Chapter 05

 

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She couldn’t believe it.

 

Jieun stared in agape at her grandma, whom she had previously thought that she was going to chide both Suho and Lay for bothering her.

 

But no, that didn’t seem to be the case as low and behold, right before her very own eyes was her grandma acting like a schoolgirl with a crush.

 

Suho and Lay took all of her praise very humbly, bright pure smiles adoring their handsome faces as they humoured the older woman with idle chat.

 

Honestly, the pair of them are just encouraging her. The brown haired girl rolled her eyes, as she picked at her half-eaten muffin with feigned interest.

 

“Your baking is nothing less than praise worthy, Mrs. Lee. If you wouldn’t mind, could you possibly give me some tips on how to make such delicious muffins for Jieun-ah?” Suho clasped his hands together in a pleading manner, his eye-blinding smile ever present on his perfect face.

 

The woman in question blushed deeply, with a flourish of her hand she waved off his worries. “Of course, I’d be more than happy to give you my secret recipe, my dear. I’m just glad that to see that you’re willing to make the effort for my lovely granddaughter.”

 

Jieun inwardly gagged at the sickly sweet sight.

 

 “Jieun dear, don’t just sit there—make yourself useful and make these two lovely boys a drink!” Her grandma nagged, wagging a finger at her in disapproval, though a teasing smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

 

Oh, now she decides to notice me.

 

“Yeah, yeah grandma.” She grumbled miserably under her breath, as she moved her chair back to stand with a deep frown marred on her face. It was a peculiar fact to note that her grandmother was nicer than usual whenever they had guests over, if only she were like that on a daily basis. Though, most kids could probably agree that parents are often nicer to the child's friends rather than their own child.

 

“There’s no need for you to go through the trouble of doing that. I’ve made you some hot chocolate, I hope you enjoy it Jieun-ah~” Suho gently pushed her back into her seat, greeting her with his saint worthy smile as he carefully settled the beverage down.

 

“…Are you guys sure? The pair of you haven’t sat down the entire time you’ve been here.” The brunette folded her arms over her chest with a sceptical expression.

 

I can see what you’re trying to do, mister. YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK BAD IN FRONT OF MY GRANDMOTHER; WELL I’M DEFINETLY NOT FALLING FOR YOUR DASHINGLY GOOD CHARMS, YOU DEMONS!

 

Again, she was practically blinded with another round of his enduring smiles. “I can assure you dear maiden that we don’t mind giving a hand to help so there will be no need for you to lift even a finger.”

 

Somewhere in the background, Jieun could hear a swoon emitting from her grandmother. “He’s even given her a pet name, how cute~”

 

The brunette pursed her lips together in annoyance as she shot the older woman a dirty look in response. Honestly, any other grandma would be absolutely protective over their granddaughter whenever boys are involved but noooo I’m stuck with a swooning fan girl of a granny.

 

But before she could open to voice her opinions, she could vaguely see Lay shyly handing her another blueberry muffin.  

 

“Please eat more maiden, you didn’t finish all of your breakfast earlier.” The healer spoke quietly, but loud enough for her to hear it. His forehead was creased with worry as he glanced down at her.

 

Aish, this guy looks too innocent for my liking, but his dimples are cute when he smiles.

 

Nevertheless, she slowly accepted the saccharine treat as she carefully composed her emotions to keep a straight face. “Err, thanks Lay-ssi.”

 

”Breakfast, eh? Is there something you’re not telling your old granny, huh Jieun-ah?” For a split second, the girl in question froze. She had completely forgotten that she wasn’t fully aware of how exactly the she knew the two mysterious boys.

 

OH NO. Granny’s probably going to think I’ve been reduced to sleeping around, that seems to be the only plausible explanation for why these two are here!

 

“It’s not what you think, grandma!” Jieun practically screeched out in what the older woman thought was denial. She was waving her hands at such a hasty speed; she nearly hit Suho—who simply stepped to the side as he busied himself around the homely kitchen.

