Almost immediately following the death of all the plants around you, the ground begins to shake violently and you watch in awe as tropical ferns start erupting from the earth. It’s your first time witnessing the system change before your very eyes, and even though you try to convince yourself of what you are seeing you still find it hard to believe. As everything settles back into a silent stillness, you and Yongguk exchange a glance before you slowly begin weaving your way through this new wilderness like a corn maze, the thick growth making it difficult to navigate.

    You spend what feels like hours trudging through the dense jungle, each tree and shrub you pass looking identical to the last, giving you no hope that you are actually making any progress. Your whole body is burning - your skin from the heat, your muscles from the exertion, and your throat from your unquenchable thirst. Yongguk’s canteen is once again empty. 

    The afternoon is spent like this, with relatively no conversation between you and Yongguk as you’ve decided that if you don’t have anything optimistic to say, you simply won’t say it. With all the stress put on you in this unpredictable environment, you’ve begun to sympathize with Yongguk and all that he has done for you. You want to be strong in his eyes - a partner to depend on, not a liability to slow him down. Maybe if you show him the benefits of working together, he won’t be so reluctant to look for Zelo.

    When the shadows of the jungle begin to grow longer and the sun isn’t more than a hand’s width above the horizon, larger breaks of light in the canopy of palm leaves above begin to appear. Following them brings you to a sandy beach whose salty blue water is, thankfully, still water.

    “Do you think we’re on an island?” you ask, observing how the shoreline in either direction curves back around behind the trees.

    “Maybe,” Yongguk replies absentmindedly, as he is busy surveying the new setting and taking note of all the elements that may be advantageous. “I hope it doesn’t stay for long.”

    “But it’s beautiful,” you gush, taking in the sight of the low curling waves lapping at the shore.

    “I don’t like jungles,” he makes a face, “It’s like everything in them is trying to kill you.”

    You remember Zelo's comment back in the raspberry field, and think maybe the strange boy is better versed with this world than you’ve been giving him credit for. Yongguk and Zelo, you’ve noticed, are both very cautious, both very reluctant to trust. Not like you; you’ve blindly fallen into step behind everything Yongguk has done. But the more you listen to him, the more you begin to think that listening to him, or anyone for that matter, could be a bad idea.

    “This is a good place to stay. I’m going to walk a bit farther, look for some food for tonight,” he announces, “With our luck, this sunny paradise isn’t the side of the jungle the system wants us to experience. It’s a whole other world at nighttime.”

    “No, wait,” you stop him just as he turns away from you and the sparkling beach, “I’ll find food. You rest this time.”

    If he could perhaps trust you with this small task, you think maybe he could eventually trust you with other, more important things. If he could trust you at all, you think maybe you won’t feel so foolish about the amount of trust you’ve already had to put in him.

    He gives you a strange look, wondering what you’re up to. “Okay then,” he finally agrees, then pulls something out of his pocket. “Take my extra knife, and don’t wander too far.”

    You nod and head back into the jungle as if it were a familiar walk in the park. You had managed to find the raspberry patch - though then again maybe the system had let you find it - and if you had stumbled upon food the first time you went wandering, surely it could happen again. You continuously glance back over your shoulder as you walk, making sure to keep a straight path and not get lost in the mess of bushes and trees and ferns and vines around you.

    Finally, you come across a tree that looks different. While shorter than some of the surrounding trees, it’s height is still fairly tall, maybe 20 feet or so you estimate, with wide green leaves that droop like wet feathers. When you glance up, you grin as you notice what kind of tree it is. Bananas, you think excitedly as you take in the large bunch of fruit hanging from the treetop. You can just barely reach the bracts of the bottom bud when standing on the tips of your toes, but with how many hands of ripened fruit you see at the top you know that if you could get the whole bunch down, you and Yongguk would have food for days. You could just imagine it now, returning to the beach just as Yongguk sets up camp for the night, carrying back such an impressive haul from your gathering escapade.

