The sun bathed the cruise deck in a golden glow as laughter drifted over the railings and into the sea breeze. It was the kind of afternoon people dreamed of—lazy, warm, and weightless.
Seven men stood on the deck, soaking it all in.
There was Sung Joongki, the effortlessly charming award-winning actor known for his heart-fluttering smirks and emotional range on screen.
Next to him leaned Ji Chon Young, a quiet genius in the music world. A hitmaker, a night owl, and the man behind some of the most haunting tracks on the charts.
Bora Jun Seung stood out with his vibrant energy and contagious smile—a world-renowned choreographer who could make any movement feel like art.
Sung Seungkwan, ever composed, was the mastermind businessman whose calm logic often kept the group grounded. Sharp suits, sharper mind.
Then there was Choi Sewon, light on his feet and even lighter in spirit. A dancer with a gentle soul and an eye for the beauty in everything.
Sung Yeontae, rugged and quiet, had traded the spotlight for open skies and quiet soil—now a humble farmer with a mysterious glint in his eye and an unpredictable sense of humor.
And lastly, Kang Jaewook, the youngest of the group. A popular game streamer with millions of followers, golden reflexes, and a competitive streak that often led to chaos—and laughter.
They had been close since college—an unlikely mix of personalities and professions. But together, they made sense.
Most people saw their titles first—actor, producer, dancer, businessman, farmer, streamer—but when they were with each other, those labels disappeared.
They were just Joongki, Chon, Jun, Kwan, Sewon, Yeon, and Jae.
Friends. Family.
"I still can't believe we pulled this off," Kwan said, pulling his sunglasses down to take in the horizon. "No reporters, no shareholders, no press releases. Just... this."
"Careful," Joongki said, lounging in a chair with a magazine over his face, "you're dangerously close to sounding sentimental, Mr. Businessman."
Kwan snorted. "Don't make me push you overboard."
"We need to take a group photo," Sewon said, holding up his phone. "This moment? Peak vibes."
"You and your Instagram aesthetics," Jun muttered, though he smiled and posed anyway.
Yeon was lying in a hammock, eyes half-shut. "I vote we all retire to my farm after this. Grow tomatoes. Live off the land."
"No Wi-Fi?" Jae said in mock horror. "How will I stream my survival journey?"
"I'll choreograph your breakdown," Jun offered.
More laughter. For a moment, the world was still.
----
That moment didn't last.
It started as a vibration—barely noticeable, like the hum of an old machine deep below.
Then the first boom echoed from the lower decks.
"What was that?" Chon sat up sharply, eyes narrowing.
A second explosion followed. Then the ship shook—this time violently. Glass shattered. Lights flickered. Alarms blared.
"Everyone to lifeboats!" a crew member shouted.
"No," Kwan said, immediately rising to help. "There are other passengers—let's go—"
"VIPs first! You have to go!"
Panic took over. Crew members rushed them toward a lifeboat.
"We'll be right behind you!" they lied.
They didn't want to go, they fought it. But in the end, they were forced into the tiny boat and lowered into the dark, angry sea.
The last thing they saw was fire licking the night sky—and then, darkness.
Rain. Thunder. The cruel silence of the ocean.
They floated for hours.
No signal. No idea where they were. No rescue.
Then—land.
Joongki was the first to spot it. A jagged silhouette under the fading moonlight.
The boat scraped against the shore, and the seven of them stumbled out, collapsing onto damp sand.
"I feel like death," Jae groaned.
"We're alive," Yeon murmured. "Somehow."
Chon looked at the treeline. Dense. Overgrown. Quiet.
Too quiet.
"This place feels... off."
No one replied. The jungle watched in silence.
They had survived the sea.
But the island was waiting.
----
Night fell faster than they expected.
The jungle swallowed the sunlight, casting the shore into shades of deep blue and black. The breeze carried the scent of salt, leaves, and something… unfamiliar.
"Glad we packed those waterproof lighters," Yeon muttered, feeding another twig into the flame.
"Remind me to hug whoever invented those," Jae said, hugging his knees. His hoodie was still damp, sticking to his skin.
They had dragged what little they could from the lifeboat—one broken paddle, a waterproof case with two protein bars, and a half-used medkit. Not much, but better than nothing.
"We'll take turns keeping watch," Kwan announced. "Three-hour shifts. If anything happens, wake everyone."
Jun poked at the fire with a stick. "Define 'anything'."
Joongki shrugged. "Animal sounds. Random falling trees. Ghosts."
"Great. Totally comforting," Jun muttered.
Sewon leaned back, eyes on the dark treeline. "You guys ever get that feeling? Like… we're being watched?"
