“How long do you reckon it will take us?” Minhwa asked.

“Less than 20 for sure. No ghost will have the guts to approach us with Hyunsoo around.”

“I am right here and I can hear you loud and clearly! Besides, I doubt that ghosts have guts as it is.”

“Either way, we’ll be safe sticking near you.”

“Why you…”

“Hey hey, let’s just try and stick together, ‘kay?” Minhwa broke the fight up.

“I thought you weren’t feeling well today. You clearly look and sound healthier than you claimed to be!”

“I don’t need to be in perfect condition to cuss you.”

“Cut it out you two! Let’s just get this over and done with.” Minhwa tried to stop the argument again.

“There is no point arguing with you.” I let out a sigh. “How about we split the roles up right here? Since Myungsoo is lanky, he can use his lankiness for something good this time and pick the four leaves. Minhwa will be in charge of the berries and since I’m closer to the ground, I’ll get the flowers! Any questions?”

“Yeah. Did you just admit that you are short?”

“Out of all three of us, yes I am! Any more questions that are actually related to the task?” The two shook their heads. “Besides, who came up with such a stupid list of items to bring back anyways?”

Minhwa choked.

“I’ll take that as an answer!” I commented.

“Well it’s better than going fox hunting or whatever.”

“True!”

We kept walking past the cliff and ended up at the entrance of the forest. There was a clear path for us to walk on inviting us in. Although the forest seemed dense from the outside, it doesn’t seem as dense when looking at it this close.

“Shall we go in?” Myungsoo asked. “Let’s just get this over and done with and go back to sleep.”

This guy only thinks about himself…

“Four leaves right? Sounds easy enough.”

“Yeah, but we have to reach the lighthouse before actually coming back.” I added.

“But as long as we follow the path it will be fine right?” Minhwa asked.

“I guess so.” Myungsoo replied. We walked in and started looking for the items we were in charge of collecting. Myungsoo seemed to have an easy time just plucking some leaves while walking down the path while Minhwa was looking for bushes with berries in and I was looking for flowers.

“Hyunsoo. Your shoelaces!” Minhwa said pointing at my shoes. “They are undone.”

I stopped walking along with Minhwa and Myungsoo who was a little ahead stopped too.

“You two can go ahead. I’ll be with you in a bit.”

“Isn’t it better to stick together? You might get lost.”

“Don’t worry Minhwa. She should be smart enough to follow the path. Just hurry up.” Myungsoo said and started walking off. Minhwa looked at me once before walking off too. I then bent down and started tying my shoelaces.

Make a knot then form two loops and cross them over. Then take one loop down and through and pull. Done!

I decided to tuck the laces inside my shoe just incase they come out again and stood back up. I turned to my right where there were a couple of bushes and walked up to them. I didn’t expect flowers to grow on the walking path since it’s a walking path and people would walk over it. I looked over the bushes and saw some patches of grass. It’s possible to find flowers around here so I found a way past the bushes that were blocking the way. I kept walking following some of the patches and eventually found some. I bent down and started picking some of them. There were quite a few different types of flowers and although we were told to only pick two types, I picked a couple more and placed them carefully in my pocket. When I stood up and looked around, I realised that I just kept walking without watching where I was going.

In other words, I was lost. I got my phone out to call either Myungsoo or Minhwa but there was no signal.

“Maybe I should just keep walking in the direction I came from. I’ll eventually reach the path, right?” I asked myself before starting to walk. The forest was silent. You could occasionally hear the leaves rustling because of the wind. “I wonder how long we took in here already.”

I just focused on walking. To be honest, I am really bad with directions. I can’t read maps neither can I follow the directions given by a GPS.

As I walked on, I started hearing other footsteps. At first, I thought they were my own but then it felt out of sync with my own. They definitely didn’t belong to me. It could be Minhwa or Myungsoo if they came to look for me. The faster I walked, the faster the footsteps behind me got. It has been following me for a while. I crossed out possibility of it being Minhwa or Myungsoo. Minhwa would have called out to me a while back and although Myungsoo likes to play pranks on me, he wouldn’t go to the extremes of stalking me in a dark forest in the middle of the night just to scare me. He would have just popped out of some bushes instead.

The footsteps behind me suddenly stopped.

“Didn’t mother teach you to never stray away from the path?”

The voice didn’t belong to Myungsoo or Minhwa. In fact, it didn’t belong to anyone from my class. I decided to look back and it was a man wearing a black jacket. He definitely isn’t anyone staying in the hostel neither is he a staff member. Also, why is he out in the woods so late at night.

I started running.

