Nothing major changes with Hoya’s arrival. Well, genuinely everyone seems in better spirits. They all laugh a little more, mope a little less, and a good chunk of the anxiety in their lives is suddenly gone. It’s a nice feeling. But nothing really changes. There are still rations to manage, laundry to do, a mandatory curfew, and the soldiers must still be holding a grudge because there are plenty of dirty looks to go around.

Life goes on.

But there is something to be said for how full and complete having Hoya with them makes Sunggyu feel. The small cabin is even more cramped, and they aren’t getting any extra rations to cover Hoya’s presence, but they make it work.

The first night Hoya is back, no one sleeps a wink. They end up, all six of them, or seven counting Jiyeon, spread out in the living room, blankets and pillows thrown everywhere. Jiyeon and Sungjong claim the couch, but it’s no hardship for anyone else to lay about on the ground.

Hoya won’t tell them, not for even a second, anything about either the detention center, or the civilian area he’d been carted off to. What this indicates is something that makes Sunggyu’s skin crawl.

But the unease doesn’t last for long. And soon enough they’re having pillow fights, bonding over ghost stories, and laughing well into the night.

“I want it to be like this forever,” Hoya says just before daybreak. Dongwoo and Woohyun are sleeping against each other like they don’t have a care in the world, and Sungjong’s been knocked out for hours. It’s only Hoya, Sungyeol and Sunggyu, and there’s not an ounce of awkwardness between them.

Sunggyeol suggests, “Stuck on a ty island with nothing really to do? Being controlled by a military force that, for the most part, doesn’t even really like us? That forever? How do you feel about that forever, Sunggyu?”

“Don’t forget about the civilian slums,” Sunggyu adds in, “and the endless problems that are sure to crop up once the civilian and native populations are mixed in next week.”

Hoya leans over the railing and cuts them both a smile. “That’s not what I mean. I meant all of us, together.”

A frown passes over Sungyeol’s face. “We’re missing Myungsoo.”

Sunggyu can understand why he feels this way. Myungsoo and Sungyeol have … something going on, even if that something isn’t all that clearly defined. Outside of holy matrimony. But the rest of them aren’t that familiar with Myungsoo. He doesn’t mean the same to the rest of them.

Sunggyu can’t help telling Hoya, “Our little Sungyeol is all grown up and getting married.”

The blush on Sungyeol’s face is deep and almost epic.

“Huh?”

Sungyeol flicks at Sunggyu, then does his best to explain the situation to Hoya.

The sun is almost completely up when the sound of a plane interrupts their quiet conversation. It’s flying low and it’s big, but Sunggyu doesn’t think it will try to land on the short, small runway located at the north end of the island. The three of them shuffle outside to watch it fly.

“A plane,” Hoya says, shielding his eyes with his hand as he follows it in the sky. “How stupid is it that I thought I might never see one of those things again?”

“Not stupid,” Sunggyu says right away. There are plenty of things he knows he’ll never see again.

“Supply drop,” Sungyeol guesses, turning to go back inside. “Gotta keep what’s left of the human race from starving.”

Hoya’s head drops in a depressing way, and when it’s just the two of them, Sungyeol heading towards the bathroom, he asks, “Do you think Sungyeol’s right? Is this it? The last of us?”

Sunggyu snorts and shakes his head. “No way. I mean, I think a lot of the world’s population is gone, and we’re most certainly an endangered species now, but we’re not the last. There are tons of other people on the nearby islands, and that’s just this area. We’re going to survive, Hoya. It may not be pretty for a while, but we’re going to survive.”

“We might eat ourselves alive before that can happen,” Hoya argues, looking defeated. “You weren’t at the place, Sunggyu. God I am so thankful you weren’t, but you weren’t, and you didn’t see the things I did. When people get desperate …”

“That bad?”

Hoya turns to look out at the resort area. There are only a few people up and moving around, and most of them are stumbling by like they’re not quite aware of what’s going on. They’re just waking up, and Sunggyu hasn’t even gone to bed yet.

“It’s so quiet here,” Hoya remarks.

“Let’s head in,” Sunggyu says, tugging on Hoya’s arm. “I’m sleepy, and you look that way too.”

The next few days are spent with all of them together, doing group activities. Usually most of their time is spent separate, coming back together for meals and sleeping, but Sunggyu can see all of them making a concentrated effort to stay together. And Sunggyu doesn’t know about the others, but it makes him feel a little more comfortable as things settle down.

