“Hyerin.”

Hyerin snapped out of her thoughts to look up at Tao beside her. Seeing her surprised expression, he laughed, ruffling the top of her head.

“You know, you’ve been dazing off a lot lately,” Tao said, shaking his head good-naturedly. “Something bothering you?”

Hyerin blinked at him a couple of times before leaving him to continue their walk. They were at a traditional outdoor market near the city and away from their home to buy meat and other ingredients for their dinner in a few hours. The market was bustling with activity and it reminded both Hyerin and Tao of Dongdaemun back in Seoul.

“You didn’t answer my question!” Tao said, wrapping his coat tighter around him as he squinted at Hyerin. He couldn’t see well because of the sun.

Hyerin rolled her eyes. “There’s never a time where something’s not bothering me, Zitao,” she mumbled, picking out assorted fruits. “You should know that by now.”

Tao chuckled. “Then what are you worrying about now?”

She was in the middle of comparing two mangoes when her eyes lowered down to the ground, hit by the thought of that one person who’s been on her mind since the wee hours of the morning.

“I don’t know,” Hyerin dismissed.

“Mhm.” Tao raised a brow knowingly, folding his arms. “It’s Kyungsoo, isn’t it?”

Hyerin abruptly looked up to glare at the boy, her short shoulder-length hair swishing everywhere. She punched him on the arm, embarrassed.

Tao laughed out loud, earning curious looks from civilians. “You’re not even denying it!”

“Shut up, Tao,” she mumbled, burying the lower half of her face into her scarf.

“Oh my god. You’re blushing. Kim Hyerin is blushing,” he said incredulously, lifting her chin to study her face with amusement. “What is happening to the world!?”

She slapped his hand away. “Quit it, !” she hissed, cheeks reddening despite herself.

Tao ruffled her hair. “Aww, that’s so cute! So what’s up? You miss him?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, knowing that she did miss him. She really did.

Tao scowled. “Uhuh.”

Hyerin sighed. “It’s been a month and two weeks, almost three, and I’m just worried about him, that’s all,” she said before bagging all the fruits she picked out. “Who knows what’s happening back there, y’know?”

Tao used his hands to shield his eyes from the sun. “Well I tried asking locals around here about what they think of the takeover and they’re pretty much just as clueless as we are. A bunch of ‘em are really scared of what might happen but they have no idea who started it and why. The media is useless at this point, too,” he said, keeping his voice low. “But that’s besides the point! So you’re worried about him, huh? Do you like him or not?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you miss him.”

“…I guess I kinda do.”

“Well then you do! You do like him!” He grinned. “Don’t think I didn’t see that kiss before we left.”

Hyerin punched him on the arm before handing the vendor the bag of fruit she wanted to purchase. “Don’t ever mention anything about that again!”

“Oh, please, Hyerin. You’re in denial! A part of you liked that kiss and might have been waiting for it to happen for a very long time now,” he said, watching as she pulled out a couple of bills. “Actually you might not even like him. Maybe it’s something more.”

Hyerin shook her head at his nonsense before handing the bills to the vendor. “Please just stop talking,” she sighed.

“It’s true! I mean, I know there’s something going on between you and Baekhyun but man, this is really different Hyerin,” he said. “The way you look when you’re with Kyungsoo…it’s really different, I can’t even explain it. I mean, I know you guys fight and but it’s just different.”

Hyerin blushed as she took her change from the vendor. She hurriedly pulled Tao with her to leave.

“You’re crazy,” she said.

“You are too. You’re crazy, Hyerin,” he said, winking at her, “crazy in looove!”

“ off!” she exclaimed, hitting him with the plastic bag in her hands. He easily dodged it, laughing as he did so.

Hyerin eventually joined Tao in his hysterical laughing, but it all ended too soon when the people in the market went from talking loudly amongst each other to just settling with whispering. At first, they thought it was because they were being too loud, but realized that it wasn’t them that was the problem.

“What’s happening?” Hyerin wondered.

“I don’t know,” Tao mumbled, looking around them. “Everyone seems to be looking towards that end of the market.” He pointed to their right, where everyone was on their toes to take a look.

