“No…it’s…it’s not that…” Leeteuk stuttered.

They laughed, “You don’t have to lie. Everyone knew it all along anyway. Lets go look around! I bet you haven’t checked the whole place out!”

“I want to go to the third floor!”

“Yea, why does your grandma bar us from going up there? Is there a freezer full of decaying human bodies like in those movies?”

“Oh please guys.”

Leeteuk watched then hopelessly unable to say anything.

“That’s creepy,” Zhoumi told.

“I agree,” Jang Hyuk agreed.

“Lets go see if there’s a pool first,” Junu suggested.

Then the three turned to Leeteuk, “Leeteuk, you lead the way.”

Leeteuk bit onto his tongue. He barely knew the place. He wouldn’t know if there were a pool at all. They walked through strange rooms full of more and more furniture and antiques locked up in glass shelves. They even got lost for five minutes unable to find their way back to the hallway. When they finally did they found their way into the kitchen where they’d been earlier in the morning. Spotting the glass door Leeteuk slid it open and stepped out onto the deck and found himself with his mouth wide open.

Stepping down from the deck led to another platform as if it were another whole new world. Rich shiny tiles were lined on the ground before him with green-green trees standing on both sides. It would have felt like a romantic setting if Leeteuk weren’t standing with only guys. Flowers sat at the bottom of the trees and walking down the small aisle led to benches and circular tables. This all circled the large swimming pool that sat in the middle. Its water gleamed under the broad daylight sun inviting them in for a swim.

“Whoa! Look at that!” Junsu exclaimed pointing beyond the pool. “There’s geysers!”

Everyone’s eyes followed his hand and they felt their mouths gape wide open again.

“What is with this home?!” Jang Hyuk questioned. “We should bring some girls here!”

“And get a nosebleed,” they laughed.

Just before they took a step forward they heard loud shouting coming from inside the house. Grabbing their attention away from the amazement Leeteuk turned to walk back up the deck and toward the door.

“Where were you guys?!” Yoona scolded. “What are you guys doing outback?!”

“Whoa! Calm it missy.”

“We’re just brainstorming a bikini party. Why don’t you come check it out for yourself? It’s awesome out here!”

“Awesome my ! I can care less right now,” Yoona continued, “we need to find her.”

“Find who?” Leeteuk frowned.

“Im Yoona!” Siwon shouted finally stepping into the kitchen.

Yoona didn’t turn around. Angrily Siwon walked forward, grabbed her arm, and turned her around.

“You just don’t run away like that!” he yelled.

Leeteuk stared at them feeling bewildered. What were they doing? Arguing? And who was missing?

“Guys! What’s going on?”

Park Gyuri and Yang Seungho finally appeared behind them panting hard as if they’d just ran a mile or two.

“We will never find her if I didn’t make it back first!” Yoona retorted.

“He could have killed you on that road!” Siwon yelled again. “Are you crazy?! Taeyeon’s not lost, she just went walking somewhere!”

“Leeteuk’s mother said there are thieves around here! What if one of them kidnaps her and does something to her?!” Yoona questioned loudly. “She can’t defend herself!”

“She’s a smart girl, she’s not as clueless as you think her to be!” Siwon continued.

Leeteuk was clueless about how to stop them. He was always feeling helpless.

“I know that! But we don’t know this area. We’re foreign in this area! We don’t know no one! Aren’t you scared? What if someone just comes along and…” Yoona went on.

“Hey…guys…” Seungho tried through his lost breathing.

“Nothing will happen to her,” Siwon told with a low serious voice. It was as if no one else were in the room but them two.

Yoona stared back at him with contempt eyes, “What if something does happen? Have you thought of all the possibilities? Taeyeon doesn’t have a shield! She can’t protect herself from a man holding a knife!”

“You’re only thinking of the worst case scenarios, Yoona! It can’t be that bad around here! Don’t you see all the people in this area?”

“People?” she repeated putting more angry energy into her voice. “There was no one on the road! What do you mean by people?!”

“Im Yoona! Don’t you think there’s a reason why this town has existed for years?!”

“I don’t care why it exists! We’re not talking history, we’re talking about Taeyeon who is missing! If you don’t want to help you can just say it!”

“That is not what I just said!”

“Then what is it you’re trying to say?! All I’m getting from you is that I should leave Taeyeon alone!”

“Yoona!”  

“That’s enough!” Leeteuk suddenly shouted.

Surprising them they all finally turned to him in the buzzing silence. Leeteuk tried to speak but began coughing instead because of all the force he’d used in his throat while shouting.

“What’s going on?” asked Jang Hyuk finally stepping into the kitchen pass Leeteuk.

“Yoona’s fried went missing. You know that one quiet girl,” Zhoumi explained turning to him.

“Taeyeon? Kim Taeyeon?” Jang Hyuk asked.

