“You look exhausted,” Kai commented.

Sehun stifled a yawn as he stared down at Areum, who had entered an uneasy slumber. Her eyes seemed to be twitching under their lids and her lips were moving slightly as if murmuring, but no sound came out.

The boy rubbed his eyes, which had dark circles creeping to the surface of the skin underneath. He hadn’t slept for days, watching Areum by her side just in case a nightmare grabbed her in its claws sometime in her sleep.

“You should go get some sleep. I’ll be here, so don’t worry.”

Reluctance was evident in the maknae’s face, but he got up from the chair anyways. He stumbled, as if a wave of dizziness had crashed over him. Kai’s hand darted out and grabbed the younger boy’s arm, steadying him.

“You should really get some rest.” Kai glanced at Sehun’s face worriedly. It was as pale as Areum’s white sheets.

Sehun momentarily closed his eyes. “Any news from Hyung?” he asked hoarsely.

Kai shook his head. “We’re hoping for the best,” he stated. “No news may be better than bad news.”

Nodding, Sehun stumbled out of the room. Kai heaved a sigh and sat in his chair. His eyes found Areum’s sleeping face. She was almost as pale as Sehun. Her brow was furrowed. Kai reached over and smoothed it out with his fingers.

Suddenly, Areum started gasping for air. Kai bolted up, alarmed. She opened and closed it like a fish out of the water. Her hands were grabbing at the air, as if looking for a lifeline to hold onto. Her body twitched and sweat was beginning to form on her forehead.

“Areum!” Kai put both his hands on Areum’s shoulders. “Areum, wake up!”

The girl’s eyes shot open. “Joonmyeon Oppa!” Her cry sounded pitiful and desperate.

“Areum! Areum, are you okay?” As Areum’s eyes slowly focused on the boy before her, Kai stared back at Areum with concern etched in every facial feature.

Kai pulled the girl into an embrace. Her body seemed limp, as if her all of her energy had flown away.

“Joonmyeon Oppa.” The girl’s voice was hoarse, as if she had been screaming for minutes. “Is he safe?”

“He’s going to be fine.” Kai awkwardly patted Areum’s back. “He always is.”

Sehun burst into the room. “I heard a scream. Is everything-” Seeing the position Kai and Areum were in, he lost his words.

Kai turned his head. “She’s fine. I thought I said you should go get some sleep.”

Frowning, Sehun didn’t budge. “Maybe I should stay beside her. She’s comfortable with me the most, right after Joonmyeon Hyung. She needs me.”

“If we get attacked within seconds, we need everyone in prime condition. You look like you would collapse if someone pushed you with a finger,” Kai said drily.

Sehun furrowed his brow. “I… fine.” With a huff, he whirled around and stalked out. “I’m coming back within five hours.” The door shut.

Kai understood the strange expression the younger boy had on his face before he left – it was one that he was so accustomed to nowadays. It was a mixture of pain and jealousy. A sigh escaped his lips as he held Areum, who seemed to have fallen sleep again. It was obvious the girl’s best friend was in love with her.

“And who is in your heart?” Kai whispered, knowing that she would not hear. He carefully lowered the girl onto her back.

Save her colorless face, she seemed like a sleeping beauty. It reminded Kai of the story he heard when he was little. A sigh escaped his lips. He wished that a kiss could really solve all her problems.

Chen was the only person who saw Hyungwon of Monsta X pull out his pistol from the pocket of his vest. Chen was the only person who knew who the boy was going to shoot as Hyungwon carefully aimed his gun. Chen was the only person who knew that if he gave out a verbal warning to the target, it would be too late.

Yet he knew that Hyungwon was too far away for him to tackle. So he did the only thing available at the moment. He launched himself at Joonmyeon to push him away out of the way, fully aware that he would be in the range of the oncoming bullet instead.

The shot rang out, heads turned, and Joonmyeon fell as the heavy weight shoved him aside. Joonmyeon stumbled to the ground, but immediately got onto his feet and whirled around. He paled as he saw blood splattered on the ground. Chen was kneeling in front of him, a look of anguish on his face and a dark stain slowly growing bigger over his left chest.

Everyone in the room, whether part of Monsta X, BAP, Exo-M, or Exo-K, froze, stunned. Then the silence was broken by a crack as Chanyeol managed to punch Hyungwon in the face. The fighting ensued.

Ignoring the chaos around him, Joonmyeon fell onto his knees in front of Chen and placed his hands on the younger boy’s shoulders. “Are you okay?” He tried to rip the vest to the side to see how severe the wound was, but Chen stopped him with a shaky hand pressed to his wound. It looked bad – half of Chen’s vest was already soaked.

“Are you stupid?” Joonmyeon barked. “Why would you do that?” He faltered. “Why would you take that bullet instead of me?”

Chen’s eyes were half-closed. “Don’t feel so bad. I was only thinking of Areum.” He coughed and a splat of blood shot out. “She… she wouldn’t have been able to regain her strength without her brother.”

Tears began to form in Joonmyeon’s eyes. He rapidly blinked them away – it was no time to cry.

“We need to leave,” the Exo-M member managed out in a gasp. Joonmyeon had activated the bomb a few seconds earlier. They had approximately three minutes. Joonmyeon nodded and carefully put his arm under Chen’s shoulder. With fierce determination, the Exo-K leader slowly pulled him up and headed towards the nearest broken window. His face was grim. They would jump if they had to.

He would bring Chen to the nearest hospital even if it killed him, just as he would’ve if it had been one of his Exo-K family members.

Wow! It's been too long! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter! We're really heading into drama in these latest updates!

Anyone who would like to make a cover image of this story, please send me a message! :D