CHAPTER 5 - ENEMY

She peeked at him, watching him rifle through the bush to see if berries were hiding inside. The breeze was refreshing, cooling her body to the perfect temperature. The bush was doing a little dance in the wind, waving at her. She didn't wave back. Starvation was causing her to lose focus, so she decided to clear her throat and attempt to get her mind working again. Seeing as she had a concussion, that was far from an easy feat.

"Your best friend wasn't on that flight, was he?" she asked.

"If he was, I probably would've stabbed myself with this." He held up the knife, tilting it back and forth. There were a few pale marks on the blade, the dark handle covered with grime. "Park Jimin. My best friend since high school. I've already lost my grandmother, I can't lose him too. Those two are the ones who really shaped who I am today."

"And who are you?" she asked, leaning against the nearest tree.

"Kim Taehyung. Obviously."

"Okay smartass, remind me not to ask you deep, philosophical questions again."

He snickered, pulling back when he found nothing. "I could've said human. Would you have preferred that?" he asked, waggling his brows at her. She'd be lying if she said he wasn't attractive, and those eyebrows were surprisingly nice, as strange as that sounded. Yeah, a very strange compliment, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking it.

"You act more like an alien, Mr. Kim."

"Miss L/n, we're trapped on a mysterious island together and you almost killed an injured bird. I'm sure we're far past formalities, don't you think?"

"Analyzing data. Data does not compute. Please try again later."

"Alright Miss Robot." Taehyung turned to the side and yawned. He stretched his arms out with a sense of familiarity, doing complex stretches Y/n had never seen in her life. At her stares, he shifted his head to face her. "Have you never stretched before?" She shook her head, about to speak, but he interrupted her. "This is just a side lunge. I'm trying to keep my body on the ready in case we get chased by a lion."

"A... lion?"

"Well we don't know what wildlife this place has," he mumbled, going back to his stretches. She observed, waiting for him to finish that stretch before he moved into more basic ones. His eyes expanded when she mimicked him. "Copying me? Isn't that plagiarism?"

"I'm laughing so hard. Such a good joke." The two rolled their eyes at each other. She wasn't sure if it was in a joking manner or not, but she chose to take it that way for now.

They finished their miniature stretching routine, Taehyung keeping the knife close while they traveled through the wilderness. Y/n wasn't sure what to make of this whole situation. What if there was a dangerous predator on this island? She decided not to think about it. After all, she didn't want to start stressing. Stressing out only made it worse.

Dirt paths made up what was left of their trail. It smelled better than the ocean did. Back at the beach, Y/n tasted the salt water each time the air so much as tickled her. That was why she adored the forest despite how appalling the state of her body was. Thanks to the muck and dust making up their pathway, her ankles were more mud than skin. It made her crave the ocean again, that way she could wash up.

The trees stretched out like Tae and Y/n did not long ago. They, like the bush, were waving to them. Their branches drifted in the wind, leaves snapping off and doing waltzes down to the ground before them. Y/n stepped on a leaf, flinching at the 'crack' noise it made. Luckily, Taehyung was there to bring her out of her thoughts.

"Should we go back soon?" he asked.

"We don't have too much to go back to. We have the letters in the sand and water bottles back there, but I'm not thirsty yet. Are you?" There was a grumble, then a head shake. She took that as a no. "Then we should be fine for now. If we don't take more risks, then we won't get any rewards." She half-expected him to make some quippy remark about business, but he didn't. She attempted to hide her surprise, and thanks to years of training through business meetings and poker, she managed it well.

They continued, slipping through a set of trees and ignoring the birds flying around. She hoped they found something nice, otherwise she'd regret not killing that bird. Truthfully, the only reason why she didn't kill it was because she wanted Tae on her good side. Another example of weighing the pros and the cons. They needed food, as it had been a while since they last ate, so she decided to get them some food. Small and a good target to practice cutting off the skin and fur and- okay, why was she thinking about this? She was no vegetarian or vegan, but she couldn't stomach the process of preparing animals for things like that. Contrary to Tae's belief, she still had a heart. Y/n did what she had to to survive, but she didn't wish on other's downfalls. Not really, anyway.

"I hear something," Tae said, holding up his fist. The pair halted, and indeed, Tae was right. She heard a tiny scurry followed by the breaking of a twig. Seconds later, a small mammal made its way out of the brush, spikes sticking up in all directions, miniature feet pattering against the ground. A porcupine. Wait, a porcupine on an island?

Although it didn't seem like much of a threat, especially since they had a knife on their side, Y/n didn't want to take any chances. It had a body that seemed like it was a shade of silver, the blips of light poking through the leaves of the trees highlighting the way it waddled on its stubby legs.

"Are they hostile?" she murmured.

"With other animals, yes. With us? Not sure," he replied, watching the thing without moving a muscle. Y/n was the same way, keeping her body weight stable as to not alert the creature. It wasn't looking at them yet, but it was certainly close enough that it would see them in a minute.

