You woke up, startled. You sat up in your bed quickly, short breaths escaping your lips as if you were just suffocated. Your hands immediately went up to your temples to rub them. Memories of last night kept appearing in your dreams and you couldn’t seem to forget. You wanted to. You wanted to believe that it was a dream but you couldn’t…because of what you saw next.

You gasped when you looked up. There stood the twelve boys…men…you didn’t even know what to call them. Their black robes were draped over them but their hoods were down, revealing their faces more clearly. Their pale skin was bright in the moonlight for it was still night. Fear began to grow inside of you. They didn’t move from their still positions. They looked almost…statue-like. “You’re up.” You turned your head to see who was talking and it was Se Hun. You still couldn’t talk. You didn’t even have the courage to even open your mouth. “The sun is not up yet. You’ve awakened quite early.” His voice was silky as he enunciated every letter. It sounded almost…ancient.

You shut your eyes tightly and shook your head. You quickly lay back down on your bed and pulled the sheets up over your head. This is just a dream. This is only a dream.

“Get up.”

“No,” you mumbled.

“Get out from under the covers.”

Before you knew it, the sheets were pulled back down. You sat up quickly and saw that none of them have moved from their spots. “Who did-”

“Why do you still ask questions when we already told you?” Lay asked.

You groaned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” You tugged at the sheets but another force was keeping them from moving. You felt so frustrated, grabbing the sheets and pulling with all your strength but it was useless. Then, you remembered that they all had powers. Your eyes went up. Each of them looked at you and soon, you were putting names to faces. And then, you were putting their abilities to their names. You remembered that Lu Han was telepathic. He could also move things with his mind. Why doesn’t he just move me out of bed?

“Because I can’t move living beings.”

You gave up. Your hands fell limp in your lap as you sighed. “Why are you guys here?”

“You passed out.” This time, it was Suho talking. “We brought you back here and came back just in time to find you wake up.”

“What?” your voice echoed. “Isn’t that stalking?” you accused of them. Your family was still asleep in the other rooms but you didn’t really care if they had woken up.

Kris replied in an icy tone, “It’s not actually. You agreed to help us and you will.”

“I…I did? No, I-”

“Yes, you did. You would have to help us even if you said no.” You wanted to cry. You wanted to burst out into tears and run out of the room but why couldn’t you ever control your actions? “It hasn’t even been a whole Earth day since we met you. We only have a couple more Earth years until our planet is destroyed. You have to do whatever we ask. Do you understand?”

Your eyes narrowed at the ground. “…No,” you answered in an almost inaudible voice. “Why do I have to help you?” You were starting to raise your voice again but it didn’t make any of them budge. “Why can’t you get any other human?”

Kris opened his mouth to say something but Chanyeol had beaten him to it. “You’ve already been exposed to our powers.”

It was silent for a couple seconds until you opened your mouth. “…So?”

“So,” Chanyeol explained, “It means that you are also exposed to the Red Forces’ magic.”

“…Who?”

“The Red Forces,” D.O jumped in. “They are the villains of our story. They come from another planet, Cruentus. Their evil has taken over the heart of our planet’s source of life, the tree of life. They left after that for a short period of time but it was long enough for Mama to hide the tree.” You found it a bit funny that he referred to his mother, you assumed, as ‘Mama.’ You sat there, still listening to their story. It was hard to believe but it fascinated you. D.O continued without hesitation, “She cut the tree in half and sent both halves to this planet of Earth.”

“Why Earth?”

D.O shrugged. “We don’t know, but it saved our lives…well, temporarily. We also don’t know where on Earth she has hidden them. If we don’t find both halves in time the two Suns of our planet align, the heart will dry out and our planet will be destroyed.”

Your heart was beating fast. Your head was pounding as you blinked slowly. It took a while for D.O’s words to sink in but when they did, you almost felt just how scared they were. “…Why does it have to be me though? You never answered that.”

Kris rolled his eyes. “What a dense girl,” he mumbled. He stood up straighter and sighed, picking up where D.O left off. “Because you are already exposed to our powers, if the Red Forces ever find you here on Earth you’ll be killed by them. Our powers and their powers just work that way.”

