Kai was inside the bathroom, washing, and Sehun was inside Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s room, having an intense discussion with Baekhyun about the Exo-M’s drug delivery business. Areum was sitting on the couch, reading the book Chanyeol had left.

Suddenly, a ding disturbed her reading. Areum realized that it was from the Exo-K’s emergency cell phone, which was laying on the stand next to her. Curious, she glanced at the screen. A new message was flashing on the screen. It said, “Areum! It’s Joonmyeon Oppa. Could you come to Parkway Street right now to meet me? I’m coming!”

A grin formed on her face and the book slipped from her hands. ‘Of course!’ she thought. She knew where the street was; it was on the way to the park Kai had taken her to. With excitement from being able to see her brother coursing inside of her, she ran to the front door and left the house without another thought.

‘That’s weird,’ Kai thought as he exited the bathroom. He stared at the empty couch. The book Areum had been reading was on the floor, as if she had dropped it. Striding towards the couch, a flashing screen caught his eye. He glanced at the emergency phone. On the screen, the text message Areum had seen was flashing. A chill ran up his spine. Joonmyeon would never ask his sister to do such a risky thing.

“Baekhyun Hyung!” he screamed. “Sehun!” He had never felt so afraid in his life. He glanced at the phone. He would need to call the real Joonmyeon.

Areum stood under a dim streetlight. The dark street was deserted. The darkness didn’t scare her; happiness and anticipation were blooming inside of her. She would get to see her brother! She glanced at her watch. Eleven o’clock.

Suddenly, she felt strong arms grab her from behind. The arms roughly dragged her into a dark alley, where she could barely see in front of her face. She felt something cold and sharp against her neck. It was undeniably the blade of a knife.

A scream tore from her lips. She had never felt so afraid, not since the dark days inside the orphanage. Her house burning down was nothing compared to this. A gloved hand covered , preventing her from screaming again. Her fear didn’t even allow her to feel the blade slightly digging into her skin. She struggled to escape.

A fist rammed into her stomach. She saw stars in her eyes – the punch had hit her diaphragm. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Unconsciousness was taking her over.

“Areum!” A yell sounded, but it seemed so far away in her ears. Joonmyeon ran into the scene like a mad man. Five men wearing masks faced him in the dark alley, with one person holding his beloved sister with a knife to . He launched himself at that person without hesitation.

Behind him, the rest of the Exo-K boys had reached the alley. They each tackled one of the men. They were locked in a fight against men who were formidable at fighting, but it wasn’t a first.

Joonmyeon pulled the man he had threw himself at away from Areum and after slamming him against the wall, began repeatedly punching him with all his strength. Baekhyun, who had been the last to arrive, grabbed the girl’s hand and pulled her out into the dimly lighted street.

Areum was holding her stomach with her hands and gasping for air. “Are you alright? What happened?” Baekhyun cried out. She could do nothing but gasp like a fish exposed to air.

The boy spotted her pale throat. Red blood was dripping from a thin cut on it. Biting his lips to prevent himself from spewing curse words, he gently wiped off the blood falling on her collarbone with a sleeve. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her neck to staunch the blood somewhat. The blue cloth immediately darkened.

Joonmyeon shoved past Baekhyun and pulled Areum into his embrace. “You’re safe,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I was so late. You’re safe now.” His voice was breaking. Baekhyun promptly returned to the alley to help the rest of the members.

Feeling air coming back into her lungs, Areum sighed in relief. Joonmyeon’s arms were like a warm sanctuary to her – she could momentarily forget the horrible incident.

“Hyung!” D.O. exclaimed, running to Joonmyeon, who was still hugging Areum. The younger boy was panting heavily and he had a cut on his cheek made from a knife. “I ripped the mask of one of the guys who we… fell. The face… he wasn’t any of the Exo-M members. I’ve never seen him before and you know that Exo-M doesn’t allow anyone to do their dirty work for them.”

Joonmyeon’s expression hardened. “Then who could it be?” he muttered.

Chanyeol rushed to the three. He had a gaping wound on his left arm. D.O.’s jaw dropped when he saw it, but Chanyeol ignored him. “Hyung!” He turned to Joonmyeon. “Two of the men are finished and Baekhyun, Kai, and Sehun are chasing after the other three. There must’ve been a side alley. You and D.O. better get Areum back to our hideout. I’ll follow after I manage to contact the other boys.”

Joonmyeon nodded curtly. He lifted Areum up as easily as he would a sack of flour and began walking hurriedly with D.O. jogging behind him, keeping a close eye on their surroundings in case of a surprise attack.