26

"She is fine, maybe just a little tired." Lay gave his health anaysis of Sori who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, all sick. She was laid to rest on Lyorin's bed while Kai stayed beside her.

"Why did she come here?" Chen pondered.

That was the exact question the guys were wondering. Sori had never travelled alone, especially when it was quite a distant between Mr Lee's house and EXO's mansion.

Lyorin watched Sori with a heavy heart. She didn't know how or what to feel at the moment. It wasn't because she dislike that Sori was here. There must be a reason why she came and that worried Lyorin. Kai was by Sori's side, looking down at her. Sori was sick and it was only right for him to care of her. However, Lyorin could not help but feel jealous by it. Even if they were no longer a couple, the fact that Kai used to love her was enough to threaten her position in his heart.

Luhan squeezed her arm and looked at her. He knew what she was thinking and worrying. He wished for Kai to understand the situation and quickly clarify his feelings so that no one would get hurt.

"Okay guys, let's leave the room and let Sori explain why she's here once she wakes up. As for now, give her the time to rest." Suho ordered, telling EXO to leave the room.

One by one they exited, all except Kai

He kept still and stayed close by Sori's side. He looked like he wasn't going to leave her which was what Lyorin thought. She walked and stood behind him, hoping he would turn around. However, he kept his eyes fixed on Sori. So, she moved her hand and wanted to nudge his shoulders but quickly retracted. She decided to leave him alone. She shouldn't disturb his private time with Sori. Slowly, she turned her heels and went for the exit.

But someone caught her hand and it was Kai's. Lyorin looked back at him and stared at his conflicted yet apologetic eyes. Without saying anything, he brought her hand closer to his face. Her eyes widened in surprise when he went on to kiss her hand gently.

He didn’t speak a word and hope she would understand the message he was trying to tell her.

He wanted her to know where she stood in his heart. Even if Sori came back for him, he would never ever fall for her.

Yes, it used to be Sori but now, only Lyorin mattered the most to him.

Her heart fluttered by his touch and unknowingly flashed a sweet smile to him.

She understood.

Most imp0rtantly, she trusted him.

~*~

Chen climbed the ladder up the tall bookshelf to reach for the book he wanted to study. Lyorin held the ladder at the bottom to ensure stability.

"Chen oppa, be careful." She reminded as she held on to the ladder firmly.

He was searching for a particular book he needed for his school project. The library in the mansion was filled with ceiling high bookshelves. There were thousands of books kept in the vast library, but he was searching for that one book. It took him days to find it. It was just like a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, he managed to narrow down the search to a specific bookshelf. Now, he was climbing the ladder and look at the top part of it.

“I found it!” He exclaimed and pulled out a book that looked old and dusty. Slowly, he stepped down the ladder and beamed in delight as he waved the dusty with tattered edges book in front of her.

Curiously, she took the book from him and read the cover, hoping to see the title but it was just a blank hardcover. She cocked her head, confused as to why there wasn’t any title.

“It’s a diary written by the late Mr Lee; EXO’s clan master 50 years ago.” He said. That explained why there wasn’t any title because it wasn’t a story book. It was a personal diary.

“Mr Lee?” She asked.

He grabbed a chair and brought her to sit while he sat opposite. “Yes, Mr Lee. You must be wondering how many Mr Lee we have right? Well, they share a surname because of their blood line. The one that you know, his name is Mr Lee Soo Man. The Mr Lee who wrote this ~” He stopped and flashed the diary. “His name is Mr Lee Jungshin. He lived through the years when the clans got separated.”

“Ah I see. So he was the reason behind the separation?” She asked.

He knocked her head playfully and corrected. “He wasn’t the reason. He wasn’t the betrayer. We, EXO, never betrayed anyone.” She pouted after the little scolding she received from Chen. He then continued, “I know you heard the story about that fateful night but that was only one side to it. If you want to know more, then you have to read this diary.”

“But Yongguk ~”

“Why are you bringing up his name?” He gave her a quizzical look.

She blinked her eyes innocently. “I-I remember he mentioned that we betrayed the clan. Why did he say that?”

He opened the diary and turned to a specific page.

The last night; I could still remember it clearly the event that occurred at that very last night I stood inside the grand hall. As I conjured up the name of the forsaken one, I was already having a bad feeling. It wasn’t like any other full moon nights. I knew something major was about to happen. I could feel it.

True enough, the unexpected arrived right at the moment

“Kill BAP leader.”

That was the message I received. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. Why was Kim Jaejin to be killed? He’s the clan master for BAP. Why should he be killed? Was this a mistake?

Those were the questions ringing in my head.

Immediately, I burned the small piece of paper when I heard whispers outside the secret chamber. This should never be spread to anyone. No one must know of this.

If Jaejin is killed, what would happen to the BAP clan? Their chosen ones would lose powers and the clan would soon cease to exist.

This cannot happen. I need to stop this.

