Her hand never let go of his, their legs moving faster than the wind. It had been a while since either of them had ran like this, so doing so together was a strange feeling.

It just so happened that when trouble struck again for both of them, they were here together travelling through the forest.

"Where is your car?" Hwayoung asked, panting heavily as she pulled the boys hand further towards her.

"Keep going," Sangyeon said breathily, although he wasn't quite sure where he was going. "Eric, are you there?"

The girl didn't have time to be confused, although she suddenly became conscious of the fact that more of them were out there, causing her to halt and the boy to fall into her. "Who else is here?"

"Just four of them," trying to catch his breath, the leader glanced around, anticipating his friends response. "Sunwoo? Are you there?"

The tapping sound that came from his ear piece served to signal that they were there, but they couldn't speak. That in itself made the boy gulp. "What's happening? Are they there?"

Sangyeon nodded, his chest rising and falling quickly as he noticed their hands still intertwined.

His eyes lingered there for a moment, although maybe a moment too long as the girl tapped his face with her other hand, the one that conveniently held the gun. "Earth to Sangyeon."

"Be careful," he nudged away her hand, almost chuckling at her carelessness. "I can't hear anything, can you?"

"If you stopped breathing so loud," Hwayoung warned, the boy trying his hardest to calm his audible breathing. "Nothing yet-"

Her words were cut off by the sound of a distant shot, followed by multiple more. The silence in Sangyeon's ear piece told him that they should stay put and fight back. For his members, he would face death, they knew that anyway.

More silence followed after the commotion, this time it was comforting to hear each other's breaths. The girl glanced over, clutching his hand a little tighter. "Where are they?"

"Dotted around the place," the leader nodded, feeling rather helpless. "They might have moved by now."

"Let's find someone," Hwayoung said confidently. "Even just one, okay?"

Her voice was calming for a change, her once deep tone replaced with one that was soothing enough to reassure him about any worries he had.

The silence behind them was deafening, and they knew the second that they ran they would surely face danger. Yet with the weapon in her hand, she knew she could protect him. It felt strange to think those words, but deep down - she knew that he would do the same for her. "Ready?"

With a deep breath, the boy nodded no quicker than she began to run. Her legs were long and she moved fast, faster than he expected, but he was still grateful.

The noise around them began, the shuffling in trees as they sprinted past followed by the sound of more footsteps.

"Keep going." Hwayoung advised, glancing over her shoulder as she tried to catch her breath. The lack of identification was a dead giveaway that they were not on 'their' side, and she had no choice but to raise her pistol. When shots began to fire, she was certain that they were a threat.

She pushed Sangyeon to run in line with her, standing guard of his silhouette as she shot over her shoulder.

The sound of the noise so close was enough to make the boys heart skip a beat no matter how prepared or experienced he was with this. He just felt helpless as she shielded him, protecting him.

The sound of a body hitting the leaves was enough to make the two run further. "I can see you, keep moving forward." Eric's voice ran through Sangyeon's ears, washing him over in relief.

"We're close to Eric," the leader panted, looking over his shoulder at the girl who didn't appear shaken at all by what just happened. "This way."

It was a struggle to determine just where he was sure his teammate was, but this route seemed promising as Eric continued to encourage him in his ear. That was until the boy ran into someone's body, cursing to himself and at Eric as he received no warning.

As quickly as it happened, Hwayoung cocked back the trigger, yet a piercing yelp stopped her. "Sunwoo?"

"It's me," the younger breathed out, his hands limply by his sides as though he began to surrender. "Let's go, come on."

They proceeded as though the run-in never took place, Sunwoo running alongside Sangyeon as another layer of protection. Admittedly, he felt somewhat pathetic being covered by the girl behind him and his team mate beside him, but there wasn't much else he could do. "Where is Juyeon?"

"He's coming." The younger assured breathily, changing direction swiftly as they followed.

As though on queue, the sound of relatively distant firing echoed through the trees. It was a sign that Juyeon was in fact near by, lurking somewhere.

It was then that in the darkness came another figure, one that wore a somewhat sinister smile upon its face and erupted in amusement as he joined the chase.

"Is luring people to their death funny, Changmin?" Sunwoo joked, halting slowly as rustles came from the bush before them.

"Kind of," he answered honestly with a shrug and a deep breath. "Unless it's us, then it's not funny."

The youngest team member emerged from the grassy hill, folding his equipment slowly and carefully. "We're done here, folks."

Hwayoung looked around at the boys in confusion, hearing the pattering of another's feet accompanied by the large figure of none other than Lee Juyeon who now stood beside her. "Are you sure we're done?"

"For now," Eric reassured, looking around as everyone caught their breaths. "But we need to go quick, who knows what's around the corner. Literally."

With a nod, the boys strolled carefully through the wood path. They were so calm that it almost terrified the girl, but she didn't speak up.

Partly because she knew how many questions the boys would surely have, and partly because she didn't want to talk.

And so she didn't, the whole car ride home she focussed on the burning graze upon her cheek and the sensation that never left her lips from the moment she placed them upon his.

