Archive of Our Own

“Do you think there is something beyond the island?”

“...”

“Do you want to find out?”

“I…”

“Seoyeon-unnie!”

Her eyes snapped open and the bright orange sky made her grunt from how bright it was, holding her hand in front of her face to regain her vision. Sitting up she was facing the vastness of the ocean reflecting the afternoon sunlight, looking over her shoulder Seoyeon found the source of the sudden noise.

Hyerin was running straight down the beach chased by Jiwoo and Soomin, both wearing matching expressions of mischief. Chaeyeon had long given up from trying to catch up with them and stopped to regain her breath, Yubin standing with her and padding her back while grinning and laughing loud enough Seoyeon could still hear it from where she was laying on the beach.

“Bad dream?” Nakyoung had approached her from the side, smiling in that mischievous and cat-like manner that had Seoyeon feel shy at times. 

“That’s not the face she makes after a bad dream, Naky-ah.” Yooyeon had gone up right next to Nakyoung and gently nudged her in the side. 

“I don’t really think it was a dream.” Seoyeon frowned and looked back at the ocean. “It felt like a… vision.”

“Another one?” Yooyeon said as concern began edging her features.

“Do you think it has something to do with that keysword thingy?” Nakyoung said and Seoyeon snorted.

“It’s called a keyblade, unnie.” 

“Smartypants, now stop looking at me like that and get up. Hyerin-ie will eat a mountain once they’re done chasing her and I have no idea how far SoDa and Kae are with dinner.” 

Seoyeon chuckled and grabbed the hand Nakyoung stretched out toward her. As she faced both of them her eyes still wandered over her shoulder to look at the orange sky as it melted into early night time and the sun fully hid itself behind the horizon.

“How are you so sure it’s called a keyblade?” 

Yooyeon’s question hit her ear and Seoyeon stopped, contemplating it carefully. Surprised when she can’t make an answer come out of her mouth. Touching the front of her shirt, she fiddled with the crown shaped necklace with an embedded 1 in it.  

“I can’t tell you.” Her eyes met intensely with Yooyeon and Nakyoung respectively, looking briefly at the matching necklaces with the numbers 7 and 5 respectively on it. “Something about it just feels right.”

“Always asking the hard questions, unnie.” Nakyoung nudged Yooyeon teasingly who just rolled her eyes and swatted the elbow away. “I guess someone has to use their brain around here.”

“You’d be helpless otherwise.” Yooyeon teased right back, both of them laughing.

Seoyeon just watched their interaction quietly as a solemn feeling spread itself between the familiar warmth she started to associate with them. Usually she was ready to hop in on the teasing, their conversations not dying down until night time when Hyerin from the next room yelled for them to shut up.

Right now she found herself content to just watch these two people she had come to cherish so much. 

Her eyes wandered around the island as they walked along the beach, Yubin and Chaeyeon were still in the far distance. Having stayed together in the rare quiet that usually only settled either just before dinner time or right after it. From a distance it wasn’t difficult to hear Hyerin complain loudly about the small defenseless crab Soomin and Jiwoo had chased her with.

As they approached their terrasse, the smell of food was hitting the air and from inside the hut’s kitchen Seoyeon could make out a lively conversation between Dahyun and Kaede. The former patiently taught the latter some Korean words and their proper pronunciation so the Soomin-Curse-Word-Incident would repeat itself.

All of them wearing their numbered pendants on this small island they had started to call home amongst each other.

It seemed like just yesterday when Seoyeon woke up alone on the island with no recollection of what was before and no idea what to do next.

With only the numbered pendant to her person and a strange looking blade that would conjure at will from her right hand Seoyeon was a nobody amongst nowhereland. Yelling out into the distance for help she didn’t even know she’d need. 

Life confined to the island with only the memory of her name attached to it.

“24 at last your journey will begin.”

“We might have to expand the house again.” Nakyoung said matter of factly, hands behind her head as she laid on the floor of their living quarters. “Just think about it’s us three in one room sharing a tiny bed.”

“Didn’t think you’d complain about the cuddling.” Seoyeon butted in from their mattress while Yooyeon just laughed incredulously at the both of them.