    Clutching your knife between your teeth, you eye the large bunches of ripe fruit hanging tauntingly above your head and roll your sleeves up determinedly as you begin your ascent, shimmying up the trunk ever so slowly. The trunk grows at a slight angle, but the bark isn’t so much bark as it is a thin and papery covering around a central stem, growing in layers that curl at the edges and make it difficult to grip with your feet. Just over halfway up the tree, you are able to reach the stalk of the bananas.

    The ground below you now seems dizzyingly far away. It’s a good thing you aren’t afraid of heights, you think to yourself, almost facetiously. Now that you have an idea of what sorts of things the system may throw at you, a fear like heights seems downright laughable. You then stop yourself, wondering when it was that you too began referring to the mechanics of this world as ‘the system’.

    You shake off the uncomfortable feeling in the back of our mind and grip the knife handle in your palm. The flowering stalk is large enough in diameter that, when you wrap your hand around it, your thumb and forefinger just barely touch. The knife cuts slowly, and even in the shade of the large, draping banana leaves, sweat drips down your face and the muscles in your arm scream for rest. Almost there. You keep cutting. It is in your right arm that you hold the knife, but your left arm that grasps the tree trunk is still weak around the scar from the snake bite. You’ve already sawed over halfway through the stalk when a sudden cramp in your injured shoulder makes your left hand let go. Your feet slip and you plummet to the ground, not quite able to make a balanced landing on your feet. The wind is knocked swiftly out of your lungs, your elbow skids off the rough jungle floor, and you wince at the pain in your tailbone.

    You struggle to finally in another breath, and a sudden hand on your shoulder makes your eyes shoot open in surprise. “Are you okay?” Zelo's surprised face appears upside down above yours.

    “Yeah... Yeah I’m fine,” you practically gasp out the words as you sit up carefully. A throbbing sensation in your ankle gradually becomes apparent, and you feel a thin trail of blood trickling down your elbow.

    Zelo offers a hand and you take it, rising uncertainly onto your feet as the pain in your ankle worsens. You grimace and favour your weight to one side, which he notices right away.

    “Maybe you should sit back down. I have some medical supplies in my bag,” he says, reaching into his satchel. He rummages around for a moment, then pulls out some bandages. He hands you a bandaid for your elbow, as well as a couple of extras.

    “You should rinse that in the salty water,” he advises, “I have bandages to patch you up, but nothing to help if it gets infected.”

    You nod as you gingerly sit back down, careful not to put too much direct pressure on your tailbone. It will probably bruise, but other than that it’s of minimal concern. You peel open the bandaid and apply it securely to your scrape.

    “Can you move your ankle in every direction?” he asks as he kneels down in front of you, and you carefully lift your injured foot slightly into the air, first bending it up, then down, then left-

    Your face contorts in discomfort at the movement, and Zelo nods understandingly. “Try to get your shoe off,” he says as he begins unravelling an elastic bandage, “Wrapping it will at least take away some of the discomfort of walking, even if you can’t support your full weight with it.”

    You carefully wiggle off your shoe a little bit at a time, hyperaware of every little movement your ankle makes. It’s already red and beginning to swell, but since you’re unsure of how to gauge its severity, you look to Zelo for his reaction. He seems fairly competent and certainly sounds like he knows what he’s doing, so you decide to trust him. His eyebrows furrow slightly in concern, but his calm demeanour makes you feel like it isn’t too bad.

    He gently begins looping the bandage around and around, and you watch him curiously until he fastens the end of wrap to itself, loose enough to not interfere with blood circulation but firm enough that the pressure eases the pain and holds your ankle in place. He smiles in satisfaction at his own work and you slip your shoe back on.

    “I hope these are worth all that trouble,” Zelo smiles as he walks back over to the tree. He’s nearly a foot taller than you, and his long arms easily reach the bottom flower of the banana bunch. He rocks it back and forth in wide movements, twisting the stalk as the last few fibres you hadn’t yet cut through finally snap. The whole bundle drops into his arms and you shoot him a weary smile.

