon's wet trousers. Taecyeon bent down and Nichkhun's back, “We did everything we could.” he said with a trembling voice. “No, NOOO!” Nichkhun screamed hysterically, fighting to get out of Taecyeon's grip but Taecyeon wouldn't let him go, “It's too dark, there is nothing we can do.”. “Chansung.. CHANSUUUUNG!!!” Nichkhun kept on fighting with all that he had left. Minjun, Junho and Wooyoung came running, helping Taecyeon hold Nichkhun down.

Nichkhun stopped fighting, he had no energy left. He started crying. Howling. Hugging him and each other, the others couldn't hold back their tears any longer, they started flowing faster than they could produce them.

There they lay, all together in a heap, crying their eyes out.