The shorter and eldest of the two was Minseok, a docile man with the power to freeze anything he pleased and the ability to distract Luhan from irritating the others so much. The taller and youngest of the two was Sehun, whose kind personality completely conflicted with the cocky aura his appearance gave off. He could whip up an amazingly vigorous gust of wind at any given time. Apparently they had not known each other for long, only having united through a single text message.

[Blocked Number] 5:03pm

You must cut your visit to Madagascar short if you wish to take part in a once in a lifetime adventure. It is probable that the money spent on your holiday won’t be refunded, but the journey you have the chance to embark on will present treasures much more valuable.

Your destination is approximately 2’340km away and is home to some of the world’s most endangered species. It experiences its extreme floods during the dry season, so don’t wait around any longer than a week or you might be trapped for quite some time.

Kris rested his chin on my shoulder, frowning at the screen as Sehun held it up. ‘You haven’t received another message yet?’

‘Neither of us have’, Sehun responded coolly, gesturing to Minseok who was trapped by Luhan’s eager grasp, ‘are we meant to receive another?’

‘Maybe this is the final destination.’

I scoffed, nudging Kris away with a tight scowl. ‘There’s no way this is how it ends. There has to be another clue, something more to lead us on the right track. This might be the final country we visit, but what next? We just venture off on our own and aimlessly dig around for treasure? Surely not.’

‘Maybe the message was sent to someone else’s phone’, Jongin suggested, wiggling from Kyungsoo’s tender embrace to forcefully yank his mobile from his pocket, ‘everyone check!’

The sound of intense shuffling around was soon met by a cacophony of strident sighs as we were all sorely disappointed by a lack of findings. Each of our phones were completely blank, save for Chanyeol’s whose was beeping uninterruptedly with texts from his apprehensive mother (and Minseok’s which was flashing with notifications of friend requests from Luhan; all of which he chose to ignore.)

When all had fallen dejectedly silent, Jongdae came scurrying from his room. He waved his mobile above his head and his cheeks puffed cutely as he attempted to reach the rest of us as swiftly as his little legs could carry him. His scampering feet slid to a halt and he came close to toppling over, but reached out a desperately clawing hand to grip onto my shirt. I let the man steady himself, before snatching the mobile and punching in the passcode he had so easily divulged to me a few days earlier.

[Blocked Number] 7:10pm

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me! *****

Kris pumped a fist into the air triumphantly, a grin stretching across his face. ‘We’re headed to Australia boys!’

‘This is bull. I didn’t pack for the beach.’

‘It might not even be beach weather. What season is it over there?’

‘Every season is suitable for the beach. It’s Australia!’

‘You’re an idiot.’

‘Your balls are going to freeze off if it’s winter.’

I gnawed at my lip, eyebrows furrowed. ‘That stanza isn’t specific to one place in Australia, so where do we go?’

Nine heads snapped in my direction. All joyous expressions contorted into confusion; even Kris, who always acted as though he knew the answer, seemed entirely befuddled as he thoughtfully his chin. They began to mutter between one another, attempting to pull the poem apart piece by piece, but each line could have truly applied to multiple Australian landscapes. The few who had visited the country prior to the expedition didn’t appear to understand the situation any better than the rest of us.

Tao suddenly shrugged nonchalantly, his baffled appearance slipping from his face. ‘Do we really need to know where we’re going? If you think about it, this is the perfect opportunity for us to do some sightseeing on our own. There’s no time limit within this text so we should go about things in a relaxed manner.’

‘He’s right’, Jongin exclaimed, cheerily clasping his hands together, ‘and who knows? Maybe we’ll receive another clue on our way there!’

Since a young age I had always planned things. I planned what I would have for breakfast, lunch and dinner the night before. I planned when and where I would do my homework and for how long I would do it before carrying out household chores. I planned how often I would interact with my family and friends by factoring in their meetings between office hours. I even planned my outfits out weeks in advance. So, for the first time in my entire life, I did something without having a plan.

After spending another few days in Okavango Delta, prancing about excitedly amongst limitless herds of graceful native animals and trucks full of spirited, hospitable locals, we flew out for Melbourne with no specific agenda. Upon arrival, I very quickly realised that it was a city of art, culture, food and most definitely shopping. There were clusters of different races in every direction mingling peacefully with one another, giggling, gossiping and listening. Where alleys in other countries might have been dauntingly dark, with scattered trash and hunched, hooded figures, the alleyways in Melbourne seemed to be paths to other worlds; vibrant cafés, tiny imaginative galleries and foreign themed restaurants. Amongst looming skyscrapers, which were often decorated in unique designs, there were luscious gardens and streets lined with softly swaying trees. I wanted to investigate the place and to jot down a list of eateries to visit, a page of activities to participate in. However, I was dragged through the streets by Kris, meandering behind the other members as they strolled around meaninglessly.     

It was three days after first planting our feet on Australian soil (truthfully, it was pavement) that I received a text message.

[Blocked Number] 6:31am

You’re in the wrong state.
Your destination is further north.

The others tried their best at convincing me that we should just visit each capital city, but I had a gut feeling and decided to battle against their whiny complaints. A part of me had become impatient and grumpy, as though the soul of an elderly man had entered my body. I had no interest in wondering about without a plan. I, now more so than Kris, desired to succeed on this journey. So, stubbornly blocking out all suggestions from the other members, I booked a lone seat on a flight to Darwin.   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**** The poem used is 'I Love A Sunburnt Country' by Dorothea Mackellar

Junmyeon is going off alone...
There's two members left, so who is he going to find??