The Last Call | An Iz*One Journey

Chaewon's POV

"Gomawoyo, Chaewon-unnie." Nako reclined back into her seat after having a hearty lunch together with me. No longer feeling the pain she had over her abdomen, she had become fit as a fiddle, with the colour of her baby-like complexion returning to its former glory. Despite the arduous responsibility of attending to the wounds and needs of the various members, I tried my best to dedicate time to everyone - just to check on how they were doing mentally. It was easy to overlook members like Yuri, Yujin, Wonyoung and Nako, who had not required much medical assistance recently.

Okay maybe not Yuri, since she was always sharing company with Yena... in her bed.

Patting Nako's head of fluffy, chestnut-brown hair that smelled of peaches, I rustled her hair a little. She shook her head mirthfully in response, appreciating the time spent together. Taking her bowl from her petite hands, I offered to do the dishes - since she had been primarily in charge of cooking for all the members.

The main door swings wide open with a heart-shaking *WHAM*. If I had taken another step closer, that door might have been the end of me.

"WE FOUND IT!"

Wonyoung skipped into the house, carrying a box over her head as she announced her amazing discovery. She sets the wooden chest of arms' length on the low table in front of Nako. On her tail, Chaeyeon trailed indoors, closing the door behind her - carefully this time.

"Found what?"

"It's a radio!" Wonyoung replied in response to my question, dusting the remnants of dirt caked around the edges of the box onto the floor. Chaeyeon quickly scrubbed her hands clean at the sink, then could be seen concealing her anguish at the mess Wonyoung was making by sweeping the dirt on the floor. "We should be able to get some help now."

"Where did you find it?" "Was it buried?" "Why?" Nako and I couldn't help but bombard the two self-proclaimed archaeologists with our questions. The two explained about the birthday gift that the previous owners of the place - a couple - had planted for their daughter. For the past thirty minutes or so, the two had been busy searching for flowers - apparently the place where the riddle had led them to find the radio. It seemed that we are fortunate enough that they had forgotten to dig up the gift from the earth when they left.

"Does it work?" Nako received the little, silvery cuboid from Wonyoung, flipping it around to work out how to use it. It was a slim piece with a retractable antenna, several buttons on the short end that allowed the user to change frequencies, turn on and off - pretty basic for a radio/music player.

"Wrong kind of radio..." I sighed as I inspected the piece of gadget. The good thing about it was that it operated on batteries - which were so conveniently placed in the buried box. At the same time, this wasn't the radio that we needed. We needed a handset radio - something that can let us call for help. This was a portable radio, meant for listening to AM/FM frequency radio stations. "We can't communicate with anyone with this."

Wait. I paused. Maybe Gamer line might know how.

"Can't we do anything with it?" Chaeyeon questioned, tapping her feet anxiously as she suppressed a grimace.

"I'm not too sure. I'll have to check with the unnies," referring to Yena, Hyewon and Sakura. "Nonetheless. This was a really good find." I assured Wonyoung, clasping her shoulder further away from me tenderly, eliciting a smile from her sullen-looking expression. "You did well, guys." Nako added, giving Chaeyeon a side-hug, brushing her cheek against the elder girl's clothing affectionately, earning the coos of the girl.

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Things were looking bleak. Hyewon and Yena had no idea how we could utilise the radio to our advantage. Yena thought about hooking the radio up to a repeater, like a radio station - but that would only work if we ever came across one. That would mean exposing ourselves to the elements, possibly never being able to see that outcome in fruition.