"Love is the angel that wanders within, tormenting the heart..."

~David Marsh

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The moment their feet touched the cold and slightly damp ground, it was exactly when the time tickling to midnight. Everything around them was so black, quiet and unfamiliar. The only light that shone their way inside the wood was the weak moonlight that managed to peek down from between the night cloud above.

Kris raised his head upward and stared on the skies. He felt lonely; it looked so blank without any sight of glittering stars.

“They are here, hyung...” he shifted his eyes down to Tao when he was the first to talk. Tao stood a few steps away to the front of their leader before Lay came to stand next to him.

He nodded his head, eyeing around suspiciously. “Yeah...I can feel them too...”

Kris knew what exactly the matter that they were mentioning about. He could feel it too, the demonic and strong aura brought along by the second in line of their biggest enemy here on Earth. It was the vampires – another inhuman clan that was also being their target to proceed with their mission.

For over centuries this clan had been their nemesis because of their cruel nature that goes against the human. The vampires thought that humanland was only their feeding place but it was a total opposite for angels. Human was so precious and fragile creation of their Father that needed their protection, love and care for all the time. As their philosophy was different, that explained why they became enemy but Kris has never intended to start any fight. He just wanted a little explanation from them.

“Swop!” as Kris was deep in thinking, his train of thoughts stopped the second when a swift of air blew so fast near them. The M members turned around to where the air was sweeping something along with it, leaving the trees and bushes trembling madly behind like they were greeted by tornado.

Chen slowly hissed under his breath while using his hands to smooth down the hood of his cloak steady on his head again. “Seriously...they need to learn how to control their manner towards the nature and to slow down their speed!”

Tao and Lay grinned a bit when he regarded the vampires but Kris kept his stern expression pasted on his glowing angelic face. Lay glanced at him and walked over.

“Come on, hyung...we got business to be settled while they’re still in here...” Lay tapped him lightly on his shoulder and Kris nodded in return.

He took his calm steps first before followed by the other three angels on both sides of his body. Chen on the left while Tao and Lay walked in couple at the right side of him. As they were walking, Lay dropped his concern eyes onto the dry floor of the forest.

He flinched a bit, feeling uneasy when he had to watch the soil hardened in dryness while the leaves were all falling down from their branches and transformed into nothing but dying leaves. Though in the middle of midnight and he could see nothing except the darkness but Lay got a feeling that this forest was long died and no longer greenish like it used to be.

Quietly, he raised up a hand, closing his eyes and waved them all along the path as they were walking towards the vampires. Tao, Kris and Chen noticed the changes that happened beneath their feet as they saw the dried, empty land was now refilled with soft grasses and freshly grown bushes again. Kris could only smile a little to himself. As the God’s best healer, he knew that it hurts Lay so much to only watch the natural disaster and did nothing to fix it. Well, he was a healer after all, healing was his ultimate job.

Then they stopped, finally reached the vampires. Chen closed his eyes for a second while Tao blinked and looked away from his sight. It was such an eyesore to him to see two male vampires were standing in the middle of the forest with roughly three bodies of dead animals around them.

Lay who has the weakest heart when it comes to pain and sickness dropped his hand to his side once he caught sight of the animals too. He swallowed in sympathy. Only their leader, Kris that stood still and majestic on his feet. He kept his sharp stare upon the vampires until one of them finally raised his head from dipping between the neck of a poor wildebeest.

“Ah...what an unexpected visit for us...” he whispered, grinning evilly as his sharp teeth were stained with the dark red of the animals blood. Tao and Lay automatically feeling disgusted and shot him a glare but Chen walked over to stand between them and held them by their wrists, silently consoling them to stay cool.

Kris cleared his throat, finally breaking the awkward and intense silence between them. “We’re not meant to interrupt...we just want to seek for an important thing from you...”

As he spoke, another one of the vampires that was deep in the blood earlier poked up his head from the dead meat as well. He looked up straight to Kris through his bright red pupils before he chuckled lightly. Though it was light but it echoed throughout the wood.

“Long time no see, my old friend...we know exactly why you came to us, Kris...but I guess I could only let you enjoy the disappointment because...sorry...we can’t help you...” he said, jerking up his eyebrow a bit before wanting to continue feeding himself but Kris stopped him by talking again.

