A/N: Please forgive me for such a horribly long wait.

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‘I have this terrible feeling…’

Chansung mumbled to himself; the cold night air had seeped in through the thin cracks of the tent him and Junsu shared, his body shivering, painfully aching, as he sat still, staring at his lap that was covered with the burlap sack Min had handed over.  The day had been very eventful and now that night time had reached them and dinner had been eaten, calm had come over the group as they all slept, well except for Chansung of course; who was now crawling carefully from the warm and onto his feet.  He was careful not to awake the prince who slept easily, Chansung slipping on his shoes before moving to exit the tent.

The night air was restless, uneasy as Chansung straight himself out the best he could, the painful ache only seeming to hurt worse with the night.  He groaned quietly to himself, as his eyes closed and he took in a deep breath; the medicine Suzy had given to him early was wearing off and the pain was rearing its ugly head.  He definitely couldn’t deny that he was in horrible condition right now, but what else was he supposed to do?  Sitting back wasn’t an option for him, not with Junsu at his side, his protection was much more important to him than anything else.

The sound of leaves and branches silently cracking startled Chansung out of his thoughts, his knife quickly being drawn as he turned towards a clearing in the woods where the noise and come from.  The darkness that engulfed the area was of course empty to the eye, but upon Chansung’s eyes adjusting to the dim lighting and darkness, he could see the silhouette of a female emerging from it.  Suzy’s long, let down hair swished over her shoulders as she emerged, a not so pleasant look on her face as she rose a finger to her lips and gestured Chansung to quickly come over to her.  She must have sensed the unusual feeling about the night as well, she didn’t look comfortable at all, and her nerves must have been driving her insane with that power of hers.  She kept a hand on the nearest tree; Chansung approaching quietly, the female drawing him close and pressed to the trees as she guided him farther into the woods.

The feeling of uneasiness turned for the worst as they got deeper, his stomach churning and his pain worsening as him and Suzy finally came to a stop, both of them pressed hard again a large, bulky tree.  Suzy’s eyes stared out into a small clearing that stood not too far from them, the empty lot silently wavering in the wind as Chansung let his eyes linger upon it before Suzy slightly nudged him, her finger pointing to the shadowed trees in the distant.

Two figured stood perfectly still, their silhouette easy to see thanks to the light of the moon; one was definitely male, Chansung could definitely see that, and the other looked to be probably female, the body slimmer and shorter, but it couldn’t be sure…  Chansung averted his eyes to Suzy for a moment; she was staring at the figured intently, not bothering to look towards Chansung when she spoke,

‘When you are closer, the vibe isn’t as bad as you think, I think I’ve felt this vibe before though; it kind of reminds me of yours, Wooyoung’s and Min’s…’

She mumbled, Chansung raising an eye brow, but turned his attention back to the clearing.  The two were gone now; Chansung’s eyes went wide, but saw Suzy pointing in another direction, the two were moving silently among the trees, making sure not to put themselves out in the open, and the way they were headed, Chansung was sure it was in their direction.

‘Come on, let’s see if we can meet them half way and find out who these two are.  If it’s someone dangerous I want to take them out sooner than later before they reach the camp.’

Suzy instructed, waving Chansung to sneak along with her; Chansung nodded his head up and down, taking a step behind Suzy, about to follow.  But his insides churned again, and he felt the pain shoot through his body, almost like bolts of electricity stabbing through his gut.  He was sure he out for a moment, because Suzy was in his face the moment he could see again, at least he hadn’t tumbled to the ground; but Suzy was practically holding him up, all his weight leaning against her.

‘Your medicine has worn off, why didn’t you say something?’

She asked, her eye brows furrowing, her long dark hair shadowing her face and made her look rather anger; Chansung adjusted himself, standing up without her support.  She remained at his side, hands on her hips; she was not going to allow Chansung to go any further without an explanation, apparently the two figured weren’t that important to her.

‘I’m fine.’

Was all he answered as he shook it off and moved to go around her, Suzy grabbed his arm and yanked him back.  He had to admit, this girl had a grip, and the strength to go along with it; his face scrunching with pain as she anchored him in place.

‘That is bull Chansung and I am through fighting with you about it.  Nothing is wrong with you having to lay low for a little while and recover; you are not only hurting yourself, but this group!  Everyone is more than capable of holding their own and even protecting the prince.’

Suzy scolded, Chansung’s face turning to a scowl.

‘I don’t lay low, and I told you I’m fine.  This was my job to begin with, I’ll take care of the prince and get him safely to Busan easy, you guys are here to help me, and I don’t mind that, but don’t in so much as you mess with my objective, everyone here has their own goal and I’m not getting into any of them but my own.’

