Hope
Out Of Reach
The thick and lush greeneries of the island were the only things that surrounded the wandering girl. Aimless and lost, she pushed through the flora and fauna that obstructed her path to nowhere in particular. Trees as tall as skyscrapers back in Seoul loomed above the canopies, blocking most of the sun light from seeping into the depths of the jungle. Chirpings of birds and the screeching of grasshoppers accompanied Yoona as she continued down a never-ending path, desperately searching for something or someone in this hostile environment. She just hopes that ‘something’ was food, and that ‘someone’ was a person she knows. She can’t believe she had just experienced something as horrifying as that. How in the world she could have survived that and somehow landed on this island was a total enigma to her.
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
Alone in this unfamiliar place, fear was starting to grip its cold hands on her conscience and emotions. Beads of sweat trailed along the contours of her face and down the curves of her back, due to the amount of trekking she had done. Yoona’s legs felt like they were going to buckle at any moment. It was a good thing she wasn’t wearing killer heels right now.
*snap*
Yoona let out a small, inaudible gasp.
Something just moved nearby.
She stopped dead in her tracks.
*rustle*
Something was definitely here. And it sure as heck wasn’t food.
Her heart was thumping wildly, even more than during any performances she had ever done.
Yoona heightened her senses at the bushes all around her current position. The ‘thing’ was moving, and then it stopped, right behind the bushes in front of her. Not taking her sights off of it, the young girl bent down to reach for a long, wooden stick next to her on the ground, and as quietly as possible, sneaked towards a tree beside the thick wall of bushes obscuring the unidentified ‘thing’. Taking position, Yoona held the stick tightly in her bruised hands, ready to whack the living hell out of it.
‘Get ready…’
Clenching her teeth as it approached closer to her, she raised her newly-found weapon in a batter’s position.
The bushes rustled more.
And then, the figure appeared.
‘NOW!’
Blindly swinging, the stick made impact.
“OWW!”
Yoona opened her eyes the moment she heard that voice. Looking up, she was shocked but delightfully relieved at the same time upon seeing someone she knew all too well.
“Sooyoung unnie!”
The lanky giant aching in pain on the ground after that unexpected hit to the stomach was now tackled back down by an overjoyed deer.
“Yah, what are you trying to do!? Kill me!?” Sooyoung yelled out, irritated at getting another injury to her not-so-tolerant-to-pain body, but her anger was now completely doused when she relished in the warmth of the familiar body on top of hers. She then felt something wet on her neck.
“Unnie…” Yoona nuzzled against her neck, clinging onto Sooyoung as if she would vanish into thin air if she ever let go of her dear food buddy. “You don’t know how glad I am to see you again.”
The giant softened at the younger one’s sudden proclamation, but as much as she loved having touching moments like these with her members, lying down on a muddy and insect-infested forest floor with Yoona’s weight pressing down on her wasn’t quite the best place to cuddle right now.
Sooyoung gently pushed the doe-eyed girl off of her, much to Yoona’s disappointment, but then was pulled back into a hug again after the older one sat up from her uncomfortable position earlier. Wrapping her thin arms around her companion’s waist, Sooyoung did not waste any more time to comfort the then lonely Yoona. It was one thing to be stranded on an island. It was another thing to be stranded on an island alone. Thank the Lord that she crossed paths with Yoona, even though it cost a somewhat painful hit along her stomach.
“Are you alright?” The short-haired girl worriedly asked, using her thumb to wipe away the tear drops that were trailing down Yoona’s beautiful complexion. It broke her heart seeing her like this. “Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Just some scratches on my hands, some blisters on my feet from walking around too much, and my body is aching all over, but other than that I’m good as ever.” She optimistically answered back, even though Sooyoung was now hastily checking the places that she had mentioned which were supposedly in bad shape. “Yah, unnie! You don’t have to inspect me in every nook and cranny!” Cheekily pushing away the nosy Sooyoung’s face from taking a peek down her grey shirt, both of them had somehow gotten into a gratuitous hand-lock with each other before finally realising that this was not the right time for a little wrestling match.
“Yoong, do you remember anything about how we got here? Anything at all?” Sooyoung interrogated the younger one, after being pulled up by her.
“No…I don’t.” She dejectedly replied back whilst wrinkling her forehead, trying her very best to recall the tragic situation she and all of her members were in. “It’s too vague. All I can remember is that I found myself washed up ashore onto this island. The plane we were in had some kind of an engine problem. Everyone was panicking, and then…our plane sank into the ocean.”
When the doe-eyed girl dared to glance up after that spine-chilling account, she was met face to face with a horrified Sooyoung, not wanting to believe what she had just heard.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
“I wish I was.”
“...I sure hope you’ve watched some survival programmes back home, now that we’re in this kind of situation.”
“Don’t worry Sooyoung unnie. The things I’ve learnt during Family Outing weren’t put to waste you know.” Yoona gave an encouraging smile to the almost broken Sooyoung.
“That’s good. At least you have some know-how about staying alive. Now all that’s left is if we can find the others. If both of us managed to survive something as horrible as that and got washed up here, then I sure as hell know all our members are here too, living and breathing like the day they were born.”