Hyerin’s brows furrowed, sauntering towards the commotion. She stood on her tiptoes to see better to no avail.

Luckily, Tao followed and stood behind her to see what the whispering was all about. At first, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary – just a bunch of nosy locals trying to see what was up – when his sharp eyes caught a lone figure hundreds of feet away from where they were standing.

Bald head, tan skin, inhumane rippling muscles, dark cunning eyes. Tao almost forgot how to breathe.

“Oh ,” he cursed in disbelief. “This is not ing happening.”

Hyerin frowned at him. “What is it? What did you see?”

Tao turned to her with bewildered eyes. “It’s Durus,” he said. “Durus is here.”

Hyerin swallowed, feeling a surge of fear for the first time in a long while. “What the hell is he doing here? Is he alone?”

Tao ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know but we have to get out of here right now or else we’ll blow our cover,” he said, pulling her away to the opposite direction. “C’mon, let’s go,” he whispered.

Hyerin covered the lower half of her face properly with her scarf as they hurriedly walked away from the crowd. They slipped into a two-way alley – a shortcut they got used to using around the area – when another familiar figure emerged at the other side of the alley.

A night crawler.

Hyerin and Tao stared at the creature in horror as it let out a loud, high-pitched noise at the sight of them before charging towards their direction.

Hyerin didn’t wait for the crawler to come any closer. With one swift motion, her hand made its way to her waistband where a pistol was hidden securely. She shot the night crawler precisely on the head before running to the opening to escape.

“Let’s go!” she exclaimed while Tao followed closely behind her.

They turned a corner, never stopping for anyone or anything.

“Durus probably already knows we’re here because of that stupid night crawler!” Tao exclaimed as they were running. “What the do we do?”

“We need to get home and tell the others quick.” Hyerin sprinted to the end of the block, only to be greeted by more night crawlers. Several feet away from them were two locals bloodied and most likely dead.

“Oh ,” Tao mumbled in bewilderment, taking in the sickening sight of their limp, unmoving bodies.

Hyerin bit her lip, eyes wide as she felt tears of anger and shock coming. Those two people didn’t even know what was coming for them.

Without a second thought, Hyerin took off her scarf and her thick coat to move more freely, her wild, furious eyes glued to the night crawlers.

“Hyerin, what are you doing?” Tao asked nervously beside her. Realizing what she was about to do, he took her by the arm. “Hyerin, stop. We don’t have time for this!”

But Hyerin managed to pull away. With no hesitation, she ran towards the night crawlers and began shooting them with her pistol. Having no other choice, Tao followed her, mumbling profanities under his breath.

“Hyerin, there might be more of them here!” Tao yelled before launching himself on one night crawler. He twisted its neck with ease.

“You think I care!?” Hyerin shot back, smacking one crawler with the of her gun and elbowing another behind her.

Toa cursed under his breath, knocking two down with a butterfly kick. “Seriously Hyerin, we need to go. We need to tell the others quick!”

Hyerin shot the last crawler in the head before finally giving in.

“Fine, we’re going. But I’m telling you we-”

All too quickly, night crawlers in groups started to emerge and surround them, crawling in all fours as they closed in on the two agents.

Tao looked around for a way out and spotted an alley several feet away from them. At the end of it was a fence they could climb over.

“Follow me,” Tao said, pulling Hyerin with him towards the alley. Behind them, the night crawlers started to sprint towards them.

The two made their way to the alley and ran towards the fence. They launched themselves on the fence and climbed over it easily, ready to run away except Durus was already on the other side, arms crossed and eyes fixated on them.

Hyerin the pistol stuck in her waistband, muttering curses under her breath. She didn’t have bullets anymore.

“A pleasant surprise this is,” Durus said, voice laced with feigned boredom. This was the first time they’ve ever heard him talk and his voice was exactly how they imagined it to be; deep, gruff, and downright terrifying.

