Chapter 2
Stranded With Seventeen
"What are we going to do now?" You ask no one in particular, hugging your knees. Everyone knows that it's going to get dark soon at the rate the sun is setting – the sky is now more yellowish-orange that the bright blue it was earlier. You have no what time it is, but it's probably late afternoon.
Being leader, S. Coups takes charge and looks at everyone present, keeping an arm slung protectively around Seungkwan's shoulders. He's deep in thought, thinking of your next move when Joshua suddenly chirps up with a suggestion.
"Maybe we should write S.O.S in the sand." Joshua says. The8 nods enthusiastically. "They do that in movies."
"Fine, you go do that." S. Coups isn't up for the idea, but he doesn't reject it, either.
"In case someone flies overhead and sees it; there's a chance for rescue." Joshua defends his suggestion, and S. Coups nods.
"I'm hungry." Hoshi complains as Joshua stands up to look for something to write in the sand with. Jun agrees as he rubs his stomach, and you're reminded of how much food Seventeen consumes. Even if there are only six of them right now, it's still an incredible amount of food to fuel them up. You wonder if there's anything edible nearby, and try to remain optimistic that things will turn out okay. In a large group like this, there are many things to do to survive, yet you can't think of them as your headache comes and goes.
"We need to set up base somewhere." S. Coups suggests, watching Joshua trace the sand with the three letters a distance away. "Shelter, food, fire, and water." He says with a determined look on his face, like a boy scout preparing for camp.
"If you want water, there's a whole sea over there." Seungkwan says, pointing to the gleaming blue sea. S. Coups playfully pushes him away as the rest of you laugh at Seungkwan's joke. It surprises you how strong and resilient Seungkwan is; a contrast to the emotional wreck you'd witnessed moments ago.
"Then you're in charge of finding water!" S. Coups retorts with a playful smile on his face. "Jun, The8, go find wood so we can make a fire. We're going to find food." S. Coups points to you and Hoshi.
"Without Mingyu, we're gonna die of starvation." The8 mutters to no one in particular. Of course, Mingyu's the trusted housewife of Seventeen who cooks for the boys when he gets the chance. Apparently, his dishes are the best – where can you find a young male idol who can cook? – but since you've only joined the staff recently you can't fully attest to this.
"Not that he can make food out of nothing." You reply, as you stand up. You're castaway, after all; and food is scarce since you have no supplies at all. The8 shrugs at you and lopes off with Jun, the pair picking up any piece of driftwood that they can find on the sand.
As the group disperses to do their assigned duties, you, Hoshi and S. Coups head over to the trees that line the beach, hoping to look for something edible. You're about to suggest the berries growing on a nearby bush as a source of food, when you notice the devilish grin on Hoshi's face.
"Coconut tree!"
"Race you to it!"
You roll your eyes as the two guys rush over to the coconut tree in question. Though there are a lot more coconut trees, they have to bicker over what seems to be the only coconut tree in sight. S. Coups is already scaling the tree when you finally approach, and Hoshi climbs another one.
"Noona! Grab these leaves for our shelter!" S. Coups yells out, and a smattering of palm leaves shower onto you.
"Watch it!" You laugh, dragging the leaves away, to the area where Jun and The8 have stacked driftwood – just a distance away from the shore, but also not too close to the jungle that borders the beach. Joshua is yelling at the Chinese boys, who pretend to not understand their American hyung – as the pair drag the biggest piece of driftwood they could find, and destroy Joshua's masterpiece S.O.S message in the sand in the process. Joshua makes Jun help him redo the message by outlining it with driftwood – essentially decreasing the stack of wood Jun and The8 had managed to collect in a short time.
By the time you clear all the leaves S. Coups and Hoshi are throwing onto the ground – almost baring the plants – they're now competing to see who could harvest the most coconuts. It's a ridiculous race, and you have to avoid the raining coconuts so that they don't hit your head. At the rate they're going, you're going to have enough coconuts for a whole week. You yell at them so that they don't go crazy for coconuts. A smattering of laughter arises from behind you as Joshua, The8 and Jun are laughing at the two leaders' antics, and it essentially lightens the mood despite the circumstances.
