DAY TWO, 11:30 PM

  The players started to arrive, some by pairs, some alone, at the supposedly center of the forest by 11:30 PM. It should be the correct place, seeing it’s the only area in the forest with no trees in it. Ten minutes later, everyone was there. Well, almost everyone, actually.

   Chanyeol and Baekhyun were unusually quiet. Sehun and Luhan were arguing, probably about something not worth their argument, 'I-told-you-so's, and the word '' were frequently heard. Jongdae was sitting near them, singing an upbeat song to himself, smiling happily.

    Kyungsoo and Yixing were eating their cooked deer meat. They had cooked it before in the camp they built. Xiumin sat right beside them, stomach rumbling. Yixing here and there, waving the deer meat around his face. Meanwhile, Kris was lying down on his back peacefully, lost in his own thoughts and staring up towards the galaxy.

    Kai counted the players. There were only ten of them. Where were the other two? Are they lost? Possibly. He looked down to his wristwatch. 11:40 PM. They're gonna be late if they don't arrive soon, not that he cares in the first place. The less the better. Kai sat himself down with a sigh. He missed home so much.

        All of a sudden, there was a quick, bright flash in the sky. The first sign. It's starting. The split second was so bright that the players closed their eyes simultaneously, some shielding their eyes with their hands. Once the period ended, they all looked towards each other with ‘the look’ in their eyes. A look that sent love, competition, yet hatred at the same time.

        Luhan felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He tried desperately to blink it away, but it made him feel even more pathetic than he did before. He was terrified. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged it tightly, burying his face. Sehun glanced worriedly towards him with an inaudible sigh. He placed an arm around Luhan’s shoulders and squeezed it reassuringly. Luhan felt better, just a bit.

        Chanyeol remembered that today could be the last day he breathes. He sighed internally and massaged the bridge of his nose, his lips pursed. He doesn’t want to regret a thing. He glanced towards Baekhyun, who was also staring back at him. Chanyeol took a deep breath and moved closer to Baekhyun, who seemed surprised by the action.

        “Look,” Chanyeol began. “I know what I said back then… It was really childish of me. But even so, I… I really hope you can understand. I don’t want it to make us--”

        “It’s okay," Baekhyun cut off. “It’s alright, I promise you, it’s just that,” Baekhyun took a deep breath. “I’ve never had someone say those kind of things to me before. It made me happy. But it’s kinda odd, ‘cuz we just met and all, you know? It’s still kinda stiff between us...” As Baekhyun trailed off, Chanyeol nodded understandingly.

        “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.” All of a sudden, Chanyeol leaned over and hugged Baekhyun like there was no tomorrow. Maybe there wasn’t any tomorrow. Who knows? Baekhyun froze in surprise, but his muscles quickly eased up. He smiled and returned the hug, closing his eyes.

        “There you go again.”

        “Here I go again.”