    “I could have used some height like yours a few minutes ago,” you say.

    “You did most of the work,” Zelo shrugs, kicking your fallen knife back to you along the ground. You pick it up and stash it in your pocket.

    “I can take them from here,” you offer, but Zelo shakes his head.

    “You’re already hobbling along on that leg of yours without any added weight,” he points out, and you know you won’t be able to argue with him.

    You start back towards the beach, and the sun has almost reached the horizon when the ocean comes back into view.

    “Just down here,” you point towards where you and Yongguk had agreed to stay the night, and as if he had heard you from all that way away, Yongguk stands up from the shelter he had been constructing and turns in your direction.

    As soon as the two males meet eyes, they both freeze. The look on Yongguk’s face is at once both shocked and confused, but Zelo's expression is much less readable.

    “You can take it from here, right?” he turns to you with a small smile, handing you the bananas. The bunch is heavy in your arms and awkwardly large to hold, but it’s nothing you can’t handle on your own.

    “Where are you going?” you ask incredulously, having finally believed he would come back to join you and Yongguk. “You can stay with us, we have food and shelter.”

    “Don’t worry about me,” Zelo replies as he takes a single banana from the bunch in your arms, inclining his head to you in a nod of appreciation. “I’ve got to get going.”

    You are left staring dubiously into the jungle even after he has disappeared back into its depths. Slowly, you turn around and resume walking, but Yongguk notices your limping and begins walking toward you. You end up meeting halfway, and for the second time ever you witness Yongguk at a loss for words, with so many questions swimming around behind his baffled eyes that he doesn’t know where to begin.

    “That was Zelo,” you answer the confused look on his face,  something rushed and excited about your voice, “I told you he was real.”

    He blinks, then looks back at the jungle where Zelo had just walked off into. He shuts his mouth as he thinks for a moment, opens it as a stampede of thoughts occur to him all in quick succession, then finds he has nothing coherent to say and shuts it again.

    “What the hell happened?” he asks instead, glancing down at your ankle.

    You lift the bananas higher, as if they are explanation enough to put together how you got hurt. “Just a minor sprain,” you assure him, “He wrapped it for me, it’ll be fine.”

    Yongguk’s frown deepens, and he takes the bananas from you as he turns back towards camp.

    “Hey, I can carry those on my own,” you object, and he gives you a sidelong glance.

    “Either I’m carrying the bananas or I’m carrying you,” he says sternly, and you hold your tongue as you follow him back. “I shouldn’t have let you go off on your own. I should have just gone with you.”

    Your heart drops. You had wanted to prove to Yongguk that you could do things on your own, that you could be helpful, but it seems to be having the exact opposite effect.

    “But look how much food I got,” you argue, “I told you I could do it myself.”

    “This food could disappear as quickly as the jungle it came from. There’s no use stockpiling stuff like this. You could have gotten enough food without putting yourself in danger like that,” he rebukes, “Besides, I at least could have helped you if I was there, but I wasn’t and now you’re hurt.”

    “I don’t need your help with every little goddamn thing!” you shout, and immediately regret doing so. But you feel stupid for not having considered that possibility. You had just assumed you would be able to keep the food with you for as long as you needed it. Embarrassment and frustration tangle the chords of your voice and that little outburst is all you can do to not scream.

    He slows his step and looks back at you. He’s quiet for a moment, then simply nods, shifting the bundle of bananas in his arms. Your entire body stiffens as you notice something suddenly come crawling out of them.

    “Yongguk don’t move,” you hiss, and he follows your wide eyes without turning his neck to glance down at the tarantula climbing up his shoulder.

    “Ah ,” he says, voice so deadpan that it’s almost comical.

    This is your chance, you realize. But I hate spiders. You can show Yongguk how strong-willed you really are. But I hate spiders. You can prove to him that you are not out to make yourself an easy target, nor will you ever be. But, spiders.

