Previously on Project X...

You still haven't figured out a solution to the puzzle yet...But you have an interesting conversation with a close friend of yours.

"I'm not boring you am i?" 

"Bunny, bunny, bunny, bunny-woop, bunny-woop, bunny, bunny, end"

"You said i thought to forwardly, so i thought about it from when you first called me over to when you told me to repeat what you said. Then i realized you said end after you crossed your arms, i didn't do it because i didn't think it was included in the pattern"

And he gives you some advice...or so you think it's advice?

"...Don't run, don't rush- you'll be surprised"

"Well, well, Miss Han Ji-Eun" "I'll leave you alone for now"

Come on sir, if I'm gong to be surprised it should be around now...was that it?

You got yourself ready for your next shift, packing the pale blue workers shirt into your bag and about to place the cube into your bag when suddenly, a hand gripped you by the wrist. "...Just leave it here" Baekhyun ordered. You were ready to argue but thought he'd raised a good idea. There's less people here, meaning the probability of it getting stolen or harmed would be slimmer. You peered at the cube one more time. '16:45:30'. Time was running out, and fast, yet you still had no clue how to solve it without making mistakes. You turned to the others who all had their serious faces on as they thought deeply, trying to calm themselves...well, some did a better job than others- Chanyeol had thrown so many random quick-fits that you'd started thinking it couldn't be healthy.

"Okay...But don't do anything until i get back, promise?" 

"Promise" Baekhyun nodded before releasing your wrist and you carefully placed the cube back down onto the coffee table. 

"I'll be back at in around 2 hours, if you're hungry remember you can grab something from the fridge" You told them, swinging your backpack on to get ready. But a voice stopped you. "...Ji-Eun" A voice called you to your surprise, since it was a voice that had barely spoken for the past few days.

"Yes Sehun?" 

"...Can i come along? Maybe?" He gazed at you with a warm smile but the same sullen eyes that softened you. There must be a reason why he wanted to come...and although you didn't know exactly what it was, you wanted to go along with it anyway. 

"Sure, you guys don't mind losing one do ya?" You turned to the members with a joking smile. 

"Go ahead" Suho agreed with a chuckle, patting Sehun on the shoulder and sending you off. You reminded them to lock up Latte cafe before making your way to the yogurt store with Sehun. By the time you reached, the sky was already getting dark and stars were started to come out.

"Sehun, you can just sit down if you want, it probably won't be busy today so i won't bother asking the manager if you could help out" You smiled, coming out of the restroom in your baby blue shirt and bandana. Sehun blinked a couple of times before nodding and smiling back at you.

"Okay" He agreed, sitting on the most secretive tables he could find. Unexpectedly, people were starting to flood in, but it was still enough for you and another employee to handle. You noticed that most of the girls only came after they saw Sehun sitting alone. Some of them even asked for a picture with him and you couldn't help but giggle as you watched him blush at their compliments. I wonder why he wanted to come here in the first place? You thought whilst serving the tables and cleared them away.

An hour or so went by, and people were starting to leave, however you noticed that after every 5 or more minutes you'd have to turn to Sehun to check up on him. But he looked the same every time you checked. He just glared off into space, in thought. It made you curious about what it was that he was thinking about. Maybe he just wanted to be alone without anyone worrying about him; wanted somewhere to sit down and think to himself without the other members worrying about him. 

"EEEK! There! I told you he was cute!" A table of girls started squealing at their mobile phones near Sehun as you cleared up their empty glass plates. "Oh my god~ He's just to die for~ What's his name again?" 

"I remember it being something a little different. I think it's Chinese or something...Oh yeah! Luhan!" 

You twisted your neck straight from the girls to Sehun to check for his reaction and you could tell he was a little startled by the sudden mention of his name. Maybe taking him here wasn't the best idea after all...You thought before quickly taking away the plates and sitting on the seat opposite Sehun. You tried to look at him in the eyes, but he just sat there with his face looking down at the table "...You alright?" You asked him. He sighed as he tried to smile.

