17 Days - SVT

015

"What do you mean we left Chan behind?" cried Jeonghan.

"Are we that dumb?" Dokyeom wondered aloud.

"No, we're just ignorant sometimes." said Minghao. "We forgot Chan could hardly move..."

"Well, we should stop talking about it, then." said Wonwoo calmly. "Someone needs to go back and help him."

"I'll do it." said Jeonghan instantly, to no one's surprise. It was clear the motherly figure of the group had a huge soft spot for Chan.

"I'm not letting you go alone." said Seungcheol, grabbing his boyfriend's hand. "Me and Hannie will go back, get Chan, and come back. Joshua, you're in charge."

"Please don't die." said Seungkwan anxiously.

"Hey, we practically cheated death once, I think they'll be fine." shrugged Joshua.

"Don't say that." hissed Seungcheol, hitting him in the arm. "We'll be okay, Seungkwan. We'll bring both Chan and ourselves back safely to the best of our ability."

Jeonghan nodded in agreement. "Anything for Channie."

And with that, they ran into the raging storm, hand in hand. The sun was starting to set, making it almost impossible to see between flying debris and darkness. Jeonghan shivered violently as a whole tree branch flew right in front of his face.

"Hey, we'll be fine." whispered Seungcheol, squeezing Jeonghan's hand even tighter. "This is all for Chan."

"Cheollie, what if he's... you know..."

"I doubt it." said Seungcheol gently. "Chan's strong, stronger than he seems considering his condition right now. He won't go down that easily."

Jeonghan sniffled and nodded, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

They eventually reached their shelter, Jeonghan practically diving into the debris. "Channie, can you hear me? Channie!"

Seungcheol ran forward to help, his heart skipping a beat when he heard weak whimpers from beneath the leaves and branches. "Chan, is that you?"

"He's right here!" cried Jeonghan, grabbing Chan's arm and attempting to pull him out. Seungcheol grabbed the maknae's other arm, and finally, Chan was safe.

"Oh my goodness, Channie, I'm so sorry..." sobbed Jeonghan, hugging him tightly.

"Jeonghan, let him breathe." said Seungcheol softly. "Are you okay, Chan?"

"I'm okay..." panted Chan, leaning against Jeonghan's chest. "Thank you so much, hyungs."

"We keep letting bad things happen to Channie... Channie, I'm so sorry, you don't deserve this..." choked Jeonghan.

"Hyung, it's okay." said Chan, giving a small smile. "I'm okay now."

"As wholesome as this is, we need to get back to the others, they must be worried sick." said Seungcheol. "I'll help Chan, Hannie. You just run alongside us."

Jeonghan nodded gratefully, wiping tears from his face. "Okay."

Seungcheol put Chan's arm around his shoulders and starting running, a bit slower than normal in order to support Chan. Jeonghan hurried beside them, never taking his eyes off Chan.

They vaguely saw a silhouette run out of the trees. "Over here!" shouted Joshua's voice.

They ran even faster until they collapsed in the sand, protected by the shade of the palm trees. Junhui quickly placed his cold hands on their warm foreheads to cool them down. Wonwoo took Chan and rubbed his thin, exposed arms up and down.

"Is everyone okay?" asked Dokyeom apprehensively.

Chan nodded, knowing 'everyone' meant mostly him. "I'm alive, aren't I?"

"Chan, I'm so sorry, you could've died and we would've let it happen." said Wonwoo quietly.

"Hyung, I'm okay." insisted Chan.

"Okay, my eye." scoffed Seungkwan. "You're clearly not okay! You haven't been okay since we first got here, physically or mentally!"

"Calm down." whispered Vernon, hugging Seungkwan from behind.

Chan remembered his fate and smiled sadly. "I guess I was just dealt a bad hand in life. It could be worse."

Chan didn't know how he knew his fate. One night, it just... hit him. He had a gut feeling stronger than any other. Why fate had chosen him... well, he was already in a poor condition. He was vulnerable, and he knew it.

"Hopefully these trees can withstand the wind." said Mingyu, noticing how uncomfortable Chan was and changing the topic. "All we can do is wait it out."

"What about when the storm lets up? What do we do then?" asked Soonyoung.

Silence fell over the group. No one had a good answer.

"We'll worry about that when the time comes." said Seungcheol finally. "For now, everyone's okay, which is good."

No one spoke for about the next hour. The winds were still raging, marine debris flying past their faces by the second. The couples shivered in each other's arms, Chan leaning against Jeonghan's shoulder.

Finally, the winds started to let up. The boys sighed in relief and stood weakly. As if the last week hadn't been hard enough, the hurricane had taken a toll on them in multiple ways.

"Should we just stay here?" asked Dokyeom quietly.

"It doesn't really matter." said Minghao, speaking for the first time in a while. "Everything on this island is destroyed, including our shelter. Wherever we go, we have no protection, and it's far too late to make one now."

"And even if we tried to make another one, I'll be surprised if there's any useful materials left." added Junhui. "Our best bet is to stay here for now, and maybe we can do something in the morning, but I doubt it."

"I hate our new life." sighed Jihoon, leaning against one of the trees and closing his eyes.

***

"Eomma? Appa?"

He walked through the long, white hallway. He didn't quite know where he was, but his feet led him forward, as if he'd walked down this corridor hundreds of times. He subconsciously called for his parents as he walked, barely breathing as he listened for any sign of them.

"Sweetheart?"

He knew that voice...

"Eomma!"

He started running faster than he'd ever ran, tears of joy hanging on his eyelashes. His eomma was there, his appa was there, everything was okay...

And then he saw her, her soft brown hair, her kind brown eyes, just her. His father was there too, holding hands with his wife, sending his son a welcoming gaze. He ran into both of their arms, full-on sobbing now.

"Eomma... Appa... I missed you... can't you come back?"

"I wish." chuckled his mother sadly. "We're so proud of you, darling. Me and your father love you so, so much."

"I love you too... I miss you so much..."

"What's wrong, Chan?"

Someone was shaking him awake. God damn it, of course it had to be a dream...

But then why did it feel so real?

Chan sat up slowly, only to be instantly met with twelve concerned faces. "Sorry." he said quickly.

"No, no, don't apologize." said Joshua. "You were talking in your sleep."

"I saw my parents." mumbled Chan. "It felt so real... they were both there. They hugged me and... I don't even know where we were. It was a long, white hallway."

But deep down, he had a pretty good feeling he knew exactly where he was...