“Tao?”

The said girl nearly jumped out of her skin due to the sudden voice behind her. Her head whirled around faster than you ever thought was possible with wide, terrified eyes.

“Minseok! God, I was this close to die of a heart attack because of you!” Tao scolded while placing a hand over her heart to calm her rapid heartbeats.

Minseok smiled sheepishly. “Oops? My bad.”

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“More like what are you doing here. ” Minseok retorted back with a raised brow. “I saw you hiding behind that pillar like a thief, so I decided to come over and ask because you look like you are up to no good.”

“Shh.” Tao placed a finger on her lips while gesturing for Minseok to come closer with her other hand. “Don't tell anyone, but I'm on a secret mission.”

Minseok instantly furrowed her brows. “Secret mission? What are you, an FBI officer?”

“More or less.” Tao shrugged before turning around to peek from behind the pillar. “Now, be quiet.” She reminded Minseok without looking.

“What exactly are we looking at?” Minseok asked curiously, but she was smart enough to keep her voice down to a whisper.

“Just watch.”

Minseok opened to argue, but immediately decided against it because she knew it was rather pointless after all at this point. And so, she chose to join Tao and carefully positioned herself behind Tao since the other was a lot more taller than she is. Once she removed Tao's hair that was getting in the way, she immediately found herself staring at a group of male students standing in a loose circle. Minseok recognized them as her classmates and one of them just so happened to be the weird kid with an even weirder way of speaking that was seated next to her in the class. There was a hint of distress on their faces as they talked rapidly towards each other.

​​​​​​“It was nothing.” Minseok instantly recognized the speaker as Kyungsoo's deskmate. “She must had mistaken me for someone else.”

“Lies.” The tallest in the group interrupted with an accusing look. “I know you, Kai. Better than you thought.”

“Of course you do.” Kai muttered lowly. There was a bitter edge to his tone as he shifted his gaze away.

“But, that doesn't mean you could blindly accuse him like that, Kris.” Another tall male, which Minseok vaguely remembered as the one seated next to Baekhyun, interrupted.

“Look who's talking.” Kris said heatedly. “Don't you remember what happened the last time you pulled this kind of stunt, Park Chanyeol? Leave the girl alone!”

​​​​Chanyeol's face noticeably grew darker. “Thanks for the reminder, but I'm still fully aware of my surrounding, Wu Yi Fan.”

“Wu Yi Fan?” Tao repeated in confusion while turning her head slightly towards Minseok. “Am I the only one or did that giant Yoda seriously just called the other giant with two different names?”

“I heard it too.” Minseok said, furrowing her brows. “They are a whole bunch of weirdos I'm telling you.”

Tao hummed thoughtfully as she tapped a finger on her chin. “And, what was that all about? I swear they definitely have something against Baek.”

“Baek?” Minseok raised a quizzical brow. “Why? What does she has to do with these guys?”

Tao shrugged. “No idea yet.”

“Huang Zitao, is that why you're lurking around like a goddamn thief? Are you trying to come up with all of those weird s about murder and revenge again?” Minseok promptly placed her hands on her hips. “That's it. You're coming with me right this instant, you weird panda.”

“Oh, come on. Let me have my fun.” Tao complained as she was dragged away by Minseok.

“I knew it. Something is definitely up the moment you bring up secret mission.” Minseok shook her head in disbelief. “You really need to stop watching too much television.”

“In my defense, those guys are acting all mysterious that it's almost impossible not to get curious!” Tao pouted. 

“You're so in trouble.” Minseok tsked. “I'm bringing you to Suho.”

“... .”

~~X~~

“So...”

“No.”

“Oh, come on!” Tao whined as she slumped her whole body against the poor chair. “I haven't even finish yet!”

“I already know what are you going to say anyway,” Suho simply said. “—and the answer is no.”

“B—But, this is so unfair! I haven't even done anything.. yet.” Tao added the last word lowly under her breath.

Suho responded with a stern glare. “Huang Zitao, you are forbidden from watching the television for a week and that's final. Period.”