 

“There’s no need to be so embarrassed, dear. I think it’s sweet that these two gentlemen would go through so much effort to make you breakfast in the morning.” She let out a chuckle, as she brushed back a strand of grey hair that slipped out of her bun.

 

“What’s your secret? Come on; tell your granny what you’ve been doing to have these lovely boys wrapped around your finger?”

 

“GRANDMA!”

 

Kill. Me. NOW.

 

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Jieun exhaled deeply, looking anywhere else but at the two boys that were roaming freely around her small, slightly cramped kitchen. Since the trio had departed from her grandma’s house, it was no secret that she was on awkward terms with them.

 

What am I supposed to say to them after that incident? The brunette tried to look interested in chopping the vegetables for the curry that was currently being gently heated on the stove.

 

“Please cut slowly, Jieun-ah. You were nearly close to cutting yourself.” Suho called over from his station at the sink, where the plates were now sitting pristine and clean on the metal rack.

 

She halted in her actions; only now registering the fact that the knife was dangerously close to her finger. Aish, I should really be paying attention to what I’m doing. Why am I letting such trivial things get to me?

 

“Ah, sorry Suho-ssi…I’ll make sure to take more care next time.”

 

The male in question blinked owlishly for a moment, the echoing of her voice calling his name instantly send shivers down his spine. He pondered with wonder as he slowly lifted his gaze to silently study the pretty brown haired girl.

 

Memories flooded through his mind in remembrance of his first encounter with the beautiful maiden and a split second later, a small automatic smile made its way onto his face at the thought. He could easily recall the look of shock on her face as she tried to come to terms with the sudden appearance of Lay and himself.

 

He had expected her to scream, throw various items in their direction and any other rational human reaction that would be associated to the feeling of shock.

 

But despite her initial reaction of denial, she had—somewhat reluctantly—allowed them to stay with her. Suho felt an unusual emotion growing at the pit of his stomach at the memory of Jieun smiling at them, about how generous she was even in the unwanted position she was in.

 

What is this feeling?

 

However, before he could even attempt to comprehend the foreign feeling, his attention was drawn towards Jieun who cleared after placing the steaming bowl of curry in the centre of the table.

 

She was completely adamant on preparing lunch that afternoon, much to his and Lay’s evident dismay. The brunette wouldn’t even allow them to assist her by chopping the various ingredients of the dish. Instead, she had assigned him and Lay small tasks to complete by the time she had finished cooking.      

 

Suho was given the job of washing up any plates and cutlery that she would dump into the sink and Lay was setting the table with an surprisingly amount of concentration, as the quiet male was very well known to their brethren about being very forgetful.

 

It didn’t take a genius to realize that since meeting Jieun, Lay was unusually shy around her—he was never particularly good with dealing with women. In fact, during their imprisonment in the book, there was practically zero contact with anyone including females other than their own brethren.

 

The kind hearted leader’s face softened as memories floated back into his mind at the thought of his brothers. It wouldn’t be long before they were all reunited again, able to experience the joys of freedom.

 

“You’ve been washing that plate for almost five minutes now Suho, I’m sure it must be pretty clean by now. Come over here, I’ve already finished setting the table.” The girl called over with a good-natured smile, as she was just about to walk over to her seat, Lay had already pulled it out ready for her.

 

Suho quickly rinsed off the foam smeared plate and set it down beside the rest of the washed pile before joining the pair, his chronic smile plastered across his face as he sat across from the brunette who waited patiently as the pair had gotten comfortable before placing the palm of her hands together and closing her eyes and murmured a short prayer.

 

Lay could not physically force himself to look away at the memorising sight of the girl sitting next to him from her clear milky skin down to her red rosy lips. For a moment, he had trouble breathing at the pure beauty that was a step away. It was only when her eyes fluttered open was when the spell was finally broken, enabling him to shift his gaze elsewhere that wasn’t Jieun, which led him to meet the understanding eyes of Suho.