Life evens out, things become regular, and it’s almost easy to forget that this isn’t what they’ve always known.

They celebrate Sungyeol’s birthday at the end of the week.

At first all they have planned is a small celebration at the cabin, with a cake, home made cards and well wishes. They don’t exactly have a mall they can run out to for presents, and Sungyeol tells them all that simply being alive is the best present to be thankful for. But it becomes quickly obvious to Sunggyu, the morning of Sungyeol’s birthday, as he and Dongwoo and Hoya and Woohyun try their best to make an eatable cake that looks decent too, that they’re not the only ones who want to celebrate. Out of all of them, Sungyeol seems to have been the most outgoing and personable. The most friendly. He certainly has the most friends.

So they move the party to one of the smaller recreational rooms in the main building, and Sunggyu starts to sweat as the cake order quadruples.

“I am not a baker,” Sunggyu says, measuring out flour. He’s willing to trade his soul for a box of instant mix right now.

Woohyun dumps some sugar into a mixing bowl and looks down as Jiyeon tramples over his bare feet. She shoves a fist in , babbling at him, and continues on, using the low cabinets to walk along.

“I don’t think baking with a baby in the house is the greatest idea ever,” Woohyun says.

Dongwoo sweeps her up into his arms and says, “I can totally take her and go. Hoya, help me.”

They’re practically running for the door by the time Sunggyu hisses after them, “You traitors.”

Woohyun take the opportunity to give him a sly look and say, “I have to admit, I’d rather be alone with you. Sungyeol’s gone to see friends, Sungjong is dealing with his father, and you know those two cowards Hoya and Dongwoo won’t bring Jiyeon back until the cakes are done. Want to make out?”

Sunggyu rolls his eyes. “Greasy.”

“I prefer opportunistic.” Woohyun catches Sunggyu around the waist and presses him back against the countertop. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

“I’ll hit you if you do,” Sunggyu returns. As much as he’d like to make out with his boyfriend, weighing heavily on his mind is the fact that he needs to bake at least four cakes for the fifty or so people who are now scheduled to attend the birthday party, and this isn’t even counting the party crashers that Sunggyu knows they will have.

Woohyun’s breath ghosts across Sunggyu’s cheek as he says, “Worth it,” then Woohyun seals their lips together.

It’s not an overly passionate kiss. It’s nothing like the kiss that sparked the loss of their mutual ity. In fact it’s almost chaste, and Sunggyu enjoys every second of it. There’s nothing rushed as they kiss, nothing frantic that might lead to the pulling of clothing off, and it absolutely reeks of the way Woohyun likes to dominate almost every aspect of their relationship. There’s no mistaking the way Woohyun holds him tight, controlling the speed of the kiss.

“I missed this,” Woohyun says, knocking his forehead against Sunggyu’s gently. “Me and you, without the others.”

Sunggyu’s head tilts and he kisses Woohyun again, feeling more like an addict than anything else. “There are too many people in this cabin,” he agrees. They haven’t been able to be together ually since the first time, even though he knows Woohyun’s managed to find them a couple more condoms. And now that Sunggyu’s has had a taste of what with Woohyun is like, he’s more than eager to try it again.

“We should get our own,” Woohyun suggests.

Sunggyu’s fingers up the back of Woohyun’s neck, and he realizes this is the equivalent of Woohyun asking him to move in.

It’s not really possible for them to get their own cabin, and it’s less likely, when Sunggyu actually thinks about it, that he wants to be far from the others. But if he and Woohyun could have a room all their own, one not shared with Dongwoo, and not Hoya, things would be better.

“Sunggyu?”

Sunggyu presses his cheek next to Woohyun’s and wraps his arms around the younger male. “One day, okay?”

A year from now they may not even be on the island, or there may be more residences to choose from. Sunggyu isn’t oblivious to the fact that his relationship with Woohyun is still in the honeymoon phase, but there’s something really special about it as well. Woohyun makes Sunggyu feel invincible and so very loved, and Sunggyu isn’t giving Woohyun up for anything. They may very well be together a year from now, or two, or ten.

Woohyun’s hand creeps down to Sunggyu’s and cups it. “We need a love hotel. That’s what we need.”

Sunggyu swats and him, but allows, “Technically this is still Japan. Maybe we can find one on the island.”

“So, top priority then?”

