The Boy with Ocean Eyes

3: Clock

Hoseok awoke with the sun; his body heavy and exhausted, more so than ever before. His legs were aching from walking the day before, even though it hadn't even been very much. Really, he didn't even walk, what was considered walking to him at the time consisted of a lot of shuffling and stumbling. He had even managed to rip a hole in the knee of his trousers after tripping over a boulder.

Hoseok rubbed at his heavy eyelids and then looked down at his scraped knee. It looked worse than it had the day before, it had clotted but was also itchy from a number of mosquito bites. Despite the many problems of just his first day on the island, he already loved it, much more than the ocean. The only true downside he could really think of was that Jimin wasn't there with him.

The rest of the group members were still fast asleep, curled up on the forest floor and breathing softly. Hoseok's eyes scanned over their peaceful forms, smiling slightly. He silently got up from the spot he'd slept that night a little farther away from everyone else. He hadn't wanted to stay too close since he still didn't know all of them very well and figured they may want to talk about plans amongst themselves. Which they did. Although, he listened to most of their words. They had plans to trek through the forest towards the village on the east side of the island where they would use their gold coins to buy food, Hoseok a new pair of trousers and a room for a small while.

Hoseok was most likely more thrilled about the travel ahead of them than he should have been. There was no way for him to calm his fluttering heart and the feeling of excitement in his gut. He was experiencing so much more than he had ever been used to and it was difficult to contain his emotions for much longer. That is the exact reason as to why he walked south on his own, back to the rocky shore to grin up at the sun that was bright and happy in the east. He wanted to sing, he was so happy to finally be here. The day before it had felt like a dream, but as he stood under the wonderful glow of the sun he knew that he was most definitely not dreaming.

Everything was so bright and beautiful, it was making him feel ecstatic. He stood with his eyes closed, facing the sun, arms spread out to either side of him and chin tipped up towards the blueing sky. A soft breeze blew over him, causing his white shirt to flap along with it. He loved it so much and managed to stand there for many minutes until he was startled back into the real world when his name was called.

"Hoseok," Yoonah's gentle voice spoke from close behind him.

His quick turn around to face her was anything but graceful. "Yes?" he asked, breathless from being frightened so badly.

"We'll be leaving soon. Are you ready to go?"

A quick nod from him had Yoonah turning away to lead him back to their little camp. He felt bad for not helping them pack up but didn't voice it, instead he kept a rather guilty expression upon his face.

There was a sudden pat on Hoseok's back that made him look up at whomever had just touched him. "What's that face for?" Wonho asked, curiously looking at Hoseok's guilt ridden face.

Hoseok's eyes widened slightly and then he did his best to hide the guilt from before. "Oh nothing... I just feel bad that I didn't help..."

Wonho grinned at Hoseok's words. "Hey, no worries. You're the one who brought us here, you were the biggest help of all," he chirped happily, trying to lift the spirits of the younger merman. He gave his back another comforting pat. "Seriously," he added.

Hoseok nodded softly, but he couldn't help from feeling quite terrible. Despite it all, he put on a smile for the rest of the group, showing that he was perfectly fine and back to his usual happy self. "Alright," he said to Wonho and walked ahead to at least carry one of their canvas satchels.