“Here.” Jimin grinned, sliding her dish over. “Try some of this.”

Seolhyun kept her expression in check as she twirled her fork in the noodles. “I don’t know about this.”

She laughed. “I think you’ll like it.”

After a small bite, Seolhyun decided it wasn’t horrendous. She glanced up, smiling. “Okay. Not bad.”

“I can’t believe this is your first time eating Thai food.”

“I’m not very food adventurous. I’m a french fries-and-hamburger kind of chick.”

“Well, we have to change that, because you don’t know what you’re missing.” Jimin winked. It totally looked super cute coming from her. “Thai is my favorite. Love the spices!”

The slim brunette waitress swung by and refilled their glasses. She kept smiling coyly at Jimin. Seolhyun couldn’t blame her. Jimin was one of the few who could pull off any fashion look effortlessly. She just had that mega star aura.

Seolhyun tried some more of the noodles. She was having fun, but as she pushed the food around the plate, she felt a weird tug in her stomach. She was having a great time with Jimin, but...

“So I heard something at campus today,” Jimin said after the waitress left.

Slumping against the seat, Seolhyun bit back a string of curses. God only knew what Jimin had heard. Rumors about Seolhyun were flying like UFOs. “I’m afraid to even ask.”

Jimin looked sympathetic. “I heard that Hyejeong beat up some guy because of you.”

They’d made it this entire time without bringing up Hyejeong. Seolhyun slumped a little in her booth. “Yeah, she kind of did.”

Both Jimin’s brows rose in surprise as she leaned forward. “You going to tell me why?”

“You haven’t heard the rumors?”

She ran a hand through her front hair. “I hear a lot of things, but I don’t believe them.”

It was the last thing Seolhyun wanted to do, but then she told Jimin about her homecoming date from hell anyway.

Anger flashed in Jimin’s hazel eyes, and when Seolhyun had finished, she sat back. “I’m glad Hyejeong did teach the d*ck some lesson, but that’s kind of an extreme reaction for someone who’s just a ’friend.’”

“Hyejeong can be...”

“An ,” Jimin suggested.

“Yeah, that, but she’s kind of protective of... um, Mina’s friends.” Seolhyun squeezed her fork, feeling all kinds of awkward. “And so she got a little mad over what Joongki was saying.”

“Well, I can’t blame her for that, but she really is... protective of you. I thought she was going to break my hand for touching you at the party.”

Sliding the plate back to Jimin, Seolhyun rested her chin on her hand. “Enough about Hyejeong.”

Then Jimin started talking about plans for upcoming dinner. Seolhyun glanced up, her gaze sweeping the small restaurant. Warmth jolted down her spine.

Oh, holy hell to the no. She couldn’t believe it. This was not happening.

Behind the tall partition walls, a dark head moved through the tiny rows. Seolhyun fell back against the seat, wholly aware of her and horrified. What was she doing here?

Hyejeong navigated around the clusters of tables with a grace Seolhyun envied. Women stopped eating or ceased mid-conversation as she passed. Men scooted back to give her more room. Hyejeong had a profound effect on everyone who saw her.

Frowning, Jimin twisted around, and her shoulders stiffened as she faced Seolhyun. “Overprotective type...?”

“I don’t... even know what to say,” Seolhyun mumbled helplessly.

“Hey guys.” Hyejeong slid into the seat next to Seolhyun, which left very little room. The whole left side of Seolhyun’s body was pressed against hers, tingling and warm. “Am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” Seolhyun said, mouth agape.

“Oh, sorry.” Hyejeong didn’t look sincere. Or make any attempt to leave.

A half smile formed on Jimin’s lips as she sat back and folded her arms. “How are you doing, Hyejeong?”

“I’m doing great.” Hyejeong stretched, draping her arm along the back of their booth. “How about you, Joe?”

Jimin laughed softly. “My name’s Jimin.”

Hyejeong’s fingers tapped off the back of the booth, brushing Seolhyun’s hair. “So what were you guys up to?”

“We were having dinner,” Seolhyun said and started to lean forward, but Hyejeong’s fingers hooked around the back of her turtleneck, fingers gently sliding against her skin. Seolhyun shot her a death glare and ignored the goose bumps peaking her skin.

“And I think we were just about done,” Jimin said, her wide eyes centered on Hyejeong. “Weren’t we, Seolhyun?”

