The day had passed by, leaving us now with a beautiful sunset that shone against the crystal waters that bordered the cave’s exit. The day would soon come to an end, and a strategy had to be thought out. I told Lay to wake up HaeRi; apparently she hadn’t woken up since she fainted inside EXO Tower. It was about time she was awakened from any memories that might still roam her mind. As for me, I went towards Kai. He was in a deep sleep, lying on the cold ground on his right side. I took a few seconds to admire him without having to worry about his nerve-racking stare. His hair had grown a little; it was dark and messy, still it went well with his appearance. His tan skin tone was evenly matched all over; he looked so smooth and soft. I felt tempted to touch him. His sweat glistened under the shining rays that came into the area. I placed my hand on his left arm, slowly caressing along its length. It did feel soft; I also felt his relaxed muscles underneath. I actually felt happy with this person by my side; it was as if his aura calmed me. He had something special… The young man began to ruffle in his spot; I took my hand away from him, taking it in into my chest. He slowly opened his eyes and turned around to find me kneeling beside him.

MJ: I see someone had a good sleep.

I smiled. Kai was rubbing his eyes. When he finally looked at my face, he corresponded with a bright smile. But I felt something weird inside me. It was like a sharp pain in the center of my chest. But it was a pain I enjoyed… I guess weird things happen when your away from home. I took Kai’s right hand and got up, prompting him to do the same. He looked at me, as if trying to say he was still tired. I pulled him.

MJ: Come on JongIn! We need to talk about our next move, and I can’t do that without you. Besides, the Sun is setting; let’s go watch it together!

Now he seemed interested. He got on his feet and we began walking towards the edge, hand still intertwined. Everyone had gotten up to see the Sunset. I went up to HaeRi, hugging her tightly and whispering in her ear.

MJ: I was so worried about you. I’m just glad you’re okay now. Please… just forget everything… Forget him too… His already gone…

I separated from her, taking her hands in mine and looking her straight in the eyes. She was surprised by the sudden news.

MJ: What’s important is that you’re safe from harm now. So please take better care of yourself; I would go crazy if anything else happened to you.

She managed to smile beside her wary state. She was still trying to handle her emotions; she just needed some time to think things over. I was still standing by her side, when the Sun began to decrease in intensity. We all glanced at the flaming horizon, as the majestic sun slowly fell. Its beams reflected themselves on the river’s flows, making the scene ever so relaxing; everything was just breath taking. I felt Kai get closer to me; I looked at him and his eyes were glued to the front view. He really did have a beautiful profile, besides his beautiful heart. We all witnessed the final seconds of sunlight, awaiting the darkness that would follow. I just wished LuHan could see this… Once we get out of here, I’ll make sure to watch one with him. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it… I’ll also make sure to watch one with my new family; all of us together… The sun finally set and a cold breeze came in, announcing the night fall. It was time to set out everything.

MJ: Well, that was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. I’m glad we all got to see it on time. But now, we really have to organize ourselves.

We all walked towards the stashes and sat next to them. I noticed XiuMin was helping LanFang around, since she was having troubles with her cut. They looked cute together.

MJ: Well look at that! We have another ship in our group. I mean, I’m usually paired up with Kai. And I pretty much order Lay to take care of HaeRi. And by the looks of it MinSeok seems to get along with Lan. So, what will your ship’s name be?

Lay was the only one that actually laughed out loud. Kai and HaeRi just smiled and gave out a “she’s crazy” look. But LanFang and XiuMin’s face were filled of confusion.

MJ: Okay, lemme explain. We try to have ourselves accommodated in groups of two. That come in handy for when we have to separate, protect each other, or simply go into battle formation; it’s not nice to be alone. And well, I call them ships because it feels as if we were shipping idols, but it’s nothing of the sort, so you don’t have to worry. Me and JongIn are KaiMin. YiXing and HaeRi are LayRi. So you two can be… XiuFang! NO! LanMin sounds better… Wait, shouldn’t the guys’ name go first?

A very amused Kai just face-palmed himself. I was the one that wanted to start talking about a strategy and ended up giving away ship names. I know; my imagination can run wild when I’m happy. Plus my mood swings hadn’t gone away completely, so maybe they were affecting my brain.