“I am not complaining about the cuddling, I am trying to talk about logistics, Seoyeon-ah.” Nakyoung sat up and very maturely stuck her tongue out toward her to blow a raspberry. “As I was saying, we already share a room and across from us there are literally Jiwoo, Yubin, Chaeyeon and Hyerin together.”

“Miraculously they haven’t strangled each other yet.” Yooyeon said dryly and Seoyeon laughed.

“That is literally the main reason we didn’t put Soomin in the same room as Hyerin-ah.”

“Kid would have been toast.” Nakyoung said exaggeratedly but neither Yooyeon nor Seoyeon found themselves disagreeing. 

“She does get along well with Kaede and Dahyun though, better than I would have expected honestly.” Yooyeon pointed out and Seoyeon found herself agreeing.

“It doesn’t surprise me that much. The second Kaede landed on the island Soomin-ie practically imprinted on her like a motherless chick, not leaving her alone for a freaking second.” Seoyeon smiled at the memories.

“And then came SoDa.” Nakyoung said wistfully. “She’s a riot honestly.”

“Of course you like her, she has the same bottomless stomach you do.” Yooyeon said cheekily.

“Unnie, you fit into that same category. I saw you devouring the fruit salad Hyerin-ie made like no tomorrow.” Seoyeon’s remark had Yooyeon stutter and blush while Nakyoung snickered. 

“Back to the topic at hand, how many more people do you think will strand on this island?” The question made Yooyeon scrunch up her face in concentration like she was actually trying to calculate a number while Seoyeon found something warm in her put a number on her tongue before she even fully realized it.

“24.” Seoyeon said decisively, Nakyoung and Yooyeon looking at her with bewilderment and barely concealed curiosity.

“Another vision?” Yooyeon wondered and Nakyoung looked at Seoyeon expectantly who simpered and nodded. 

Seoyeon stretched her right hand out in front of her and took a deep breath, technically she didn’t have to do any of this but it still felt nice to have a small reliable ritual before summoning such an enigmatic item.

The warm feeling quickly lit up like glowing stardust to materialize into the familiar keyblade Seoyeon had a small and indescribable fascination with. She observed it with great reverence and didn’t let herself be disturbed by both Yooyeon’s and Nakyoung’s more cautious and conflicted expressions.

It was quite understandable given their nonexistent memories of literally anything pre-island but she herself found a steadiness settle in her chest whenever she took a closer look at the keyblade. There was a purpose assigned to it she wasn’t aware of yet but Seoyeon had a feeling, not exactly a feeling but a sense somewhere in the depths of her mind that once the number of people on the island reached 24 that she’d finally understand what her purpose was.

“Does anyone feel like sparring?”

Nakyoung and Yooyeon exchanged amused looks with each other before breaking into laughter while Seoyeon still kept her eyes on the keyblade.

“Seal the darkness threatening to tear you apart.”

“What darkness?”

“You’ll find out in due time.”

“Wait?!”

“...”

Seoyeon startled, shaking her head to regain her focus as she grabbed the hilt of the practice sword tightly. Her stance was wide and low, already scanning for what move Nien would pull out next as she now barrelled toward her.

Next to their ‘battle field’, which was really just a wonky circle in the sand Yeonji had drawn out with Soomin, they were being cheered on by some of the other girls. Nakyoung and Dahyun went all out as they cheered while Kotone was busy entertaining whatever breakneck idea Soomin and Yeonji were scheming up.

Her eyes back on Nien she swiftly evaded the telegraphed attack and felt herself smirk as confidence burned alight in her chest. That warm feeling engulfed her and she let out a triumphant laugh as she countered each and every attack Nien presented her with. Once the opportunity came she sent Nien tumbling into the sound, sword flying out of her hand.

“You weren’t supposed to use your keyblade, HamHam.” Nien had gotten up from the ground and dusted herself off.

Taking a closer look Seoyeon was indeed feeling the familiar handle of the keyblade and yelped in surprise as it now disappeared into thin air and now left her to scramble for an apology. 

