A/N: First of all, I want to comment on your comments which were all hilarious, by the way. I love it when you give me your guesses and present reasons to validate them. Haha. I love to keep you hanging though. Thanks for participating in the poll. That was really entertaining. Anyway, I would like to do some shamless advertisements. First, I would like to promote the oneshot I've posted just this morning and I hope you'd check it out, no need to subscribe, but I'd appreciate your comments. It's called Summer Rain. Lastly, I would also like to promote this fic that I've read. It's really good. It's called "A Call from a Monster" by BryanKimYoungNam, a very talented writer. It's a thriller and if you want to read something new, then I reccomend this. It's great, not the usual kinds of fic you see here and it's an EXO fic with different roles. It's great. You should try it. Anyway, sorry for the very long note, but yeah, enjoy reading ^^

-Chan Yeol’s POV-

“Harabeoji~!” That would be Shinhye.

It was our last day in Hydris and she had been sulking about leaving Suho hyung’s grandfather. Instead of her comforting the elderly man about leaving him, she was the one he was comforting since she had been teary-eyed and in a bad mood. We had to leave immediately. The previous day had been a tiring encounter with the purists. They’ve sent troupes once more, bargaining for us to offer Shinhye to them and they would leave the cities alone in exchange for that. It had been a bloody battle in the forest, but we didn’t let her know about it. It would have been chaotic. It was a good thing that harabeoji helped us to distract her, scolding us when Sehun sent a gale throughout the forest since she felt it from where she was. It was a good thing she listened to his excuses. She was many things but not ignorant.

She had been clinging onto the old man’s sleeve for the past half hour, telling him all sorts of things like take care of his health and not to forget to always summon her through the crystal. She was being childlike once more. It was refreshing to see but it didn’t change the fact that I was bothered with her statements almost a week ago. She told us that she was in love just like that. We were all speculating who she was talking about, but still, we couldn’t get any clue. She had been speaking in riddles to everyone as if she was hinting something and when the others asked her about it, she answered with the same thing – she doesn’t know.

What did she mean by that anyway? I just wish she’d know how it was making me feel especially after Kai returned from the shore with her a few days ago with a flushed face. What in the world was going on? Besides that, she wasn’t actually talking coherently whenever we try to probe things from her. Though she acts normally most of the time, the fact that she would immediately have a change in mood whenever the topic is being pursued made ma uneasy. Was she, in a subtle way, telling me that it wouldn’t be me in the end? The thought was dreadful.

“We’re ready,” Baekhyun hyung called, stealing me away from my reverie.

“Coming,” Shinhye said sadly, giving harabeoji one last embrace. “I will see you again, won’t I?”

He patted her on the head. “Of course, my dear. We were born to outlast the odds. Just remember that.”

She smiled gratefully then slowly turned away when her gaze landed on me. Instead of approaching the circle that the others have formed to teleport us to Lumina where we would be visiting for a fortnight, she walked towards me, standing so close that I could feel her scent filling my senses. She glanced down, diffidently meeting my gaze. A slight smile played at the corners of her lips as she drummed her toe on the ground behind her. I reached over to tuck her long hair behind her ear and she blushed. I guess that was a good sign. I still had that effect on her.

“So…” she hesitated. “Are you ready?”

“I guess,” I answered.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

I nodded, but she still stood in front of me as if she wanted to say something.

“Shinhye-ah!” D.O. called.

“Coming!” she said through clenched teeth and began turning on her heel.

I glanced at the direction of the others. They were all looking at us with odd looks on their faces while Baekhyun hyung was nudging Suho hyung on the side.

“Let’s go,” Shinhye said, surprising me when I saw her hand reaching for mine. I just looked at her and she pretended to roll her eyes. “Come on. My hand’s waiting.” She wiggled her finger s a bit and I smiled, taking it into mine. “Yay!” She led me to the others. “We’re set.”

Suho hyung eyed our intertwined hands pointedly. “You are set, indeed.”

I scowled at him, but before he could realize it, Kai had transported us back to Lumina, the familiar courtyard appearing before us, the manor glimmering under the tangerine afternoon sun.

