Jongdae returned to his home with an empty cooking pot and Xiumin at his side carrying a jar of more than a few island beetles. Jongdae didn't know the name of them but they were the size of his middle finger, thick and spiny too, and they crunched like cockroaches when you stepped on them. Not hard to catch, Jongdae and Xiumin collected nearly fifteen. Lay had gone into the woods with them, but didn't touch the bugs. Understandable, because if you didn't grab them right they secreted a smell that embedding itself into everything in the vicinity. 

"They left already? Chen asked his father, who nodded as he wiped the table clean. 

"About an hour ago. I doubt they made it to the Zhang house though. Fishermen picked 'em up on the way I bet. They're probably at the bar being fools."

Jongdae grinned and his father stared at him, trying to remember the last time he had seen his son shine like that. Not since his mom, he thought. It was different than before, more resentful, but his lips were pulled back and he was showing his teeth. He didn't know why his son was smiling and he didn't ask. And because of the fleeting nature of those feelings, his smile faded. 

"You were thinking about mom weren't you?" Chen asked. 

"Yea." The dishes made a loud clashing noise as they were dropped carelessly into the sink. 

Chen thought about saying something comforting like, "I miss her too," but he got the sense that Xiumin was trying to make himself disappear and so he changed the subject. 

"What business did you discuss?"

"Well," his father started, relieved that they didn't have to talk about his wife any longer, "they said the island is perfect for their magazine. They're bringing in camera crews and everything in a few weeks when they can get it all together. They wanted to stay for a few more days though. Check everything out just to be sure. And..."

"And?" Xiumin asked, also having been revived after the topic change. 

"I said Chen would show them around. You should go with them too, Xiumin."

Jongdae's smile had flipped. "Really? You really told them that?"

"I thought you mind want to show off your pride and joy."

"Not to ignorant boys in suits who don't have half a sense of how to appreciate it."

"They're not as bad as you think."

"So you're on their side?"

"There aren't sides."

Jongdae turned to Xiumin for support who shyly offered him some. 

"I think they should go back to Seoul and stay there," he said, still holding the jar of bugs under his arm.

"And Lay had to give up his room so that they could have rooms next to each other. They want to stay a few more days? We have to feed them, watch out for them. All so that they can turn our home into another tourist dump."

Jongdae turned around to walk out but noticed some suitcases in the corner. They were leather and monogrammed on the edge with white cursive lettering. Xiumin knew as Jongdae's eyes squinted for a second, he was thinking. 

"For your sake," Jongdae said, addressing his father again, "I'll do a sort of peace offering. I can take their luggage to Lay's house." He eyed Xiumin, then the bug jar, then Junmyeon and Baekhyun's bags. Xiumin smiled. 

"Why the sudden change in heart?"

"Maybe you're right."

The words sounded insincere even to Jongdae, who was trying hard to convince his father that he would help the city boys in order to avoid suspicion later. The air had gone stale though. The village chief had enough for the night. He didn't want tourism to transform their beautiful island either. He couldn't tell Jongdae that he had no choice other than to accept the offer, because their economy had plunged and he couldn't cover it up much longer. They needed the money. The rich boys threw their money around like grains of rice. 

"2,000,000,000 won for the feature. We'll pay you upfront," Suho had said. 

The chief, naive in matters involving so much money, asked for more. Suho had furrowed his eyebrows as if to say, Do you not know a good deal when you hear one? But Suho needed the island as much as the island needed the funds. 

"Ok, 3,000,000,000 won," Suho said, holding out his hand to make the deal. There was paperwork to be filled out, but handshakes seemed more final. The village chief took his hand and held it. He had given them an extra one billion won, no hesitation. Just like that. That was more than the village members made in a year combined. And Suho had treated it so nonchalantly that it was almost offensive. 

The head of the village knew that Jongdae was planning mischief. Whatever it was they did to the city boys he felt was justified in some way, and it wouldn't change their mind. The way the island had transfixed them completely, they'd never change their minds. 

"Ok," Jongdae said. "We'd better take the luggage now and drop them off before they get there."

Xiumin grabbed Baekhyun's which had the initials BB and Jongdae took Junmyeon's, which had the name Suho written out instead of KJ. Once outside, Jongdae began to whisper urgently. He was nervous and desparate, his time to protect Susido had finally come.

"Let's put them in quick. Pass me the jar," he said, ping the bags. Xiumin handed it to him, loosening the top. 

Shouts came from half a mile away. They weren't intense shouts, they were slurred and obnoxious. Flocks of birds began to emerge from the trees in an attempt to escape the ruckus. Jongdae and Xiumin couldn't hear the shouts but they saw the birds and left what they were doing behind to check out what had happened. 

They sprinted the whole way worried, Jongdae leading the way, worried that one of the locals had gotten hurt or attacked or something else tragic. All Jongdae could think about was the birds. He remembered them, he remembered how they all came out at once on that spring morning and he hadn't known what it meant back then. But he knew now. 

Then he saw the silhouettes of two bodies on the ground and began to panic. 

"Xiumin. Xiumin, they're dead. They're dead," Jongdae said, falling deeper into a darkness that he didn't think he'd ever experience again. 

He needs me, Xiumin thought.

"It's okay," Xiumin said, "They're laughing. They're not dead." He moved towards them to get a better look at their faces. From far away, it had been too dark to see that one had bleach blond hair. "It's Junmyeon. And his friend I'm guessing."

Jongdae felt like crying after getting so worked up and it had turned out to be something he couldn't care less about.

"Leave them." Jongdae said.

"Come on, we can't."

"You can carry them then."

Xiumin gave him a look that Jongdae could not ignore. It was like seeing Xiumin's face for the first time. His sympathy was contagous. Jongdae would've done anything for Xiumin so that he would never make that face at him again. It hurt too much. It made him feel guilty for things he had only thought about, but it was like Xiumin knew about his darkness. It hurt him too much. 

"Forget about the bugs then too," Jongdae said, hoisting up Junmyeon, who was barely holding back vomit. Jongdae began to drag him along the road and Xiumin followed behind with Baekhyun in his arms. Jongdae covered his face with Junmyeon's body to hide the humility that was seeping through his pores. More than anything, he needed sleep.

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Thank you for reading!!! What do you think so far? Sorry there are probably so many typos in this it's so late ahahha ok bye!