CHAN YEOL

I walked into the banquet hall and found Baekhyun and Kyungsoo seated on the table already. I’ve just gone out for a walk, contemplating about matters. The maiden was finally awake and it should be a matter to be celebrated, but I couldn’t get myself to do that. She was scared to the extent that she didn’t want to be touched by anyone. Above all things, she was well and recuperating nicely, I hope. The extent of her injuries was quite serious, but the priestess from the village who tended to her said that she would be fine. I could still remember that fine day when I found her. We still weren’t sure if she really was the prophesied maiden. We have yet to find out things about her, but when she opened her eyes and looked at us, I knew for sure that she was a half-blood.

I wasn’t even seated when Baekhyun bounced off his seat and looked at me with wide eyes. “What was the commotion while we were away?” he asked eagerly while Kyungsoo. nodded in agreement.

“Is it true that she’s awake?” he asked, his head bobbing.

“Yes, she is.”

“Can we go see her?” Baekhyun said with the same enthusiasm.

I chuckled. “She’ll be joining us for dinner.”

Just then, the door opened. “Who will?” 

The three of us looked at that direction and found Sehun and Suho standing there. Sehun was the one who spoke. “Well?” he prompted. He looked like he was in a foul mood again. He strode towards the table and sat beside me while Suho took the one beside him.

“Our guest, I suppose,” Suho answered for me. “Like I told you, she’s conscious.”

“Oh,” the youngest noble said feigning disinterest.

Just then, Kai appeared seated on the chair beside Kyungsoo, grinning at everyone. “Glad to see you awake, Sehunnie.” He then shifted his gaze to me. “What did I miss?”

Kyungsoo arched a brow at him. “Why do you think you’ve missed anything?”

Kai chuckled. “You all look like you’ve heard a bad news. Out with it.”

Baekhyun giggled. “How is it bad news when our guest is joining us for dinner?” 

The younger boy brightened up even more when he heard that. “She is?!” He looked around for confirmation and Sehun nodded for his benefit. “That’s great. I was looking forward to seeing Shinhye up and about.”

We all exchanged looks. “What did you say?” I asked him.

“I said, I was looking –”

“Not that,” Suho said. “You mentioned her name.”

“Yes, I did. I –”

“How in the world do you know that?” Kyungsoo cut him short.

Kai frowned. “I happen to be passing by her room when –”

Suho shot him a shocked look. “What were you doing there again?!” he demanded.

Sehun and I exchanged glances.

“I wasn’t doing anything!” Kai retorted.

Baekhyun butted in. “What’s her name?” That got everyone to quiet down.

Kai rolled his eyes at all of us. “It’s Shinhye. Her name is Ahn Shinhye.”

“How did you find out about that?” I asked him.

“She told me.” He shook his head in annoyance. “Why are you all acting as if I’ve tortured her to get that information? It’s just her name, you know.”

“How does she look like? I haven’t seen her yet,” Kyungsoo said.

“Ask Chan Yeol.”

The Earth Noble looked at me, but before I could speak, the door opened again and I heard Chin’s voice.

“Go on, dear,” she said, giving Shinhye a gentle shove as she tried to walk in, but she froze on her spot when she saw us. She took a quick sweep at everyone then diverted her gaze onto the floor. Once again, she was clad in her odd clothes, this time wearing a pale yellow upper garment that exposed her arms and trousers that extended just below her knees. She looked better…no, she looked stunning.

I saw Kyungsoo and Baekhyun exchanging glances as they looked at her while Sehun’s eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. He checked himself when he noticed me staring and looked away from her. What is wrong with this person? Suho smiled hesitantly at her while Kai stood up and waved at her.

“Good evening, Shinhye!” he greeted.

Her head snapped up and she bowed slightly, nearly losing her balance when Chin let go of her arm. She seemed surprised that he knew her name. “Good evening,” she returned the greeting in a soft voice that rang like bells in my mind. I liked the sound of it, slightly husky and not pitchy.

We all stood up and returned her greeting as well. Baekhyun walked over to her, meeting her halfway. “Hello there. I’m Baekhyun,” he said, introducing himself to her.

She looked amused as she tried to bow again, but he stopped her midway. “There’s no need to do that. You’re straining your leg.”

“Oh.” She bit her lower lip and right there and then, Baekhyun produced a sound that seemed like a soft scream.

“You’re so adorable!” he cooed in a high-pitched tone, taking every one of us aback.

Shinhye looked pained when he did that, taking both of her hands in his and bouncing in place like a crazed hare. “Er…thanks?”

Before he could do more damage, I stood up and pulled him back, standing in front of her. She lowered her gaze again. Chin nodded and motioned to leave the room. Shinhye turned too quickly as she tried to go with Chin, nearly falling to the floor again, but I grabbed her by the arm just in time, steadying her. I guess she wasn’t over being scared yet. She held on to my arm as she straightened up.

“Thanks,” she said in a breathy whisper.

I bent down a bit to have a better look at her face and saw her grimacing. “You’ve got to be careful. Your leg has not fully mended,” I told her. Not wanting her to walk anymore and suffer as she did, I swept her off the floor and carried her towards the chair at the edge of the table.

Shinhye held onto me fast. “Please, put me down. I can manage,” she protested.

“Well, I’m not going to let you fall off again,” I countered and winked at her, leaving her speechless.

Kyungsoo, who was in the middle of drinking water, turned sideways and spewed all the contents of his mouth, definitely shocked with my actions. Suho shook his head while Sehun just faced the other way.

“That’s twice today,” Kai commented as I settled her down on the chair.

I ignored Kai and the others’ reactions. “There you are. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“T-thanks,” she said and looked down on her lap, twiddling her thumb.

Baekhyun sat down again. “Are you alright?” he asked her and she nodded. “You’re flushed.”

Her eyes widened and she suddenly looked at him. “No, I’m not,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “Calm down, Shin-Shin. We’re not going to eat you.

“Sh-shin-Shin?” Kyungsoo managed to choke out.

Kai made a face. “You already have a pet name for her?”

There was hubbub on the table once more when suddenly, Sehun stood up and gave us all a withering look. “You’re making her feel uncomfortable,” he said seriously at us then his eyes flicked to Shinhye. At some point, while he stared at her, I saw his expressions soften until he rolled his eyes and sat back down. He then rang the bell for the dinner to be served. I just hope the dinner would go in without incident, but that was thwarted the moment Baekhyun opened his mouth.

“From where are you, my lady?”

SHINHYE

Chin left me alone with the six people who seemed to be the masters of the manor. I nearly tripped and I was carried by the one named Chan Yeol to the seat at the edge of the long table where everyone could see me. Despite my protests, he still carried on with what he was doing and had the nerve to tell me that it wasn’t so bad. If he only knew how that was making me feel then maybe he wouldn’t go around carrying me like some disabled person. I hated being helpless. I thanked him anyway for being overly helpful. I already owed him for saving me after I fell off the cliff and staying at their home wasn’t making me feel any better.

Aside from that, they kept making comments that made my skin crawl. They’re all making a big fuss out of the slightest things just like Kai. They all act as if he was going to kill me or something if he did as much as stand next to me. The one named Baekhyun was overly friendly. Well, I found him amusing, but then again, they all reacted violently when he called me by a nickname he made for me. Shin-Shin? It didn’t bother me at all. He reminded me of my sister who called me by that name when she’s trying to get me to do something.

I didn’t know the name of the others, but I was certainly going to draw the line with that person who was seated next to Chan Yeol. He came to