The sudden bright light shinning through the curtains rudely awoke Minjung from her peaceful slumber. Slowly opening her eyes to get adjusted to the brightness, she scanned around the room. It took her a few seconds or so to realize that she was not in her room nor was she in the North. She was shocked as her surroundings were unfamiliar and abruptly sat up, making her head spin as the blood rushed through her head. Then she remembered how she got here.

Kris.

Wanting to find Kris to assure herself that she was safe with him and not taken away by a stranger, she closed her eyes and concentrated on his scent. She remembered his scent so very well as if it was stuck to the back of her mind like gum. She also remembered how much comfort his scent gave her.

His scent filled the room but not enough for it to be his room. The sweet vanilla smell was getting nearer and nearer until-

“Minjung?”

She snapped her eyes opened just to see Kris right in front her. “K-Kris!” Seeing him, she felt relieved that she was still safe but also worried because he was the enemy.

“Hi.” He grinned meekly and she gave him a small smile as a thank you gesture for protecting her. “Minjung, meet my family.” Minjung then realized that Kris was not alone. Behind him were five other guys and two ladies. The leader then started introducing them to her.

The first guy looked very innocent and had large eyes. Kris called him Luhan. Another named Minseok had a gummy smile and twinkling eyes. There was also Zitao who was tall and scary looking and he did not smile at all. Minjung could not help but to think that he does not like her. Jongdae, the one with the sharp jawline and contagious shy laughter seemed fun and humorous, but a bit awkward as well. And then there was Yixing, who bowed respectfully. Kris told her they were his brothers.

So they are the princes of the East.

Kris then went on to the two females. Minjung did not know them, but they were smiling at her as if they had known her for years. Their names were Hyera and Jieun and they were Luhan’s and Jongdae’s wives. And they were stunningly beautiful, making Minjung feel jealous at their looks even though she had the same flawless skin as them.

“Kris baby!” Soojin and Yejin entered the room. Yet another two beauties had entered the room and Minjung felt her heart drop a little when Kris did not say anything about Soojin’s nickname for him.

“Soojin, Yejin, meet Minjung.” He smiled at them and Soojin beamed when she finally gets to meet the soulmate of her good friend. “Minjung, these are my childhood friends, Soojin and her sister, Yejin.”

Knowing that everyone in the room was of royal and high ranking blood, Minjung bowed. “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Yoon Minjung.”

There was a bit of an awkward pause and Kris faked a cough. The others knew what he was trying to tell them and took turns to slip out of the room silently like ninjas.

“Are you hungry? Breakfast is ready.” Kris asked but she shook her head. She still had something important to do.

“I should get going.” She took her backpack and turned to Kris. “Thank you for letting me stay here for a night. I don’t have much but, here.” Reaching for her coin pouch, she wanted to give him some gold coins when he stopped her.

“Where are you going?” He blocked the door so that she would not be able to leave.

“The West.”

The way Minjung said that she was going to a dangerous place so nonchalantly worried Kris. “Why? Why go to somewhere where you are constantly in danger instead of staying here? I can protect you if you are with me.”

Kris raised his voice a little and Minjung took a step back. She knew that being in the enemy’s lair was already wrong, as they were more than capable to kill her if they wanted to. Maybe she was wrong about Kris. Maybe he saved her just to lure her to his place and keep her as a hostage so that they will have the upper hand against EXO-K. It would then be easy for him to kill them, just like how he did to her parents.

But then again maybe Minjung was thinking too much. EXO-M might not be as bad as they seemed because she does not know them personally. She could not deemed them to be evil even though they started the Wenner War but she still could not forgive them for her parents’ death. They might actually be keeping her here out of good intentions.

Kris realized that his sudden outburst scared her and he cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that.”

She looked at him before nodding.

“Don’t worry, we will not hurt you.”

---

Somehow, Minjung managed to let Kris convince her. As she ate her breakfast in silence, everyone stared at her while Yejin gave her dirty looks. Not wanting to create any trouble that will put her in danger, she avoided Yejin’s looks as much as possible. After breakfast, Minjung wanted to help with washing the dishes to thank them but was immediately pushed out of the kitchen as they claimed that it was the maids’ job, not hers. Seeing that she had nothing to do, Kris brought her to the back of the castle.

The first thing that Minjung saw was the huge grass field that seemed