MJ: …I think XiuFang is a good name then… (As I announced the official name the new couple flushed pink cheeks)… Well now, moving onto more important matters. Now that were all awake and a little rested, it’s time we decide what our next move will be. So the first thing is time management; day 5 is coming to an end. Before you ask YiXing, yes; we were inside EXO Tower over a day. It’s already dark, and it would be a great opportunity to go out and advance, but none of us are in condition to do so. Which brings us to point number 2: healing. I took care of everyone’s injuries with the salts Kris left behind for us. Yes LanFang, evil Wu YiFan left us a vial of antidote… I’m starting to think that guy is bending his own rules; gotta keep an eye out on him. Anyways, you’re all cured; still you need plenty of rest, food, and water. That’s’ why we’ll be spending the night in here, where no one can attack us. Speaking of food and water, we can’t rely on this stash for too long. So I think some of you can try to fish something out of the river. And since rivers are made of freshwater, we can use it to drink.

Up to now, everyone had been nodding and reassuring that the plan was okay. Kai and Lay offered themselves to go fishing.

MJ: Lay, I think you should stay. Your cut isn’t looking pretty. MinSeok can go instead (a wide-eyed XiuMin stared at me). Yes you Mr. Bun; you only have a cut on your scalp, and it isn’t infected. So you and Kai can go get some dinner while Lay starts a fire. After we eat, we rest. And when the sun rises again, we’ll make our way to the next stage.

They all nodded. I prompted Kai and XiuMin to look for some good weapons in the stash; something that could make the fishing process easier. Once they were ready, they slowly got into the water and began to walk towards the outer part of the cave. I told them not to go beyond the entrance; something might be waiting for us outside. LanFang was sitting near the edge of the water, watching the boys fail at their hunting. Lay went to pick up sticks and stones from around inside the tunnel. I was going to accompany him, but HaeRi stopped me. I told him to go up front, and so he left. I looked at my friend, and she was sad. She told me to tell her everything that happened after she fainted. I told her that it wasn’t important, but she insisted that I did. I wasn’t sure if she should know the truth. I mean, BaekHyun DID her… but he also confessed his evil doings at the end; he could be considered a good guy… And well, I don’t know how this can confuse her. Still, I couldn’t hide reality from her. We sat in front of each other. I took her hands and just looked at her.

MJ: Listen RiRi, I know what happened to you. I know who that guy was. Byun BaekHyun was the one who you in the dungeons. And only because of that I wanted to kill him. I wanted to rip every part of him apart. But then he told us the rules to the fight; if I wanted to be victorious I HAD to kill him. That only gave me more of a reason to accomplish my mission. And well, we fought…. I hit him…and he hit me (I looked at my mangled torso)… And I have to confess HaeRi…I failed you…I…I had plenty of opportunities to finish off the guy, and I couldn’t…I didn’t have the strength to murder a person… But he…HE GOT SOME SENSE INTO ME!… It’s unbelievable, I know… But that’s how I finally attacked him. At the end… a few minutes before his last breathe, the man confessed… he had done other horrible things… He also told me what I had to do in order to win the game… He was about to tell me who I had to look for…but just then…he died…

HaeRi was still sad; she didn’t show any happiness knowing her abuser was killed. I remembered what BaekHyun had told me… something that left a deep impression on me….

“… you  need to…stop this game… It…it changed me…it changed us all… Vanity won us over… We were tricked… we needed to do it…in order to survive…”

MJ: You see HaeRi… I think these people aren’t what they seem. I have a feeling their being controlled… or mailed, I don’t know… For some reason I want to believe their good, but heir all just so bad!.. Still, I just want you to forget the past. Forget it all! (I hugged her). Just focus on the present, and how we can make a better future. Don’t let memories hunt you down, and whatever happens, do not feel remorseful over anyone. Your just too nice a girl… you need to toughen up! (I slightly punched her on her left arm. She rubbed the area, but eventually smiled back). At a girl! Now have a snack! I think food isn’t going to be done in a while… I have a feeling I’ll end up fishing myself if we ever want to eat.

I laughed at the situation, and so did HaeRi. She thanked me, and I just patted her head. After that she went towards the food stash and I was heading to the tunnel to help Lay. A few meters up front, I encountered YiXing coming back to the centre; he had found all he needed. I told him to go on; I was going to take a look around. He gestured me to be careful, and so we separated. I kept moving on, looking the small tunnel in all directions. Some time went by and I finally reached the entrance. I came out of the cave and into a grassland. It was a semicircle of land surrounded by a wall of rocks, where the cave entrance was localized. In the middle of the area the Moon’s light shone upon the remains of EXO Tower.