“I understand...I’m not asking you to tell me what actually that had happened during the battle...I just want to know at least a single clue...or a start key to solve this matter...it’s my job to find out the rest...” Kris explained again to him but he flashed a smug grin before wiped a few drops of remaining blood away from the tip of his lips.

“I told you already...we vampires have no idea about anything that connected to the previous battle...” he answered jokingly, laughing a little and the other one added.

“...and yeah...even if we know...we won’t be so stupid to tell it straight to the angels...” both of them broke into booming, mocking laughter before they straightened their bodies again – finally satisfied with their meal tonight.

“Our apology for not welcoming you all properly to the Earth...but I hope you enjoy your time here with mortals and...pardon us for have to end our little interesting conversation here...okay, sweetie? We need to catch up more for our dinner...bye!” and within only a spilt of seconds, the two vampires disappears from the angels’ sight.

Kris clenched his jaw, half-conscious that his hands had balled into fists. He wanted to go after them, stopping them from going away but his attention went back to Lay. As he glanced around to him, Kris noticed that Lay had his eyes piercing between the trunks a few miles from here.

Kris got it at once; he heard the running sound of a deer as it moved against the broken sticks and bushes. His ears also caught the sharp and loud sound of two running footsteps tailing behind the deer. Next, Lay was ready with his wings flipped open mightily.

“Lay, don’t!” Kris shouted as his eyes widely stared on him but Lay no longer listened to him as he flung apart his wings and flew high above the trees as fast as his wings could carry him. Tao and Chen stood paralyzed behind Kris before they were startled again when Kris also no longer stand on the ground. He too, was flying after Lay now.

“Aish, these two!” Tao hissed but followed quickly after him, leaving Chen to be the last.

Lay was flying so fast but his eyes kept scanning deep into the center of the forest. At last, he saw the deer just now and the two aggressive predators that were chasing behind for it. Quickly, Lay cornered his way from up in the air and drowned straight down towards the desperately running deer.

“Gotcha!” the first vampire that ran ahead from another one caught the animal by its thin leg and he roughly pulled the whining deer closer within his embrace. He stared hungrily on it, grabbed it tighter on its neck and ready to hook his fangs inside the deer’s flesh but he was just a few seconds late when something so radiant blinding his sight.

“! What the hell is that?!” the vampire shouted and let go of the animal. Lay trapped it into his arms and closed the deer securely under his chest as he bent down to cover on top of it. He glared to the vampire from the corner of his eyes before stopped humiliating his radiant – and the forest turned black again.

The vampire dropped his palm and reopened his eyes. He was now growling forward to Lay’s direction.

“Enough...you had enough for you to survive today...” Lay warned him coldly through his icy eyes as the vampire gritted his teeth.

“You...who are you to control my thirst?!” he barked to Lay before launching further to attack his throat but somebody ran hastily to block between them.

“Kyuhyun, stop! Relax, brother...chill...” the older vampire told the younger and he pushed Kyuhyun on his chest lightly to reverse a few steps away from Lay.

Kyuhyun held his eyes grudgingly steady on Lay but Lay ignored him. Instead, he shifted his eyes down to the little deer again and placed his warm hand against its leg. It broke a little and had started to bleed from Kyuhyun’s strong grip just now.

“It’s okay...you’re going to be fine...” Lay whispered gently to it and at once, the blood magically cleaned away from its leg. The deer opened its eyes again and peered up to Lay. He curved up a small dimpled smile for it before standing up to let the deer ran away, leaving the scene.

Kyuhyun smirked, feeling agitated upon Lay that was showing off his healing power in front of them. Deep inside, no one can argue that only angel has that unique ability – and none of it could be possessed by vampire.

“Pardon us for that...” Lay and the two vampires turned back towards where Kris had landed on his feet again. Tao and Chen dropped behind him and they quickly hid away their wings to prevent their surrounding from become even brighter because of their sparkling light.

Kris shifted his eyes uncomfortably to Lay, still standing nearby Kyuhyun. “Lay, stand back...”

He followed his order, taking his steps in reverse to stand with Tao and Chen but Lay glued his stern eyes upon Kyuhyun. The vampire in return was also staring coldly back to him. Then Kris breathed heavily and looked up to the older vampire.

