Baekhyun had woken up just about an hour ago from a hard poke in his side and a grinning face shoved in front of his that had spouted something about running and hiking and fun.

Now he was being dragged up the side of a cliff.

“What are we doing?” He whined, not for the first time. He heard an exasperated sigh from in front of him and resisted the urge to yank his wrist out of the older's hand and fall to his death.

Luhan skipped over a pile of particularly sharp rocks and turned around to carefully lead Baekhyun around it, who glared in response. The blonde hummed and turned back around. “It's like I told you. I woke up early because I am sensitive–“

Baekhyun snorted.

“–and I am not meant to sleep on the ground. Ever,” Luhan huffed and continued, “I heard something that sounded man-made and we're going to go find it. Now stop complaining and walk faster.”

Baekhyun groaned. “But what if it was a bird?”

“It wasn't. I have fantastic hearing.”

“Right. Because you're absolutely perfect at everything. God, could you be any more conceited?”

“Oh, and like you aren't?”

“M'not as bad as you.”

“You flatter yourself.”

Baekhyun groaned. “I can't even get away from you!”

“Oh, so you've finally noticed?”

Baekhyun leaned down and stared at his reddened wrist for a moment before leaning down and pressing the flesh against him mouth.

Luhan watched in interest. “Are you trying to... gnaw your wrist off?”

“Shut up.”

Luhan quirked an eyebrow and snickered. “I'd offer to help but it looks like you're doing a great job there all by yourself.”

The younger raised his head, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “I'll find a way.”

Luhan laughed. “Yeah. We win and we get it off. That's that.” There was no reply, so he glanced over his shoulder and found Baekhyun stalking along behind him, looking extremely unhappy. The blonde turned back to face the rocky terrain, wondering when he would see the other side. Maybe never. He'd never been very patient. In lieu of an in-flight movie, he began to hum a Mama verse, because when you hear something over a thousand times, humming it is second nature.

The chorus was whistled back from behind him. Luhan gave a laugh before continuing.

About a minute into What Is Love, Luhan side-stepped a large rock and found himself on the other side of the miniature mountain. He grinned and reached out to stop Baekhyun from tumbling down the steep incline while searching for something bright, loud, and man-made.

Huh. No dice.

Baekhyun squeaked, quick-stepping away from the ledge and tangling Luhan's arm somewhere between his shoulder and his neck. He gagged and Luhan grunted. Both tried to pull away at the same time, gagging Baekhyun and pulling Luhan back against the rock face. Baekhyun opened his mouth to shout a complaint, but froze when a loud whistle sounded.

Luhan pulled his hand away and eagerly leaned forward, searching for something.

“There it is,” Baekhyun whispered, awe-stricken.

Indeed it was. A bright glint from in between large green trees, smoke slowly rising from what seemed to be an exhaust pipe. Maybe there were two.

The pair shared a look and took off, sliding and dashing down the hill. Luhan dug his heels into the loose soil and Baekhyun stayed on the balls of his feet, hopping over twigs and stones. The occasional branch or thorn would rip through a shirt or tear off a bit of skin, but neither boy cared, much too intent on reaching the bottom of the mountain.

When the land morphed into a flat surface, the two sprinted across the remaining land, each praying under his breath that the whatever-it-was would still be there.

They cleared the last line of trees and there it was. A magnificent sparkling fishing boat with a man standing by a ladder, eyeing the two incredulously. Luhan took no time in dragging Baekhyun over to the side of the partially beached boat and confronting the unshaven man in overalls.

“Is this boat going to the mainland?”

The cigarette that had been partially hanging out of the man's mouth fell to the ground. “Sorry?”

“Korea. Is the boat going to Korea.”

“Uh, yeah. We dock in Busan.”

Baekhyun stepped forward. “Could we hitch a ride?”

The man, seemingly over his fit of surprise, pulled another cig from his pocket, lit it with a plain silver lighter and took a long drag, eyeing the two before him. “Well, I don't see why not.”

Luhan was almost instantly tackled by a sobbing Baekhyun. He breathed a ragged breath, only now realizing how afraid he'd been of not ever making it home and patted Baekhyun gently on the back. “We're gonna make it.”

Jongin was trailing behind Kris, who was incredibly annoyed. The kid kicked in his sleep. He had a bruise just under his rib from a particularly powerful kick that could rival Zitao. He it through his filthy shirt absent-mindedly, brain still going over the previous day's rankings.

Sehun and Yixing in the lead. There was no way he could let that go on. The silent dimple-bearing devil would be a thorn in his side for years if he didn't win. He could already hear all the jokes that would be thrown his way. Kris shook his head and groaned. He couldn't let that happen, and that was why today counted.

He and the brat had to cover as much land as possible as fast as possible, and acting as friendly as possible. Kris fine with the best two out of three.

He felt a light tap and whirled around to face Jongin, face set in cold indifference. The younger froze and tried to shrug nonchalantly, shivering slightly. Kris turned back and stomped forward. He felt the kid trip along behind him, but paid no mind. He had better things to think about. Like where the hell they were going.

He could swear they were heading north when they started.

… or had it been west?

Never mind. It didn't matter. All beginnings reach the same end eventually and as long as they reached that end, everything would be all right and the start wouldn't even matter.