I was certain that the man wasn’t following me but then again it’s safer to stay away from him. Also, it’s better to stop the game right here and now before we meet any more crazy people.

I made sure to look back once in a while to make sure he wasn’t following.

“BOO!”

I screamed.

My scream was followed by laughter.

“Your face right now was epic!” Sehun laughed.

I was too out of breath to reply.

“Are you okay Hyunsoo? Your face is red and you are sweating.” Youngmi asked as she came out of her hiding spot. I was still trying to catch my breath. “Why were you running? And where are Minhwa and Myungsoo?”

“There is….. someone else…..here.”

Their eyes widened.

“What do you mean by someone else?” Jongin asked.

“This man followed me. I don’t think he is a guest neither is he a staff.”

“Well, you were the one who went off all alone.” Sehun said.

“That doesn’t matter now. We should go to the lighthouse, find Minhwa and Myungsoo and tell everyone who is walking down the path to turn around. We can’t risk anything!” I said. “Besides, do you guys know where the path is?”

“Sure. It’s over that way.” Youngmi pointed to the left.

“Let’s go! We might run into Minhwa and Myungsoo on the way there.”

I started walking off with Youngmi and Jongin and Sehun followed behind us.

“Besides, what was that earlier all about?” I asked.

“We just wanted to scare the Pres a bit. It’s rare to see you scared. Besides, it’s payback for the last few years!” Sehun started off.

“We did want to do this competition all along but when we found out that the girls joined, we couldn’t resist the thought of scaring you.” Jongin added. “We wanted to chase you with a mask on instead but looks like someone beat us to it.”

“You aren’t part of this all, are you Youngmi?” I turned to Youngmi. She shook her head.

“I was trying to stop them but they told me to listen to them because of the bet.”

I turned back and glared at them.

“What’s with that look? Besides, we found you. You should be thanking us!”

“Save it. It still doesn’t change the fact that you wanted to chase a girl around a forest at night.”

“By the way, why were you so far out in the woods?” Youngmi asked.

“Well, it’s a long story. My shoelaces were untied so I bent down to tie them and I told the other two to go ahead. Then I found patches grass afterwards and followed them trying to find flowers since I was in charge of picking them up. Then I got lost and tried to find my way out, was followed by that man who asked me whether my mum told me never to stray off the path, ran away, ran into you guys and you tried to scare me. And now we are walking back. The end.”

“Well, the other two might be looking for you. I mean Minhwa at least knows how you are when it comes to directions.” Youngmi said.

“I’ll try to pretend that I wasn’t offended by that.”

“How do you know that dude back there was really bad?” Jongin asked.

“Well he was following me for a good five minutes and decides to creep the out of me. Then he mumbled some nonsense and stops walking. Besides, what in the world was he doing in the woods at this time of the day. Don’t people understand that night equals sleep?”

“Sounds legit.” Youngmi said.

“Well we are out in the woods in the middle of the night too aren’t we?” Sehun asked.

“Well, that sounds legit too!” Youngmi added. “Well, at least we found the lighthouse now.” Youngmi pointed towards the front.

Damn this girl is good with her directions.

I looked around. Neither Minhwa nor Myungsoo were here. They are probably still looking for me. At least we found the path now, those two would stick close to the path so they won’t get lost. Also, we might run into someone else if we are here.

“Hey Sehun, check if the door is open!”

“I am. But it’s heavy. Help me open it Jongin!”

I looked up.

“What are those idiots up to now?” I asked Youngmi.

“I think they wanted to check what’s inside the lighthouse!” She replied.

“You two, we don’t have time to be fooling around. Just take your damn picture and let’s look around to find Myungsoo and Minhwa.”

“Do it yourself. We will come back and help after looking around inside.”

“Were you idiots even listening to what I’ve been saying this whole time?”

“We just want to look around inside. We’ll come and help later. Besides those two aren’t some pipsqueak like you. They are quite tall. I wouldn’t worry about them this much.”

“Okay. Suit yourselves. Youngmi and I are going back!”

“Then go. Why are you still here?”

I grabbed Youngmis hand and started walking.

“You aren’t seriously going to leave them behind are you?” She asked.

“What else do you want me to do? When I say something for their own good, they don’t listen. What am I? Their mother? I’m just doing my job as the class president and keep things in order but there is a limit to how much I’m going to beg!”

Youngmi stopped walking.

“We both know very well how idiotic those two are but you’ve dealt with them for so long now, I doubt this will be a challenge. Just cool your head. It will be fine!”

She was right.

“Alright, let’s go back to the lighthouse. I’ll drag them out if I have to!” I smiled at her. We walked back and found that Sehun and Jongin were gone.

