Chapter 8

[JN]

JN quickly went back to his seat when they heard (y/n)'s footsteps. Bright immediately put the phone back into his pocket and sat properly.

Tae stood up and sat beside him like nothing happened. He's the only one who's not in panic, probably because he didn't understand what those messages meant.

(y/n) came walking. She looks fresh, JN thought. She stopped and raised her brow on them. She's probably thinking why they look like they saw a ghost.

JN cough, telling the Thais not to look at her like that.

"So yeah, um... we're thinking on how to escape. " He lied.

"Right." Win nodded his head.

"But before anything else, Bright and Win must continue touring us first," JN said and the Thais agreed. He made a silent eye communication with Bright.

It went like this:

"Continue the tour first"

Bright raised his brow, "What? No!"

JN glared, "Go. Or else she'll notice that phone inside your pocket"

Bright rolled his eyes, "Fine."

Wow, they can already understand each other with only their eyes even though they just met a couple of minutes ago.

They proceeded to the kitchen.

JN saw cabinets hanging on the wall, a sink, window over the sink, four water containers and the refrigerator beside the wooden door (that happens to be the exit and the entrance of this house).

"So here is where the foods are kept. '' Bright opened the wooden hanging cabinet and JN saw the can goods inside.

Bright took the can goods out. "They-- um I mean, the kidnapper or kidnappers choose the right foods. Canned goods last long. We can save these, for months or a year." He said as he took it all out. He, then, next opened the second hanging cabinet and pulled out an uncooked pasta and two small boxes of mugs, four in each box.

Bright walked to the small refrigerator and opened it. JN saw three ice cream containers, a small box of square cheese and a 스파게티 (Spaghetti) sauce. He thought, maybe that's for the uncooked pasta. He took the first ice cream container. JN expected to see ice cream inside but unfortunately, he saw two uncooked fish. Who puts fish in an ice cream container? He doesn't know what kind of fish those are. The Thai's nose wrinkled because of the fishy smell. Even JN covered his nose, he never likes fish and he abhor it's smell.

He closed the ice cream container and put it back inside the refrigerator. Bright took out the second ice cream container. This time, JN wishes to see ice cream, not fish or anything. The environment's humid so he's hoping to eat something cold to refresh.

He and Tae aren't used to hot temperatures because the country where they came from, which is Korea, is a cold place. JN now understands why it was so hot in here, it's because they were in the Philippines. Despite having an air-conditioned room where they stay, it was still hot. And how did JN know they are in the Philippines? Well, the unknown number whose sending them messages a while ago starts with +63. Which is the number code of the Philippines.

When Bright opened the ice cream container, a smile formed on JN's lips.

ICE CREAM!

"벌써 먹어도 될까요? 여긴 너무 덥다 (Can we eat that already? It's so hot in here)," Tae said and fanned himself with his hand.

"He's asking if we can eat the ice cream because it's so hot here. Please bear with us. We're not used to hot temperatures." He explained.

"Yeah. It's so hot in here. Can we eat that, P'Bright?" Win said to Bright in English. The Thai just shrugged and gave the container to JN.

"I'll find some spoons and glasses" He said and opened the wooden cabinet.

He found spoons and forks inside a disposable container. He took five spoons and gave one to each of them. He opened a hanging cabinet and took the two small boxes of mugs. He gave one mug to each of them.

Tae was the first to get an ice cream, followed by them. Until (y/n)'s the only one left who hasn't got an ice cream.

JN saw Win smiled at (y/n) and told her to get her ice cream. Now JN's querying why this guy was so kind to the girl. They had just met a while ago. This guy's probably up to something, he thought.

He put the container on the sink and put water in it to avoid termites. They started eating the ice cream.

"맛있는(yummy)!" Tae yells while eating. JN smiled and shook his head.

He tried not to laugh when he saw Tae's cheeks have a lot of ice cream smudges. He shook his head. Tae eats like a kid, he thought.

When they were done, they put their mugs on the sink. "I'll wash the dishes" (y/n) volunteered.

