Changmin glanced back at him then turned slightly toward Taeyeon.

“We’re going first,” Changmin said then turned around struggling his way back up the slope. The mud underneath his feet forced him down a few times before he was finally able to reach the top.

Leeteuk followed without a word.

“Taeyeon!” Yoona shouted when she reached the top.

Hurrying over to her Yoona quickly shielded her friend and Changmin from the pouring rain.

“Are you hurt?” Yoona questioned.

“I’m ok,” Taeyeon nodded.

“You should all change into dry clothes quickly and eat something warm.” Changmin advised. “The rain is so cold, being outside for so long like this will give you all fevers.”

“Are you really ok?” asked Siwon to Taeyeon, who nodded in reply.

“I’ll walk you back,” Changmin offered.

“We can go back ourselves,” Leeteuk cut in taking a step forward so that he was in Changmin’s view.

Changmin glanced at him.

“And where were you?” Seungho asked. “Because you suddenly disappeared we all split up to look for you.”

“I’m sorry,” was all Leeteuk was able to say. “I…don’t remember what happened.” His mind was su

“What do you mean?!” Seungho questioned. “You must be lying.”

“Lets head back,” Siwon suggested glancing at Taeyeon’s muddy clothes. “Taeyeon’s going to fall ill if we argue here now.” Siwon then turned to look at Changmin. “You’re welcome to come along.”

“Can you walk?” Yoona asked.

“You’re too cold,” Changmin said.

“I can go on my own, stop worrying.” Taeyeon told shivering non-stop.

“Ride on my back,” Changmin suggested.

Taeyeon turned to him shocked with his suggestion. “No!”

“You won’t be able to walk in the water like this,” Changmin stated, “stop arguing and lets go. The longer we stall the deeper the water will get.”

“Taeyeon just do it. You don’t look so well,” Yoona urged.

Leeteuk stared on at them. It was as if they’d forgotten all about him. Without saying anything he brushed pass them and walked through the shrubs onto the road. Taeyeon watched him go and turned back to Changmin.

Yoona walked alongside them holding the umbrella over their heads. She watched as Taeyeon bit by bit leaned her head on his shoulder with both her arms securely around his neck. Yoona smiled at them and turned away.

The warmth from him was comfortable. Even though he was just as soaked as she was she could feel the heat emitting from him. She had never been carried on someone else’s back before, but had only seen it in movies. Taeyeon had never wondered how it felt like to be carried by someone but now that someone was finally carrying her she finally realized why girls loved it so much if a man carried her. Changmin’s shoulders were more broad than they looked when she’d stood next to him. The feeling from it made her a bit happy. It felt like his back was telling her he’d never let her fall, it gave her a feeling of security that she hadn’t felt in an lifetime.

Had they actually gone that far from the mansion? Why did the walk feel so long? The falling rain seemed like music to her ears and Taeyeon eventually found herself fighting sleep along the way. From in front of her closing eyes she could make out Leeteuk’s lone back as he led them toward the mansion. And it disappeared when she fell into a light slumber.

;;;;;

The memory of where he’d been was a blur. He couldn’t recall the cabin he’d just been to, but the vague memories of the girl he was with lingered in the air. Leeteuk stared back at the others just as they stared at him. He couldn’t answer their questions and was well aware that he was making himself look dumb but he couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t remember.

“What a liar,” he heard someone whisper.

Well, it didn’t quite matter to him if they thought of him that way. Out of them all only Siwon knew him the best, but he alone was not enough to go against the rest of the group. Leeteuk sighed leaning back in the wooden chair.

“It’s already problematic enough that someone fell sick while out looking for you,” Jang Hyuk said, “I wonder what other problems we’ll have next.”

“Is this a drama we’re living in? Why are you predicting more unlucky events?” Gyuri questioned.

“Be careful of what you say. You might end up jinxing everyone of us,” Zhoumi warned.

“Shut up with you and your superstitious crap,” Junsu snapped. “I’m so tired of it. Look at the condition that Taeyeon is in. If she is inflicted with pneumonia then I’m going to the hospital with her. And when I’m there I’m going to find a way out of here.”  

“Can you stop talking like that about everyone?” Yoona defended. “You have such an attitude anyone would think you’re PMS-ing.”

“What’d you just say?!” questioned Junsu almost standing up.

“Quit it!” Siwon shouted.

Seungho sighed from the corner he was standing in. It’d been half an hour since they returned and the day wasn’t feeling any better for any of them. Lunch had gone by untouched, the food that had been sitting on the table since almost an hour ago was now cold. Everyone was cranky and unhappy again. Yoona rolled her eyes and hugged herself. They’d all changed into dry clothes but it didn’t make them feel any better. They’d been soaked in the rain for so long that the cold wouldn’t leave them in peace.

Getting up from where he was sitting Leeteuk headed up the stairs and stopped in front of Taeyeon’s room. From where he was standing he knew Taeyeon and Changmin wouldn’t be able to see him. Moving to the side a little he poked his head in to see Changmin wringing a towel dry of water before placing it back on Taeyeon’s forehead. She’d been out cold ever since they’d returned.