"Don't," Chon said quietly, his voice unusually firm. "Not tonight."
Silence settled in.
Not a peaceful kind.
A thick kind.
One that pressed against their skin, curled around their necks. The jungle made sounds, sure—distant chirps, rustling leaves—but something was off. The patterns were wrong. Too… quiet in some spots. Too alive in others.
"I'm gonna pee," Jae mumbled, standing up.
"You're not going alone," Kwan said instantly. "Yeon, go with him."
Yeon rolled his eyes but followed, flashlight in hand.
Minutes passed.
Then—
Snap.
A sharp crack from somewhere behind the trees.
Everyone sat up straight.
"Was that—?" Sewon started.
Another snap. Closer.
Then nothing.
Chon stood slowly, every muscle tight. "Yeon? Jae?"
The two returned seconds later, eyes wide.
"That wasn't us," Yeon said, pointing his flashlight toward the jungle. "We heard it too."
Joongki moved closer to the fire. "Maybe an animal?"
"Or someone else," Jae said under his breath.
They didn't sleep much that night.
They stayed close to the fire, the shadows outside their circle moving ever so slightly. Watching. Waiting.
Somewhere, deep in the trees… something moved again.
And it was getting closer.
____
They all fell asleep.
None of them meant to—someone was supposed to keep watch. But exhaustion hit like a wave, stronger than any warning, deeper than any fear.
And when morning came, the fire had died into a lazy pile of grey ash and coal, and not one of them could remember who passed out first.
"Wow," Jun groaned, stretching out his back. "Guess we're all terrible at survival."
Joongki blinked against the light. "Wait… who was supposed to take second shift?"
Everyone turned to look at Kwan and Sewon.
"Don't look at me," Sewon yawned, waving them off. "I thought Kwan had it."
Kwan rubbed his face. "I did—I swear. I only closed my eyes for like... five seconds."
"Five hours, apparently," Chon muttered.
They chuckled. Light teasing. Relief that they survived the night without anything lunging at them from the shadows.
But the laughter faded when Yeon noticed it.
"Uh… guys."
Near the edge of the firepit, tucked neatly into a dip in the sand, sat a woven bag made of jungle leaves.
It was filled—overflowing, actually—with fresh fruit. Bright orange slices. Sweet-smelling berries. A few nuts, too. All bundled neatly. Almost... gift-like.
"What the hell?" Jun crouched near it, eyes narrowing. "Who got up and did a little foraging?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Nope," said Joongki. "Not me."
"I'd never wake up that early," Jae said, frowning.
"Swear on my gaming chair," he added.
They looked around the group, more seriously this time.
No one confessed.
Chon took a step back. "So either someone here is lying... or someone else was here."
The air grew cold again.
"…What if it's poisoned?" Sewon asked quietly.
"It could be a trap," Joongki added.
Kwan crouched, analyzing the bag as if it might explode. "Why leave food? Why not take something? Mess with us? Steal our firewood? This is... too clean."
Their stomachs growled in unison.
"But I mean," Jae said slowly, staring at a plump berry, "we're not dead yet, so... what if it's safe?"
Before anyone could stop him, he plucked one of the fruits, popped it in his mouth, and chewed.
"Jae!" Jun shouted.
Everyone froze.
Jae chewed thoughtfully.
Swallowed.
Paused dramatically.
"…Oh wow," he whispered. "This is the best fruit I've ever had."
Yeon slowly reached for one too, eyes on the sky. "Then thank the earth for its kindness," he murmured. "Nature must be watching over us."
"You mean watching us sleep and leaving snacks?" Chon muttered, suspicious as ever.
Still, the others gave in. Hunger beat paranoia.
Within minutes, they were all eating.
And for a while, the fear vanished. The fruits were sweet, the nuts crunchy, and for the first time since the crash.
The woven bag sat empty, silent between them.
No one noticed the faint, almost perfect footprints leading back into the jungle, barely visible in the morning light.
Later that Day…
Once they'd cleaned up and packed what little they had, Joongki stood and clapped his hands.
"Alright. No more sitting around. We need to know where we are."
Kwan nodded. "Let's split up. Two groups. One scouts for food, materials, anything useful. The other checks the perimeter for signs of life. Villages. Trails. People."
"Or monsters," Sewon muttered.
"If anything feels off, you run back," Chon added. "No heroics. We don't know this island."
Group one: Joongki, Jun, and Chon.
Group two: Kwan, Jae, Yeon, and Sewon.
Weapons? Just sticks and rocks.
Signal plan? If one group shouts—run.
And so, they vanished into the trees again.
The island exhaled softly behind them.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
-----
Let's check on Group One...
