"I warned you, Appa."
"I know. I am sorry." 
"You told me yourself, people are not always who they seem to be."
 

Suho 

At breakfast the next day, I glimpsed Chaerin tying a lethal-looking cutlass to her belt from the corner of my eye. I turned sharply to make sure it was really her, and accidentally spilled some of the Bloodberry juice on my dark brown robe. Chaerin slunk into the woods and out of my sight. No one else seemed to have noticed her. Oddly enough, the juice did not stain the robe at all.

We victims were all required to eat every meal together at the long table in the clearing. There was nothing in sight, save for a single hut - the hut where the four victims were staying - and this long table in the clearing. The rest of the village must be deeper inside the forest. Either that, or the rest of these people slept on trees. Or in holes, like the ones Chaerin liked to dig.

I would've asked, but asking questions did no good here. We victims just stuck to drinking the Bloodberry juice. Nothing else stayed in our stomachs, not even the wild fruits that Eric had attempted to identify. They looked more dangerous than the juice did and we were not about to take any chances.

"Once you get used to drinking that, your body won't crave anything else," Eric had told me. I wonder how he knew that. Perhaps it was that mysterious book Suho gave him. I don't know about him, but my body was definitely craving ramyun.

I gulped down that nasty juice as fast as I could. Speaking of Suho, I hadn't seen him since he told me that he needed to talk to me. I was nervous, but I wanted to know what he could tell me.

"Hyunjeong." Suho appeared out of nowhere, motioning for me to join him. Speak of the devil.
It really was as if he was reading our thoughts.

My thoughts briefly flashed back to Luhan. Perhaps he could read my thoughts, too. That must have been why he left so abruptly last night before Suho had narrated his legend. Was there something in my thoughts that had offended him? I found myself blushing a little as I remembered that all I had been thinking of was how attractive Luhan was.

"Hyunjeong." Namjoo nudged me. I realized that I had frozen in place and that Suho was studying me carefully. His eyes suddenly shifted slightly away from me and into the forest. I peeked at whatever he was staring at from the corner of my eye. I thought I saw something silver dart through the trees. It might have been a squirrel. But that thing was too big to be a squirrel; it only looked tiny because it was so far away. It could just as easily have been a bear.

Suho noticed where I was looking. He growled softly under his breath, distorting his otherwise angelic voice. At least I thought he did.

"Uh, you wanted to talk to me," My voice came out stronger than I had expected. He nodded curtly.

With that, I turned my back on the rest of the victims seated at the table and accompanied Suho into the forest.

I wanted to break the awkward silence between us, but I couldn't think of anything to say. This surprised me, because I always have something or the other to say. Especially when I'm nervous, like right now.
Suho hadn't attempted to start the conversation either.

I'd really lost track of the time. I didn't know if it had been a few minutes or a few hours since I'd set out on this walk with Chief Suho.

Eventually he gave in and sighed, "Shim Hyunjeong, why are you here?"

"I'm writing a report on the forest resources and tribal settlements of Neukyong. For our sustainable cultures column. I work for a magazine."

"Yes, that is what I was told. But do you really expect me to believe that? Neukyong is not a place that people from the Mainland know of." He was right. "I might also add that you have not written a word since you have arrived here. A writer for a magazine must write, must she not?" Oops.

"Suho... sir. It's the truth. My boss sent me here to write. I just haven't had the time." Or the material, since you burned my notebooks and pens. And my phone. And my clothes.

"You may call me Suho." He smiled a little to himself. He must have guessed what I had been thinking.

I however had no clue as to what was going on in his head. We could not have come here without his permission. He could have easily refused to let us come. Why, then, was he treating me with such suspicion?

"And who is your boss?" He cocked his head to the side, as if listening for something.

I felt self-concious as I thought of Siwon and his handsome face. Why am I thinking of that jerk? This is no time to get all hot and bothered about anybody.
Not Siwon. Not even Suho. And definitely not Luhan. Damn it!

Suho gave me a small but rather irritated smile when he noticed how flustered I was getting. "Who is your boss?" He repeated. 
Hadn't he figured out already by reading my mind or something?

"Choi Siwon. But I guess you knew that already."

Suho frowned a little. "No, I did not know that." 
His authoritative composure was slowly fading away. It made him seem like an innocent college boy. I couldn't help thinking that it was a good look for him.

"But what makes you think that?" He asked me.

"Oh, um, because you are good-looking, and you look so young, especially when you smile." I faltered.

His eyes widened in surprise, finally showing an actual human emotion. His smile, tinged with embarrassment, was wider than I had ever seen it before.
"Ah, thank you... But I was only wondering how this Choi Siwon has heard of Neukyong."

I clenched my teeth, scolding myself for being so clueless. "I was wondering that myself. I have no idea. But you know that I don't know, don't you?"

"And how would I know these things, Shim Hyunjeong, if you don't tell me?" I think he actually smirked. Was he trying to piss me off by playing dumb?

"You know exactly what I mean. You can read minds."

"No." Suho laughed aloud at that. "I just make good guesses, and I listen to the wind." Such nonsense.

"Shim Hyunjeong," he called out to me.

"What?" I realized that I had stopped walking. He had already walked several steps ahead of me. I quickly caught up with him.

"Why do you say my full name like that?" I asked him.

"It is a pretty name. And it is your name. How else would I c