He spoke, Suzy frowning, she should have known he would have been this stubborn; shaking her head back and forth, she allowed Chansung to move around her, but she quickly turned around as well.

‘Well, you love him don’t you?’

Suzy asked her tone smooth; Chansung halting his motion, he didn’t turn around.  Suzy’s lip twitched,

‘It’s not invisible Chansung, I’ve seen how you treat him, and do you think you’ve been hiding all this pain from him?  He’s seen it and it’s not helping his illness right now knowing you are probably worse off than him.’

She pushed forward, knowing Junsu wasn’t the best route to be speaking up, but it was something she has seen and noticed, and Chansung needed more help right now than anything so it was all she really could do.

‘I’m just asking you to let us handle things for right now, let us take care of you…’

 Suzy encouraged, stepping closer to him, she could see Chansung’s body trembling; she frowned it was a little pitiful that he couldn’t ask for help like he should. Chansung’s fists clenched,

‘I don’t deserve the help.’

He mumbled, Suzy cocking an eyebrow, opening to say something, but instead was instantly pulled down by Chansung.  She held back a yelp as the sound of rustling came to her ears.  She placed a hand over as she moved closer to Chansung, who was carefully peaking out the brush he had pulled them behind.

The two figured from before stepped out from behind a few trees, one held a knife a few inches away, a male, defensive; glancing around carefully, a female, bound at the hands with her eyes covered, followed easily behind, sometimes being tugged by a rope that was connected to the man’s belt loop.  Chansung furrowed his eye brows, it was hard to see, but the man did seem oddly familiar…  Very familiar actually,

‘Chansung what are you doing?!’

Suzy asked frantically, catching Chansung by the wrist as he began to stand, he only shook her off though, glancing over his shoulder with a half smile, Suzy stared dumbfounded, Chansung was absolutely crazy!

‘No need to worry now, you were right.’

He spoke, Suzy tilting her head confused, right about what?

‘Junho!’

Chansung called, obviously catching the man off guard, his knife twitching in hand, seconds only passing as it flew from his hand and directly into the tree next to Chansung; the thief didn’t seem the least bit phased as Suzy gasped in horror.

‘You call that a throw Junho?  If I was someone dangerous you’d be ed man.’

Chansung grinned, Suzy quickly jumping to her feet, her eyes narrowed as she glanced across where Junho and the woman were standing, they didn’t seem to move at first; well until Junho was now right up on them, his eyes that were slanted and moon shaped, wide open as he gazed at Chansung up and down. Suzy backed away for a moment, he did have that okay vibe, and she remembered it, from when she had touched Min.  So this was that special person the other girl had been so hesitant about…  There was no denying this man was rather attractive, but that was beside the point right now; her gaze shifted some as she stared at the woman that was bound from eyes to hands, her body wrapped neatly in a cloth that was written all over in a language that Suzy couldn’t quite understand, but nothing about this woman seemed good, it was kind of scary.

‘Chansung is that really you?  Damn, you look like !’

Junho replied, sheathing his knife in a hidden compartment on the inside of the vest he wore, a hand reaching out to clasp Chansung’s and his hand tightly together, both men pulling each other into a warming hug.  Junho was the first to make a sour face though,

‘You are on fire.  I felt like my skin would melt off just touching you.’

Junho stated, taking his hand away as Chansung used his to scratch the back of his head,  Suzy placed her hands on her hips, she knew it wasn’t good that Junho was pointing this out, which meant he probably had a fever on top of being in whatever pain he was hiding at the moment. She cleared at that moment, both boys turning to her; even the tied woman’s ears seemed to perk with interest at her interruption.

‘What a lovely young lady you have at your side.  She’s not the prince though?’

Junho raised an eye brow, staring at her from head to toe before Chansung stepped in front of her, Suzy stumbled a little and made a face.

‘This is Suzy, a medic from the village we stopped by before heading this way.’

He replied, Junho nodding his head up and down, his arms crossing over his chest,

‘I do remember hearing about a medic’s village in these woods.’

Junho spoke, this time Chansung raising a brow as he tilted his head, gesturing towards the mysterious woman bound to Junho, the other man turned in surprise as if he had forgotten about the woman.

‘Oh , almost forgot I had her.’

Junho mumbled, unfolding his arms and reaching down to his belt loop; he gave it a swift tug and the girl came stumbling forward, her long dark hair tumbling over her shoulders, her skin much darker then Suzy had thought, her head raising and being held high like nothing had just happened when Junho brought her forward.

‘This is Hyorin…  She’s a witch.’

