“I am very happy that you’re here. Honest,” smiled Kim Yongsun sweetly, her dark hair mussed and frayed, looking nothing like an idol. Her skin was pale as she held the gaze of her faithful companion. It was a rare show of appreciation and sincerity. “If you didn’t come, it would really be a problem.”

Rain was pitter-pattering on the outside shell of their silver tent. It was getting louder and louder.

It was not the sound of rain that was drowning her senses: the tenderness shining brightly in her soft brown eyes drowned her sense and she found herself breathless, as if submerged under the warm sea water. The sensations it evoked made her want to duck away from the sheer potency and she snapped her gaze to the camera hovering over them, filming them.

The other woman rationalised that her leader had to express her gratitude publicly.

Then, she remembered that she had not responded to her sincerity.

Moon Byulyi’s eyes crinkled coyly as she jerked her head in acknowledgement before she turned away, in a rare moment of open shyness.

Yongsun catching that adorable sight of her, hastily switched off the camera, ending the vlog on that high note. No, she did not need to share that reaction of Byulyi with the rest of her viewers. Moonbyul belonged to the fans but Moon Byulyi did not.

“Yong-Unnie, when someone now asks you who would you bring to a deserted island, you’ll have an answer for them,” countered Byulyi, light-heartedly.

The corners of her lips lifted in a large smirk as her eyes curved mischievously. She held a hand out, knowing the usual violent retort of her leader—a slap or a fist. The older woman merely glared at her solidly before she scoffed and turned away. Honestly, she should have expected that answer when she gave her a heartfelt praise.

“Admit it, you can’t live without me,”Byulyi pressed on, turning to her side so that she could lean a little into her space, still restricted to her sleeping bag. She dropped her voice slightly so that it sounded more husky and more suggestive.

Obviously, she was spoiling for a fight.

No, she was not going to fall for that.

She felt shivers down her spine at just how flirty she could be.

Yongsun rolled her eyes before she closed her eyes, tucking herself into the uncomfortable fabric of the sleeping bag. It reminded her that she was actually sleeping out in the elements, instead of tucked in her warm and comfortable bed. She swept her hair away absently, trying to find a comfortable spot. The wooden board was painful at some spots so she turned away from her friend and curled into a foetal position. “Goodnight. Don’t stay up too late since our ferry will be here in the early morning.”

A sound of acceptance was grunted before sounds of rustling sounded in the small tent. If this was uncomfortable for her, she would imagine it would be worst for Byulyi with her jutted-out bones and former back injuries.

“Just sleep, Yong-unnie. I can hear you thinking from here,” cautioned her softly, a hint of concern.

She opened her eyes, staring at the top of the tent hard. “What if the weather worsens in the middle of the night and this tent collapses on us?”

There was a noise of amused frustration. “It won’t. It isn’t my first time pitching a tent.” She paused as if she were thinking if she ought to disclose the information. “If there is a thunderstorm, we should be more worried about the surface run-off seeping into the tent through the ground,” answered her sagely, looking at her from under the black brim of her cap. “We should be fine since we are not sleeping on the ground but a board.” She rapped on the board quietly, glad that the support staff had brought this.

She turned to look at her curiously, brushing her hair away from her face. “You mean it might flood from the inside if we are not sleeping on a board?” Her eyes widened.

The wind continued to howl loudly outside, sending shivers down her spine.

“If there is a thunderstorm, it is a possibility. It’s a more plausible possibility than a tent collapsing on us in the middle of the night.” She returned to her mobile phone as the screen lighted the dark confined space up. “Just sleep. It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow, Yong-unnie.”

Right. No wonder she insisted that everything had to be placed in a sealed and waterproof bag. She thought that her best friend was just being irritating by insisting on tightly sealing everything they possessed.

At least, they did not have much possession between them since this was supposed to be a one-day trip.

The sound of furious rain on the tent persisted.

Somehow, she felt comforted despite the raging storm outside. She knew that her best friend would stay up, watching over them.

Yongsun hummed a noise of approval, tucking into her large silver sleeping bag. Then, the leader heard a smile as the younger woman continued to fiddle with her phone.

Ah.

She frowned slightly.

This had been occurring with increasing frequency: Byulyi more interested in her mobile, talking to the increasing number of friends she made in the industry. She was popular with many celebrities because she was just so charming and easy to be with.

Usually, the younger woman would just turn to find a new way to annoy her to pass time when she was bored, instead of turning to her mobile phone.

She ought to be happy that she was physically here right? After all, the younger woman abandoned all the comforts of her home just to join her maiden journey of staying in a deserted island.

She thought of the light-hearted way the younger woman pranked her during the filming and the stark contrast when she worked hard to pitch this tent—so serious, so reliable. She smiled to herself again. She had to admit to herself, that the sight of her being so concerned made her stomach fluttered even when she was filming.

All she wanted to do was to wrap her arms around her waist and leaned into her firm back so that she could sleep.

