Day 1

                Down, down, down. Hakyeon felt the wind rushing past his face, his heart threatening to escape the confines of his chest. He was going to die. There was no way that he would survive. He knew how high he'd fallen from, knew the likelihood of surviving the impact. But he didn't want to die. No. He wanted to live. He wanted to hug his friends again, see one of Taekwoon's rare smiles again, kiss his Mom on the cheek one more time. No. He did not want to die. The impact of his body hitting the surface  of the river forced the air from his lungs, only to fill them again with freezing water. He kicked his way to the surface, pulling in as much air as he could, only to be pulled down once more by the current seconds later. He could feel the invisible pull of the river, feel as it pulled him to the bottom, to his death. He refused to let it add one more life to its dark graveyard. Hakyeon swam with all his might to the surface, head bobbing in and out of the water. It seemed for every breath of air he fought to get, one more mouthful of water was swallowed. It was dark, Hakyeon unable to see his surroundings, but he could feel the fury of the river as it transformed into rapids. All he could do was try to stay on the surface while he felt his body being hammered by rocks and fallen tree limbs. With a desperate grab, Hakyeon tried to attach himself to a fallen tree, only to feel something in his wrist snap as the river dragged him away viciously. His body felt like it would go to pieces any second now, the pain in his wrist sharp. He saw the large boulder coming up in the darkness and saw his salvation. There was no way to grab onto it, the width of it too large, but if he could use it to stop his momentum, he might have a chance. Hakyeon tried his hardest to get lined up with the rock, and then braced himself. BAM! His ribcage hit the rock first, followed shortly by the side of his head. There was a warm liquid, blood he thought, running down the side of his face. He fought to pull in air to his tired and abused lungs, a hacking cough ripping itself up his throat. But at least he had stopped. The river rammed him into the rock, and Hakyeon used this force to move himself to the outside edge of the boulder where the river was calmer, without being pulled back into the rapids.  He allowed the slower current to carry his body, kicking his legs with all his might to reach the shore. He used his good hand and pulled his bruised body as far out of the water as he could. And then he lay there, staring up into the night sky and its twinkling stars, as his exhaustion finally won out, whisking his consciousness away into the darkness.

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                While Hakyeon fought his battle with the river, Taekwoon fought a battle of his own. When he'd watched his best friend fall from the ledge, he couldn't do anything. He'd watched as the person that he cared for most in this world was taken from him, brutally ripped away. And he knew exactly who was at fault. The red haze of rage fell over Taekwoon's vision as he rushed Yooncheol, who had been staring at his hands as if not believing what they had just done. And he didn't come out of his haze until he felt hands trying desperately to pull him off of the unconscious body he was pummeling with his fists. He heard his friends begging him to stop, Hyuk to his right, screaming out Hakyeon's name in heart wrenching sobs. He let himself be pulled away from Yooncheol but didn't feel the pain from his bleeding hands. How could he when it was his heart that had been ripped completely out of his chest?

"Oh my god, your hands." Jaehwan said, ripping the edge of his shirt into strips to wrap Taekwoon's raw knuckles in.

"Hakyeon..." Taekwoon whispered, the busy hands bandaging him stilling.

"We'll find him." Jaehwan said, doing his best to be gentle, while he himself was falling apart on the inside. "I sent Wonshik to get the teachers. We'll search until we find him." Neither of them spoke of the chances that Hakyeon even being alive after a fall like that were minimal at best. They couldn't. Taekwoon saw Hongbin now, the other pair of hands that had pulled him from Yooncheol, as he tried to comfort Hyuk, all while sobbing himself. His head whipped around at the sound of pounding feet. Wonshik had brought the teachers with him as instructed, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"What happened here?!" The head teacher asked, taking in the sight of a passed out and bloody Yooncheol and Jaehwan bandaging Taekwoon's equally bloody hands. Jaehwan spoke up since no one else seemed able to.

"Yooncheol pushed Hakyeon off the edge. He fell." Silence. The teacher's faces were all equally shocked.

"He what?"

"Pushed Hakyeon." Jaehwan didn't know if he'd ever seen an adult look so horrified. The teacher ran to the edge, looking down at the river below.

"Oh my god. Would he have even survived such a fall?" Taekwoon jerked as if he'd been hit at the statement.  Thank god for the cool head of the cooking teacher at that point.

"We need to call the forest rangers and start on a search. Now." She said, pulling out the radio that connected them to the ranger station.

"Do you even think the boy is still alive?" Asked the head teacher, only to be sent a deathly glare.

