[CONTENTID1] Sweeter Than You[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A Selection of Chocolate-Boys[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Suzy met Nana in the toilets, and both of them wasted no time to sneak out through the windows. The latter was jittering with excitement and she kept praising Sungyeol to the point where it made Suzy sick. They hopped across the roof; the cold night air sent chilling shivers deep into their bones. Suzy wrapped her arms around herself. Somewhere in the depths of her conscience, a resilient voice warned her to turn back. She pushed the voice to the very back of her mind.

It was too late to revert now, not when Baekhyun and Myungsoo waited for them on the roof. The boys found a hidden door that led to a forsaken attic, and a spiralling flight of dusty stairs. Their footsteps creaked against the squeaky steps as they raced their way down. There was a point where Nana almost slipped, and she would have become a mangled mess had Baekhyun not caught her wrist in time.

Suzy was amazed at how well the boys knew the campus, especially Myungsoo. He traced his steps as if the map was present in the lines of his palm.

"Do you think Taekwoon knows that I'm taking too long?" Suzy asked.

"Possibly," answered Myungsoo, his shoulders slinging into a silky shrug. "He's a bodyguard. He'll be alert."

"We gotta hurry then," quipped Baekhyun."That dude gives me goosebumps. I'll be afraid to know what he'd do if he finds us."

Nana let out a derisive snort. "Like, he wouldn't do anything. Have you seen his face? I bet he can't even hurt a fly."

"Chances are he'll think we were kidnapping you," said Myungsoo, ignoring Nana completely. The girl didn't notice.

"Then let's just hope he wouldn't find us," Suzy reassured.

At the of end of the stairs, they encountered an insalubrious hallway lined with fossils of extinct mammals. Suzy stared in awe at one of a mammoth, unable to comprehend how a gigantic beast once roamed the terrains of the earth.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" Baekhyun chuckled, jerking a thumb at the huge skeleton. "One of the many reasons why I chose to study zoology."

"You study zoology?" Suzy gaped at him.

"Must be boring," Nana sniggered, a palm over .

Baekhyun's grin vanished. "Nu-uh!"

Myungsoo turned to them with an indignant glare evident on his face. "Stop wasting time! "

"Yessir!"

Suzy noticed how empty the halls were. There wasn't a single soul in sight, apart from themselves. The cryptic ambiance made the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she remembered the night where a malicious being chased her. It was slightly comforting that she had company this time around. They ambled out of the hall, only to be greeted by large wooden doors.

Myungsoo clutched one of the brass knobs and pulled a door open with strenuous effort. It creaked and moaned as it parted an exit for them.

"Nice work," said Baekhyun while Myungsoo rolled his arms for circulation.

"Thanks for the help," the apathetic boy muttered sardonically.

"I know I'm special, heheh," his friend teased.

Nana and Suzy shared a bemused expression.

The cold night air whipped at their clothes as they stepped outside. Suzy regretted not bringing a coat. It was sunny earlier in the day so she deemed it better without one. The stillness of the night breathed through them with nothing but the gentle hoots of birds and the chirrups of crickets breaking the placid silence. Stars illuminated the dark sky above them.

Sungyeol and the rest of Suzy's friends were waiting in the parking lounge. The enthusiastic boy began waving his arm and jumping in his spot when he caught sight of them. Krystal beamed at them while Jieun seemed out rightly irritated. Beside her, Joonmyun was busy stargazing.

Blood rushed to Suzy's head until she heard it drum against her ears. thinned dry. The sensation of a wrong decision left her with moral qualms. Her parent's angry faces appeared in the back of her mind; their eyes scintillated with threat. She gulped, and tried to ignore the guilt that washed over her.

"You made it!" Sungyeol cheered when they finally caught up.

"Barely," mumbled Myungsoo. He edged closer to his Toyota, and pulled the door open. "Right, three should take a ride with Joonmyun."

"Suzy can stay with us, what do you say, Suzy? Is that okay?" Sungyeol asked. "You, Krystal and Jieun come with me and Myungsoo. The rest can go with Joonmyun."

Suzy blinked with surprise. She gaped at the chatterbox in consternation. Was he serious? She sensed that two people were unhappy with his decision; one was Baekhyun because he only had one girl to ogle at, and the other was Nana, because Sungyeol never mentioned her by name.

Nana fumed beside Suzy. Her nostrils flared and her lips curled into a taut line. Suzy was afraid her friend would explode from such ire, so she opted for a quick solution.

"Actually, let Nana go with you. I need to do some work in the car so I can't really chat-"

"But-" Sungyeol interrupted, clearly disappointed.

"Jieun, can you come with me?" Suzy finished.

"Sure thing." Jieun sent her a surreptitious grin while Nana's anger effervesced and her mood was replaced with newfound happiness. Krystal grinned coyly.

"But-- but Suzy, Myungsoo is a genius!" Sungyeol exclaimed, waving his arms up and down. "And-- and he could help you with your work. Come on, it should be fun-- I mean-- it should be more useful for you. Don't you need help?"

Suzy shook her head.

"Can we get going now?" Myungsoo sighed. He tapped a foot on the ground with a salient air of impatience.

"Yeah, let's go!" Krystal took the passenger seat while Sungyeol frowned at Suzy like a sad puppy. He had no choice but to sit in the back seat with Nana.

Joonmyun blushed suddenly. He fumbled with his car keys as the two friends walked towards his Ferrari. Suzy's eyes widened at the sight of the car. She never thought Joonmyun was very rich. He seemed well off but how did he drive around in a Ferrari? Baekhyun's excited snigger disturbed her thoughts. The short boy was almost dancing as he waited for them to enter the car.

"Baekhyun, sit next to me," Joonmyun ordered him.

The former pouted. "But hyung-"

"None of that now. Myungsoo's already left. Let's go."

Suzy was glad for Joonmyun's quick wit. She didn't want his y friend sitting next to her and Jieun.

-

Over half an hour passed while Joonmyun drove past the helter-skelter streets of Seoul and into the wilderness of the countryside. The further they left the heart of the city, the more agitated Suzy became inside. She kept chewing on her lip until Jieun pointed it out.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked.

"Nothing," lied Suzy.

Everything was wrong. She worried for Taekwoon and what her father would do to him if he found out. She was afraid to know what her parents would do if they discovered that she entered a nightclub without their permission. Taekwoon had tried to ring her but the batteries on her phone ran out. Her heart pounded against her chest and she prayed that no one else heard it cry.

"Really?" Jieun raised a doubtful brow.

She had stashed her glasses away, choosing to wear contacts instead. She was very pretty without her glasses and Suzy saw Joonmyun steal glances at her friend from the front mirror.

"Yes..."

Jieun sighed in frustration but didn't pester her any further. Joonmyun parked the car outside a warehouse. Psychedelic lights flashed from its windows and music throbbed against the walls. The impervious laughter of youth escaped from within. Again, the dreadful remorse took over Suzy's senses.

"Loosen up," Baekhyun told her. "You're not gonna enjoy yourself if you keep making that face."

"Huh? What face?"

"That a