Sunggyu laughs, deep and fulfilling, then turns in Woohyun’s arms to reach for the flour again. “Cake first, okay? And we need to figure this out before anyone else’s birthday … like Sungjong’s next month. I don’t think Hoya will forgive us if we give him food poisoning.”

“Unlikely,” Woohyun laughs.

They end up making five cakes, mostly because the first is a complete failure. Each cake is a varying degree of success, but Sunggyu doesn’t really care what they look like. As long as no one gets sick, and they taste half decent, he’s satisfied.

Close to seventy people turn up for the party, most of which Sunggyu has never seen before, but he doesn’t begrudge anyone wanting to have a night of fun. Most of the attendees bring food, a couple of them bring musical instruments, and things are turning out even better than Sunggy dared to hope for.

“You did good!” Hoya shouts over the loud music a few hours into the party. He flashes Sunggyu a thumbs up, then tosses Jiyeon so high in the air that Sunggyu feels his stomach clench up. He almost misses Hoya add, “You’re planning all my future birthday parties.”

Sunggyu does feel a little smug.

He’s so caught up in his smugness that Sunggyu doesn’t even realize when Hoya disappears back into the thick crowd and someone new is standing next to him.

Kenji remarks, “You know how to throw one hell of a party.”

Sungguy crosses his arms and is supremely pleased that there’s no spark of fear this time when he sees Kenji.

Sunggyu catches sight of Sungyeol clear on the other side of the room. He’s smiling brightly, almost shinning like a beacon, and he’s completely enamored with something one of the boys Sunggyu is less familiar with is saying.

“I didn’t know you were friends with Sungyeol,” he says, knowing Kenji isn’t. It’s more that he’s trying to root out why Kenji is there, especially with Woohyun prowling around. His boyfriend is currently distracted, but it won’t be long before Woohyun comes looking for him.

“I’ve never met the kid,” Kenji says. “But this many people in one spot? This is a potential issue, so I thought I’d come on down, at least for a little bit, to make sure everything was fine.”

“No trouble yet,” Sunggyu says, and doesn’t expect any.

“And I wanted to talk to you.”

Sunggyu loses sight of Woohyun in the crowd and turns to Kenji. “About what?”

They haven’t had the best talks ever, and frankly the idea alone makes Sunggyu a little uneasy. “At my friend’s birthday party?”

Kenji shrugs. “It’s as good a place as any.”

Sunggyu asks, “What did you want to talk to me about?”

A couple of kids dash past Sunggyu and he nearly gets tripped up by them. It’s only a firm hand from Kenji that keeps him upright.

“Thanks,” Sunggyu mumbles, snatching himself away.

Kenji doesn’t seem phased in the least, and to his credit is acting as if they haven’t just come into close contact. “I wanted to let you know that day passes will be available starting tomorrow. You’re the first on the list. And I took the liberty of adding your friends to the list as well. I highly doubt you’ll be going anywhere without them.”

“I don’t exactly need to storm off and rescue anyone anymore, right? You … you were very helpful in that department.”

Not missing a beat, Kenji says, “Friends help each other.”

Sunggyu doesn’t think they’re friends. Maybe they will be some day, and Kenji certainly doesn’t make Sunggyu panic anymore, but he’s far from calling the man his friend. It’s a truth he can’t fight that every time he looks at Kenji, even now, all he can think about is the unexpected kiss and the way Kenji’s been trying to wrestle Sunggyu away from Woohyun. Maybe his efforts have ceased as of late, but the past is still to fresh in his mind.

“And,” Kenji continues, “day passes are handy for a lot of things. There are plenty of places you might want to visit on the island. At the very least, being free to move about is a nice thing isn’t it?”

Sunggyu thinks back to the book about the island that they have currently propped up on the coffee table at the cabin. It probably has all sorts of tourist attractions highlighted within its pages.

“Of course some parts of the island will continue to be off limits.”

Sunggyu gives him a displeased look. “Such as?”

Kenji ticks off, “The military installations, the airport, the detention area, and several others. When you pick up your day passes you’ll get an informational paper about where you should steer clear of.”

“Noted,” Sunggyu responds flatly.

The following silence is awkward between them on an almost unbearable level, before Kenji says, “Well, I suppose that’s the end of it. Things seem nice and calm here, and I’ve said my peace. I’ll head out now.”