“They might still be inside.” Youngmi said. We walked towards the door and tried to open it. But it didn’t open.

“Is something wrong?” Youngmi asked. I pulled harder, still no luck.

“I think the door is stuck.” I knocked on the door a couple of times.

“Sehun, Jongin, are you two in there?” I shouted. We got immediate response.

“Hyunsoo? Youngmi? Are you there?” It sounded like Sehun. They were stuck inside.

“What happened?” Youngmi asked.

“The wind blew and the door just shut. We tried to open it but the door was stuck because it’s so old. We tried to call out to you two but you already left.” Jongin explained.

“Thank god we came back.” I said. I thought. “You two. On three, you two should push the door as hard as you can and us two will pull it. Understood?”

“Mhm.”

“One, two, three.”

Youngmi and I pulled the door as hard as we could and the boys on the other end were pushing the door with everything they had, but no success.

“Aren’t there any windows?” I asked.

“There are, but they are too high up.” They replied.

It would be pointless to try again and again and failing each time. It would be better if there were more people to help pull the door.

“Youngmi, stay here.”

“Wait. You seriously aren’t going to leave me behind and go are you?”

“Jongin and Sehun are close by anyways so I’m trusting them. You three should try to break the door open until I come back. I’m going to be looking for Minhwa and Myungsoo. It’s possible that the two of them would have split up by now to look for me. I’m sure one of them will come to the lighthouse and wait here eventually until I reach the lighthouse while someone else would be in the woods. Just wait here and if one of them comes just let them know, okay?”

“Will you be alright though? I mean, what if that man follows you again?”

“I’ll run back!” I smiled. “Did you two hear that? Watch over Youngmi while I’m gone!”

“Hyunsoo, be careful.”

“Don’t worry. I will!”

I ran off leaving Youngmi behind with Jongin and Sehun who are stuck in the lighthouse. I decided to stick relatively close to the path just in case they are closeby. Just like before, the forest was quiet. I never noticed the sounds the crickets made until now. It’s so quiet and peaceful again compared to before when I was with Youngmis team.

“Minhwa?” I called out. “Myungsoo?”

I kept walking and called their names every once in a while. But so far, I had no luck.

“Myungsoo? Minhwa? Are you guys here? Answer me if you are!”

Again, no luck.

I kept walking and soon, I started hearing the same footsteps as earlier matching my own. I just kept walking not trying to look back and picked up my pace.

“Myungsoo? Minhwa? Please come out.”

The footsteps I heard picked up its pace too trying to match my ones.

“Please come out you two. I’m scared.”

The footsteps that were following me became even faster. They were faster than my own. Was I going to be murdered, , were my kidneys going to be sold in the black market, I didn’t know. I was honestly too scared to think straight and started running.

At this point, I didn’t care which direction I was heading towards, I just wanted to get away from the man who was following me. I looked back and this time, that man was running after me unlike last time when he just stopped following me. I tried to run faster but the muddy ground made it hard for me. At this rate I might twist my ankle.

I ran until I was pulled by someone behind a bush. I was too out of breath to even scream. I didn’t know whose hand pulled me.

“Be quiet.” I heard a whisper. It was a familiar voice. Myungsoo. I felt so relieved to see him.

“, he’s coming.” The mans footsteps were coming closer to where we were hiding.

“Hey, what are you doing?” We heard a voice in the distance. The man stopped walking.

“There was a girl here in the forest. I was chasing her. I think she’s hiding here.”

“Forget the girl. Let’s get out of here!”

The mans footsteps slowly disappeared. They became quieter and quieter as we waited and were eventually gone.

“Hyunsoo, are you okay?” Myungsoo asked. At this point, I couldn’t control my tears anymore. I was never this scared in my life. I looked up to see Myungsoos face in shock.

“Thank you. Thank you so much for coming!” I cried. “I don’t know what could have happened if you didn’t come.”

“Well, it’s okay now right?” He smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Minhwas gone to the lighthouse, let’s catch up to him, okay?"

I still couldn't stop crying.

"Hey, stop crying."

"How can I stop crying if I could have been killed a couple of minutes ago."

"Well, think positively. You are still alive and healthy!"

"I could have been and buried alive just like discarded evidence."

"Hey..."

"And by the end of the week, there would have been an article; 'Schoolgirl found dead inside forest while on a School trip' with the picture of my remains. "

"You're just being too over dramatic now..."

"I still have a long life to live."

"Hey, snap out of it. You're still alive aren't you? I ran around the whole forest looking for you, do you know that? Minhwa and I freaked out when you went missing. We started looking for you and when we heard you scream we couldn't even think straight.Do you really think I would have let you die today? You ain't dying with me around, you got that? "

I stopped crying and vigorously nodded my head.

