Someone is singing.

You weren't quite sure about it when you first heard the voice, thinking that it was merely the sound of the wind. It had started faint at first, so you weren't even sure if you actually heard it and had not been imagining it. But the more you listen to it, the more you are convinced that what you are hearing now is a tune being sung by a deep, unfamiliar voice. It sounds so different to the voice singing in your dream. It feels less ominous and somewhat tempting, urging you to get closer. And the voice seems to be coming from somewhere on the other side of this beach.

Before you have a chance to question it, you already find yourself walking away from your makeshift camp. Your legs are moving on their own accord, taking you down the deserted beach towards the lines of massive rocks on the side of the island. You have no idea what makes you decide to begin your search and find the source. You are not even completely sure if the singing voice is real or if you are somehow dreaming again.

Would it be possible that seasickness and dehydration are giving you the same hallucination that Namjoon had while in the sea?

As you continue wondering about it, you realise that you have walked far enough that you nearly lose sight of your boat, getting much closer to the edge of the patch of white sand and the rocky cliff.

The further you walk, the more you are starting to feel as if you are in a daze. The faint singing voice grows clearer, and yet you feel as if you are floating, your body feels light even when your steps are still firm. Instead of stopping and staying away from the rocks, you just keep on walking, going forward until you find yourself standing right where the sand ends and the rocks begin to rise.

You contemplate on going further as you keep on listening to the voice. Then you look ahead and catch a sight of something appearing from right beyond the rocks, drawing your curiosity further.

Right there, right at the foot of the cliff, the rocky wall opens up to a cavern. A small path appears starting from the beach where you are currently standing, passing between the rocks, leading you straight into the cavern's mouth. As you stand there with the strong breeze from the ocean smacking you right in the face and the waves crashing against the rocks around you, the singing voice sounds even clearer, and it sounds even more beautiful now that you seem to have reached much closer to its source.

Looking over your shoulder, you notice just how far away you had strayed. It had been quite some time since the last time you saw any sign of Namjoon after he ventured into the forest. As you wonder if Namjoon has returned and noticed that you are gone, the song from the cavern changes its tune.

The tune feels somber, yet seductive and mesmerising at the same time, even if you still cannot hear clearly what the song is about. The only thing you know is that the sound is luring you to its source, beckoning you to come and find it.

Curious, and unable to ignore the pull coming from the beautiful voice serenading you from the depth of the cavern, you decide that Namjoon can wait, and you slowly make your way down the path between the rocks and enter the cave.

You have no idea what to expect as you walk past the entrance. A few steps into the cavern and you begin to feel as if you had just stepped into a completely different dimension to what you had just walked in from. The one thing that surprises you is to find that instead of stepping into pitch darkness, you are instead surrounded by light. The entrance tunnel is supposed to be darker than the world outside, yet the walls are glowing as if they are covered in dark crystals instead of plain rocks. The dull light from the grey sun follows you through the mouth of the cavern, its lights are reflected against the walls, giving you enough luminosity to allow you to see where you are heading to.

You continue walking, getting deeper into the long tunnel with the singing voice accompanying you. While the lights from outside begin to subside, the crystals continue to light up the way for you, though it seems more like you have the voice guiding your way instead. Deeper and deeper into the cavern you go, until the tunnel brings you to another space which seems to be the heart of the cavern. It opens up to some sort of a hidden chamber, with a small void appearing on the ceiling to allow another light from outside to shine through. Though that source of light is not the one reflected across the walls around you in shades of crystal blue, lighting up the room in a completely different way than the darker tunnel you had just gone through.

Taking a few steps closer towards the center, you are astounded to find a small lake spread right in the depth of the cave. The water is clear, and they are glowing like crystals, making the entire space look brighter than it should. It seems as if there is a source of light hidden deep underwater or if the water had somehow gathered the lights from outside to lighten up the room. It feels magical to be there, while the glowing light is soothing you and making you feel warm at the same time even if you can feel a hint of fear clenching tightly in your chest. Even the air around you feels different. As if everything is vibrating, pulsing, and it simply feels like the cave and everything inside it are alive, and the bright-looking lake is the heart where the magic seems to be coming from.

But the magical looking lake and conspicuous cavern are not the only ones that manage to catch your attention, as you turn to look at the tall boulder standing right on the edge of the lake and find a figure sitting right on top of it. Perched on the massive rock is a man, with his skin pale and glowing under the reflecting light coming from the water, wearing nothing else but a tunic top matched with a pair of thin silky pants which makes him look as if he is part of the cavern, blending in with his surroundings while becoming the focal point of this place at the same time.

And he appears to be the one who has been singing this entire time.

And he continues to sing his tune, still unaware of your presence. He keeps his eyes looking straight at the glowing water as he sings, serenading the same solemn tune which had been luring you all the way here to find him.

There is something in his voice that draws you in. Something enthralling, like an enchantment beckoning you to get closer and reach out to him. You have felt it since the first time you heard his voice and it only gets even stronger now that you are closer, watching him from a close distance.

