Juyeon, Youngjae, Sunwoo and Hwall got to a clear cliff, overseeing the river and valleys beneath. Juyeon huffed and panted.
"Juyeon, y-you are bleeding." Youngjae said, walking towards Juyeon and eying the wound on his abdomen worriedly.
"Are you crazy!? Why didn't you listen?" Juyeon yelled at Hwall, startling Youngjae. Juyeon tugged Hwall harshly towards him. Hwall looked at Juyeon and scoffed. The other three creased their foreheads at the reaction.
"Hwall, what's with you?" Sunwoo asked, pulling him away from the fuming Juyeon carefully. Hwall glanced at him, the look on his face was mocking, playful. His eyes were glinting of full amusement.
"Nothing." He replied. Youngjae looked at Hwall carefully. He pulled Juyeon and Sunwoo towards him as he realised something. Sunwoo and Juyeon looked at him, confused.
"You aren't Hwall, are you?" Youngjae glowered, his eyes flickered to Hwall's hair which wasn't blue at the moment. Hwall covered his mouth with his hands as he made a mocking dramatic expression.
"What do you mean?" He said, tone of surprise.
"You aren't an imoogi, either." Youngjae narrowed his eyes. Sunwoo gulped at the sudden change of aura and glanced around them. They were at the edge of a cliff. Great.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Hwall batted his eyelashes, faking innocence. Youngjae stayed silent. He would fight if the imposter Hwall started but if the imposter gumiho could change forms, then Youngjae was sure whoever this was, is stronger than him. Youngjae feared he would not be able to help at all.
Hwall let out a chuckle.
"Why are you laughing?" Sunwoo said in a hard voice.
"It's just funny how you look afraid. Afraid of something you don't know. It's......interesting." Hwall said. That made Sunwoo angry. He lunged forward before Juyeon and Youngjae could stop him.
He went straight into hands on combat with Hwall. Sunwoo tried to punch him and grab onto his collars to make him stay still. But Hwall was much stronger and was able to topple Sunwoo over with a swish of his leg and elbowed Sunwoo in the face.
"Sunwoo!" Youngjae yelled but Juyeon held him back. Youngjae looked up at Juyeon who was looking at the fight with his jaws clenched. Hwall knelt beside Sunwoo and held up his chin.
Before Hwall could get closer to Sunwoo, something hit Hwall in the head. Hwall whipped his head around angrily.
"What! WHAT!" Haknyeon yelled. He was visibly fuming. While Hwall was distracted by Haknyeon, Sunwoo kicked Hwall away. Youngjae and Juyeon quickly went to help Sunwoo up.
"Youngjae, explain." Chanhee walked up beside Haknyeon.
"He's not an imoogi." Youngjae cut to the chase. He believed Chanhee already got the gist of it. Chanhee looked at Hwall calmly.
"Since we all know, why don't you show your true self now?" Chanhee said. Hwall shrugged.
"Do I want to?" He tested Chanhee.
"Do you want me to make you?" Chanhee responded. Hwall smirked, poking his tongue in his cheek.
"Maybe?"
That was all Chanhee needed to start his attack. Haknyeon stumbled back as the force from the two gumihos hit each other, emitting a blast. Youngjae wobbled and almost lost his balance if not for Juyeon holding onto his waist.
"Careful." Juyeon breathed out, looking into Youngjae's eyes. Youngjae nodded wordlessly. Then they looked back at the fight.
It was blinding, how the two fought with such energy and force. Hwall(imposter) fought with brute rough force yet sneaky moves while Chanhee was graceful in moving his body to avoid attacks. Chanhee was better at controlling his own power while Hwall just went all out.
Though Chanhee was better at force control, Hwall seemed to be strong, too strong. The reckless overthrow of power by Hwall was getting the best of Chanhee. Chanhee was too conscious of his surroundings, worried their fight might affect the others. Especially since they were at the edge of a cliff and there were people near.
Chanhee managed a swift round-about kick at Hwall's head which left the latter dizzy. Chanhee took this opportunity to tackle him down but Hwall responded in time, blasting Chanhee into Haknyeon.
"Hyung!!" Youngjae yelled, trying to run to him but got pulled back by Juyeon. Hwall chuckled as he walked towards the fallen duo. Haknyeon and Chanhee groaned.