Junho stated plainly holding out a hand to show the girl off. Hyorin didn’t budge even with the introduction, her head now bowed, and her hair shadowing her face as she fidgeted where she stood.  Chansung felt something tight gripping at his arm now, Suzy’s nails digging into his skin.  He only glanced to the girl whose face was the most terrified he had ever seen the female.  A woman, who could pick him up and probably toss his half way across a field, was standing here, almost shaking.  Junho seemed to notice this too as he pushed Hyorin behind him, her body completely hidden behind him.

‘She’s harmless, a spell binds her mind and tongue, the only thing she can do is hear us, and she can’t even hear herself talking within her own mind…’

Junho stated, leaning sideways just a little, just long enough to get a look at Suzy again with a soft smile; his eyes crinkled to almost nothing as he did.  Normally this probably would have put her at ease, but Suzy felt the fear coursing through every nerve and she could only keep herself attached to Chansung, her body as close as she could get.  Chansung looked concerned, wanting to pet the girl, but thought better of it as Junho chuckled.

‘You were always the woman charmer.  Even Jia back at home whines about how none of the guys had any manners anymore after you left.’

Junho laughed; Chansung only smiling slightly, catching only a glimpse of Hyorin who stood motionless behind Junho.

‘Why is she with you?’

Chansung asked carefully, Junho continuing to softly smile; he had always had that smooth attitude when it came to dangerous things, one of the many reasons he was one of the best within’ One Day. Junho pointed to the girl with his thumb again, a hand resting on his hips.

‘A mission, bounty actually; the boss sent me all the way out here to capture and transfer her to Seoul.  Where the lovely bounty headquarters will give me a nice sum for this lovely lady~’

Junho beamed, hitting his chest playfully with his fist,

‘And sure as hell she was one tough witch, powerful one she is, but with a few binding scrolls I was given she’s now as quiet as an owl during the day.’

Junho laughed a little, but almost instantly stopped, his face growing a little weary when Chansung had gone quiet.

‘Which way is Seoul?’

Chansung asked now, his attitude more mellow now, Suzy still hesitant at his side, both of them looking at Junho with uneasy glares. Junho bit his lower lip; lifting his hand pointing in the direction that he was supposed to be going.  Chansung let out a loud sigh after that, running fingers through his hair as he hissed.  Junho stepped forward, but stopped when Chansung clutched at his side, bending forward a little.  Suzy instantly supported the man,

‘W-We should head back to camp.’

She implied, Chansung taking in a heavy breath, but managed to nod, lifting his head up to look at Junho.

‘We aren’t far from here.  Camp is where everyone is at, Wooyoung; Min.’

‘Min?’

Junho asked, his face perked with interest, Suzy watched him as he stepped forward eagerly, so it wasn’t just Min that had a thing for this man, but he seemed to return the interest.

‘You can come along if you would like.  Just make sure Hyorin stays behind you, Suzy’s obviously not at ease with the woman being around.’

Chansung spoke, managing to stand up straight, waving off Suzy politely as he turned to head back in the direction they had come; Suzy hesitating for a moment, looking at Junho who was again biting at his lower lip.  The moment he stepped forward, Suzy was on Chansung’s heels, the vibe from the witch not one that settled easily with Suzy.

--

‘You’re afraid of her…’

Chansung whispered into Suzy’s ear as they neared camp, the trees around them had become slightly lighter with the rise of the sun far in the distant.  Suzy had kept her eyes forward when Chansung had spoke to her, Junho and Hyorin’s footsteps not too far behind them, neither of them probably able to hear.

‘My parents…  Where killed by a witch.  That horrible accident I told you about, well the two of them were lead into a trap that a witch had set up just for fun.  It killed both of them instantly without a second thought…  Or so I was told when I was old enough.’

Suzy mumbled back, a cold chill running down her spine as she thought of her parents, helpless and afraid as they were caught and killed.  She lowered her head as Chansung placed a hand on top of her head again, it was crazy how comforting this was.  She couldn’t help but smile, stepping over a fallen tree and breaking into where the tents had been set up.

A fire was already going and Taecyeon and Wooyoung sat comfortably close to one another, a little strange, but neither Chansung nor Suzy thought anything of it as they came close.  Wooyoung was the first to lift his head from the fire, wide eyes opening instantly the moment Junho came to view.

‘Junho, my man,’

Wooyoung exclaimed, jumping from his seat next to Taecyeon to head over to greet the male while Suzy quickly scurried over to hers and Min’s tent where she would find her much needed supplies to help Chansung and probably wake Min up; of all people, she deserved to know the man she had been wondering if alive or dead or not was actually standing just outside.

‘Is June sleeping still?’

Chansung asked Taecyeon who nodded his head up and down,

‘I had to crawl in and check his temperature when I noticed you weren’t there.’