There is also a shuddering feeling that comes at the back of your mind, telling you to be careful while warning you to run. The warning signs in your head doesn't last long, however, as they keep growing gradually faint while the beautiful voice coming from the mystery being sitting on the boulder seems to be winning. His voice continues to lure you, like an invisible thread pulling at your heart like you had never once experienced before and it is stopping you from running.

You give in to the magic vibrating in this place and the pull coming from his voice that you don't realise how you have been moving so close, not until your feet suddenly sink into the sand surrounding the magical-looking lake. Wet sand. And your mind snaps out of the trance with a jolt, only to find yourself standing right at the foot of the boulder where he is, only an arm's reach away from him.

Your presence seems to alert him then, as he stops singing. Immediately, your body reacts, as if you are craving to hear his voice again. It reminds you of the drought that you felt back home, when your body weakens without his voice and you are desperate to hear him sing to bring your body back to life.

You keep your eyes on him and say nothing as he slowly turns. His movement is careful, wary, while his mesmerising eyes show you no fear, only curiosity. He tilts his head as he finds you standing there while looking back at him with wide eyes, while he is not even showing you any hint of surprise or bashfulness for having some stranger watching him singing, as if there is nothing wrong about him doing so inside an unearthly cave. Instead of looking annoyed of having you intruding on his space, his smile is warm and welcoming as he sits back and says,

"Hello."

His deep voice surprises you that it draws a gasp from the depth of your throat. Oddly enough, even the simple greeting had come with a rhythm flowing in each syllable, and you almost laugh at how it makes your insides tingle with something warm. A feeling that is just as comfortable as a warm blanket, something that you had missed the most as it reminds you of home.

"Hi," you shyly answer him, choosing to remain standing right where you are instead of getting any closer to get to him, even if the urge to do so keeps getting stronger.

He remains sitting on the top of the boulder where he was, making no sign to move away from it, though he keeps his eyes locked on you. There is no question in his gaze, but you can see something mischievous glowing from his eyes as he keeps staring at you, his face looking as if he holds a deep secret and he is silently challenging you to draw it out of him and reveal them all to you.

You use this moment to take in the sight of him. Under the glowing crystal blue light illuminating the entire cavern, he looks gorgeous, quite almost in an ethereal way. With sharp lines on his cheeks and jawline, thick pouty lips that look teasing and endearing at the same time as he gives you a knowing smirk. His silky hair looks damp, as if he had taken a dip into the lake at some point and he is letting each wet strand fall over his face. The curly strands of his hair appear to be glowing, as they seem to reflect the lights shining out of the water, making you itch with the need to run your fingers through them.

You shake your head, surprised to find yourself even thinking about touching him and to feel an urge so strong to reach out when you don't even have any idea who he is.

"I—I'm sorry for bothering you," you begin to speak, clenching your hands to your sides as you do so just to stop yourself from getting too close. "I, uh—we got lost, my friend and I, and we were stranded here on this island. We were searching around to find anyone who might be living here or if there is any place that we can use to shelter in," you explain, almost blabbering nervously. "And, uh—and then I heard you singing from the beach. You have a beautiful voice. Do you live here on this island?"

The mysterious man hums softly for a moment, thinking deeply as if you had just given him a challenging quiz instead of a simple question. "You may say that," he finally says, his voice so smooth as silk and almost melodic, as if his speech is a part of the song he has been singing to himself. "Did you say that you heard my voice?"

You nod, and his smile widens. "Ah, I see," he says. He tilts his head, studying you closely with amusement dancing in his eyes. "I can tell that you've come from far away."

His words catch you off guard, yet you are quick to remember that ever since you arrived on this island, you had not seen any sign of people residing anywhere around the beach or at the edge of the forest. Even from the distance, this island had seemed inhabitable, which became the reason why both you and Namjoon had been sceptical about finding any tribe that might be related to yours to seek help from. And yet, here he is, appearing right before your eyes to show you that there is someone actually living in this place, and you wonder if there are other people hiding somewhere else the same way he did.

You have a ton of questions brewing inside your head, and you have no idea where to start. But when you notice that he is not trying to make any conversation, you decide to try and gain more information from him. "What is this place? Where are your people?"

The ethereal looking man before you simply smiles at you, his eyes appear to glow just as brightly as the lake behind him when he asks you in return, "My people?"

His question and the tone of his voice makes you frown. "Yes. Your people. Your tribe, your family, are they around here somewhere? Maybe closer to the cave instead of the forest?" you keep asking him, though the doubt lingering in your mind only gets stronger as seconds pass by and he has yet to give you an answer. Realising that you might sound pushy, you immediately apologise, "I'm sorry. It's just that I've seen no sign of people from the beach earlier, and I was just wondering if you can tell me more about this place."

The mysterious man only hums. "My people. My family. Hmm—" he stops, while your heart slowly drops when it doesn't seem like you are going to get the answer that you need. As if he can read your mind, he gives you a remorseful smile and finally admits, "I'm sorry, but to tell you the truth, it has been a long time since I've met anyone on this island."

