ark [woosan]

four: leaves

wooyoung

when we get to the cave again it's almost dark outside, it's crazy how fast the day went by. san and I sit there awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do now before san finally speaks up, "well. um. you sleep right?"
"yes I sleep? I'm a human? I need sleep?"
"oh um, right."
he glances at me awkwardly, "are we gonna just sleep on the rock? I mean, I know it doesn't get much better, but I feel like we could be more efficient"
"no, we definitely could. what do you say we go out together and get some stuff to set down to make it more comfortable."

san blushes so hard that I can see it even in the darkness of the cave. it takes me a few seconds before I realize what I said and awkwardly cough, scratching my temple. "I'm sorry, that sounded weird didn't it?"
san vigorously shakes his head, waving his hands as well, "no no no! not at all, I'm just being weird about everything, and you being a small raisin isn't really helping."

I cross my arms at his comment, then brush it off because in the moment it was true anyway, "so are we gonna go or?"
he stands up, lending a hand out for me to take, "well what do you think?"
"I'm taking that as a yes"
I take his wrist in my hand before I let go again, finding that san doesn't need help finding bushes around us. but the silence is so strong 5 minutes into picking off leaves that I decide to start a new conversation topic, "hey san?", I call out into the darkness. In reply a small "hm" comes from my left.
in the midst of our quiet surroundings, my voice is the only thing that can be heard besides the sounds of the wild.

"is your voice like this in real life? or do you think it changed because of the game?"
he stops what he's doing for a moment to think, I can tell because the ruffling of leaves has stopped.
"I can't say for sure, but from what I hear from myself it sounds the same. what does it sound like to you?"
I also stop fidgeting around with the bush, not expecting to be asked a question like that. I wasn't sure what to say, his voice was certainly soothing, smooth like honey and strangely sweet. and similar to honey, it sticks in my mind.
"it's nice", I say simply, but I can already tell that san could tell that I wasn't saying all there was that I thought. "is your voice the same as well then?"

"yeah, I'd say so", I scrunch up my face even though he can't see, "no one gets a laugh like that from just anywhere."

he giggles and it rings in my ears like a chime, "I guess you're right."
"I'm always right."
"oh shut up", san laughs.
"hey, watch your mouth young man! I could be your sunbae for all we know"
"well then, hyung. when's your birthday?"
"november 26 1999"
"damn then. I guess you're right, lame"
"when's your birthday?"
"july 10 2001"
"man even your birthday sounds beautiful", I blurt out in a whisper. my ears pull back a little as I tense at the slip.

"hm? what was that, hyung?"
"pshh, nothing. I was just admiring the bark on these bushes"
san looks at me with a question mark, "there's no bark on these bushes?"
"oh"
"anyway that's not what I was talking about, there's this shuffling sound coming from somewhere"
"oh?"
"I think we should head back, right now", his tone sounds urgent, causing me to break into a cold sweat.

I don't hesitate to grab all the leaves I'd collected and run as fast as I could back, san following close behind. sure enough, I can hear something pounding on the floor behind us.

I'm out of breath by the time I reach the cave, a sigh of relief making its way out of me. I look outside, but san isn't seen anywhere. my relief leaves and I anxiously run out again, "san? san are you there?"
to my horror, only an ear splitting scream is heard in reply. I run faster than I've ever ran before towards the source. I know I shouldn't, I could die, but what's the point if I'm all alone.

as I draw closer, the screaming gets quieter, and I can finally see what's happening. san is pushed harshly onto the ground by a single raptor, it's teeth extending towards his face. I would laugh if we were just playing a harmless video game, it's always the raptors going after the new people, but this is reality. I only have a few seconds to spare before I'm a single player. I fumble around with my hands on the floor before I make contact with what I was praying for.

the rock is large, jagged, and just light enough for me to carry. I toss a smaller rock into the thing's mouth as a distraction before its head flips towards me and it growls. I don't hesitate to chuck the larger rock a moment later and it collides with its head and tips it over.

I jump to my toes and rush over to san, grabbing him quickly and dragging him over to the cave as best as I could. when we're inside again, I slide down the wall and pant, pulling san next to me.

"san? are you okay?"
the said boy just keeps shaking and doesn't reply. I push aside my own stress from what just happened and put a hand on both his shoulders for comfort, "san, it's okay now, we're safe. I won't let this happen ever again. we'll be more careful next time and we'll be prepared for whatever happens", I let out a shaky breath as the feelings I just pushed back return. I try to hide them again, but san suddenly leaps up from where he was and engulfs me in a hug. a heartbreaking sob breaks from his lips and his voice cracks as he cries, "that was so scary, woo. I thought it was the end, my life was done there and then. no goodbyes, no anything. and I know we don't know each other that well yet still but I feel like I've known you for so long and I'm so grateful you're here with me, and that you came back to save me. and I, and I-", he stops talking as he finally completely breaks down.

I wrap my arms around him tighter, eyebrows furrowed, as we both sob into each others arms.