The knight yawned, his head bobbing a little; he was obviously still half awake half asleep. Chansung nodded his head, turning to his tent to head over to it while Junho and Wooyoung got reacquainted, and of course, explain why he had a witch on his heels.

‘A witch what the hell would the old man want to do with a witch?’

 Wooyoung asked, guiding Junho to sit by the fire, Hyorin being tugged to sit down with him as he put out his hands to get warm, Hyorin seemed to follow suit when she felt the fire, her rather simple, kind of skimpy outfit indicating that she probably was cold.  Wooyoung and Taecyeon couldn’t help but stare,

‘He doesn’t want anything to do with her; he just wants the money that comes out of it when I take her to Seoul.’

Junho replied, rubbing both his hands together, shivering a little as Wooyoung moved a little closer,

‘Hold up, you’re headed to Seoul also… You didn’t point out the way to Chansung… Did you?’

Wooyoung asked, in his lips nervously, Junho sighed,

‘I didn’t know you guys were headed that way!  I thought maybe Chansung would have found another route around to avoid it!’

Junho whined, Wooyoung running a hand over his face,

‘There is no way around!’

Wooyoung hissed, Junho frowning, Taecyeon rolling his eyes as the over dramatic situation, too tired to seem to care about the problem the two men were having with each other.

‘Well maybe he wanted to take the long way.’

Junho mumbled, Wooyoung shaking his head,

‘And he’s in no condition be taking long ways!  And neither is the prince.’

Wooyoung stated, Junho lifting his head, eyes going as wide as they could,

‘Is the prince injured too?  You guys are doing a horrible job.’

Junho announced, Taecyeon throwing him a heavy glare of anger, Junho shrugged it off, but Wooyoung threw a fist to the ground,

‘None of us would be like this if it wasn’t for some stupid guy blowing our airship straight out of the sky!’

He snorted, Taecyeon placing a hand over his shoulder,

‘We wouldn’t have our strongest link injured badly if he hadn’t gone rolling off the ship.’

Wooyoung huffed, Junho leaning forward some,

‘He rolled off an airship?!’

Junho asked bewildered by even just the thought, Wooyoung nodded,

‘It was close enough to the ground so the impact wasn’t enough to kill him, but he’s injured enough to where even a small fight would probably almost kill him.’

Wooyoung frowned, taking in a deep breath, resting an elbow on crossed legs and his face propped up on his hand.  He stared hard into the flame, Junho swallowed hard,

‘Is Min alright?’

He managed after a moment, Wooyoung looking in his direction for only a moment,

‘She’s fine, this big giant sitting next to me managed to protect her tiny body from any major damage, just a few scrapes and bruises is all.’

Wooyoung replied, Junho looking towards Taecyeon, lingering on his face where his eyes studied the large scar that covered it.  He wasn’t going to ask how he got it, and he wasn’t going to ask any more questions, not when the rustling of a nearby tent revealed to tiny bodies crawling out, one moving faster than the other.

‘Jeez Min, put some clothes on, it’s cold.’

Wooyoung announced loudly, Min standing in front of the fire in nothing more than a simple pair of undergarments and her usual t-shirt.  Fist clenched tightly at her side, her stance angry as she stared at Junho with a death glare.

Junho only managed to small smile before he cleared out quickly from where he sat, rocks being thrown in his direction, Hyorin being tugged hard to the ground, a few rocks just barely missing the woman as she was dragged along with Junho’s movements.

‘You bastard, the first time I hear from you in years and it has to be on accident!’

Min shouted, about to throw yet another rock, but was instantly stopped by Suzy, who flung the rocks in a different direction, forcing the girl to turn around and pushed her back towards the tent.

‘You can have a proper reunion once you get yourself decently dressed, until then, don’t come out of the tent.’

Suzy spoke firmly, Min obviously pouting, snorting as she was forced back inside the tent where it moved around rather crazy from that moment on.  Suzy rolled her eyes, turning back to the fire and lifting her bag that she had retrieved up just enough so that she could look into it with the light from the fire.  Pulling out a small bottle of cream she tossed it towards Taecyeon.

‘Apply that, your scars looking a bit scary right now, what the hell have you been doing?  Actually don’t tell me, just apply that cream so the bruise won’t look so bad. Is Junsu awake?  I need to give him some medicine…’

Suzy mumbled, avoiding all eye contact with Junho as she turned towards the tent, just as Junsu was crawling out,

‘Ah, Junsu, here you need to… What’s wrong?’

Suzy asked alarmed by the pale look and scared eyes Junsu was now giving her;

‘C-Chansung…  He collapsed when he was coming into the tent and isn’t waking up now…’