    You feel like you’ve come detached from your body as you witness yourself step over to Yongguk’s side, placing a calm hand on his shoulder. The tarantula is not stressed by your slow movements; it does not react defensively. When it crawls onto your hand, you meet Yongguk’s eyes before walking over to the jungle’s edge. It’s heavier than you expected it to be, and not very spider-like at all. Tiny hairs on its prodding legs irritate your skin, but only with a mild itch. The tarantula crosses over to your other hand as you guide it, and then to the ground after you’ve lowered it into the bushes.

    Your mind and body reconnect only once you are standing next to Yongguk once more, and he still hasn’t taken his astonished eyes off you.

    “Well done,” he finally nods in approval, something like pride showing through in the smile that he gives you as his voice trails off upon the ocean breeze, “Extremely well done...”

    Yongguk sets the bananas down against a piece of driftwood and you take in the changes made since you were on the beach last. He’s woven a large mat out of wide, jungle leaves, and two precarious bundles of old, peeling branches make a crude sort of covering over it. It won’t do much to protect you from anything you would need protecting from, but for some reason it’s still greatly more appealing than sleeping on the bare ground.

    Yongguk gets back to work, and you leave him be as you venture over to the water’s edge to rinse your scraped elbow. The blood has dried into flaky blotches and the cold salt water shocks the nerves of your tender skin, but before long the wound is clean and you open a fresh bandage to put over it just as Yongguk comes to join you.

    “I didn’t mean to be so hard on you, you worked hard today and it paid off. After all that effort, I hope you at least like bananas,” he smiles as he hands you one freshly torn from the bunch, “Though you’re gonna be sick of ‘em pretty soon either way.”

    You take the fruit, a stumpy green banana that is just beginning to turn yellow. Its insides are still slightly bitter, but soft enough to remind you of the bananas you would buy from the grocery store at the plaza beside your apartment. Sure, it’s not quite the same, but it’s similar enough to be comforting, and your spirits are left feeling light with humour as the sun sets. You’ve come to enjoy this time of day very much - a time where the fighting and running and chaos seems to stop, and you and Yongguk once again can sit in peace and talk until the light is gone from the sky. It is one thing that has been consistent in your experience with this world, and you miss consistency and routine more than anything right now.

    “I understand that you don’t need my help with everything,” Yongguk says after a while, “Hell, if I weren’t around, I don’t doubt that you’d be doing just fine on your own.”

    You fidget with the wrap on your ankle, unhooking it and hooking it again. The sand is damp beneath your bottom, and the low tide laps against the shore just inches away from your feet. The jungle is alive with buzzing insect symphonies and echoes of birdsong, weaving together with the hushing waves of the ocean in a mesh of white noise that cradles your subconscious and rocks it gently.

    “There was a long period of time between when Himchan left this world and when you entered it. When you’re by yourself for that long...life starts to lose its significance. Now that you’re here, I finally have something I can fight for again,” he says, and you look over at him in surprise. “I don’t know where that Zelo came from, but every time something happens, I’m again struck with the feeling that I’m supposed to be the one there to help you.”

    He falls silent once more, and you know he’s not really watching the sunset. His attention has turned inward, to some other thought occupying his mind, but his expression doesn’t give anything away. You don’t know if it’s his distrustful nature that’s making him so suspicious of Zelo, or perhaps it’s a simple matter of pride, but somehow you know that there’s more to his worries than what he’s telling you.

    “What are you thinking?” you decide to ask bluntly.

    His lips part in brief contemplation. “I’m thinking I have a pretty good understanding of how sprites work. Their behaviour, their logic, the mechanisms that make their minds tick... I’ve picked up on a lot of things and can usually explain it all.” Yongguk lets out a long breath, glancing back over his shoulder into the darkening jungle. “But now I’m thinking a new behaviour has developed. Now I’m thinking a sprite has started following you around, and I have no explanation as to why.”

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>acrophobia [ˌakrəˈfōbēə] the fear of heights
>arachnophobia [əˌraknəˈfōbēə] the fear of spiders