Persona

Damn, she was Fucking Parched

May 31, 2045

Aejeo tapped the beat to their debut song on his splint, Seogi following along. Aejeo wondered if they'd be stranded on this island forever. He wondered what his parents were thinking now, maybe they didn't care.

No, idiot, he scolded himself. No, dad's always cared. Always.

Yeah, that was right. His father had always cared about him, he's probably scared out of his mind right now. They were supposed to be in a meeting, what, four and a half days ago? That sounded about right.

"Seogi-Hyung," Aejeo didn't mind that his Hyung repeated what he'd said. "Do you want to go home?"

"Home," Seogi rolled the pronunciation over his tongue, before shaking his head.

"You probably need a hospital, Hyung," Aejeo thought aloud. "I think your head is hurt."

Seogi wasn't listening anymore, instead messing with the wrappings on his head. He stopped just as Aejeo raised a hand to pull his Hyung's away.

"Aejeo-yah!"

Aejeo surged upright with a surprising amount of energy. He hadn't eaten anything but mysterious forest berries for nearly five days.

"What is it?" Aejeo's heart was beating quickly. "Hyung?"

"There's a plane, Aejeo-yah!" Sung-Ji shouted from the forest brush, though he was nearing Aejeo, and the youngest could hear him better now. "Flash a light at it, anything, get it's attention!"

Aejeo whipped his head around, unable to find anything. Anything except..

"Seogi-Hyung, I need your necklace," Aejeo knew his Hyung probably wouldn't give it up, the necklace had been given to the eldest by his father, and it was the only thing Aejeo never saw his Hyung without. "Please."

Seogi eyed Aejeo skeptically, before handing the necklace over, albeit reluctantly. His prayers answered, Aejeo flashed what he hoped was a signal to the helicopter overhead. Thinking about it now, Aejeo could kick himself. How could he possibly get on a plane after what he'd just been through? How could any of them?

Suddenly blinded, Aejeo realized that the plane was flashing a light down at him, directly in his eyes. He waved his hands frantically, in hopes of the plane crew realizing he was a person, not some animal.

In no-time, there was a ladder in front of him, and Seogi was being taken up by it. Sung-Ji was next, and a limping Namja, a beyond-tired Aeseok, and then it was Aejeo's turn. He didn't want to do this. He couldn't.

I can't do this.

The youngest took off into the forest beyond the brush without looking back, feeling only slightly remorseful when he heard Aeseok calling his name from the ladder.

~

Aeseok watched as Aejeo internally struggled with whether or not to get on the ladder. It was definitely a struggle for Aeseok, and you'd be dumber than dumb to think otherwise. Seriously. When Aejeo bolted, however, Aeseok felt a sharp stab of responsibility, and quickly descended the ladder at full speed. She ran after him, her legs burning. She didn't know how long she'd have to run for-

"Sh," Aejeo held a finger up to his lips as he gazed back at his Noona. Aeseok had to say she was at a loss for words when Aejeo spread his arms out to his sides. "Do the same, Noona. Now."

Aeseok followed Aejeo's instructions, but the mountain lion before them seemed unfazed. This was it.

"It's not working," Aeseok whispered, trying her best to keep her voice low, flinching when the lion tilted its head at her. "Aej-"

"Run, Noona," Aejeo informed, lowering his arms slowly. "Run."

Aeseok never thought that her legs could carry her so quickly in her life. She was flying, zipping past trees, and branches, and wow, if I tripped on a root Aejeo may as well leave me here. One minute, she was sprinting, the next, she had a face full of dirt, and there was a fire-like pain blazing through her right leg. Wait, if she had a facefull of dirt, that meant-

"Noona!" It was Aejeo, and Aeseok felt herself being pulled backwards, and dare she say it was unpleasant. "Noona, no-"

Aeseok lifted her gaze to see Aejeo being held back by a few paramedics. Maybe they could help her.

Yeah.

Things were going fuzzy around the edges, when she heard a loud bang, and the mountain lion let her go. No, more like it fell. It didn't release it's hold on her, but it wasn't pulling anymore. Aeseok couldn't decide which was more painful.

"Noona, Aeseok-Noona," Aejeo had a hand on her back now, but Aeseok couldn't hold her head up anymore. Her leg hurt, her head, too, and damn, she was fucking parched.

She huffed, before the blissful darkness was welcomed with open arms.