"As i thought...i can't help but still trust him" His voice shook anxiously. So that's what he's been thinking about all this time. He wanted to trust Luhan...believe that he's still the same person he was from before. "I know it's ridiculous...but i can't help it. As long as he still looks and sounds the same- i can't believe that he's a different person" He still didn't look at you in the eyes. He just sat there.

"It's not ridiculous" You told him. "...I told you didn't i? i understand what you mean..." You said in a perky voice before standing up. "Are you ready to go then?" 

"Are you finished with work?" 

"Nope! But there aren't many customers anyway- the others can do the rest, come on!" You grabbed your things and headed out rebelliously back home even though you still had half an hour left of your shift. But you didn't care. You had other jobs to do even if you were to get fired. And you had other business to take care of- dangerous business. You made your way back home under the night sky, however some of the shops were still open, radiating lights to show your way back home. You got back home and found EXO-K still gathered in the living room, yet to change out of their uniform. "Guys, why are you still here? It's getting late..." You took off your coat and hung it over your bed, however noticed how they were all gathered around the cube. '15:16:24' Time is still ticking, and judging by their faces they were still thinking of a solution. Although it was a funny sight; 5 aliens sat around a coffee table, glaring blatantly at a glowing cube with the blankest expressions on their faces. Chanyeol jolted, as though he just woke up from sleeping with his eyes open. 

"Oh! Ji-Eun-ah~" Chanyeol only just noticed you were home. His eyes looked tired and dreary. "You're early!" He says, having a kind of energetic tiredness in his voice. If they were to go to sleep, the most sleep they would get is a couple of hours, and in a couple of hours, you'd probably have less than 10 hours left to deactivate the bomb. And there you were- going to work as if not a care in the world. 

"Thought of anything yet?" Sehun asked them. But Suho just shook his head and sighed. "Not yet...Look's like we won't be accomplishing our goal today after all" He tried to laugh a little however it only lead to a yawn. 

"Our last day is tomorrow though" D.O said, using his powers to move around the soil in one of your plants by the window sill. And freaky enough- you started to find it normal. 

"What else can we do?" Kai retorted, casually undoing his tie. "If we can't think of how to solve it then we're just going to have to think of a plan" 

"That won't do, remember? We all know Luhan isn't stupid- professor said so himself" Baekhyun told him, ruffling his hair as he glared the the glowing cube in thought and afterwards, there was a deary and heavy silence.

"...'Don't rush'" You suddenly mentioned, having everyone look at you. "Don't rush...it's what my music teacher told me today...Maybe we should just stay calm and think carefully-"

"But Ji-Eun, we've been doing that and we aren't getting anywhere-"

"Even if we were to think and think about how to solve it for hours on end, we still wouldn't get anywhere. We wouldn't even dare change the pattern if we weren't 100% sure yet- right?" You interupted Kai in his attempt to argue when you silenced them- realizing you were right. Even if you knew how to solve it- would you really go head-first right there and then? Surely- you would have left it to last minute either way.

"Sure you're right...but-" 

VVIIIINNGG~ VIIINNNGG~ 

Before D.O could finish, a soft vibrating noise was heard coming out of Suho's pockets. He took out the black device and answered it, the hologram showing itself. "Yes, Professor?" 

"[Boys, are you all present?]" Professor glared into the screen through his round glasses.

"Yes sir we're all here, including Ji-Eun" Suho glanced at you at the mention of your name and gestured with his eyes for you to sit within range of the screen for him to see. You did as he implied, pulling Sehun along with you to sit down on the couch beside Chanyeol and Baekhyun. 

"[Perfect. Have you been discussing well?]" 

"Not really" Chanyeol replied truthfully, snapping his fingers out of pure boredom and like a lighter, sparks flies. 

"[Oh dear...well now is the opportunity to ask away until the battery runs out again]" 

You turned to everyone, no one really knew what question there was to ask until Baekhyun started it off. "You said that there was something you had to explain to us...about the 'others'?" 

"[Ah, yes...the 'others']" Professor begun. "[Where should i start?]"

