When he opened his eyes, the air around him was dry; it was as if it hadn't rained yesterday, and the sun was scorching again. GoGo felt better. He quickly distanced himself from Yuri, who was sleeping beside him. He wanted to repay yesterday's kindness by looking for food before she woke up.
Minutes later, GoGo returned with his arms full, quickly lit a fire, and began cooking a fish he had caught by chance. Yuri was sleeping so deeply that GoGo considered checking if she was breathing. He slowly approached her, leaned in, and tried to listen for her breath.
Just then, Yuri opened her eyes and misunderstood the situation.
Yuri whispered, covering her mouth with her hand:
"What are you doing? You're not going to pay me back for yesterday's kindness with a kiss, are you?"
GoGo quickly backed away.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You'd normally be awake by now. Since you weren't waking up, I was hoping you were dead—I mean, checking if you were breathing, just to be sure!"
Yuri made a fist and swung it at GoGo.
"You…!"
GoGo caught the incoming punch with his hand. With a mocking smile, he said,
"Good thing you're not dead, then."
Yuri suddenly stood up, her hand on her hip.
"You might have died last night if I hadn't helped you. It probably would have been your last day."
GoGo motioned for Yuri to lean down. Yuri hesitated but did so anyway. GoGo, in a low and sincere voice, said, "Thank you."
Hearing this, Yuri couldn't hide her surprise.
"Did you just thank me?"
GoGo nodded.
"Yes. I even caught a fish for you to eat."
Yuri narrowed her eyes and looked at the fish.
"I can't believe my eyes. Your talents truly bring tears to my eyes. I hope I don't get poisoned."
GoGo immediately snatched the fish from the fire.
"Fine, don't eat it. I'll eat it. There's only one anyway, and I'm hungry."
Just as he was about to bring the fish to his mouth, Yuri sat down and grabbed the fish from his hand.
"This is for me. You said you made it for me, so I'll eat it. You eat the fruit," she said in a serious tone, then took a bite of the fish.
GoGo smiled, took a piece of fruit, and started watching Yuri.
After a brief silence, there was no sound left except for the waves crashing against the shore. The sky was clear, the air was warm, and for the first time, both of them felt a little peace inside.
But they both knew that this calm wouldn't last long.
FØXEN Corporation
At the same time, thousands of kilometers away, FØXEN's headquarters had turned into a battleground.
The building was surrounded by hundreds of angry fans and media reporters. The crowd was furious due to new leaks contradicting the company's "vacation break" explanation.
Cameras focused on the building's windows, and fans focused on the banners:
"WHERE IS GO-GO?"
"TELL THE TRUTH!"
Panic reigned in the meeting room.
Group members RAY, VEX, KIKO, and JENO were sitting with manager Hana in front of the huge screen.
On the screen, a blurry security camera footage leaked from FØXEN's yacht was playing: GoGo's torn shirt during the storm… and the girl in the white wedding dress beside him.
"Who leaked this?!" Vex shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "Damn it! Now it'll spread that GoGo is not just missing, he's part of a scandal!"
Kiko leaned forward and watched the video carefully.
"The quality is low, but the wedding dress is clear. The media is writing a story that Gogo either 'kidnapped' this girl and hid her on the boat or that they ran away together."
Vex angrily leaned back in his chair. "There you go, what did I tell you…"
Jeno quietly added:
"Fans are going crazy. Some are curious about the girl, and some are furious because they don't want to share Gogo."
Ray sat silently in the corner of the room. Behind his usual calm expression was exhaustion. Hana leaned next to him.
"Be honest with me," Ray said, his voice low. "Even if they don't find GoGo… can I manage the tour by myself?"
Hana's face tightened. Lowering her voice, she said, "Don't talk like that. You must take your medication regularly. Don't panic. Remember, only the two of us know this. If you stress this much—"
Before she could finish, the door flew open.
Ms. Park, the company owner, stormed in angrily.
"Why are you still here?! Give an explanation for that circus show outside! This is FØXEN, my most profitable project!"
Just then, one of Ms. Park's security team members rushed into the room and whispered something into her ear.
The anger on the woman's face instantly turned to shock.
"What?! Are you sure? Why are you telling me this now?!"
She thought for a moment, then spoke sharply to her assistant:
"Stall the people outside! Distract that crowd, no matter how you do it. Immediately!"
The man quickly left.
Ms. Park handed her phone to Hana and said:
"Alright, boys. I just learned something. We're all going to go and see."
In a short time, as they all left the building, the crowd outside grew even angrier.
"We want an explanation!" the fans screamed.
"It's been days, and GoGo is still nowhere!"
"Who is the girl in this camera footage? Is this a setup? Tell us the truth!"
Ms. Park ignored all of them as she got into her car.
Inside the car, Ray leaned against the window as if breathless. Hana immediately touched his arm.
"Ray, are you okay?"
"GoGo… must come back," Ray said, his voice tired.
Then he added, as if whispering: "I… I don't think I can make it."
Search and Rescue Center
The security guard who had whispered to Ms. Park was now the head of the company's private search unit.
He pointed his finger at a satellite image on the map table.
"We noticed something during the search," he said in a serious tone. "Initially, there were no islands visible on the route. However, we detected a small piece of land chosen from a great distance in the satellite images. We think it's an island."
The police chief standing next to him nodded.
"We can't see it from the air, it's too low. But we'll check by sea. This is our only hope."
"Yes," said the officer. "But it will take us at least two days to get there."
At that moment, Jeno noticed Ray sitting with his back against the wall.
Ray's hand was shaking, and his forehead was sweaty.
He approached him anxiously. "Ray, are you okay?"
Ray forced a smile. "I'm fine."
But Jeno's eyes were drawn to Ray's arm.
The veins around the tattoos were prominent; the skin was almost burning with a crimson light.
Just then, a new headline flashed on their phone screens:
BREAKING NEWS:
New developments in the missing idol GoGo scandal!
And why is FØXEN leader Ray's major, worsening illness, which has been hidden for months, being concealed?