The leader who sat in the front seat, so nonchalant and non-phased. Everyone in the vehicle seemed to be the same. "Hwayoung?"

Sunwoo's voice was gentle, yet still enough to startle the girl. "Yes?"

"What happened to your cheek?" He whispered, leaning across the gap in the SUV. "Is it painful?"

"It's okay," the girl smiled lazily, nodding appreciatively. "I'll survive, Sunwoo."

He needn't question her anymore. The way she spoke was awkward, and he knew that she must've had a lot on her mind. Everyone in the car knew that, considering they heard exactly what happened earlier.

She leaned her head against the window, her eyes watching as the city passed by. They lit up every so often at the sight of the bright lights, and Sangyeon who now looked over his shoulder to watch her wondered why.

She must've missed the life she once had, before everything turned sour. He wondered if things would ever be the same for her, and he wondered if he wanted that for her.

The car halted as they found themselves away from the city, Juyeon jumping out alongside Changmin without a word.

The thumping and clattering of metal could be heard and felt from inside the car, but Hwayoung was too drained to question it.

"They're changing the license plate," Sunwoo read her mind, watching as she chuckled softly with her head still perked against the window. "Maybe a bit too late, but it'll do."

Her small laughter was enough to reassure the boys that she was doing somewhat okay, and that's all that mattered right now. To some more than others.

"You can steal some of my clothes," the youngest offered the girl who walked lazily up the stairs to the apartment. "I'm sure everyone will offer you something, you won't go without. That's a promise."

"That I won't go without or that everyone will offer me?" Hwayoung joked, the boy shrugging. "Can't be so sure of the latter." The girl mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers as the door opened before her.

It was then she was greeted by the familiar face of Chanhee, the boy's jaw dropping ever so slightly. "What is going on?"

The girl shuffled awkwardly, smiling as the boy threw an arm around her, squeezing her gently.

"You're alive," he reiterated, the girl chuckling as she opened her eyes, seeing everyone else sat upon the sofa looking at her in shock. "How can this be?"

She wanted to murmur a quick "I don't know either", but when her eyes landed upon the blonde boys bloodshot ones, she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"So, she wasn't buried 6ft under?" Haknyeon joked, earning a scowl from everyone else around the room. The girl chuckled nonetheless, smiling with pursed lips. "Sorry, Hwayoung."

With a shake of the head, the girl watched as Jacob rose to his feet, looking over at Sangyeon who stood silent in the corner. "What is this?"

The denial in his tone was apparent to everyone in the room, more than half of them feeling the same confusion. They just knew that to Jacob, this meant a lot more.

"We've still to ask questions," Juyeon interfered. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually, right, Hwayoung?"

"Yeah," she nodded, not tearing her half lidded, tired eyes from Jacob. "I promise I'll explain."

"How do we know this isn't another trap?" Hyunjae spoke up amongst the silence. "They made it fairly clear that she was dead."

The girl watched as the conversation picked up, steadying on to become something chaotic. Her eyes glanced back and forth as the boys who accompanied her home fought her case, yet she didn't have the energy to confirm anything.

"Can't you make up your mind?" Sangyeon spat as Hyunjae edged closer.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The brunette scowled back, the boys shuffling awkwardly around the two as they bickered. It was nothing new. "Don't I make a valid point?"

Jacob watched as the girls eyes flickered every so often, her face and demeanour becoming drowsy.

"Hey," he said gently as he approached her, steadying her by her shoulders. The bruise and scrape upon her cheek was more clear under the living room lights. It was surreal to be this close to her again, a simple touch confirming she was in fact real and all of this was just as real as it would have been had she not been here and alive. "What did they do to you, Hwayoung?"

His muttering as he examined her face didn't distract her from the scene alongside them.

"Make up your mind," Sangyeon repeated, his voice growing louder. "I'm sure just weeks ago you were throwing yourself at her."

Jacob's face scrunched up as he brought Hwayoung closer to him, her head falling upon his chest.

"Ah, low blow," Hyunjae chuckled, shaking his head. "I asked a simple question, and you bring up my wrongdoings. You're good at that, aren't you?"

"Enough," Sunwoo shouted, standing in between the two. "That's enough, seriously."

It was then that the girl slumped against the blondes chest further, her body growing limp as her eyes closed over, passing out in her best friends arms.

With mere panic on his face, Jacob simply lay her down, shaking his head at the others. The leader looked on with fear in his eyes. "Can't you see she's been through enough?"

Sangyeon's jaw clenched as his once worried eyes tore from the girl to the boy in front of him, narrowing ever so slightly.

For her sake, he would keep his mouth shut. Although around Hyunjae, it would be hard. They were back to their roots, the constant bickering and head clashing.

But the girl who lay bruised and tired upon his couch was his main priority, his coat now laying across her frame as everyone else but he and Jacob left the room.

"What did they do to her?" The blonde muttered sadly.

"I don't know," Sangyeon felt angry at the mere thought. "But they'll pay, I promise."