It occurs to Sunggyu in the moment that Kenji probably doesn’t have many friends. If any. Kenji has the soldiers, but they’re his subordinates, and Sunggyu has never seen him around anyone else. Does Kenji have any friends at all? Maybe Sunggyu being his friend is bigger than first anticipated.

“You could stay,” Sunggyu offers, maybe sounding a little forced. He’s not all that sure this is a good idea.

“I don’t know Sungyeol,” Kenji reminds.

“So?” Sunggyu shrugs. “Sungyeol might be the birthday boy, but this is my party. I decide who stays and who goes.”

Kenji chuckles, the nods into the crowd. “I think your boyfriend might have something to say about that.”

People are practically throwing themselves out of the way as Woohyun storms over, radiating a dark aura. It’s safe to say that Woohyun has spotted Kenji and is coming over to make trouble.

The second Woohyun reaches them, before any punches can be thrown, Sunggyu clamps a hand down on Woohyun’s shoulder and says, “I don’t think I’ve ever introduced you two.”

The music surrounding them, highlighted by the loud crowd, is masking their voices, but Sunggyu has no doubt they’ll be nothing but a spectacle if he doesn’t control the situation right away.

“I know who Watanabe is,” Woohyun says through clenched teeth. Sunggyu assumes he’s fighting some caveman instinct.

Par for par, Kenji returns, “And you’re Nam Woohyun.”

Sunggyu continues, gesturing between them, “Watanabe Kenji, meet Nam Woohyun, my boyfriend. Nam Woohyun, meet Watanabe Kenji, the reason we have Hoya with us now, and the bringer of news on our day passes.”

Neither man says anything and Sunggyu feels agitated.

“Look,” he tries again, “the truth is, we’re all probably going to be stuck on this island together for a long time. And we all happen to live in close proximity to each other. Getting along will be in everyone’s best interest. Understood?”

“I can’t accept you,” Woohyun says bluntly, voice even.

“I’m not looking for your acceptance,” Kenji says, and Sunggyu wonders why he’s even standing between them. He’s going to be a casualty the second they start trying to claw each other to death.

Sunggyu is quick to note, however, that he doesn’t exactly blame Woohyun. He can’t condone his boyfriend’s behavior, and he has to admonish him at every possible chance, but he understand the protective, maybe possessive instinct. If anyone ever tries to make a move on Woohyun or take Woohyun from him, Sunggyu is prepared to take a trip to the detention center himself. He will kill anyone who tries to get between himself and Woohyun, or at the very least, maim and physically disfigure.

Then Kenji says, “But you may be interested to know that while I’m interested in more than just friendship from Sunggyu, I’m willing to simply accept what he’s giving me. I won’t kiss him again.”

It’s sort of like time slows around them.

This is something Sunggyu hasn’t told Woohyun, worried for his safety and sanity, and this is obviously something that Kenji is just now realizing.

“You kissed him?” Woohyun grinds out, eyes narrowing with lethal intent.

“I did,” Kenji says, a little too quickly.

Sunggyu panics. He looks between the two men, trying to figure out the best way to defuse the situation. But he’s pretty sure neither of them can even see him anymore.

So Sunggyu does the only thing he can think of. Publicly, in a display that might normally make him feel a little nauseous, Sunggyu takes Woohyun’s face in his hands and kisses him squarely on the mouth.

It’s maybe too rough of a kiss, too forceful and desperate, but he knows the moment it starts to work. Woohyun’s hands hook onto his hips and Woohyun kisses back, his mouth moving against Sunggyu’s.

Kenji clears his throat and Sunggyu breaks away.

“Got it?” Sunggyu asks Woohyun, hoping he understands. There’s no competition here, and Sunggyu won’t let Woohyun embarrass them all over thinking there is.

Woohyun nods numbly, quiet and still.

“Good,” Sunggyu says, huffing a bit. “Kenji. Thank you for telling me about the day passes. If you don’t have anything else to do tonight, you should stick around. There are a lot of people here, and they’re faces you’re going to be seeing for a long time. Mingle. Makes some friends. Have cake--it looks bad, but tastes fine, trust me.”

Without another word Sunggyu takes Woohyun by the hand and leads from the room. They emerge out into the warm August night and pass by a couple of friends before moving down to the beach where they can be alone.

The first thing Woohyun says to him, predictably, is, “You didn’t tell me he kissed you.”