“Yeah, we just need our check.” Very discreetly, Seolhyun lowered her hand under the table, found Hyejeong’s thigh, and pinched. Hard.

Hyejeong tugged her back, causing Seolhyun’s knee to hit the table. “What were you planning to do after dinner? Was Jay taking you to a movie?”

Jimin’s easy grin started to falter. “Jimin. And that would be the plan.”

“Hmm.” Hyejeong’s gaze flicked up, and a second later, Jimin’s glass tipped over.

Seolhyun gasped. Water sloshed over the table, spilling into Jimin’s lap. She jumped up, letting out a curse. The movement shook the table again. Her plate of spicy noodles slid, well, flew, onto the front of Jimin’s shirt.

Seolhyun’s jaw dropped.

“Christ,” Jimin muttered, hands at her sides.

Grabbing napkins, Seolhyun turned to Hyejeong. Her look promised a vengeful death as she handed Jimin the napkins.

“That was really strange,” Hyejeong said, smirking.

Red-faced, Jimin glanced up from patting her lap dry. For a moment, her eyes fixed on Hyejeong and she swore she was going to come across the table. And then her eyes shuttered. Quietly and with stiff, y movements, she brushed off the brown noodles. The waitress rushed to Jimin’s side with several more napkins.

“Well, anyway, I’m actually here for a reason.” Hyejeong picked up Seolhyun’s glass and took a drink. “You’re needed at home.”

Jimin halted her movements. “Excuse me?”

“Did I speak too fast, Jenny?”

“Her name is Jimin,” Seolhyun snapped. “And why am I needed at home? Right now, at this very moment?”

Hyejeong met her eyes, her stare heavy and intense with meaning. “Something has come up and you need to check it out now.”

Something obviously meant alien business. Unease crawled down her spine. Now her sudden appearance made sense. For a few minutes, Seolhyun was really beginning to believe it had been pure, primal jealousy that drove her to go all stalker on them.

And as much as it ticked Seolhyun off to do this, she knew she had to leave. Turning to Jimin, she winced. “I’m really, really sorry about this.”

Jimin’s gaze darted between them as she picked up the check. “It’s okay. Things happen.”

“I’ll make it up. I promise.”

Jimin smiled. “It’s all right! I’ll take you home.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Hyejeong smiled tightly. “I got this, Josh.”

Seolhyun wanted to face-palm herself. “Jimin. Her name is Jimin, Hyejeong.”

“It’s okay, Seolhyun,” Jimin said, lips thin. “I’m a mess.”

“Then it’s solved.” Hyejeong stood, allowing Seolhyun to join her.

Jimin took care of the check, and they headed outside. Seolhyun stopped by her car, aware of Hyejeong’s intense stare. “I am so, so sorry.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t knock the stuff on me.” Laughing, Jimin leaned in and placed a quick, dry kiss on Seolhyun’s lips. “I’ll call you.”

Seolhyun nodded, wondering how one person could single-handedly ruin everything within a minute. It was a talent. With a wave, Jimin was gone, and Seolhyun was alone with Hyejeong.

“You ready?” Hyejeong called, holding open the passenger door.

Seolhyun stalked over to the car and climbed in, slamming the door behind her.

“Hey.” Hyejeong frowned from outside the car. “Don’t take your anger out on Jjujju.”

“You named your car Jjujju?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Seolhyun rolled her eyes.

Hyejeong jogged around the front of the car and slid in. The moment she closed the door behind her, Seolhyun twisted in her seat and punched Hyejeong in the arm. “You are such a jerk! I know you did the glass and plate thing. That was so wrong!”

Hyejeong held up her hands, laughing. “What? It was funny. The look on Jungmin’s face was priceless. And the kiss she gave you? What was that? I’ve seen dolphins give hotter kisses than that.”

“Her name is Jimin!” Seolhyun punched her leg this time. “And you know it! I can’t believe you acted like that. And she doesn’t kiss like a dolphin!”

“From what I’ve seen, she does.”

“You didn’t see the last time we kissed.”

Hyejeong’s laughter died off. Uh oh. She turned to Seolhyun slowly. “You’ve kissed her before?”

“That’s none of your business.” Seolhyun’s cheeks flushed.

Anger sparked in Hyejeong’s magnetic eyes. “I don’t like her.”

“You don’t even know her.”

Hyejeong turned the key and the engine rumbled to life. “I don’t need to know her to see that there’s something off about her.”

