Joonmyun looked down and in a breath, hair tossed by the wind and shirt fluttering against his chest. He had to squint so that water didn't fly into his eyes.

“Don't be nervous!” A shout came from beside him. “If anything bad happens, we both know that you can swim!”

He gritted his teeth and ignored the voice. He knew he had to do this. They needed the money and this was the easiest and least embarrassing way of getting it. Joonmyun glanced over his shoulder and saw the amused smile of the man who had strapped the cord around his ankle. They had a small crowd forming around the edge of the cliff, and he almost scoffed. Well, at least if they failed they might get a pity prize for bringing some attention to the place.

“On three!” Xiumin shouted and Joonmyun panicked. But, okay, he had a couple seconds left to piece himself together. He closed his eyes and willed time to move slower while ignoring what was beneath him because while he wasn't afraid of heights, he had common sense. And this was way too high to be safe.

“One, two three!”

Joonmyun saw Xiumin's grin and then he was yanked forwards with a strong feeling of déjà vu.

The air was unyielding but Joonmyun fought his way through it, shrieking all the way and hands struggling to cover his face. He eventually gave up, arms dangling uselessly above–or below, he really couldn't tell any more–as the world streaked by in various shades of blue and green, bleary due to tears obscuring his vision.

He could hear screaming beside him and was frightened for a second, until he realized they were screams of exhilaration and that Xiumin was having way more fun with this than he was. Stomach somewhere in his throat, Joonmyun let his body bend and twist like a piece of rubber as water misted over him. He exhaled when the bouncing ceased and he swayed side to side as they were yanked up by the thick cord.

“That was fantastic.”

Joonmyun whipped his head to the side, feeling like a piece of putty. He narrowed his eyes and hissed out, “I hate you.”

Xiumin gave a breathless laugh and grinned in response.

There was something beneath his feet and Joonmyun almost cried in relief. Instead, he fell onto all fours and heaved in air. A hand rubbed his back as the man fastened the gate and began undoing all the buckles on their ankles.

“I wasn't sure if you were going to do it,” he admitted gruffly.

Xiumin, having apparently caught his breath–how, Joonmyun couldn't fathom–laughed and worked the padded harness off his leg. “This one was just a little nervous,” he motioned towards Joonmyun, “and we promised we would, right?”

Joonmyun let himself be rolled onto his back as Xiumin removed the harness from his leg.

“That you did. And I think I have a couple lined up already,” the man grinned, nodding back towards his booth, where there was a small line of onlookers eyeing the two curiously. “Business has been hard. Not as many tourists nowadays.”

“I'll be sure to recommend you,” Xiumin promised, helping Joonmyun upright.

“That would be great. And you're sure that the two of you don't mind me using you for the ad?”

“No,” Joonmyun wheezed, “we're quite fine with... public exposure.”

“Terrific. Well, all the paperwork is done so I'll just give you this and you can be on your way,” the older man handed over an envelope which Joonmyun quickly grabbed before forcing Xiumin into a bow alongside him and taking their leave as fast as possible.

The envelope was thick and reassuring in Joonmyun's hand as they passed the crowd and Xiumin sang praise about the beauty of the waterfall and sky as he fell, Joonmyun nodding hastily with a practiced grin before yanking him away.

“Some things just happen with really good timing,” Xiumin phrases awkwardly, with a final nod.

Joonmyun scoffs. “What? Being offered a part in an ad? Hardly abnormal.”

“Someone's grumpy,” Xiumin teases with a few well-aimed pokes. “No, I mean he came out of nowhere and offered–how much did we get, anyway?”

“I'm not telling you. You'll want to spend it all on food.”

“Well, yeah. What else would we spend it on?”

“Getting back onto the mainland. We have two days left.”

“Right, right.” Xiumin paused, kicking a pebble. “But, man, we just got payed to bungee jump. That's a once in a lifetime chance.”

“What happened to winning? Eyes on the prize?” Joonmyun questioned, eyebrows raised.

Xiumin shrugged. “If you can't have fun on the way, then you're not really winning.”

Joonmyun hummed and relished the feel of asphalt under his worn and tattered sneakers. He led Xiumin, who tried unsuccessfully to drag them over to numerous food stalls, over to a small wooden stand.

“Is there a ferry to the mainland?” He asked with a charming smile.

“Of course,” the woman smiled back. “It leaves in,” she glanced at something beneath the stall, “ten minutes. You can pay here.”

Joonmyun quickly tore open the envelope and shoved a handful onto the counter which the woman seemed to count painfully slowly, almost shouting two at her when she asked how many tickets they were buying. Finally, she handed them two plain tickets with a quick, “hurry or you'll be late!” And this time it was Xiumin who had to try and keep up.

