Seolhyun could no longer be trusted with the whole staying home thing. So when Hyejeong called a little impromptu meeting of the Felix kind on Thursday night, they did it at her house just to make sure Seolhyun didn’t roam off or something.

Mina had spent Wednesday with her, and Hyejeong continued her creeper status that night by keeping watch over Seolhyun’s house (at least she did it from her front porch this time). Anyway, Chanmi and Yuna were still nowhere to be seen.

Darkness had fallen when the Jungs and Jonghyun arrived, everyone piling into the living room. All the lights next door were off, but Hyejeong knew Seolhyun’s mom was home. She was hoping that meant there was little to no trouble Seolhyun could get herself into.

Hyejeong stood in the center of the room, arms folded across her chest, bracing herself. Mina was perched on the edge of a recliner, her hands folded in her lap. Minhyuk was leaning against its arm, and the tense pull of his expression told Hyejeong he knew why he was here.

Chaeyeon was sitting on the couch beside Yonghwa. Her reddish hair brushed her shoulders as she tipped her head to the side, sighing loudly. Hyejeong’s lips twisted into a wry grin. Chaeyeon had no problem letting people know when she was bored or unhappy. Jonghyun sat on the arm of the couch, back stiff and shoulders straight.

“So what’s going on?” Yonghwa asked, glancing up from the phone in his hand. “The last time we were called together like this, someone died.”

Hyejeong’s eyes narrowed. Of course, he was talking about Youkyung.

Chaeyeon turned her head to him, eyebrows arched. “Really?”

Minhyuk sighed. “We need to work on improving your sensitivity later, brother.”

“Whatever,” muttered Yonghwa, glancing back at his phone. His finger scrolled across the screen.

Jonghyun gave a little shake of his head. “What did you want to discuss, Hyejeong?” He knew about Seolhyun and he also knew where this conversation was heading, but he was wrangling the conversation back to the point.

“There is a girl named Seolhyun–”

“Who is incredibly awesome,” Mina interjected. “And super nice and smart and–”

“She moved in next door.” Hyejeong cut her off, because frankly none of that mattered. Yonghwa’s fingers stilled over the screen and he looked up, his mouth opening. Hyejeong went on. “I don’t know why the AOE allowed that. Yesterday I had my normal check-in with Chen and Xiumin. I asked them, and Xiumin was the one to answer, giving some lame reason about the government not wanting the house to sit empty for so long. Too suspicious.”

Chaeyeon’s gaze sharpened. “Why didn’t you tell us about her sooner?”

“Didn’t see the point at the time.” A muscle along Hyejeong’s jaw began to tick, because the look on Chaeyeon’s face pretty much summed up the amount of Kloom associated with that statement. “We’re talking about it now.”

She looked over at Mina. “And let me guess. You’re her new best friend?”

Mina met her stare. “So what if I am?”

“I really shouldn’t have to explain all the problems with that,” Chaeyeon retorted. “And I’m sure Hyejeong has pointed out every one of them.”

Hyejeong had.

“Seolhyun and I are friends,” Mina replied, leaning forward in the chair. “That’s not going to change, and I’m not going to sit here and let you give me crap about it. It is what it is.”

Chaeyeon turned wide blue eyes on Hyejeong. “And–?”

“You heard her.” Hyejeong grinned when Chaeyeon’s hands curled into fists. “I’ve been keeping an eye on Seolhyun, getting to know her so we know what we’re dealing with.”

Yonghwa snickered. “I bet you have.”

Hyejeong drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You got something to say, bud?”

He raised a shoulder. “I just think ‘keeping an eye on her’ is code for something else.”

“Keeping an eye on her means exactly what it is,” Jonghyun explained, sending Yonghwa a look of warning. “The fact that the AOE allowed humans to move next door is suspicious. Hyejeong is smart by trying to gauge if she or her mother is a risk.”

Mina frowned. “Are you trying to say that she could somehow be planted there by the AOE?”

“We don’t know,” Jonghyun simply said, and while he had a good point, Hyejeong didn’t think that was the case. More like his general paranoia talking. “Anything is possible, is all I am saying.”

Mina’s frustration was evident in the stubborn line of her jaw. “Seolhyun is not some kind of government spy.”

“Well, if she was, we’d be screwed, since I traced her last week.” Hyejeong dropped that bomb, and everyone but Mina reacted as expected. There were curses. Jonghyun nearly had the Felix version of a . Chaeyeon looked downright murderous.

Minhyuk sat down on the arm of Mina’s chair. “How did that happen?”

“There was a bear. It was charging her.” Hyejeong left out the fact they had gone on a walk, since no one really needed to know that. “I used the Source to scare the animal off. Seolhyun didn’t see her do it. She thought it was lightning,” she paused. “I didn’t have any other option.”