"He's alive. And we'll find him. No matter how long it takes. Now get everyone together. We need to start looking immediately." She looked over at one of Yooncheol's friends. "Take him and put him in the tent. We'll let the authorities deal with him." When the boy just stared at her, she narrowed her eyes and hissed at him. "Now." Once it was clear that the boy would do as told, she walked over to Jaehwan and Taekwoon. "Don't worry. We'll find him." She said with an air of calmness that Taekwoon felt flow over him and battle the panic that was threatening to overtake him. "Now let's see about properly bandaging those hands."

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                It was still dark out when Hakyeon opened his eyes again. The pain in his body was a dull ache that seemed to be coming from every single inch of his skin. He reached a hand up to his throbbing head, inspecting it when it came back sticky. Blood. His fingers probed his scalp until he came across the two inch long gash that started at his hairline and went up. Well, that explained the throbbing headache. Hakyeon tried to sit up, only to cry out and collapse again when he put pressure on his left hand. The pain shot up his arm, all the way to his shoulder, before subsiding back into the constant ache. Broken, he thought, or at least sprained, but his guess was on broken. He shivered, his skin icy cold. He needed to get up, find shelter, try to find his way back to the camp. But first was shelter. He didn't know where he was, how far down river he'd been swept. With his good hand, Hakyeon pushed himself from the ground, standing. The world spun for a moment before settling. He took quick, shallow breaths, full ones hurting too much currently. His throat was sore, the coughing he was doing sounded wet. He had survived the fall and his ride down the river, but would he be able to survive the night? Shaking his head as if to rid himself of such thoughts, Hakyeon slowly walked away from the shore, hoping for some kind of shelter. It seemed like hours later when he found what he'd been looking for, when in reality it had only been about 45 minutes. A cave, cut into the side of a large rock. It looked dark, and damp, but at least it was something.

"Hello?" He called out, praying that no wild animals were making their home here. He really didn't feel like getting mauled by a wild boar right this second. Hell, he couldn't even run away. When he heard no movement in the cave he ventured in a little bit, but made sure he could still see the entrance. Then he curled up on the floor, letting exhaustion claim him once more.

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"Ok. There's a huge amount of area to cover. The area by the river is easily 20 miles long and that's not including the surrounding woods." The park ranger explained. "So what we're gonna do is call in helicopters at first light. We've already called search and rescue and they'll be here in the morning. We've got a couple of search dogs being brought as well, though they may not be much help since the water will pretty much destroy the boy's scent."

"So you wanna just wait?!" Wonshik exclaimed. "Hakyeon could be out there seriously injured! Tomorrow could be too late!"

"We wait because we don't have the man power to cover this much area and because if we just let you kids go out there, chances are that we'll be looking for one more lost child." He fixed the blonde with a hard stare. "So yes, we wait. And we pray."

"You'll let us help though, right?" Taekwoon asked, speaking up. He had to be out there helping. He should have been with Hakyeon in the first place. This never should have happened. He needed to help find Hakyeon.

"We're going to need all the help we can get, so yeah." The ranger said. "Now, we start the search at first light, so everyone needs to get some sleep." With that, they were clearly dismissed. The five boys slept in Hakyeon and Taekwoon's tent, all curled up to one another. They needed each other's strength at that moment. Only murmured words were heard as they all tried to sleep, assurances that everything would be alright. They didn't say anything the next morning about the fact that Hyuk and Jaehwan had cried themselves to sleep. Or that they had all curled around Taekwoon like he was their strength. The next morning when the rose, they showed a united front. They would find Hakyeon, and when they did, he was never being let out of their sights again.

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Day 2

                Pain. It was the first thing that registered in Hakyeon's mind. He hurt everywhere, places he didn't even realize could hurt were causing him agony. It was still dark in the cave, but light filtered in from the entrance. It was day again. Which meant that it was time to get up, and get moving. He needed to see if he could find his way back to camp by following the river. Back to his friends. Back to Taekwoon. He'd dreamt about his silent friend last night. It hadn't been scary or even eventful. He dreamt of lying in the circle of Taekwoon's arms, feeling safe and warm. That was all. But it had been a wonderful dream, and had doubled his determination to get back. Even if he was never held like a lover might be, Hakyeon knew that he could still count on Taekwoon to provide him with the comfort of friendship. And it was enough. Face set, decision made, Hakyeon stepped out of the darkness of the cavern and into the sunlight. It almost felt like the warmth from his dream, the heat from the sun warming his skin. When he opened his eyes however, he felt panic start to set in. The river was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't even hear it anymore. A solid wall of green. That was all he saw. He didn't know where he was, where the river was. Somehow, last night he'd wandered further than he thought he had. Hakyeon stood, weighing his options. Option One: He could stay here. There was shelter. But, what if no one came? What if they just assumed he had died from the fall? That didn't seem likely with his friends but they were still considered children to society and adults didn't often listen to children. That left him with option two: Try to make his way back to camp through the woods. Assuming that he'd been washed down the mountain, he just needed to go back up until he reached the top, where they had been camped. Hakyeon decided on the second option. He couldn't wait for someone to save him. He would have to save himself.

