"That was quite.. an unusual first meeting." 

       Chanyeol tries to lighten the atmosphere but no one's laughing along. We are gathered in the study room, with an addition of 2 equally good-looking guys his age, his friends, he claims. Nice. Is this the chivalry club or something? I scan around the room; all 4 pairs of curious eyes are scrutinizing me. I dock my head in embarrassment. Chanyeol then brings his attention back to his former subject. "What happened back there? Sehun, you look messed up."

       "I don't know.." The guy who stole my breath earlier starts to hiss, "why don't you ask your sister.." His words feel awfully pointy as he eyes me from his seat, pushing my guilt further. I should just leave.

       But it's not gonna be easy.. "Where are the rest?" The one with classic short cut looks around. Is that the trend nowadays? I see Mrs Kee's boyfriend donning the same hairstyle.

       "Don't know. One's probably late and one's never gonna turn up." Chanyeol shrugs.

       "You just basically answered my question, idiot." The same guy rolls his eyes.

       "Alright. Before Chanyeol goes on to explain his part of the story," one of the 2 new faces starts to stand up. Judging by the authoritative air he carries, I would think he is the oldest here. "Care to explain this?" He points at the wall, which is ominously riddled with countless bullet holes. "If the wall ends up crumbling, leaving a giant hole, it won't just be the repair bill that I'll send your way. I will have you build me a brand new house."

       "Junmyeon's parents bought us this studio." Chanyeol leans in to whisper into my ear. I can only mutter an 'Oh'. He must be super rich.

       "I'm careful not to let that happen when I shoot." Sehun states calmly. Remarkable amount of confidence.

       "You have the patience of a saint, Junmyeon. But he's right though, why don't you think of us? You can't simply play around with your gun whenever you feel bored. Think about how we have to respond to the call." The stranger speaks out next to him. His doe eyes enlarge whenever he pauses on his sentences.

       "All I'm doing is having a little fun to stave off boredom, yet everytime I do, you come barging in here. Think what it's like for me then, Kyungsoo." Sehun spins the ballpoint pen within his thumb and index finger skilfully.

       "Hmm, the bullet holes seem to spell out letters." Chanyeol humours the latter.

       "They're initials of my name. O.S." 

       I squint long at the poorly devastated wall Sehun has called his art. From what I observe, he has his way with crafting his words cleverly that it leaves his opponent defeated. As he talks, some black specks start to shed from his hair, revealing parts of a nice blonde shade. Junmyeon catches onto this as well. Okay, so I just witnessed his hair colour changing in a split second and he's actually blonde. He's still hot, or even hotter as that golden colour highlights his milky skin. Why am I even thinking about this? Get a grip of yourself, Sora. 

       "Don't tell me you went spying to keep tabs around the Hans' Residency by your own just now? We dropped that jewel thieves case weeks ago!" He reprimands.

       Sehun groans and regrets immediately because it stretches the cut I inflicted on him. "What do you mean spying? I was just keeping a lookout. It's just suspicious that the thieves broke their pattern drastically."

       "Which basically means stalking. Well I hope you keep in mind that dropping the case means we have nothing to do with it completely." Chanyeol nudges him.  

       "Erm.. I think we can talk about this later." Kyungsoo suddenly says and jerks his head to me who has been neglected from the entire conversation. He trudges forwards and extends his hand thoughtfully. "Hi, I'm Kyungsoo. You are prettier in person, Chanyeol's sister." I glare at Chanyeol who simply gives me a knowing smirk. As I open my palm, there's a lemon sweet wrapper in it.

       "It's Kyungsoo's way of saying 'Welcome'." Chanyeol reasons on his behalf and he nods joyfully. Kyungsoo's a much smaller frame than my tall brother and that makes him so much cuter. I'm just a bit creeped out by how intently he's staring at me sometimes but I'm sure it's 100% harmless.

       "Thanks." I retract my sweaty hand, still feeling the sensation of his touch. "It's Sora."

       "I'm Kim Junmyeon. Nice to meet you, Park Sora." The oldest male chirps in a formal tone.

       Chanyeol's large ears perk up from nervousness. I correct his greeting as politely as I can. "It's actually Moon Sora.."

       "Oh? Not a Park?" Junmyeon asks in a tone without any laced malice as he glances us siblings.

       My heart begins to pound hard. Suddenly the entire room feels confining.

       Sehun sighs as he watches the discomfort on my face. "Junmyeon.. You shouldn't be probing in her personal affairs."

       Junmyeon rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Right, that was rude of me. I'm sorry 'bout that, Sora."

       I glance over to Sehun who has now shifted his sight to only God knows what's lingering on the empty ceiling. Chandelier? I'm thankful that he's saved me from a question I hardly have answers for myself. I pass Junmyeon a reassuring smile and he moves on. "And I'm nowhere done with you, Chanyeol.." He slouches back on the couch next to Kyungsoo and rubs his temples, "Why have you brought your sister here? You know that our studio is out of bounds to strangers. Confidentiality is top priority for us."

