Persona

One out of Seven Wasn't bad, right?

May 28, 2045

Aeseok was awake at nearly the crack of dawn, she hadn’t slept well. Her father had never taught her about the importance of surviving the aftermath of a plane crash, but she knew the basic stuff: get luggage after you’re free from the plane, use what you can, start a fire, signal SOS. It was Aejeo who knew the most about this stuff, and coincidentally, the maknae was out of commission for a while.

She figured it was up to her and the remaining members to get all of them through this. When she thought about the luggage part, she remembered that they were the only people on the plane, thus it made sense that only they survived. Aeseok almost startled when someone sat down next to her.

“Namja-Hyung says that Minnie-Hyung didn’t make it,” Sung-Ji.

“Neither did Mijin,” Aeseok reminded.

“We lost some good people, Noona,” Sung-Ji’s voice was quiet, almost as if speaking too loudly would cause the moment to shatter. “I miss them already.”

Aeseok nodded both in agreement, and understanding.

“Minyoung-Hyung was the o- one,” Sung-Ji cleared his throat after it cracked. “He buckled everyone in, Noona. He saved all of us.”

“I know,” she lied. “I’d trade places with him in a heartbeat.”

“That’s only because you’re depressed all the time,” Sung-Ji commented, and Aeseok chose not to call out his informality.

“You are, too,” she pointed out instead, and she chuckled dryly when Sung-Ji choked on his water.

“How’d you-”

“You’re not as smooth as you think, tough guy,” she smiled, and Sung-Ji smiled with her.

“How..” Sung-Ji sniffled after a moment, continuing. “How did this happen? How’d we go from seven, to five? From hour long choreography, to sharing depression stories?”

Aeseok thought for a moment, before saying, “beats the hell outta me, kid.”

~

About an hour after the sun had risen, Seogi was awake.

“Namja and Aejeo still haven’t woken up, huh?” Seogi inquired as he stretched, he was a little concerned, but after seeing them in broad-daylight, Seogi understood their unconsciousness.

“Not yet,” Aeseok barely looked up from her position on the beach. Sung-Ji was resting his head on her thigh, something Seogi had never seen before.

Aeseok was rarely one for affection, and usually was at the bottom of his aegyo list.

“That’s to be expected, I guess,” Seogi murmured, raising a hand to his head as the world began to spin.

“-gi-Hyung?” Seogi barely tuned into the voice occupying his thoughts. “Seogi?”

Blinking, Seogi scrunched up his face. There was something hard underneath him, and something soft, but granular between his fingers, and under his nails. He smelled something that was vaguely that of salt, and-

“Seogi-Hyung!” It was Aeseok, he realized. No, remembered. He remembered what Aeseok sounded like.

“Are..” he thought for a moment. Seogi, the eldest member of Hyeogsin, didn’t want to sound like an idiot.

“You won’t sound like an idiot, Hyung, trust me,” shit, he’d been thinking aloud. “I’ve heard dumber things. C’mon, spill.”

Seogi sighed softly. “Are we.. O-On a b- beach?”