“Whatever.” Staring straight ahead, Seolhyun hugged her elbows and shivered. She was so angry her head was two seconds from spinning.

“Are you cold? Where’s your jacket?”

“I don’t like jackets.”

“Did they do something terrible and unforgiveable to you?” Hyejeong the automatic temperature setting. Warm air blasted out of the vents.

“What was so freaking imperative that you had to go stalker-mode and find me?”

“I wasn’t stalking you.” Hyejeong snorted.

“Oh, you weren’t? Did you use your alien GPS system to find me?”

“Well, yeah, sort of.”

“Ugh! This is so wrong.”

Hyejeong shrugged.

“So what’s the deal?”

Hyejeong waited until they pulled onto the highway. “Jonghyun has called a meeting of the minds, and you should be there. Something’s happened.”

***

They got back to Hyejeong’s house before the rest of them showed up, and Seolhyun was trying to keep calm as she settled into the recliner in the corner. Hyejeong wasn’t panicking, but she didn’t know what was going on yet. Outside, several car doors slammed shut. Seolhyun wrapped her arms around her waist, and Hyejeong moved to her side, sitting on the arm of her chair.

Chaeyeon and the Jung boys were the first to come in. Minhyuk smiled at them before sitting next to Mina. She offered him the bag of popcorn she’d been scarfing and he dug in.

Yonghwa took one look in Seolhyun’s direction and rolled his eyes. “Anyone have a clue why she’s here?”

Seolhyun loathed Yonghwa.

“She needs to be here,” Mr. Lee said, closing the door behind him. He moved to the center of the living room, all eyes on him. Outside of class, he always dressed down in jeans. “I want to keep this little get-together short.”

Chaeyeon smoothed a hand over her black tights. “The AOE knows about her, right? We’re all in trouble?”

Seolhyun’s breath caught. She wasn’t mad at the scornful tone in her voice. A lot was at stake if the AOE found out about her, about them. “Do they, Mr. Lee?”

“As far as I know, they don’t know about you,” he said. “The Elders called a meeting tonight because of the increase in AOE presence here. It appears something has caught the AOE’s attention.”

Seolhyun sank back against the chair, relieved. But then it hit her. She may be off the hook, but they weren’t.

Minhyuk stared at a buttery piece of popcorn. “Well, what did they see? No one’s done anything wrong.”

Mina sat the bag of popcorn aside. “What’s the deal?”

Jonghyun’s ultra-bright green gaze circled the room. “One of their satellites picked up the light show from last weekend, and they’ve been out to the field, using some sort of machine that picks up on residual energy.”

Hyejeong scoffed. “The only thing they’re going to find is a burned patch of ground.”

“They know we can manipulate light for self-defense, so from what I’ve gathered, that’s not what caught their attention.” Mr. Lee glanced at Hyejeong, frowning. “It’s the fact that the energy was so strong it disrupted a satellite’s signal and they weren’t able to snap any pictures of the event. Nothing like that has ever happened before.”

Hyejeong kept her expression blank. “I guess I’m just that awesome.”

Minhyuk laughed under his breath. “You’re so powerful you’re disrupting signals now?”

“Disrupted only the signal?” Mr. Lee barked a short laugh. “It destroyed the satellite, a satellite designed to track high-frequency light and energy. It zeroed in on here, and the event destroyed the satellite.”

“Like I said, I’m that awesome.” Hyejeong’s smile was smug, but Seolhyun was filling with anxious energy. They both decided to play dumb.

“As awesome as that is, the AOE is very curious. The Elders believe they will be here a while, monitoring things. That they’ve been here.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s imperative that everyone is on their best behavior.”

“What do the other Felix have to say about this?” Mina asked.

“They aren’t too concerned at this point. And they have no reason to be,” Jonghyun said.

“Because it was Hyejeong who caused such a disruptive burst of energy and not them,” Chaeyeon said, and then she gasped. “Does the AOE suspect we have more abilities?”

“I think they want to know how it’s possible that she was able to do something like that.” Jonghyun studied Hyejeong. “The Elders told them there was a fight between our kind. No one implicated you, Hyejeong, but... you can be expecting a visit from them soon.”

Hyejeong shrugged, but fear spiked in Seolhyun. She kept running down everything that had happened, ending with the men turning into ash. It reminded her of the videos of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima. It had been Hyejeong who’d taken out two AOE officers at industrial building. Fried it, burning it until there wasn’t much of anything left.