“Oh shit I-”

“It’s alright, you looked so happy just now. Do I look like I wanted to ruin that for you? But that means we’ll call this match a draw.” Nien tilted her head, striking pink bob following the motion, and flicked her right pointer and middle finger against Seoyeon’s forehead. She smiled at her infectiously and looked over to the side. “Naky-unnie, Yooyeon-unnie your hamster needs some outdoor activity.”

Nakyoung and Yooyeon looked at each other confused while Dahyun snickered, busy observing whatever acrobatics Yeonji and Soomin were making Kotone do.

“I move enough, thank you very much. Since when were you a fitness expert?” Seoyeon challenged Nien who smirked and flexed both her arms, sticking out her tongue toward her before she simply burst into giggles.

“Trust me, I know what I’m saying.” Nien said confidently and padded one of her arms. “These arms are strong enough so you can hang off of them.”

“Holy shit, what did I just walk into?” Yubin exclaimed with a laughing Chaeyeon and flabbergasted Hyerin following closely.

“Believe me I have no idea.” Dahyun said to them while Seoyeon and Nien didn’t bother to engage with their comments.

“Now I am actually curious.” Seoyeon walked over and without much finagling simply held onto one of Nien’s arms like it was a gym bar and let herself hang off of it. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

“And I gotta say you’re not as heavy as I thought.” 

“Do you want me to bite you?” The threat made Nien laugh.

“Do I look like salad?”

“I’ll show you salad!” Seoyeon let go of Nien’s arms and before any of them could say much another chase sequence echoed off the sand.

Nien was laughing excitedly while Seoyeon’s face quickly melted from an annoyed frown into a bright smile.

“Why the heck is Nien-unnie being chased around by Seoyeon-unnie?” Soomin wondered while Kaede looked very interested at the chaos. 

Dahyun smiled at the younger girl and reached out to ruffle her hair, making Soomin giggle in the process and swat her hand away.

“Cherish the calm while it lasts.”

Sohyun was leaning against the wall of their house, from the inside Nakyoung and Dahyun were in a heavy debate on if apples and coconuts should be added into their stew. She chuckled briefly, Xinyu turning her head to curiously look at her. With a placating wave of her hand and smiled up at the taller girl who tilted her head curiously before sighing and interlacing their hands. 

Next to them a contemplative silence caught their attention.  

“We all have the same necklace.” Mayu said wistfully, touching the crownshaped piece of metal with an embedded 16.

Xinyu gently touched her necklace and then carefully reached out to touch Sohyun’s and then Mayu’s, gaining the attention of the smaller girl.

“It’s the order of arrival.” Sohyun said matter of factly. “It makes sense when you look at the others. Seoyeon-ah was the first to be stranded here.”

“I have no idea how she survived being alone in this place.” Xinyu said dramatically and Sohyun rolled her eyes. “Well on second thought it’s actually quite idyllic and imagine not having to share a bed with anyone.”

“As if you mind sharing a bed with Sohyun-unnie.” Their heads all snapped around and they were met with Dahyun hanging out of the kitchen window with a shit-eating grin. “Unnie, you can pull me inside again.”

A following crash and various iterations of Nakyoung’s apologetic voice made the three of them on the bench laugh heartily.

“That’s a laugh I needed to have.” Xinyu said and wiped happy tears from her eyes, Sohyun and Mayu smiled at each other as they nodded.

“You can say what you want about this place but it feels like some distant paradise.” Sohyun said wistfully.

“Sohyun.” Xinyu whined exaggeratedly. “You know I don’t like it when you talk about death. Whenever I pinch Nien she screams all the same so this place here is very real.” 

“We don’t have any clocks here though and for example dream sequences can be made out by the nonsensical patterns clocks make.” 

Mayu listened intently to the rather macabre conversation, keeping her hand steadily around the numbered crown necklace. From a distance she was able to observe what the other girls were quietly up to.

Kotone and Nien were visible in the distance, walking around the beach and tossing stones in the oceans. They were obviously trying to flick the stones across the waves and failing miserably, going by the exaggerated flailing of their limbs. Not too far away were Yeonji and Soomin seemingly reenacting a recent sparring scene between Nakyoung and Yubin. Said interaction had ended in a black eye because Nakyoung accidentally hit Yubin in the eye. 

