The first two weeks of August passed at a considerable pace, or that’s what Chanyeol thought. Within the month and a half, he had been on Jindo Island, Chanyeol had finished composing two songs, the rejected song included.

Chanyeol did not submit the new song he had just finished writing. He stored it in his computer and wanted to wait until he was finished composing a few more songs before sending it all in one go to his executive producers.

As a songwriter, Chanyeol was used to rejection and being told that his song was not “good enough” or not “suitable for the intended artist". However, rejection was not something he could afford at this point when his entire career was on the line because of a short-sighted mistake he made several months ago.

Since Jongin had returned to living with his parents, the house had been quiet during the day, with only Chanyeol being at home while Kyungsoo was out at sea. The quiet was most appreciated by Chanyeol who could work uninterrupted and do some recording without the noisy background noise from Jongin attempting to some complicated dance move in the living room.

School eventually started again after the short summer break and Jongin would only drop by the house every other afternoon after school to drop off food or fresh ingredients from the farm.

Chanyeol’s usual daily routine involved getting up in the morning, eating breakfast alone, working and then waiting for Kyungsoo to come home in the evening when it was almost dark.

One weekday afternoon in mid-August, Chanyeol was working away on his computer when he checked his phone to see that it was almost five in the evening.

There was only one high school on the island which Jongin went to, where classes ended at four in the afternoon. Jongin would usually already be at Kyungsoo’s house by this time, to send over some food his parents cooked or fresh vegetables and fruits from the farm.

Chanyeol checked his text messages to see if Jongin said anything about not coming that day but there was nothing to indicate that. Jongin had never been later than that too.

Chanyeol picked up his phone and left the room, walking out into the living room and headed towards the entrance where he slid open the main doors and looked outside, hoping to see the familiar figure of the teenager riding his bicycle somewhere down the road.

“Eh, where is he?” Chanyeol muttered to himself, squinting his eyes and looking both ways down the road.

Chanyeol decided to wait a bit longer and sat down on the elevated wooden porch, a few feet off the ground level. Chanyeol wasn’t too eager to go back to work immediately and could surely use a well-deserved break.

While he continued to wait for Jongin to show up, Chanyeol went on his phone and social media, refreshing the feed to see what the people he followed were up to.

Chanyeol had been silent on social media ever since, even refraining from liking posts because he didn’t want people to know that he was actually there lurking, even though he had taken many pictures from his time here on the island.

He still did receive messages from family and friends who asked him how he was doing and Chanyeol would give them the same answer every time, telling them he was alright and for them to not worry about him.

Chanyeol wasn’t ready yet to talk about it. He didn’t know if he ever would be ready but he was really hoping he would.

As Chanyeol was scrolling through his feed, a warning notification popped up from the weather forecast app, telling of an inbound typhoon that would make landfall in about three days on Jindo Island.

Typhoons were common in South Korea, even in Seoul, and Chanyeol had heard that it was even stronger in the far south of the Korean peninsula where Jindo Island was located.

Chanyeol didn’t worry about it too much though. He didn’t mind being stuck at home while it happened because he had been working from there anyway. Chanyeol then remembered Kyungsoo and how the latter’s source of livelihood was fishing in the ocean, and he did begin to worry then.

There was no way Kyungsoo, or any other fisherman, would be able to work during the typhoon season. Chanyeol wondered how they dealt with it year after year, especially since the fishing business on Jindo Island had been going on for a long time now.

Chanyeol continued waiting for at least half an hour, sitting under the porch while on his phone as he anticipated Jongin or Kyungsoo to come home.

When no one showed up, Chanyeol returned back into the house and cooked the rice for dinner, which was the only chore he was told to do.  Kyungsoo wouldn't let him do anything else. Then, Chanyeol went back to his room and put his headphones on, continuing to work on his computer with the music producing software.

At almost six in the evening, while it was still quite bright outside, Chanyeol heard the sounds of drilling and banging even from over the headphones he was wearing. Hearing that, Chanyeol cut the music he was playing and peeled the headphones off, hearing the familiar voices of Kyungsoo and Jongin talking before the drilling sounds were heard again.

Curious, Chanyeol left his room yet again to see Jongin holding up a wooden board against the window frame while Kyungsoo was handling a drill as they talked back and forth to each other.

