Chapter Twenty Four

Her eyes slowly blinked opened and focused on the sight before her.  She reflexively leaned back when she realized how close in proximity her and Sehun’s face were. She raised her gaze a little and saw that their hands remained interlocked throughout the night.  She stayed there for a while and stared at the peaceful Sehun.

Suddenly it hit her. She turned around, trying not to wake Sehun as she did and looked to the clock on the night table next to her side of the bed. It was morning. She fell asleep and woke up…without going to the dark room and, more importantly, without meeting Kris. She had slept normally for the first time since she had arrived on EXO.

She tensed when an arm wrapped itself around her torso and pulled her further into the bed. She stared down at Sehun who was now contently snuggling into the nape of her neck and mumbling incoherent words. She sighed deeply and decided she would let him sleep a little longer. To occupy her time, she decided to run her fingers through his hair. When she started, Sehun tightened his grip and made noises similar to purring.  When she decided to stop, Sehun whined in protest and nudged his face further into the place where her neck and shoulder met. She lightly giggled at his feline-like reactions.

“Oh hush you big baby.” She whispered with a small smile and continued to run her fingers through his hair.  They stayed like that for a few minutes when she noticed Sehun breathing pace changing and his body tensing. She took her hand back as Sehun pulled his head away from her. They met eye contact for a brief moment, which allowed Sehun to turn bright red before turning around and stumbling out of bed.  He quickly left the room without looking at her once.  She rubbed her eyes before stretching and getting up and following after him. She casually walked down the hallway and into the kitchen where Sehun was preparing breakfast. He froze when he heard her enter the kitchen, but then quickly resumed what he was doing.  She raised an eyebrow at his behavior.

“Thanks.” She enunciated slowly but loud which made Sehun tense, “For last night, I mean.”  Sehun mumbled out something along the lines of no problem without sparing her a glance. She walked over to Sehun who was occupied frying something on the stove.  

“Need some help?” She asked, peering over his shoulder. She was surprised when she felt Sehun shiver. “Are you cold? Do you want me to get you a sweater or-“

“I’m fine!” Sehun replied in a shockingly loud tone, which surprised the both of them. She blinked at him in shock.

“Sorry…” She mumbled and took a step back.

“No,” He groaned and finally turned to face her, “Don’t apologize. I’m sorry. It’s just…this morning, I’m sorry for that too. I didn’t realize…” Sehun sighed, “I’m just… embarrassed.”  

“Don’t be.” She shook her head, “It’s fine. I kind of saw it as me being a hot water bottle or something. Don’t worry about it.”

Sehun’s stare turned sharp before looking away and his lips. “So me taking advantage of you is fine?” he said bitterly.

“I don’t see how someone asleep can consciously take advantage of someone…” She tilted her head to the other side while knotting her eyebrows together. “If it bothered me, I would have woken you up.”

“It didn’t bother you…” Sehun muttered under his breath. She could see his jaw tense and the next moment he turned the stove off and moved the frying pan he was cooking with off the burner. He turned around, facing her and started walking toward her. Intuitively sensing danger, she backed up. She continued backing up until she felt her back hit a wall.

“I think you need to be more aware of your surroundings.” Sehun said leering in close to her. She just stood there frozen. “I’m a man and you’re a woman. Don’t try to forget it.” She rapidly blinked as she tried to process what he was implying, “You might be fine with it, but I’m not.” With that, Sehun backed off and walked back to the stove. He took down plates and served the meal he just made. He placed one of them on the table and kept the other one.He walked pass her and out of the kitchen with the second plate. She unfroze herself and looked out of the kitchen to see Sehun entering his room and closing the door behind him.

“Fine. Go eat by yourself.” She mumbled as she sat down at the table. She ate all of the wonderful food and decided to clean the dishes that Sehun had left on the counter. Sehun came into the kitchen not long after but in his regular work clothes this time. He handed her his plate and utensils before leaving her alone again. She couldn’t help but sigh. She placed the plates down and followed him.

“Sehun!” She called after him as he headed down the stairs. He turned around and faced her, “Have a good day!” She waved. He nodded back and walked out of sight.

She went back to the kitchen and finished washing Sehun’s dishes. When that was done, she put on her typical boots and headed downstairs to help Kai with the shop as she usually did during the day.

“So, how are you?” Kai asked her cautiously during their lunch break. When she realized what he was implying, her chewing stopped for a moment before she continued and swallowed.

“I kind of forgot about the dream for a bit.” She admitted, feeling a little ashamed. The whole thing in the morning with Sehun over shadowed her thoughts a little. She couldn't believe she nearly forgot something so terrible as murder.

“Oh! Sorry…” Kai said, looking a little dejected.

“No, don’t be. You were just worried.”  She quickly replied, reaching over and lightly patting his shoulder. Kai looked up at her with a weak smile.

“So, you slept okay then?”

“Surprisingly well. Not sure about tonight though…”  She mumbled. She figured the whole not seeing Kris the previous night was a fluke. Was it maybe because she saw him only a few hours before? Was it because she was with Sehun? Maybe it was because she really didn’t want to see him? Either way, she wasn’t sure the reason why last night was different from the rest. She just hoped it stayed that way for a while, at least, until she was ready to face Kris again.

“Ileana?” Kai called out. She snapped out of her thoughts and focused her attention back to Kai.

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“I said it was a good thing we left the banquet when we did.” Kai explained.

“Why’s that?”

