~HOSEOK'S POV~

Nighttime seemed to creep up on everyone. They'd been so distracted all day, walking and climbing and absorbing all of the scenery, they hadn't even realized how late in the day it was.

While Hoseok was enjoying the hike for himself, he was more so enjoying watching you experience Hawaii in its most organic state. Your eyes lit up at everything you saw, and you smiled often, looking to Hoseok because you seemed to want to share the moment with him. This time with you was priceless, Hoseok thought.

When everyone reached the waterfall that was 4 miles into the hike, he helped you climb up to one of the natural ledges so you could get a better view. You sat with him at the top for a long time, favoring the view while leaning on his shoulder.

It was a moment he would never forget.

"You guys ready to set up camp?" Kai asked as everyone reached a clearing in the jungle off to the right of the trail. "This looks like a good place."

"Sounds good to me," Lea agreed, "I'm exhausted, and it's probably a bad idea for us to keep going in the dark."

Felix took his backpack off and set it on the ground. "Yeah, this place looks good."

Hoseok took off his backpack as well, and so did you. There was a small pile of everyone's bags on the ground in an instant. The packs were incredibly heavy, and it was obvious everyone was glad to be taking them off for the night.

"Tired?" Hoseok asked you even though he already knew the answer. You'd been yawning for the past half hour, but you hadn't complained a single time.

"Very," you admitted and yawned again, practically on cue.

Hoseok smiled, "Me and the other guys will set up the giant tent that Lea found online. You and the girls go sit and eat something, okay?"

"Okay," you complied, going off to sit beside Lea and Mia who were already digging into their backpacks for a snack.

Kai and Kaylen and Felix were already busy trying to figure the huge mess of a tent, which was turning out to be more complicated to put together than it originally appeared.

"Do you think we'll all be able to fit in this?" Kaylen asked as he tried to make sense of the tiny paper directions.

"Yeah, it should be fine," Felix said. He and Kai were trying to untangle the fabric.

"We're gonna be packed in there like a bunch of sardines," Kai replied, a hint of nervousness lining his voice.

"So? We're all friends here," Hoseok said, purposely pushing Kai a bit to see if he would admit he was nervous to be that close to Mia.

"Yeah, that's true," Kai didn't take the bait and Hoseok felt disappointed. He just wanted Kai to admit his feelings.

He just wanted his friends to feel as happy as he did with you.

"I want to go swimming tomorrow," Felix said, "We're going to be hitting the beach soon. That one should be safe."

"Are you sure about that?" Kaylen said, giving up on the instructions and shoving them back in his bag.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Yeah, but I also don't want to drown," Kaylen said with an attitude, leaving Kai chuckling a bit.

"I've taught you well, brother," Kai smirked and Felix rolled his eyes.

"It'll be fine. And we're all together. Nothing bad is going to happen," Felix insisted.

"Whatever you say, man." Kaylen finally complied, but Hoseok felt slightly uneasy about it all.

"How about we just wait and see what the tide is like before we decide anything," Hoseok tried to be the voice of reason against Felix's impulsive nature.

"Fair enough," Felix shrugged, "Now help us pitch this tent."

☼☼☼

~YOUR POV~

The sound of the waves and the soft breeze acted as somewhat of a lullaby. After nearly 12 hours of physical exertion, you were more than exhausted. Content, yes. But still exhausted.

You were laying in the huge tent alongside Lea, Felix, Mia, and Kaylen who were already fast asleep. Hoseok was still outside helping Kai pack up everything so it wouldn't be a hassle in the morning. Your eyelids were growing heavy, but your mind refused to fully drift off until Hoseok was safely back in the tent with you.

You all weren't staying in an unsafe place, and there literally weren't any snakes on the entire island, but the thought of him out there in the literal jungle made you uncomfortable.

He reappeared a few minutes later, miraculously before you had drifted off completely.

"Are you comfortable?" Hoseok asked quietly, crawling over to the empty spot beside you. Kai came in a second later, having trouble stepping over everyone else to get the empty spot left for him beside Kaylen.

"Yeah, my neck's just a little stiff," you yawned, Hoseok's warm presence beside you quickly sending you back to an extremely drowsy state.

"Use me as a pillow. I don't mind. But don't drool on me," he teased you, laying down completely and opening his arms to give you room to rest your head on his chest.

"Go to sleep, Y/N, I got you."

You felt more content and safe laying there in his arms than you ever had before. The summer of a lifetime that you had been searching for was right in your hands.

Everything was perfect.

☼☼☼

You all were back walking the trail around sunrise, eager to reach one of the beaches. You were about apprehensive about swimming at any of them considering everything that Hoseok had said before about most of them being quite dangerous. But, Felix seemed to beg to differ, and he did know this hike better than anyone else in the group. You figured you'd just trust their best judgment and be as careful as possible.