It was a horrible sight. I wouldn’t imagine myself being under all those ruins… I couldn’t think about how JongIn felt when he didn’t see me come and this was all that remained. I was indeed selfish… But I never stopped thinking about him; I knew he would worry. And well, it was a risk… which is why I sent them all up front without me… If someone was going down, it would have been only me… Yet, that would mean the game had ended and they all would have returned to their horrible lives… Oh my God! I hadn’t loked at it that way… no wonder JongIn was so upset…There was no way to make up for my absurd behavior. I had indeed been hardheaded and selfish. Now, all that was left was making it up for them. I had to be more careful about my decisions. I’m sure were closer to the end, so we can’t risk losing now. I’ll have to leave my emotions aside for some time, or else they’ll cost me a far greater deal.

I took a last glance of the surroundings, giving off a last and final goodbye to Byun BaekHyun… the Exotic who sharpened up my senses…  I got into the cave and went down its length, reaching the centre. The guys had already fished out some animals and were now cleaning them. Lay’s fire was warming up the girls. Suddenly, I felt something walk over my feet. It had been a large crab. Besides the fright, I quickly got a hold on the critter and brought it triumphantly over to the others.

MJ: Look what I found!! I think that counts as my contribution for dinner.

A wet…and most likely sweaty… XiuMin looked over. His eyes watered at the sight of such a delicious animal. We all chuckled. The three boys kept cleaning the fishes, while LanFang slid them into separate sticks; ready to be grilled. I sat beside them and helped out. Soon after, we were all around the fire, cooking our delicacies. After eating up and drinking plenty of water, it was time to get ready for the next day. We made a display of all the weapons available: 2 double-headed spears, 4 daggers, a long staff with a round decoration at one end, a bow with arrow ammunition, an iron hammer, and an bag full of grenades.

MJ: Just looking at these things gives me the creeps. We could start a 3^rd World War with all these weapons! Everyone, please choose a weapon that you know you can maneuver easily. As for me, I’ll be taking a pair of those hand-knives.

Then, one by one they picked their weapon, leaving behind the staff and grenade bag. Kai and Lay called the spears. XiuMin the hammer, HaeRi the other set of daggers, and LanFang pretty much recovered her lost weapon.

MJ: We’ll just leave the other weapons behind. Besides, I don’t think it’s safe to carry bombs around. Now everyone, please go to sleep. We need to benefit from this opportunity. So of to dreamland everyone!

Everyone was still tired besides their long nap; we had been without sleep for 2 days. We needed a little more than just a nap. We all got together, lying around in a circular form near the fire. I closed my eyes, ready to rest. But someone bumped against my back. I took a look to see who it was, to find none other than Mr. Kim JongIn. His back was touching mine, making my skin crawl up on contact. This guy; such a masculine look, yet acting like a baby. I slowly turned around, trying not to overwork myself, and ended up looking at his back. I closed in a little, just enough for him to hear me out without making the others.

MJ:.. JongIn…I’ve been thinking… about what you told me… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. I just acted out by emotions; I didn’t think it through. I know you have every right to be upset… because I did forget my true mission for a moment… And that could have costs us all the game…

The young man turned around. We were now face to face, separated by only inches. His expression didn’t show any specific emotion. He was just staring at me.

MJ: I just wanted to know if…you could ever forgive me… I’ll try to make it up to you…To you all…

Kai extended his right arm towards my face, slowly caressing my left cheek. I stood frozen. He use to be kind, but why so much affection recently? He must be really sad about what I did. I took a daring move and looked straight into his dark, penetrating eyes… they were beautiful… and the little pain at the center of my chest appeared again… My conscious was really persistent!

MJ: … well, do you?....

The man took me in into a hug, making me rest my head on his chest. I could hear his fast heart beat; he must still be worried about losing me…. This fellow…Still, this position was kind of…awkward… I tried to get freed, but he didn’t let me. He gripped harder on me and chuckled, giving me a kiss on the top of my head before falling fast asleep. Last thing I saw of him was a curling smile…

This stupid chest pain! Why doesn’t it go away!?