“I think that’s her name.” Zhoumi said.

“How’d you guys lose her?”

“We were walking and stopped to see something then she just disappeared.” Gyuri explained.

“Ah…” Junsu nodded his head.

“Well I kind of agree with Siwon on this one. Taeyeon isn’t a child, she’s an adult. She can look after herself,” Zhoumi opinionated, “and she looks smart as well. Doesn’t she ace all her classes?”

“Acing all her classes have nothing to do with this!” Yoona spat.

“Ok, ok.” Jang Hyuk nodded. “Yoona scored one point.”

Yoona turned with a glare.

“You’re all tards!” Yoona screamed. “Let go of me, I’ll go look for her myself.”

Siwon took a loud sigh not listening to her, “You’re heated up right now, why don’t you just sit down and…”

“No!” Yoona refused.

“Stop it!” Leeteuk interfered again.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“We…I’ll go, ok?” he said closing his eye slowly as if irritated then took a deep breath. “Everyone just stay calm and stop screaming in my ears.”

“Are you sure you can go alone?” Junsu questioned. “You don’t even know this place better than we do.”

Leeteuk felt the rest, who didn’t know about it, shift their attention from Yoona and Siwon to him.

Leeteuk, almost shrinking in embarrassment for not knowing the area, turned to glance at them, “Then lets split up.”

Jang Hyuk, Zhoumi, Junsu, and Seungho had gone in one group. Leeteuk, Siwon, Yoona, and Gyuri in the other.

They had split into groups down opposite ends of the road and had promised to head back to the house after 30 minutes, no matter if they found Taeyeon or not. Leeteuk walked alongside the others as they paced down the bare road silently. The intense air from Siwon and Yoona’s fight earlier still lingered in the air among them. Yoona walked on the far right into the depth of the trees while Siwon walked on the other end on the road. Leeteuk eyed them both then glanced at Gyuri silently while they walked on.

Gyuri finally sighed after a long moment and stopped, “Look here guys.”

They stopped a few steps ahead and finally turned back to glance at her.

With hands on hips she continued, “We’re going nowhere. This road leads straight ahead, if Taeyeon were ahead we’d see her by now and who knows how many feet we’ve covered already. We have to face the fact that she diverted this road.”

Yoona sighed and bit her bottom lip as if she were really irritated, “We know that.”

“Then why are we still walking ahead for? It doesn’t make sense,” Gyuri argued. “If we want to find her before it gets dark lets get off this road or trail or whatever.”

Everyone turned to glance at Leeteuk as if leaving him to make the final decision. He glanced around as if he’d find someone to help him out. They were right. Taeyeon wasn’t on the road. Where was he intending to take them if the road led nowhere? 3 hours down would only lead to Incheon and they obviously wouldn’t find her there. Where would Taeyeon have gone?

“Lets get off the road then.” Leeteuk agreed. “But there’s only the woods out here.”

;;;;;

“Don’t you guys think you’re getting off the trail?” questioned Zhoumi following the others down the small dirt path surrounded by bustles of dead leaves.

The bushes and low branches of the trees were so thick that they stuck out everywhere blocking the sunlight from beating down on them. In order to squeeze through without getting his clothes damaged or his skin scratched he had to keep pushing them away. Whenever he did that he felt the small thorns on those branches poke his fingers. Zhoumi squinted his eyes and glanced around him. Nothing but green leaves and the brown barks of more and more trees.

“It’s sort of scary out here don’t you think?” asked Junsu.

“Good hunting grounds,” Jang Hyuk nodded.

“Why are we here in the first place?” asked Seungho. “I want to go back to the house and get some drinks or something.”

“Drinks,” Jang Hyuk repeated. “Sounds delicious to me.”

“Then lets hurry up and look for that girl,” Junsu added.

Zhoumi made a face at them from behind as they walked deeper into the woods. There was no sign, no mark, or whatever to tell them where they were headed. Whether they were heading east, west, north, or south he was sure they were lost. From the start he’d wanted to go with Leeteuk’s group. The guys could have cared less about whether Taeyeon was found or not. They just wanted to have some fun carelessly.

However as he stared into the vast blankness of the trees he found himself getting the chills. Now he was beginning to think he shouldn’t have belittled Yoona’s words about being foreign to the area. They didn’t know their way around and Leeteuk’s mother had warned about thieves. Thieves. Zhoumi gulped and eyed the boys who were now poking each other and laughing loudly. Even their voices seemed to echo into the far woods. Birds flew out of trees chirping loudly never minding them. With the birds gone it seemed as if in the world of trees only they existed.

***Ok, sorry guys! For the late update and all but I'm having a case of writer's block right now and I can only write a bit at a time until I get at least a full chapter. So, please be patient with me. A note of sorry and thank you!