Seoyeon and Yooyeon both enforced a rule that nobody was allowed to spar for the next two weeks before their injuries would accumulate quicker than they’d be able to heal. Hyerin and Kaede were near the tree line, seemingly talking about everything and nothing which was quite similar to what Xinyu and Sohyun were doing right now next to her.

The first resident of their island had quietly resigned to her bedroom with Yooyeon in tow, probably just enjoying each other’s company in the rare moments of quiet on the ever bustling island.

A soft smile crossed her features and she leaned back against the wall of their house.

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“Keep them close while you’re able to.”

“Soon you’ll miss them.”

“Binnie looks absolutely traumatized, oh god.” Jiwoo was holding her hands over the ears of the younger teenager who had just spent quite some time with Yeonji and Soomin who were still talking about something they probably didn’t know themselves anymore. 

“Poor baby.” Yubin said exaggeratedly while Hyerin’s eyes twitched, making Hayeon laugh boisterously in the process.

“You’ll be the first one with white hair thanks to us.” Hayeon was padding Hyerin’s back as she kept laughing.

“Unnie, you can let go now,” JooBin said tiredly. “I think they’re starting to lose steam.”

“They’re like a sun-powered engine. Those two won’t ever get tired.” Hyerin said knowingly while Jiwoo and Yubin laughed. “Give them a piece of watermelon and they’ll be going at twice the speed for quadruple the time. I’ve lost literal sleep over it.”

“Better to lose sleep over that than over whatever is happening in the room Seoyeon-unnie, Nakyoung-unnie and Yooyeon-unnie.” Yubin muttered into Jiwoo’s ears making the same aged girl snort and get into another full laughter fit.

JooBin heard what Yubin had said and looked over her shoulder to muster both of them with a deeply disturbed expression which made both of the older girls laugh even more.

“How about you pretend you never heard what we just said or Seoyeon-unnie is going to have our head for tainting your young mind.” Jiwoo ruffled JooBin’s hair while Yubin looked like she was contemplating where to dig out her grave when Seoyeon ultimately got her claws on them.

“Jiwoo, girl, you can give up. Seoyeon-unnie will have our heads on a silver platter.” Yubin said exaggeratedly.

“Pff whatever, let’s take a walk around the beach while Hyerin takes care of the yappers and whatever Hayeon is fabricating with that wooden sword.” Jiwoo put her hands behind her head and beckoned both Yubin and JooBin to follow along. 

“Let’s race to the crooked palm tree!” Yubin said and already took off before JooBin and Jiwoo could properly react.

Without wasting another second JooBin sprinted after Yubin, Jiwoo giving the younger girl a headstart and following soon after. Their race quickly turned into fits of laughter and various moments where they barely evaded to trip and take down all of them like dominoes. Across the distance they were running some of the other girls were either looking at them confused like Yooyeon was or grinning delightedly like Nakyoung who stood next to her.

“There it is!” Jiwoo said through bated breaths and sweat making her bangs cling to her forehead. 

“Triumph!” Yubin said once she reached the palm tree and padded against it, turning around to look at them with her flushed face and bright smile. “There you are slowpokes.”

“If we’re slowpokes, then you’re a cheater unnie. You didn’t even warn us about wanting to do a race.” JooBin crossed her arms and looked at Yubin accusingly despite the smile on her face.

Jiwoo walked up behind JooBin and put an arm around her shoulders.

“Trust me, Binnie. That was the whole point. She wanted a leg up on us so she made a game to conditions where she could win easily, but yeah she totally cheated.” 

Yubin rolled her eyes but smiled at them nonetheless, gently holding onto her necklace.

“Look at them, unnie.” Nakyoung nudged Yooyeon with her elbow to point at Yubin running ahead with JooBin and Jiwoo following after her with loud laughs echoing in the distance. “That’s adorable.”

Yooyeon snorted at them.

“Yeah, they better be careful on the sand otherwise they could trip at any given moment.” Just as she said it Yubin stumbled at the very front with a screeching scream following a triumphant shout for still standing.

