WHO ARE YOU?|ATEEZ FANFIC

Chapter 4|in the shelter of the green paradise

It was pure paradise. Hours after they arrived at the oasis, the sun was bright in the sky and the oasis' tall palm trees provided shade for them, so they weren't as exposed to the harsh, hot light. They had put their things down in the soft grass under the palm trees and made themselves comfortable on the ground to rest and relax for a while. This time Hongjoong lay down as well, and, to his members' reassurance, he had nodded off. While he slept for a while, everyone got down to some work. Seonghwa, Jongho, and Yeosang had gathered some branches from bushes growing around the area and piled them into a campfire while San, Yunho, and Wooyoung tried to catch some fish from the nearby creek. Although none of them knew anything about catching fish, the hunger they felt was a good motivator, and they were able to catch a few. Meanwhile, Mingi was
busy filling their empty bottles with water from the lake, hoping that it wasn't dirty or unhealthy for them.
They all had a drink and while Seonghwa made a fire for the fish, the rest of the group had stripped off their clothes and started splashing like children in the cool lake water.
Seonghwa watched them laughing and playing together. They splashed each other wet, and Mingi even tried to push Yunho into the water, but he didn't succeed and went diving in himself.

"Are you coming?!" Seonghwa called to them after everything was prepared and the six immediately followed his call, leaving the water. They put their clothes back on and joined him and Hongjoong, who had now woken up from his deep two-hour sleep and was rubbing his eyes.

"When did you do all that?" he asked when he spotted the fire, the full water bottles, and the fish, which Seonghwa had even cleaned off the scales and was now roasting on a skewer over the fire.

"We all wanted you to get some sleep, so we just worked together," Wooyoung said and sat down next to Hongjoong on the grass. Hongjoong smiled gratefully and the others sat down too. They patiently waited until all the fish were well cooked, then divided them evenly and started eating. It wasn't a five-star menu, but it was enough to survive and they couldn't wish for more at that moment. While they ate, they started chatting casually and Hongjoong noticed that a warm atmosphere was building between them, in which he felt very comfortable. Without memories, they didn't have much to talk about, but every little thing they shared made each of them very happy. Yunho talked about the hours before Wooyoung had woken up and how Mingi was scared stiff and thought he was dead, which of course he now denied. Wooyoung laughed loudly, which made everyone else laugh too. When they calmed down a little, Wooyoung got curious and turned to Seonghwa.

"How did you actually get these files?" he asked, and Seonghwa cleared his throat, which was a little dry from the fish.

"In the room where you joined us, there were eight backpacks on the tables. The files were inside them, as well as the blankets, and a water bottle for each of us. Creepy, when you think about it. Someone left us these bags." The thought of it made the mood darken a bit, and Yeosang gently nudged Wooyoung's arm.

"Tell me again about the man you saw," he said and looked at him expectantly, the others turning to listen in.

"Well... he was a few meters away, so I didn't see much. He was only about my height and his face was completely cast in shadow, so I didn't recognize him."

"And his voice?" asked Jongho curiously, "He said something, didn't he?"

"Only in a whisper. I was glad to have understood." The others nodded understandingly, but Yeosang thought about it deeply.

"Treasure. What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, and Mingi suddenly got excited with a bright smile on his face.

"Uh, maybe the map will lead us to a treasure!" he shared his thoughts with the members and Hongjoong smiled.