Xiu Min was in the corner of your room beside Kai, but he managed to open his mouth. “We don’t want even one human to be killed because of us.” You recognized his voice. He was the one scolding Chanyeol for playing with his fire earlier in the night.

Kris scoffed. “You don’t want any human to be killed because of us. Personally, I don’t care how many humans die.”

“Why? We might as well protect her, too. She’ll probably be of some use.”

Tao snickered. “Yeah, she can be used as bait or something if they ever find us.”

It was dark in the room. The moon was pale but it shined so brilliantly against the twelve beings in front of you. There was never a moment you didn’t feel scared when you were with them. And Tao suggesting you be bait for some aliens didn’t make you feel any better. You stared at him. There was a smirk on his face. He’s handsome, you thought. They all are. You didn’t know how they looked and what they’d be considered as on their planet but on Earth, there was no question that they were gleamingly handsome. You could feel your heart twinge. You didn’t know why but the longer you stared at them aimlessly, the calmer you felt.

Chen yelled, “Hey!” pulling you back to reality. “That’s a little mean, Tao. We have to protect her, too, now.” Lu Han nodded his head in agreement to Chen’s words. You thought Lu Han didn’t like you but you were wrong.

“She can help us,” Lu Han said. “I can tell from her thoughts that she’s a smart girl. I guess you guys have just underestimated her.” Your eyes shifted around your room. Your brain was still not processing the presence of these twelve boys.

Tao and Kris groaned in unison. “Fine,” Kris growled, baring his teeth. “She better be helpful. If she makes any mistakes though, she’ll be thrown off a cliff or something.”           

“W-what? I didn’t even choose to be in this situation and you’re telling me if I make one mistake, I’ll be dead? I don’t even understand! Why do you still need my help if Lu Han can read minds? Or if you can fly? Or if Lay can heal? How does it make any sense that you still need me to accompany you guys to find this tree or whatever?”

“They told you already,” Kai from behind everyone said. “You’ve been exposed to our powers and we need to protect you now.”

“What if I don’t want to be protected?”

“We’ll still hang around you and watch you.”

You groaned and lied back down onto your bed. “This is too much!” you cried. You covered your face with your hands and kicked your feet into the air. The twelve boys watched you in surprise as you continued to groan. Finally, you sat back up with a slumped back. “Are you guys serious? This isn’t a dream or anything, right?”

Kris, who you already knew to be impatient, answered, “We’re being serious. Do you want us to burn your house down or read your mind again?”

“No,” you muttered, shaking your head. “But-”

“No buts! Didn’t I say this last night?” Kris complained. You were getting tired of everyone cutting you off so you decided to keep your mouth shut now. The tension in the room began to disappear. Your breaths came out slowly as you stared at each and every one of them. They were intimidating but they were scared, too, and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.

“Don’t feel sorry for us,” Lu Han said. “We’re going to find the tree and get rid of those Red Forces. We’ll protect you, too. So, don’t worry.” You bit your lip, slightly irritated that Lu Han read your mind. “Sorry,” Lu Han apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can’t help it,” he shrugged.

“As I was saying,” Kris coughed. “You’re going to stay with us when we start looking for the halves of the tree.”

“Wait, what?”

“You’re going to come everywhere with us when we actually start looking.”

“W-what? Are you saying I’d have to leave my home? My friends? My family?”

Kris shrugged. “Probably.” You could feel your heart sinking. Some of the twelve beings had solemn looks on their faces as they watched your mouth form into a frown. “We’ll give you a week.” With that, they disappeared from your room instantly. Must’ve been Kai. You shook your head, still trying to grasp the reality of what just happened. …I have to leave my home? Your eyes watered. The thought of leaving home was terrifying and heartbreaking. And before you knew it, the tears were spilling. You were sobbing as you lied back down onto your bed. You wiped your tears but more would just pour out. Then, you realized that that was how the twelve felt like. I don’t want their planet to be destroyed. You tried to steady your breathing now as you thought of them. …I’ll do it but only for the sake of them. They’ll bring me back home, you tried to reassure yourself. I’ll go back home safely and so will they.