“I came here for an entirely different reason and here I am face to face with the people we’ve been loo-”

Tao did not wait for Durus to finish his sentence and growled as he pounced on the large man, sending both of them to the ground. He threw several punches across Durus’ face, but the man barely budged under Tao’s attacks. Hyerin ran over to help Tao, but found herself tripping backwards as the night crawlers from the other side of the fence managed to climb over and hold her back.

While Hyerin dealt with the night crawlers coming in from behind the fence, Tao struggled to the get out of Durus’ headlock. He blindly threw punches at Durus’ face, even tried jabbing him with his elbow, but nothing made him let go.

His whole face was starting to turn purple, his throat painfully and gradually closing in. Through his peripheral vision, he saw Hyerin getting cornered by the night crawlers, several bite marks on her legs and arms.

Tao felt himself about to slip into unconsciousness, his grip on Durus’ arm getting weaker and weaker until he couldn’t take it anymore and dropped his hands. But right before his eyes shut completely, Durus finally let go of him. He collapsed to the ground, the spots in his vision gradually disappearing.

A pair of strong arms lifted him off the ground and helped him stand on his feet, hurriedly leading him away from the commotion. Tao mustered the energy to look up and saw that it was no other than Myungsoo.

Myungsoo looked down at Tao then behind him before answering, “Save your questions for later. Right now we need to get back to the van.”

Tao didn’t get the chance to answer once Myungsoo threw him over his shoulder like a sack of rice, running at probably a hundred miles per hour but Tao wasn’t sure because he was dizzy, more so once Myungsoo started using his super speed to get to the car.

As they turned a corner, he noticed Hyerin and Minho running behind them.

Myungsoo turned around. “Hurry!” he shouted, pointing at something behind Hyerin and Minho.

Hyerin whipped around as she was running, seeing Durus and a couple of night crawlers chasing after them. She turned her head back to the front, watching Myungsoo shove Tao inside a white van. Once they caught up, they jumped in as well.

The vehicle started driving away even before Hyerin could shut the door properly. She looked out the tinted windows before turning around to face the others inside the van.

Myungsoo and Tao were at the back, Minho was sitting right beside her, equally as breathless as her, while Key was in the driver’s seat, concentrating on the road.

Hyerin was so shocked she almost forgot how to speak.

“H-How…what are you guys doing here?” she demanded, eyes wide from surprise.

“Shouldn’t we be the ones asking you that question?” Minho shot back, looking as bewildered as she was. “What are you doing here in Gwangju?”

“I thought you guys went farther than this! Have you been here the whole time!?”

“We’ve been here since the beginning! What are you-”

“This is not the time to talk,” Key said, glaring at them through the rearview mirror. “Instead of babbling why don’t you make yourselves useful for once and get rid of those pests following us.”

Everyone looked out the windows and saw two cars tailgating them.

Minho clucked his tongue. “He’s right. We need to get rid of them first or else they’ll find out where we’re hiding.” He shook his head from frustration before turning to look at her. “Well? Do you still have it in you, Hyerin?”

Hyerin looked confused – nervous, even – as her brain registered Minho’s question. But just as quickly, her eyes lit with rage and determination as she remembered the innocent civilians back in the market and the two specific ones that were now unfortunately dead.

She bit the insides of her cheek, a glare fixated outside the window. “Of course,” she answered, pulling the door open as she caught the rifle Minho tossed to her.

---

With battered arms, broken ribs, bite-marks all over their legs, and bloody heads, Hyerin, along with the others, finally made it out of the city and towards the outskirts of town, this time heading west. Killing Durus was not a successful impromptu mission, but nevertheless, they managed to wipe out at least more than half of the night crawlers that he brought with him. It was no easy task, but managing to escape from Durus was an accomplishment they never thought would be possible.

Hyerin looked out the window as they drove through a remote area mostly surrounded by trees and small houses, a drastic contrast to the city. It was already nighttime, and there were only a few streetlights.

They drove deeper and deeper into the area; in fact, they travelled so far that there were only a couple of houses in sight Hyerin could count them with her ten fingers. More trees lined both sides of the road than streetlights and soon enough, their pathway was as dark as the night sky, headlights the only thing preventing them from getting into an accident.