"...Who are 'the others'?" You asked, genuinely curious at the name that's popped up a few times now. 

"[They're ex-citizens of EXO's dimension, as you know Luhan has become one of them.]" 

"All of them are?" 

"[Yes...'the others' all dwell on their fate, also known of 'the prophecy'. In that prophecy tells the story of all of you, EXO-K, 'the others' but most importantly- you, Ji-Eun]" 

"Yeah- 'the girl of the prophecy' they called her" Kai remembered correctly. 

"[I don't know much about it just yet...but it has something to do with the hunting of the 'devil's in justices masks']" 

"Devils in justice's masks?" Chanyeol repeated, trying to decipher the words out when somebody else does him the favour. 

"...The superiors" Suho and D.O rightfully answered simultaneously and the name startled just about everyone. 

"So it says we're supposed to be hunted by them...does it say why or how?" Suho acted stern. The professor shook his head. 

"[there's no written reason...however the 'others' are trying their best to stay alive- running away from the death that their fate has planned for as long as possible]" 

"That's a bit stupid. Why would they come to the dimension that the superiors are in? Isn't that just throwing themselves in the lions cage?" D.O pulled a face. 

"[Well...not that i would want to scare or worry you boys or anything...but- my assumption is that they need to use people as the means of surviving longer...use them as bait]"

"And that's us" Kai finished. "It makes sense doesn't it? They believe in the fate so they lure us here to get the superiors suspicious about us. That way even if they do get a hold of someone from EXO- we'll be their first kill" He scoffed in disgust as everyone seemed to be stunned in horrific shock. You took the chance and glanced at Sehun who you could see had started to bite his lips. He wanted to trust Luhan...he wanted to trust him so much...so after listening to this, will he still want to do that? Could it be true? That they were just using them as bait the whole time? EXO-K had thought so...but for you, something just wasn't right...none of it was right.

"...But wait" You stopped every ones chain of thought. "If they're using you as bait...then why would Luhan need to blow us up?"

"..." A silence filled the room. They hadn't thought about that. "That's...a good point" D.O complimented in surprise. 

"And another thing...if 'the girl of the prophecy' is the one who could help them...and if i'm this 'girl' then- aren't they rebelling against it already?" 

Now the others weren't quite following. They just peered at each other- seeing whether or not anyone was getting it. Even Professor raised an eyebrow. But you were finally getting the thoughts following. You were finally spotting the puzzle pieces. "So when he said he was climbing silver...he meant that he was trying to live a better quality of life before he gets hunted...but that doesn't make sense does it?" Now you were just mumbling to yourself. You felt as though you were so close to figuring it out, so close that it was at the tip of your tongue. 

"How's the meter for the Aphrodyt?" Sehun asked, somehow as if to change the subject a little. Professor shook his head. 

"[It's not changing boys...Within a week without it- your powers die, two weeks without it and...]" He didn't finish, knowing that it was scary enough to leave it alone. However something about the Aphrodyt confused you as well. One and two weeks without the Aphrodyt? Another puzzle piece- but where does it go? "[Eh oh! Battery's almost dead! I'll try my best to stay in contact if you need me boys! Remember i have faith in you! Use your heads! Don't rush yourselves!]"

"Hey! Wait!" D.O and Chanyeol tried to stop him.

"Professor!" Suho called out before the screen went blank. The line was cut off. Leaving everyone else to aid for themselves...Aid themselves until the timer comes to an end tomorrow. "Damn it! That brat Luhan! Challenge me a battle or anything- i'm good! But this piece of junk is stressing me out!" D.O yelled, shooting up out of his seat and throwing himself violently onto the floor in frustration. Chanyeol pouted with crossed arms before adding. "Its. stressing. me. out. TOO!!!!" he burst into a tantrum that startled practically everybody, ferociously ruffling his hair and yelling before he flops over D.O's body- exhausted.

"I think Luhan's real plan was to drive everyone bonkers" Baekhyun whispered in your ear and you chuckled- having to stop yourself. This was a serious moment- but now he chooses to act funny?