Please excuse the errors, grammar, and possibly wrong usage of words. I'm not a native English speaker.

Han Sanghyuk doesn't know what he was doing, lost in the middle of a dark and foggy forest. It was supposed to be a harmless and fun three-day field trip in an island with a name he forgot but there he was, alone and cold with only a thin gray shirt, jeans, and a pair of high-cut old denim Converse. Good thing he always brought a jungle knife with him that he kept in his shoes, in case of emergencies like this.

He clutched the small weapon tightly, his braveness slowly slipping away with every quiet tick of his sports watch against the deafening silence. He was usually the most courageous one, but the kind of stillness this woods emitted was suspicious. There should be at least insects or maybe an owl, but nothing. Just him with his pitiful knife.

He walked for yet another five minutes when he heard a woosh from behind him and with quick reflexes, he spun around and directed his knife at the creature in front of him with a thankfully steady right hand. The being was unidentifiable, just another shadow blending in the blackness that fell out of nowhere and it was eerie. Sanghyuk willed himself not to start shaking.

The two of them were frozen on their spots, Sanghyuk's eyes never leaving the other. He counted every seconds that passed, up to a hundred, until he felt another movement from his left and behind. He shuffled slowly, guard high, to where he could eye the three of them. The sky cleared and the moon shone, as if giving Sanghyuk an aid and he nearly whimpered at the sight.

They were wearing ebony robes that kept their whole visage a mystery, but their eyes, oh, their eyes, were yellow.

Their eyes were golden yellow and it was totally wrong-- this shouldn't be happening.

Sanghyuk didn't know where to point his knife now. To the one on his left? Front? Right? Or to himself, perhaps? His time to decide was cut off once he saw his oponent starting to move with terrifying speed that had him gasping a bit. The one on his right was the one to reach him first and he aimed at it, missing the first time when it dodged by moving sidewards but Sanghyuk was fast too, adrenaline had him moving like a puppet, and he shifted the knife to the side so he could impale it.

Impale he did, and the shadow-like thing screamed inhumanely, like a chorus of pained shouts altogether to form a scary song. Goosebumps rose on Sanghyuk's skin and he fought back a shiver once the one on his front was near him. He took a step to the side and with the right timing, he swung his arm across his chest before swinging it back with the strength from his hips, so it stabbed right to the second's neck. It released the same howl of pain as the first one that was currently sitting under a tree and nursing its injury, looking at him angrily. Sanghyuk kicked the second one so his knife was freed from its body that stumbled a few steps back, before he faced the last one, who stopped a few yards from him. It was observing him and Sanghyuk realized that only one of its eyes were gold. And that it refused to attack first.

Well, he refuse to make the first move, too. With that, he fled as fast as he could, even with stray branches and prominent roots that threatened to make him fall and surrender to his attacker. He ignored every scratches that marred his otherwise flawless skin and was swift on his feet with the smallest trip. He never looked back, it would be a big mistake and he knew it.

He doesn't know how long he had been running for his life, his joints and muscles throbbing with ache, when exhaustion finally bled in his whole body and he gave up the run. He turned and his eyes widened at what he saw.

The thing was not using its feet-- it was leaping, gliding in the air.

Sanghyuk inhaled audibly with his mouth from shock and weariness as his heart hammered wildly in his rib cage, like a captive wanting to be let out. This time, he did not manage to hold back his trembling that his knife, his only protection, nearly slipped from his clammy grip. He bit his lower lip harshly as his hold on his weapon tigthened. The shadow stopped its gliding and began leisurely walking in circles with Sanghyuk as the core, taunting him. The grass barely made a sound under its feet that Sanghyuk's panting was louder.

"What do you want from me?"

It stopped moving. Sanghyuk vaguely pondered about how its stillness was more frightening than if it was sauntering around him when it was moving again, this time charging towards him with a speed far superior than its companions.

Sanghyuk failed to follow.

Before he knew it, his knife was somewhere out of his reach and there were bony cold fingers on his neck as he lied helpless under his predator. Their eyes met and Sanghyuk found himself suddenly lax, hypnotized.

"I'm sorry." It whispered, not an ounce of apology in its voice but Sanghyuk doesn't care-- couldn't care-- before it was leaning down, inching nearer and nearer until their foreheads touched and Sanghyuk felt like his soul was being away as his blood boiled, feeling immense pain in every inch of his body and pleasemakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop--

"Wake up."

