Yoona, too surprised by Leeteuk’s sudden move, couldn’t say anything but watch Taeyeon get pulled away. Before following she glanced at Changmin curiously. When they reached the 3 story mansion Jang Hyuk, Seungho, Junsu, and Zhoumi were sitting on the front doorsteps soaking wet. The group stood before them without a movement as if dumbfounded to find them there.

“Why are you guys out here?” Gyuri questioned squeezing out the water from her hair.

Seungho covered his face with his hands and put his hands down before glancing at Zhoumi. “I don’t know, ask the Chinese kid.”

Everybody turned to look at the distressed Zhoumi expecting an answer from him, but nothing came from him.

“Lets get inside,” Leeteuk suggested in a demanding tone before heading up the stairs still holding onto Taeyeon.

Everyone followed suit silently. A trail of puddles on the floor created by their soaked clothes followed them all the way into the hallway and the kitchen. For no reason they all gathered into the kitchen silently. The air tensed up almost immediately. They all glanced at each other curiously with hidden questions in mind, but waiting for the other to go first. It felt like a gambling session to Taeyeon.

“Can you…let go of me?” she asked Leeteuk.

He suddenly glanced at his hold on her arm and let her go. Taeyeon watched him turn away guiltily but knew he also had something else in his mind.

“Sorry,” Leeteuk mumbled.

“Where did you go?” Siwon questioned breaking her attention.

“I went walking around,” Taeyeon replied pointing her hand at the road turning to him.

“Walking around?” he repeated. “Then who was that man back there?”

Taeyeon glanced at Leeteuk before she answered, “Just…”

“Wow…you aren’t messing around now, are you?” Gyuri asked.

“Yah!” Yoona shouted.

Gyuri shrugged, “Well who knows what they did during that time she disappeared.”

Taeyeon kept her eye on Leeteuk without a word.

“Unnie,” Yoona called. “What did you do?” Yoona was also curious about what she’d done.

Taeyeon turned to Yoona and thought quickly before answering. If she told them she went to his house they would misunderstand so instead she replied, “We didn’t do anything.”

Gyuri snorted, “A guy and a girl together and nothing happened? Don’t kid us or at least don’t kid yourself.”

Taeyeon turned back to the girl with the long hair that she wasn’t familiar with. She wasn’t about to let this girl’s words get to her, but her words had some sort of air about them that Taeyeon couldn’t turn away from. A girl and a guy both adults…Taeyeon agreed that she’s never heard about a guy and a girl being together without anything happening. But in her case…she was just different.

“I stand my ground that nothing happened,” Taeyeon told returning her eyes to Gyuri who stared back at her as if they were in a challenge.

Why was it that these college students were so serious at times and careless at others? Taeyeon couldn’t keep up.

“Then what did you do?” Siwon asked.

Taeyeon again shifted her attention back to him. It felt as if she were turning in circles to look at everyone who was speaking to her. It was then that she’d noticed the group they’d met on the doorsteps hadn’t spoken a word at all. Why was it that the kitchen was packed with so many different feelings of tension and anxiety?

Ignoring Siwon’s question she turned to look at Leeteuk, who refused to meet her eyes then she glanced at Zhoumi and the others.

“Why are you guys so quiet?” she asked.

The guys glanced at each other then turned to look at Zhoumi, who looked shaken up. Suddenly all the other’s attentions were suddenly on the guys.

“You guys are creepy,” Gyuri commented taking a step away from them.

“Can I ask you…” Zhoumi began glancing at Taeyeon, “the day when we got here…did Jung Seok just scare you?”

Taeyeon felt her eyebrow twitch a bit before the serious emotions hit her. Something had happened…

“Why?” she asked.

From the corner of her eye Leeteuk suddenly turned to look at them.

Zhoumi turned away from her and looked around a bit, “My family has a line of having sixth sense, so various siblings of mine have been able to see things normal people don’t. You might think I’m blubbering but there was something out there today.”

“Ok, why don’t you just stop it?” Junsu asked getting up from where he was sitting.

The air in the air changed again and Taeyeon wasn’t the center of attention anymore. She glanced at the guys then to the rest of the group. Everyone was so unhappy…

“Just…stop trying to freak us out, ok?!” Junsu exasperated with his arms stretched out frustrated. “The pouring rain already enough so we don’t need you to make the weather even worse.”

All their eyes were heavily set on Zhoumi and the scared Junsu.

“I don’t care if you don’t believe me,” Zhoumi went on coolly, “your opinion doesn’t matter. I wasn’t talking to you in the first place.”