Then, she heard muted laughter—bright, light-hearted and so Byulyi—and she wondered who had made her chuckle so carefreely. The older woman could imagine the crinkles between her nose as she grinned widely. Byulyi caught herself with another hand and turned away from her to read her messages.

The urge to lean forward to stare at her messages was strong, accompanied with heavy dread. It reminded her of the fact that she was starting to see less of her lazing on her couch after she ended her schedule for the day. In fact, her family had asked about her, wondering at the increasing absence of that particular member of the group. Sometimes, when her apartment became just too quiet, she would head to Hyejin’s apartment for a binge drinking session that left her mind unusually quiet with a light buzz.

Her lips thinned slightly as she forced her eyes shut.

She fell asleep promptly despite the awkward feelings. The next time she had swam into conscious, the peltering of rain was so loud that it was drowning out every other sound.

She blinked into awareness immediately since she knew that she was not at home. Then, she noted that things around the tent were shifted.

Her enquiring gaze cut to her good friend who was sleeping on her left. The younger woman was still on her mobile.

Did she stay up the whole night chatting?

She sat up, stretching slightly, making some noises to gain the attention of her companion.

“Finally awake?”

The informal tone betrayed the tiredness in her voice. It lacked the hoarseness from sleep.

She frowned slightly, ignoring her disrespect. “Did you stay up the whole night?”

“The storm worsened by five this morning. I had to re-pitched the tent.” She shrugged absently, shifting in her sleeping bag absently.

“Oh.” She slept through it like a log.

“Are you awake?” Someone called from the outside.

It was one of their support staff. He slipped into the tent and removed his jacket. “The boat isn’t coming. We’ll need to hike to the other side of the island. There is a management office where we can take shelter till the next morning. Then, we’ll travel to the closest island which is inhabited.”

The fog in her mind dissipated immediately. “Hike to the other side of the mountain in this condition?” She suppressed the hint of panic.

He nodded. “We can’t stay here. It’s not viable.”

Byulyi nodded idly again as if she had expected this outcome. Maybe she had? The conditions at sea were bad yesterday and they nearly could not travel to this deserted island. Due to the storm, the conditions had worsened, so it was almost logical that there would be no ferry to pick them up.

It took her a while to understand that they were evacuating quickly, taking their necessities. In her sleep, her colleague 1 had checked on their things and ensured their possession would remain after the storm: this was a deserted island in a storm, no animal or insane being would rob them anyway.

“Leggo?” offered Colleague 1, tucking her hair into her cap nicely, her eyes heavy with eye bags. She looked as ridiculous as her in a pink raincoat over her waterproof clothes she had worn to protect her from the storm.

All they brought along with them were bottles of water and their sleeping bags. Their support staff sweetly helped them to carry that so that they could focus on their hike. An old lady led the way as they hiked through the forested hill, hacking a path with a blade as they trudged through the rain slowly.

Rain, occasionally relieved by the canopy of trees, beat down on their heads, adding to their misery as they tried to cross the island to safety.

She tried not to think, focusing on the positioning of each step as how Colleague 1 had reminded her when they had begun the evacuation.

As usual, Colleague One fell behind her steps, reminding her of getting proper footholds before she put weight into each step lest she slipped down the muddy slopes. She frowned, paying attention to where she was walking. It was a lot easier than hiking in the beach since the vegetation held the soil together. Despite it, she slipped several times and Colleague One just caught her naturally and helped her back into a proper foothold easily.

Her mind drifted to the easy way that she caught the crook of her arm when she missed a step and helped her to an upright position while introducing their band on a music show. It was a miracle that she managed to finish the introduction without any interruptions: only the amused smile of Hyejin and Wheein were the only signs that showed that something had happened.

She felt a casual touch on her back, reminding her to go on and she returned her attention to her slow march through the pelting rain.

They reached the management office as the old lady set them to work for their food, then setting up for the night. Like a routine between them, Byulyi set up her sleeping area along the wall, furthest from the entrance: it was a way to give them distance to observe for threats since they were in an open and shared area.

She was cautious that way—a habit of sharing changing rooms with other idol groups and their staff as they prepare for a music show.

The rest of the staff whipped out their sleeping bags and scattered around the small area.

Yongsun set her sleeping bag next to her. Instead of leaving a silver of space, she decided it was better to curled into her to rest, acting as a final barrier to the other occupants in the rest of the room. She did not care if she smelt like the sea or was sticky from the humidity, all she wanted was that flicker of comfort to get through the troubling idea that they were properly stranded in a deserted island, while waiting for a boat to take them to the next inhabited island the next day.

She did not want to think of how the trip could be worst.

Byulyi did not reject, allowing her to curl into her back like a big kitten, while she continued to text someone on her phone.

Again.

Irritation crept in.

“You should sleep,” reminded Yongsun sleepily, pressing her face into her back. She did not want to be so needy and wrap her arm around her waist while being in an open area. S