Previously on Project X...

"I want to make a deal with you...Let's call it a game" 

"What happens if i don't play?" 

"You didn't know?...This little crystal...so worthless to you, but worth their lives...because it's what's been keeping them alive in this dimension- keep it away from them for too long and i'm pretty sure, they'd drop like flies" 

A deal that almost seems like a threat.

"A little present for you...look familiar?" 

"A rubik's cube"

"There's a certain pattern to it...if you figure it out, i want you to come to me to give your reasoning. Solve it- however make the wrong move once and you'll lose more than a handy arm"

Just like that- you agree to the deadly game and the deal is made...but will you be able to do it? 

You made light conversation with Sehun as you made your way home, the rubik's bomb carefully placed in your bag as if it was the mere toy it's supposed to be. But you were the only perky one. Sehun had become sullen since the confrontation, but you couldn't blame him...right?

You finally got home, not surprised that there weren't any customers when the 5 pounced at you almost immediately when you entered your living room. Chanyeol wrapped his arms around you, about to pick you up when you and Sehun jolted for your dear lives. "NO!" The two of you exclaimed in unison, gaining curious and anxious glares from the others and making Chanyeol freeze on the spot like a statue. Of course, they didn't know about the sensitive rubik's cube bomb inside your backpack that could just about go off at the slightest rattle and of course, you had to tell them about the whole thing, whether you wanted to or not- you didn't really have a choice. As harsh as it may sound, you couldn't do this with just Sehun, who right now seemed too distraught to do anything, you needed all the help you could get and you weren't afraid to admit it.

You placed the cube on the small coffee table in front of you and watched the time tick away. The explanation was long, not too long, but longer than it should have been with all of the questions that EXO-K were throwing at you and only now did it just kick in how anxious you were getting. There was a bomb in not just your house, but also your mothers cafe, under the same roof that protected you and EXO-K. "'Make the wrong move once and you'll lose more than a handy arm'" You quoted Luhans brutal words. D.O twisted and turned in his seat uncomfortably through out the whole thing in frustrastion. "Tsch! That son-of-a-" 

"D.O!" Suho quickly shushed him before he could curse out loud. Although you knew everyone was as angry and upset as he was. By the looks on their faces, you could tell they were all hurt. Like a knife stabbed them in the back- betrayal. They must have been so close to the Luhan-from-before to have felt so hurt and betrayed...and if the five of them were like this- then all of you knew how distraught Sehun would be. Knowing this, you and a couple of others glanced in his direction and were slightly surprised to see Sehun looking to the ground, a still expression however not as sullen as before. He looked up and saw you looking at him in concern and gave a sweet smile. "I'm okay, don't worry about me...I think we should sleep now, I'm getting tired" He said, making his way to his room. 

"Sehun-" Kai called him with a soft voice but didn't stop him, just let him enter his room and close the door shut. 

"Sehun-ah~" Chanyeol cries in sympathy and you wanted to do the same, but felt it'd only waste your breath. He must be so hurt. And to fake such a sweet smile must have taken some effort to show that you didn't have to worry. 

"What do we do?" Baekhyun asked everyone, but expected their leader to answer. Suho sighed. "We'll have to think carefully as Professor said...but Sehun's right, it's getting late, we should all sleep. Our brains won't be any good without a rest" He suggested, to which everyone agreed on. Everyone seemed to disperse into their rooms when Suho stopped to turn to you. "Don't think too much Ji-Eun-shi" He said with a caring smile. 

"Thanks Suho..." You smiled back, thankful for his reassurance. But easier said than done. You tucked yourself into bed, but since a bomb was in the same room as you- is it hard to believe that it's hard to sleep soundly? However today, you were worn out. Even though you haven't done much work- you were mentally and physically exhausted and with little struggle, actually fell asleep earlier than you'd expected. 

On the other hand, a few of EXO-K weren't able to keep their eyelids shut. Sehun laid there, in the layers of blankets that was his bed, eyes wide open in thought. D.O was fast asleep, being the fast sleeper he was. He could tell by the light snoring.

"Close your eyes Sehun" Suho spoke with a soft voice and Sehun jolted. He turned to Suho who had his back to him. What a knowing leader. "You're not helping anyone by staying awake you know" He said with a tired sigh. Sehun didn't say anything, just take a deep breath in. 

