As soon as both Donghae and Minhyuk ran towards where you supposedly were, Yonghwa was about to follow when Eunhyuk stepped forward, blocking his way. Yonghwa briefly watched Minhyuk turn at the corner, and at the back of his mind prayed he’d find you first. He wasn’t too sure about Donghae’s plans—yet since Minyuk was there, he wasn’t too worried. He focused his attention towards the situation now. The possibility of elimination was high, but if he can buy them some time, maybe Eunhyuk won’t be able to eliminate anyone.

He tried stepping to the left, but Eunhyuk was quick to intercept. Grabbing his arms, Yonghwa struggled against the firm hold of Eunhyuk as he looked around. Maybe if he can just step to the right and turn him around quickly enough to loosen his grip, he can push Eunhyuk away then escape. As soon as he put the plan into action, however, Euhyuk didn’t lose his balance as he planned, and instead was able to reach his name tag in one swift motion.

"Andwaaaaaeeeeee!!" Yonghwa cried as he tried to get away but Eunhyuk didn’t hesitate as he pulled his name tag.

"Sorry!!!" Eunhyuk replied and that was it.

Yonghwa, OUT.

Without wasting any more time, Eunhyuk immediately ran off, leaving a tried Yonghwa slumped on the floor catching his breath.

Upon hearing Yonghwa’s elimination, you gasped and quickly covered your mouth. You were still peering outside from the room you were hiding in, looking out for either team mate or opposing team. Eliminated? But how—your train of thought was interrupted when you suddenly heard the sound of bells. Surprised, you moved away from the door and closed it abruptly. This caused a loud bang as it slammed shut and you fell on the floor. CRAP! You thought as you tried to get up, regretting that you had given yourself away by such a careless mistake. At that moment, someone opened the door and you froze, closing your eyes. You felt the rush of anxiety, adrenaline, and finally disappointment, from finding yourself losing so easily in this game.

Crap. Crap. This is it. I’m going to lose—

"Yeobo!"

You opened your eyes and looked up as you saw Donghae holding the door apart, trying to catch his breath as he managed a smile. All the feelings of worry began to melt away as you heaved a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness—

"Oppa!!" You called as you stood up immediately and ran to him. He opened his arms as he caught you, wrapping your arms around his neck as his automatically wrapped around your waist. He pulled you in tightly as you found yourself happy to be in his embrace. He closed his eyes as he steadied his breathing.

"I finally found you." He breathed as he buried his head on the crook of your neck and closed his eyes. While you two shared this heart-warming moment, the cameramen did not waste any time as they were filming this all as if it was a drama—as if it were a forbidden love story between two opposing kingdoms. (A/N: and that could make a great story for a drama, don't ya think? :>)

"I'm sorry I took so long." He said as he pulled away enough to face you, yet not so far as to release you from his embrace. He gave his best smile, proud that he had finally found you.

 "It's okay, oppa, I'm just glad you're here."

"Were you scared? Sorry for frightening you." He said as he tucked your hair behind your ear. “I heard the loud bang and you falling on the floor, are you okay?”

You smiled. It was just like him to worry about you. It was something that you admired and found to be his best quality—that he was really caring and sweet. “I did fall but it’s okay, and yes, I was scared but now not anymore." You said as you looked up at him and smiled. He turned a bit pink when he saw your charming smile and nodded. He was happy you were okay, and that he can protect you now.

"Oppa,” You began as he let go of you and turned around to check if someone was outside.

“Hm?” He replied as you held the back of his uniform. He got surprised for a moment, and turned an even more visible shade of pink.

“Are you going to pull my name tag?" You asked as he turned around, but only chuckled.

"I told you I'd protect you, so here I am." He said as you tilted your head.

"But you're in the opposing team--"

"And you're my wife, so that’s that."

You turned red at this as he continued to laugh and took your hand, your fingers intertwining. "Don't worry, I won't, because I'm protecting you now." He said as he looked at your joint hands, and satisfied, he nodded. "Shall we go?"

"De oppa." You said as you both walked outside the room, only to be met by Minhyuk, who had just turned at the corner. He seemed to be breathless, and even more surprised in seeing both of you together.

"Y-yah, are you going with hyung?" He managed to say as you looked from him to Donghae. You looked at him once more as he stepped forward. "What if he pulls—”

"He won't pull my name tag, it's okay." You said as Donghae pulled you closer to him, but Minhyuk suddenly held your hand and pulled you towards him. You stepped forward, dragging Donghae with you for a few steps. Now it really seemed like a drama as the two boys from each team held onto you.

"How sure are you?" He asked as Donghae frowned at the sight of you two holding hands. Minhyuk held a tight but not painful grip as he looked at you, then at Donghae.

"Oppa, it's okay," you began to reassure Minhyuk as he kept on staring him down. "Really, it's okay. You've been with me this whole time, and thank you for protecting me, but now it's okay."

Donghae's brows furrowed.  Oppa??? Since when did she call him oppa??? Wait... She calls her whole team oppa but still, they were together the whole time?! Wha—

Minhyuk looked at you and slowly nodded. Sighing, he let go of you. "Okay. I trust you." He said as he looked at you, and ruffled your hair as you smiled.

“Thank you oppa~!” You said as he just laughed. Donghae frowned once more at the sight of how close you two were. Before he could react however, you turned to him. “Let’s go?”

“Yeah,” he began, pushing those thoughts of whatever it was, away. Turning around, he was about to pull you away when Minhyuk had called out to him.

“Hyung!” He said as you both turned around. “You better protect her.”

He wasn't sure why he felt uneasy with Minhyuk's protectiveness, but still, Donghae pulled you close to him as he nodded at his dongsaeng.

"Of course I will."

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this is probably the chapter i had most fun writing so far hahaha :) thank ya'll for reading! just a few more chapters till the end of the game ^^ see you in the next chapter!