"Myungsoo?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"You're too close!"

"S-sorry!" He moved away.

"But you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm glad you showed up. Really, thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it. Just try and work on your navigation skills. They big time."

"Can I ask you something else?"

He seemed a little surprised that I wasn't affected by his cuss.

"Sure. What is it?"

At this point you could see his face clearly under the moonlight. His face seemed a little red, maybe because of all the adrenaline rush. His face was serious. I don't know why, but it felt a little strange seeing him like this. Yes, he usually is serious but his expression now looks different.

"N-never mind. Let's go back to the lighthouse. I'm sure everyone else is worried."

Myungsoo and I rushed back to the lighthouse maintaining a distance between each other. I was too embarrassed with what I wanted to ask him so I kept quiet. Myungsoo took the lead and was quiet too. My face still feels warm. I wonder if my face is red. Good thing it's dark, you can't see much. I wonder what his expression is like...

"Hyunsoo!" I heard Youngmis voice. I looked up and it was her indeed. Sehun and Jongin managed to somehow get out. I'm guessing that Minhwa helped them.

She ran towards me and hugged me.

"I'm glad you're okay." she cried. I looked up to see Sehun and Jongin with dark expressions.

"Are you okay, Hyunsoo?" Minhwa came up to me too.

"Yeah, don't worry. I eventually found Myungsoo out in the woods." I smiled.

"You mean I found you!" Myungsoo commented.

"Does that really matter? We are all safe now. Be happy no ones hurt!" Youngmi exclaimed. Everyone went quiet for a moment. She was right. We should be glad that we are alright. Especially me. I'm glad that I wasn't fated to die today. I still want to see a lot in life.

"Hey, Pres. We are sorry. We were both really selfish and it put you at risk. The next time we behave like this, be sure to slap us back into our senses." Jongin said.

"Slap us as many times as you want. We deserve it." Sehun added. The two of them felt really bad about this, but they are apologising so sincerely.

"Don't sweat it you two. Your selfish and idiotic side makes you who you are. We all make mistakes and you apologised didn't you? You were smart enough to realise your mistakes so be happy. "

"You know what, you're kinda cool Hyunsoo!" Sehun smiled.

"We were idiots to always belittle you and talk so much about you." Jongin added.

"Hey, you just said I can slap you if you act like idiots right? Can I slap you now? I told you to act as yourselves. I don't want you to treat me differently. But I guess I can accept the fact that I'm cool."

"How lame, praising yourself." Myungsoo commented.

"What did you say?" I clenched my fist. I looked at him. He was staring at me. My clenched fist loosened up. "Forget it!"

"You are all quite cool you know. Myungsoo, Minhwa, even Youngmi. She kept trying to break the door after Hyunsoo left." Jongin commented.

"Can we head back already. Because of today, I'm probably going to get nightmares for a whole month. I don't want to extend that time period." Youngmi stated.

We decided to go back but we were stopped.

"We came all the way out here and we still didn't get the last item!" Minhwa said.

"Since when were you so enthusiastic about this?" Myungsoo asked Minhwa.

"Well it would be a waste wouldn't it. It would make us think twice before entering a forest in the middle of the night next time."

We looked at each other and shrugged. Why not?

"Let's take one together." Jongin suggested as Sehun got out his phone. He activated the front camera and we all stood in front of the lighthouse trying to fit into the screen. With that done, we completed the challenge. We went back to the meet up spot in front of the cliff and were flooded by questions. Apparently the group after us.was sent back to the cliff to tell everyone that the challenge has been cancelled and to explain the situation. But compared to their curiosity, everyone was just glad that we were okay.

Who those men were, I don't know and I don't want to find out either.

Author note : I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I was watching Attack on Titans (Levi ftw) and Soul Eater (Symmetry ftw) and reading some Shoujo mangas. Just kidding, I work now. I got two jobs ^^. But I did watch Attack on Titans and Soul Eater but it didn't take much of my time. It took me a while getting into working mood after summer holidays so I've been exhausted for the past couple weeks. Okay, I apologise for my sorry excuses. It took me long to write this since I kept getting distracted OTL.

Okay, so who do you think those people in the forest were? Will they appear again? What were they doing there? (Even I haven't decided on which direction I should go with these characters since I have a couple ideas).

P.s Thanks to all the new subbies and of course the old subbies and the very very very few commenters and also the silent readers..... because even if you're not subscribing you're still at least reading it, right? And wow, the class trip is taking a lot of chapters and it's only been day 1 so far xD Look forward to more^^