Jongin raked his fingers through the strands of hair glued to his forehead, pushing them away for a moment to reveal the exasperated glint in his eyes before they slid slowly back into place. He groaned and bit down harshly on his lip, irritated as he saw me shaking my head with disappointment and Kris sitting by a dock with his knees drawn up to his face.

I paced over to him, my feet dragging sluggishly. ‘I can’t find this guy anywhere. There are a lot of ports in this place. What if he’s moving constantly between them?’

‘Maybe we got it wrong. What if the text wasn’t referring to the real Red Sea?’ Jongin posed, crossing his arms bitterly as a pout formed on his lips.

‘I refuse to believe we came all of this way for nothing. Kris and I found you, so together, we’ll find our next clue. I’m not giving up.’

With that, I stormed off with fresh determination and undeniable power in my stride. I quite poorly attempted to converse with the locals, asking them if they had seen the boy in the photo or if they were aware of any secrets relating to the Red Sea. Many looked at me with sympathy, as though they wanted nothing more but to help this desperate foreigner. However, they were all disconcertingly drawing complete blanks.

I trudged towards the closest dock and sat on the edge, my shoes dangling just above the stunning blue water. A part of me thought about diving in, allowing my body to be enveloped by the chilliness, my aching skin to absorb the healing saltiness. My heart yearned for the sensation, but my mind continued to remind me that there was something much more important to deal with like a nagging mother. Covering my mouth with my veiny hands, I screamed as though I were the only person in the whole world.

My breathing became jagged, painful almost and I felt my body becoming lighter, my eyesight starting to blur the spectacular view before me. Suddenly, everything was black and I was falling, toppling towards the water.

It was in that moment that I experienced some strange force tugging me back up and I wretched my dreary eyes open to see that I was floating towards the dock once more. Frantically, I kicked my legs and flapped my arms dramatically, before quickly noticing the figure sprawled out across the spot I had been sitting only seconds earlier. He had a youthful face, stylishly ruffled auburn hair and a delightful smile with a row of slightly crooked bottom teeth. Covering his torso was a Manchester United jersey and on his feet were dirtied, worn soccer shoes. I scoffed as he waved his hand to prop me on the edge of the dock, where our knees knocked awkwardly together and he continued to grin at me as though he expected me to gift him candy.

‘So…you can use telekinesis, huh?’ I unsteadily questioned, a little uncomfortable as I realised he had basically manhandled me.

He nodded enthusiastically. ‘That’s right. And I was going to pick you as a water bender but then you went off and just fell into the ocean like an idiot.’

I blushed, fully humiliated and growing increasingly annoyed at the smug facial expression he continued to direct at me. Averting his mocking gaze, I pretended to see something interesting and focused on a random spot in the distance.

‘Show some respect to your senior’, he demanded teasingly, clapping me on the back, ‘and introduce yourself.’

‘Oh, ah, my name is Junmyeon. And you are?’

He clicked his fingers and bubbles of water began to rise, encircling us both mystically. ‘I’m Luhan, most definitely the most valuable addition to this expedition… but I suppose I still better help you find the next guy, right? My phone is in my back pocket. Grab it for me, will you?’

‘Hey, Junmyeon’, Jongin called as he came running over, his eyes falling upon my hand as it froze by Luhan’s backside, ‘didn’t anyone ever tell you that feeling up kids is illegal?’

Luhan grumbled a few vulgarities and whacked my fingers away to snatch the phone out on his own. He fiddled around for a moment, occasionally peering up to glare at Jongin who now bent over in between us. Finally locating the text message, he hopped closer to me in attempt to block out a very persistent Jongin and held the phone out.

[Blocked Number] 1:12pm

In 48 hours, you must become the pearl of the Red Sea. Expect company.

[Blocked Number] 1:13pm

He sits in darkness, head held high like a king. Adjacent to him, is the creature with a man’s head and lion’s body, guarding its place in the valley. He is overheating and your newest acquaintance may be the key to taming the flame in his heart…if you can find him within the next 3 days.

Kris appeared, leaning in to examine the text message. ‘This is too unclear.’

‘Whose acquaintance is this guy talking about? This kid’s’, Jongin started, pointing at Luhan who snarled at him indignantly before signalling towards Kris and I, ‘or one of ours?’

I straightened my legs and paced away from the three as they delved into an argument over theories. Each of them seemed to focus on only one aspect of the riddle, forgetting to combine the many obvious clues and allusions to our next destination, but I wracked my brain to find ways in which all of the words could relate to one another. It was when a woman strolled past wearing an ‘I Love Egypt’ t-shirt that I began to grin uncontrollably.

‘He’s in the Valley of the Kings!’ I shouted, pumping my fists excitedly into the air only to receive hostile glares from all those who passed by.

I bolted over and clenched the material of Kris’ shirt to shake him animatedly, earning a brutal shove in return. ‘What’s gotten into you Kim Junmyeon? Yah, get off me!’

‘A Sphinx has a man’s head and lion’s body! Where do you find a Sphinx? Egypt!’

‘So we’re going to travel around the entire country of Egypt?’

‘He holds his head high like a king and the Sphinx sits within a valley…the Valley of the Kings! That’s in Luxor!’ I exclaimed.

‘What about the mention of an acquaintance? How are we supposed to put out a fire?’

I rolled my eyes and spun to face the ocean, swaying my fingers to and fro until the water began to rise. ‘I think I can take care of that.’

‘We’re going to Egypt!’ Jongin bellowed, wrapping an arm around the newest addition’s neck and tugging him down.

Luhan whined under his breath. ‘. I didn’t pack for that kind of weather.’