       Confidentiality? Spying? Guns? Just what on earth is Chanyeol working as? D-Don't tell me.. he's a hitman?!

       "She even threw that pail over my face.." Sehun adds in bitterly, emphasising how much of a walking disaster I am. Talk about a dual personality; one time he helps me then another he's doing me in.

       "I apologise for that, Se-Sehun.." I quietly state without meeting his gaze. I might wither under his hotness. Or I already did. Is this where the phrase 'if looks could kill' apply?

       Chanyeol puts me in a headlock and messes my fringe to cheer me up. Annoying! "Ha, I know. I guess it just wasn't your lucky day, Sehun. My sister probably mistook you for a psychotic ert lurking in the washroom, she's a bit edgy around guys you see." He jokes, "As for your question Junmyeon, she may be a stranger today, but not for long! Because starting from tomorrow.. she'll be our new secretary!"

       "What?" The whole room erupts into chaos especially me, who has my hands chuck on my waist. "You never told me anything about this! You only said, it was gonna be fun." I imitate his earlier essay.

       "Fun? How's being a detective equivalent to fun, may I know?" Sehun spits out from behind.

       I whirl around so fast to face him that I almost break my neck. "D-Did you say de-detective?"

       "Yeah. Oh, didn't Chanyeol tell you? We're EXO, detectives working on special basis." Kyungsoo tells me like it's no big deal. Should I feel amazed or petrified? Extreme ends because it sounds like real, serious business. 

       I inhale one deep breath. "This wasn't what I signed up for." 

       "Eh! Why!" Chanyeol whines miserably. "You look bored to death working at that old bookstore, so why not work alongside with me? It's thrilling, catching bandits, cracking cases, carrying weapons, isn't it?" He answers but it feels more directed to Sehun's query. "Besides, Mom asked me to take care of you and with my tight schedule I can't keep going to and fro."

       "I can take care of myself." I don't care if there's an audience watching. I'm peeved. How can Chanyeol decide my life like this? Sure, he is my brother but that does not necessarily means he can have a hold of me like this! This is so unfair. And didn't Kyungsoo say they are cops? Wait, detectives right? Like those in Sherlock's episodes? That's like, one level higher than being a regular civil servant. And to think he kept such an important thing from Mom and I. He's going to be so dead if I spill the beans.

       "If you take up this job, you get to stay here. I can work plus easily keep an eye on you at the same time." Chanyeol's hoarse voice drops an octave lower.

       "You're so selfish." I back away, appalled.

       "I don't think it's a good idea too." Kyungsoo says sadly, in an unreadable expression. 

       "Same here." Suho mumbles, "It's going to be a bit tough." 

       Hold on, that kinda hurts a bit.. do they really think I'm that incompetent?

       "Oh c'mon!" Chanyeol boldly challenges. "Didn't Luhan leave for the states already? Now, the secretary position is literally empty and with the amount of cases we have to work on, we could use an additional hand. Besides, it's not like she'll be doing anything dangerous. She'll just be by the sidelines, handling the admin works and our client profiling ow!--" I hurriedly step on his foot to halt Chanyeol's freedom of speech. Someone should just give me a spade so I can dig a hole for myself.

       Sehun, who has been extremely silent all this while finally voices out. "She doesn't fit the bill."

       Out of all their disapprovals, his causes the most ache and I can't explain why. Maybe it's the cold yet burning stare he's giving and it makes me feel powerless. Every part of my body stiffens and it takes all my strength to meet his gaze. At first, I was so bent on rejecting Chanyeol bizarre offer but after getting the red light, I find myself wanting to prove them wrong.

       "Why? Because she's not like one of us? Then, wasn't our first secretary a female too?" Chanyeol snaps and pulls out that reasoning out of nowhere. I don't understand its context but it differs for the rest, seemingly. 

       Suddenly the tension is so thick it can cut. Junmyeon's and Kyungsoo's face are painted with sheer horror and it makes me wonder what the hell Chanyeol has offended this time. He really has a talent to push the wrong buttons in everyone.. Especially Sehun, for his face darkens horribly and the glint in his eyes changes. Into something that I wish I had never seen. He looks the most affected by Chanyeol's statement.

       Sehun slams his fist on the table and the stack of cards topple, then uncurls it. His hollow eyes hardens onto Chanyeol as he makes his way towards him. "Repeat what the you've just said."

        W-W-Wait, why is the atmosphere heating up?

       "Have I said anything wrong? She was our friend too, right? Not just yours, Sehun." Chanyeol seethes and I can see him getting worked up. It's almost rare to ever that I see my brother angry over anything, especially a girl I don't know.

       "Boys." Junmyeon warns and positions himself between the two hot-blooded males who look like they'll rip each other's throat. Yeap, he's definitely the oldest here. "We have a guest here."

       Sehun gla