[CONTENTID1]BLAME IT ON THE MOON[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]A SELECTION OF CHOCOLATE BOYS[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Her heart pounded against her ribcage. Her lungs screamed for oxygen. She was running for her life. There was a large black dog chasing her. She did not dare inspect how close its snarling jaws were from its face. She was afraid that if she did, then it would snap her face off her head. She heard its petrifying howl from behind.

Suzy kept running down an endless path of darkness. She did not remember when the wolf started pursuing her, but it felt like an eternity. Her energy was depleting fast and she had no reassurance for safety.

She gasped when she noticed a figure at the front. Her eyes widened when she saw three familiar men block the path in front of her. One was the nefarious Himchan, dressed in the blue suit that he wore when she first met him. Next to him was Jaejoong in a white t-shirt and military trousers, and beside him was the notorious G-Dragon, as surreal as her worst nightmares.

Each man was pointing a gun at her, faces etched with pejorative glares. Suzy gasped and her feet came to a halt. She was trapped in the middle. The wolf was right at her tail but the men threatened to eliminate her if she dared take a step closer. It was no use.

Just as things could not get worse, blinding white light poured over her head, casting her away into a spotlight. She blinked through the luminous rays, sockets burned and her vision blurred. Something plopped down next to her.

“Oh pizza hut. Oh pizza hut. Kentucky FRIED CHICKEN!”

The object was a , headless chicken who seemed ready to be displayed next to a feast. It stood on it’s hind legs, wings placed over it’s pelvic area. Then, it pulled out a bizarre, spherical pistol from thin air and pointed it straight at her.

Suzy screamed at the top of her lungs. Her cries echoed throughout the invading darkness. She kicked at the chicken. It tumbled away from her before being swallowed by the darkness. Suzy let out a sigh of relief but her happiness was short lived.

More fried chickens began falling like rain. This time, they all had Onew’s head over their bodies. The Onew-chicken chimeras marched towards her, with their strange guns ready for aim. So this was her end...to be erased to dust by fried chickens who bore Onew’s head...

Suzy shut her eyes closed.

Before the bullet reached her head, everything converged before her and she opened her eyes Sweat trickled down her forehead. The crisp, night air surrounded her and she remembered that she remained outside her tent due to Nana’s rambunctious snoring.

However, fear gripped her and rendered her immobile. Right over her was Taekwoon, with his hands around her neck. Suzy’s breath hitched . His eyes were empty, devoid of life. She could barely recognise him and her heart warned her that something was off.

Suzy opened and shrieked. Suddenly, Taekwoon was tackled to the side. She realised someone grapple with the bodyguard on the floor. The newcomer punched his jaw to knock him out.

The Sweety gang ran out of their tents. Krystal helped Suzy back to her feet. Jongin appeared as grumpy as ever while Halla and Jungkook rubbed their rheumy eyes, mouths curled into a grim line. Her saviour bowed as a greeting, and once the moonlight pierced through him, she recognised his greasy smile.

Nam Woohyun had re-entered her zone once again. Suzy frowned at the aspect. She hoped that he would not use this occasion against her. She would be obliged to agree with dating him if he brought it up. If she said no, that would be impudent of her.

She did not have much time to dwell because someone jostled past them and leaned over Taekwoon. Lee Jieun stunned everyone as she shook Taekwoon’s immobile body, eyes brewing with tears. Joonmyun appeared to be the most astonished from the rest. His hands clenched into fists and shook by his side.

Woohyun rubbed the back of his neck. “Greetings. Just another wandering soul passing through.”

“Oh shut up,” Chanyeol scorned.

No one was interested in them. Suzy stepped forward, not knowing why her insides twisted anxiously at the sight of Jieun calling out her bodyguard’s name.

“Jieun, what’s going on?”

Jieun froze as she stared at them all. She was always the most vulnerable from all of Suzy’s friends, and the girl knew why. Lee Jieun had been an orphan and her dark past was something that spurred Suzy’s maternal kindness.

“Do you know him?” Krystal asked, raising a brow.

“Well duh,” added Baekhyun. “He’s Suzy’s bodyguard.”

The girl shot him a dirty glare. “I know that but Jieun, do you know know him? Have you seen him before he became Suzy’s bodyguard?”

