Treasure EP. 1: All to Zero

Chapter 6: The Boys on the Dunes

The four boys were driving over the desert sand. Hongjoong looked around in awe at the beautiful desert.

"I remember this place." He said, "This is where I found the crystal."

Hongjoong loved driving through the desert. The sun beating down on him, the wind in his face, his clothes blowing loosely in the breeze, everything about it was incredible. As he took in the beautiful scenery, he heard Seonghwa panting behind him.

"You okay back there, Seonghwa?" He asked, looking back at him.

There were beads of sweat dripping down his face and neck and he was breathing heavily.

"I'm *pant* fine." Seonghwa replied quietly, "Just a bit *pant* hot."

"You should change out of that uniform, then you would be less hot."

"Huh. I never *pant* thought of that *pant*"

Hongjoong looked forward again. Suddenly, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to the side and saw an ATV with two people on it, one holding onto the other's waist. They were wearing black helmets with visors and black racing suits. Hongjoong looked into the driver's eyes, hidden by the visor.

"Hongjoong!" Seonghwa called out, "Look! The crystal!"

Hongjoong looked back at the crystal. It was glowing again.

"It's them!" He thought to himself, "Those are the two boys!"

Suddenly, the boys on the ATV sped up, going ahead of Hongjoong. Hongjoong sped up to catch up to them, but the boys kept speeding up. Their ATV was going faster than Hongjoong's; it definitely wasn't a rental. Soon enough, the chase to catch the boys turned into a race. Then, Hongjoong saw something on the horizon. It was a town standing on the sandy horizon.

Hongjoong sped up, moving towards the town, but so did the other boys. Suddenly, Hongjoong hit a very large dune, sending him and Seonghwa flying through the air. The other boys also went airborne upon hitting the dune. The driver and Hongjoong looked at each other in midair. Suddenly, the ATV hit the ground, gliding smoothly across the dune, giving Hongjoong a massive speed boost. He raced through the desert and screeched to a stop as he reached the entrance of the desert city. Both him and Seonghwa were frozen in shock; none of them had ever gone that fast before. Seonghwa's head collapsed onto Hongjoong's shoulder. Yeosang and Jongho pulled up next to them.

"Why'd you guys rush ahead?" Yeosang asked.

The other two mysterious boys pulled up in front of them.

"Umm...that's the reason." Hongjoong said as he pointed to the mysterious boys.

The two boys and Hongjoong stepped off of their vehicles and approached each other.

"Good race!" One of the boys said, his voice muffled by his helmet, "I've never seen someone as fast as you."

"You really know how to handle Desert Racers." The other one said.

"Heh, thanks!" Hongjoong said, scratching the back of his head, "I know we literally just met, but...if I may be so bold to ask...are you guys open to joining any teams?"

The two boys remained silent in confusion.

"Let me rephrase that." Hongjoong continued, extending his hand, "Will you join us?"

The two boys looked at each other, nodded, then looked back at Hongjoong.

"Yes." The boys said at the same time.

Then, one of them reached for their helmet. He shifted it around and lifted it off his head, then he shook his head to fix his hair. He had green hair with dark green highlights. Then the other boy took off his helmet. He had short, dark purple hair.

"I'm San." The green-haired boy said, "And this is Wooyoung."

"Hi!" Wooyoung said, "We are honored to join you on your journey!"

Seonghwa stepped off the ATV and looked at them closely. "Are you two...a couple?" He asked.

San and Wooyoung looked at each other and blushed.

"Umm...well, yes, sort of." Wooyoung said, "We have been together for a very long time, so...I guess we are sort of like a couple!"

San smiled at him.

"Well, anyhow..." Wooyoung continued, "You guys look pretty tired! There's an inn inside the town. We can all rest there!"

"YES!" Seonghwa exclaimed, "Thank goodness! I've never been this exhausted in my life!"

The six boys walked over to the inn with their arms around each other, supporting each other's tired bodies.

At The Inn...

Hongjoong and the others rented a room at the inn. The room had three beds instead of two. Seonghwa walked over to the nearest bed and collapsed onto it.

"Hah...hah...why...is it so...hard...to travel...across...the desert?" He asked, still gasping for air.

"Probably because you're wearing that uniform." Wooyoung said.

He and San began to take off their black suits. Underneath the suits, San was wearing a white shirt with a light blue denim jacket and light blue jeans with rips and tears in the knees and Wooyoung was wearing a dark white shirt with a white jacket with blue splashes on it and white jeans. The others just stared at them as they removed their gear.

"How do you wear all that under that heavy suit?!" Jongho asked.

"I don't know." San replied, "I guess we're just used to the heat."

Hongjoong looked at the three beds.

"Okay, so..." He said, "Who's sharing a bed with who?"

"I guess I could share with Seonghwa this time." Jongho said, "As long as he doesn't cuddle me. I don't like kisses or cuddles, *shudder*."

"Well, I guess I'll bunk with Yeosang!" Hongjoong said, " And San, Wooyoung, I guess that means-"

"We'll share!" San blurted out, "We share a bed all the time!"

"Yeah!" Wooyoung added, "We don't mind it!"

"Okay! It's settled then!" Hongjoong said, "Now, let's get some sleep!"

Hongjoong turned off the lights and sat on the side of his bed. He reached into his bag and pulled out the crystal. The four had changed into a two. He smiled and put the crystal back, then he laid down on the bed. He couldn't wait to travel to the ocean the next day. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with dreams of adventure racing through his mind.