Or, at least, that's what he had been thinking when the sun was still on the horizon. Now it was high in the sky and beating down on them without mercy. Kris wiped a patch of sweat from his forehead with an equally wet arm, the loud huffing behind him a constant reminder that he wasn't alone.

He flinched as Jongin gave a loud heave. “I get it!”

“I'm dying!”

Kris sighed. He was just a kid after all. “I know.”

“Hey look, a bridge!”

Kris was about to ask him what he was talking about, but was instead dragged over to a flimsy bridge built over a swiftly moving current.

“I don't like this.”

Jongin laughed and knelt, leaning down so that he could trail his fingers through the stream. “You don't like anything, killjoy.”

Kris rolled his eyes, but relaxed as Jongin stayed down, flicking the water and drawing symbols on the surface with his finger. He could take the time to figure out where they were going, if nothing else. He dragged the backpack off of his back and leafed through it gingerly, trying to drag out only the important papers. He started as water was splashed on him and glared down at a grinning Jongin. The smug little prick.

“Don't. Do that.”

Jongin's smile dimmed a bit and the boy quickly turned back to face the water. Kris shook his head and buried himself in the damp papers. He really would have rather had someone from his own subgroup. Maybe not Yixing, but Zitao or Minseok. He could have made a good team with either, heck he might even have made it off the island by now, had he been paired with Zitao. With a silent curse at the system, Kris tried to figure out how to get to the other side of the island.

There was a light tug at his wrist, and he pulled back with a snarl. He wasn't in the mood to babysit children. Jongin would have to amuse himself.

“Kri–“

The papers flew out of his hands and he simply stared in shock at the gaping hole in the bottom of the makeshift bridge. Then his arm was yanked towards the hole and he watched helplessly as Jongin surfaced for a moment, let out a shout, and then went back under.

Kris gritted his teeth and plated both feet firmly on either side of the hole, pulling upward. No good. The water wouldn't give. Kris gave up, panting and searching left and right for something, anything. He stared back at the raging water and realized Jongin hadn't popped up again. He couldn't even see the kid.

“Joonmyun's going to kill me,” He muttered under his breath before taking a deep breath and launching himself through the hole. As soon as he hit the surface of the water, he tugged the handcuff towards him until he had an armful of loose clothing and lanky limbs.

Exasperation left him in a hoard of bubbles that rose quickly to the surface. The water was much deeper than he'd thought and had the river really been this deep? Kris gathered the kid closer and let himself be pulled by the current until his feet touched solid land.

With a huff of the last breath had, Kris pushed off and broke the surface, gulping down air and blindly grappling with his unbound hand for something to stop him from continuing forward and potentially falling off some unseen cliff. His hand finally caught on a large rock and Kris hissed as he felt his palm being grazed.

He couldn't hear anything. The roar of the water surrounding him was deafening.

Grunting, Kris scrabbled up the rock, falling a couple times but never letting go of his hold on Jongin. Once he had made it up, he lurched forward and fell to his knees on the hard, warm earth.

Jongin.

Kris looked at the boy below him with newfound urgency. The guy wasn't breathing.

“,” Kris cursed, letting go so that the limp body rolled onto the ground so that Jongin sprawled face-up. The blonde groaned, ignoring the pain in his hand to stare imploringly at the boy before him. “Breathe,” he demanded. “You were talking a thousand miles per hour just a couple minutes ago, what happened?”

Kris let out a shout as Jongin remained still. He punched the ground by his side and took a couple deep breaths. No, this couldn't be happening. He swallowed and leaned down, face inches away from Jongin's own.

He felt rather than saw Jongin's smirk after he was yanked forward and it didn't really click until a second later when he heard a delighted laugh.

Kris shot up and wiped his mouth on his arm, watching in shock and Jongin cracked up, rolling onto his side and clutching his stomach. “I can't breathe!” He wheezed between laughs.

Kris was appalled. He kicked the younger and glared. “I can't believe you.”

“Ah, but you could. I am a great actor, no?” Jongin grinned, sitting up. “Plus, it wasn't like you didn't give me the idea.”

Kris blinked. “I thought I said we'd do it later, closer to the end.”

Jongin shrugged. “I thought we should do it now since, you know, we're not winning and stuff.” He winked at the still stunned blonde. “You were great, by the way, Prince Charming.”

Kris continued to stare at the boy before him. Despite the wet, clinging clothes, frazzled hair and other drowned-cat features, the kid looked like he could run a mile or at the very least go on stage as he was and get a few casualties from the audience. He'd underestimated this brat.

Jongin took Kris's silence for a victory and happily patted the elder on the cheek. “Up and at 'em, grandpa. I want to get off this island by sunset.”

Kris stayed still another second and then laughed, frightening the younger. “Okay, let's go.”

Jongin raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Your laugh is going to scare off all the boats. They'll think they're a monster on the island.”

Kris gritted his teeth and mussed the younger's hair, earning a cry of frustration. “Come on, brat.”

Jongin grinned and swung his arm over Kris's shoulders. “To victory!” He shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

A/N: it's an update, okay. so. prom, make up work, ap exams and ohmygod stresssss so here's this and I'm sorry and wow hi guys thanks for staying. ilu <3 bye.