She found herself rolling her eyes fondly and took Nakyoung’s hand, interlacing their fingers with each other. The uncharacteristic show of affection made Nakyoung pause, looking at their joined hands with an expression filled with wonder and… love. Her face coloured itself with her embarrassment and she avoided looking at Yooyeon’s teasing eyes. 

“Let’s get back to the others.” Yooyeon suggested gently and was about to turn around and move when she felt Nakyoung tug her back, looking over her shoulder she was met with a face that was waiting to express something precious.

“I’d like to s-stay a while longer out on the beach with you, unnie.” Nakyoung didn’t meet her eyes as she said it and she stumbled over her words. “I know it probably s-sounds a little selfish, considering ShiOn is showing Seoyeon a recipe she wasn’t sure on how to continue working with and it’s rare for us to just be together like this so… whatever it’s stupid-”

Nakyoung was stunned into silence when she felt strong arms circle around her shoulders, in her stupor she didn’t know what to do with herself. Her own arms hanging pointlessly in the air and falling to her sides as she buried her face deep into Yooyeon’s shoulder.

“It’s not stupid, Nakyoung-ah, it’s never stupid when it’s about something important to you.”

She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes and chuckled into Yooyeon’s shoulder, finally raising her arms to reciprocate the hug.

“I love you, unnie.”

A gasp escaped Yooyeon and she tightened the hug.

“I love you, too.”

Seoyeon watched ShiOn carefully as she cut the different fruits into almost similar sizes of dice, impressed at her dextrous wielding of the kitchen knife. The younger girl with her corresponding necklace spelling out the number 20 was thriving in the kitchen and Seoyeon loved observing each and every moment of it. 

A noise made her look over her shoulder to see Lynn shyly grabbing at the door frame and observing them with great curiosity. Despite the girl’s height she was a gentle soul that benefited from gentle encouragement so Seoyeon smiled at her and beckoned her inside to join them. 

“ShiOn’s showing me how to make the fruit pie even better and as you can see we’re still very much in the making process.”

Lynn giggled at the exaggerated tone Seoyeon used to talk and the tension in her shoulder visibly evaporated.

“Can I watch?” She asked carefully and ShiOn didn’t answer, just nudging at Seoyeon for her to decide.

“You could also just call you the third chef.” Seoyeon said and Lynn smiled brightly. 

“Any idea what the others are up to?” ShiOn said once she was done dicing the fruits and Lynn looked off to the side out of the kitchen window.

“Kae-unnie and SoDa-unnie were taking a nap on the palm tree when I last checked.”

“They’re going to get another sunburn.” Seoyeon resembled a disappointed mother as she massaged her forehead with her hands. “Eh, whatever. These kids are old enough to deal with the consequences of their actions.”

“Aren’t you and Dahyun-unnie the same age?” ShiOn said and that sparked another exasperated groan from Seoyeon making Lynn laugh in the process.

“Less wondering about these idiots and more baking.” Seoyeon said finally with a grin on her face that was quickly mirrored by Lynn and ShiOn.

The process of making the dough for their fruit pie was less of a mess than Seoyeon expected it to be, considering Hyerin and Soomin usually looked like snowmen after one of their many hazardous kitchen experiments. 

By the time the pie was finally in the oven ShiOn and Lynn high-fived, busy talking about everything and nothing happening around the island they had found themselves stranded on. Seoyeon looked over her shoulder, at the cabinets and fridge that always seemed to be filled with the items they needed, at least the food related items.

She scratched the back of her neck and fiddled with the chain of her crown necklace, looking closely at her right hand and took a moment to feel the warmth that she associated with the keyblade. At once it appeared and the sudden pop-up of light made ShiOn and Lynn halt in their conversation, both looking at the keyblade with awe.

Seoyeon smiled at them and let the keyblade disappear again.

“You have to protect their hearts.”

“Only you are capable of it.”

A gasp escaped Seoyeon and she took deep and long breaths to calm herself down. It was a miracle her sudden movement didn’t wake up either Yooyeon and Nakyoung who were lying on each side of her. Fiddling with her necklace and feeling the warmth pulse in her right hand, Seoyeon scrambled out of their bed and made her way outside. 

The island at night was a far cry to how it was at the day. 