 

“Well, don’t just sit there and stare at the food, let’s eat before it all gets cold, hm?” The evidently oblivious girl snapped her chopsticks apart as she began to fill her plate with the food, it wasn’t long before the pair—slightly hesitantly—followed suit.

 

Jieun felt extremely awkward as she was fully aware of her actions whilst eating, what with the added company of Suho and Lay. The thought of not feeling comfortable in her own home didn’t sit quite right with her, as the revelation of having to stay her small apartment with twelve strangers only began to sink in now.

 

I still can’t get my head around the fact that my life had been plunged into this madness, there’s no way I can live with twelve males!

 

“—are you alright?” Suho’s voice pulling her back to reality as he shot her a worried glance towards her barely touched food.

 

The quiet hazel haired healer gently placed his cool palm against her forehead; his lips were pressed into thin line as he concentrated on the task at hand.

 

“Your temperature is slightly warmer than average, Jieun-ah. Perhaps it’s better if you rest, you have had an eventful day so it’s not surprising with the lack of sleep you’ve had.” He murmured softly, brushing back a strand of hair behind her ear with a meaningful look.

 

Eventful is a small way of putting it. She thought dryly to herself, but otherwise kept her thoughts tightly pushed back to the back of her mind.  

 

“I’m fine, there’s no need to worry.” The brunette easily batted away his hand, as she mustered up all the courage in her system to meet the concerned eyes of both Suho and Lay. The pair looked like they were about to intervene by opening their mouths to voice out their unease when she raised her hand with a deadpan expression taking up the space on her face.

 

“To be frankly honest, I’m still reeling from the fact that you guys just suddenly popped out of nowhere from a book. That’s not the kind of thing that’s supposed to happen here, so forgive me if I still haven’t gotten my head around it yet.” She released a deep sigh, an unhappy frown pulled on the corners of her lips.

 

Lay was hesitant to speak for a moment, but after exchanging a look from Suho—who merely smiled reassuringly at him to talk. With the extra boost, he was able to muster up the confidence to speak.

 

“Please understand Jieun-ah, that when we ‘popped out of nowhere from a book’ it was not our intention to cause you any grieve of any kind, it is solely our duty to follow the orders of our master or the one who releases us from the book…meaning you, Jieun-ah.” The girl in question stared at him in silence, her face not giving away any hint of what she was feeling on the inside which made the quiet healer fidget nervously at the idea of receiving her full and devout attention.

 

Suho watched on passively and calmly with his hands folded on his lap, looking every bit of the leader he was described to be, the usually present beaming grin was absent as seriousness took over.

 

“You may be curious to the reason why we were the first ones to appear,” Suho caught on to the anxious air that was lingering around Lay as waited until Jieun’s eyes had shifted onto him, which automatically caused the healer’s shoulders to deflate with relief as the pressure of being watched slowly evaporated.

 

“Out of our entire group, Lay and I happen to be more familiar with the devices that you humans use in your daily lives. Where we come from, our daily routines are very different to yours so it was quite difficult to understand how you were able to work all the various techology, but we were able to find books which helped to explain how different appliances such as how the stove work.”

 

Jieun raised an eyebrow at this, being that this was the only reaction she had shown during the last few minutes. “So, I’m guessing that you two must either be bookworms if you like reading that much, or you must have been aware that you were going to be released and started to prepare in advance.”

 

Again, the pair exchanged another look that entailed of a wordless conversation. Obviously they must be hiding something from me. She thought with suspicion, as her eyes narrowed whilst observing them.

 

Another moment passed before Lay returned his attention back on her, nearly taking her aback with the glint of sadness in his irises.

 

“You are right in saying that we have been preparing for the moment when we would be released, it was definitely not easy trying to read every single detail on the research of human life.” A nervous laugh emitted from him which sounded too hollow to be genuine.