"I swear this is edible," Jun said, holding up a strange purple root that looked like it had feelings.
Joongki squinted at it. "Why does it look like it's judging me?"
Chon took it, turned it over in his hand, and sniffed. Then immediately threw it behind him. "Nope. Smells like feet and regret."
They'd been walking for forty-five minutes. Long enough for the sun to rise fully, long enough to start sweating, and just short of their tolerance for pretending to be wilderness experts.
"Remind me again why I'm not at home, on my sofa, in front of a fan?" Jun mumbled, swatting a bug off his neck.
Joongki rolled his eyes. "Because you wanted to 'connect with nature'."
"That was before nature tried to murder me with flying bugs and guilt fruit!"
"Gift fruit," Chon corrected absently, crouching to poke at a suspiciously shiny berry.
"Yeah, okay, but none of us left that fruit, remember?" Jun said, voice dropping a little. "Someone did. Someone was here. Watching."
The mood dipped for a second.
Then Joongki waved it off. "Well, if they want to feed us and not stab us, I'm okay with it."
Chon wasn't so easily convinced. "That kind of kindness usually comes with strings. Or a curse."
Jun looked up from a weird vine he was trying to untangle. "...You're kind of fun at parties, huh?"
Chon just smirked.
They kept moving.
Every few minutes, they'd stop and examine something—a mushroom ("Nope"), a tree with weird scratch marks ("Double nope"), and a cluster of lumpy green pods that Joongki named "goblin peanuts" because "if we die from them, I at least want it to sound cool."
But what none of them noticed—
Was the glint of something small and reflective between the leaves. A shimmer, high in the trees.
Watching.
Still.
Silent.
Chon froze suddenly. "Did you hear that?"
The other two stopped.
The jungle was loud with buzzing and bird calls… but somewhere underneath that… was a soft rustle. Leaves brushing. A tiny snap.
"Probably a bird," Joongki said, too quickly.
Chon didn't move.
Neither did Jun.
Then came another sound.
Like someone exhaling, very close—but not one of them.
They spun around.
Nothing.
No movement. Just trees. Shadows.
Too many shadows.
"…Okay," Joongki said, forcing a laugh. "Maybe we should, uh, circle back. Regroup. Grab some coconuts or—"
Thud.
They all jumped.
A small bundle had fallen from above.
Wrapped neatly in leaves, tied with woven grass—just like the fruit bag from earlier.
Joongki picked it up with two fingers like it might bite him. He unwrapped it slowly.
Inside?
Strips of dried meat.
Clean. Salted.
Chon's eyes narrowed. "This island is either haunted or has a secret grocery store."
Jun stared up at the trees. "I think we're being herded."
Joongki looked at both of them, jaw clenched.
"…Run?"
"Run."
"Run."
And they ran.
Branches snapped behind them. A laugh—or was it just the wind?—echoed once in the distance.
Up in the trees, a figure crouched in the canopy. Hidden. Perfectly still.
Watching.
Again.
Meanwhile Group 2...
The jungle was thick, humid, and alive with the sound of chirping insects and rustling leaves.
Group Two—Seungkwan, Sewon, Yeontae, and Jaewook—had been walking for nearly an hour, and so far? They'd found absolutely nothing.
Well—nothing useful.
"Look! These flowers are so pretty," Yeontae said, crouching beside a patch of delicate white blooms.
"Can we eat them though?" Seungkwan asked, scanning the treetops like they might rain coconuts. "If not, they're just jungle decor."
"Jae, are you even helping?" Sewon called out from behind a vine wall.
Kang Jaewook turned, two bright orange fruits in his hands. "These look kinda edible. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully?"
Sewon stared. "Those are poisonous."
"…How do you know?"
"I don't, but I'm not willing to find out via diarrhea in the woods."
"Fair."
They bickered, bantered, and occasionally yelled at squirrels. Somehow, despite being tasked with the important mission of finding help, they were louder than a rock concert.
And that's when it happened.
A low, throaty growl.
"Guys," Yeontae whispered, frozen mid-step. "Did anyone hear that?"
"Yeah," Jaewook said slowly. "Is that... purring?"
"It's not a cat," Seungkwan muttered, eyes narrowing.
They pushed past a thick wall of ferns and came into a clearing—and then they froze.
Because there, in front of them, were a full-grown bear and a massive gray wolf, circling each other, growling, snarling—locked in an animal standoff.
For a second, no one moved.
Jaewook tilted his head. "Okay… but like… is this real?"
Yeontae blinked. "Are we watching Nat Geo LIVE right now?"
Then the bear turned its head. The wolf followed.
Both animals locked eyes with the boys.