They'd stumbled upon the cute little town just a couple days ago after breaking through a final layer of undergrowth and had surprised a woman who was gardening. They'd been staying with bungee man for the past couple nights after having introduced themselves as tourists because apparently the scruffy mountain man was the go-to guy for tourists. His shack had been home base while the two worked odd jobs around town in return for a meal or a small tip. Then bungee man had made his proposition with the promise of a hefty amount of cash and Xiumin had agreed before Joonmyun could even process the arrangement.

They practically flew onto the small boat, Joonmyun shoving the tickets into the surprised face of a deckhand before migrating to the front of the boat and squatting by the rail, out of breath and immensely relieved. He glanced over his shoulder as the boat left the small dock and gave a little wave to the island. It was nice while it lasted. He turned back to face the endless blue and noticed Xiumin had his legs dangling over the side of the ship. He opted to curl up, resting his chin on his knees.

“This is nice.”

Joonmyun agrees, staring sleepily at the waves as they disappear beneath the bow. “You gonna miss this?”

Xiumin shrugs. “Sure.” He leans back and folds his arms beneath his head. “But it's too quiet, you know?”

Joonmyun grins. “Needs some screaming idols? Around ten or so?”

Xiumin chuckles. “Exactly.”

Luhan wakes up alone on the beach and feels like this should be the punchline of a joke. Except it's not. Because he's lying on his back all alone and the sun's not even up yet.

He'd like to go ahead and believe that this is all a dream, but the grains of sand stuck in his cheek really hurt and that's enough to affirm that he's awake and again, he's alone.

Which is really weird considering he's had a guy hanging off his arm for the past couple days.

Speaking of which.

“Baek?” He sits up, rubbing his eyes with both hands and noting the clinking of the chain with distaste. Just two more days. Then he can get the stupid thing off. “Baekhyun?” He slowly gets to his feet and stretches, groaning when something pops. “Byun?” He turns in a small circle and nothing. There is absolutely no one anywhere near him. He can tell because he's been stuck on this beach for days and he knows what it sounds like when a creature comes barreling out of the woods behind him.

So. What happened to his companion?

He souldn't panic. He really should just not. Because now would be a horrible time for panicking considering he's god-knows-where all by himself and– “BAEKHYUN!”

He heads straight for the ocean, splashing through the clear water to try and find a trace of the brunet boy, because Baekhyun had taken a real liking to the water and Luhan hopes it didn't take a liking to him in return.

“Give him back!” He orders somewhat vainly, because Luhan knows that the water couldn't have taken Baekhyun but at the same time it's not like he has any other leads. So he tromps through the water looking for his bandmate because he doesn't know what else to do.

He looks behind him just when he's about to start screaming and there he is.

Baekhyun stands right by the last tree before the beach, holding two bananas in one hand and a pair of sunglasses in the other. Luhan tackles him to the ground in seconds.

“Where were you?”

“I was... getting food?”

Luhan leans back and eyes the boy critically. “Bananas. Where did you get them from?”

“A banana tree.”

“There are no banana trees.”

“A... monkey gave them to me?”

Luhan narrows his eyes and raises his hand, empty cuff dangling. “How.”

“Mind giving me some room first?” Baekhyun groans, wriggling out from under Luhan. He places the bananas by his side and sets the sunglasses atop his head before grabbing the empty handcuff and inspecting it almost clinically. “You ever notice how loose theses things are?”

Luhan stays silent as Baekhyun picks up his hand and traces it lightly before he covers the hand with his own and squeezes it so tightly that Luhan's about to complain until he noticies that Baekhyun's pulling the handcuff forward with his other hand. The blond watches in awe as Baekhyun slowly works off the cuff inch by inch before yanking it off completely, throwing it to his right.

Luhan stares at his slightly reddened hand in wonder before fixing Baekhyun with a questioning gaze.

The younger shrugs. “They're all the same size, I think. I thought I'd give it a try after you fell asleep last night and it worked. They look more like they were made for Kris and Chanyeol, to be honest. I doubt they'd be able to wriggle out of theirs.”

Luhan, caressing his wrist, nods his head slowly. “And the bananas?”

Baekhyun puffs his cheeks out and lets out a breath. “After I got the thing off I started walking around and sort of walked into this lady's backyard but she was really nice about it and gave me food and stuff.” He shrugs.

“Let's go.” Luhan grabs Baekhyun's hand out of instinct, but lets go once they're in the thick of the woods after realizing that there's no reason to hold the younger's hand any more. He drifts to the side but then Baekhyun grabs a hold of his wrist and keeps his hand there. Luhan looks up but Baekhyun's looking away so he settles for looking around at the familiar trees.