And, ten seconds later, it did. It tilted its head and observed Y/n and Tae, squealing in surprise. The quills turned, seemingly sharper than before. She was quick to duck behind Tae, the man scowling at her reluctance to stay still. Regardless, he didn't speak or move, he only held the knife close and made sure the blade was facing downwards.

The porcupine scoffed at them, shivering under their gaze. Taehyung kept his position, frozen and staring, but not making any actions to appear hostile. "Wait," she whispered, giving his shoulder a push. "It's shaking. I think it's scared of us." She wasn't sure why it would be scared of these two humans out of all of them. One was a businesswoman with no place on an island, and the other was an alien-like boy who was glued to the ground. "Shouldn't we slowly back away?"

"Good idea," he replied, keeping his voice as hushed as hers.

Y/n took a step back. An almost unnoticeable step, really. The porcupine kept hissing, digging its claws into the ground and keeping its spikes sharp. Y/n swallowed what felt like her whole heart, taking another step. Tae mimicked her actions, the two taking a few steps away until she realized that the porcupine's gaze wasn't on them. She went stiff, Tae borderline tripping because of it. Before he could speak, he saw her dilated eyes, recognizing the cold expression of fear on her face in less than a second. They both swiveled their heads, and that was when they saw the long body of a snake not far behind them.

Even a businesswoman like Y/n recognized the hoods on the scaly creature, and felt a flash of panic rise inside her. It was on a log resting about 8 feet away, the porcupine keeping itself on guard. The cobra flicked out its tongue, Y/n rushing behind Tae again. He grunted, holding up the knife and guiding her away. They went as slowly and quietly as they could, the cobra not showing any interest. Y/n eyed the dead bird next to it and deduced that that was why: it already had a meal. If it didn't, would they be dead by now? Or bitten, but that was pretty much the same thing when they had no way to treat a venomous bite.

Tae brought them away from the vicinity, and as soon as they were far enough, he started sprinting. She followed without hesitation, panting and keeping up her pace until they returned back to their main campsite. The twigs she laid out were helpful after all, seeing as they followed the path all the way home.

They were quick to get out on the beach, but away from the letters so they didn't ruin them. Tae and her had their gazes on the trees, waiting for a sign that wildlife came after them. After a minute, they concluded they were alone. The sighs of relief came nearly at the same time, Tae letting his grip on the blade relax.

It was strange, in a way. Solitude was a threat to Tae and her. That was because solitude could drive them insane. They had each other, but there was a real possibility they could separate either due to a fight, wildlife, or another reason entirely.

"So this just got a lot more dangerous," Tae said, meeting her stare.

"No shit. A venomous snake on this island? My guess is they don't come out to the beach, otherwise we'd be dead already. Tae, I'm no wildlife expert, but that means that there could be other venomous creatures here, right?"

"It's possible, I'm not really sure. I'm no expert either, the 'experience' I have is camping in a tent with a bunch of adults around me to handle all the scary monsters. Now I'm nothing. I have nothing."

She peered at him, noting the fall in his eyes. The loss of a sparkle. For some reason, she couldn't let it happen. She couldn't let him think he was a failure, or not valuable to her- no, survival. Not to her, to survival. Why would she think he was valuable to her? Y/n had to think strategically, not from an emotional connection to Taehyung - a connection she didn't even have, she'd like to point out.

"You have me," she said, placing a hand on his elbow. She hoped it was consoling. "And I know that's not a lot considering I'm not the most useful survival expert in the world, but you're not alone right now." He opened his mouth, but she placed a finger over his lips to cut him off. "You're not nothing either, so get that thought out of your head. I don't trust you, hell I don't even like you, but you're useful here and to your friends and family. So don't go thinking that, okay?"

Her finger lowered, and to her surprise, he had an amused look on his face. "I didn't mean it in that way, I meant that I'm nothing in this situation, but thanks for proving you have a heart."

She slumped, rolling her eyes and preparing to walk away. Then, it was his turn to grab her elbow. "Hey, wait. I'm sorry, that was rude. You were just trying to help, and I appreciate that. Really. Thank you," he said. Their eyes locked, Y/n contemplating her next words, but he didn't let her speak. "You don't have to say anything. Just know that I appreciate you saying that. And... I hope that all things considered, we do get along while we're here. We owe it to ourselves to at least like each other a little, don't you think?" 

She raised a brow, but it wasn't in question. It wasn't a confused or a concerned brow. Rather it was her acknowledging his words. But for some reason, that wasn't enough for her. She felt the need to speak. Words that she was used to saying in meetings, but not to another. Not to someone like Taehyung. Someone who challenged her in more ways than she'd like to admit. Either way, she parted her lips.

"You're welcome anyway, Kim Taehyung."