Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

019

Despite having crossed the borders of District 7 a while ago, there were still no signs of life anywhere to be seen around us

The surrounding landscapes on both sides of the river were completely silent as dark shadows had begun creeping towards the shores of the river.

It was barely past midday, and yet, it was only getting darker as we made our way further into the district, dark clouds covering up most of the clear purple sky and crescent sun.

Dark clouds, but not storm clouds, I realized, though they didn't make me feel any less unnerved.

We had made it here a whole lot faster than expected, all thanks to Yunho, and continued downstream until the river poured out into a big lake.

It looked deep, and the water had taken on an unnatural dark colour that looked almost blackishly grey in the sparse sunlight.

"Well this is creepy," Mingi muttered, shivering a little as he scooted as further away from the sides of the raft.

A silent agreement hung in the air between us, and Yunho quickly steered us towards the shore, pushing the water away so we could get safely back on land.

Black sand lines the shores of the lake, filled with jagged stones and strange shells that glinted ominously in the light as an occasional ray of sunlight broke through the clouds that passed silently overhead.

"Well then," Jongho said, clapping his hands together as he turned to the rest of us with the most enthusiastic expression he could muster.

"Let's go."

I held Wooyoung back, tugging on his sleeve as the rest of the group began moving.

"We'll be with you in a second. You guys can just go on ahead."

Yunho and Mingi looked hesitant as the words slipped past my lips, but Jongho sent me a knowing look before pulling the two with him, shrugging off their protest.

"What are you-?" Wooyoung began.

"Let's just talk for a moment, hmm?" I said, giving him a reassuring smile as I dumped down on the black sand and pulled him with me, sitting cross-legged by the edge of the dark water.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as a low sizzling sound could be heard over the silence and soft sounds of the water, and realized that the sand and stones underneath us were slowly but surely getting hotter.

I turned my head to the fire elemental and realized why, inspecting his nervous face with worried eyes.

"What's wrong, Wooyoung?" I asked, carefully putting a hand on his thigh as I bit my lip. It was sad to see him like this, all fidgety and sad.

But he looked even more nervous as he stared down at my hand with wide eyes.

I quickly pulled my hand back, feeling a little miffed at the fact that he hadn't offered any sort of answer to my question.

"It's okay if you don't-"

"I've just been feeling a little left out is all," Wooyoung mumbled.

I looked back at him, my eyes widening at his words.

"Left out? How come?" I asked, but he stayed silent and I nudged him with my shoulder, urging him to continue.

Wooyoung mumbled something I couldn't make out.

As he carefully looked up at me, he seemed to notice the confusion in my eyes before looking down again.

The sand got even hotter.