Junhyung’s POV

It has been two days but there is still no sign of Haneul. Everyone else did not seem to be bothered with it but we were worried sick. I felt guilty, no doubt. She stomped off because of me and now she has disappeared again.

“Ask someone.” Doojoon nudged me.

“Huh?” I look at him.

“Ask someone where is she.” He said.

“Ask who? As in.. I don’t know.” I mumbled, brushing my teeth.

“You were the one who angered her.” Kikwang said.

I splashed water on my face and walked out.

Kikwang was right. I was the one who angered her, and out of us six, I am the one who wants to know about her whereabouts the most.

“Excuse me.” I tapped the shoulder of the girl who sat beside me during our flight.

“Oh~ Yea?” She looked at me.

“Erm…” I mumbled.

“Yea?” She asked again.

“By any chance…” I said.

She waited patiently for me to finish my sentence.

“By any chance you know where Ha.. I mean.. Skye.. is?” I asked.

“Skye? Oh.. She left already.” She said, matter of factly.

“Eh?” I looked at her in surprised.

“Yea, she left two days ago.” She said.

“Left? As in.. She went back to Seoul?” I asked.

“No.” She said.

Why can’t she tell me everything at once instead of breaking up her sentence like this!?

“Then?” I asked.

“She went out to convince other villagers around the area to come. You know, these people don’t come here on their own accord. They need a great deal of convincing and they usually turn violent, because they don’t understand.” She said.

I must have looked as thou my soul left my body because she was shaking me.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“Yea yea. She.. She went alone?” I asked.

“Of course not! We don’t do stuff alone here. She went with a few other people, they should be back soon thou. Maybe tonight, or tomorrow morning, if nothing goes wrong.” She said.

“How can they get a girl to do such dangerous stuff?” I mumbled, but she must have heard me.

“Everyone here is equal. And besides, out of ten times Skye went, she succeeds eight.” She smiled.

“I see.. Thanks.” I mumbled.

“I may not have the rights to say this, but… I really don’t think Skye deserves to be treated the way you treat her.” She said.

I looked at her. She looked scared, as thou worried I would hit her or snap at her.

“I know.” I said, smiling slightly.

“I’m going to get back to work. See you at lunch.” She said before walking off.

As we worked, there were kids running around, trying to get us to play with them. Although the place here is nowhere near the word luxurious, for some reason, we all felt more peaceful here. We had fun with the kids while working at the same time. It was tough, physical labor under the hot sun, but our hearts felt good.

“Aigoo so tired~” Yoseob slumped onto the seat.

“Of course. You were running around as thou you were one of the kids.” Doojoon said, throwing a cold towel to him.

“We were playing catching. Of course we had to run. Or else what? Stand there like a block like Junhyungie?” Yoseob said.

“Yah!” I snapped at him, but he stuck out his tongue.

“Here. Drink up~” One of the volunteers said as he handed us cups of water.

We thanked him and gulped down the drink.

“WAH!!” Doojoon made a loud sound, causing the volunteer to laugh.

“You can have the whole bottle.” He said, putting a 1.5 liter bottle of water in front of Doojoon.

“Thank you for your hard work. It’s been only three days and almost half of that part is done. Without you guys we would still be slowly building every day.” He said.

“We should thank you for not finding us troublesome.” Hyunseung said.

“What? Troublesome? No way!” He laughed.

We chatted about everything as we took our break.

“Oh! Is that Skye? She’s back already. That’s pretty fast.” He said, waving frantically.

I quickly turn to where he was waving. Indeed, Haneul was back. She looked tired but still kept the smile on her face.

“Hi~” She said tiredly, giving the guy a hi-five. She looked passed me as thou I was air and nodded to the other boys.

“How was it?” He asked.

She smiled slightly and shook her head.

“Aww it’s alright! They are a tough bunch.” He said, patting her head.

“They’re getting more violent.” She said.

Did she just say violent?

“They do.” He said.

“I’m going to sleep.” She mumbled as she walked off.

Doojoon kicked my leg. I looked at him blankly.

“What are you waiting for?” He mouthed.

I pushed myself up and ran after her.

“HANEUL!!” I shouted.

She stopped and turned to face me, blinking tiredly.

“What?” She said coldly.

“Are you okay?” I asked quietly.

“No.” She mumbled, walking off.

“Haneul ah~” I caught her arm.

“What?” She said, frowning.

She was tired and in a bad mood.

“I’m sorry.” I said, looking down.

“Whatever~” She pushed my hand away and headed into her hut.

I went back to work, feeling really upset. I wasn’t expecting to see her during dinner, but it wasn’t Haneul’s style to dwell on stuff. She was humming to herself as she set out the table for dinner.

“Let me help you.” I said, taking the plates from her.

She looked at me and then pushed passed me, putting the plates onto the table herself.

