Day 6

When the subtle wind of the sea cools by the absence of the sun, things became a bit chilly. Daehyun made us a fire by the cove with a batch of mangos he had plucked from the trees and we devoured them together by the flames after a long eventless day.

Once the fire dies out, we shall return to our shelters and sleep for the rest of the night. Daehyun allowed me to share some of his clothes since mine were becoming dirty and he even taught me a way of keeping my teeth clean by using a special piece of stick from a tree which can be softened into bristles by saliva and used as a toothbrush.

It clearly isn't the most pleasant thing to do, so Daehyun also suggested to use the inside of banana skins for whitening.

Apparently it works. 

I silently picked at the strings the mango left between my teeth whilst Daehyun continued eating. He was fairly a big eater. He manages to eat a whole salmon without a fuss or a complaint- unlike me- and I continue to ponder on how he does it without gaining weight.

Hell, for all I know there could be a damn six-pack under that vest. I somehow manage to drag a string out of my tooth and sigh with relief because it felt pretty damn irritant being lodged in there.

Daehyun finished up his last mango and wiped away at his mouth before adding some more wood to the fire.

"So Jae," he starts, giving me his own nickname, "how'd you get here?"

A cold wind of air breathed down onto my skin and made me shudder momentarily. I remembered the tragic night I had to pounce onto a rescue boat all on my own and felt my heart palpitate.

"My friend and I came out to sea in his fathers boat. It was a pretty big boat to be honest but it couldn't handle the storm. Before I knew it...the cabins were flooded with water so I fled with the rescue boat and somehow drifted here..."

Daehyun flicked a bug off his leg and asked, "Did he take his own boat? Your friend, I mean." 

I looked up at him and quietly shook my head.

"He died. The storm threw him overboard and drowned him." I said, my voice trembling.

Daehyun stopped fretting about the fireflies and swiftly looked up to meet my solemn gaze.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, resting an uncertain hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Were you...close?" 

I nodded and curled my fingers into the sand. "He was my only friend." 

Daehyun moved his hand from my shoulder down to my back before rubbing it up and down reassuringly. I was close to tears but I bit them back and took a deep breath.

I cried enough the other night. 

I took in a deep breath and shrugged, "I'm going to head back now." 

I stood up from the sand and trailed off, leaving behind a sorry Daehyun. Shortly after, he caught up to me and walked with me for the rest of the way back to my shelter. I paused at the leafy opening and sent Daehyun a smile. "Good night Daehyun." 

"Wait-" 

He came over towards me and slowly took my hand in his. I looked up at him questioningly before he began moving us through the trees and bushes. Puzzled, I staggered along muttering stupid questions until Daehyun and I arrived right by the shoreline.

I sealed my lips together and waited for something to happen, but all I felt was the embrace of the cold wind and the tickle of sand beneath my feet.

Daehyun took his hand away from mine and looked out towards the moon as it shimmered its white angelic reflection down onto the ocean. His thick lips parted and he finally began to use words.

“If you listen closely to the waves, you might be able to still hear him breathing.”

Something about his tender words put my beating heart at rest.

I absorbed the cold and closed my eyes, parting my lips and slowly exhaling. The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stood up from anticipation as the feeling of serenity seized my body.

A flashback of a hot summers day I spent lying under the sun on the grass with Jaehwan by my side enveloped my memory. The flutter of the willow trees echoed the silence and harmonized with Jaehwan’s gentle breaths. He turned his head to look at me and smiled, which I meekly returned.

His face faded and the sun set as the flashback gradually melted away.

Daehyun’s supple voice had some sort of hypnotic power over me. I opened my eyes to search his and froze. A refreshing feeling intoxicated my bloodstream and somehow I found myself gleaming like the moon.

It was as though a knot or a bond had suddenly just formed its way between me and the island boy, securing us together in an unspoken pact. 

~*~

[MAP UPDATE] 

D shelter= Daehyun's shelter

Y shelter= Youngjae's shelter

Waterfall= epic fail.