“Of course not,” Sunggyu snaps, running a hand through his bangs. His hair is getting long. Normally he keeps it cropped pretty short, but it’s falling into his eyes now, and the first chance he gets he’s going to shorten it. “Because at the time you could see how absolutely messed up I was when I came back from that pseudo dinner with Kenji, that’s when it happened, and if you knew exactly why I was so upset, I might have been pulling you out of the detention center along with Hoya.”

Woohyun snorts, “That Watanabe guy would have loved that.”

Sunggyu edges forward, kicking off his shoes and letting his toes hit the wet sand. The water comes rushing over his feet a half second later and it’s warm from the volcanic activity surrounding them. A night swim is starting to sound pretty good.

“I pushed him away as soon as it happened.”

“He still did it.”

“And it won’t happen again.”

Woohyun declares, “You can’t know that. And Watanabe seems the kind of guy who’d like to arrange for me to have a certain kind of accident.”

Sunggyu, fed up with Woohyun’s behavior, gives him a hard shove. Woohyun spins away from him immediately, flailing for a moment and then landing down in the ankle deep water. “Stop acting like this is some bad drama. He isn’t going to arrange for you to be knocked off, and even if he did, I’ve made it very clear to him that I’m not going to suddenly think he’s my best option. I’ve already owned up to the fact that I’m going to be stuck with you annoying me for a very long time.”

The moon is full and high in the night sky and it’s more than enough illumination for Sunggyu to make out the pleased smile on Woohyun’s face.

Woohyun informs him, “I still want to punch him in the face.”

Sunggyu kicks some water up on Woohyun who’s braced himself back on his hands as the tide comes in on him again and again. “Be the mature party here.”

The glint in Woohyun’s eyes is all the warning Sunggyu gets. Because suddenly he’s on his hands and knees in the surf, water rushing over him as Woohyun hugs him tightly and laughs loudly.

“I hate you,” Sunggyu says, getting a mouth full of saltwater and coughing dramatically.

“You’re fine,” Woohyun insists, patting him on the back. “But since you’re already wet, how about going for a swim with me?”

When Woohyun kisses him next it’s with salty lips, but Sunggyu can hardly bring himself to care. Woohyun crooks his elbow around the back of Sunggyu’s neck as they tread water, going further out into the ocean, and the heat from their kisses seems warmer than the water around them.

Sunggyu doesn’t know if kissing Woohyun will ever stop being such an … experience. He doesn’t want it to.

“You know, Woohyun says slightly, his hands pushing up Sunggyu’s back, dragging up his clothing, “I do have those extra condoms now.”

Sunggyu’s mouth kisses down Woohyun’s throat. He’s got the most incessant need to prove to Woohyun that Kenji is nothing to him, and isn’t a threat to them. And he’s going to do it marking Woohyun the best way he knows how.

Woohyun moans out, with a laugh mixed in there, “Whoa, tiger.” His hand comes up to cradle the back of Sunggyu’s head, who’s a hickey into the Woohyun’s pulse point.

No one is home, Sunggyu thinks. Dongwoo and Hoy and the rest of their friends are at the party, and they’re probably going to be there for a very long time.

Sunggyu swims them closer to shore, then hops up to his feet, then reaches a hand down for Woohyun. They’re both completely soaked, but considering Sunggyu plans to have their clothing off very quickly, it’s of little consequence.

“You want to head back?” Woohyun asks a little confused as he rises to his feet.

Sunggyu shakes his head. “Didn’t you say you had three condoms?”

They run laughing into the night, stripping off their clothes as they go, and are both dry and by the time they fall into bed. Sunggyu takes Woohyun into his arms, kisses him deeply, and proceeds to take fully advantage of the time they have.

Needless to say, when the others stumble their way back into the cabin a few hours later, Woohyun’s walking a little funny, Sunggyu’s in the process of stripping the sheets from the bed, and all the windows are open, a breeze drifting through the cabin.

Dongwoo glares at them, smarter than they give him credit for. Sunggyu bends for the rest of the bedding and feels a twinge in his own backside. It’s worth it, and the grin on Woohyun’s face says he agrees.

The get their day passes the next day as promised, but all Sunggyu wants to do it sit around and relax. He volunteers to take Jiyeon for the day while the others explore the surrounding area, and spends the morning spoiling her even more than usual. He’s honestly got no plans to go anywhere, other than the sofa, when Sungjong and Sungyeol come bursting back in by lunchtime.