Jieun paused and sniffed. Her large eyes glimmered when she glanced at them. Suzy tried to recall any moments where the girl would watch her bodyguard but there was nothing. She always believed that Jieun was in love with Joonmyun.

What was happening? Why was Jieun worried for Taekwoon? The girl was more surreptitious when it came to revelations. It is no surprise that she hid the fact that she cared for the bodyguard from them.

“Jieun?” Joonmyun said, in a shaky voice. Silence fell upon them.

Crickets stirruped. Woohyun cracked his knuckles, and the others flinched. The only people who were still sound asleep were Jaejoong, Luhan and Nana.

Finally, Jieun wiped away the silver stains on her cheeks. “We were good childhood friends, back in the orphanage. I don’t think he remembers me anymore.”

“Wh-what? Why didn’t you tell us before?” Suzy asked. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

“You never asked,” the girl countered. “Taekwoon...he still has something wrong with him.”

“We can see that,” Chanyeol snarled. His ears were pink from the cold. Baekhyun stepped on his foot when he was not looking.

“What should we do?” Suzy rubbed her chin. She was concerned for Taekwoon’s mental state.

Woohyun raised a hand and everyone glanced at him. “May I?”

“Sure.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, since his problem stems from the orphanage, it might be worthwhile to take him there.”

The idea was prompting. Suzy chewed on her bottom lip, wondering if Taekwoon would refuse. He always listened to her with a polite subservience. There was Jieun too. Maybe if he recalled the girl from his childhood, then he might journey back to the orphanage and learn why he suffered a drastic mental state.

In an instant, a second frozen in time, a howl echoed in the night. There was gnashing of teeth and yellow eyes that glowed in the dark. A hungry growl and padded feet chased the friends out into the night. The world turned in a series of fragmented moments. Suzy ran through twigs and branches, her legs wobbled with fatigue.

She heard nothing but the frenetic beat of her heart, as it seared a vile pain inside her chest. There was a demon chasing her. She lost her friends in the race. They were separate in the wilderness, lost in the timorous darkness that granted no sanctuary.

Her footing tripped over a thick root. She tumbled across the floor, tearing her jacket in thickets of thorns along the way. Suzy winced as she blinked through a haze. A blanket of illusions settled over her. She peered at the paucity of moonlight that slipped through dense, navy leaves.

There was a large, black dog hovering over her. Its saliva dribbled through its snout, dropping thickly onto the paleness of her cheek. Suzy would have vomited from the stench off its mouth had she not been frozen in fear.

There was something oddly familiar about the dog’s eyes. She had seen this animal before. The first time was when she threw Heechul’s orange-flavoured, cat-shaped cookies down her balconies. The second time was when Yifan left her stranded inside the woods right before the Fresher’s Ball.

Suzy had little time to dwell over this matter. The dog was aside, and Woohyun grabbed her hand, forcing her onto her feet. His white shirt and jeans glimmered like an aureole around him.

“Come on.” He tugged at her hand and they pelted across the forest.

The wolf raced after them.

“Its after us,” Suzy cried.

“I know.” Woohyun glanced up. “We will have to climb the trees.”

She stared at the tall trunks. Never once in her life did she attempt to wriggle her way up a tree. She was never afraid of heights but the darkness did not offer her any comfort. Her thoughts effervesced when Woohyun picked her up bridal style and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Flying,” he said, but she could not protest as he ran up the trunk and took a jump.

She screamed, certain that they would fall but Woohyun caught onto a branch in the nick of time. He hung over with her dangling next to him. His face was purple and Suzy realised that she gripped him too tight. She hurriedly loosened her hold around his neck, unable to push away his blackjack scent from inebriating her.

Woohyun swung over the branch until his feet landed on top. He proceeded to jump and swing until they were higher up amidst a plethora of leaves. Suzy let go and leaned back against the sturdy trunk. Far below, she saw recognised the golden hue of the dog’s eyes.

Her saviour dropped next to her, a sheen of perspiration on his face. They glanced at each other in the semi-darkness and his lips stretched into a gentle smile. She did not know why it caused her heart to skip a beat.

Suzy frowned. “What’re you doing here?”

Woohyun’s eye widened. “I was...I was becoming one with Mother Nature.”

She tasted the lie before she heard. “Or were you stalking