They approached a sharp turn to the right and after a couple of miles more into the darkness, they finally reached their destination.

Hyerin pressed her face against the window to have a better view of where the Noxius Brothers took them – the van rounded an old, run-down home with a chimney blowing out calm smoke from above. Incandescent light flooded the interior of the house from what she was seeing through the dusty windows, and it may just be their imagination but she could also make out shadows scuffling about inside the home.

Hyerin’s heartbeat began to quicken. Hyeseul. Jonghyun.

The van hadn’t even come to a complete stop when Hyerin opened the sliding doors and jumped out the car.

She could hear Tao’s startled call behind her but she didn’t stop running until she was standing inches away from the wooden door. Her head was throbbing and the injuries she acquired from the brawl earlier were killing her but that didn’t matter to her now.

Releasing the breath she had been holding for a while now, she twisted the doorknob and barged inside, the harsh smell of kimchi bluntly greeting her first. Her gaping eyes roamed around the generic-looking living room, looking for any signs of a living human within the house. Her mud-adorned boots dirtied the worn floorboards, creaking as she went, but not even the sound of footsteps aside from hers was heard.

The house was so quiet it was deafening.

Hyerin held her breath, progressively losing hope. Rather than going around the house like a mad woman, she stayed rooted on her spot in the middle of the living room, afraid to find no one inside.

She figured that she’d let Tao roam the house instead or even better, just plainly ask the Noxius Brothers if Hyeseul and her brother stuck with them until the end or if they died along the way.

She had no desire to find out on her own – simply because she was afraid of what she’d discover – but just as she was heading out the door, the floorboards creaked several feet behind her.

Hyerin whipped around in surprise.

Behind the kitchen entrance, Hyeseul emerged, holding a frying pan with her right hand as if ready to hit someone. It took her several seconds to recognize Hyerin but when she finally did, her eyes widened and her grip on the pan loosened. It dropped down to the floor with a loud clang.

Hyerin’s heart ached at the sight of Hyeseul. Without a single word, she stormed towards the girl. Hyeseul did the same.

“Hyerin? Is it really you?” Hyeseul sobbed, hugging Hyerin tight.

“How have you been?” Hyerin asked as desperately as Hyeseul. “It’s been so long,” she breathed, incredibly happy to be standing in front of Hyeseul. She was one of the few left that reminded her of home.

“Too long,” Hyeseul said, smiling despite the tears flowing down her cheeks. “I missed you so much. But oh my god, Hyerin, what happened to you? Why are you all battered up?”

“Hyeseul? Who’s-” Jonghyun appeared from the hallway but stopped in his tracks once he caught sight of Hyerin and Hyeseul in an embrace.

Hyerin’s breath hitched, unable to move from where she was standing.

“H-Hyerin?” Jonghyun stuttered, eyes wide. But almost instantly, he managed to blink away the shock as he took in a sharp breath to compose himself. “You’re alive.”

Hyerin ran to her brother and wrapped her arms around him so tight she was sure he wasn’t able to breathe for a moment. Seconds passed until his rigid body finally relaxed, enveloping Hyerin into a warm hug. His hand made it’s way to the top of her head and the nostalgia was practically shoved down , forcing her to choke out wails she had been restraining for several weeks now.

“You’re alive,” he repeated, voice cracking. He pried Hyerin away from him to get a good look at the girl. “You cut your hair.”

Hyerin nodded, smiling as she wiped her tears away. “I did.”

“You look beautiful,” Jonghyun whispered before kissing her forehead. “I missed you so much.”

---

After a couple of moments, the rest of the boys entered the house and soon after, Jonghyun tended to everyone’s injuries. After that, they headed outside to the front of the house where Minho and Myungsoo set up a fire for everyone’s warmth. Left inside the house was Hyeseul, preparing dinner.

Hyerin settled down in front of the fire after calling Baekhyun to tell them their whereabouts and who they found. He promised that they were on their way to go to wherever they were.

“I’ll drive to the front to meet them,” Myungsoo said, hopping inside the van. “I don’t think they’d find their way around here because of the dark.” He closed the door and drove back to the main road.