                It took several hours of wandering through the woods for Hakyeon to start to doubt his decision. His chest hurt from the hacking coughing fits he seemed to have every ten minutes, he couldn't breathe deeply without feeling sharp pains, and his left hand was pretty much useless. He couldn't tell if he was going the right direction and with every passing hour, the sun set, taking with it its warmth, leaving only a bone deep chill for Hakyeon. He was shivering, even though he was sweating from the exercise of the hike. He was so thirsty. What he wouldn't give for even just a mouthful of water. And hungry. So hungry, he thought his stomach would start to eat itself. Hakyeon stopped to rest on a fallen log. He wouldn't be able to make it much further before the sun went down. He would go a little further, try to find another cave or something. On he walked, until he spotted them. Red, ripe berries. Just waiting for him to pick them and eat them. He didn't even stop to think before grabbing a handful and shoving them in his mouth. They were a little bitter, like they weren't fully ripened, but it didn't seem to matter as he was so hungry. After the second handful, he felt the first convulsion. Leaning over, Hakyeon's stomach heaved up his snack, and everything else that had been in it. Three different times. By the end of it, Hakyeon was weaker and hungrier than he'd been before, and the sun had set, the last vestiges of light leaving with it. It was dark. He was cold, hungry, and tired. And although he wouldn't admit it out loud, Hakyeon really wanted his mother in that moment. She would have patted his hair and told him she loved him, that he was going to be just fine. She would have taken care of him. But no, he was alone. Just him and his thoughts, which were becoming less clear by the second. It took all of Hakyeon's remaining energy to drag himself over to a nearby tree where he could no longer smell the stench of his vomit. He curled up under it, dragging fallen leaves over himself for warmth, though they did no good for his inner chill, and hoped and prayed that someone was looking for him. That someone would find him. Before it was too late.

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                They had searched all day and even a bit into the night. And there was still no sign of Hakyeon. They couldn't even find where he'd gotten out of the river. If he'd managed to get out at all. Hakyeon's mother had arrived earlier that afternoon, demanding to know what the hell had happened. When the boys had told her, Taekwoon thought she was going to go after Yooncheol herself, only to find that he'd been carted off by the police earlier that morning for 'questioning'. "I knew that he had troubles at school, but he would never let me talk to the principal or teachers about it." She had said, guilt consuming her along with worry. And Taekwoon knew exactly how she felt. He could have prevented this. He should have protected Hakyeon all these years, whether he wanted to be protected or not. This should never have happened. It was his fault. So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't even notice Hyuk until the younger boy spoke.

"Hyung...we'll find Hakyeon right?" Hyuk said quietly. Taekwoon hmm'd in response. He only glanced over when he heard the first sniffle. "He's going to hate me. I just know it. I should have helped. I should have grabbed him. It's all my fault! He was trying to protect me!" The boy broke down, tears streaming from his eyes. It broke Taekwoon's heart, enough that he did something that was very rare for him. He put an arm around Hyuk, pulling him close, and petted his hair as he cried.

"He won't hate you. He could never hate you. Hakyeon loves you so much. All of you. He would have done the same if it had been any of you with him. And I know you tried. Know you tried so hard to break free. And I know that he knows that. Hakyeon would never blame you for something like this. You said he threw the first punch right?" Hyuk nodded his head. "You see? This was as much for him as it was for you. He was finally standing up for himself. We'll find him, Hyukkie. I promise." Taekwoon fell into silence, listening as the sniffles finally ended, the body next to him becoming heavier and heavier. Taekwoon lifted the younger boy up, carrying his sleeping body back to the tent, where Hongbin took him and put him in bed. They would find Hakyeon. Tomorrow, the next day. It didn't matter how long it would take. He'd never stop looking.

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Day 3

                Hakyeon woke briefly when the sun became too bright to ignore. But he couldn't make himself move, couldn't even focus long enough to keep the world from spinning around him. He was so hot, but so cold, his body shivering  fiercely. He only could keep one coherent thought in his mind before everything went black again. "Help. Someone please save me. I don't want to die."