“Are you feeling guilty?” Yoona appeared from behind him.

Leeteuk turned around to look at her. She’d been so quiet he’d no idea she’d followed him up. Turning away from her eyes he allowed his eyes to hang on the ground for a few seconds.

“No.”

“Liar,” Yoona immediately told. “What are you unhappy about? You’ve been acting kind of pissed off ever since we found you. Now why is that?”

Leeteuk turned to glance at her finally.

“You couldn’t answer any questions from earlier, you can answer my questions now, can’t you?” Yoona challenged.

“I don’t know what you’re saying.” he told.

“Lying again,” she accused. “What are you afraid of? Are you hiding something?”

Leeteuk stared back at her solidly with stern eyes. “Are you worried about something?”

“No,” Yoona replied straightforwardly, “I’m worried about Taeyeon.”

“I have no comment about that,” Leeteuk plainly said then walked pass Yoona without anything more to say.

Yoona turned around to watch him head down the stairs. Quietly turning back around she stepped into the doorway to see Taeyeon under the thick blanket Changmin had found somewhere in the closet.

“You’re quite the nurse,” Yoona complimented.

Changmin turned around surprised and smiled. Yoona found his smile quite charming in a unique way.

“Her temperature’s gone down,” Changmin replied. “She should be somewhat fine in the morning.”

“Say, you lived around here all your life, right?”

Changmin seemed to go into thought before nodding.

“You must know the area pretty well, but how did you know when I came to get you?”

“We have a dog who tells me things,” Changmin said with such a straight face Yoona became confused for a moment.

“Your dog talks?”

Changman broke out into laughter from where he was sitting on the ground. “No. I just happened to come out when our dog began barking.”

“Ah…” Yoona laughed feeling embarrassed while reaching her arm back to scratch the back of her head. “So that’s how it is.”

“I assume you all are here with Leeteuk?”

Yoona nodded. “We all thought we’d be having fun, but it all turned out differently.”

“I see,” Changmin replied turning to look at the sleeping Taeyeon.

After walking into the kitchen Leeteuk sat down at the table with the food that had gone cold. Grabbing a spoon off the empty plate in front of him he began to eat quietly.

“I doubt that tastes very good. Why didn’t you heat it up first?” Siwon asked walking in then joined him at the table.

Leeteuk didn’t look up at Siwon, who was directly across from him.

“Too lazy.” he replied shortly.

“I won’t ask about where you were, but you should have said something before going out.” Siwon said. “I was worried.”

“I would have come back,” Leeteuk stated.

They were quiet.

“Say, why is he here?” Leeteuk asked.

Siwon repeated, “He?” Siwon tried to hold back a smile. “What’s with you? You seem sort of angry about something. Do you know him?”

“I’m not angry,” Leeteuk told sternly.

“Ok, fine.” Siwon leaned back in his seat giving in to his friend. “So then you know him?”

Leeteuk just stared at Siwon in reply.

“What is it you’re upset about?” Siwon asked. “Do you hate him or something?”

Leeteuk turned away from Siwon’s stare, “Stop looking at me, will you?”

Siwon laughed a bit, “If I didn’t know you so well, I would have thought you were jealous over Taeyeon.”

“Then what makes you think I have a grudge towards him?” Leeteuk questioned.

“Because you barely know Taeyeon,” Siwon pointed out, “that’s why I figure you know him.”

Leeteuk turned back to stare at Siwon hard before getting up. “I’m not in the position to talk about my relationships.”

“Ok, be that way,” Siwon cooed after him. “By the way, notice you haven’t denied anything I’ve said.”

With just those words Leeteuk walked into his room closing the door after him. He couldn’t talk about it. The memories that spun in his mind so well. The reason why he stopped being friends with Changmin was so clear in his memory even if he couldn’t remember anything else. The anger, the pain, the sadness all still existed within him, and he was sure that Changmin didn’t forget it either.

;;;;;

Taeyeon awoke with both her eyes open all of a sudden. Glancing around the dark room she sat up feeling something fall off her forehead. Reaching her hand around blindly in the dark her fingers landed on a damp cloth neatly wrapped up into a rectangle. Realizing she’d fallen out cold she stared into the darkness as if someone were there. Replaying all she could recall in her memory was when Changmin had pulled her up from the water she’d been sitting in and being carried on his back. The feeling of the sudden heat she’d felt from him made her blood rush a little before she remembered Leeteuk’s lone back.

Suddenly pulling the covers off she headed out into the hallway to find all the lights off. Had everybody gone to sleep? Assuming so she found her way down the stairs slowly feeling a little dizzy at first. Someone had changed her clothes and she was wearing sweats, a t-shirt, and a long sweater that belonged to someone else. The sleeves seemed too overgrown for her because she had to keep pulling them back in order to get her hands out. Pulling her cold hair behind her ears she found her way into the kitchen at last feeling her stomach rumble. Reaching for the lights she turned them on feeling blinded by the lights when it struck her eyes. When she finally turned she saw someone sitting at the table and almost jumped.