Minho gave Myungsoo a nod before sitting beside Hyerin. Key, Jonghyun, and Tao joined them as well, while Hyeseul brought out the food.

“I wouldn’t have thought you guys would pick Gwangju as your hiding place,” Minho said, holding out his arms above the fire to keep warm.

“Why is that?” Hyerin asked.

“I thought you guys would go farther.”

Tao chuckled, taking the plate of food Hyeseul handed to him. “I thought this was already far enough.”

“That’s what we thought too,” Minho said. “We were living peacefully here until earlier,” he sneered, gaze darkening, “when Durus came.”

Hyerin and Tao shared a look.

 “We were at the market like you,” Key spoke. “Just minding our own business and not expecting anything crazy to happen. But then we heard that scream, that night crawler’s scream, and we knew something was up.”

“We thought we’ve been discovered, but turns out we weren’t,” Minho said. “He found you guys instead. Unintentionally.”

“So Durus wasn’t there to look for us?” Hyerin asked.

Minho shook his head. “I’m pretty sure the mayor sent him out of Seoul to look for us, the alliances of the enemy,” he said, amused. “He wouldn’t let us off the hook that easily. He’d make sure all of us who betrayed him get killed.”

“Thank you,” Hyerin said, “for helping us escape.”

“We are just paying our debt,” Key said, shrugging. “You’ve done so much for us.”

After an hour, the rest of the EXO members arrived. Everyone took a moment to welcome each other, glad to see everyone alive, before circling around the fire as well.

Sehun clung to Hyerin like a monkey. “I thought you were dead! I was so worried!” Sehun wailed, rocking the girl back and forth. “Why didn’t you call and ask for help!?”

“The situation was under control,” Hyerin said a matter-of-factly, not missing the amused look Minho gave her as if to say, situation under control, my .

“Still!” Sehun exclaimed. “It’s not okay to not call!”

“Sehun’s right, Hyerin,” Baekhyun said, giving her a reprimanding glare. “You should’ve called.”

Hyerin stuck her tongue out.

As this was going on, Kris placed a firm hand on Key’s shoulder.

“Thanks for saving the two. We could’ve done it ourselves but thank you,” he said.

Key waved it off. “If it weren’t for that we wouldn’t have encountered each other, would we?”

“True.” Myungsoo nodded. “Especially right now that we just got the news.”

“What news?” Luhan asked. By now, everyone had their attention.

“Back in Seoul,” Key started, idly picking up little twigs from the ground and throwing it to the fire. “Our connections told us that a Xinth attacked a man around two weeks ago.”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Luhan mumbled nonchalantly.

“No. This time it’s different.” Key chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. “The Xinth bit the man’s throat off and ate his heart too.”

Chorused gasps ensued. Everyone stared at Key in horrification.

“Wait, what?” Tao asked, mortified.

“Yup.” Minho nodded. “After that, it’s been occurring more frequently. People are afraid to get out of their homes back there, only relying on their limited supply of resources to get by.” He shook his head remorsefully. “People are dying in Seoul. Rapidly.”

“Seems like Jiyong isn’t the only one who has an appetite for humans,” Hyerin said, clucking her tongue.

“It’s a mystery to me,” Kris started, “that this only happened now. I mean, of all times? He could’ve done this way before…but why now?”

“Well, aren’t humans their source of power kind of?” Hyeseul wondered. “Then maybe they’re just hungry for human flesh.”

“Yeah, but why now?” Kris repeated.

Hyeseul shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the humans aren’t the only ones who are suffering from limited resources,” she said. “Maybe, for some reason, the mayor and his army are getting weaker too.”

Everyone turned silent, considering what the girl said. Jonghyun grinned, proud of his girlfriend, as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“But how can they be weaker when they just brought in a ship from their planet down here to Earth?” Sehun asked.