“Problem?” Sunggyu asks at once, but there’s no panic on either of their faces. In fact they only seem overjoyed.

“We met some of the nearby locals,” Sungyeol explains, snatching up Jiyeon and hooking her nearby baby bag over his shoulder. They told us about this place we have to go tonight. It’s supposed to be mind blowing.”

Sunggyu pointedly doesn’t get up from the sofa. “How did you even communicate with the locals?”

Sungyeol flicks his ear. “This island might be highly isolated from the rest of Japan, but there used to be a daily ferry that ran between here and the mainland, and a lot of the residents here went to college in Japan. Some of them even studied in foreign places, like China and South Korea. There are more people here who speak Korean than you’d think.”

“So what did they say?”

Sungjong rounds the sofa to pull on Sunggyu’s hand. “Come on. You have to come with us.”

“I don’t want to,” Sunggyu says stubbornly. He wants to nap, and wait for Woohyun to come back and kiss him.

“If you don’t get up,” Sungyeol says carefully, “I will make it my personal mission to see that you never have a reason to need to wash bed sheets before the rest of us get home again.”

Sunggyu lets Sungjong pull him up to his feet and asks, “Why’s it so important that I come?”

“Because you’re a team player?”

Sunggyu stares.

“Because I said so,” Sungyeol decides. “Now come on.”

It seems a littler ridiculous that Sungyeol and Sungjong have come all the way back for him, but honestly, once Sunggyu gets out in the sun, and stretches his legs, he feels even better than when he was simply sitting around.

“Up here,” Sungyeol insists, shouldering Jiyeon’s weight like she’s nothing. “The others aren’t too far away.”

The pass through the checkpoint easily, and head up the road in the opposite direction that Sunggyu and Kenji traveled in to get Hoya. There’s a side path running parallel to the road, but they may as well have just walked on the asphalt. Cars seems to be a rarity on the island, probably due to the scarcity of gas now.

It’s only a fifteen minute walk before they come up on what looks to be a Shinto Shrine, and the others are clustered around.

“Hey!” Dongwoo calls out, seeing them first.

“This is what you wanted me to see?” Sunggyu questions. The shrine is beautiful, built into the mountain and a true relic of the past, but neatly cared for. There’s no priest on hand, but Sunggyu isn’t really surprised. He hasn’t heard talk of religion or god or anything of that nature since a few days after the infection spread. Maybe people have stopped believing in a higher power. Maybe they don’t want to believe in something that would allow this to happen. Sunggyu’s never really been a believer, so for him, it isn’t really a big deal.

“No,” Sungyeol says. “It’s what’s at the shrine that we wanted you to see.

Also at the shrine is a small tourist section, and Woohyun’s standing by it when Sunggyu comes up to him, asking, “What do you have there?”

Woohyun turns a map towards Sunggyu, saying, “There are a ton of wartime tunnels all over this island. There are a bunch right here. We want to go exploring them and see what we can find. Right after lunch. You didn’t already eat, right?”

There’s a picnic bench nearby, and it’ll be a tight squeeze for the seven of them, but it’s better than the ground.

“War time tunnels?”

The bag that Dongwoo has with him contains the food for their meal, and he’s already spreading things out by the time Woohyun responds, “They’re not deep or dangerous, which is why we thought it would be okay to bring Jiyeon, and it’ll pass the time until nightfall.”

“When we go back?”

Woohyun shakes his head. “There’s something that happens on this island at night that we have to see. It’s over around September, when it starts to get too cold, and if we don’t go today, we might miss it until next summer.”

“I was relaxing, you know.”

Woohyun bumps his hip against Sunggyu’s. “Don’t sit around and waste your days, Gyu. You know you would rather have fun with us, even if you act like a cranky grandpa the entire time.”

“You’re lucky I like you,” Sunggyu warns, looking at the map of tunnels.

Lunch takes around an hour, and then it’s another twenty minutes to get Jiyeon into the baby harness strapped to Sungyeol’s back for her nap. But soon enough they’re hiking their way up towards the nearest tunnel.

Sunggyu hates to admit it, but Woohyun is right. It is more fun to be with his friends.

If the world hadn’t ended, and the tourism of the island was going strong, there would have been an employee to greet them at the beginning of the first tunnel. Instead there’s only an empty gift shop, and supply area where they pick up flashlights and read safety brochures.