Her eyes followed the various scars in the sky and the moon that seemed to always be full but Seoyeon couldn’t exactly say she truly ever bothered to examine the moon at night. 

Days were filled with chaos and laughter which was to be expected with 23 individuals on a lone island that seemed to subtly cater to their whims. Whenever Nakyoung suggested they needed more space, somehow there was another set of rooms attaching itself to their small beachside house. 

It wasn’t too obvious when they were less than 11 people and the rooms and their arrangements of beds perfectly fit what they envisioned. 

By the time Kotone came to the island and a new room appeared out of nowhere all of them had called it magic but Seoyeon didn’t quite know what to make it. Neither did she know what she could make out of these visions she was getting every now and again. Sometimes it was like a voice or something was calling out to her. 

Was this really just a hub where they were supposed to wait until something bigger came into the picture? Seoyeon had no idea and that unknowing was driving her crazy at the very moment.

As their number of residents grew on the island the dread that seemed to haunt Seoyeon like the visions was becoming stronger. It felt like a ticking timebomb and the worst thing was she seemed to be the only one who had a feeling of foreboding and it would stay with her. She didn’t want to infect anyone else with her growing paranoia that by the time the 24th person would arrive that they’d be facing something.

Seoyeon walked closer to the shore line and let her bare feet be met with the slight cool of the ocean water.

Stretching her right arm out in front of her she took a deep breath and summoned the keyblade. She examined the peculiar weapon that was incapable of hurting anyone or maybe if Seoyeon was starting to get something right, it was built to hurt something specific. 

Maybe that specific thing would show itself by the time the 24th person would come ashore on this island and Seoyeon hated to think about it. 

She hated that she dreaded the next arrival and couldn’t predict how long it would take until the seemingly last individual with their necklace reading the number 24 would arrive. She couldn’t remember how long it took until Hyerin one day was laying on the beach with her eyes closed, it must have been weeks or maybe even months where she spent wandering the island on her own.

The space of time between Kaede and Dahyun didn’t even take two weeks in comparison and that explained everything about the budding warmth that blossomed into a full fledged relationship Seoyeon was happy to witness come into fruition. 

It could take days, to weeks, to months, to maybe even years and in Seoyeon’s heart she hated to admit that she wanted that time to be never. 

They were fully settled into their lives on the island.

They were a family.

Seoyeon didn’t want this to end, nor did she want to see anyone possibly hurt.

Number 24 was probably helpless and couldn’t control their arrival on the island and Seoyeon knew all that but still she couldn’t help the feelings clawing themselves around in her ribcage like poison ivy.

“This flimsy place you call solace will find its end at last.”

“Enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Enjoy it while I let you.”

“Your true purpose awaits you.”

“Seoyeon-unnie!” Came SeoAh’s voice in the distance, Nakyoung and Yooyeon next to her as they turned around to see the youngest of their family come running at them, tailed by Yeonji, Sullin and JooBin.

“Beach! There is something at the beach!” Yeonji hopped in place, face flushed and panting from exhaustion as she pointed her arm into another direction.

“Someone.” Sullin corrected Yeonji.

“Number 24.” JooBin said and SeoAh nodded vigorously.

Nakyoung and Yooyeon looked excited while Seoyeon felt her insides become ice, clenching her hands into fists and unintentionally summoning the keyblade. The action made all of them take a step back. Yooyeon looked at her with a curious and worried expression while Nakyoung was already following after the kids to have them show her where their new friend and future family member was exactly lying.

“Come on, unnie!” Yeonji ran back, grabbed her wrist which made her keyblade disappear and pulled her along.

Some of the other girls were already well on their way in a more relaxed tempo. Kotone and Nien were walking side by side and talking animatedly, laughing audibly even from a distance. Not too far off in the distance Sohyun and Xinyu were more busy with talking to each other than making their way to the shoreline.

“There they are!” Dahyun was waving at them, Kaede standing right next to her. 

Soomin, Hyerin, Hayeon and Chaewon were apparently in the middle of baking something, going by the amount of flour on their clothes and the very sour expression on Hyerin’s face.

“Don’t you guys dare introduce yourselves without us!” Yubin was running past Seoyeon, Jiwoo’s laugh loud and boisterous coming from somewhere behind her.