“They used me for the barricades to isolate Seoul,” Tao cut in. “Think about it. Why does Jiyong crave Hyerin’s power so much? And why did he have to use me to get those goddamn walls up? His resources are limited too because his resources are us. Maybe he’s not as powerful as we think he is. Now that ship – the only way he managed to get that gargantuan thing to land on Earth is because-”

“He used someone,” Hyerin finished, realizing his point.

“And that someone isn’t just anyone. That someone has to have a significant amount of power to bring that ship here,” Tao continued.

They were once again engulfed in a deafening silence, trying to grasp the weight of Tao’s words.

“I think I know what you're talking about now,” Minho muttered.

Tao’s eyes glistened. “I know that you guys know what I'm talking about.”

---

Chanyeol hid in a dark alley, crouched behind a trashcan. He held his rifle in his right hand while the other clutched a bag of Cheetos.

The Cheetos was a lucky grab; he just finished killing three Xinths attacking a local inside the convenience store down the block when he saw the bag crushed under a tipped over shelf.

He flung a piece up in the air and caught it with his mouth. Chewing, he smiled to himself. “Mmm. Cheetos.”

“Chanyeol, quit ing around,” Lay said, hiding beside Chanyeol.

Chanyeol raised a brow. “What? I’m hungry.”

“Well it’s not the time to stuff your face right now,” he said, distractedly looking over the trashcan for any Xinths coming towards them. “Put that away.”

Chanyeol sniffed and continued eating.

After a couple of minutes, Chen and Suho arrived. After that, Xiumin. They were all hiding in the dark alley waiting for Kyungsoo when he finally came.

He rounded the corner towards their hiding spot, knowing exactly where the EXO agents were because of their meeting prior to the mission. He walked over to them, bloodied and battered like everyone else but at the same time, not as much as the others with the help of his steel arm. That didn’t mean he got hurt less – it only meant that he did more work than the others, risked his life more than the others, and most importantly, served as commander during attacks.

“Area clear,” he announced, dropping his gun to the ground and plopping down next to Chen.

“We should get going,” Suho said, checking his watch. “It’s past midnight. The head agents must already be looking for us.”

“Then let’s head back now,” Xiumin suggested. “While the area’s still safe. We can’t afford to waste any more ammunition.”

“Waaaait,” Chanyeol wailed, resting his head against the brick wall. “Let’s leave in five minutes, at least? I’m hella exhausted!”

Kyungsoo glared at the boy. “Really, Chanyeol? Really? You haven’t even moved from your hiding spot for half an hour,” he said. “And are those Cheetos? Please tell me those aren’t Cheetos.”

Chanyeol gave Kyungsoo a pointed look, hiding the bag behind his back. “Don’t get any ideas. This is mine.”

Kyungsoo slapped his hand against his forehead, the metal one. “Don’t worry,” he sighed. “I’m not stealing your precious Cheetos from you.”

“Did you hear that?” Chen asked out of nowhere, his head abruptly snapping up like a bird. “Something’s there.”

“I heard it too.” Suho’s eyebrows knitted together. “No way can it be the Xinths. We just wiped out the area just less than five minutes ago.”

“And we told the citizens to hide in their homes prior to our attack,” Xiumin said.

“You guys stay here,” Chen whispered, picking his pistol from the ground and standing up. “I’ll go and check it out.”

“Be careful,” Kyungsoo reminded, scooting back against the wall to hide himself better.

Chen nodded, his eyes glued to the streets. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

Chen trod lightly, trying to make as little contact with the trash scattered on the ground for fear of making a sound. He had his back against the wall, gun pointed downwards and finger on the trigger in preparation for what was coming.

He inched closer to the opening but made no move to step out of the dark alley. All he did was listen.

A couple of minutes passed and nothing came out to attack him. Chen was already sweating bullets, his palms damp and a little slippery holding the pistol, and only when he reached up to wipe the bead of sweat trickling down his temple did something in the corner of his eye move.

Whatever it was, it moved fast, but Chen was faster.

It was a person, just as he expected. He grabbed the person’s arms and slammed them against the wall. Before the person could escape Chen held the neck as a trap, shoving the mouth of his pistol against their head.

Against her head.