I tried to help her with stuff, but she treated me like air. She acknowledged the presence of everyone except me. The boys tried to help me by mentioning me every time they say something, but she just ignored the fact my name was mentioned.

Haneul’s POV

It’s been a week since we came. How time flies. Junhyung’s 360 degrees attitude change is confusing me. A few days ago he was being such a pain in the , and then when I came back, he started apologizing and being so nice all over again. He never complained about the meals anymore and surprisingly even finishes whatever he is given. He never snaps at me or gives mindless comments at whatever I say.

Is he sick or has he gone mad? Why has he suddenly decided to be the nice Junhyung again? But whatever it is, I don’t see why I should change my attitude towards him just because he has decides to be an angel. What if he suddenly wake up and decide that he should be the devil again?

I was giving out sweets to the kids when Doojoon ran towards me.

“Haneul ah~” He shook my arm impatiently, trying to drag me away.

“What? Yah! Wait..” I pushed his hand away slightly.

I handed the sweets to the kids and told them to share it among themselves before turning back to Doojoon.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Do you have painkillers?” He asked, panting.

“Why? Are you sick?” I asked.

“It’s not me.” He said.

“Then who?” I asked.

“Junhyung?” I answered myself.

He nodded.

“So weak.” I commented, but in fact, I was worried inside.

“It’s not that.” Doojoon said.

“Then?” I asked.

“You know~” He mumbled.

“Oh.” I nodded.

“But he seemed okay this morning.” I said as I searched for painkillers.

“He wasn’t. He was just enduring it.” He said.

“Stupid. Where is he now?” I mumbled as I crushed the tablets.

“They stopped him from working and took him back to the hut to rest.” He said.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Painkillers, right?” I asked, mixing it with a little glucose.

“Ya, but why are you crushing it?” He asked.

“It’s easier to drink than swallow the tablet.” I said, handing him the cup.

“Tell that idiot glucose is as precious as rice here. If he refuses to drink, I’ll feed him to the lions.” I said.

Doojoon laughed and nodded.

“Why not you take it to him? He’ll definitely the cup clean.” He said.

“I have work to do, but make sure he finishes it yea.  Let me know if he’s in pain.” I said, patting his back as I walked off.

I busied myself around the area before heading over to the medical tent to help out. But before I went there, my legs decided to take charge and I found myself heading towards Beast’s hut. I opened the door gently and peeked inside. I saw Junhyung curled up on the mattress, hugging onto his stomach, clutching the Daisy Duck in his hands as he slept.

I went to my hut and came back with a pillow. I lifted his head gently, trying my best not to wake him up.

“Ughhh~” He stirred in his sleep.

“Shhh~” I hushed him, patting his chest as I slipped the pillow under his head.

“Mmm..” He mumbled, falling back into sleep.

I squat beside him, watching him sleep. His side jaws stuck out distinctly. His once slightly chubby cheeks were gone. He wasn’t even wearing the tee shirt, the shirt was just hanging on him to cover his bare body. His hands were so boney and his veins stood out.

“Why are you so thin?” I asked softly, comparing his wrist to mine.

I was obviously bigger.

I sighed and headed out.

I continued with whatever I had to do at the medical tent, occasionally talking to the volunteers there as well as play with the kids. I was disrupted by a commotion that was going on at the other end of the medical tent. The person was yelling in a language I couldn’t understand. Everyone froze and stood up, trying to understand what exactly was wrong. The man creating the commotion looked pretty familiar.

“Skye, we have trouble.” One of the volunteers said as he ran towards me.

“What?” I asked, putting down my stuff.

“Remember what happened the other day?” He said hurriedly.

I bit my lips and thought hard.

“Damn.” I cursed.

“The village head is here and fuming.” He said.

I was about to step forward when he caught my arm.

“Don’t go. They don’t like talking to women. Please.” He pleaded.

“He wants to see the in-charge, right? I understand that sentence. I was in-charge of the trip that day.” I said, pushing pass him.

The village head saw me. He must have recognized me because he started stomping towards me. He pointed at me and yelled really loudly in their language. Although I have been here for quite a while, I still have a hard time mastering their language, but I understood some words and could pretty much make out what he was saying.

Many people crowd around, but none dared to say anything. The volunteers who tried to pull him away got pushed off. He was yelling at me, telling me how I disobeyed and disrespected him by giving the sick woman a jab and medicine when he clearly said no. He also said that as a woman, I shouldn’t even be here. I should be at home taking care of my husband instead. I grabbed a local and pulled him over.

“Tell him if not for the medicine and jab, the woman would have been dead by now.” I said.

“He said you were being a busybody.” The local translated.

“.” I mumbled.

“Erm.. I’m not going to translate that.” He said.

“I know. Tell him to stop being so narrow-minded. His so called belief would only kill him and the people in his village sooner or later.” I said.