"I just...don't want Ji-Eun to be in danger along with us..." He finally replies in an equally soft voice. "I don't think it's fair on her...i feel stupid for not-"

"Don't worry" He interrupted, his tone calming and soft. "Ji-Eun isn't a normal girl remember? She's strong and intuitive, and even more- she has us. We'll work it out and she'll be safe...we'll all be" 

"...Alright" Sehun replied, feeling more reassured with Suho's words. But he knew, even Suho who said it himself- couldn't be sure on that statement. They knew you were mentally stronger than an average girl...but they couldn't help but worry. 

"...We'll be alright...won't we?" Chanyeol said, in his regular voice not seeming to think it'd wake the others. There was no reply for a moment, both Kai and Baekhyun slept on their side with their backs to him so it was hard to know who was sleeping and who wasn't. 

"No one knows Chanyeol" Kai finally replied, deciding it'd be alright if he didn't pretend to be asleep. "We'll just have to try our best" he said hopefully. 

"But Ji-Eun..." He stopped at the mention of your name and suddenly flung up from his blankets. A feeling of dread after thinking anything bad could happen to you now made his wide awake, even more than before. "She...she's helping us out but..." He couldn't put his words right, but even so, Baekhyun and Kai both knew exactly what he meant. You had a troubled enough life- or so they figured- without all of their problems to deal with. Despite knowing it wasn't exactly their fault, they couldn't help but feel guilty. "Why do you think she accepted it?...the deal with Luhan" He asked, almost in a sulk. 

"Well- she's caring" Kai answered simply. "Even if she didn't have anything in for it...she'd do it for us if she had to" A sigh escaped his mouth and he moves around the blankets and adjusts your pillows below his head. "Go to sleep- we have to go to school with her tomorrow don't we? If we sleep now, we'll be better help for everyone tomorrow" 

Chanyeol pouted, not satisfied with Kai's answer and turned to Baekhyun- who was sleeping still as a rock. "Baekhyun-ah..." He called, wanting to hear his point of view...but nothing. Not even a turn or a groan. He just laid there in the same position- sleeping. "Tsch- how can he be sleeping so well in this situation?" Chanyeol complained quietly, quickly sticking his tongue out at Baekhyun behind his back before lying back onto his bed to sleep. But in reality, Baekhyun was wide awake, his heart secretly uneasy; even if he was to answer to Chanyeol, he wouldn't know what to say because like him and everyone else- he was worried. That ticking bomb in your living room, a bomb that could end every ones lives just like that...he should be trusting you, he should be trusting his friends and himself- but even though he knew you well, he didn't know you well enough- none of them do...could you really deactivate the bomb in time?...and would they be any help? 

School started and went on. And despite the anxious atmosphere with EXO-K, you could tell they were trying their best to stay positive around you- but even so, you were uneasy. Putting the rubiks cube in your school bag may have not been the best way to keep you relaxed, but you weren't going to risk leaving it home unprotected-  anything could happen. No. It was best to keep it as close to you as possible, ironically. 

"Any ideas yet?" Kai leaned over to you. It was almost the end of homeroom- yet the teacher still hadn't made an appearance. 

"I'm trying..." You replied, being subtle as possible not to seem too suspicious. "I think i can only just remember how to solve a normal rubik's cube...but i make mistakes, i don't think risking it would be a very good idea- do you?" 

Kai shook his head. "We've never seen those things back in EXO so we wouldn't know how to help...sorry" 

"Don't apologize- i bet there are some things in EXO i don't know about as well" you chuckled half-heartedly, until you were reminded of something. "How's Sehun?" You asked him with sympathy.

"...What is there to say, being the magnae as always" Kai replied, trying to sound convincing but failing. Then there was a pause when the conversation seemed to have come to an end, until Kai spoke up again. "When are you going home today?" He asked. You were surprised that he remembered you get time off free periods and such because of your situation at home.  "Oh- er, i think i can go after fourth period, but even so i need to go to the supermarket to buy some food-"

"We'll go with you" Kai interrupted with a straight face. You gave him a look. "You don't need to go everywhere with me you know" 

"We need to..." He replied with a sneaky smirk. "You're accident prone- should we really trust you to be walking around with a bomb in your bag the whole-"

"Shhh!" You reflexively pressed your hand over his mouth to silence him. "You're too loud!" You scolded in a whisper, although the rest of the class were being so noisy that they probably didn't hear him in the first place. Kai gives you a sly glance and you release his mouth instantly, wiping your hand on your school skirt whilst awkwardly clearing your throat. Kai laughed, watching you wipe away at your skirt in disgust. 