Tao groaned even louder as she childishly stomped her feet under the desk. Meanwhile, Luhan who had taken a seat next to her momentarily, broke into a hysterical laughter while clapping her hands.

“Yes!” Luhan cheered loudly. “I can watch my drama in peace now.”

Tao looked as if she was on the verge of tears as she alternated a glance between Suho and Luhan before she abruptly buried her face in her arms.

“Oh, the teacher is here—Wait, that's not her, isn't it?” Luhan made a move to go back to her seat, only to halt mid-way as she stared at the unfamiliar teacher making her way into the class.

“Good afternoon, class.” The teacher greeted with a smile on her face. “I know you must be wondering why am I here instead of Mrs. Kang, but I won't be long. I just need to make a quick announcement to all of you.”

Luhan slowly sat down again while Tao begrudgingly straightened up after being poked mercilessly by Suho from the side.

“What kind of announcement?” Luhan whispered curiously.

“Your impending death probably.” Tao bit back sulkily. 

“Tao.” Suho warned. Tao instantly made a face, but obediently kept shut.

“As all of you are fully informed already, our school had been organizing a mandatory camping once per year for as long as I can remember.” The teacher began as her eyes swept over the students in one quick movement. “Anyway, the teachers agreed that we could use a little bit of a change this year so we came to a mutual agreement that we are going to have a spring camp instead of the regular summer camp.”

“Spring camp?” Luhan blinked. “Sounds fun.”

However, it seemed as if the rest of her classmates had a completely different view on the matter as there was a collective groans emerging from all over the place. It was particularly louder coming from behind them and beside Minseok. 

“Oh, don't be like that, kids.” The teacher chided while supressing a smile. “Cheer up because we just recently received a huge amount of donation from a kind soul so we're going to somewhere new this year. It's going to be a lot of fun.” 

“Weirdos.” Tao mused. “Why don't they like the idea of spring camp? It's definitely so much better than summer camp. Summer camp involves a whole lot of sweat and mosquitos and tears.”

“Tears? Really, Tao?” Luhan rolled her eyes.

“What?” Tao said defensively. “I hate the sun and when it gets too hot, the tears just naturally flow out, okay?”

Luhan just shook her head in response.

“Anyway,” The teacher resumed, effectively shutting down the buzz of noise around the classroom. “We are leaving on next Friday so you are required to hand in your permission form by next Wednesday. No form, no spring camp.” She paused for a moment to glance down, squinting at the sheet of paper in her hand. “With the exception of a few students. I was told that twelve students in total from this class have the express permission from their respective guardian. You know who you are so ignore this part of the announcement.”

Luhan quirked her brow. “Twelve?”

“That's new.” Tao commented before the two exchanged a quick look with each other. “Usually, it's only us, isn't it?”

“Yeah, and cue for the weird looks from the rest of the class.” Luhan agreed. “I wonder who's the remaining six.”

“Whoever they are, they must have quite an interesting story behind it.” Tao remarked, looking amused.

Meanwhile, the teacher was still blabbering away about the upcoming event. “Like I've said before, we are going to do something completely different this year so guess what? Instead of the usual summer camp at the beach, we are going to the mountain in the countryside for some hiking this time so please pack your things accordingly.”

There was another round of collective groans from the students before they began complaining all at once. This time, Tao and Luhan finally understood why they are so against the idea. The students clearly preferred being at the beach than the mountain. Luhan couldn't exactly blame them for that. The beach was rather much more interesting than the mountain after all for most youngsters unless you were an avid fan of the nature.

“Just my luck.” Tao sighed dramatically. “They have their summer camp at a freaking beach for years, but they just have to decide on switching the place when I finally moved here. What exactly do you have against me?” Tao said angrily while looking up.

Luhan naturally mirrored her action. “Who are you talking to?”

“Whoever is up there obviously.”

Luhan tilted her head to the side. “There's someone up there?” She asked in confusion. Tao instantly did a major facepalm.