 

The brunette folded her arms over her chest with a sceptical look. “How long exactly have you been preparing for this?”

 

Suho lifted a hand to run a hand through his neat and well kept hair, using these few seconds to buy him some time. “I can assure you that it hasn’t been that long—” After a pointed look from Jieun, he sighed in resignation. “Well, to be more precise we have been waiting for centuries.”

 

Immediately, silence eluded into the atmosphere as the pair carefully watched how the girl would react. Everything that came from their lips was all the truth, as unfortunate as it was. The years trickled by slowly as they forced themselves to stay positive and hopeful that one day they would not have to stay compacted within the four walls of the library in preparation for being released into the foreign world that was also known as Earth.

 

Their brethren had quickly grown inpatient and frustrated with the fact that they were being forced to live in the small home that could barely accommodate the full number of twelve males, or rather ‘demons’.

 

“...That long, huh?” She nibbled on the bottom of her lip subconsciously. Even on a good day, she would get easily agitated over the smallest, most trivial of things. But to be trapped in a confided space for that amount of time, she could not imagine how Suho and Lay have managed to remain the cool and calm posture that they have shown during the duration of which she had known them.

 

“We wanted to inform you about this because you have a right to know, as you are the present owner of the book.” Suho gestured towards the item in question, which was lying innocently on the kitchen counter. Jieun practically glowered at it for its misgivings to her.

 

While she was content with the fact that she had released the poor souls of Suho and Lay (and eventually the rest of the group of twelve) from waiting in whatever dimension they had come originally. There was still a small part of her that didn’t like the idea of them living with her—meaning that they would eventually invade her life, so much so that she wouldn’t be able to do anything without them.

 

Just the mere thought of having to be dependent on someone else that wasn’t herself made her feel…useless and a burden. After she had build up the courage to tell her grandmother she was moving out—which of course was a tough feat to persuade the woman whom though she adored immensely, but still managed to irk her nerves every now and again—an indescribable feeling of just experiencing both freedom and independence intertwined made her feel like a proper adult, mature and responsible enough to take care of herself.

 

Take that away from her and she felt as vulnerable and weak as a new born baby, unable to rely on anyone else but the people who cared for her.

 

“…Is there anything in that book that says I can let you go?” She spoke softly, breaking the seemingly long period of tranquillity that filled the kitchen.      

 

Suho’s ever present glowing smile immediately dropped from his face whilst Lay’s forehead was creased with worry lines as they both took in her words carefully as they tried to fully grasp what she was trying to say.

 

“Is it your wish for us to leave you, Jieun-ah?”

 

The moment she looked into Suho’s eyes, she found herself getting lost into the sheer depth of the twin pools of warm chestnut brown. The main thing that caught her attention was the hint on sadness she detected just by looking into them, she realised that it must have been the same for Lay too.

 

“What’s with all the sad looks guys? I’ve only known you for less than a day, it’s not like you would miss me. If anything, I bet the minute you walk out through that door you’ll be able to find someone who will be more than happy to get a bunch of handsome guys as their ‘servants’.” She resisted the urge to burst into laughter at idea of her neighbour Kwon Yunhee finding Suho and Lay outside of her apartment, she was in essence the complete image of a fan girl of handsome flower boys—which was hinted by the amount of girly magazines that were littered all over her apartment.

 

If she had a penny for every time that woman nagged her about getting a boyfriend, she wouldn’t be stuck living in a cramped apartment with faulty electricity that was for sure.

 

“Are you saying that you aren’t happy for us to be your servants?” Lay mumbled, his tone bordering on heart-breaking sadness as he shifted his gaze onto his plate where his food was neglected.

 

Jieun inwardly slapped her forehead, it seemed that no matter what she said—everything that came out of was awkward and misinterpreted.

 

“No! Of course that’s not what I’m trying to say Lay.” The male in question’s head shot up with hope practically sparkling in his eyes.