When Zhoumi turned around to Taeyeon Junsu interrupted, “No one wants to hear about this superstitious whatever thing you believe in! Just quit with it!”

“Calm down,” Jang Hyuk tried.

“I can’t calm down!” Junsu raised his voice then turned to Seungho with angry eyes. “Why don’t you say something to shut him up?!”

“What do you want me to do?” Seungho questioned also getting up irritated.

“Say something! I know he scared the out of you too!” Junsu continued.

Seungho bit his bottom lip, “I’m not like you! I don’t take everything out with my fists or my mouth! Don’t pull me into this when you’re the only one who wants him to shut up!”

Junsu gasped unbelievably, “Then you want to hear it?! You want to hear this Chinese kid talk about what was following us today?!”

Seungho stared back at Junsu with hard eyes unable to say anything.

“See! You don’t want to hear it and no one else wants to hear about it!” Junsu pointed out as if he were talking on behalf of all the others.

“It doesn’t matter. You just admitted it yourself just now.” Zhoumi stated.

“I didn’t say a freaking word about that!” Junsu continued to shout.

“Shut up!” Gyuri screamed.

Zhoumi stared on at Junsu and Seungho, who were eyeing each other angrily. The rest turned to look at Gyuri who finally spoke up. Silence wrapped them into a thick blanket tossing their minds about in the cold kitchen they were standing in. The rain busily pounded against the roof and the windows to tell them that it was still wet and cold out.

Taeyeon glanced at the guys and to Leeteuk. Just as she’d felt earlier about Changmin hiding something from her she knew Leeteuk was also hiding something he had remembered. However, the way Changmin had looked at her earlier was as if he were really begging her to create an opportunity for him to talk to Leeteuk. But why? Had something bitter come in between him and Leeteuk before he’d turned 12?

A knock on the door made them all turn away from each other. The intense air did not shift anywhere else, however. All their hearts pounded wondering who it would be. Were there really thieves like Leeteuk’s mother had warned them of? Or was it just a next door neighbor?

“See, you’ve all created such a racket,” Gyuri blamed.

“Who the heck would come during this kind of storm?” Jang Hyuk wondered.

“Maybe someone who’s been drenched in the rain just wants to come in for shelter,” Zhoumi suggested.

Junsu turned to look at him annoyed, “I highly doubt that.”

“Leeteuk,” Siwon called.

Leeteuk felt his heart pound in his ears as he walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway they’d just walked through, and toward the front door. Who would it be? He didn’t have any friends or relatives in the area. His grandmother and mother hadn’t told him of anyone who would visit. Could it really be a thief? What if the thief had a weapon? Should he call the cops right now? But how long till they’d get to the mansion? What if the assumed thief wasn’t a thief, but just a normal person like Zhoumi had suggested? Too many questions and he was too scared but behind him he could hear the others following slowly. He didn’t want to let them down and he didn’t want to show them that he was scared. It was already embarrassing enough that they already knew that he had never been in the mansion. They were all relying on him only because this mansion belonged to his grandmother.

The pounding became louder as they neared the front door. The falling rain didn’t stop, however. It only made him more nervous. He gulped once before he reached for the doorknob hoping he looked fearless at the least.

“Would it be a thief?” he heard Gyuri’s voice.

“Why don’t…we look through the window to see who it is first?” Taeyeon quietly suggested.

Leeteuk turned around to glance at her then wondered why he hadn’t thought of that first.

“I’ll go,” Siwon offered then disappeared for a moment and came back. “I can’t see him. He’s holding an umbrella and it’s covering his face.”

The rest gulped and turned back to Leeteuk.

“What do we do?”

“It’s all because you idiots were arguing earlier!” Gyuri blamed.

“It’s no one’s fault,” Yoona retorted.

Gyuri gave her a hard stare almost as if she was going to start another argument but turned away as if she’d thought better of it.

“If he’s holding an umbrella he doesn’t need to come here for shelter,” Seungho pointed out. “Why don’t we all just go to our own rooms and cool down until dinner?”

They all turned to one another uncertainly and jumped when he knocked on the door again.

“What do we do? What do we do?” Gyuri repeated standing behind them. “What if he wants to steal all our money?”

“Stop freaking out will you?” Jang Hyuk asked. “He’ll probably hurt you after he’s done with us all.”

Gyuri snorted at him then turned to Leeteuk, “Just open the door and let him smug you all.”

Taeyeon wanted to laugh at how her mood changed so dramatically then turned her attention back to Leeteuk feeling their eyes meet for a moment.

“Just open the door,” Taeyeon suggested, “there’s too many of us standing here, he can’t finish us all at once.”