As the boys and girl exited the car in the mall’s parking lot, Kai nudged D.O. “Do you really think this is safe?” he whispered into his friend’s ear.

“Well, I can’t guarantee it, but she ought to be a whole lot safer with all of us next to her. If the worst happens, three of us can stay and fight while one of us escapes with her.” D.O.’s tone was matter-of-fact. He locked the car and began following Chanyeol and Sehun, who were already entering the mall with Areum.

The five entered a nearby shop that sold clothes for teens. Areum began pulling out simple sweaters and pants.

“Are you sure you don’t have to try them out?” Chanyeol asked with a raised eyebrow. He held up a frilly white dress. “How about this?”

Areum frowned. “I don’t like wearing dresses or skirts. It’s annoying enough to wear a short uniform skirt to school every day.”

Chanyeol’s jaw dropped. He had thought every girl liked frills and dresses.

“Are you done?” Sehun asked. He was the only one used to the girl’s unique tastes. She nodded and they all proceeded to checkout.

Kai was standing next to Areum while they were in line. He found himself studying the girl’s face. ‘She does look nothing like Joonmyeon Hyung,’ he thought.

Looking up, Areum saw Kai staring intently at her. She widened her eyes and asked innocently, “Is something wrong?”

Snapping his head away, Kai quickly and coldly replied, “It’s nothing.” Areum shrugged and looked away. When she did so, Kai snuck a peek at the girl, surprised. Usually, people told him that when he stared at someone, his gaze was dark and terrifying. When he chanced upon meeting eyes with passers-by, they would shiver in fear or look away and avoid him completely. However, this girl didn’t seem the slightest bit afraid of him. Suddenly, he was scared of what she had experienced as a child in the orphanage with Joonmyeon. It must’ve been so scary that nothing else really bothered her.

They left the shop with D.O. and Sehun good-naturedly carrying the bags of clothing. Areum had insisted on carrying them herself, but they had refused to share the load. The group headed to a girls’ clothing store down the hall.

Areum felt a hand grip her arm tightly, preventing her from walking forward. She looked up to see Chanyeol with a grim look on his face, staring straight ahead with cold eyes. “What is it?” she asked, turning to face the front.

Two tall boys were staring at them with smirks on their faces. “My, my, why isn’t it Exo-K,” said the boy on the right. He had doe-like eyes that contained contempt. The boy on the left was silent.

“Luhan,” snarled Sehun, addressing the boy who had just spoken. Sehun stepped in front of Areum as if to hide her from view.

Noticing Sehun’s intent, Luhan arched an eyebrow.  He leaned to the side to get a glimpse of Areum. “And who may the girl be?”

“Stop acting dumb! You know that she’s Joonmyeon Hyung’s sister!” snapped Chanyeol.

“She is?” Luhan smiled coldly, but his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

“How could you?” Sehun took a step forward so he was looking Luhan straight in the eye. “How could you mercilessly set fire to her house after scaring her half to death?” he hissed. Anger had lighted in his eyes.

Luhan crossed his arms. “We Exo-M did no such thing,” he replied smoothly.

“You bag of sh**!” Kai snarled. “You thieving pack of cowards are nothing but liars!”

Luhan narrowed his eyes. The other boy barely moved and his face was expressionless as though he were a statue. “Dare to repeat that?” Luhan asked in a deathly quiet voice.

“Hey, not in public!” D.O. stepped forward and yanked Sehun back with his free hand. “There are mall cops here,” he warned. The boy glared at Luhan and his companion meaningfully.

“You’re right.” Luhan nodded coolly. “If you have something personal against us, find us outside this place.” As Sehun hissed in annoyance, the two Exo-M boys passed them without a second glance and disappeared around the corner.

“Those bastards!” exploded Chanyeol. “I’ll freakin’-”

“No swearing in front of Areum,” D.O. interrupted. “Come on.” He led the way to the next store.

Areum noticed that Sehun was clenching his hands into fists. “Who are they?” she whispered.

Sehun glanced at her and struggled to regain his composure. He let out a shaky breath to still his anger. “Our enemies. They call themselves Exo-M.” Although his tone was calm, his eyes still burned.

“Why are you-” Before she could finish her question, Chanyeol pulled her into the store.

On the car ride home, the car simmered in silence. Areum had fallen asleep, for she had been tired from the lack of sleep the previous night. When no one was looking, Sehun tilted her head towards him so her head would rest on his shoulder rather than hang down, which would be uncomfortable for her, or lean against Chanyeol’s shoulder, which would be even worse.

When the car stopped, Sehun immediately got out and reached inside to gently lift the sleeping girl out. He began walking to the house by himself with his Hyungs staring after him and shaking their heads. The boys got out of the car and into the house.

“Sehun,” D.O. called out warningly as the younger boy left his room after placing the sleeping Areum onto the lower bunk. “You know that you’re still sleeping on the couch tonight, right?”

Sehun frowned. “The couch hurts my back and it’s too small.”

“Or you can sleep on the carpet on the ground like Joonmyeon Hyung did,” Kai suggested drily.

Furrowing his brows, Sehun muttered, “There’s a perfectly good bed in the upper bunk of my room. Why can’t I sleep there?”

“Speaking of empty upper bunks, you can sleep in Chanyeol Hyung’s room since Baekhyun Hyung is gone.” Without leaving time to argue, D.O. disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner.

Sehun rolled his eyes. “Why is everyone against me?”

Chanyeol raised a hand cheerfully. “I said nothing.” With an innocent look, he went over to throw an arm around the shoulders of the maknae. “Although I too don’t really like the idea of you sharing a room with Hyung’s sister,” he added. “By the way, do you snore?” Sehun glared at the older boy.