The tunnels are packed full of Japanese history. Only now it seems a little more weighty, because this isn’t just Japanese history anymore. Now this is human history.

In a hundred years will there be many people around who remember the little things? Or even the big? In a hundred years will people have become so secluded and removed from the world that was, that they won’t have any idea about the things that have shaped the world?

Will names like Mandela and Gandhi still resonate? Will anyone remember the atrocities perpetrated by Hitler? It’s a staggering thought that their history may very well be lost to them.

They spend several hours exploring the tunnels, enjoying each others company, and simply being as free as possible.

They walk further and further, coming upon fields of fruit, lined in rows of color. At first Sunggyu has it in him to lecture Dongwoo and Hoya not to steal the strawberries, but soon enough his own mouth is painted blue from nearby bunches of blueberries.

It’s easy to pretend they’re children during all of this. They streak through the fields of fruit loudly, jumping and hollering and simply being alive. Sunggyu feels Woohyun at his back, pushing him along when he starts to slow, and this is turning out to be one of the best days of Sunggyu’s life.

“So where is this thing I absolutely have to see?” Sunggyu asks Woohyun right around the time the sun is starting to dip in the background. They’re all more than a little tired, and the walk back is going to be tiring, but at this point they’re still pressing forward.

“Up here,” Woohyun says, consulting his map.

Sunggyu knows what he’s meant to see the second they come up over a large hill and have a good look at the valley below.

It’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“Wow!” Sungjong shouts, running ahead. Hoya dashes after him with Dongwoo not far behind.

“Do you guys need to be alone so you can have a moment?” Sungyeol teases, a fussy Jiyeon in his arms. “Come join us when you’re done acting like you’ve been married for twenty years.”

Sunggyu’s hand finds Woohyun’s almost instinctively, and in the dark of the night, the moon still mostly full, the ground is lit up around them. It’s glowing, actually glowing, and it takes Sunggyu’s breath away.

“They’re bioluminescent mushrooms,” Woohyun says, resting his chin on Sunggyu’s shoulder. “Beautiful, right?”

The ground is a rippling sight of blues and purples, swaying in the wind, greens and yellows peaking out every few seconds.

“It is,” Sunggyu agrees. He almost wants to call the others back, because they’re in danger of trampling some of the mushrooms.

Woohyun gives a little tug to Sunggyu’s hand. “I guess they only glow for a couple of months out of the year, and September is their expatriation date. It gets too cold after that. I wanted us to see this because--”

Woohyun is deftly cut off by Sunggyu turning sharply to him with a sobering expression. “Thank you,” he says, and can’t get anything else out.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Woohyun says bashfully.

Sunggyu thinks he does. Because they are constantly surrounded by fear and death. All day, every day, Sunggyu thinks about how things can go wrong, and how they may not live to see another day. But these mushrooms, these simple mushrooms, remind him so much of the kind of beauty and life that still exists in the world.

“Just take the gratitude,” Sunggyu says, his mouth soft against Woohyun’s.

“I’ll take some kind of gratitude,” Woohyun leers, his hand squeezing Sunggyu’s .

“Hey, you two!” Sungyeol calls out loudly. “Your moment is over!”

Woohyun sneaks in one more kiss, then tugs on Sunggyu’s hand.

Cautiously Sunggyu lets Woohyun pull him forward, almost desperate not to step on any of the mushrooms.

Thunder cracks in the sky above them and Sunggyu looks up to see clouds for the first time.

“Guys,” Dongwoo says slowly, his head tipped back. “You don’t think it’s going to rain, right? I mean, it’s the end of August. It’ll be September in a couple of days.”

Sungyeol shrieks, diving to cover Jiyeon as the sky opens up and rain pours down on them.

The rain, unlike the ocean water, is icy cold, and Sunggyu can already feel himself catching a chill. While the others scramble around him, looking for some kind of cover, Sunggyu crosses his arms and tells Woohyun, “Worst idea ever.”

Woohyun pushes his wet bangs out of the way and declares, “I couldn’t exactly get on my smart phone and check the weather app.”

“Let’s get out of here!” Hoya shouts, pointing at some lights in the distance.

Woohyun pulls Sunggyu around and into a run so suddenly that he almost loses his footing. But as they jog forward, toward what becomes more and more clear is a cluster of houses, Sunggyu can’t help looking back towards the mushrooms.

Despite the rain and the misty looking fog that’s starting to drift in, they look even more beautiful than before.