“Forgive my brother again, Leetuk ah... but we have zero intention to take control on your territory...” Kris spoke but Kyuhyun laughed out loud to cut him off.

“Hahaha! Yeah, I can tell...” he said, smiling sarcastically as his eyes never leave Lay’s. Kris knew that he was mocking them regarding Lay’s action earlier that caused him to lose his meal. But Leetuk simply chuckled.

“Of course, my friend...I understand...it’s okay to me and the rest of our clan if any of you angels are not staying anywhere near this forest...” Leetuk reminded him and Kris nodded once.

“Sure...we’re not going to hang around here...we have another place to stay...but Leetuk, I still need my answer...and as long as I don’t have it, my brothers and I will still linger nearby here...” Kris informed them back but his last few words were making Kyuhyun to groan roughly from behind Leetuk.

“...and I’m sure that Kyuhyun doesn’t wish for Lay to stop him from hunting for the animals again...” Kris added, just to bail the vampires to give in and answer him question earlier.

Leetuk pursed his lips. He looked over his shoulder towards Kyuhyun and his brother gave him a firm nod. They both have the doubtful and uncertain expressions shown on their dangerously handsome faces but at last, Leetuk walked approaching Kris.

“If you seek for it, then you will never see...but if you let it comes to you, then you will easily see...”

Those were the only words uttered by Leetuk before he lost into the thin air with Kyuhyun – leaving nothing but quietness behind.

Kris let out a long sigh and lowered his shoulders that were so still just now. He didn’t like being around the vampires actually. Their devilish aura caused him to feel sick. But Chen suddenly clicked his tongue loudly.

“Aish! That old Leetuk! What did he mean by those words???” he pouted, sounded frustrated but Lay tapped him on his shoulder.

“No worries...we’ll figure it out...” he assured and Kris nodded in agreement to him, turning his body back to face his three gorgeous brothers.

Next, Tao was chuckling to Lay. He poked a finger on Lay’s cheek. “Yah, hyung...why do you bother so much to save the deer just now huh??? Just let Kyuhyun eat it...he’s not attacking any human here...”

Tao reasoned out while Kris folded his arms across his chest, watching the younger three as they conversed. Lay rolled his eyes and turned away.

“I can’t leave it alone...it somehow reminds me of Luhan...little deer...’Lu’...isn’t it???” Lay answered to their dilemma and it broke Tao and Chen into their melodic laughter. Kris smiled a bit along with them but he simply shook his head, not understanding his brothers’ cute stupidity.

-Broken Arrow-

“Who...who are you?” Seohyun choked out the air under her trembling breath. Her feet started to move backward, inching herself away from him in each step.

Kai followed her mysterious movement. He arranged his steps slowly, bit by bit approaching her. His eyes sharply pasted on her nervous face. Though she looked scared but her beauty was still there – she shines deliciously in front of him.

“...and who are you?” Seohyun frowned a bit when his question sounded stupid to her. She opened , trying to answer but she yelped when her head bumped against something hard behind of her head.

“Ouch!” she whined and held up a palm to rub the sting on her hair. Kai looked over her head and saw that she trapped her way with the big shady tree behind her. He smirked and walked even more confidence to her since he knew that she had nowhere to run from him anymore.

“Don..don’t!” Seohyun raised up her hands, blocking Kai on his chest as his body stopped only two or three inches away from hers.

His lips twisted into even a bigger smirk now. He loved it the way Seohyun was refusing to him. It made him has an urge to even more. So he bent down his head closer to her face until Seohyun looked up to him while blinking her shining eyes confusedly.

She gulped down . She wasn’t slow, she knew what Kai was going to do to her and so she covered her lips with the back of her palm quickly. Kai raised an eyebrow in surprise of what she was expecting from him but he chuckled out of nowhere and moved her hand down.

“No!” Seohyun protested again, throwing another hand to cover again but this time Kai was even faster than her and he easily grabbed Seohyun by her left wrist.

That was when Kai instantly closed his eyes when he felt a sudden pain, like an electric shock was travelling through his skin and shooting deep into his heart. He gritted his teeth painfully and pushed her wrist away.

Seohyun frowned out of sudden when Kai was so pushy earlier but now letting her go without much reluctant. She stared on his face, her eyes softened from scare when she noticed Kai was enduring an unknown pain within him.