"You like it really" He teased, leaning closer. You looked away, grabbing your school journal used to write down homework to lightly smack over his face. "Play casanova somewhere else" you said, noticing that you were getting a few glares from your class mates and lowered the journal instantly, looking away from Kai as if you hadn't had a conversation. However Kai continued to gaze at you, unable to retain his smile and chuckled under his breathe. And this is the girl of the prophecy? She's as innocent as a child.

The first two lessons went by, and you got told to stay behind since you didn't show up the other day, then the other two passed, and by lunch you could go home...however you weren't actually expecting Kai to be serious. 

"Yo! Ji-Eun-ah~!" Chanyeol pounced at you after you'd exited the front gates. 

"Howdy" D.O greeted afterwards.

"Yeol? D.O? Why are you all here?" You looked at the 6 of them, lined up in front of you as if they'd been waiting. The school uniform still looked dazzling on them. 

"I told you- we're going home with you" Kai replied. 

"Guys, you can't skive class just because-"

"Don't worry about that Ji-Eun-shi, we've talked to principle and he said something about putting us on a 'gifted and talented' table- we can come and go whenever we want" Suho explained. You gawked at them. That doesn't at all seem fair, but then again, it does sound like something the principle would do. 

"What?! But you..." You stopped half way through your complaint when you noticed Sehun. He didn't look that sullen, but he didn't seem to look that bright today either and you had noticed this morning that he probably hadn't gotten the good number of hours of sleep. Surely he would want the comfort of his friends instead of the ones from another dimension. "Fine. But I need to go to the market first- fancy coming along?" You asked, starting to make your way whilst taking out your coat from your school bag as carefully as possible and wrapped it around your body to stay warm in the cold weather.

"Market?" D.O repeated. "Shouldn't we be thinking of ways to deactivate the bomb?" he rose an eyebrow. 

"And do you know how to do that?" you lifted your eyebrows at him to give him the same look and D.O made another funny face. 

"...Okay, i see your point" He said. Realizing that it must have been easier said than done. You smiled amusingly. "Let's go then" You made your way to the super market near home along with the others and even though there weren't a lot of people around, the odd few turned around to take another glance at them. Whether it was because of their looks or the fact that they weren't in school- you didn't know. "Seems like we're attracting attention already" You said in a whisper, leaning close to Baekhyun who seemed to have been suspiciously quiet through the whole journey here. He shrugged his shoulders as a reply and you give him a curious look. what's wrong with him? You thought. You entered a grocery store filled with food supplies and little accessories and random toys, politely greeting the shop owner as you came in and EXO-K did the same. 

"Oh! Ji-Eun! How have you been darling?" The women cheerfully patted you on the arm and you smiled at her back. You weren't exactly close to this lady, but you came here often to buy food and you told her you had no one to do the shopping for you- after that she seemed friendly, but you couldn't help but think it's only out of pity. EXO-K spread out across the store each wandering around the place trying not to seem too fascinated.

"I'm doing well thank you" you replied and she notices EXO-K in the same uniform as you, her face suddenly lit up and she pulled a cheesy grin. "Are these your friends? They're very good looking!" She gave you a little nudge before you looked around, seeing them blink at the different food supplies and little toys curiously and laughed. "Yeah, you could say that" 

"I heard that Rin's still on holiday in London?"

"Yeah, and the patisserie is stuck in Japan, he says the flight was delayed because of the snow there" You said with a tired sigh. The lady giggled. "Well- I'm sure your friends have been a good help at work?" she raised her eyebrows towards their direction and you smile again. "Yeah...They've been awesome" You nodded, realizing how much more tiring it must be if it hadn't been for EXO-K helping you out.

