❝I just want to be whole again.
Maybe the four boys beside me can help.❞
One lost his parents.
One lost his childhood pet.
One lost his first love.
One lost his brother.
One lost his memory.
But can they find healing, through each other?
The...
On Sunday night, Soobin leads the boys back to the beach with a lantern in his hands. The gift came along with another note from Taylor, given from the same carrier pigeon they've learned to cherish.
This is the last activity before you all will return tomorrow morning. It's a competition between the five of you. Whoever captures the most sand crabs will win a surprise from me!
Soobin makes sure each boy carries his own bucket, and it's quite hard to check since everyone is moving so quickly. It seems they're all high on the energy of their first performance. Last night, the mood was full of so much bursting light that all they can do is share cheesy grins and recollections—of what it felt like to draw in a crowd with their music. Soobin couldn't be prouder of the four he's leading, and he wishes nothing more than to protect them and make sure their hopes are carried in safe hands.
The beach is clear, but all Soobin can visualize is the image of the miniature stage they shared. "Gosh," he says to his team. "That was only our first performance. Thinking of how many more we'll have blows my mind."
"It feels like we've started something that I hope will never finish," Taehyun muses, sweeping his gaze out to the dark sea.
"I'm so glad," Soobin says. Jay would be too. "It's only been a short while. But you all are becoming like little brothers to me."
Yeonjun grunts. "Did you forget that I'm the eldest?"
Soobin laughs, setting the lantern down between the grass and the reach of the waves. "How do you guys want to do this?"
"First one to twenty!" Huening Kai says, wiggling his bucket in front of his chest.
Beomgyu gasps. "Twenty? We'll be out here all night, and I feel like sand crabs have been growing smarter and faster. At least that's what I've noticed."
Soobin ponders on his thoughts, eventually coming to a conclusion by slapping his palm with his fist. "How about the first to ten sand crabs?"
Huening Kai cheers, waving his arms like he's already won the grand prize. "You guys might as well not even try. I'm coming out on top tonight."
On the count of ten, Soobin rushes along with the others to patrol the beach for holes in the sand and creatures that look painted with coats of granules. With a miniature flashlight, Soobin sweeps his eyes across the beach. He begins to wander closer to the lantern, while his team mates run off so far they become will-o'-the-wisps in the wandering distance.
His fifth grab is aimed toward the biggest sand crab he's ever encountered. The thing is easily as wide as his fist, and its bulging eyes peer at him like judgmental tapioca pearls. Soobin crouches like a tiger, channeling his instinctual side. When he pounces, he reaches out and clutches the sand crab across its body, wincing when its claws attempt to break his skin.
"Got you!" he says, throwing it into his bucket. He breathes deeply and looks around, keeping track of the four other lights. "Five more to go. Then I'll be named the winner."
Just as Soobin spots his sixth target, a crab half the size of the last, he hears a yell that pierces across the entire beach. He hasn't heard something like it since Jay fell off a palm tree, halfway done with climbing its trunk. Soobin was six years old then, and he still remembers the sound of pure dread.
Soobin leaves the bucket and the crab and runs in the direction of a light that fell sideways. As he reaches, he finds Huening Kai lying across the sand, clutching the bottom of his foot. His face is twisted in pure pain, and his breathing comes in shocked little gasps. Soobin curses when realizing that Kai must've removed his shoes to traverse the beach easier. And by his feet lies the blue tentacles of a beached Portuguese man o' war. The jellyfish is almost taunting in such a vibrant shade, reflecting the moonlight with a slimy sheen.
"Guys! Guys!" Soobin yells and waves his miniature flashlight. Soon enough, the others surround Huening Kai as if their presence could somehow diminish the pain.
"Feels like needles in my foot," Kai says, in between breaths. "It seems like it's getting worse."
Yeonjun offers to carry Kai, and together they make their way back to the camp site, Kai trying not to groan in pain with every step he's carried. Near their tent, Beomgyu dials Taylor's number, explaining the situation with frantic hand gestures she can't see. No matter, she promises to send help right away.
"She said if the reaction becomes worse," Beomgyu starts, "to make sure to update her. It's in case we need to call an ambulance."
Soobin stays by Huening Kai's side in the tent, overcome with emotion and the need to protect the youngest member of their team. He's angry with himself, for not being able to prevent another one of the boys from being hurt. Just when he's about to scold himself further, Kai speaks again—this time with a lighter tone.
"Tell the boys that the swelling's not too bad," he says. "I just don't want anyone to think I need their pee."
"Okay, okay." Soobin laughs and reaches out to make sure Kai is comfortable underneath the blankets. "Taylor's team is coming soon. They'll get you better immediately, and then you don't have to worry. You'll be performing without any pain in no time."
"Sounds awesome," says Kai, inhaling through his teeth. "I can't wait."
As Soobin sits, the three other boys enter into the tent and huddle around, offering either encouragements or words of distraction. Soobin knows that what he said earlier rings true. They are truly becoming brothers, helping each other cope through all sorts of pain.
A/N: Soobin is such a good leader :). Thank you for reading, commenting and voting!
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