A quick look confirmed that notion and the fact that Mayu had apparently been on a walk with Chaeyeon before the news dropped across the whole island.

Once they all gathered around the unconscious girl, Soomin was the first to speak.

“Is she breathing?” 

“SOOMIN-AH!” Most of them exclaimed while Yeonji and Jiwoo were busy laughing.

Seoyeon watched as the girl in the sand stirred.

Jiyeon heard noises around her, the sudden feeling that someone was watching her making her slowly open her eyes. 

Once she realized just how many people were looking at her, she was fully able to focus.

“Oh shit.” Was all she found herself able to say as the group kept staring at her with various expressions from plain curiosity to one of them looking at her with barely hidden disdain.

“Hey, I am Soomin and you?” A girl covered in flour stepped forward and reached out her hand toward her.

“I am… Jiyeon.”

Seoyeon's paranoia made her believe Jiyeon’s arrival would be the beginning of the apocalypse for their life on the island. So it came as a pleasant surprise when that didn’t come true. 

Many times at night she found herself wandering around and searching for signs that this space was going to break apart and their lives would be over in the way they had come to know them over the past couple of years. The realization always hit Seoyeon like nothing else, their time on the island felt so short but was seemingly so vast.

They were 24 people that had found themselves becoming a family over the time they had spent on this lonely yet not so lonely island.

There was nothing else Seoyeon would cherish more as she fiddled with her crown necklace.

The dread was still there but sitting around in the background but it was nothing Seoyeon couldn’t ignore as she agreed to another sparring match with Yeonji or wandered along the beach with Jiwoo and laughed at whatever kitchen experiment had nearly set the stove on fire yet again. 

Maybe those visions were truly nothing but a bad dream and Seoyeon could relax.

Maybe this island was their reprieve, maybe a reward for something noble they did but couldn’t remember.

Maybe everything was as it should be.

“Cherish this feeling for feeling it yet again is nothing but uncertain.”

“Determine by your own Determination.”

“Will you master your despair?”

It started out like any other day and that should have felt weird to Seoyeon. It should have, but no she didn’t think anything weird of it and let her guard down in the most crucial of moments.

“Seoyeon-ah.” Nakyoung said lazily next to her. Yooyeon had gotten up long before them, probably sitting around in the kitchen with Dahyun and Kaede or she was strolling around with Soomin.

“Unnie, 5 more minutes. Have some mercy on me.” She groaned tiredly and turned around, Nakyoung taking the opportunity to pull her closer against her.

“We’ve been in bed all day.”

“I am surprised you are the one complaining about that, I thought you liked being a lazy cat all day.”

“Of course I love it but I am starting to feel bored and it’s starting to smell really tasty and I am getting hungry.”

She laughed incredulously and let herself be convinced to get out of bed, Nakyoung skipping away triumphantly down the hall to the kitchen. Turning the corner after her, she was met with Yooyeon calmly eating an ice cream sandwich while Dahyun was laughing at Kaede and Soomin trying to cut another one.

“Careful you’ll cut your fingers off.” Dahyun said and Nakyoung leaned over her shoulder to observe the handiwork of Kaede and Soomin.

“Just trust us guys, we totally know what we’re doing.” Kaede said confidently while Soomin nodded along vigorously, both of them howling triumphantly once they managed to get the knife to split the watermelon in half.

“Come on, cut the whole thing up into a bowl or two.” Seoyeon suggested. “We can take them to our palm tree and have a picnic.” 

This idea seemed right up the alley of the other girls.

“We can tell the others about it.” Nakyoung added and Seoyeon smiled.

“Yeah, Kae and Soomin can keep cutting the watermelon while we tell the others.”

“Maybe we can add some other fruits to the picnic, we probably got some grapes or peaches in the fridge and definitely  some strawberries.” Dahyun already made her way to the fridge as she listed the possible extra fruit items.

“Chaewon will love that!” Soomin said, making the others laugh.

“Let’s gather the others.” Yooyeon said once she finished her ice cream sandwich and let her left hand be taken by Nakyoung while Seoyeon stood right on her other side.