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                The helicopters had yet to pick up any signs from the air. The dogs unable to find a scent, as it had been washed away by the water. Taekwoon didn't need to be told that the likelihood of Hakyeon surviving another night out here was slim to none. He refused to think about the possibility that Hakyeon never made it out of the river. He was a strong swimmer, the best out of the group. He would have made it. Taekwoon had to believe that with all his heart or he was afraid he would drown in despair. Wonshik and Taekwoon had been walking along the river for hours now. The rangers had outfitted each group with tracking beacons, that way if they found anything, they themselves could be easily located. After all, one lost kid was more than enough. They also had a radio to communicate between the teams, each group covering a section of the search grid. But no one had found anything, and it was starting to get late now. In another couple of hours the sun would set again. It would make it three nights that Hakyeon had been lost. That was too long. Taekwoon had heard the adults talking about calling off the search tomorrow. They would assume that Hakyeon had died in the river and that his body would surface eventually. It had to be today if they had any chance of finding him. So lost in thought, they would have missed the dried blood if Wonshik hadn't bent down to tie his shoelace. But it was there. Dark brown against the grey of the stones of the shore. The first sign that Hakyeon had made it out of the river. "We found something! We're in sector C about three miles downriver. It looks like dried blood." Wonshik reported over the radio, an answer coming immediately.

"Ok kids. Good job. Turn on your beacons that way we can see you." They both did so. "Great. We've got you on screen now. Just stay there. We're sending dogs your way. And medical. If it's dried blood then he may be injured and we don't know how badly." The ranger hadn't even stopped talking yet when Taekwoon went running into the woods, eyes on the trail that Hakyeon had left behind, Wonshik following closely. Hakyeon was alive!

"Taek! Wait up!" Wonshik panted from behind. "Slow down or we might miss him!" Taekwoon stuttered to a stop. His friend was right. They needed to make sure they were going in the right direction. It took them only half an hour to find the cave. Another  three hours to follow the trail of broken twigs and limbs to the pile of vomit. The sun was gone now, the way lit only by the glow of their flashlights. They had stopped to rest for about an hour, giving the dogs and medic a chance to gain on them some. They weren't far behind the boys now. Wonshik and Taekwoon looked around frantically for more broken foliage, but there wasn't any. The trail just disappeared.

"No!" Taekwoon shouted in frustration. "It can't just end!"

"If we wait, maybe the dogs will be able to track him now. " Wonshik suggested, panning the light over the surrounding area, searching for any clues that might be hiding.

"We can't wait! He could-" Taekwoon started to point out, feeling the panic rise up in him, before being swiftly brought back to reality with one word.

"There!" The beam of light fell upon the white sole of a sneaker about 20 feet away, just that bit poking out of a pile of leaves. Dear god. They both sprinted over, dropping to their knees as they uncovered the body of their friend.

"Hakyeon! Hey, wake up!" Taekwoon shouted, gathering the boy close. His body was cold. A pulse. He needed to find a pulse. He could hear Wonshik shouting into the radio, telling the rest of the searchers that Hakyeon had been found. He could hear dogs barking in the distance, still a ways away. Wonshik was screaming "Here! We're over here!" But none of that mattered to Taekwoon. Only a pulse. It was there. Very weak, so much so he had to concentrate to even feel it. He didn't want to move Hakyeon too much, afraid to hurt him anymore than he already was. His color was already so pale, ashen, under his normally tanned skin.

"Hakyeon. I need you to open your eyes for me dammit. Now. Please just wake up and look at me." Taekwoon jumped as Hakyeon pulled in a rasping breath and then there was silence. Pure, uninterrupted, silence. "No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please don't do this to me." But no matter how he begged, the other boy didn't listen.

"Hyung. Hyung, he isn't breathing." Wonshik said, panic laced through his voice.

"I know that dammit! Keep yelling!" Taekwoon shouted, finally spurred into motion. He would not accept this. No way in hell. He'd found Hakyeon. He was not going to let him die now. His lips met the other boys cold ones, fingers pinching Hakyeon's nose shut, as he breathed life back into the lifeless body. "You will breathe. Don't give up on me. Please Hakyeon." One breath, two. Thirty chest compressions. Taekwoon never knew that the CPR course he'd taken in high school would ever pay off. Let alone that he would have to use it to try and save his best friend. But he was glad that he knew it now. One, two. Count to thirty. He could hear the people trampling through the woods now. They were close but not close enough. He didn't stop until he heard the quick intake of breath that sounded like angels singing to his ears. He felt the lips that he'd been pushing air through mold to his. And proceed to kiss him senseless. Only when Taekwoon pulled back did he see Hakyeon's eyes were slightly opened and hear him sigh, and whisper, "So this is heaven," before his eyes closed once more. And then Taekwoon was pulled from his friend, moved out of the way as the medic started to work on Hakyeon. Everything moved in a blur after that. Hakyeon was put on a stretcher and air lifted to the closet hospital, his mom being the only one allowed to go with him. As Taekwoon rode in a car with his friends, only one thing kept going through his mind: What the hell was that about? And why did it make him feel like his stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies?

Yeah! Super fast update, for me that is lol. No kidding though, I'm on a roll with this story. It just seems to want to come out. So only two to three chapters left (haven't decided yet). Well I hope everyone enjoys this and let me know what you think. Subscribe! Comment! I'm out! <3