"You okay?" Chanhee asked Haknyeon who just nodded, feeling the wind knocked out of him. Chanhee glared at Hwall.
"I though you were better than this?" Hwall taunted. Haknyeon looked at him in disbelief. Hwall was acting very arrogant and cheeky. Hwall didn't stop as he conjured up a force orb in his palm. Chanhee scrambled in front of Haknyeon to cover him. He also conjured up his own force orb.
The two gumihos stared down at each other as the force balls in their palms got bigger and stronger. Then they shot.
It was blinding, the blast. The force clashing by the two gumihos. But none was hurt.
Chanhee opened his eyes and moved his hands which were guarding him. He looked at Hwall in confusion who also had the same look.
"Enough!" A voice bellowed. Everyone looked at the three newcomers.
"Hwall! Wait, you're actually Hwall, right?" Youngjae said, running towards him and halting a bit. Hwall pouted but nodded.
"Whoa, this looks..... fun." YangYang said, walking up to the Hwall in front of Chanhee and smirking at him who smirked back.
Chanhee stared at Kun who walked to him calmly and bowed his head down.
"I apologize for my teammate's behavior." He said. Chanhee kept a straight face.
"Your teammate?" Kun nodded.
"Kim Jungwoo. This is enough." He said, turning his head back slightly. Hwall rolled his eyes and changed back into his real persona, Jungwoo.
Sunwoo stared at Jungwoo the whole time. So, he wasn't just a simple go-happy-guy he thought at first? Jungwoo noticed Sunwoo staring at him. Sunwoo got taken aback when Jungwoo sent him a little wink.
"I don't know why your teammate feels the need to mess around with us. But I do know this is breaking the rules." Juyeon said. Kun turned to him. He looked Juyeon up and down and quirked his lips ever so slightly.
"Of course. I understand. But Jungwoo has always been one to seek fun even in serious situations. It is his nature. I apologize the troubles he might have caused. But I believe you would understand." He said, turning back to Chanhee.
"He is still breaking the rules of this competition." Juyeon wanted to speak more but Kun had his back to him. Chanhee narrowed his eyes at Kun ignoring Juyeon.
"I think we had enough here." Chanhee spoke after a while. He walked away. Haknyeon and Youngjae followed immediately. Juyeon was standing, still looking at the back Kun who was ignoring him. Youngjae had to pull him away.
Sunwoo also followed the others. But not before making a final eye contact with Jungwoo.
"Bye bye!" YangYang waved his hands at them, smiling brightly.
After they left, YangYang put his hands down and turned to Jungwoo who was picking at his fingers.
"Seriously?" He said. Jungwoo smiled at him.
"You should have been more careful." Kun said.
"I was." Jungwoo muttered. Kun glowered at him.
"Doyoung was nearby. He came to inform me about you. Do you know how much complications would be caused if Doyoung and Yuta knew?" Kun clenched his jaw. Jungwoo finally looked up at Kun.
"They aren't even gonna be here for long. Why be cautious of them?"
"Be careful of what you speak, Kim Jungwoo. You may be strong but those three ,including Taeyong, can crumble you up to dust in seconds." Kun gritted his teeth. Jungwoo smirked at him.
"They might have the power but do they have the heart?" Jungwoo said and walked away. Kun stared at his back as he walked away. YangYang looked between them cautiously and sighed.
"He's getting reckless and cockier each time I meet him." Yuta grumbled as he stomped through the grassy path. Renjun nodded in agreement.
"Jungwoo hyung has always been confident though." Renjun said, innocently. Yuta shook his head at him.
"What I mean is, he-"
"Yuta!" Doyoung hissed. Yuta side eyed him and rolled his eyes.
"Ok, but why was he pretending to be one of them earlier? Don't you think that's suspicious?" Yuta prompted.
"Jungwoo has always been one to take his pranks seriously." Doyoung replied. He looked at the sky. It was almost sunset. They should be heading back to base now.
"That didn't look like a prank to me." Yuta muttered.
"Oh, look! A human leg!" Renjun pointed enthusiastically, then frowned.
"Wait, Doyoung hyung!!! It's a human leg!!!!" Renjun panicked. Yuta and Doyoung looked where Renjun was pointing. Yuta ran over to the spot.
