Sehun had not gone out for days. Others knew he liked isolating himself in the room, so they never bothered to check on him whenever he disappeared for an extended period of time. As a ‘professional’ Hermit in his own right, Sehun never really came out unless he wanted to meet others, often appearing and disappearing at whim without anyone noticing. He was gone as soon as he came – his appearance only second to the Old General who never showed his face to anyone else in the compound.

That was the thing. Sehun did go out, but he was extremely picky with whom he met and where he did it. Nevertheless, there were always a few who knew where he would go if he wasn’t in his room, and in today’s case, it was no secret that he had been frequenting the new girl’s room after he rescued her from her impending death. Tao’s first reaction when he found out that of everyone present in the common room that day, Sehun was the one to rescue her directly – was to collect the jaw he dropped on the ground and rushed madly to visit Sera as soon as he got back. He would never forget that murderous glance Sehun sent his way when he thought that Tao was ‘disturbing’ her rest. He didn’t quite understand – what’s the big deal? Why was he acting like an overprotective pregnant cat?

Kai reacted similarly, but having had gone on the same mission as the two, he knew that for some odd reason, Sehun treated the girl very carefully. He kept the thought to himself and held back from visiting the sleeping beauty in fear for provoking a certain someone, so all he could do was pester Lay everyday with the same question, wanting to know a daily update on her situation. Lay had never seen him so worked up before, and this came from someone who claimed that he ‘disliked’ her immensely. Maybe Kai did hate her before, but she wasn’t so bad to be condemned to die, and she also saved his a couple of times, so he felt indebted to her somehow.

No one had seen Suho since that day. But this wasn’t a strange occurrence. People often disappeared overnight and no one really cared. They could be away for a mission, or doing some test experiment in the underground area with the doctors. Except for the few who looked out for him often, they didn’t even notice he was gone.

The CCTV camera were usually installed everywhere in this facility, but it wasn’t hard for Chen and Kris to tamper with the devices with a mere flick of their fingers. They did it by Suho’s request so it would be more convenient to conduct secret meetings in this darkened corridors where the rooms were interconnected with each other. One of these days, he just happened to know how helpful it was to meet here, like a pair of star-crossed lovers reuniting with each other at long last. The giant man snorted to himself – of course that was a joke.

Sehun stopped in his track when he noticed that looming figure in one corner, with his hands folded in front of his chest, standing at six feet one inch, with impeccable blonde hair and a face devoid of smile. No, in fact, there seemed to be a permanent frown settled on his face. His thick brows almost formed a line had he not seen Sehun coming, but now that he did, he grew cautious of the other’s stance. “You’re finally out of that room,” Kris spoke with so much sarcasm it was impossible for the other party not to notice it.

“Yeah,” Sehun replied in a straight-forward manner. He never liked beating around the bush anyway. His honesty was as charming as it was deadly. “I can’t leave her alone for the time being.”

“Why? You think the General is still after her?” Kris was quick to catch on. He didn’t bother dilly-dallying or trying to tease the younger man to see if he truly held some affections for Sera. As a man who was raised in a family of six older female siblings, it was perfectly understandable for Kris to accept that Sehun seemed to grow a little protective of the girl – as the others did so, only in a slightly subtler manner. Although he didn’t view Sera in high regards after butting head with her during her early days in this headquarter, he wouldn’t be so petty to keep record of how many times they disliked and argued with each other. At least, she was a far more interesting opponent than the child-like Tao.

“Can’t afford any mishaps,” was Sehun’s reply. Kris knew he would be thinking of that. The Union, and particularly the General with his Order, was very harsh on punishments. No one had ever escaped before, or gotten any help during their sentence. Even he grew a little frightened when he thought about what the General might do to deal with him and the rest of the Elites when it happened. But ten days passed by, and everyone had resumed their activity without any obstruction from the higher-ups. “The General is petty – he will definitely think of a way to get back at her.”

“What if he gets back at you?” Kris pointed out, but he seemed to have underestimated Sehun’s recklessness, “Makes no difference to me. I only care for her safety. I can take care of myself well enough so you won’t have to worry.”

There was one thing Sehun was sure of: the General would not do anything to him. It had been that way since the beginning. When he first came here and caused plenty of irreversible troubles, the General let him go without a word of warning. Not even the General’s favourite child, Suho, was able to get away from punishment the way he did. As for the reasons, Sehun did not care the slightest. Either way, he was not at all afraid if he had to face the General one day, even with the twin guards’ nullifying ability by his side.