 

“What I’m trying to say is that even though you guys are evidently more than willing to, uh become my ‘servants’, I’m guessing that you aren’t already aware, but we’re currently in the 21^st century where it's considered to be a form of slavery.” In response to this, she only received confused looks from the pair.

 

The brunette scratched her neck, feeling uncomfortable having to continuously explain herself. “Slavery is deemed as illegal, as it’s supposed to go against a person’s human rights. So, what I'm trying to say is that I wouldn’t want you guys to be here against your will.”

 

Once again, another wave of stunned silence hit the conversation on Suho and Lay’s part. Jieun merely took this as an opportunity to clean up the plates, as it was clear that there were just going to stay untouched for the duration of this talk.

 

Heck, if it was me that was being imprisoned inside of a book, I would jump at the chance if the ‘master’ of the book allowed me to leave. She mused to herself as she carefully stacked the dishes into the sink.  

 

“Jieun-ah, there’s something that we must tell you. “ Suho started to get up from his chair as he made his way over to the silent girl. A frown was marred on his face instead of his usual default smile, meaning that there was no room for jokes.

 

The healer of the pair also had a troubled look etched on his face as he slowly made his way over to stand by Jieun’s free side that wasn’t taken up by the leader of Exo-K.

 

Suddenly feeling the presence of the pair beside her, she lifted her gaze towards the closest of the pair which was Lay with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Let me guess, you guys cannot leave me because of some bond that was created by the hands of fate.” She spoke dryly as she shook her head in disbelief.

 

“…Well you are partly right in saying that, Jieun-ah.”

 

The girl in question merely scoffed at the insinuation. “Right, okay. You’re telling me that even if I tell you to leave this apartment; you won’t be able to leave because of a bond?” The thought was virtually laughable and ridiculous in her opinion.

 

Though, it was evident that the idea certainly wasn’t too absurd in their eyes. “That is correct, Jieun-ah. You see, it’s quite complex to explain but to put it simply, we are bonded to you by blood—which in our world is considered to be very sacred.” Suho explained carefully, playing his expression into an impassive one.

 

Jieun remained stone faced; not allowing her inner emotions to slip away from the surface, as she absentmindedly cleaned the plate with a foam coated sponge.

 

I really don’t understand where they’re going with this.

 

Lay decided to take in on from that. “The message in the book says if I’m not mistaken, ‘for the price for eternal servitude only requires a single drop of precious blood of an untouched maiden’. This of course means that we are bonded to you by blood for eternity…Or at least, for the entire extent of your life on Earth.”

 

Her grip on the plate slipped, causing it to hit the metal sink with a heavy clack which most probably left a noticeable dent. But she wasn’t focusing on that minor fact, instead the words ‘blood’ and ‘bond’ were lingering in her mind.

 

That, and the length of eternity was obviously estimated to be a pretty long time by anyone's measurements.

 

In a split second, her normal heartbeat was violently hampering against her chest, as her steady calm breaths turned quick and haggard. No matter how many times she tried, the information wouldn’t sink in—it was if the logical, rational side of her absolutely refused to believe that the boys weren't merely spurting nonsense.

 

However, it was clearly evident that everything she believed to be ‘fantasy’ and ‘untrue’ was all up in the air, as confusion and fear quickly began to eat her up inside. Incoherent thoughts began to plague her mind as she attempted to made sense of the entire situation, but everything she tried seemed futile.

 

“Jieun-ah? Are you okay? You seem pale—“ But she wasn’t able to catch the end of the sentence, as her senses began to go into shutdown as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, she vaguely feel her body falling backwards as the frantic shouts were last heard before her vision was plunged into a blanket of darkness.

 

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Ugh, why is it so dark? And why is my head thumping? Did I fall asleep and imagine all of that madness?

 

At that final thought, she let out a heavy sigh of relief as her shoulders deflated at the motion. She lifted her hand as she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to awake her dozy state from her nap.