Chen’s eyes widened at the sight. It was a girl. A girl with tan skin, long jet-black hair, and beautiful, gentle features. She was in an all-black getup, something not unusual nowadays. But what really caught Chen’s attention were her eyes – they were big, bright, and an unnatural glowing electric blue.

That’s when Chen realized.

“It’s a Xinth!” Chen called out to the other agents. “A Xinth!”

“No!” the girl cried out. “No, please! You don’t understand!”

The boys came over and circled around the girl, equally stunned to see the sight.

“Please let me go,” she pleaded, struggling under Chen’s iron grip. “I can’t breathe.”

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Chen hissed angrily, but there was something in his tone that faltered a little bit, hesitating. It didn’t help that his grip around the girl’s neck slightly loosened.

“No, I-I don’t! Please! I mean no harm!”

Chanyeol chuckled bitterly. “She thinks we’re stupid.”

“No, please-”

“Shut up, Xinth,” Chanyeol cut off, glaring at the girl.

Kyungsoo placed a firm hand on Chanyeol’s shoulder. “Stop,” he said. “Let the girl speak.”

“This is not a girl, Kyungsoo.” Chen glared at her, but quickly looked away. “It’s a Xinth. It’s not human.” Yet even to himself, he sounded uncertain.

Kyungsoo said nothing as he clutched Chen’s arm, wordlessly telling him to put the gun down. Chen swallowed, slowly lowering his gun while keeping his eyes on the girl.

He backed away as Kyungsoo stepped in front of the girl, scrutinizing her.

“I promise you, I’m not here to hurt anyone,” she said, tone desperate.

“Then what were you doing back there, sneaking up on us?” Kyungsoo asked in a practically dead tone.

“I-I…I have my orders.” Her voice was small and quiet. Too gentle for someone of her kind. “Please believe me when I say I’m not an enemy.”

“That’s kinda hard, especially with your appearance,” Xiumin sarcastically droned. “If you want to deceive us, first of all, try to wear some sunglasses to cover those blue eyes, yeah? You’re practically giving yourself away.”

“I’m not trying to deceive you!” she exclaimed heatedly.

“Then what is it that you want?” Suho asked, jaw clenching.

“I already told you, I have my orders.”

“Who’s your employer?” Kyungsoo inched closer to her, his metal arm glowing under the moonlight. He didn’t miss the widening of the girl’s eyes as she glanced down at his deadly arm.

“They’re a friend of yours,” she said carefully. “The Noxius Brothers.”

Everyone fought to hide their shock and keep their composure.

“The Noxius Brothers? Why?” Lay asked.

“Before they left they told me to watch over you and make sure that you’re safe,” she said. “I’ve been doing this even when Hyerin was still here-”

“You know who Hyerin is?” Kyungsoo abruptly questioned, eyes widening with a mixture of surprise and protectiveness. “What do you know about her? Why do you know her? Do you know where she’s hiding?”

Sensing Kyungsoo’s panic, she quickly replied, “No. The Noxius Brothers didn’t tell me any of that. I just know her because she’s one of the EXO agents. Until, that is, she and a couple of others got out.”

“So you’ve been spying on us this whole time?” Suho asked.

She lowered her head. “Watching over you,” she corrected.

Suho and Kyungsoo shared a look.

Suho sighed. “What do we do with you?”

She snapped her attention to him. “Please don’t kill me! I swear I’m telling the truth!”

“Oh, really?” Chanyeol dared.

“Yes! Yes, I can prove it!”

Kyungsoo raised a brow. “You can prove it?”

“Yes.” She nodded abruptly. “But you have to trust me. My proof is…at home. I also have information that you need, just please, trust me.”

Chanyeol stepped up. “See that? That’s the sound of a girl lying,” he sneered. “Do you really think you can fool us?”

Suho held out his hand, gesturing for him to stop. “We’re going,” he said, startling the others.

“What!?” Xiumin demanded.

“I said we’re going,” Suho repeated. “We’ll give this girl a chance, see what she’s talking about.”

“What are you thinking!?” Chanyeol questioned.