A loud grumbling appeared out of nowhere.
“…But first, let’s find something to eat.” The all-mighty shikshin sheepishly said, changing her original plans.
Another complaint from someone else’s stomach could be heard.
Yoona’s attempt to silence her hunger by folding her arms around herself failed miserably.
“Yeah, I second that.”
This is one of those rare days where they cursed their naturally fast metabolism.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
“It’s such a pretty sunset, isn’t it?”
The leader broke her trance-like state after hearing that comment.
‘Pretty is an understatement.’
“Yeah, it really is.” She answered back, not moving anywhere from her spot.
“We never get anything like this back in the city, what with all the buildings blocking the nice view.” The husky voice came closer, now directly at her right side, strangely devoid of its usual perky personality.
Taeyeon turned to face her tall, tanned, companion beside her. Yuri wasn’t her gleeful and hyper-active self today. Just one look on her face, and Taeyeon already knew what she was feeling on the inside. That half-smile she sported on, the sad gaze in her eyes as she stared off into the distance… And when the older girl looked closer, was Yuri…trembling? Taeyeon knew it all too well. Who would be happy and prancing around like ponies after experiencing what they had just experienced? It was one of those moments where Taeyeon and Yuri wished they could just forget it all. Every. Single. Thing.
To the leader, it wasn’t much that her life was on the brink of the edge. It was everyone else in the plane that she was worried for the most during that life or death situation.
The black pearl next to her was one of those people.
Eyeing her from head to toe, she took in the battered appearance of Yuri. Clad in only a black tank-top and a pair of denim mini-shorts, they were all tattered-up and damp due to the impact of the crash. Her exposed arms and legs were covered with some bruises and scratches, but the one main thing that was very obvious and caught Taeyeon’s eyes was the long gash on Yuri’s left cheek. It just stood out like a sore thumb. She wanted to reach out and touch it, but decided not to do that.
Yuri, realising that it was oddly quiet all of a sudden, turned to look at the shorty beside her.
“What’s wrong, Taengoo?”
“Yuri, are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”
“Oh, you mean this?” The taller one then looked down at her own body. “Yeah, they do sting if I move around too fast but as long as I keep my movements to a minimum, they’ll heal quite quickly.”
The weights on Taeyeon’s shoulders lightened a little when she heard that from the health-conscious Yuri, but she can’t help but worry for her in this state. Although both of their injuries were not that serious surprisingly, it would be very delightful to have a first-aid kit and some supplies right now.
“C’mon, Yuri. We better find some food and a place to take shelter in before it gets dark.” The ever so calm leader took hold of her member’s hand, leading her inland and leaving the barren shoreline.
“Alright, kid leader.” Yuri affectionately obeyed her.
However, as soon as the duo was about to step foot deeper into the island, something caught their attention.
“TAEYEON! YURI!”
‘Those voices…!’
Both of them whipped their heads towards the direction of their names being called, and sure enough, they’ve met another duo they knew very well who was equally glad to find them.
“HYOYEON! SUNNY!” The leader and the black pearl cried out with joy, breaking into a mad dash to where their dear friends were, temporarily forgetting about the pain that surged through their bodies caused by the injuries.
The group hugs turned more into a group tackle instead as all of them collided with one another in a big heaping pile of overjoyed and squealing mess.
“Ugh, Y-Yuri… Not s-so tight…” Hyoyeon winced when she got pulled into a loving bear-hug by the tanned girl. She knew Yuri was fit and athletic, but never THIS strong before. Her hug could even match up with Yoona’s abnormal strength.
Taeyeon, on the other hand, also understood the dancer’s predicament at that moment when she too was engulfed in a massive hug by her other danshin buddy. Sunny became exceptionally brighter now than how she was before, even though she was on the verge of tears. “Sunny, I know you’re really happy right now, but if you keep crushing me like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe.” Taeyeon cracked a joke, which resulted in the bunny to slap her in accordance and release her leader. “Yah, that goes for you too, Yuri! You’re gonna break Hyoyeon’s spine if you keep doing that!”
The now-back-to-original Yuri obediently agrees to release the dancer from her bittersweet misery, but that doesn’t mean she was going to stop either.
“Lee Soonkyu, c’mere you!” Yuri exclaimed, opening up her arms for her next target.
Sunny gladly accepted Yuri’s offer, both of them giving each other tight bear hugs and hopping like rabbits, with no signs of letting go any time soon.
“Hey…” Taeyeon turned around to find Hyoyeon standing there before her. “Aren’t you going to hug me now?” The dancer teasingly asked, though sporting an awkward smile which didn’t help in hiding her embarrassment.
The leader grinned at the offer now made to her. She didn’t say anything else as she walked towards her beloved dancing queen, and wrapped her arms gently around Hyoyeon, making sure that she doesn’t hurt her unintentionally in her injured state. Hyoyeon returned the hug immediately like she always does, feeling like she had just accomplished her goals. Taeyeon knew her members were still alive.
She knew it.
And she’s going to find them no matter what.
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A/N: JeTiHyun and details about how the members survived the crash will be revealed in the next part! Oh, and more Soshi bond moments to come ^^
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