“It might be good for you to know that at least, the General has not issued anything to the Order,” Kris added on. Nobody knew exactly how many members of the Order there were because they were always changing, but regarding the General’s wish and command, they had always worked as one entity to fulfil their duty. Nevertheless, he didn’t expect much from Sehun with his distant manner and lukewarm responses. The younger man merely slipped out a tight-lipped smile and said, “I appreciate your information, Kris. Thank you. Please help me keep an eye should anything happens soon or some time in the future.”

Kris wasn’t usually one to meddle into other’s affair but he liked Sehun because that man wasn’t one for bull and although he was strangely detached and aggravatingly unresponsive sometimes, Kris could not help but furrow his eyebrows as his frown deepened when he saw the dark circles underneath his eyes. They were not just shadows anymore, but darkened veins that ruined his beauty. He choked on himself because he thought Sehun looked rather ridiculous and coughed lightly, “You should really get some sleep. I’m sure you’ll scare her away with your current appearance.”

Sehun stilled for a moment, a storm brewing in his head. He had never been called ‘hideous’ before, even just by implications, and more so, to be thought of as one in front of the girl he quite liked. Kris’ eye twitched a little when he saw the unexpected reaction. Was that Sehun actually worried about what Sera thought of him? He hid the smile that threatened to break out while he watched the chaos blowing inside Sehun’s mind. Should he care? Sehun quirked his eyebrow in annoyance. He lacked of sleep for such a long time, after all. Any more and he would soon live the life of a walking dead.

“Oh God, what happened to you?” Chanyeol couldn’t hold back his exclamation and half-yelled. D.O, who was walking with his head down, finally looked up from his trance and his lips soon curved to a curious arc when he noticed the bags under Sehun’s eyes and how abnormally pale he was. His lips were chapped and bleeding, and those grey orbs looked even more lifeless than they usually were. He’d watched a lot of horror movies before, and Sehun’s current appearance strongly resembled that of a possessed human. “Who did that? Man, that looks awful.”

Kris averted his eyes and quickly excluded himself from the conversation. Lay had came in after the two as well. Sehun was too tired to bother with Chanyeol’s teasing and tilted his head to the side, a yawn subconsciously slipped out of his mouth. “What are you doing here?” He asked and saw the small food containers on D.O’s hand. He had been known to help Lay with food prescription over the years, so Sehun knew what he was there for. Instead, he turned to look at Chanyeol, who immediately regretted his questions earlier.

“I’m D.O’s assistant,” He blurted out without thinking much. His deep, somber voice sounded convincing enough, but the twinkle in his purple eyes weren’t. Four pairs of eyes looked his way, and although his smile was no less brilliant than before, he could feel the coldness on his hands. Chanyeol was, by nature, a very lively and warm person, although he was much more down-to-earth and personable when compared to Tao’s childlike tantrum or Kai’s sarcastic friendliness. The corner of Sehun’s thin lips curved up as he asked, “Really? How have we not heard a word of it?”

So he turned to look at D.O, whose big eyes looked like he was caught in the middle of a quarrel he never wanted a part of. Chanyeol extended his hand and patted D.O’s shoulder for moral support, “Since… yesterday. You weren’t there, so you wouldn’t know.”

“Yeah, more like he proclaimed himself to be one,” Kris snorted and left before the big-eyed giant could hunt him down. His light foot steps disappeared after a few doors, along with his tall stature, leaving the four in an awkward situation. D.O scratched the back of his head and smiled anxiously, “The… The food is getting c-cold.” Lay chuckled and took the food container and waved it in front of Sehun, “Alright, Sehun. Duty calls. The three of us will look after her, so go and get your well-rested sleep.”

Chanyeol might not look like one, but he was a pretty intelligent young man. The innocence in his eyes never faded, but his heart squeezed anxiously when he heard of the meaning behind those words. The reason Lay called him for this babysitting duty must have something to do with protecting Sera against the other party. Like the General and his Order. Lay leaned in and whispered in Sehun’s ear – close enough for the conversation to be private, but a distant away to keep them from touching each other due to Sehun’s mild OCD, “Don’t worry anymore. Suho is coming to visit her soon.”

