“Taemin, wake up.”

Taemin felt someone shaking him gently awake, and he opened his eyes to see Sehun standing over him, blocking out the sun. He sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes and looking around. The beach surrounded him, morning waves lapping at the shore.

“What are you doing out here?” Sehun asked. Taemin surveyed the beach, feeling mildly disoriented—until the events of the previous night hit him.

Waking up. Watching Jongin dance. Dancing with Jongin. Nearly kissing Jongin. “Oh God,” he muttered, dropping his head into his hands. “What have I done?”

“Are you okay?” Sehun said in a puzzled voice, watching him. Taemin looked up quickly, dropping his hands and clearing his throat.

“Uh, yeah,” he responded, trying to sound nonchalant. “I must have just…sleep-walked, or something.”

There was a pause, and Taemin held his breath. Then Sehun shrugged and offered him a hand.

“Well it’s breakfast time, so let’s go.”

Taemin breathed a silent sigh of relief before grabbing Sehun’s proffered hand, letting the younger pull him to his feet. As they started towards the circle of tents, Taemin thanked his lucky stars that Sehun was by nature so unsuspicious. Had it been anyone else, he was sure he wouldn’t have gotten away so easily with having been found asleep on the beach.

After Jongin had retreated back into their shared tent the night before, Taemin hadn’t had the courage to follow him. So instead he’d stayed on the beach, trying to collect his confused thoughts, and at some point must’ve fallen asleep. He swallowed, wondering how he was supposed to face the other boy now.

“Good morning, Jongin!” Sehun suddenly chirped, making Taemin freeze. Slowly, he raised his head to see Jongin standing there, frozen, a plate of food in his hand. Then abruptly the boy turned, striding away in the opposite direction.

“What’s up with him?” Sehun wondered aloud. He looked at Taemin, who bit his lip without responding. “Did you guys get into a fight or something?” Sehun asked in a puzzled voice.

“No,” Taemin replied, a little too quickly. He blushed as Sehun looked at him funny, then hurriedly changed the subject. “C’mon, let’s find Kyungsoo and get breakfast.”

As they ate together on the log benches, Taemin tried not to look at Jongin, who was sitting a little ways away with some of the other boys, chatting animatedly. At one point Jongin glanced up, and their eyes met—but then the younger looked away, picking up his conversation as though nothing had happened. Taemin felt a sharp pang in his chest and dropped his eyes to his food, no longer hungry.

“Hey look!” Sehun suddenly said, making him jump. Taemin glanced at Sehun questioningly to see that the other boy’s eyes were focused on something over his shoulder. Turning to look, he noticed everyone else peering in the same direction. At first he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, but then gradually his eyes found it: a small speck of brown in the distance, growing larger and larger.

 “I almost forgot the raft was coming today,” Sehun remarked, setting his plate down and starting towards the water. “It’s been a month since you arrived, hyung, which means we’re getting another newbie.”

The other fifteen boys were already gathering at the water’s edge, all staring at the same thing—the lone brown dot in an ocean of blue, slowly drifting closer with each passing moment. As Sehun and Taemin joined them, the sounds of excited chatter filled their ears.

“Wonder who it is this time.”

“How old do you think he’ll be?”

“Maybe he can take over my duties.”

The raft got closer and closer, carried toward the Island on the waves. As Taemin watched it, he remembered waking up a month ago with that horrible feeling of drowning, and felt a strong sympathy for whoever was currently going through the same thing. However, as the raft drifted even closer, he began to notice something.

“Is the raft…empty?” someone suddenly said. The group of boys went silent. Taemin squinted his eyes, and realized with a jolt that the person was right. The raft—which was now only about twenty feet from the Island—was bare.

Nobody spoke as the conspicuously empty wooden plank washed up onto the shore. Then Jonghyun stepped forward and picked it up. As he turned it over, a collective gasp filled the air, and Taemin struggled to stand on his tip-toes. He peered at the raft over people’s heads, and at long last was able to read the words etched roughly onto it:

YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN.

 ◊◊◊

That evening’s sunset went unnoticed by Taemin. He sat near his tent, staring vacantly into space while sounds of confusion and fear filled the air around him. The Four were currently holding a council in their tent to discuss the raft’s foreboding message.

Why is this happening? Taemin wondered, scooping some sand off the ground beneath him and letting it run through his fingers. The same thing for nearly a year and a half, and then all of a sudden this. Of course, he knew what the message meant—they all did. ‘You’re on your own’ meant no more raft bringing food and supplies. No more outside help of any kind.

We’re doomed.

And what for? Was it because of him? He’d been the last one to arrive before this happened, after all. Perhaps…perhaps he’d done something to trigger it.

Perhaps this was all his fault.

Without warning, tears suddenly began stinging Taemin’s eyes—hot and wet, unwelcome. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to prevent them from spilling out.

“Hyung?” someone said from behind him. Taemin whipped around to see Jongin standing there, peering at him in concern. “Are…are you okay?” he asked uncertainly.

For some reason the sight made something break inside of Taemin, and he finally gave in to his tears, letting them streak freely down his face. His shoulders trembled as he tried desperately to catch his breath, hunched over like a helpless child. And then suddenly a warm pair of arms was enveloping him, wrapping around his back comfortingly, and he immediately sank into their touch.

“It’s okay,” Jongin murmured soothingly, pressing Taemin’s face against his chest. “You’re going to be alright.”

They sat there for a while as Taemin cried uncontrollably into Jongin’s shirt, clinging to the fabric for dear life. But when at last the onslaught of tears ebbed, he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and sitting up.

“I’m sorry,” he began tremulously, feeling a surge of shame at the sight of Jongin’s tear-soaked front. “I-I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s okay,” Jongin repeated, meeting his eyes, and in that moment Taemin understood that he was talking about what had happened last night. He smiled haltingly, his face feeling a bit stiff after all that crying, and Jongin smiled back.

 “I just…I can’t help but think that maybe this…is all my fault,” Taemin mumbled, feeling somehow as though he needed to explain himself. Jongin just sighed, pulling Taemin back into his arms.

 “I know you were the last one to arrive before this happened,” he said gently, Taemin’s hair as he spoke. “But that doesn’t make it your fault. Okay?”

Taemin, in spite of himself, felt his whole body relax a little at Jongin’s words. “Okay,” he whispered, his voice muffled by Jongin’s shoulder. He felt as though a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders, and was surprised; he hadn’t realized just how important Jongin’s opinion was to him.

“Ahem.”

Someone suddenly cleared his throat from behind, making Taemin and Jongin jump apart. They looked up to see none other than Jonghyun standing there, blocking out the last remaining rays of sunlight. He looked directly at Taemin.

“Can you come with me?”