Sanghyuk heaved a breath as he opened his eyes, skimming around for anything unusual. His gaze met Lee Hongbin's, making his heart momentarily stop. The male was a seat apart from his right, eyes intense and directed at him. A few seconds passed before his dream-hazed mind sobered and Sanghyuk recalled that Hongbin had always looked ay him that way, like a specimen under a microscope, so Sanghyuk averted his eyes elsewhere. Nothing was out of place, he was fine, he was still in the classroom--

Lee Jaehwan's face was suddenly so close that they were practically exchanging breath. The action was intimate, and Sanghyuk couldn't help the tinge of pink that colored his cheeks but he couldn't pull away. Jaehwan grinned.

"Finally up?" The older asked, as if the answer was not apparent, before he finally straightened up his back. Sanghyuk swallowed his disappointment. "Sadly." He replied, though he was kind of relieved that his nightmare had ended. It felt so real, but he couldn't remember the details anymore already. Not that it mattered to him anyway, just that the terror lingered.

Jaehwan seemed to have already packed all of his things in his bag since the other was already holding it up for him. He gave Jaehwan a grateful and somewhat sheepish grin as he accepted it.

"So, have you already prepared for our field trip?" Jaehwan asked once they were outside the school towards the bus station.

Jaehwan was three years older than him yet they were classmates. He had been homeschooled all his life due to his poor health so naturally, the boy wanted to experience how it was to be in an actual school, even if his knowledge was far more advanced than everyone. Then it turned out that Sanghyuk's father was a close friend of Jaehwan's parents so they enrolled him at Sanghyuk's class, even asking the teacher to arrange them as seat mates. Though nobody asked him to, Sanghyuk took up the role of being Jaehwan's shield, always alert to any harm that may befall Jaehwan. And he was good at his job.

But Sanghyuk was so focused on protecting Jaehwan that he couldn't protect himself from falling for the oblivious male.

Sanghyuk sighed quietly, the air visible from his mouth due to the upcoming winter. He glanced at Jaehwan to make sure that he was eqiupped with the complete "anti-cold" attire before deciding to answer. "Yeah, how 'bout you?"

"Mother personally packed for me," Jaehwan chuckled. "It's probably full of unecessary things."

"Whether it was your mom who packed or you, it would still be full of unecessary things." Sanghyuk teased, earning a full laughter in return. The sound warmed his heart and he smiled at Jaehwan's side profile.

"Yeah, it probably will."

They reached their destination in no time, Jaehwan's driver already waiting across the bus stop (since Jaehwan insisted on walking Sanghyuk to the station everytime), and Sanghyuk found himself deflating a bit. Jaehwan faced him.

"See you tomorrow, Hyogi!"

The pet name cheered him up a tad and he watched as Jaehwan crossed the road before looking back at him to wave. He waved back while Jaehwan entered his black car and it sped away, leaving Sanghyuk feeling a little hallow at Jaehwan's absence. It was happening more than not lately, Sanghyuk getting attatched to Jaehwan more and more each day. It was like Jaehwan was the gravity and Sanghyuk had no choice but to gravitate towards him. The pull Jaehwan had on him was getting stronger and it scared him.

His bus arrived shortly after a minute and he rode it with heavy heart and a thousand questions of why.

Two days passed by in a blur and soon enough, Sanghyuk was groggily rubbing his eyes as he stood in line with his other classmates who were just as sleepy as him. The sun has yet to rise, his wrist watch read 4 in the morning. Jaehwan was just in front of him when he should be further ahead and it was made possible by his parents, of course. The said male was the only one who seemed to be awake out of all of them, but he looked cautious and in deep thought, his brows permanently knitted. Sanghyuk wanted to inquire if he has a problem or if he was feeling unwell but Jaehwan also had a do not disturb aura around him so Sanghyuk just settled in peeking at him once in a while as he struggled to keep awake.

After twenty minutes, their ride finally arrived and they climbed in one by one. Jaehwan went in before him and took the seat beside the window. Sanghyuk automatically sat beside him and now that he was sitting, the his eyes involuntarily dropped. His head found comfort on Jaehwan's shoulder and he allowed himself to sleep for the whole duration of their travel.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter