It had only been a few hours since she had met them but Soojung felt that she had learnt a lot about the five clients’ personalities simply by observing them. Well, she had actually majored in psychology, after all, during her college days. She had actually planned to be a probation officer but when her precious older sister, Jessica, and her friend decided to open up a business Soojung had decided to help them out.

She was the one who had come up with the concept of escaping from everything in life. She was inspired by her own desire to get away from her damned life and she realised that she was not the only one. When she had told Jessica her idea, the older Jung had immediately liked it and agreed to the concept straight away. Needless to say, the concept had been attracting a lot of people until now, making the business successful.

Initially Soojung wanted to be an agent but thinking about it, it would be a waste if she had learnt psychology for four freaking years and she did not make use of it at all. So she had decided to be a tour guide instead. That way, she could bond with her clients and help them through their problems by lending them a listening ear. She did not mind it at all. In fact, she liked it.

She was trained to observe people and that was how she managed to know some things about the personalities of her clients and of course, as expected, there was something bothering the five people.

To be honest, Soojung treated all of it as a game. It was a game to see how long it would take for people to open up to her. It was a game to see what people were hiding underneath their facades. She wanted to dig deeper into the humans’ minds to know everything about them to sate her curiosity. Despite that, she was still sincere in helping them.

From her observation, Soojung knew that the most difficult person to open up to her would be Jinri. Jinri was such a cheerful and bubbly person but Soojung knew that there was something on her mind that had been invading her thoughts. Jinri was just trying to cover up by putting up a cheerful front.

The easiest person that would open up to her was Sehun. Even though the young man might seem cold and distant, Soojung knew that deep down, he was craving for attention. He needed someone to show him care and love. Judging by his actions, Soojung knew that the guy was facing a major problem but she did not know what. The problem was most probably the most difficult to deal with among the others’ problems.

But that did not mean it would be easy for her to coax him into opening up to her. People needed time to be convinced and Soojung had always been manipulative. She was confident that she could get the guy to open up to her soon. Slowly, one by one, she would make them open up to her and unravel their secrets.

A small smile reached her lips as she stood up from her bed. She decided that it was time to do her mission. She left her room and went to the living room where her five clients gathered. She glanced at the clock and realised that it was already one in the afternoon.

“Since it’s your first day here and all of you are basically having a jetlag, I’ll just show you what kind of places there are around the beach and I’ll treat you all to lunch. Is that all right with all of you?” Soojung announced, smiling brightly at them.

“I’ll never say no to free food,” Yoona replied almost immediately. Her eyes were shining brightly, probably due to her love for free food.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Jongin answered as he stood up. “I’m changing my clothes for awhile.” With that, he entered his room.

Yoona, Jinri and Luhan decided to change their clothes too so they went to their respective rooms, leaving her and Sehun alone in the living room. Soojung shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. She racked her brain for something to say when the guy beat her to it.

“May I ask you something?” he asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.

“Shoot,” she replied before realising that she had just been informal to him when they had just met during the dawn earlier. She opened to apologise.

“Why did you decide to be a tour guide?” Sehun asked, interrupting her intention to apologise.

The tour guide merely blinked at the question. She did not expect him to ask her that question but it was not like she minded anyway. Even though she did not mind him asking her that question, it was kind of a personal question and she did not like telling people that she just met earlier things about herself. That was why she decided to return his question with her own question. “Why did you decide to go on this trip?” she shot back after a moment of silence.

The young man visibly stiffened at the question and he looked out of the window, avoiding her piercing gaze. “That’s none of your business,” he snapped, all of a sudden being defensive.

Instead of making her want to withdraw herself back from prying, it made her all the more interested in his story. She wanted to know what made him feel like he needed an escape. She wanted to know what he was running away from. She wanted to know why he was like this. What kind of childhood did he have? Was it that bad? Or was it not as bad as she thought it would be? Or was it actually worse?

“You can trust me, you know,” she told him trustworthily.

Seconds ticked by in absolute silence and Soojung wondered what took the others so long to change their clothes. Thinking twice, it was better that way. She would like to hear Sehun’s answer.

“You did not answer my question,” he said abruptly changing the subject.

She could not help but laugh. Ah, he was trying to avoid answering her question. But it was all right. Sooner or later, Oh Sehun would definitely open up to her. He would tell her eventually. “I don’t intend on answering that question,” she told him briefly.

Sehun snorted at her response. He turned to look at her with his eyes that were judging her hard. His jaw clenched and his tone was sharp and cold when he said, “And you expected me to answer your question?”

Soojung opened to protest that she did not expect him to answer her question now but before she could do so, the young man had already cut her off.

“That’s not fair, don’t you think so? Why should I tell you things about myself when you won’t even share your story? So unless you want to tell me your story, don’t even hope that I will tell you mine,” he spat out.

Soojung winced at his harsh tone. Well, she never thought that it would be easy to coax him into opening up to her, anyway.

. . .

The restaurant that Soojung had brought them to was located near the beach and it was undoubtedly beautiful. It was called Paix Restaurant which meant peace in French, Soojung had told them. Jongin really liked the restaurant. It had two floors and the setting was beautiful. It looked like a normal restaurant except for the fact that the walls were made of glass so that the customers were able to enjoy the view of the sea.

The six of them made their way upstairs. There was a small stage on the top floor and two young men were sitting on chairs on top of the stage. One of them was holding a guitar and playing it while the other was singing as his hand held a microphone. It was obvious that the customers were enchanted by the performance and they greatly enjoyed it.

Soojung led them towards a table near the stage and all of them sat down. A waitress handed out the menu to them and Jongin browsed through it, not really looking at it. He chose a random food and placed his order. The others were soon done with their orders and the waitress walked away.

Jongin tapped his foot impatiently while the others were busy talking to one another. He tried his best not to feel left out and instead, he focused on the amazing performance. The song soon ended and applause filled the room. He joined the applause. He suddenly felt an urge to dance. Usually at this time of the day, he would have been dancing with his best friend, Taemin. He felt homesick. But speaking of home, he did not want to be reminded of-

“Earth to Jongin,” Jinri said, snapping her fingers right in front of him causing him to snap back to reality. He scowled at her but she was unaffected by it. “We asked you to vote on who is more handsome: Jongdae or Yixing? Soojung refused to vote since they were her friends and we’re on a tie right now.”

Jongin blinked blankly at her. “Who the hell is Jongdae and who the hell is Yixing?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Sehun scoffed at him while Yoona just shook her head almost sadly. Luhan just gave him an I’m-judging-you stare while Jinri literally smacked her own forehead. “You didn’t hear anything we said, did you?” she asked rhetorically but Jongin just shook his head, anyway.

“Give him a break, Jinri-ah,” Soojung cut in before Jinri could attack him with her sarcastic words. “He must have been so captivated by their performance that he did not even hear what you said.”

“What performance?” he asked blankly again and this time, Soojung was the one who face-palmed herself.

“Jongdae’s and Yixing’s performance, duh,” Sehun answered his question like it was the most obvious answer in the world as he rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“How the hell am I supposed to be captivated by their performance when I don’t even know them?” Jongin asked, feeling aghast.

“They are the ones who just finished performing on that stage just now,” Luhan explained to him patiently. It was then Jongin understood and he felt thankful for the older man’s explanation. “The guitarist is Yixing and the singer is Jongdae.”

Jongin tried hard to remember the two faces but he failed to do so. He had always been bad in remembering faces, anyway.

“So who is more handsome? Yixing or Jongdae?” Jinri asked, poking his side causing him to sit up straight in surprise.

Acting like he did remember their faces, he said arrogantly, “I’m not gay so I’m not voting on anyone.” He usually was not this cocky but then, he had been so blank just now and if he said that he did not remember their faces, he was pretty sure that they would start calling him an idiot.

His response evoked anger in two people, though. Luhan and Sehun glared at him menacingly and they snarled at the same time, “Are you saying that we’re gay?”

Jongin gulped before mumbling, “That wasn’t what I meant.”

. . .

Now that he was standing on the beach, facing the lodge that he was staying in, Oh Sehun realised that there were other lodges too next to it. He guessed that maybe it was just a place to rent for people who were on a vacation. It was really nice to get away from everything.

When Kim Joonmyun, his psychiatrist, recommended him to apply for the escape trip from Tranquil Agency, Sehun had not exactly been pleased about it. He wanted to deal with his problems by himself but Joonmyun insisted. Sehun, being the nice patient he was, decided to try out Joonmyun’s suggestion and he supposed that it was not that bad.

He admitted that ever since he landed on Jeju Island, he felt lighter somehow. It was almost as if he could forget that incident that had scarred him forever. He almost felt like he was free from the shackles that bounded him back in Seoul.

Keyword: almost.

Of course that incident would not disappear from his memory even though he was miles away from the place that the event had occurred. He would remember every single detail of it. He was still reminded of the blood that kept on pouring out, the flashes, the fire and most importantly, the body. Of course he would never forget the body. The body was the main point of everything, after all. He remembered the hours he spent at that damned place, answering stupid questions and the shock of it all.

Sehun gritted his teeth. This was supposed to be his vacation, damn it. Why was he still thinking of that incident? More flashbacks began to replay in his head and he let out a small whimper.

He wanted those pieces of memories to stop. Oh God, there was too much blood, too many people, too many questions. He did not realise when he had sunk to the sand and began to claw at his own arms, trying his best to make the images stop. He could not breathe and he just wanted to stop thinking.

Sehun did not notice when somebody had touched his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Instead of calming him, it had the opposite effect. It made him more panicked. Tears rushed to his eyes and he could not see anything except for the incessant images that kept on invading his mind. He pushed the person’s hand off his shoulder.

He did not remember what happened next. All he knew was that the images would not stop popping up in his head and he was desperate to make them disappear. He did not want to see what had happened. The images were so vivid that it was as though it were happening all over again.

He remembered hearing someone scream and he thought that it might be from him but he was not sure. Hands were touching him everywhere, restraining him but he still could not see anything, too absorbed in his memory. Suddenly, he felt a pinch on his arm and seconds later, everything went black.

. . .

“Post traumatic stress disorder,” Luhan said, breaking the silence. Everyone turned to look at him quizzically.

After Sehun’s panic attack, Luhan, Jinri and Yoona had gathered at the beach while Jongin and Soojung were taking care of the guy in the lodge. It was so sudden, in Luhan’s opinion. Sehun had been fine before he had the panic attack. The younger man had been happy, even. Luhan wondered why he suddenly acted that way and after a moment of thinking, he was sure that he had found out why.

“I think Sehun has post traumatic stress disorder,” Luhan repeated.

“What makes you say that?” Jinri asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly. “Maybe he has a phobia which makes him have that panic attack in the middle of the beach.”

“I agree with Luhan on this,” Yoona chimed in. “I mean, well, did you see his eyes when he was having the panic attack? It looked like he was not here with us. It was almost as though he could not see us in front of him.”

Jinri crossed her arms over her chest challengingly. She glared at Luhan. “Well, first, you said that Soojung and Jongin are dating just because they had a private conversation in the kitchen. Next, you’re saying that Sehun is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Do you jump to conclusions based on everything you see?” she sneered at him.

A flash of annoyance could be seen in Luhan’s eyes before it disappeared. “Of course not,” he replied tightly. “First of all, I started the bet on Soojung and Jongin dating because all of you were so damn awkward this morning. I was just trying to clear up the tense atmosphere. Second, I did not diagnose Sehun with that disorder. I said that I think he has the disorder.”

Jinri opened to say something but thankfully, Yoona cut her off. Luhan was grateful for that because whatever Jinri wanted to say would piss him off, judging by the furrow in her eyebrows.

“I sat next to Sehun on the plane,” Yoona uttered. “He was polite to me at first but when the plane was about to land, I heard him whimper and he was perspiring so badly. He seemed so terrified. It was obvious that he had a nightmare. I tried to wake him up but he woke up by himself and immediately scowled at me. Remember when we first met each other, he was so grumpy but when we were in the van, he was quite okay? He has mood swings and nightmares. From what I had read once on the internet, mood swings and nightmares are some of the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.”

Jinri let out a sigh and immediately stood up. “I’m not talking to judgemental people like the two of you,” she muttered before walking away, obviously frustrated.

Luhan did not get what she was so frustrated about. He was merely stating his humble opinion. “I agree on you about Sehun’s eyes,” he told Yoona. “It was like he was reliving a memory again. Besides-”

A phone rang, interrupting his little speech. Luhan realised that it came from his pocket. He took out his phone and glanced at the caller. He snorted. The two of them never gave up, did they? He answered the call. “Do Kyungsoo, I told you to leave me alone,” he snarled menacingly as soon as he pressed the ‘answer’ button.

Laughter greeted him on the other line. Yoona was raising her eyebrows at him curiously but Luhan just ignored her. “Hyung, you’re in Jeju Island, right?” Kyungsoo asked rhetorically.

“I told you that already, did I not?” he scoffed. “And I remember saying that I would kill you if you dare come and find me in this island.”

More laughter could be heard on the other line and Luhan frowned. Well, he really meant what he said the other time. He swore he would kill the two idiots if they ever-

“Actually, hyung, look at the entrance of the lodge you’re staying in,” Zitao spoke from the other line.

Luhan gritted his teeth and did as he was told. He looked at the entrance of the lodge and his eyes almost went out of his eye sockets as soon as he saw what, or rather, who were standing there. Zitao and Kyungsoo waved cheerfully at him from above. Luhan ended the call.

“I’m going to freaking murder them,” he growled lowly to himself.

Yoona had a sympathetic look on her face when she finally understood the situation without having Luhan to explain to her. “So much for an escape trip,” she commented carelessly.

“Excuse me for a moment while I go and kill the two of them,” Luhan responded before marching up to the entrance of the lodge with a murderous glint in his eyes.

Author's Note: It was supposed to be a light chapter but then, I had exams and I ended up making a little bit, uh, angst-y, since I was trying to destress. Do you think Sehun really have post traumatic stress disorder or is it just Luhan's assumption? I'll try to make the next chapter lighter. Thank you for reading, commenting, subscribing and upvoting! Enjoy reading the next chapter! :)