17 Days - SVT

001

***

"Hey... are you okay? Please wake up, you're barely breathing."

Xu Minghao heard someone quietly whispering to him. He slowly opened his eyes, confused.

Then he shot up quickly, standing on his shaky legs. "Who are you?"

The boy before him held his hands up as if he were being arrested. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Wen Junhui, and I was just making sure you were alright."

"I'm fine." said Minghao firmly, steadying himself. "Where are we?"

"We seem to be on some island. The ship we were on overturned, and we washed up on shore." said Junhui. "Or you did, at least. I managed to swim over here, but I collapsed when I got near that tree. There are eleven other people here, all around our age."

"Eleven people around our age? That's a coincidence." said Minghao. "How old are you, then?"

"Thirteen." replied Junhui.

"Oh, I'm twelve." said Minghao.

"Really? You have long legs, I thought you were a bit older than me." said Junhui. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." said Minghao. "But... what is there to eat on this island?"

"I suppose we got lucky." said Junhui, holding up a bunch of berries. "They were growing in that bush over there. Don't worry, I tested them already, and I feel fine. They're completely safe."

Minghao raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But you just have to trust me." said Junhui, still holding his hand out.

Minghao forced himself to look into Junhui's eyes. They weren't full of deceit - more like a kind of soft, gentle care for him. He felt his heart skip a beat.

"Okay." he said quietly, gingerly taking one of the berries and swallowing it whole. They weren't very big berries, after all.

Junhui smiled. "How is it?"

"I've had better. But I suppose it'll have to do." said Minghao, also smiling. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"Don't worry about it." said Junhui, waving his hand modestly. "We're going to be stuck together for God knows how long, we might as well enjoy it."

"I didn't expect you to be so kind." said Minghao. "But let me take care of you now. You have a terrible wound on your forehead."

Junhui touched his forehead before withdrawing his blood-covered fingers. "It's nothing."

"It's nothing? Your fingers are literally drowning in your blood!" said Minghao. "Do you know what happened?"

"I think I hit my head on the ship when we went overboard." said Junhui. "I've survived this far, though, haven't I?"

"But you're going to lose so much blood. Just let me help you. Stay right here, I'll be right back."

He ran into the trees and came back a second later with a large leaf. "This will have to do for now." he said, gently placing the leaf on Junhui's wound. The blood soaked through, turning the entire leaf red. "The leaf will stop the blood from going anywhere else."

"Wow, when'd you get so smart?"

Minghao flinched as someone spoke behind him. He turned to see two of his classmates, Kim Mingyu and Lee Dokyeom. Mingyu was the tallest in the entire school, while Dokyeom was the sunshine.

"Mingyu and Dokyeom! You're here too?" he asked.

"No." said Mingyu sarcastically. "Of course we are. Did your parents make it?"

Minghao lowered his head. "No." he said quietly. "It's just the thirteen of us on this island. If everyone's alive, we'll be the only survivors."

"I was terrified." said Dokyeom. "But who is this?"

"I'm Wen Junhui." said Junhui. "Can I take this leaf off now? I look ridiculous."

"No! Who cares if you look ridiculous, you need to wear it to prevent more blood from coming out!" said Minghao firmly, pressing the leaf against the wound.

"You seem to care for him a lot." noticed Dokyeom.

Minghao blushed. "I... shut up! Just because I'm gay doesn't mean I have to like every boy I see!"

"I see." said Mingyu, smirking. "So when you had a crush on me..."

"That was a phase." said Minghao, flushing with embarrassment as he remembered the moment he confessed his love to Mingyu, only be to rejected. "Can we not play 'Let's Expose Minghao' in front of someone we just met?"

"Minghao? You're Chinese?" asked Junhui, surprised. "I am too!"

"I figured." said Minghao, nodding. "But there are more pressing matters. Should we go see if anyone else has woken up?"