"What did you say?" Sehun asked Joohyun once the teacher left. To be honest, he had been looking forward to being paired with Areum and was feeling a little bit irritated at Joohyun's meddling. 

The said girl gave him a bright smile. "I asked to switch partners! You're the only one I feel comfortable with, so the teacher agreed." Sehun frowned. 

"Joohyun, you can't just stick to me all the time. You need to branch out too, make new friends," he admonished. She pouted. 

"I know," she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "But for today, you're still my partner! So quite whining and accept it, okay?" She poked him in the ribs playfully before heading off to fill her water bottle. Unfortunately, the uneasiness he'd felt when the teacher announced the change stayed with him. He glanced over to where Eunhyuk and Areum were standing. 

Min Eunhyuk. He didn't have the reputation of the most trustworthy person in the school and was a bit of a shady character in their year level - definitely not the kind of person Sehun trusted to spend time alone with Areum in the woods for a few hours. Worry twisted his insides as he regarded the pair in frustration. The sleazy smirk Eunhyuk wore didn't ease his worries either, and instead, made him want to grab the boy by his collar and threaten him to stay away from Areum. 

Shaking his head, he tore his gaze away. There was nothing he could do now - all he could do was hope Eunhyuk was smart enough not to touch Areum. Otherwise, Sehun would have to have a bit of a reckoning with the boy. 

And it certainly wouldn't be pretty. 

*****************

"So, Kim Areum, right?" Eunhyuk spoke for the first time since they'd set off for their task. "You're engaged to Oh Sehun?"

"I don't see why that has anything to do with this," was Areum's clipped reply. She wanted to get this over and done with. Eunhyuk grinned. 

"Just asking," he held up his hands. "You guys aren't on good terms right now, are you?"

She frowned, turning around to look at him. "I'm sorry, does my relationship with Sehun have anything to do with you or what we're doing right now? Because otherwise I'd like to keep it out of the conversation."

He laughed. "Wow, the rumours are true. You are feisty. Pretty hot, if you ask me," he smirked and Areum rolled her eyes, turning away and ignoring him. "Pity you're engaged to that little , Sehun."

Areum frowned, resisting the urge to pummel this guy in the face. "What's your problem with Sehun?"

"Nothing. Only that everyone thinks he's so great," he sneered. "With his parents' money and influence, he acts like he's better than the rest of us. He's nothing but a fake and a pathetic loser if you ask me."

"Sounds like you're jealous if you ask me," Areum replied offhandedly, raising an eyebrow. 

"Me? Jealous of that little er? No way," he scoffed, glaring at her. "You don't know what you're talking about."

She shrugged, uncaring. "Why are you defending him anyway? Aren't you two fighting?" He challenged. 

"I'm not defending him, merely stating an opinion," she explained passively. "Besides, just because we're fighting doesn't mean I'll allow you to insult my boyfriend."

He smirked. "So you two are dating for real?"

"And if we are?" she plucked an eyebrow. "What does it have to do with you?"

"Nothing, nothing," he replied carelessly. "My dad was talking about your engagement. He doesn't want it to happen, you know? The Oh's are his business rivals too and with the merger, it'll be even harder to compete."

Areum frowned, eyeing him warily. The ominous feeling from previously returned. "I see."

Silence filled the air as they completed the rest of the task. To her annoyance, Eunhyuk barely contributed, meaning they'd only finished finding all five examples by the time the sun was setting. After they'd finished taking an image of the last object, a delicate, blood-red flower known as the red dahlia, Areum straightened, camera in her hand. Her bag and Eunhyuk's were lying nearby. The flower had been located at the edge of the trail, where the mountain gave way to a steep hill covered with trees and underbrush. 

"Alright, now let's get back before it gets dark," she huffed, only to receive no response. She frowned, looking around in confusion, only to see Eunhyuk was nowhere in sight. "Eunhyuk?"

Her eyebrows furrowed in worry, the uneasiness increasing at the deafening silence that filled the air. She began tracing back along the trail, eyes scanning the area. "Eunh-"

Suddenly, a voice spoke. "I'm sorry. I was paid to do this." She blinked, barely spotting a flash of blue that was Eunhyuk's parka before a pair of hands shoved into her side, sending her tumbling off the edge of the trail and down the steep hill before she had time to even scream.

