Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

005 WONDERLAND

"And you saved our lives despite our very uncomfortable encounter. So thank you, Jeong Yunho," I said, "I'll never forget it."

It could have been the warm rays from the crescent sun, or maybe the clear purple skies looming above us, playing tricks with my eyes, but it looked like Yunho blushed at my words.

I shrugged it off, giving him the sapphire so he could get a chance to hold it as well.

"Now we just need seven more," Wooyoung said from the back, making his way over to us, stumbling on the wobbly surface of the water.

"Seven more," I repeated, putting the stone back in my bag as Yunho handed it over once again.

As my thoughts went back to the temple again, and how everything had gone down, I felt my heart drop as realization hit me.

"You know," I began, closing the bag and putting it down beside me, "This means that we'll need someone's help getting the gemstones."

A moment of silence passed between us, though Yunho nodded at my words, "We'll need someone from each district. Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Nature, Ice, Light, and Darkness."

"That's one hell of a group," Wooyoung muttered, and the thought alone made me a bit nervous, thinking back to how cautious and wary people in District 2 had been around Wooyoung and I just because our element was fire.

What if we couldn't find anyone who was willing to help? What if people didn't know about Daios? What if they weren't willing to save The Source of Iseda?

"It'll work out," Yunho said, giving me a warm smile as he squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

"It has to," I agreed.

"Well then," Wooyoung began, turning to the brunette beside me.

"If that's the plan we're going for, then I guess I'll have to welcome you as a part of the team," he said, reaching out his hand to Yunho in an expectant manner.

Yunho looked surprised for a moment, staring at Wooyoung's hand with a quizzical look.

The shock quickly subsided, though, and he took his hand, giving it an affirming squeeze as the smile on his face widened.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me at the sight of the two men getting along, and for a moment, I felt hopeful for the future.

Now we knew that the gemstones could only be claimed by an elemental with the right powers, and we would do anything to find someone willing to help.

There had to be more like us out there, and we were going to find them. Who would say no to a treasure hunt like this? I sure loved being on the run from evil forces of nature.

"We should be far from the borders of District 2 by now," Yunho said, getting my attention, "You should get some rest."

I didn't object, happily leaning back in our little bubble of solid water, if you could call it that, and rested my tired and sore body on the cold surface of the river.

It felt nice, and the sounds of the water, the leaves rustling in the trees and the birds singing made a smile tug at the corners of my lips as I closed my eyes for a couple of seconds.

If only the situation had been different, this would truly have been a WONDERLAND.

Yunho steered us down the river, and I leaned my head to the side to look at the willows that stretched their big branches out over the water, letting their long leaves hang so low that I could almost touch them.

The crescent sun's rays shone its bright light through the treetops, creating beautiful patterns of light and shadows that danced on the surface of the water.