I sought Mr Hong of BTOB, praying that everything was just a mistake. But I wasn’t the only one. Mr Hong received the same message on that fateful night.

How were we going to face Kim Jaejin when he was the one we were supposed to kill?

Mr Hong and I thought it was possible to forgo the mission for just one night.

But the subsequent events were beyond our expectations.

I wanted to sacrifice myself for the sake of protecting BAP because they were the pioneer clan. They started this fraternity.

Yet, Mr Hong stopped me.

As a result, EXO was banished. We were accused as the betrayers to the fraternity.

BTOB left the fraternity as well, in order to protect us.

We may have been wrongly accused, but at least we managed to save the most imp0rtant; the existence of a clan, the BAP.

The Book of Fate may have spoken the truth that night and it could be our mistake for not fulfilling what we ought to do.

However, isn’t this part of fate as well; to go against what fate has decided?

Lyorin stared blankly at space as she tried to register what she just read in her head. EXO was only going to protect BAP, but the latter misinterpreted it as the greatest sinful act of going against the Book of Fate.

“Shouldn’t someone tell BAP the truth?” She questioned.

Chen laughed out of a sudden. “Do you really think oh so mighty BAP would believe; that their leader was supposed to be the one killed that night?”

“Then, why did our clan leader burn the piece of paper which Kim Jaejin’s name on it? If he had kept it, at least we would have proof and then BAP would have nothing to say.” She asked and stated her opinion.

He knelt closer to her and spoke softly. “Lyorin, if we have kept his name and showed it to the rest, then the next thing we should be doing is to kill BAP right? And when we do so, tell me what will happen next? Watch them slowly disappear? Lyorin listen; killing their master is as equivalent as stripping them off their only reason to live. Powers would be gone and then slowly the clan will weaken, which eventually lead to their extinction. The years they fought hard just to stay breathe in this world will all plunge down the abyss.”

“But ~”

“Sometimes a kind gesture can be easily ignored, but what matters the most is the intention. Our goal is to keep our kind for as long as we can. As long as we don’t deviate from the most basic reason why we started in the first place, which is to exist forever, then we don’t need to bother whether our sacrifice was seen as a betrayal.” He then added. “I know it’s hard for EXO and you but at the end of the day we need to look at the bigger picture. We just saved the whole clan.”

Lyorin looked at his eyes. “Then, why are they still chasing after us?”

“Who, you mean the BAP? They’re not the ones.”

 She tilted her head, puzzled. “They aren’t the ones who killed ~”

“BAP had never killed our kind, never.”

He ended and confirmed his stand.

~*~

Sori had gotten better and had stayed with them for two days. Yet, she hasn’t explained her reason why she came. When asked, all she did is cry and refuse to breathe a word. EXO had contacted Mr Lee, telling him that his daughter was here. Mr Lee exhaled in relief knowing that his daughter was in the safe hands of EXO. He was quite perplexed at her sudden runaway act. Nonetheless, he was going to pay EXO a visit and would try to comfort his daughter to come back with him. He knew Sori would only bring more trouble than good. Even he had to agree on that despite being her father.

Lyorin didn’t get the chance to speak to Sori. She wished their relationship was better; at least it won’t be so awkward. She had always been nice to Sori even when she received the harsh response. One evening she decided to approach her amicably.

She walked to Sori’s room, which was actually hers. She allowed her to use her room because it was the only one with a nice big comfortable king-size bed. The past nights, Sehun was kind enough to let her sleep on his. She didn’t want to impose on him but he insisted, telling her that it was perfectly alright for him to sleep in the living room.

Lyorin was about to knock on the door when she heard voices coming from inside.

“Kai, promise me you won’t leave me? I need you ~” Sori was crying. She could hear her muffled voice in between the sniffs. “Kai, you’re the only one I have. Please, I’m begging you ~”

Lyorin went closer and placed her ear on the door. She didn’t like to eavesdrop or be a busybody but this was more than just a mere love confession. This involved her feelings. Kai’s response could only signal a thing; either she would win or she would lose.

“Sori ~” Kai’s voice finally filled the air.

Lyorin bit her lower lip nervously.

“Sori, I will not leave you. I will take care of you and the ~”

Instinctively, Lyorin pushed the door open only to witness a painful scene. With a victorious smirk, almost evil looking, Sori hugged Kai so tightly.

Kai turned his back to see who just opened the door. That was when his eyes landed on a pair of sorrowful eyes. It wasn’t just sorrow; it was eyes that were full of disappointment, as if betrayed.

He wished he could explain to her.

But even an explanation won’t save him.

(To be continued)

Kai, what...what....why are you..........gaaaaaah......

((lol you can hate on kai now but you'll love him in the future))

Oh btw, regarding the excerpt from the diary. I suggest you re-read chapter 20 (History) from the first story. I hope you don't get confused. If you have doubts, you can always drop me a comment and i'll explain more about it. Of course, i won't spoil it too much. ^__^