****Sehun's POV****

Sehun shifted anxiously, watching the trail where the pairs had been returning after completing their task, one by one. Almost all the groups had gotten back now, except for two. It was getting dark and standing him, Joohyun yawned, shivering. "Sehun, let's go help cook dinner," she whined. "It's cold just standing here!"

"You go back first," he muttered distractedly, eyes still riveted to the trail. "I'm going to stay here."

"What are you even waiting for?" Joohyun grumbled. "I'm sure she's... fine." She hesitated.

Sehun frowned, finally turning to glance at her. "What?"

Joohyun blinked and smiled, yet Sehun noticed it didn't reach her eyes. She suddenly seemed nervous. "It's obvious you're waiting for Areum. I'm sure she's fine! She's a strong girl."

Eyebrows still furrowed, Sehun turned away again, only to spot two figures walking down the trail. He perked up excitedly, only to frown when he realised it wasn't Areum, but Taehyung and Hoseok. 

"You idiot, Hoseok! I can't believe you dropped out camera!" Taehyung huffed in frustration, ruffling his hair. "All that work for nothing!"

"It's not my fault the strap was faulty! How was I supposed to tell?" The other boy defended, shrugging, before spotting Sehun. "Oh, hey Sehun! What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, Sehun turned to Taehyung. "Taehyung, did you happen to see Areum or Eunhyuk on your way back?" he asked, voice low with worry. The said boy blinked. 

"What? No?" His eyebrows furrowed at Sehun's tense posture. "Why? Have they not gotten back yet?"

Sehun whirled around, cursing quietly. 'This girl... always getting into trouble...'

"Sehun, I'm sure she's fine!" Joohyun called out, sounding irritated. "You're overreacting."

"The sun's almost completely down, Joohyun! We were told to all come back at least half an hour ago and yet I don't see either of them," he snapped. She looked taken aback at his tone and he forced himself to calm down. "Areum isn't the kind of person to purposely ignore curfews or be late."

"We were only late because we lost our camera," Taehyung added, looking equally as worried. "It's also about to rain. Look."

The sky was darkening with several heavy looking clouds. Minseok suddenly approached. "Has the last group not yet returned?"

Sehun shook his head, biting his lip. Taeyeon and Kai ran up to them. "Where's Areum? Is she still not back?" Taeyeon asked worriedly. Taehyung gave a small shake of his head. Taeyeon frowned, glancing at her watch and then back up to the trail. Her eyes widened. "Over there!"

Everyone whirled around to see a lone figure running down the trail towards them. Sehun's stomach dropped when he realised it was Eunhyuk, and that Areum was nowhere to be seen. A sudden anger sparked within him as he approached the other boy, grabbing his collar and lifting him up, ignoring the others' exclamations at his violent move. 

"Where is she?!" He demanded, tightening his grip. "Where the is she!?"

Eunhyuk's eyes glinted before he hid it behind a mask of frantic concern. "I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?" Minseok approached, gently pulling Sehun away from the boy. The blonde's posture was tense as Kai placed a hand on his shoulder, telling him to calm down. "Tell us what happened."

Eunhyuk bent over, gasping, as if he'd run a long distance. Everyone waited impatiently. "We were walking back after we found the last flower," he panted. "I was in front by a bit after she began lagging behind. I thought she was just a bit tired so I didn't think about it too much. Then, when I turned around to ask her if she wanted a break, she'd disappeared. I spent at least half an hour shouting, trying to find her, but she was nowhere to be seen! She must have tripped or something and fallen off the trail, I don't know. Afterwards, I came running back here because I didn't know what else to do."

"You ing bastard, how did you not hear if she fell!?" It was Taehyung who snarled and grabbed Eunhyuk's collar this time, eyes narrowed in fury. "Are you deaf or are you stupid!?"

"I swear, I don't know! I didn't hear anything!" Eunhyuk tried raising his hands before Taehyung pushed him away, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Sehun's heart pounded, a sudden fear overtaking his limbs. Blood r