* * *

I munched down all of the food they gave me like a starving pregnant mama. D.O was eyeing me from the corner of his eyes. The smile Lay gave me reminded me of the first day we met and how he sweetly tried to calm me down in a room full of strangers. Of the twelve men in that team, he gave me the best impression, aside from Luhan. He calmly picked the dirty plates up and placed them on the sink. “You can’t,” I softly called out, afraid that he would take offense. “I mean… Leave the plates there. I’ll wash them myself.” When what I wanted to say was ‘thank you, I don’t know how to express my gratitude properly’.

“But you haven’t recovered fully,” D.O spoke like it was the most obvious thing ever.

“Correction: I’m healthy as healthy can be, but starving,” I showed him my arms which were reduced to skin and bones. The muscles I have worked so hard for were gone for naught and it would be a lie to say that I wasn’t the slightest bit distressed about it. If it weren’t for Lay’s help, I would have died without any food for the period of time I was unconscious. I turned to the two unfamiliar men in the room and tilted my head at them, “You’re D.O and Chanyeol, right? The ones with elemental abilities?”

Chanyeol was the tallest one, possibly even taller than Kris. His features were refined but soft, with elf-like ears and marbled eye-colour. His smile was infectious, showing a perfect set of white teeth, but not too childlike and naive. D.O was the short one – and God forbid anyone who mentioned that to his face – with very big, cautious eyes who stared through the depth of your soul. It was apparent how nervous he was in front of strangers, because he had only spoken two coherent sentences since he arrived and he fidgeted a little when I stared at him. I think he is pretty damn adorable.

“Yeah,” D.O breathed out, at the same time Chanyeol grinned enthusiastically in reply, “That’s us.” Lay smiled and added on, almost fondly, “People here call them the ‘Fire and Earth Duo’ because they stick to each other like glues,” to which Chanyeol frowned and reacted against, “We do not, Hyung! That’s slander!” He turned towards me, “I’m the fire and D.O is the earth, but we are in no way as described by Lay. We’re just… close. Because missions always pair us up somehow, so I’m stuck with him for years now.”

D.O muttered under his breath unhappily, “Or more like he’s the one who stick to me against my will.”

He suddenly looked at the door, again with the expression of a deer caught in the headlights.

“What is it, Do? Is someone coming?” Chanyeol asked, understanding each of his partner’s quirk after years of working together. Due to his ability in controlling anything bound to the earth, including soil and plants, D.O was extremely sensitive when it came to movement, although he could not recognise who was coming. He just picked up light sounds and irregular movement that approached closer by the second. It was a man, he knew from the footsteps – someone with extreme agility and good martial arts.

The door opened, and a tanned, exotic-looking man put his head in to take a peek. My heart warmed at the sight of him. Ever since he helped me out in the last mission, Kai had long been added into the long list of ‘People I Should Have Said My Thanks To’ and yet for some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to admit it outright. I think it’s just how I am to remember gratitude as much as I do to grudges. His eyes softened a little when they looked at me. “Hey,” was the only word he said, accompanied by a loopsided grin that hang onto the curves of his lips.

“Hey,” I said back coyly in tacit understanding.

“Err… It’s about time for us to leave,” Chanyeol said to ease the tension. He stood up and quickly collected the food containers without being asked to, and even managed to pull Lay, who was silently drying the plates in the sink. D.O followed his suggestion and tailed after, shooting me an apologetic smile all of a sudden. “Afternoon practice is about to start, Sera,” Chanyeol added, “For the three of us, of course, Kai, excluded. It’s very nice talking to you today. I hope we’ll meet again when you’re feeling better.”

I smiled and spoke of nothing else. It was obvious how much they wanted to leave the room at this moment, so I let them be as they excused themselves hurriedly and fled out in that instant. Whether or not there was such a thing as afternoon practice was something I have no idea of. But now that they left so quickly, I was all alone in the room with Kai. He didn’t bother with propriety and took the closest chair to my bed. Thankfully, I’m not one to worry so much about the modesty code between man and woman and turn a blind eye to his action. If he tried anything funny, I was pretty sure there would be more than one man running after him for payback.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed tightly. His eyes dropped down from my face to my arms – assuming that was where majority of the bruises were located before Lay healed them. He might be a ert and an sometimes, but in all honesty, he wasn’t a bad person at all. It just took a longer time to see him beneath the skin-depth surface to identify that little bit of light within his heart. I looked down at my hands and smiled with two dimples showing, “I’m pretty good. No scars, no wounds. What about you? What brings you here?”