They walked around the island lazily and gathered the other girls one by one. Xinyu, Sohyun, Nien and Kotone were on their terrasse and had already heard about their fruit picnic plans, making their way to the palm tree at once.

“Seoyeon-ah, let’s spar in the morning. This time I’ll beat you.” Nien said over her shoulder, Kotone laughing with Xinyu while Sohyun sighed exasperatedly at the people they loved.

“You wish.” Seoyeon said with a grin edging her features.

“Nobody will beat Seoyeon-ah’s competitiveness.” Nakyoung teased while Yooyeon laughed at the comment.

“You’re just bitter, you lost at skipping rocks.” 

“Ya, unnie!” 

“I still won.” 

Seoyeon sighed and grabbed both of them by the arms to keep moving.

“You’re both children.”

“And you love us.” Nakyoung said and Seoyeon smiled.

As their journey across the island continued it wasn’t too difficult to find the rest of them.

JooBin was reading a book near the shoreline while Yeonji and SeoAh were kicking at a ball not too far away. Hayeon and Chaewon were walking together, shyly throwing glances at each other and Seoyeon had a feeling more was to come for them and she was ready to observe every step of the way.

Hyerin, Jiwoo and Yubin had already been at the palm tree not too soon after Chaeyeon and Mayu had joined the growing group.

“Where is Sullin-unnie off to?” Hyerin wondered while Jiwoo and Yubin smiled at each other, going through the possible activities they would be usually found doing. 

“Lynn-ah!” 

As Seoyeon looked to the side Sullin was laughing and chasing after a grinning Lynn, ShiOn and Jiyeon not too far behind but quietly observing the sky.

Not too long after they had gathered Kaede, Dahyun and Soomin carried various plates filled with fruits their way and the idyllic picnic went on in full swing. 

Silently she observed the whole group as they had scattered about and ate away at the bowls filled with watermelon, grapes, strawberries and many other types of fruits and berries Seoyeon didn’t bother to name in her head. Her chest felt full and the tension in her shoulders was nowhere to be found.

From a distance Seoyeon met Jiyeon’s eyes who was currently in a contest of how many grapes could fit into her mouth while Soomin counted them. 

She smiled warmly at her, still feeling guilty over the way she thought about number 24 in the beginning but now that concern was for naught. Gathered together as a family under their neverchanging sky Seoyeon felt at home so by the time she felt the first wave amiss… She found it hard to believe.

The ground was vibrating below them and Yeonji’s following scream alerted her that the sky started to look weird. As if the horizon was a bunch of code punched into a computer their sky seemed to glitch and dark patches of pure black started to appear.

Another tremor and scream, before Seoyeon could register it Dahyun was desperately trying to pull SeoAh up to steady ground. A hole of pure darkness having appeared where she had been previously  sitting. Seoyeon sank to her knees as another tremor sent Dahyun falling in after SeoAh. 

Seoyeon couldn’t move, looking at her feet, dark claw-like things that couldn’t be described as hands were keeping her in place. Around her tremors kept happening as dark holes seemed to glitch in place where the other girls had stood. 

Before she registered it only her and Jiyeon were still standing, a fearful look in the other girl’s eyes. Tears were glistening in them and Seoyeon couldn’t believe they had been eating fruits without a care in the world while their island, their home and family was being ripped apart in front of her eyes.

She tried reaching toward Jiyeon, struggling against the hands that were trying to stop her. With her right hand she tried to summon her keyblade but terror settled inside her once she realized she couldn't. 

Jiyeon saw the fear in Seoyeon’s eyes as tears kept streaming down her face.

“U-un-” 

The darkness swallowed her before she could finish her sentence and Seoyeon felt the emptiness that was previously filled with laughter and happiness.

Her tears were silent and no matter how hard she tried her keyblade wouldn’t summon anymore. 

  “Are you prepared to fight?”

Seoyeon felt the rage in her chest like a tidal wave alongside the grief. She looked despondently at her right hand and tears welled up in her eyes.

Screaming out in frustration, determination breathed itself into her chest.

“I’ll go to the end of the world if I have to, you just wait and see!” 

“How intriguing.”

“So be it.”