Daesung didn't know what had hit him. Suddenly the world was blurry and spinning. It was the good kind of dizzy, the kind that makes you feel like you're flying and floating at the same time. Daesung let go of his thoughts and sank into the kiss. For the first time since this nightmare had begun, he felt completely safe. There was no other place he would rather be.

After what felt like a blink of an eye, TOP pulled abruptly back. His expression was that of shock and bewilderment as he walked nervously to and fro. Daesung didn't dare say anything and just watched him freak out. “It must've been the berries! It's the only explanation.” TOP muttered to himself, still pacing about, trying to make sense of it all. “The poison in the berries somehow managed to mess with my head!” TOP said, more to himself than anyone else. Seemingly accepting that explanation, he rejoined the real world and noticed Daesung still plastered up against the tree trunk. “What was that?” TOP asked him incredulously. Daesung didn't know how to reply, 'a kiss' was the obvious answer, but he was afraid to burst the denial-bubble onto which TOP was trying so hard to hold. “That was bigger than any beast I ever saw!” TOP continued. Oh, he was talking about the monster from which he had just saved him. Daesung felt silly. Maybe he hadn't thought anything of the kiss. Maybe in his mind it had been nothing special, just something he did randomly. Come to think of it, TOP had never confided in him about his love life. There were rumors of course, but TOP had neither confirmed nor denied them. The agency had a kind of a 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy. Dating was frowned upon, but if you hid it well enough, you could date as much as you liked. But once you were found out, it would be over for both parties. It was either get married or break up and endure the scandal. The life of an idol could be extremely tough but Daesung wouldn't trade it for the world. Daesung had thought about marriage from time to time, but it was a scary thought having to live with the same woman forever. How did you know if she was the one? Daesung got stress-hives just thinking about it. Well, these were pointless worries for the time being. He needed to focus on the task at hand, how to get home and more importantly, how to survive the next hour. That was as far into the future as he could allow himself to think. Any longer would be too scary.

TOP's stomach grumbled. “Let's refill the bottles quickly and go search for food, I'm starving and we can't go back empty handed.” TOP was acting like nothing had happened between them. Daesung didn't really see any other choice than to go with it and pretend that all was normal. It was okay since Daesung wasn't sure if he wanted to address what happened, he wasn't completely sure of his feelings. It was still so fresh, he couldn't quite think clearly yet. That being said, he couldn't help feeling a bit hurt. He had no idea what was going on in TOP's head right now. Daesung didn't want this to affect their friendship, but he was afraid that the damage had already been done. Would they be able to return to how they were before this? Before their lives had been catapulted into complete chaos of one bizarre thing after another. Daesung loved their friendship, it was his most prized possession. Before TOP he hadn't known what it was to have a best friend. Although he loved his family more than life itself, he always kept a certain distance. It was his nature to guard his inner self from intruders, letting no one in. In the time since he was born he had managed to build an impenetrable fort around the inner most part of his heart. Then TOP had come into his life. Unlike most people that went straight for the fortified main gate, failing repeatedly to gain access, TOP was sneaky. He let him be, not pushing him to open up at all. He worked around Daesung's shyness, lulling him into a sense of security that he had never before experienced. Slowly Daesung had opened more and more up to TOP, telling him stuff he had never told anyone else. At first Daesung had been afraid of this newfound feeling of intimacy, but with time he grew to like it. It was as precious as it was rare. Daesung had been happy with things as they were, he wasn't sure he was ready for them to change.

The water felt ice cold on Daesung's skin. His hand was half underwater as he filled one of the water bottles. Watching the water rush by in silence awakened the prankster in him. TOP was clueless beside him, filling the other bottle while staring vaguely into the forest on the other side of the river. Daesung smirked devilishly. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and dove his hand deep into the water, whipping it up at lightning speed, splashing a wave of cold water straight into TOP's face. TOP was taken completely by surprise and gasped for air as the ice cold whip hit him. It took him a while to realize what had happened, but when he came to his senses Daesung's smile vanished behind a frown of panic. What had he been thinking? When it came to pranks, TOP was a high level master, Daesung had nothing on him. Daesung sprang up but he wasn't fast enough. TOP grabbed him from the back and with one fell swoop Daesung's whole back was on fire. Just like that, TOP had thrown him into the water. It was so cold that it felt more like he was burning than freezing. He jumped screaming out of the river, TOP's deep raspy laughter echoing all around “Huh huh huh.”. Daesung wasn't done, TOP would have to pay. It was only fair!

