For the next few hours into the night, I sat around a bunch of townsfolk who drank numerous amounts of alcohol from very large glass containers and talk to each other merrily and loudly. The people sitting at my particular table were Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Ryeowook, who was sitting next to me only drinking a little.

“Ryeowook, I heard you made a lot of money today.” Donghae grinned at him.

Ryeowook nodded. “Yeah, all because of Jill.”

I blushed and looked away. “Oh come on, it couldn’t all be because of me, right?”

“It makes sense. When I heard that you were washing people’s hair, I wanted to get in line immediately.” Donghae chuckled and lifted his glass. “Cheers to your business!”

They touched glasses and took sips. Eunhyuk was unusually quiet and not drinking much. He only looked at his glass in silence. After a few seconds, Ryeowook leaned a bit closer to me.

“Are you feeling better now?” He asked quietly.

I gave him a quick glanced and nodded.

“Are you okay?” Donghae looked at me curiously.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled, somewhat lying. I was still feeling anxious about the upcoming day of the town festival, but being with the guys at the moment was making me feel less anxious.

Donghae glanced at Eunhyuk and gave him a look. “Are you okay?”

Eunhyuk hummed softly and didn’t look up from his glass.

“Hey, why are you so moody? You’ve been like this since yesterday.”

“I said I’m fine.” Eunhyuk sighed a little and stood up. “I’m going to the outhouse.” He left our table and exited the saloon.

“Ugh that guy…” Donghae sighed and shook his head, watching the saloon doors swing back and forth. “Sometimes he’s just so moody for no reason.”

I chuckled a little. “You act like he’s your boyfriend.”

Donghae laughed out loud and looked at me. “A lot of people mistake us for a couple.”

“It’s cute to see how close you two act.”

“That’s common between Korean guys.” Ryeowook said.

“Is it the same as American guys?” Donghae asked me.

We talked about cultural differences until our table was visited by the sheriff.

“’Evening, everyone.” Siwon tipped his hat and smiled politely.

We all greeted him politely.

“Jill, nice to see you this evening. You look quite different. Did you do something with your hair?” Siwon looked me up and down.

I blushed and glanced at Ryeowook. “Actually yes.”

“This must be the work of our talented barber.” Siwon chuckled. “I take it he’s a good guy to work with as well?”

“Yes, absolutely.” I nodded and smiled.

“Good. Glad to hear it.” He excused himself to visit the bar where Heechul was busy serving drinks.

Donghae looked toward the saloon doors. “Is that guy still not back yet? He better not have gone home.” He looked at the doors for a moment, then stood up. “I’m gonna go look for him. See you two later.” He waved and left the table.

Ryeowook and I watched him go then slowly looked at each other.

“Want to get some fresh air?” He asked me.

“Sure.” I responded.

We stood outside in front of the exit of the town where the wide open spaces of the countryside was painted like a picture for us to see. The cloudless summer sky was full of white stars.

“…if you don’t mind me asking, why did you run away before?” Ryeowook asked, keeping his gaze up at the sky.

I sighed a little and lowered my head. “I have a…secret I have to keep.”

“Why?”

“…I just don’t want the town to find out about it. I might get in trouble.”

“What kind of secret is it?”

“A bad one.” I said quietly. “One that involves…townspeople.”

Ryeowook suddenly turned to me. “Townspeople who have been banished?”

I looked at him wide-eyed. “Y-yes.”

“You met Leeteuk and Shindong?”

My heart jumped into my throat hearing those names. “Y-yeah.”

“Oh my god…how did they…” Ryeowook scanned the horizon of the barren countryside and pulled me away from the exit.

“What are you—“

“We have to get out of the open area.” He pulled me into the barber shop office and closed the door quickly. After making sure the door was securely locked, he ran his hand through his hair and turned to me. “So they talked to you.”

“Yeah.” I said quietly.

“What did they say?”

I slowly explained the details of Leeteuk’s scheme and getting Heechul alone with me during the festival in four days so Leeteuk and Shindong can get their revenge.

Ryeowook leaned against the door a little, taking all of my information in. “That bastard…I don’t even know how he could have gotten back here across so many miles of countryside…and now he’s pulled you into his plan like this…”

I looked down and said nothing.

“…did you talk to Heechul already?”

“Yeah. He agreed to meet me alone on that day.”

Ryeowook was quiet for a moment, then straightened up. “We have to tell the sheriff about this. This is simply too important to keep a secret.”

“No, we can’t!” I said quickly. “If Leeteuk found out I told you about his plan…h-he said I’d be in a lot of pain.”

“How would he find out?”

“He knows where I live. He…broke into my house last night.” I clamped my eyes shut, trying not to cry.

Ryeowook stared at me wide-eyed. “What!? Did he hurt you?” He took a step forward.

“N-no, but he said I would get hurt if any of his plan went wrong.” I quickly ran the back of my hand over my nostrils.

“Oh my god…” Ryeowook shook his head a little. “…I had no idea you were in this kind of situation.”

I let out a loud sigh and crossed my arms. “I don’t know what to do…I’m just going along with his plan because I don’t want to get hurt.”

“…you won’t get hurt by him. I won’t let it happen. Okay?”

I glanced at him and sniffed a little. “Thanks…but how are you going to do that?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’ll do my very best.” Ryeowook nodded and held out his hand.

I looked at it a bit confused. He was holding it out like he was expecting a handshake. I slowly reached my hand out to shake his, but he held onto my hand securely.

“Don’t worry about him anymore, okay? It’s not good for your health. And if he or Shindong ever show up in your home again, let me know.”

I looked at him for a few seconds, then nodded slowly.

“I have very sharp shears, so they will make a good weapon.” He chuckled a little.

Taken by surprise, I laughed a little. “Well that’s good.”

He agreed and we were both fell quiet, our hands still intertwined. I slowly looked down at our hands and smiled very lightly. Then he cleared his throat a little and pulled away. “We should get back to the saloon. Our drinks are aging.” He turned around and unlocked the office door.

I slowly lowered my hand and rubbed my thumb against the side of my pointer finger. “I don’t drink, remember?”

“Then what is the clear liquid in your glass?”

“Water.”

We both laughed as we walked back into the saloon.