“Someone was killed in the fight. The murderer got away and no one knows where he is.”

She felt shiver run through her as the image of Kris killing the man ran through her head again.

“Yeah, good thing we left.” She murmured a reply and continued eating her sandwich.

“Did you have fun at least?” Kai asked, “I did. You were a great partner. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

She scoffed, “Are you trying to lift my mood? Because you’re kind of at it right now.”

Kai smirked in return, “Was it obvious? That aside, I’m still serious about my question.”

“Yes Kai, I reluctantly admit that I did have fun. If you would just give me a little heads up next time…” She sighed.

“Next time? You want to have another go?” Kai stood up and mockingly bowed to her while reaching out his hand. “Shall we dance milady?”

“Oh, come off it Kai.” She chuckled and slapped his hand away lightly, “I don’t think I’ll ever dance with you again.”

Kai expression immediately changed after her statement, “And why not?” He frowned at her.

“It’s fun, but I don’t feel like I’m in control when I dance with you…or even Lay. Man, he was freaky at the banquet.”

“What’s wrong with being a little out of control?” Kai tone was tense, “Being in control all the time is no fun.”

“Says a robot.” She shot back and then realized her mistake when Kai visibly deflated.

“Right, cause robots are hardwired to do things. My apologizes for pretending that I act on my own accord.” Kai briskly turned around and walked off into the stock room. She left her sandwich on the floor and raced after him.

“Wait!” She called out, “Kai! Kai, wait!” Kai rushed through the mountains of unorganized junk without stopping for her. She tried to follow him the best she could, but she ended lost among the piles of stuff. “Kai!” She shouted out but received no answer. She huffed and sat down on the ground. She looked at the stuff around her when something caught her eye.

She leaned in close and caught sight of an interesting looking large satchel .  Its front flap was open and the curious thing was she couldn’t see any lining. She reached her hand in and attempted to find the bottom. Her arm amazingly kept going further in until nearly her whole arm was in. This was especially strange, considering the satchel itself was only about a quarter of her arm's length.

She searched around the satchel and she felt a bunch of shapes. She gripped one of them and pull it out. It was a flashlight. She assessed it for a few seconds before putting it back into the satchel. She dug her arm in again and pulled out another object; a mirror. Curious, she thought.

She brought the satchel closer to her and found it surprisingly light, as if it were empty. She reached in again and grabbed onto something cydrincal. She pulled and pulled until she realized exactly what she was pulling out of the bag. A lamp, a frigging lamp. There’s no way that would have fit in there, she thought starring at the lamb in her hand with awe. She tossed it to the side and stuck her face into the purse. She saw nothing, complete blackness.

“What are you doing?”

She immediately took her head out of the bag and stared up at Kai, who didn’t look too pleased.

“Uh…nothing. Listen Kai!” She stood up with the satchel in hand, “I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I wasn’t being serious and it was completely thoughtless of me-“

“It’s all right Ileana, I know what I am.”

“No Kai! You’re more than just a robot…I mean no robot I know can move or think like you do. You are capable of emotions like me and you’re capable of thinking on your own. You may have some useful information programmed in there already, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your own conclusions and, and, and am I getting through to you here? Cause I feel like I’m rambling.” She pouted with her shoulder slumping. Kai’s eyes softened and he gave her a heartwarming smile.

“Yeah, I got the message. Thanks Ileana. Come on; let’s get back to the shop.” Kai reached forward and took her hand, “So you don’t get lost.” He winked and led her through the heaps of merchandise.

When she found herself in the front shop, she realized the satchel was still in her hand.  She decided at that moment it was now hers. She thought it might come in handy in the future…for whatever reason.

Kai and Ileana continued running the shop and helped the customers that came in. With the past few days, Ileana was familiarizing herself with the new gadgets that EXO had. It was especially funny to see how EXO electronics compared to her home’s electronics.  For example: a can opener. At home, a can opener consisted of two dial, one that grips and one that cut and they were attached together with a handle and hand grips in order to keep the two dials stuck on the can. EXO, on the other hand, had lasers. Just stick the can on the small platform and the laser stick would do its thing.

The store closed and Kai and Ileana had their nightly card game until Sehun arrived. He looked exhausted as he usually did when he finished work. He slumped down next to them on the floor and groaned.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Nothing what?” She asked.

“I couldn’t get any information on the crystal. Zero.” Sehun sighed. “And it was such a tiring day. I’m going to bed.”

Ileana hastily cleaned up the cards and handed them to Kai. She stood up and walked after Sehun. She pulled down the stairs for him, which he grumbled his thanks for.  After kicking off their shoes, they separated their ways, her to the couch and him to his bedroom.   

She sat on the couch for what seemed like hours before she stood up and wandered down the hallway to Sehun’s bedroom.

She still wasn’t ready to take on Kris. She figured that the best way to prevent it was to do exactly what happened the night before. Well, at least she thought it’d be worth a try.

She peeped in Sehun’s room and saw him snuggled up in his sheets. She tiptoed over to Sehun, “Sehun.” She whispered. Sehun groaned and lazily open his eyes.

“What?”

“I know you were upset this morning about us sharing a bed…” She whiserped lowly, “But it’s just, could I just-“

“Get in.” Sehun groaned again and pulled the covers back for her. She lightly smiled and thanked him. She crawled in the bed and looked for his hand. She found it and latched onto it.

“Wha-“ Sehun murmured out and stared at her confused.