“Calm down, Cheetos,” Kyungsoo muttered. “Suho’s right. This girl might be lying but she might also be telling the truth. Plus, this information she’s talking about might really be helpful to us. And if she’s lying,” – he pointed his gun to her head, switching off the safety – “she’ll be dead in two seconds.”

The girl gulped, cowering away from the gun.

Chanyeol sighed. “Fine.”

“Okay. Let’s get going,” Suho said, reloading his weapon. “Let the girl lead. Chanyeol and I will be at the rear, the rest of you at the front. Chen, you go and hold the girl.”

Chen nodded as he held the girl’s arm, gesturing for her to go and lead the way and she did without a word. The others busied themselves with checking if the area was clear.

They walked a little over a mile and a half with no one uttering a single word until they turned the fifth corner since they started walking.

“You know you’re going to get in big trouble if you’re lying,” Chen spoke, not knowing what came over him to talk to this…thing.

“I’m not,” she simply said, seemingly tired of all the accusations held upon her.

“Better to admit it now than later,” Chen continued, his grip on her arm tightening. “You don’t know what we’re capable of.”

“I know what you’re capable of. I’ve been watching you remember?” She sighed. “And I’ve said it a million times. I’m not lying to you, Jongdae.”

Chen snapped his attention to her, eyes wide. “What did you just call me?”

“Jongdae,” she repeated. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”

This girl must have really done her research to know that kind of information. He was never called by his real name and he never wanted nor allowed anyone to. This Xinth was no different, and he should be angry that she knew so much, but strange as it was, it felt different when she said it.

It felt right.

Nevertheless, he kept his glare on her. Who knows? This might be some kind of Xinth magic, some type of supernatural power she casted on him to make him feel this way. This girl was not to be trusted.

He was going to open his mouth to say something when she got ahead of him.

“We’re here,” she announced.

They stood before a small, abandoned, hole-in-the-wall liquor store with barred windows and a detached door. Chen stared up at it for a while before turning to the others.

“Are we going in?” he asked.

Suho nodded once. This time it was his turn to lead the way, holding a flashlight in his left hand. Kyungsoo followed closely behind him while the rest walked in with careful footsteps.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Chanyeol said. “A really, really bad feeling about this.”

“Shut it, Yeol,” Lay whispered as they followed the others into the dark hallway.

“I swear she’s going to kill us all.”

“I said shut-”

Lay was not able to continue when the door to their left slammed open, making everyone jump into their defensive stance. Everyone was pointing their guns towards the noise, but not really knowing who or what it was because of the sudden burst of dust in the air from the slamming of the door.

“Who’s there!?” Kyungsoo demanded, his gun tight against the girl’s shivering body.

“Whoever or whatever you are put down your weapon!” Suho exclaimed, lighting the flashlight towards the direction of the unknown. The dust started to clear out, but all they could make out was the shape of a man.

“Put the weapon down!” Suho ordered, seeing the shadow of a gun clasped in between the man’s two hands.

“You put down yours first!” he answered back.

“Do you not understand orders!? I said-”

“Wait,” Chen halted the boy, eyes wide as he dropped his gun to the floor. “Wait.”

“Chen, what the are you doing!? Pick up your ing gun!” Xiumin exclaimed.

“No, wait-”

“Chen, you-”

Noticing the commotion, the shadow stepped forward. Everyone stiffened.

“Drop your weapon or I will shoot you.” Suho unfastened the safety of his gun.

“Don’t shoot,” Chen warned. “It’s not an enemy.”

Suho whipped around, having enough of Chen’s interruptions. “What the hell are you-”

At this rate, the dust went away and the anonymous man was completely out of his hiding place. Suho pointed the flashlight at him, and when he did, everyone finally understood why Chen tried to stop them.

The guy wasn’t so anonymous after all. He wasn’t an enemy and definitely not a stranger – in fact, he was one of them.

Suho’s hands trembled as he lowered the gun in his hands. His eyebrows curled up and his mouth trembled, struggling with his words. He was overcome by so many emotions, so many things to say, that all he could muster was a small, barely audible, “Jongin?”