 

Jieun stifled a yawn as she turned her head towards the direction of her mobile as she reached out to for it on the table beside her bed in the darkness.

 

However, much to her annoyance she couldn’t feel the metal object that would enlighten her on the time. She released a huff as she pulled back her hand, her face contorting into a deep frown.

 

How is it not there? I always leave my phone beside my bed before I go to sleep… She mused in deep thought; traces of confusion were lingering in her mind. The reason behind why she never failed to keep her phone at her side when she slept was in case her grandmother was trying to get hold of her—or vice versa. But that only happened on rare occasions where she found herself waking up abruptly from a nightmare.

 

Aish, I’ll just find it later. If it’s still dark outside, I can just take this opportunity to go back to sleep. She resolved, nodding to herself as she her side, her eyelids already beginning to flutter down, obscuring her vision slightly.

 

Even in her sluggish condition, she could just barely make out the silhouette of a body sleeping next to her, the only indication they were alive was the steady rising of their chest.

 

She blinked once, then twice, and another couple of times to check whether or not she was simply hallucinating this. Gulping quietly, she slowly began to edge away from the stranger towards the wooden bat she stored underneath her bed, which she kept only to ease the paranoia that filled her whenever she heard unknown noises emitting from her apartment.

 

She extended her arm out, her fingers grazing along the handle when the bed creaked due to shift of weight along the bed. Immediately she tensed up, as the person on the other side moved slightly. It was no use trying to see what he was doing because of the blackness that engulfed the room.

 

HOLY CRAP. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW? WHAT IF THIS GUY’S SOME WERID THAT BROKE INTO MY APARTMENT?!

 

Her thoughts went into overdrive as fear infiltrated her system, momentarily causing her body to freeze up. It only occurred to her that arms were pulling her back towards the bed when she realised the proximity between her and the stranger.

 

Curly locks framed his boyishly handsome face as he snuggled closer into her neck, causing her face to burn at the unexpected contact.

 

Maybe if I don’t move, he’ll fall asleep and I can get the bat? Despite the strong urges to brutally attack this stranger for practically molesting her, she tried to think rationally—this guy was obviously a lot stronger than her, so it would be a struggle to fight him off physically.

 

“Mhm, you smell good.” He mumbled under his breath, as he opened one eye to peer through at her, a huge toothy grin that exposed his pearly whites in all its glory taking up the vacant space on his face.

 

It was only then she threw out all rational thought of her mind as she resorted to reacting as any normal human would do.

 

She screamed bloody murder as she attacked him with the only thing she could use at that very moment.

 

Her fist.

 

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Author's Corner                                                                                                                                              

 

Hey everyone ^_^ (Given that you're all still there of course?) I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN NEARLY A MONTH ;___; I started school a week ago, and it's already being a major pain.

I decided to make this chapter extra longer because of my slighty extended absence, I'VE MISSED YOU GUYS <3

I hope you liked it, if there's anything you guys don't understand, I'll be more than happy to explain any of the content included in this chapter ^__^

In other news...

It's safe to say that Gangnam Style has taken the music world by storm. I find it highly unusual that people from my school (who probably weren't even aware of the existence of K-pop) attempted to sing and dance it during one of the annual parties at the start of the school term.

MAJOR CRINGE D:

Now, if any of you didn't already guess the next appearances (one was briefly mentioned here and the other will be shown in the next chapter) here's a hint for those who didn't get it.

CHANYEOL <3 (And Baekhyun, who is unfortunately not in this picture, BUT SUHO IS~) I love this guy. Seriously. Probably waaaay too much than I should.

Right, I'm off to sleep now 'cause I've got lots and lots of schoolwork to get finished tomorrow as I've got exams in January. NO CHRISTMAS BREAK FOR ME, BOO~ ;__;

Without further ado, I shall leave you all with this pretty awesome gif I found on tumblr :D