Daesung chased TOP around, finally getting a hold on his shirt, wrestling him to the ground. While holding him down, Daesung poured the contents of his water bottle over TOP, screeching in triumph. Then he noticed it. He thought he might have imagined it, so he stared intently at the spot in the river where he had last seen it. “What?” TOP asked quietly. “Look.” Daesung said pointing in the direction into which he was staring. “Oh!” TOP exclaimed, clearly he had seen it too. A fish had briefly jumped up from the river, diving straight back into it. There was fish in the river. Why hadn't they thought of that? TOP pushed Daesung gently off of him, still watching where the fish had been. He looked into TOP's eyes and saw he was thinking the exact same thing, lunch!

“What do we do for fishing poles?” Daesung wondered, his brain offering no viable ideas. “Should we try if we can just catch one with our hands?” TOP offered, smiling sheepishly. Apparently his wilderness skills didn't exceed those of Daesung's, they were equally hopeless. Daesung shrugged his shoulders. He had no faith in the plan, but it wasn't like he had anything better to offer. They gingerly entered the water, breathing sharply in as their shoes filled with cold water. It wasn't the most pleasant of methods. The water reached the lower end of Daesung's knee. TOP was going a little bit further up stream to try to scare the fishes right into Daesung's lap. Daesung had no confidence in actually being able to catch them, but it was worth the try. He giggled at the sight of TOP thrashing about in the water. “Hey! Babo! Don't look at me, look at the fishes!!” TOP yelled at him. Oh, right. Daesung looked down at the water, trying to concentrate. He had to become a carnivore, a hunter, waiting for his prey. He imagined he was a big bear fishing for his first meal after hibernation. As if on cue, Daesung's stomach gurgled. He sure was hungry!

There was one! Daesung saw it swimming towards him. He waited until it had almost reached his feet and dove his hands deep into the water, managing to grab absolutely nothing at all. The fish was long gone. Daesung's heart sank. It would've been so nice if it had worked. Then they could return as heroes, curing everyone's crying belly. Daesung refused to give up after only one try. He had to become the bear. If the bear could do it, he could too. Daesung-bear readied his paws. The next fish to come along would be in big trouble, Daesung thought, squinting his eyes.

Daesung froze. He had seen a big dark shadow swim past him, heading in the direction of TOP's splashes. Before he could consciously register what was going on, he started running towards him, yelling “TOP! OUT OF THE WATER, NOW!!!”. TOP stopped splashing around, looking surprised at Daesung's frantic half-run, half-swim. When TOP stopped, the shadow doubled back towards Daesung. Oh no. Daesung changed direction too sharply and managed to trip himself, falling face first into the water. It was over. He was perfectly positioned for the shadow, an easier prey was hard to find. Daesung would've thought he would react hysterically in the face of death, but he was surprisingly calm. Everything happened in slow motion. He opened his eyes while his head was still underwater. He could see it. It was a terrifying beast. It was at least a meter long, covered in black scales, with all kinds of spikes and fins sticking out. It was staring at him with its beady fish eyes, its scary mouth filled with huge sharp teeth. Daesung had never seen anything like it.

Suddenly Daesung felt pressure on his back and he was lifted out of the water. The black beast darted after him, it leaped out of the water with its mouth open wide, its teeth ready to lock into Daesung's flesh. But TOP was quicker. “That's twice!” TOP panted. “Huh?” Daesung was lying on the ground, still disorientated. “I've saved your life twice now and that's just in the last hour.” TOP said proudly. “Oh.. he he.. yeah sorry, thanks.” Daesung said awkwardly. How do you thank someone for saving your life?

When Daesung had gained control again over his panicking brain, he noticed a small grey fish fighting for its life. It had probably been thrown onto the river bank in all the commotion. He yanked at TOP's arm to get his attention. He looked completely drained. Daesung pointed at the fish and giggled, “Lunch!”.