“Never mind.”

Luhan pouted, but didn't argue further. “I thought you hate the beach by the way. The last time we went to one, you nearly murdered Baek for suggesting it.”

“Yes, but I hate the mountain even more.” Tao shuddered. “Imagine the amount of bugs and ghosts crawling in there! Can't they organize this kind of thing at a better place like a normal person?”

“This is what people normally do.”

“Well, say what you want but it still is not normal for me.” Tao argued stubbornly while Luhan snorted in response. “Aren't you going back to your seat yet? Mrs. Kang is going to be here soon.” Tao said in annoyance when it was clear that Luhan was mocking her.

Luhan gasped before scanning her surrounding. She abruptly pushed her chair back and stood up. “Why didn't you tell me? When did that teacher even left?”

“While you were too busy talking to each other obviously.” Suho quipped from the side while shaking her head. “Do you guys even listen to her at all?”

Ignoring Suho, Luhan instantly made a beeline for her seat just in time before their teacher made her appearance. The class began shortly afterwards, and it wasn't until two hours later that they were finally allowed to go home.

“A spring camp.” Baekhyun gushed as the girls entered the subway train. “I can't believe just how lucky we are. We just started school and we get to go to a spring camp right away. It's almost as if it's a welcoming event for us.”

“Lucky my .” Tao murmured moodily.

“Someone is not happy.” Minseok noted with a raise of her brow. “Aren't you supposed to be glad that at least we are not going to the beach?”

“That's what exactly I said to her too earlier.” Luhan chirped in while shooting a knowing look in Tao's direction. “Apparently, going to the mountain is even much worst because I quote her words, imagine the amount of bugs and ghosts crawling in there.”

Minseok immediately chuckled in amusement while Kyungsoo rolled her eyes.

“I told you we should've forced her to go to that haunted house.” Baekhyun said appraisingly. “I'm sure that would've cured her of this disease right away.”

“Disease?” Tao repeated, looking highly offended. “Excuse me, Byun Baekhyun, but you wouldn't last very long either in a haunted house!”

“You want to bet, Huang Zitao?” Baekhyun challenged.

“Girls.” Suho interrupted with a look of disapproval. “We are in a public transportation. Be quiet.”

“It's alright, young lady.” The girls jumped slightly out of surprise. They simultaneously turned to their right, coming face to face with a woman fully dressed in black attire. It was hard to tell her age since her face was fully covered by the ridiculously huge hat that she wore on her head and it was certainly not helping that she was lowering her head at the moment. But, judging from the way she was addressing them and how she was dressed, she must had to be at least in her mid 30s.

“Did she just come back from a funeral or something? She looks like one of those Beverly Hills's mourning widows.” Tao whispered, earning a disapproving look from Suho.

Luhan might had imagined it, but she swore she saw a little smirk playing at the corner of the woman's lips, which immediately reminded of a certain someone that she met a long time ago. 

“They are not even being that loud so there's no need to scold them.” Suho smiled sheepishly since the words were obviously directed to her. “If I may offer you a quick advise though, I would suggest for you to be careful during that spring camp of yours. The young lady is not entirely wrong about the danger that is always lurking around in the mountain here.”

Tao grinned victoriously and shot a pointed look towards Luhan and Baekhyun. Unfortunately, Luhan couldn't care less at the moment as she kept her gaze fixed on the older woman.

“That being said, I hope you enjoy your time there.” The woman concluded. There was a hint of satisfaction in her tone as if she was proud of herself for giving them that useless reminder. Then, she slowly rose to her feet, revealing her extremely tall stature. “It's nice meeting you, children. I'm getting off here so till we meet again.”

“Nice to meet you too.” The girls replied politely as they waved her off almost in unison. Except for Luhan, who seemed to be frozen in her spot. Her brows were knitted closely together as she stared hard at the older woman's disappearing back. The woman felt quite familiar somehow and Luhan just couldn't shake the feeling that this was definitely far from from being a mere coincidence.