As I walk away from the others, I see the high school kids running from the back of the hill while laughing maniacally, one of them raising the black fabric. My wrath is lit up again and I start running to chase them. “HEY!”

          They spot me, and they laugh even harder, then go faster. I eventually can’t keep up with the speed and halt my movement. My legs are shaking. I bend down and hold onto my knees, trying to calm myself.

          I hear someone running behind me, and stop. “Are you okay?”

          Sehun holds my wrist softly, but his voice alone makes me agitated. I yank off his hand roughly and continue walking. Don’t come near me right now.

          He seems to take the hint and does nothing until the four of us arrive home, and Uncle Yong frowns seeing Yumi’s red eyes. “Aigoo, what happened?”

          Jinho tells him what happened, and the wrinkle on his forehead gets deeper. “Ah, them. They’ve been making trouble for years.” he shakes his head. “I’ll try to talk with their parents.”

          I silently sigh. I don’t think that would change anything. We go to Grandma’s house, and my eyes meet Sehun’s when I’m about to take Yumi inside. I immediately look away, and enter the house.

          At dinner, Grandma and Grandpa basically react the same as Uncle Yong did. “I’m glad you two are okay. Tomorrow, the boys should go together with you.”

          “We will.” Jinho says. I stab my beans on the plate emptily, imagining the awkwardness I haven’t even faced.

          Later that night, Jinho is talking with Yumi on the porch, and Sehun has gone home. I go out from the room to take a glass of water when Yumi goes inside to go to the toilet, and I decide to see Jinho outside. “Hey.”

          He smiles weakly. “You’ve suffered enough today.”

          I scoff. “Thanks to your good instinct, we’re saved just in time.”

          Jinho’s face turns a little bit confused. “Huh?”

          “Sehun said you made him go there.”

          Jinho’s mouth parts a bit. He then pats the seat next to him, signaling me to sit. “I think there’s something I should clarify.”

          I furrow my brows. “What?”

          “Actually, I was worried too, but I believe you’d protect the two of you well, I mean you have the courage of a tiger—” Jinho covers his face with his hands when I lift my glass. “It was Sehun who suddenly asked me to go to your location!”

          I tilt my head. “Really?”

          “I’ve wanted to tell you this since then, I’ve even told Yumi—did you know what he said? I said that the girls were going to be fine because of Nana, and he said ‘I’m worried about her the most’.”

          I hold the glass on my lap. He did? “Eh, stop lying.”

          “It’s real! I was going to keep and use that to tease you guys later but I guess I have to let it out like this.” Jinho shrugs. He forms a mischievous smile, and I lift my hand to fake-punch him. Yumi goes back to the porch, and look at us two strangely. “What happened?”

          “Hey, Sehun apparently told her the opposite!”

          “Argh.” I leave the scene as Yumi and Jinho get excited by themselves. I sit above my futon, and think about Jinho’s words.

          I think I should apologize. But he got angry first, though? I didn’t handle it well either. I grunt loudly, and gulp down my water. Should I talk to him first tomorrow? We can’t keep fighting like this.

          The next day, the four of us are walking together to the locations, and I’m walking with Yumi behind the Jinho and Sehun. None of us talk on the way, and the guys drop us by at our area. “Call us right away if something happens. Or maybe someone’s instinct will react faster.” Jinho curls his lips. I see Sehun glare at him for a second, and I grit my teeth.

          We move on to do our respective projects, and after some time Yumi approaches me first after she finished. “Should we go to the guys?”

          I swallow. “Okay.” I say, trying to sound chill. We walk to their location which is only a minute away from ours, and I instantly spot Sehun next to a persimmon tree. He notices us coming, and Yumi quickly goes to Jinho on the other side of the field. I take a deep breath, and come closer to Sehun.

          I stop on the other side of the tree, the thin log isn’t able to cover me if I were to hide anyway. Sehun glances at me once, then continues examining the tree bark he’s looking at. He straightens his back, and faces me. Oh, this is the time—

          We both open our mouth at the same time, and we’re both equally astonished. “Uh—you first.” Sehun says.

          “No, you first.” I quickly counter. He looks defeated, and his shoulders droop.

          “Sorry for yelling at you yesterday.”

          This is it. I fold my lips inside, and exhale. “I’m sorry for getting angry too.”

          Silence washes over us, and I stand uncomfortably. What now?

          “Can you help me with this?” Sehun gives me his notebook while he tries to get something from his bag, and he takes out a few papers and something else. “Here, take some.”

          He takes back the notebook and hands me candies. “Oh… Thanks.”

          I spot Yumi and Jinho looking at us, and they quickly look away as if nothing happened when they see me. I shake my head slowly, and unconsciously continue looking at Sehun. He’s taking notes, and glances at me. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

          “I’m not.”

          “Don’t. I get nervous easily.”

          “I said I’m not!”

          “You’d fall for me if you look longer.”

          “Wow, hateful.”

          “Are you guys fighting again already?” Jinho shouts.

          We both laugh, and I feel a sense of peace inside. Yeah, this is better.

*

          We spend the next one week finishing our projects, and in the same time planning a trip to a nearby island. Uncle Yong’s relative manages a beautiful lodging there and he offers a nice price to us.

          We’re already going to finish the community service the following week, and this is our first time going away from the village for more than one day. It’s a nice opportunity for us to refresh ourselves after the projects.

          We go in the afternoon, and Uncle Yong sees us off after taking us to the port which is an hour from the village. We’re going to the island by a white boat that’s already parked next to the wooden dock.

          The guys get on the boat first, and the dock is wide enough for me and Yumi to step on the boat at the same time. Jinho is helping Yumi, and Sehun reaches out his hand to me. “Careful.”

          I take his hand, and he grips my hand tightly and pulls me to the boat safely. It will take approximately two hours to the island, and once the boat starts moving, we stay on the deck and take pictures there. Time flies, and after resting a bit in the cabin, we reach the island already.

          After unloading our stuff in the lodging, it’s already dinner time. We have a nice seafood dinner next to the beach in an open restaurant, and Jinho suggests to play games to enjoy the night.

          We’ve tried many kinds of games and we decide on truth or dare. We use an empty soju bottle to spin and find the victim of this game, and I’m the first one. I choose dare because I’m sure Yumi and Jinho would’ve used this opportunity to ask weird questions to me. The next thing I know, the others suppress their laughter as I’m told to take a picture with a stranger in the next table.

          The bottle spins again, and it points on Sehun. Jinho interrupts before none of us can say anything. “Since Nana chose dare, you should pick truth!”

          “What kind of rule is that?” Sehun protests. Yumi and Jinho start whining, and he gives up. “Alright, truth.”

          I have no intention to ask anything, but Yumi looks pumped. I hope she doesn’t ask anything strange—

          “What are your true feelings about Nana?”