When I entered the apartment, the kitchen was bustling. “Hey Kalyn! Come join us!” Lu Han said as he mixed things in a bowl. Lay, Xiumin, and Chen were also there, preparing what looked like lunch.

“I already ate, but sure. Where’s Kris?” I took off my shoes and placed the box on the counter.

“In his room,” Lay replied, grabbing a plate. “Don’t bother helping us, he needs to see you right away. Also when he’s done, tell him lunch is ready.” He gave me a side glance, giving me an obvious look of sympathy.

I felt sorry for myself too, calling on my inner discipline to approach Kris’s room. I knocked. “Come in,” came the muffled response.

I opened the door and found Kris facing the windows, his arms crossed. His narrow angled face was calm, showing no emotion. Usually I could read what was on his mind, but now his expression was as revealing as a still, glassy pond. Serene, but mysterious.

In my case, dangerous. I shut the door quietly behind me and cleared my throat. “Hey.”

“Where were you?” He still didn’t move.

“I went exploring. I was at the art store the whole time.”

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “The one that got robbed?”

I blinked. “How did you-“

“I’m one of the leaders of EXO, Kalyn,” he said quietly. It seemed like overnight he had become a stern grandfather. “The safety of all of you is my responsibility.”

“I’m sorry, Kris, for sneaking out, I didn’t know-“

“Don’t give me your excuses!” he snarled, turning around. I stepped back a step. “You’re right, you don’t know about how I feel right now, and you’ll never know!” he continued, his voice rising. “I am held responsible for every single one of you, but especially you! Do you know what will happen if you get hurt, if you possibly die? Because with our vulnerability and our mission, the chances are not in our favor! Do you UNDERSTAND me?”

I gulped, trying to keep my composure but failing. A tear slipped out of my eye. I quickly brushed it away, still making eye contact.

His eyes lowered to my cheek for just a second, then back to my eyes. “It’s not only about your parents unable to forgive me,” he quietly added. “I would be unable to forgive myself.”

We stood in the strained silence for a while.

“I-I’m sorry, Kris,” I whispered, afraid if that I spoke my alto voice would crack. Blood had already rushed to my nose, and I knew in a few minutes it would start running, making my face look all ruddy. “It won’t happen again.”

He gave a small smile and opened his arms, a cue for me to walk over and hug him. I complied, burying my face into his shirt. “I know.”

I closed my eyes, trying to remember the last time we hugged like this. It was right before he left to Canada. “Stop crying Kalyn. I’ll call often, and we’ll visit each other, okay?”

Except now he was 20 cm taller than me, and his voice had deepened. He was already a man, and I was still a girl waiting to blossom. And I needed to be reprimanded as if he was my father, and I was the naïve child. Shame rose in my chest, making me pull away.

Kris looked at me. “I’m not saying you can’t have a life. But you can’t just go on like you used to until we find out your power. The world isn’t the same one you grew up with. There are more dangers, and people will try to find you at your most vulnerable.”

I nodded, rubbing my cheeks. “I promise I’ll call you if I need to go out anywhere alone.”

“The day before,” Kris added. “And you can text me.” He sniffed the air. “Is lunch ready?”

“Probably. Lay told me to tell you that it would be ready when we were done talking.”

“Okay.” Kris examined my face. “Why don’t you wash your face and take a nap? It must have been an exhausting day. And we have to visit the base this evening.”

“Okay.” He smiled and left the room. I followed him. Suddenly, a hand closed over my wrist and I was yanked to the left.

“What-mmph!” I started to say but then a hand clapped over my mouth. I blinked. Tao’s stern face hovered above mine.

“What did you do?” He hissed softly.

I yanked my wrist out of his grasp and he stepped back. “It’s none of your business.”

“It is my business,” he corrected, crossing his arms. “Anything that happens to any of us in EXO concerns us. What did you do that made Kris angry?”

I let out a sigh of annoyance, seeing how Tao wouldn’t let me go until I told him. “I snuck out.”

“You what?!”

I rolled my eyes. “I snuck out.”

“Why would you do that? You just learned you were part of EXONE! You have a responsibility and you have enemies now.”

“How come you don’t know about me sneaking out?” I countered. “Looks like the rest of EXO does.”

“They were at a recording. I had wushu lessons, so I started to warm up.” That would explain why he was wearing a tank top, even though outside was still cool.

“So you guys don’t do everything together?”

“No, but-“

“Well, sometimes I feel that way too. I don’t want to do everything you guys either. I didn’t know that I would have to give some innuendo about my intentions. I thought it was my right. Well, now I’ve been told it’s not the case, and I respect Kris’s authority. Now if you’ll excuse me.” I turned and started to walk the way I had meant to go.

Tao stepped in front of me, blocking my way out. “Look, Kalyn, I’m sorry I got mad at you. But you’re not just important to Kris. You’re important to all of us.”

I gave a small smile, but inside I was still fuming. “That’s reassuring. You should go get lunch.” Then I sidestepped him and decided that I would skip washing my face and just go to sleep.

As I settled in my sleeping bag, I took Yin Yang into my arms. I sighed. “Well Yin Yang, I think we both thought the situation couldn’t get worse. And we’ve both been proven wrong.”

For a while, I struggled to drown out everything, from outside noises to what happened in the morning. Finally slumber gave me a sweet release with a dreamless darkness.

[A\N] ^ Yes, that kind of outfit and that look. Although I guess a different tank top, or Kalyn would have been like one of the MCs and said "AHH YOU LOOK LIKE A PEACOCK" XD

I was going to put a different picture of Taoris, but don't you agree the one I put up has the right kind of mood?

I have no idea why I'm putting up a pic for every chapter that I've actually written. Oh well, guess I can't stop now.

ALSO this one took a LONG time because of the twist at the end. UCWIDT? :P But yeah, I was having trouble on making Kris strict and angry to the part of him that's just worried sick. I actually made him A LOT nicer when I wrote this down in my notebook that I write in when I'm bored...I guess some of your comments made my typed version different >.<

FYI My updates are going to be sparse since school has started, I'm still being a reviewer (FML, but secretly :P) and I'm hiding this from my parents >.> <.< hopefully I'll get more time when marching band season is over, but most likely I'll be busy with other afterschool stuff. -sigh-

Should I quit piano? Hmm. Maybe next year. BUT I LOVE RIVER FLOWS IN YOU ASDjfkL:AFJL:KSDJFJ FEELS

But anyway let me see if I can find that pic of Taoris...Taoris spam?

Right the Gucci obsession. I'll try to fit that in...maybe...but lol the ghost part XD

Oh photoshop...there are other pics done gloriously with photoshop but I'm not going to post them, so you might as well google taoris. Yes you. Don't be lazy. I'm not going to hand everything over on a platter for you.

Note: This had the caption of "SHIP IS SAILING AHOY ALL ABOARD"

I just ship everything in general in EXO-M...which reminds me...

Yeah have fun with that...whatever you're imagining right now. :P I'm sorry guys, I should be putting up more EXO-K pics...>.< But since none of you are complaining about that, I'll just post whatever comes up XD

Until next time! ^_^