Ara and Sehun nodded at each other – an action that assured both of them that the presentation was going to be smooth – as they stood behind the curtain. All third year students were seated in the assembly hall to watch each others' presentations, since it was something they've prepared for a whole month. And it was going to be a very important mark.

Just as the two of them took a step forward, as their presentation was the next, Sehun's phone vibrated, and both halted. Ara watched as the male narrowed his eyes looking at the display. His whole aura darkened and he ran a hand through his hair. “Is … there a problem?” She asked with uncertainty in her voice, still looking at the boy.

“He wants me to go on that meeting,” Sehun mumbled, clenching his cellphone in his hand. “Now.” He then breathed out angrily. “And he's threatening me with something … of which he knows how important it is to me … that bastard.”

Ara stiffened. But the presentation … ? She couldn’t do it without him. They had halved the information perfectly, and so had they learned the information. She couldn’t memorize all of his subtopics within three minutes. Unknowingly, her face had given away the shock and panic that began spreading inside her, when her blank expression usually hid her emotions, and she just stared at Sehun.

When the male's gaze met hers, guilt immediately overcame him. The panic in her eyes was evident and he wished he could just throw cellphone away, wished he never received that damn message … but before he could think further about it, the girl's normal expression was back. Ara pressed her lips into a thin line as she said, “Then you should go … although I don’t know with what he's threatening you, if it's important, you shouldn’t take the risk …” She averted her gaze from his brown orbs when she continued, “Besides, I'll be able to manage it alone,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. It was easier to lie as she didn’t look in his eyes, but still her whole body seemed to refuse to her own lie. She knew it was impossible to do the presentation alone, but what could she do anyway? Sehun wasn’t someone to exaggerate, so it had to be of much importance to him …

The male looked at her and he couldn’t feel more indecisive. It just had to be that one damn thing, didn’t it? How did his father even know about it? Half of his body wanted to rush to the meeting, but the other half couldn’t forget the panic in Ara's eyes. “But– ”

“Hurry up, or the threat might become reality,” the girl mumbled, cutting him off, as shoved him lightly, still avoiding to look at his eyes. She couldn’t see the indecision in his eyes.

She heard a low 'Damn it' before his figure reached the door and disappeared. Taking a deep breath, she looked up again. Now that he was really gone, the panic didn’t want to disappear, but she knew it wouldn’t help, so she pushed it back. A voice could be heard, letting her know it was her turn. With heavy steps, she made her way to the stage, the stick in her left hand and a microphone in her right one.

When the lights focused on her, making her blind for a second, turmoil swept the audience. As Ara finally got used to the lighting, she could see the other people's faces. They seemed to say things such as: why was this girl doing the presentation alone? Where was her partner?

Clearing , she pushed away the panic and ignored the people's expressions. She began. And it was smooth for the first ten minutes (the presentation was going to take a whole hour), until it was Sehun's part. Her eyes scanned her notes for the information, but there was simply too much. She didn’t know what exactly he would have said – rather, she couldn’t remember what he said during their trial. Involuntarily, her voice was stuttering a bit as her brain still tried to sort out what to say, and her eyes still fixated on her notes. This wasn’t good. It was the worst to constantly look at the notes, but she couldn’t change that. If she had known, she would have learned Sehun's parts as well, but it was too late to think about what could have happened.

Short, weirdly structured sentences slipped from her lips, giving quite a contrast to her smooth beginning. “T-This is why the …” she trailed off and searched for the word. “The …” Damn it, what was that word again? Ara's nails dug into her palm as she still couldn’t think of the word. It wasn’t even a hard one, but all of a sudden it just disappeared.

“This is why the ozone depletion is caused by CFSs, which compounds on the enhanced greenhouse effect, accelerating the rate of climate change,” a voice suddenly said and the girl spun around, eyes wide. 

Sehun was standing there, chest rising and falling heavily, looking like he just ran here. None of the lights focused on him yet,