Jongin was the first to notice Chanyeol and greeted him. This alerted Kyungsoo of Chanyeol’s presence too, who turned around to say hi too.

“What are you guys up to?” Chanyeol asked, knowing the answer but still wanting to ask as he eyed the other wooden boards on the floor near their feet.

“We need to board up the house before the typhoon arrives,” Kyungsoo answered, “Sorry, we know it’s loud but we won’t take long. We have to go help the neighbor board up their windows too later. They’re old and can’t do it alone.”

“Oh, do you need my help?” Chanyeol offered.

“Yeah, sure,” Kyungsoo agreed, “There are some boards in the back of my truck. I already tied them together so could you send them over to Mr. Kwak’s house? Just put it in front of his door and I’ll go over once I’m done with this to seal his windows.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol understood, watching Kyungsoo drill to secure the boards against the windows for a while before going outside and walking to the truck parked by the side of the road.

The boards were actually lighter than Chanyeol expected them to be, although he still had to put some effort into carrying them over to the Kwak’s who live just across the road from them.

Chanyeol was acquainted with Mr. Kwak and his wife, an aging couple in their early eighties who never had children. When he first moved in over a month ago, they had come over to give Chanyeol some traditional cakes as a welcome present.

Kyungsoo would often stop by their house in the evenings to give them the extra fish he caught too.

Chanyeol was greeted at the door by Mr. Kwak who told him to just set down the wooden boards anywhere. Shortly later, Kyungsoo arrived with Jongin at the Kwak’s residence to help put up the wooden boards to seal the windows. Chanyeol didn’t do much, although he did help pass the wooden boards along.

After they were done with that, Chanyeol together with Jongin and Kyungsoo were invited over for dinner with the Kwak’s. Jongin ate quickly and then left, rushing back home, leaving Chanyeol and Kyungsoo to walk back home together just across the road.

“You know, I actually cooked rice for dinner tonight but we ended up eating at the Kwak’s,” Chanyeol pointed out as they arrived at the porch of their house.

It was already dark by then and the light in the porch had been , with a few moths flying around the light source.

“It’s alright. I’ll put it in the fridge and reheat it tomorrow for breakfast,” Kyungsoo looked over his shoulder to smile at Chanyeol as he slid the front doors open.

“Aren’t we going to seal the doors too before the typhoon arrives?” Chanyeol asked, standing in the entryway.

“I’ll do that last,” Kyungsoo replied, taking off his shoes at the entryway, “I’m not going out to sea starting from tomorrow so I have lots more preparation to do.”

“Oh, what will you do?” Chanyeol asked, taking off his own shoes and putting them on the rack beside the door.

“I need to go down to the market to buy non-perishable foods. We need to stock up and the Kwak’s gave me some money to help them get drinking water and food supplies too so I’ll do it at the same time tomorrow. I still need to tow my boat to land too. If there’s anything you need before then, you should get it then too,” Kyungsoo revealed, sitting down on a seat pillow in the living room, turning the television on with the remote.

“Can I help with the preparations?” Chanyeol requested, joining Kyungsoo on the floor in front of the television.

“Sure, if you’re free, why not?” Kyungsoo shrugged one shoulder, looking at Chanyeol and then back at the news broadcast on television.

“This is exciting,” Chanyeol gushed, “I feel like I’m preparing for a survival show or something like that.”

“-a survival show?” Kyungsoo scrunched his nose, looking up toward Chanyeol.

“Yeah, I was invited to go on this survival show once where we camped by the beach and were told to make through the night with whatever supplies were given,” Chanyeol recalled.

“That’s interesting. Was it fun?” Kyungsoo questioned.

“It was fun, except that the entire thing was actually scripted. It would have been more fun if we were allowed to just be spontaneous like the show was advertised to be,” Chanyeol commented, “Don’t be fooled, Kyungsoo. A lot of so-called reality shows are actually scripted and the outcome already decided upon by the producers.”

“I don’t watch those shows so I wouldn’t know,” Kyungsoo giggled “-but I’ll remember that the next time I come across it.”

When Kyungsoo was giggling, his eyes squinted and almost closed, which Chanyeol thought to be rather adorable. Chanyeol caught himself staring and smiling at the same time at Kyungsoo.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol muttered under his breath, feeling like he just needed to say something before turning his face away because he didn’t want Kyungsoo to notice that he may have been staring a bit too hard and too long.