"Stop jumping. There's the rest of the body attached." Yuta said to Renjun who visibly sighed in relief.
"Who is it?" Doyoung asked, crouching down.
"I do recognize him from the other team." Yuta said.
"Hey...I know him! He's Hyungseo from the Hwarang. but why's he lying on the ground sleeping?" Renjun tilted his head. Doyoung frowned and felt for Hyungseo's pulse.
"He's only unconsicous." Doyoung said and looked around, "Is he alone?"
"That's kind of careless, don't you think? Leaving a teammate alone, especially a human in this forest." Yuta said. Renjun agreed.
Then they heard noises nearby. Doyoung and Renjun stood up to look. There were five of the Hwarangs.
"Aren't they part of the Hwarangs?" Renjun asked. Doyoung nodded. He recognized Juyeon and waved at him for attention.
"Why's he waving at us? I swear if it's another trick to mess us up, then I'll seriously-"
"Seriously what? Haknyeon, what are you gonna do?" Youngjae crossed his arms. Haknyeon frowned and pouted.
"I think he wants to show us something." Sunwoo said. He looked at Chanhee.
"We got more people so I think it'll be fine to go check." Chanhee said. The rest nodded and they walked to the three.
"Oh great Hwarangs! We have found one of your comrades sleeping under the tree. We fear he may be dead." Yuta said sarcastically.
"Yuta!" Doyoung scolded. Yuta humphed and stood beside.
"Please don't misunderstand. We found him unconscious and was deciding what to do when you showed up." Doyoung explained.
"Hyungseo hyung!" Haknyeon and Hwall ran towards Hyungseo.
"You sure he's real?" Juyeon asked. Youngjae crouched down beside Hyungseo and inspected him. He nodded after confirming.
"What do you mean if he's real?" Renjun asked. The six guys looked at each other.
"Nothing." Sunwoo said. He helped Haknyeon carry Hyungseo.
"We should head back together. It's getting dark and time is almost up." Doyoung suggested. Chanhee nodded.
Once they got to the base camp, Changmin was pacing around at the entrance.
"Chanhee!" He cried out as he ran towards them. Chanhee winced as Changmin hugged him hard.
"Youngjae! What happened to your clothes! You look like shit!" Changmin tossed Chanhee aside and ran to Youngjae as he cupped his face to examine him. Chanhee stumbled, falling into someone's chest. He looked up to see a stoic looking Yuta staring down at him. Chanhee gulped.
"Thanks?" He said, uncertainly.
"No problem. Now get off." Yuta pushed him away. Chanhee scowled at the way he was getting manhandled. He dusted his clothes and looked up to see Sunwoo staring at him. Sunwoo looked away immediately when Chanhee noticed.
"Where are the others?" Juyeon asked Changmin.
"Not back yet. Except for the two on the other team." Changmin pointed at Taeil and Haechan. Haechan was tilting his head at him, a smile suspiciously dancing on his lips. Chanhee and Juyeon frowned and looked at each other, somehow reading each other's minds.
Juyeon leaned forward to Chanhee and whispered into his ears.
"I don't like his look." Juyeon tilted his head towards Haechan.
"Me neither." Chanhee replied.
"Joonyoung hyung!" Youngjae cried and ran towards Joonyoung who was approaching. Joonyoung had a hard time catching Youngjae who jumped at him.
"Did you miss me that much?" Joonyoung huffed. Youngjae nodded, almost teary eyed. Joonyoung laughed at that. He heard a small chuckle beside him and turned to look at Sangyeon in surprise. Sangyeon immediately covered up his laugh with a cough. Joonyoung smiled at him warmly.
Sangyeon let his eyes wander off then widened when he spotted the unconscious Hyungseo.
"What happened to him?" He said.
"That's what I want to ask you two. I thought Hyungseo was with you guys. What happened?" Chanhee asked, crossing his arms.
"The guys from the other team found him unconscious. I don't think they did anything." Haknyeon said, struggling to keep Hyungseo straight.
"And he's still knocked out?" Haknyeon nodded.
"Wait, where's Hyunjae and Younghoon?" Changmin asked. They looked at each other, then up at the sky.
It was already past sunset.