He scratched his head and looked away. Huh. Isn’t that interesting? Kai was blushing a little. I wouldn’t have believed that Kai would feel shy if it weren’t for the red hue on his cheeks that started to spread around his face. I bet he felt hot in that thick hoodie jacket of his. His expression was a mixture of embarrassment and despair, so I decided to further when he refused to answer my question, “You know, Kai, if you’re concerned of my wellbeing, you should just admit it outright. It’s not a shameful thing to care.”

The shade of red darkened as he glared at me, “I do not! I mean, I do not… care for… you.” The last part was barely audible. I almost burst out laughing. Who knew how adorable Kai could be when he was the one being teased. But I feigned a frown and let out a single syllable ‘oh’ and ceased asking. I could see his eyes narrowing from the corner of mine. “I like men who are frank and honest about how they feel. But since you don’t care, I guess there’s that, then.”

“Fine! I do care, now stop asking,” He cut me off with a sharp glare. “So when will you be able to walk out of this room?” The topic was easily averted because of his reluctance to cooperate. I knew there was a limit to teasing someone and replied his question nonchalantly, reaching out to grab a bowl of Oyakodon they left behind on my bedside table, “Maybe tomorrow. I feel rather bad having them delivered the food here. And because I also feel like I’ve been missing out on a lot of stuff that are happening outside these walls.”

“No kidding,” He snickered, “Speaking of which, Suho has not returned since the day you were gone. I asked Kris about it, but he’s just as clueless as I am. Baekhyun reckoned that the man was probably sent away on a mission because he’s… close to you, and you know, it’s not exactly a good position to be in at the moment.”

It is strange, indeed. I am supposed to feel offended, but I don’t. Not at all. Rather, it’s the last part about Suho being close to me that captured my attention completely. The mood instantly turns somber after the conversation. It’s not a wonder anymore why anyone hasn’t been able to see him in a while. I should really pity Suho for being caught in this situation with me when he wasn’t supposed to be faulted at all. “You shouldn’t be here, either, Kai,” I clenched my fists together, and although the tone was gentle and persuasive, my words were sharp on the edge.

“You’re right,” He grinned sarcastically with his one brow raised, his pouty lips looking absolutely tempting at this moment, “I really wonder what I’m here for.”

Obviously he was worried but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He had been circling outside the room for a few times, asking himself if this was truly necessary. His heart had been restless for a while, and it continued bugging him, begging to be satisfied. It took a lot of courage to come here, and even more courage to ask the appropriate questions. Kai never thought of himself as an awkward flirt, but now he had to admit he was. It was like that kindergarten bully that oppressed you because he liked you. The light in my eyes dimmed, and again, I replied with a single syllable and a small smile that was not quite sincere, “Right.”

* * *

Baekhyun tackled the man to the ground, his legs trapping Chanyeol’s face as he was struggling for air and putting a lot of fight. Due to his size, the tallest man was less agile and coordinated in comparison to his other peers, but he had a lot of strength hidden in that body and Baekhyun wasn’t about to let Chanyeol use that advantage against him. There were other pairs in the afternoon sparing session – some agents from the lower-ranked departments whom they had not met before, and others like Luhan, Kris, Tao, and Xiumin.

The arena was designed to fit at least half of the floor in the second level, so it was spacious enough to hold at least ten dozens of people or so. Baekhyun’s chests were heaving up and down, half of his arms exposed as the top clung onto him tightly from the moment the sweats started pouring. Quite a few female trainers almost dropped their jaws, swooning at the sight of these Elites, tangling on the floor against each other. But their object of admiration was completely oblivious to the heated hormonal gazes from those hungry females.

“So,” He started casually, trying hard to maintain the same tonality he used on everyone else, “Is that girl dead yet?”

Chanyeol choked and hit Baekhyun on his legs, signalling the older man to let go. “No!” He coughed out loud from the lack of oxygen and tried his best to emphasise each word carefully so Baekhyun would understand, “No, she’s alive. Now let me go!” And with that, Baekhyun finally let loose. He feigned an ignorant expression and clicked his tongue in distaste, as if it was disappointment he was feeling. But in all honesty, he could not have missed that quickening heartbeat that he tried to conceal.

“Pity,” He spat out and walked out of the matt to grab a bottle of water. It was a pity she wasn’t dead, but at least Baekhyun would have something to amuse himself for a longer while.