JN's eyes narrowed again when he saw Win smiling at her while she walked to the sink. Don't tell me this guy is infatuated with the teenager, he thought.

An idea popped in his mind so he waved the guys to follow him.

They went back to the living room and sat on the sofa. "We must explore the house. Since we can't escape from this island as the kidnapper told us not to or else, we are all dead. For now, let us enjoy and find something to ease our boredom while on this island. And while waiting for help" He whispered to them and the Thais nodded their heads, except for Tae who didn't understand what he said.

"Win and Bright, do we have a washing machine and a dryer?" he asked out of the blue. The Thai guys nodded.

"Good, at least we can wash and dry our clothes. Okay, you guys will find a way to contact someone through the phone."

Their brows furrowed. "But the unknown number told us not to contact or call someone, right?" Win said.

"Well, at least try..?"

"Okay. But, the girl might see us." Win looked at (y/n).

"In our room. Go, and try to contact someone you know. But, first, look for hidden cameras, they said they are watching us. But I have a hunch that they can only watch us here in the living room. But still, look out for cameras" he instructed. "And if there's no signal, go outside and try" The Thais nodded.

They entered the room and left JN and Tae in the living room. He turned to Tae who was curious about what's happening. And because (y/n)'s a Filipino and cannot understand Korean, he can freely tell Tae about the phone and his camera.

"So, my camera is inside my luggage bag?" Tae asked excitedly, JN nodded.

Tae ran to his luggage bag and opened it with a smile on his face.

JN put his hand on his chin and began to wonder. Why did the kidnappers tell them to protect the girl? Why did they intentionally leave a mobile phone in Bright's pocket? Why left Tae's camera in his luggage for a purpose? And what do they mean by 'for a purpose'?

Those messages are giving JN a headache.

"JN, 미소 (Smile)!" Tae suddenly told him and took a picture. At least, he was able to smile before Tae took a shot.

Tae ran to him and showed the picture. He was smiling with a peace sign and behind him is (y/n) staring at the camera with her brows furrowed. JN's eyes widened.

"A camera?" (y/n) asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, um, Tae suddenly found it in his luggage bag..." He lied.

"You're done washing the dishes…?" He asked her.

"Yeah…" she answered. "Um, I need to go back to my room. I feel sleepy," JN nodded his head. She, then, started walking towards her room.

When she's gone, JN could finally breathe. He thanked himself for immediately thinking of a lie or else, they'll see his dead body lying on the floor.

The Thais came walking. "Any luck?" JN asked, but they shook their heads.

"The kidnappers are wise, the phone has no load and we couldn't contact anyone we know," Bright said and they all sighed.

"What did he say?" Tae asked him and JN interpreted it for him.

"Oh! By the way, we saw a second door in our room that opens to a small room. We saw some stuff that will save us from boredom." Win said while smiling.

"Can we see it?" JN asked and Win nodded his head excitedly.

They went to their room and Win led them to a wooden door. How come we didn't notice it earlier?, JN thought.

Win opened the door and they found stuffs that will really help them from not getting bored. They found two tennis rackets, three ping pong balls kept inside a small transparent bag, two badminton rackets with two shuttlecocks and a basketball and a volleyball on the floor. Also, they saw board games in the wooden bookshelf. Or should he say gameshelf?

"We can play these to keep us busy, but tomorrow, Bright and I will be roaming the entire island to check if there are wild animals. Maybe we even see residents that are living on this island or travelers that might help us out," JN told them like he was the leader of their group.

"(y/n), Win, and Tae will stay here. Maybe you guys want to play those sports games tomorrow while we check the whole island. However, we need to sleep early tonight. We need to leave early in the morning tomorrow,"

They changed their clothes in the bathroom, and took their luggage bags. After, all of them went back to their room and JN was the last to come in so it's his responsibility to close the light.

"Goodnight, everyone. We'll have a long day tomorrow." He said and turned the lights off.

-

Padfayeper.