It was a bit later after Jongdae’s shocking discovery that he decided it was better to keep it to his self, at least for the time being. He knew that he needed to try and figure out what was happening and how he could deal with it on his own before opening his mouth and worrying the others. Honestly, he just didn’t want to become more of a burden to them – this whole time he'd been weak and mentally unstable, so would it really help anyone if he just came out crying that he had been physically struck by lightning? They would think he was insane!

So after an agonizing ten minutes of pacing back-and-forth and constant glancing at his enormous scar, he decided it was best if he did something productive. And just like that, Jongdae began making a fire. Of course, he’d never started one before – or even attempted to start one, but knew the general gist of it.

After all, it couldn’t be that hard, right?

Well, Jongdae found out the hard way just how difficult such a simple task was. He grabbed two large, thick sticks, holding both in each hand, then rubbed them against each other. He reckoned the friction would warm it up and cause it to smoke and then everything would escalate from there.

But five minutes went by and became ten minutes and soon thirty, and Jongdae’s arms were aching. And around the first hour mark, Jongdae and Jiyoung came back with a bird for dinner. Jiyoung had seen his predicament and suggested she do it instead or at least help, but he turned her offer down, claiming it wasn’t worth wasting her abilities. He was determined to start that fire on his own.

Six broken sticks later, Jongin sat across from Jongdae, who was holding a flower he had picked earlier on and was twirling it around in his hands and admiring it as he spoke to Jiyoung. Jongdae didn’t pay attention to the conversation, but he did hear them talking about the Red Flies or something like that.

“You sure you don’t want any help?” Jongin asked.

“No.” Jongdae could feel the friction on the sticks getting weaker as time passed and his arms begged for him stop, however, he knew if he just kept on doing it he’d start a fire soon. “I’m alright. Just look out for any strangers.”

With a nod of his head, Jongin looked around before puffing his cheeks when he saw their dinner that was dead on the floor. A loud grumble filled the air; Jiyoung giggling as he coyly covered his stomach.

All too soon, the sun had disappeared from the sky and the glowing full moon replaced it. Sweat was dripping down Jongdae’s face and onto the twigs and dried leaves that were piled together on the floor. A sudden surge of energy hit him and suddenly his arms were moving faster than before. His teeth gritted painfully as he exerted more power on the sticks and he was sure this time a fire would start.

Yes, he could see it now - the smoke rising into the air and the red-orange flames that’d warm up his skin. All he needed to do was keep on working until –

Snap!

“Goddamn it!” Jongdae shouted, chucking the sticks away from his. “This is useless. I’ve been trying to start this stupid fire for two hours, and nothing’s happening.” He grabbed at his hair, feeling his eyes go watery.

Jiyoung sighed. “Okay, first of all, language. You shouldn’t be cursing so much, my god; you have the mouth of a sailor. And second, I’ve been trying to tell you that rubbing two sticks together is not going to create a fire. Hell, it won’t even make smoke. Now wipe those tears.” He didn’t even know he was crying in the first place. Jongdae followed her command.

“Now grab another stick, and you see that board of wood over there on your right?” Jongdae looked over, seeing the lone board that was almost hidden behind another tree. “Get that. Jongin.” The other boy looked up from his flower. “Be a dear and get some leaves and small twigs please, thanks.”

 Once all the items were gathered, Jiyoung continued with her instructions, and soon Jongdae was using both of his hands to grind the stick against the large board of wood. His arms were still in pain and he wanted to stop but continued to push forward.

It was a half-hour later that the first sign of smoke appeared. Jongin jumped up from his spot, a grin on his face as he exclaimed, “Fire! Jongdae, there’s fire.”

Jongdae was ecstatic. A rush of adrenaline washed over him and he started moving his arms faster, the smell of smoke hitting his nose. The edges of his lips tilted upwards as he felt success nearing. He pushed down harder on the wood as his excitement heightened.

Snap!

Jongin’s grin switched to a concerned expression as he watched Jongdae, who sat frozen, staring at the broken wood on the floor with a blank smile. His eyes were wide open.

An eternity seemed to pass before Jongdae let out a crazed cackle, shoulders shaking as he threw down the sticks. Jongin jumped, as the other male’s high-pitched laughter grew louder. And it wasn’t until the broken board on the floor erupted in flames, did he quit.

Jongdae’s head whipped to the side as he narrowed his eyes at the rock. “What’re you doing? I said I’d do it!”

She responded, “If we don’t hurry and cook the bird we got earlier it’ll spoil, and then we’ll have to get another. I don’t know if you knew this but it took Jongin and I an entire hour to try and catch one of those damn things. Now go help Jongin cook that food and eat. You’re driving yourself insane.”

“But-“

“Go. You’re doing more harm than good stressing yourself out. If you really want to start a fire then you try again later, but for now you need some food and rest.”

Letting out a dejected sigh, Jongdae did as she said. And as he prepared the bird for dinner, he could feel fatigue hitting him full-force.

**

“M–p-h-h-h – ha – hell - ooo. Hello. Oh, hello!”

Jongin turned to Jongdae, beaming as Jongdae nodded his head. The latter turned back to the sand, using his hand to wipe the word away before tapping one of Jongin’s pencils on the floor in thought. Then, he drew another word in the sand.

Jongin took one look at the nicely written alphabet – his reference - beside the word and slowly sounded out each letter.

“J – J-Jongin. Jongin.” He turned to Jongdae. “That’s my name! It’s so dang pretty when you writin’ it out like that. Can you do another name? How ‘bout my sister Sulli? Or Taemin? Or Amelia?”

The sides of Jongdae’s lips curved up in an amused smile. He handed the pencil over to him. “How about you write one of their names for me. It’s great practice.”

Hesitant, Jongin took the pencil, shakily holding it in his hands. Jongdae corrected him so he was holding it properly, and he glanced back at the alphabet, leaning over as he attempted to write for the first time.

“Don’t push too hard,” Jiyoung advised, watching as the pencil sunk deeper into the sand with each .

Once Jongin finished, he turned to Jongdae, wide-eyed in anticipation. The latter looked down.

“Jongdae. Good job.”

“On my first try!” Jongin laughed, clapping his hands, and then getting the pencil to write more words.

Jiyoung snickered. “At this rate he’s going to be smarter than you.”

Jongdae raised his hands up. “He’s good, but better than me?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah no. He’s still got a long way to go until he reaches my level.”

“Cocky.”

Jongdae only shrugged and looked down at the other word Jongin wrote. “Nope, just confident in my abilities.”

“Jiyoung,” he read aloud. “Good job. With a little bit of practice you’ll be able to read and write easier. We can also work on your penmanship, because it’s a little sloppy right now but thankfully still legible. Your need to be more straight, too, they’re very big and shaky.”

Jongin laughed, saying, “I don’t think I ever wanted to learn before. Everyone was always sayin’ we didn't need to.” He twirled the pencil in his hand. “But it’s a lot o’ fun. Thanks Jongdae.”

Scratching the back of his neck, Jongdae shrugged. “Oh it’s nothing, really.”

“You would be a great teacher,” Jiyoung stated.

Jongdae once again shrugged, looking down to conceal his grin. “I guess so.” He cleared his throat, standing up. “We sh