You can see the dynamics in Seventeen as the boys work together: unit leaders S. Coups and Hoshi practically harvesting every coconut tree in sight, from fruit to leaves to its wood, being extremely resourceful; Joshua and Jun setting up a crude shelter into something recognisably cozy. You help whenever you can, just like your job requires you to. Seungkwan and The8 are somewhere combing the beach for any resource that can be used. With the boys' mirth filling in the air, it almost seems like a holiday - if you ignore the fact that you're all stranded in the middle of nowhere, trying to survive.
It's a hard task lugging coconuts back to the base, and you're all worn out when you're done collecting the harvest. Hoshi ends up rolling coconuts like bowling balls along the sand, making you and S. Coups laugh. As the three of you sit on the sand catching your breath after hard labour, a question pops into your mind. "How do we open the coconuts?"
"Just use Coups-hyung's head, it's thick enough." Hoshi says with a laugh, after a beat. You and Joshua and Jun join in the laughter, and S. Coups doesn't retaliate, only cracking a grin. Hoshi mimics cracking the coconut with his head, and the boys double in laughter at Hoshi's slapstick.
"Where's The8 and Seungkwan?" S. Coups doesn't worry enough about s, and you stand up to look for them. You've just taken a few steps away when S. Coups challenges Hoshi to a fishing competition, and the latter accepts without hesitation. There's no stopping them, but at least they're injecting fun into what could be a tragedy; and they're gone before you can say that there are no fishing supplies. Leaving Jun and Joshua at the base, you comb the pristine sand, and spy the two younger boys at the farthest end of the beach.
Meanwhile, Seungkwan and The8 have just stumbled upon the greatest treasure – a box of essential supplies washed ashore. The two boys are carrying it back to the base when you find them, close to the large rocks that mark the end of the beach.
"Noona, look what we found!" Seungkwan shouts happily, as you rush over to help the boys. In an instant, you recognise the wooden crate: it's one of the three crates that you'd loaded onto the boat you boarded with Seventeen in what seems to be a lifetime ago.
"That's brilliant, boys!" Finally, some hope as your little group obtain more resources – now survival seems more likely, but you can't help but worry about the rest of Seventeen who aren't with you now: their wellbeing and their fate. You can't remember what kind of essentials are packed in the crate, but you'll find out in due time when you finally reach the base.
"Wow, you guys should become architects." Seungkwan comments when he sees the shelter Joshua and Jun have fashioned out of driftwood and palm leaves. It's enough to fit about four people at a time – an impressive feat by K-pop idols, to build shelter from scratch, though really, deep down you hope that the thing doesn't collapse halfway through. Even so, it's a good start - there would be time to strengthen the structure if needed.
Joshua, who's easily flattered, grins and says, "Well, we are self-producing idols, after all. We practically self-produce everything!" Jun rolls his eyes at Joshua's confidence.
You, Seungkwan and The8 set the crate down just outside the shelter and sit down for a rest, while Jun tries to open the crate with a coconut. Ironically, the coconut cracks open instead, dripping with juice, which Jun slurps. He doesn't forget about the rest of you and shares the coconut juice. The coconut juice is sweet and refreshing, and it quenches your parched throat. You think it's a good source of fluids, especially after all the labour all of you have been doing, but you know that you still need plain boiled water to survive. You attempt to open the crate, and find bottled water inside, in addition to some dry food that can last for maybe a few days. There are also some blankets wrapped in plastic inside it, too, and Joshua helps you sort out the things into a pile in a corner of the shelter – now it can only fit three people. Seungkwan, Jun and The8 are eating coconut, leaving a couple of hairy coconut shells that Joshua says can double as bowls. You get a sudden brainwave, and dismantle the wooden crate completely – the six square pieces of wood can be used as flat surfaces: makeshift tables and chairs, a luxury compared to sitting on the sand.
The shelter now resembles a crude home, and The8 piles a small stack of driftwood outside it to start a campfire – except that no one knows how to start a fire from scratch, so all of you sit around the unlit pile of wood, waiting for Hoshi and S. Coups to return from their impromptu fishing trip. Seungkwan wonders aloud how the two leaders would fish without any fishing supplies, sparking a conversation that conjures the image of the two of them pathetically trying to catch fish with their bare hands. Seungkwan acts it out, of course, and the rest of you laugh at his funny expressions as he even imitates a shark. And out here in the wilderness, you can't help but feel a tinge of anxiety: could there be danger awaiting them, somewhere out there?
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