I felt Shinhye’s hand unclasp from mine the moment she realized that we were in Lumina and my hand immediately turned cold as if I’ve been to somewhere frigid rather than holding her warm hand in mine. I stared at my hand, feeling a tinge of abandonment. I shook my head. She began to run towards the manor where Lady Jinhyun was standing by the doorway.

“Umma~! We’re back!” she said loudly and excitedly. It was rather amusing how she developed a bond with Baekhyun hyung’s mother, thus addressing her in such a way. It was natural, I guess. She hadn’t experienced having a mother because of her circumstances. I felt sorry for her when she told me, but then, she said that I shouldn’t feel sorry for her since she never felt the loss of what she never had because it was impossible. One just doesn’t lose what one never had. It was true to every word, but I didn’t understand why I had to remember that one out of all he things she told me.

Lady Jinhyun held her in her arms tightly and pulled back, looking her at arm’s length. “I’m so glad you’re back. I have been waiting.”

Shinhye smiled at her and stood aside for Baekhyun who was approaching his mother. Tears filled Lady Jinhyun’s eyes when she saw Baekhyun.

“I made it through, mother, not without difficulty, but I did it,” he said.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter, son. As long as you’re safe and sound, even if you didn’t pass the test, I’d still be proud of you. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

The touching scene unfolded in front of us and I saw Shinhye walking into the edge of the tree line, kicking pebbles as she went on her way. I followed her while the others went inside. I looked around as we progressed farther from the manor and remembered that it was the place where she had revealed her future plans to us, how I ignored her with all the will I could muster afterwards. I was foolish to have done that and I’d have to admit that I was quite taken with her methods to get my attention. Maybe I should ignore her more often. I chuckled to myself.

Suddenly, she stopped walking. “Your plan won’t work, mind you,” she said, reading my thoughts again. She turned to face me. “What are you doing here?”

I strode towards her. “Would I be too honest if I said I was following you?”

She shook her head with a slight smile. “I guess I knew you would.”

“Pardon me?”

“You heard me.” She sighed, leaning her palm against the tree, looking up through its height. “I wanted you to follow me.”

“And I did.”

“Yes.” She let out a quiet laughter. “Perhaps you secretly read minds, too.”

“Too?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes. I, too, was trying to see through your thoughts though I didn’t want to.”

“You don’t?”

She shook her head. “I decided to stop reading everyone’s thoughts since I saw it fit for you to be able to keep your privacy around me. It’s also the least I could do as someone you trust.”

I see. So that was why she didn’t know exactly what she was doing to me. I just nodded in understanding.

“But…”

“Yes?”

“I have to when you’re confusing me with your behavior. I’m sorry for that.”

I shook my head. “I-it’s alright, Shinhye. I understand what you mean.”

“Do you?” She sighed and looked at me briefly before returning her gaze to the tree.

“What?”

She continued to face away from me, walking towards the next tree. “You’re careful with your thoughts around me.”

I chuckled. “I don’t want to worry you with some of my thoughts, but I assure you that there’s –”

“Nothing to worry about, right?” she filled in for me. “But you yourself are worried about it.”

I was about to follow her, but I just stopped when she said that. It was true. I was being careful around her. I was afraid of what she might see in my thoughts, what she might think of them.

“You’re worried because I said things that I wasn’t sure about.”

I sighed in relief. I thought she saw something else. I smiled at her though she couldn’t see me. I continued to near her and once I was there, she faced me. I took her in my arms, holding her close as I buried my face in her hair. Slowly, I felt her arms making their way around me, embracing me back.

Shinhye chuckled a bit. “I missed this.”

I joined her in laughter even as I heard the sadness in her tone. “We can do this as much as you want. It doesn’t matter when or where, it doesn’t even matter what the situation is. All you’ve got to do is ask. You don’t even have to.”

Her grip tightened around me. “Why do you have to be so kind?” she asked, breathing in deeply. “It’s so unfair.”

“What is?”

I felt her swallow hard. “Everything. You.” She let out a snagged breath. “Even when I’m being a pain to you, you never failed to make me