“Yeah, you did.” Yonghwa frowned as he placed his phone on the coffee table. “You could’ve just let the bear eat her . Problem solved.”

Chaeyeon nodded her agreement.

Hyejeong didn’t even bother responding to that. “The point is, she was traced, and the AOE isn’t banging down our doors and locking us in cages. Chen and Xiumin acted yesterday like nothing had changed, but I thought you all should know what happened.”

“We should have known about this girl when she first moved in,” Chaeyeon said, voice thinned with anger.

Mina rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t your business.”

“It’s all of our business,” Yonghwa corrected. “The Elders aren’t cool with us living outside the colony as it is. After what happened with Youkyung, we have to be careful. In other words, don’t run around tracing humans, head.”

Hyejeong slowly lifted her hand and flipped him off.

Yonghwa smirked as he leaned back against the couch, shaking his head. “This is just unbelievable. First it’s Youkyung and–”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Yonghwa. For real,” Hyejeong warned, her chin dipping down. “I’m not Youkyung. This isn’t the same thing.”

When Yonghwa opened his mouth, his brother wisely stepped in. “Shut it, man. I really don’t want to end the night picking you off the floor.”

Jonghyun eyed Hyejeong closely. “Is that all?”

She shook her head as she kept an eye on Yonghwa. “No. Seolhyun was attacked by a Kloom Tuesday night.”

“Damn,” Jonghyun muttered, running a hand through his cropped brown hair. “Is she okay?”

Surprise flicked through Hyejeong. She hadn’t expected Jonghyun to care. “Yes. She’s okay.” The memory of her struggling to get air into her bruised throat surfaced. “She’s going to be okay. I killed the Kloom, and she doesn’t know what it was. She thinks it was a mugger.”

Chaeyeon stood fluidly and moved to the window overlooking the porch. She didn’t say anything, but she was antsy and that was never a good thing.

“The trace is still on her. It should fade in a couple of days, but we need to be on the lookout for the other Kloom.”

The conversation steered toward patrolling and how Jonghyun was going to notify the Elders that they had confirmation of Kloom in the neighbourhood. They needed to train some new recruits to help with the doubled patrols, which was Hyejeong, Minhyuk, and Yonghwa’s job.

“I’m handling it with her,” Hyejeong said, pretty much over this conversation.

“Why don’t we just tell her the truth?” Mina asked.

Hyejeong stared at her, unsure she had heard correctly.

Jonghyun stood, turning to Mina. “You cannot be serious.”

“Why not?” Mina raised her hands, her expression earnest. “She’s a good person, and she’s logical. She’s not going to freak out or call the media. Frankly, who would believe her? She will understand. Trust me.”

“Mina,” Minhyuk said quietly, kneeling beside her. “You can’t tell her what we are.”

Anger flashed across her face, deepening the hue of her eyes. “I’m telling you, Minhyuk, she can be–”

“Okay, okay. Let’s say she can be trusted and that she doesn’t tell anyone,” Hyejeong said, meeting her sister’s gaze. “She takes this to her grave, but that’s not the only problem. You might trust her, but that doesn’t mean everyone in this room does.”

“Namely me,” Yonghwa commented.

“And what do you think will happen if the Elders find out about Seolhyun knowing the truth?” Hyejeong persisted, hoping to reason with Mina on a different level. Chaeyeon finally faced them again, her expression blank as she watched them. “Or what do you think the government will do? They don’t know her. They have no reason to trust her. She’ll disappear. Hello? Juho, anyone?”

Mina in a sharp, audible breath at the reminder of their sister’s human boyfriend who ‘disappeared’ along with her last year.

“You don’t want to put her in that position, do you?” Hyejeong asked. “Because that’s what you’re also risking by telling her the truth.”

For a moment, Mina held her gaze but then lowered it. She shook her head. “No. I wouldn’t want to risk that.”

Chaeyeon folded her slender arms across her chest. “I can’t believe you.”

Mina glanced up. “What?”

“You have no problem risking our safety, but you worry about hers? Like we mean absolutely nothing?”

“That’s not what I feel or what I’ve said,” Mina argued as she glanced back and forth between them. “We can take care of ourselves. That’s all I was trying to say.”

Hyejeong walked the Jungs out while Jonghyun remained inside, talking to Mina. Probably lecturing her. Standing on the porch, Hyejeong watched Minhyuk and Yonghwa cross the lawn toward their car. The latter was eyeing Seolhyun’s house like he wanted to nuke it. Yonghwa might be a problem.

“Hyejeong?”

Twisting around, she found Chaeyeon standing there. “Hey.”

“I’m sorry about being such a to your sister in there.”

Hyejeong grinned. “No you’re not.”

She glanced u