"Well, well, well," Minghao mocked from his position on the floor. I wasn’t quite sure of what happened, but I could infer enough. Mingyu had somehow used water to knock the redhead off his feet. But even though he was soaking, the fire in Minghao’s eyes was far from quenched. “Isn't this a sight to behold. Our towns resident rebel delinquents turned into obedient slaves." He scoffed. “Trust the morally ambiguous to seek each other out.”

"And here lies the most upstanding of gentleman." Jeonghan smirked. "Oh wait," he snapped his fingers. "He just tried to kill someone."

Now my brain might not have been entirely clear at this point, but I could swear I detected a hint of bitterness mixed in with their sarcasm. It surprised me because the three guys I met in the woods all seemed tough and rebellious like they would mess around without caring about the consequences. It was a stretch—I’ll admit it; I met them yesterday so I can’t really say I know them. But I knew Minghao. Or at least, I thought I did.

He was a soccer player that came from a well-to-do family. He liked video games and computers—rumor even had it that he wanted to go into computer programming. He had an older brother that went back to China for his job. His friend group consisted almost exclusively of other athletes (mostly soccer players), people he got to know through his parents’ connections, and other gamers.

Mingyu, Hoshi, and Jeonghan had entirely different aesthetics that didn’t fit the mental image I had of Minghao. Then again, neither did assault and murder so I guess I didn’t know him that well after all.

Minghao lifted himself onto his feet. “Please, as if you guys wouldn’t try to kill her if you had the chance.”

A small part of me wanted to point out that they did actually try to kill me. But a bigger part of me knew that wouldn’t help things right now. Well, there was that and the fact that I wasn’t confident that my vocal chords were fully functioning.

Though I couldn't see it from where I was on the ground, Hoshi smirked slightly, as if Minghao