"I have mud all over my legs," Lea said, "Are we coming up on this beach soon?"

"Yeah, it's just a bit farther up," Felix reassured his girlfriend as he readjusted how his backpack was resting on his shoulder.

Sure enough, the beach was just ahead as Felix said. The sand was fine and nearly white, still slightly cold since the sun had only been up for about an hour.

Hoseok dropped his bag on the sand, and everyone else did too to create a pile like before. There was no one else on the beach, and even though the water was likely going to be extremely cold, you found yourself really wanting to go jump in.

"I challenge you two to a chicken fight," Felix said to Kai and Mia who had been practically joined at the hip for the entirety of the trip.

"In the ocean?" Mia laughed.

"Yeah. The waves are looking calm, and we'll just stay in the shallow end."

"We accept your challenge," Kai smiled, "Let's go."

You looked over at Hoseok who shrugged his shoulders and then started taking off his shoes. "Let's go with them."

You nodded in agreement, your apprehension about the water fading away and being replaced by excitement and anticipation of fun.

"C'mon, Kaylen!" Hoseok shouted, "Let's go referee their chicken fight!"

Kaylen kicked off his shoes and ran over to join you and Hoseok.

"Are you having fun, Y/N?" he asked you politely. He was a shy kid and hadn't said too much to you since you'd known him, but he was undeniably well-mannered and sweet.

"Totally. Are you?"

"Yes! I'm just glad that Kai let me come along," Kaylen said, glancing over his shoulder to where Kai and Mia were getting ready to go run into the water together.

"We're glad you're here," Hoseok said, taking his shirt off. "Now, let's go jump into those waves."

You all joined up with the others, everyone holding hands and counting to three before running into the waves together. The water was cold but it honestly felt really good, and you were grateful to finally get all the mud that was caked onto your legs off, as was everyone else.

"THIS IS HOW SUMMER WAS MEANT TO BE!" Felix shouted excitedly, eliciting laughter from everyone else.

"He's right," Hoseok smiled, an arm around your waist, "C'mon, start the chicken fight!"

Mia climbed up onto Kai's shoulders, and Lea did the same to Felix. You weren't sure which team would succeed in knocking the other over first because both girls were relatively strong. Lea was a lifeguard and Mia used to do Water Polo at her home college.

They started moving and pushing, trying not to laugh while doing so. You and Hoseok stood off to the side in the water, watching intently and continually changing your bets on who was going to win.

Everything was bright and happy, and everyone was having so much fun. It seemed like the perfect way to spend a morning.

But then you heard the sound of a blood-curdling scream coming from a place that was too close for comfort.

Everything that happened next seemed to move in slow motion as if it wasn't really happening. As if it wasn't really reality.

But it was.

Before your eyes could even comprehend what had happened, Hoseok had moved away from you, desperately moving as quickly as he could to the source of the screaming. And then, Felix was by his side, helping. Kai remained frozen in shock, unable to do anything to help.

It was then that you saw the blood pooling in the water, and upon more screaming, you felt your self-preservation instincts taking over.

"Guys, get out of the water!" you yelled to Mia and Kai. "Get out of the water, now!"

You ran up the beach, followed by Mia who was starting to cry and dragging a petrified Kai along with her.

Felix and Hoseok were close to the shore, and you finally understood exactly what had happened. They were dragging a screaming, bleeding Kaylen up onto the shore, his leg the source of the blood.

"I need shirts, please! Now!" Hoseok cried out, him and Felix trying to bring him further up onto the shore.

"What happened to him?!" Lea was afraid and crying, frantically searching through the bags for fabric.

"He was bitten by a shark," Felix said, his voice sounding shaky and thin as him and Hoseok finally settled Kaylen down on the beach. There was a trail of blood from his leg down the beach and into the water.

"Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?" you and Lea took the linens that they had asked for over to them.

"Nobody panic, we need to stay as clear-minded as possible right now," Hoseok said, taking the shirts and wrapping them around the huge wound in Kaylen's leg. Kaylen screamed out in pain at the pressure being applied to the bite.

"I'm sorry, buddy, I know, I'm sorry. We need to do this to try and stop the bleeding so we can get you to a hospital, okay?" Hoseok attempted to comfort him.

"We're miles into the trail, and cars can't get here. What do we do?" You turned to Lea, the numbing shock finally passing as the fear settled in.

"We'll have to carry him," Felix said, "C'mon Hoseok, help me pick him up. The rest of you get the bags please."

You watched as Felix and Hoseok picked up a struggling Kaylen, and you prayed for a miracle.