The local looked at me and shook his head.

“What?” I asked back.

“You can’t tell him something like that. He’ll kill you.” He hissed.

“YAH!!” I pointed at the village head.

He seemed taken aback, so did those around.

One of the locals pushed my hand down and shook his head at me.

“You! You listen, I know you can understand slight English. I’m telling you, the people in your village are dying. We’re here to help you, not ruin you. We aren’t going to force you to step away from your belief, but the thing is, as you believe, you have to think for your people! You cannot be so selfish!” I yelled at him.

He grabbed my shirt and screamed into my face a string of words I really couldn’t make out.

“STOP BEING SO NARROW-MINDED FOR GOODNESS! THIS ISN’T HOW A LEADER SHOULD BE! THAT WOMAN WAS DYING! COULDN’T YOU TELL!? ARE YOU TOO OLD THAT YOU’RE BECOMING BLIND!?” I shouted. I didn’t mean to say the last sentence.

He let go of me and mumbled something under his breath. For that moment, I thought he understood my message, but I was wrong when I saw him head over to the bin and grab a handful of syringe. People tried to grab him but everything was happening so quickly.

He called me a as he headed towards me. As thou it was a zombie that was heading towards me, I froze. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the needles to stab into me. My eyes shot open when I felt a pair of arms embrace me, pulling me in.

I looked up and saw Junhyung hugging me protectively. He fell forward slightly, but did not crash his weight onto me. We were so close I could feel his heart beating wildly. When did he come? I thought he was asleep?

“Are you alright!?” He asked, shaking me slightly.

I nodded, still in shock over what happened just now.

“Thank God.” He smiled as he panted.

The village head was pulled away by the other volunteers and suddenly a lot of people crowded us. The rest of Beast were all in shock as well. I gasped when I saw the needles that were supposed to be stabbed into me stabbed on his upper back, near his shoulder. Because of the strength used, he was bleeding as thou he got stabbed by knives.

He was helped to one of the beds, lying on his stomach.

“I’m going to pull the needles out. It’s going to hurt.” One of the volunteers said.

Junhyung smiled and nodded.

The rest of Beast gathered around, rubbing Junhyung’s lower back to calm him. But for some reason, I feel that we were more nervous than Junhyung was. Maybe the pain took over his senses.

“Why the hell did you do it!?” I yelled at him, trying to distract him from the pain.

“Because… owww…” Tears escaped his eyes.

Naturally, I grabbed his hand and his arm, trying to ease his pain although I doubt it would help.

“Because I said before… I would.. Shield you..” He panted.

“Stupid! Very, very stupid!” I scolded, slapping his head.

He pouted at me, eyes watering with tears. I looked away, not wanting him to see my tears.

“Skye!” I heard someone shout my name.

I looked up, trying to find the source of the voice. I saw a man running towards me. I didn’t like the tone of his voice. It told me that something was very wrong.

“Skye, the needles…” He said.

“What?” I asked.

Junhyung tried to turn over to look at the man, but I stopped him in fear that he would hurt himself further. Beast turn to me, and then back at the man.

“They were from the ‘to test’ bin.” He said.

My heart started beating really quickly. I could feel my hands tremble.

“Test.. For what?” I asked.

Junhyung and I exchanged glances. His smile wasn’t there anymore. He too looked pretty freaked out.

“HIV.” The man said softly.

My body fell backwards, lucky for the head rest, or else I would be on the floor.

“Are you.. Sure..?” I asked.

He showed me the needles. There were special indications on it so we would identify it easily and dispose it immediately. I closed my eyes, burying my face in my palms.

“Haneul ah~” Someone shook me.

I opened my eyes. Doojoon looked calm, but I know he isn’t. Hyunseung was spacing out. Yoseob was crying. Kikwang was still in shock. Dongwoon was looking at me. Junhyung was smiling, but behind his smile, I know he was scared too.

“Someone, dress his wounds, then bring him to the car.” I said as I jumped off the bed and ran out of the tent.

“Haneul ah!” I heard Junhyung call for me, but I ignored him.

I didn’t want him to see me cry. I didn’t want to cry either, but I couldn’t help it. There were five needles in total, the possibility is indeed high. What if… I don’t know how am I going to live. He may be annoying now, but he is still the Junhyung I love very dearly. I hate him for snapping at me all the time, but I don’t want him sick, or… dead. 

***
I spent the whole day writing this~ I was just all around the place. Sorry~ Hee..
Remember what he said to Haneul in the Chapter 5? He kept to his promise.. Aww~
And someone said they should all die so as to have an ending? Hmm hmm? Really?

I fell in love with using gifs to describe his feelings. I'm going to do it anyway even if you find it annoying XD~ *points down*

When Haneul speaks to other people, laughing and smiling~When Haneul ignores his presence~
But inside, he is actually feeling like this