After having hitchhiked their way over the body of water, the two had attempted to stumble their way into a major city, but their treks proved fruitless. They eventually settled for camping out on the beach, every morning waking up and vowing to get somewhere, but by nightfall they would be content lying on the beach, heads pillowed on their arms.

The trees were starting to thin out and after a second of deliberation, Baekhyun pulled Luhan to the right, making a small triumphant sound when he found a gently used trail. They followed it through the foliage and over a few hills, silent as they walked.

Then Baekhyun suddenly picked up the pace and Luhan struggled to keep up, noting that they should have brought the bananas because his stomach was in the process of eating itself, or at least that's what it felt like.

“There.”

Luhan glanced up. They had just cleared another hill and instead of another tree-lined field there was instead a small house under an ancient-looking tree. Baekhyun sprinted down the hill and Luhan gasped, trying to match his pace while not tripping on his own feet.

Baekhyun walked straight up to the door and gave three sure knocks before taking a step back and giving Luhan a reassuring smile. The other didn't have any time to back away before the door was being pulled open and a kind face appeared in the junction between the door and the frame.

The woman's face lit up upon seeing Baekhyun. “You came back! Oh come in, come in, it's getting chilly out already.”

Baekhyun wrapped his hand around Luhan's bicep to be sure that the other wouldn't make a run for it as they were ushered in. “I brought a friend, I hope you don't mind.”

“Mind?” The woman laughed, voice crackling around the edges as she laughed. “It's a joy to have company. Now, have a seat. I'll go put on some tea.”

The place smelled strongly of fruit and Luhan found himself relaxing already, practically boneless as Baekhyun led him over to a couch and they sank down onto it together. He leaned back and sighed, ignoring Baekhyun's chuckle.

“Is there anything I can get you boys to eat?” The woman asked, peeking out from a doorway.

Luhan straightened and begged, “yes, please,” before realizing what he was doing and shared a look of shock with Baekhyun.

To their relief, the woman laughed and gave Baekhyun a pointed look. “Didn't I give you something earlier this morning?”

Baekhyun shrugged slowly, blushing. “I dropped them.”

“Oh, to be young!” She declared wistfully, a grin painting her features. She entered the room bearing a tray with three cups of tea and a bowl of fruit. Luhan grabbed two apples as Baekhyun took a tentative sip.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure?” She asked, cupping her own tea. “This one turned up early this morning in my backyard. Almost crushed my entire garden!” She whispered across the table to Luhan conspiratorially, tsking, as Baekhyun made frantic motions beside him.

“Actually,” Luhan started after thanking the woman profusely, Baekhyun joining in, “we were wondering how to get to Daejeon from here.”

The woman raised a pencil-enhanced eyebrow. “Daejeon?”

“We're supposed to meet up with a few friends,” Baekhyun supplied, “but we go kind of lost.”

“Poor dears,” the woman offered, taking a sip of her steaming tea. “Well, I think I can be of assistance. If you follow that trail right outside, it'll take you to a little village and there's a small transportation system that brings tourists right into the heart of Busan.” She smiled around her cup. “My grandchildren use it to come down and visit. Very reliable.”

Luhan wanted to cry. When the man had said that the boat docked in Busan, it turned out that it docked on the very edge of Busan and Baekhyun, when entrusted to lead the way, headed away from the crowd and ended up getting them lost, professing he had no idea where he was going.

Luhan jumped out of his seat and gave the woman a low bow. “Thank you so much.”

The woman laughed. “No need to be so formal! Just remember, feel free to visit. I always seem to have too much food for just myself.”

Baekhyun stood as well. “Next time, I'll try to bring more friends.”

“That would be wonderful. Take care of yourselves!”

Luhan nodded, leading the way out the door. Once outside, he threw his arms around Baekhyun. “Bless you, Baek.”

They walked into the town briskly and side by side. A nice girl who had been cleaning outside a shop directed them towards the bus stop. They headed that way and almost screamed in happiness when they saw a small bench under a metal roof with a red sign to its right. Luhan made himself comfortable on the bench while Baekhyun headed over to the sign. The brunet whined loudly.

“What? What is it?”

Baekhyun turned slowly. “The bus doesn't go today.”

“That's okay, we'll get the first one tomorrow,” Luhan decided, determined to stay positive.

Baekhyun slumped down into the seat next to him. “How much money do we have?”

“Why?”

“We're going to need more,” Baekhyun warned, “the tickets are kind of pricy.”

The blond sighed. “It's okay. We'll worry about money tomorrow. We still have two days left.”

A/N: I'M SORRY. COMEBACK AND GROWL AND FEELINGS. Also, time skip because. Yeah. Thirdly, I'm going to write a thing with SillyAh soon (check her out if you want to. She writes adorable taoris and updates more than me OTL)
Thanks for sticking along. You guys are real troopers. <3