3 years later

The huge waves formed from salty pristine water crashed against the shore, sweeping away gorgeous white sand only to replace it with new grains moments later. Seagulls noisily swooped overhead, occasionally ducking to snatch fish from the calmer sections of the vast ocean before returning to land to squawk at all those passing by until they received leftovers from human meals. The sun was not to harsh, nor too soft, but beaming brightly enough to make my skin glisten just the slightest of pretty pinks and Chanyeol’s ears burn the sweetest of reds.

I rolled over and readjusted my towel beneath me, making sure to avoid getting too much sand on it. ‘Do you still think about him?’

‘I think it’s impossible to avoid thinking about him,’ Chanyeol responded quietly, removing his sunglasses to make eye contact with me, ‘but I don’t think about him in the same way I used to. Right after it all happened, I thought about how much I really missed his touch and I questioned if he was okay, or if he was lying face first at the bottom of that cliff where nobody would ever find him. But now, all of my thoughts are purely based on curiosity. I have no desire to feel him against me. I imagine it must be a different story for you, though.’

‘Unlike you and Baekhyun, Kris and I had known each other for what felt like an eternity. We had grown up together. He was my roommate, my co-worker and my friend. And I was undeniably in love with him.’

‘Are you still in love with him?’ Chanyeol asked warily, running fingers through his freshly dyed red locks.

I shook my head and craned my neck to plant a kiss on his lower abdomen, right above the waistband of his funky blue swimming trunks. ‘I still love him like a brother, but I’m in love with you.’

‘You still have such kind feelings towards him after the way he acted in those last moments?’

‘He wasn’t the only one who had reached breaking point. I’m sure if I had gone any further I would have snapped, too. I can’t blame him and I don’t want to go on living and remembering him in that way. To me, he’s still the Kris I knew before we went on that journey. I’d like to keep it that way.’

‘Fair enough,’ Chanyeol replied, brushing his thumb over my heated cheek, ‘you can remember him all you’d like, as long as you also remember that you’re all mine now.’

He leaned closer, lips puckered and prepared to press against mine, but was distracted by the cacophony of voices calling out to us. With a disappointed groan, Chanyeol buried his face into the spare towel and tried to avoid the cluster of enthusiastic men jogging over to us.

‘I’m not saying I hate you, but I would unplug your life support if I needed to charge my phone.’

‘Is your jealous of the amount of that just came out of your mouth?’

‘That statement was so stupid that I want to kill myself, so I’m just going to go climb your ego and jump to your IQ.’

‘Listen buddy, you should have just let everyone go on thinking you were an idiot instead of opening your mouth and proving it to them.’

Luhan lifted his fist and wound it backwards. ‘Enough with the verbal insults. Come and fight me like a man!’

‘Shut up, you’ll never be the man your mother is!’ Jongin bellowed, kicking up sand.

I chuckled and watched contently as the two chased one another across the immense stretch of sparkling sand, throwing playful punches and childishly running to the water to scoop it up and splash in it. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes dramatically and intelligently chose to ignore the boisterous scene, deciding instead to unravel his towel and get comfortable beside me. Minseok, like a mother, scolded the two for acting less mature than the kids a few feet further down the shore. He sighed in frustration and then paced over to greet me with a pinch to the cheek. Chanyeol received a friendly hair tussle.

‘It’s nice to see that you two are still going strong,’ Minseok said, a hint of mischievousness in his tone.

I smiled broadly and flicked his knee, leaving a faint red mark on his flawless skin. ‘And what about you? Are you coping with his terrible humour and childish tantrums?’

‘His terrible humour and childish tantrums balance out my lack of humour and midlife crises,’ Minseok responded, voice uneven as he attempted not to laugh too loudly, ‘but, Kyungsoo doesn’t have it so easy.’

‘Nothing worthwhile is easy,’ Kyungsoo stated, eyebrow cocked.

I sniggered. ‘That sounds like something someone who’s having a really bad time would say.’

‘I’m not having a bad time,’ Kyungsoo countered, shoulders sagging, ‘it just hasn’t been easy. Imagine living in a house full of puppies who aren’t toilet-trained and then multiply the responsibilities associated with cleaning up after them by three.’

‘After all these years you still haven’t been able to make him pee in the litter box?’ Minseok quizzed jokingly.

Jongin, like a true canine with brilliant hearing, shouted an impressive list of curses in response. Kyungsoo simply giggled at his husband’s infuriated expression and continued to share stories of their bumpy marriage.

An hour or so later, Chanyeol nudged my arm, apparently emerging from his slumber. ‘I don’t want to interrupt this lovely conversation, but can you all do me a favour and check your phones?’

Obedient and inquisitive, I reached for my mobile and expertly entered the passcode. My inbox flashed, indicating a few new messages from work, a couple of delayed replies from foreign friends and one text from an all too familiar number. Confused, I opened it and let my eyes scan the words stretching across the screen. Almost immediately my stomach dropped.

[Kris] 2:09pm

Are you all enjoying your time at the beach as much as we are?
This is our last relaxing day before we head overseas again.
Our guide says that the adventure isn’t over yet.
It’s your choice whether or not you join us this time.

[File attachment]

I peered up to meet the shocked gazes of my friends and then turned to stare incredulously at Chanyeol. ‘Is this real?’

‘I think so,’ he said softly, before addressing us as a group, ‘are you all ready to see this journey to the end?’

Like a bunch of sportsmen ready to run out onto the field, we formed a circle and placed our hands inside without any hint of hesitation. No words needed to be spoken as I instantly reclaimed my position as the leader, an excited grin tugging at my lips. I took a moment to observe the eagerness swimming around the wavering pupils of these men, and then, one last time before our lives spiralled into chaos once again, we cheered with enough volume to let every person on the beach hear us.

'Call the others,' I urged joyously, my eyes shining, 'we better start booking flights.'

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It's been 600 years since I touched this story and I wish I could give an in depth explanation as to why it took me so long to finish it, but my only excuse is that I honestly couldn't think of anything more to write. I totally got lost and couldn't think of anything interesting to write (which is why this is the final chapter) and whenever I had an idea, it seemed more suited to a totally different story and I ended up writing new things instead of touching this. To make up for making you all wait so long, this is a double update and I've left this final chapter quite open with loose ends so if I ever do think of a way to continue this adventure, I can do a sequel! Thank you for reading Pathfinders and once again, I express the deepest of apologies for not finishing it sooner.