“Castaway Hearts”

I stand on the beach, looking at the lush green forest right before me. I can feel the excitement bubbling in my chest as I prepare to take part in the first part of this intense game: I'm part of a team of four castaways, pitted against another team of four...

The rules of this game are simple: we need to survive by finding our food and gathering resources and trying to achieve a better living standard than the other team. Every three days, there's a special challenge, too: a contest that can help both teams gather more resources...

This sounds like a shortcut, but the challenges aren't easy, from what the organizers told us. To gain an advantage over the competition, we must learn to cooperate well within our team and leverage everyone's skills to the group's advantage... The one with the most wins will win the whole game.

I think that it's quite fun to participate in something like this, especially when you're a boring corporate rat, just like Ethan and me...

We arrived here just this morning. The sun was rising as our boat moored on the island's sandy coastline. We had been preparing for this day for weeks, and finally, we managed to arrive...

After introducing each other to our other teammates, our team's guardian led us to the checkpoint where we could meet the other organizers. Just like the other castaway team, we were given an old wooden chest with a map, compass, and a few basic tools inside. This made me happy because we weren't allowed to take anything aside from hygiene products and some spare clothes.

After repeating the rules of the game (no violence, no cheating, and no playing with wild animals!), Ethan and I finally got some time to get to know the people on our team: Thaddeus and Naoko. After playing a short game that helped us break the ice, we were given our first task: finding a source of water in the jungle... And that's exactly what I'm trying to do right now.

Running through the dense undergrowth, I can feel my heart pounding as I try to stay ahead of the rival players. I hear their footsteps behind me, and I know that they're getting closer... Still, I'm determined to win this challenge of finding water because it means getting extra resources, and I want our team to start off as nicely as it's only possible; after all, we don't know what awaits us later...

I push myself harder, leaping over obstacles and ducking under branches. After spotting a clearing up ahead, I make a break for it, hoping that the others will lose my trail...

I enter the clearing and look around, searching for any advantage that could give me an edge. Even though finding water is my main task, this doesn't mean that I can't do other things as I go... I see a fallen tree and quickly gather some of its twigs...

As I straighten up, I hear a noise. I spin around, expecting to find a wild animal, but instead, I see a man standing there. My heart pounds from fear, but then I realize that it's just Ethan, my best friend.

Or... Something more.

It's complicated.

“Chill out, bro!” He calls with a sexy grin on his face, and I can't help but laugh at my own paranoia. “No violence allowed, remember?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Did you manage to find a source of water?”

“No, not yet. What about you?”

“Nothing...”

“But at least you've got something to feed to the fire,” he jokingly points out, gesturing at the twigs in my arms.

“That's not for the fire. It's to help mark the territory of our camp,” I explain.

“Oh, right... Well, let's hurry. If we can find water first, we can use the rest of the time to gather more wood and get ahead of others,” Ethan suggests, and I agree with him.

We resume our search, and as we do, I can't help but think of everything that happened between us in the past half a year... We have a lot of history, and actually, right now, I'm not really sure where we stand. Before our arrival here, he asked me not to talk about it here, as he still needed time, and I agreed; but the curiosity about what he feels for me seems to eat me up alive...

I feel like we've been running through the forest for an eternity when we finally stumble upon a stream. We are both relieved to find it, but our relief quickly turns to dread when we realize that our opponents are already there...

“What do we do now?!” I whisper.

“Hmm... Nobody said that two teams can't draw water from one stream, right?” Ethan mutters.

“Right! Great idea,” I praise him right away.

He always knows what to do, unlike me. I'm constantly second-guessing myself and questioning my decisions, but he never wavers. He takes life in stride and seems to have a plan for everything... I admire him for his confidence and decisiveness, but at the same time, it makes me feel inadequate at times. He's always so sure of himself while I'm still trying to figure most things out... I believe, though, I've already changed a lot under his influence. We have been best friends for years now, ever since we met in college. And we've been through a lot together, from late-night cramming sessions for exams to dealing with weird people's drama... We've always had each other's backs, and no matter what life throws at us, we are always there to support each other. I'm so grateful to have such a strong friendship with him, although I'd lie if I said that I don't want something more... Because I definitely do. And especially recently, the two of us got quite close...

Since we've both been working in the same department for the past three years, recently, our boss sent us away on a business trip to Japan.