"...One looks a little sad though...did something happen?" She said, referring to someone in particular behind you. You turned to see Sehun glaring off into space in a daze. He noticed you looking and pulled a warm smiles across his face, you smiled back but turn away with a sigh. He's trying to smile again.

"It's nothing" You said, suddenly remembering that you had a silent ticking time bomb in your backpack as we speak. But the lady was sharp enough to detect the gloom on your face. "You know...I think i know what might cheer you up" She stretched out her arms and grabbed something from one of the shelves and handed you a small little toy. Entangled plastic rings. "It's a puzzle, kids your age loves them!" 

"Puzzle?" 

She nodded. "They say that this one cures stress" She added with a smile. You glared at the little contraption. "Oh wait! I think i have a better one" She enthusiastically takes another object from a nearby shelf however this one you knew fully well. 

"A rubik's cube?" You held it in your hands as she handed it to you. It was a regular 4x4 one, the same colors as the original, however just that little bit smaller than you'd remembered it. You noticed it was a lot lighter than the rubik's cube Luhan gave you...but just because it was smaller? Or was the other one just heavier because of the bombs planted inside?

"I knew you would recognize it! I know it's been around for a while but it's great for getting your mind off things. Most of my customers buy this because they say it cures depression or sadness" 

"It...cures sadness?" You repeated in fascination. 

"You didn't know? People get into these things for a reason!" The lady said before having to take care of another customer who entered the store. 'People get into these things for a reason' huh? You repeated the sentence in your head when suddenly you hear a crash down the aisle. 

"Sorry!" D.O cried out and you saw him and Suho quickly picking up the bottles of beverages to place back into the fridge. You shook your head hopelessly but with a little smile. And i'm the clumsy one? You grabbed a basket and started to stock up the food, not forgetting to fill up on ramen and any other food that they might like. You hadn't noticed how much food you were gathering until Baekhyun stopped you, he wasn't impressed- you could tell by his eyes. He pointed at your mountain of food accumulated in your basket. "You know these cost money, right?" 

Again with this argument. So now he talks? "Well if i want to feed you guys- then yes. And besides, I'm a busy person, i can't keep coming here whenever we run out of food, it's better to stock up as much as we can so it'll last longer"

"You're acting as though we're bottomless pits" 

"Some of you are bottomless pits" you retorted with a raised eyebrow but Baekhyun gave you a look as if to say it wasn't funny. "No worries, it's not like finding money is hard for me anymore" You said, throwing in another packet of rice only to have Baekhyun take it out again.

"But it's hard work right?" He corrected. "Seriously, i don't understand you" He said in a harsh tone. 

"Oh come on, lighten up..." You grabbed the rice packet to put into your basket again when you stopped and laughed at the pun you just made "Get it? 'Lighten' up?" you nudged him with a knowing smile. He rolled his eyes away from you, but you could tell he had to refrain from smiling. "Whatever" He said as he walked away, sneakily grabbing a packet of ramen from your basket and putting it back on the shelf. "I saw that!" you yelled. 

"No you didn't~" He replied, not even turning to look at you as he walked away out of your sight around the corner. You shook you head. I swear that boy has a split personalty.  

You finally paid for everything, and although you could tell the cashier was suspicious about the amount you were buying, she was polite enough not to ask. You finally got back home and took off your backpack to opened, the others going quiet as they watched you gently root through and grab the cube. You took a deep breathe before pulling it out. '31:02:96'. Still some time left until it detonates...which relieved all of you, however made some a little curious. "Why did he give us 48 hours anyway?" Kai asked to no one in particular. 

"I bet he just wants to stress us out more the little brat" D.O cursed, getting a few glares from the others and smacking his lips to show that he knows he said something inappropriate, especially with Sehun in the same room. But Kai raised a good point to think about. Why 48 hours? sure- something like 2 would be a little too harsh. But 24 would be enough to get you to agree. And within those hours you'd admit, he would have already won before the timer even started...so why 48 hours? If he wanted to win, then he would have given fewer hours right?

"Anyway, we shouldn't try anything on it until we know for sure what the puzzle is, remember what professor said- use your heads" Suho informed. You all nodded in understanding. You stared at the bomb for a moment...watching the light glow along with the threatening red numbers counting down...for a toy that cures sadness, it sure does cause a lot of it...