The following morning, two days before the typhoon was expected to make landfall, Chanyeol followed Kyungsoo down to the market area in town where most of the shops and establishments were located at.

For the first time since Chanyeol had been there, he saw the town busy and bustling with people, to and fro. Everyone was just about as busy as they were, preparing and getting supplies for the typhoon season.

The tourists had been sent home and all tours were canceled on the island until further notice. So it was just the residents of the island left to brave the incoming storm. Chanyeol knew he wasn’t a permanent resident of the island but he didn’t even think of leaving at the time, choosing to continue to stay.

At the island’s largest store, Chanyeol helped Kyungsoo shop for bottled water, canned food, candles, and extra batteries. They also bought the same for the Kwak’s which they would be delivering to the elderly couple later on.

In the store, there was actually a line at the cashier’s, which was a sight Chanyeol had not experienced since he got there. While waiting in line with Kyungsoo, carrying the baskets of supplies, a television behind the cashier was broadcasting the news and warning the residents of the area on how to prepare for the typhoon.

Chanyeol was actually watching the news intently; listening to what the news reporter was informing through the broadcast as he slowly moved down the line and reminded himself to fully charge his phone before then.

“Do we still have to stay at your place when the typhoon arrives?” Chanyeol asked, on his lower lip.

“Yeah, it’s far enough inland and has never been a problem. We don’t have to move unless we’re told to,” Kyungsoo answered, reading the expiry date on a can of tuna in their shopping basket.

“Won’t the rice fields near your house flood though?” Chanyeol inquired.

“The crayfish inside would love it though,” Kyungsoo assumed, “The fields do flood and destroy the rice sometimes but the irrigation system won’t let it spill onto the roads.”

“What about your parents’ farm?” Chanyeol continued asking.

“They’re further inland and they have strong structures to prepare for that. They’ll be fine,” Kyungsoo assured, moving slowly down the line to the cashiers.

“So what do you do when you can’t go out to sea?” Chanyeol was curious.

“I just stay home and treat it like a rest day,” Kyungsoo entertained Chanyeol’s questions, “I’m usually alone at home during the typhoon season but this year, I have you so I won’t be too bored I hope.”

“Yeah, of course,” Chanyeol grinned wide, exposing his teeth as he and Kyungsoo exchanged looks at each other down the line at the store.

After the trip to the store, they went over to the Kwak’s and helped the elderly couple to restock their supplies and made final measures to make sure their house was properly secured and ready for the typhoon.

They also made sure to clear their own yard of any things that could fly away during the strong winds such as trash cans and flower pots.

In the afternoon- Chanyeol saw that the sky was rather gray and cloudy when it was usually sunny and blue for that time of the year- as he and Kyungsoo drove back down to the dock to haul Kyungsoo’s boat onto land.

Kyungsoo parked at the usual lots near the dock and they waited in the truck for Kyungsoo’s father to arrive. Kyungsoo’s father would help haul his fishing boat onto land every typhoon season.

While they waited in the truck, Chanyeol could see the other fishermen all gathered and busy on the dock, taking turns to haul their boats onto land.

The hurricane wasn’t expected for another 36 hours or so but the sea was already noticeable rippling and wavy unlike the calm sea Chanyeol used to see when he was there. The sky was cloudy and the clouds above were visibly moving at a considerable speed.

There was also a moderate breeze that constantly blew from the sea which never stopped or grew weaker as time passed.

Kyungsoo’s father arrived not long later in a larger truck with a boat trailer affixed to it. Chanyeol wanted to help but he didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to cause trouble because of his inexperience with the matter, so he merely just stood by and watched unless he was told to do something.

They waited a while until the other fishermen were done hauling their boats, taking turns to do so.

Chanyeol wasn’t sure what it was exactly what they were doing. He did see Kyungsoo and the latter’s father hitching down the boat onto the trailer with big hooks and bolts before Kyungsoo’s father slowly drove the truck and hauled the boat completely out of the water.

“Can you drive my truck all the way to my parent’s house? We’re going to put it in the warehouse with the boat there too,” Kyungsoo requested.