"Oh, right," is the only thing that you can say to him when your disappointment grows inside you. Looking down on your feet, you try to hide the tears that are threatening to fall.

Does that mean there is really no salvation for your tribe? Do you really want to try again and continue your search for the island that Elder Mai had promised to be the saviour you need? What if the island and the tribe she had talked about never existed and the other Elders had been right? What if the Fountain of Life is not real?

You are too lost in your thoughts that you don't notice it when he finally moves. Not until you hear him landing on the sand nearby, leaving the tall boulder where he was sitting on so he can get closer to you. You keep your head down even as you feel him coming to you, even as you feel his warmth radiating close. The shame that you feel for failing your people feels too heavy and you refuse to look up to meet his eyes.

"Hey, are you okay?" he gently asks you when you still refuse to look up. He gives you a moment before he reaches out, gently touching your chin so he can guide your face up to meet his eyes. "Hello there," he says, smiling softly. "Is there something wrong?"

Your voice gets caught in your throat and your shame only grows stronger. You hate to appear weak, just as much as you hate admitting failure. But what other choice do you have when all hope seems to be lost?

"Everything is wrong. Everything is a mess," you finally say to him in a desperate voice. You should be surprised to find that you are allowing yourself to be vulnerable in front of a stranger. Funny enough, you already feel like you have been completely exposed to him the moment he laid eyes on you that it is not too hard for you to open up and let the truth comes out.

"Want to talk about it?" he asks you, only to have you chuckling bitterly.

"I don't know how you can help," you say to him, before quickly adding, "I don't know how anyone can. It's too complicated."

The man only shrugs. "I can listen while you share your story. Some might say that I'm a good listener."

Once again, his words and the odd way he speaks makes you frown curiously. "I thought you said that you have no one else here."

Instead of explaining himself, he only smiles and says, "I did say that, didn't I?"

There is something in the way he says it which probably should have sent all the red flags waving to warn you about him, but there is also an odd feeling of comfort the more you listen to him speak, just like how you felt when he was singing his tune. You should be asking for more, but the thought of talking about the non-existent people on this land would probably stress you out further and you really have no need to be reminded of your failure.

Just when you are trying to decide what to do, you start feeling lightheaded, your body starts swaying as the exhaustion that you had tried so hard to ignore comes washing over you. He quickly reaches out when he notices this and catches you before you fall.

"You look exhausted. Have you had any rest after your journey here?" he asks you, while you shake your head.

"No, I was setting up camp for us to sleep before I came here—" you start to speak, only to feel parched all of a sudden, and you realise that your throat is dry. It has been a while since you have had any water or food, you realise, understanding why your body seems to be giving up.

"Why don't you sit down with me?" he offers, though he already begins guiding you to rest on top of one of the nearest boulders with a flat surface on top, just quite comfortable enough for you to sit on. He leaves you there for a moment, leaning down to find an empty seashell. You watch him as he takes his time cleaning it from any kind of debris, before he uses it to gather some water from the sparkling lake.

"Here you go, drink this," he offers you as he returns to join you. "The water here is clean and fresh, and you'll find that it has some healing component in it that may help you feel stronger."

You want to ask him more about the lake, something in your mind keeps telling you that you should, but your head feels too dizzy that you can barely think of anything to say. Taking the water from him, you drink it slowly, and you soon find that he was right. With each sip of the water, you feel more invigorated, as if there is a new life being breathed into you. Interestingly enough, there is no salty taste in the water. Not even the slightest of what seawater should taste like. The water is fresh, and while tasteless, it doesn't leave any weird aftertaste on your palate, just like the freshwater that you used to find in the mountains. Though it does fix your thirst while making you want more at the same time.

"That is lovely, thank you," you tell him once you are done, while your mind already starts to wonder if it would be possible to bring this water home. But then you stop the wishful thinking that you realise that no matter how much you try, it would be impossible for you to help the entire tribe or even the rest of your land with it.

Not unless you can take the entire lake home with you.

You laugh at yourself at this silly thought and look up to him with gratitude. "You're right, I feel better already," you tell him then before asking, "So—what's your story? How did you end up here?"

He smiles as he sits right next to you. "You want to hear my story? At least tell me your name first," he says while partly teasing you.

Chuckling to yourself, you immediately give him your name. "My name is _____. What's yours?"

Instead of answering you right away, he looks out towards the lake one more time, though his gaze seems a bit lonely and wistful when he speaks again. "I am mostly known with the name Tae," he says. "It's Taehyung."

"Taehyung," you murmur softly, letting his name roll on your tongue. There is an odd glint in his eyes when he hears your voice saying his name, as if hearing it pleases him most. Meanwhile, your body reacts oddly to it, a shudder runs through your body just as you are beginning to feel extremely tired. So tired that you can barely keep your eyes open, and you cannot stop it when you fall against his side. "I'm so tired."

"Close your eyes and rest for a minute. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

His gentle voice is the last thing you hear before you finally give in, and you are immediately taken deep into the darkness of your slumber, taken away where you feel no fear, no worries, and without the responsibility of bringing salvation back to your people weighing on your shoulders.