"…oh no," whispered Sewon.
"Oh YES," said Seungkwan, spinning on his heel. "Time to RUN."
They didn't need to be told twice.
Four grown men—screaming, flailing, and hauling themselves through the jungle like winded chickens—ran like their lives depended on it. (Because, frankly, they did.)
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS US?!" Jaewook wailed, tripping over a root.
"WE WERE TOO LOUD!!" Seungkwan yelled. "THE JUNGLE HATES LOUD!!"
Behind them, the sounds of crashing branches and angry snarls got louder—
Until—THWACK!CRACK!
Two deafening thuds echoed through the trees.
The boys skidded to a halt.
Turned around.
And saw—the bear and the wolf collapsed on the ground.
Blood leaking from identical, fist-sized holes in their skulls.
"What... the actual hell?" Sewon gasped, breathless.
They looked around.
But no one was there.
Only the rustling of leaves.
Wind?
Or...
Jaewook squinted. "Someone threw something?"
"Threw??" Yeontae repeated, voice cracking. "More like launched it from hell. Look at that hole! That wasn't a rock, that was a cannonball!"
They stood there in shock for a moment longer, before Seungkwan snapped, "I don't care if Zeus himself threw it. We're going back. NOW."
And like that, they turned and ran all the way back to camp.
Did they forget their mission? Absolutely.
Did they bring any food? One suspicious orange fruit.
Was it worth it? No. But did they live? Yes.
Which, in their books, was enough.
Back at the shore...
The sun had already begun its slow descent, casting warm gold across the trees, when Group One stumbled back to the hideout—scraped up, panting, and done with the day.
Sung Joongki plopped onto a log. "I vote we rename the jungle to 'Nope-ville.'"
"I second that," Jun Seung groaned, rubbing his shoulder. "A meat package? In the middle of nowhere? Wrapped in... leaves? That's horror movie logic."
Ji Chon Young raised an eyebrow. "You didn't have to poke it with a stick."
"I had to poke it with a stick."
Silence fell over the three as they stared into the trees—waiting for the second group.
Thirty minutes passed.
The sun dipped lower.
And then—
Screaming.
Branches snapping. Feet pounding.
"OH MY GOD THEY'RE BACK," Joongki shouted, leaping to his feet.
From the shadows burst Seungkwan, Sewon, Yeontae, and Jaewook—wide-eyed, dirt-covered, and not even pretending to act cool anymore.
"WE SAW A BEAR," Seungkwan gasped, hands on his knees.
"AND A WOLF," Jaewook added, flopping to the ground.
"AND THEY TRIED TO EAT US."
"They didn't even try to choose, they just went for all of us like a combo meal!" Sewon cried.
"AND THEN SOMEONE KILLED THEM WITH A ROCK!" Yeontae pointed toward the trees dramatically.
The others stared.
Joongki blinked. "Come again?"
"No, listen! Someone threw a rock—no, launched it—through their heads. Like, clean. One shot each."
Jun Seung leaned in. "You guys high on berries or—?"
"We. Saw. It."
"…And then ran away," Seungkwan finished. "Like cowards."
"Well," Chon Young shrugged. "We ran from a meat basket."
They all stared at each other.
Then burst into laughter.
For the first time since the cruise exploded, they actually laughed—loud and genuine. It was ridiculous. It was terrifying. It was all real.
That night, as the stars blanketed the sky, they sat around the campfire, sharing everything they'd seen.
"Okay," Joongki started, tossing another log into the fire, "we've officially learned one thing: this jungle isn't empty."
"There's something—or someone—watching us," Seungkwan said quietly.
"Or helping us," Yeontae murmured, his eyes drifting to the shadows.
They all turned to look at him.
"The herbs," he added. "The ones back at the boat. They weren't there before. But when we went to cook..."
"I noticed that too," Chon Young said. "Like... actual seasoning. Basil, pepper, lemongrass. Tied in bundles."
"And no one here brought them," Sewon finished.
They sat in silence again, the fire popping between them.
"So what do we do now?" Jaewook asked. "We clearly suck at surviving."
Joongki took a breath. "We plan."
And so they did.
They marked an area with stones and vines—their "safe zone."They split duties:
Some would forage.
Some would improve shelter.
Some would guard.
They sharpened sticks, tied up makeshift hammocks, and set rules:
Don't wander far.
Don't be loud.
Don't eat weird meat.
By the time their scavenged stew was bubbling over the fire, they were too exhausted to question the magical herbs too deeply.
"It's still bland," Jun Seung muttered.
"You're welcome," Chon Young said, sprinkling more jungle-pepper into the pot.
TO BE CONTINUED....