“Are...are you...okay?” Seohyun braved herself to ask and Kai slowly opened his eyes back. He gazed intensely upon her.

“Show me your wrist...”

“Huh?”

“Just ing shows me now!” Kai suddenly thundered to her and Seohyun clutched her chest with her left hand before she moved out her shivering right hand to him. Kai looked down on it but he hissed.

“I said the other hand!”

“You didn’t say anything about which of which here!” Seohyun couldn’t stand his anger and she exclaimed loudly back to him but Kai could no longer be patient with her and he grabbed Seohyun by her left elbow, causing her wrist to land against his chest.

Seohyun flinched in pain when he was gripping so tight to her but Kai kept his eyes frozen on the skin of her wrist. There, right at the center of it, crafted a small cross tattoo colored in light gold and silver. He furrowed upon it before he looked up back to Seohyun with major disbelief in his eyes.

Seohyun blinked her eyes again. Then she stole a quick glimpse down on her tattoo. What so weird about it? It was a tattoo that every angel has back then in Heaven. Each angel including archangels, guardian angels and cupids have it as a sign that they were the God’s servant. The only different that the color. Seohyun has it with the combination of light golden and silver because she was only an ordinary cupid before. But she swallowed; she almost forgot that she was a guardian angel now. Her tattoo supposed to be colored in combination of silver, white and sky blue – like Yuri’s tattoo and the rest of the expert guardian angels.

Slowly, Seohyun felt Kai dropped her elbow away. She peered up to him again and Kai gave her a secretive smirk. He knew what she really was.

“I...I’m thankful that you saved me...but please...just let me go...” Seohyun was about to request but Kai suddenly caressed her cheek softly, making Seohyun to shut her eyes tight – feeling scared again.

“If you really grateful to me...then reward me something as a gift...” he whispered seductively to her ear and gave Seohyun a light kiss on her hair. She widened her eyes and pushed him hard away.

“You better stay away from me!” Seohyun warned but Kai snorted.

“You think you’re so clever, Barbie doll??? You actually wanted to fight against your own savior huh??? That’s not so smart, darling...” and before Seohyun could think of any word to reply him, her eyes widened in shock when his lips smashed on hers.

Kai pulled Seohyun roughly by her waist and pressed her body against him. He kissed her forcefully and full on her lips, closing his eyes as he enjoyed her softness but Seohyun didn’t budge even a little. She let him kissed her until a hot tear dropped on his own cheek.

He was distracted and pulled away from her. As Kai looked into her eyes, Seohyun was drenched by tears again. She wiped her lips that were kissed by him just now before she stepped aside to free herself from him.

“I can’t believe you do this to me after you saved me just now...if you hate me so much, if you think that this is the only thing that you want from me...then feel free to leave me with those useless men...God will never left you unpunished like this...remember my words...” Seohyun said while swallowing the disappointment down her heart.

She wiped away her tears using both of her hands, glaring stubbornly to Kai before she started running away.

Kai didn’t stop her either. He let her go, listening to her sobs that was fading away like her steps as she finally lost into the thick forest. Kai sighed and kept his hands inside his pockets.

-Broken Arrow-

Seohyun stopped running when she assumed that she had gone so far from Kai and deeper into the forest. She scanned around her and slowly being afraid of the darkness around her. She knew that she was alone but she was out of way on how to leave this place.

No longer could contempt the discomfort in her, she decided to fly higher. Maybe that way, she will see the way out from this wood. Seohyun closed her eyes and spread her wings freely from under her torn cardigan.

She flipped on it and slowly her body became lighter as she was swept up in the air. Seohyun raised her eyelids again and flew above the forest and into the sky. Thunder suddenly strike so close from where she was flying and Seohyun screamed a bit. She dodged her wings from colliding with the thunder but it roared again and drop by drop the rain started to pour down from above.

Seohyun sighed, peering up to the black skies before she decided to fly down into the forest again. To her dismay, her wings lost its balance because of the rain wetting on it and Seohyun shouted against the thunder when her body bumped into a tree and finally collapsed down to ground.

She closed her eyes, enduring the pain that spreading wildly through her veins. Her whole body, from head to toe was now streamed by the heavy rain. She wanted to get up and find a way out from here again, she wanted to call out loud for her Luhan oppa and Xiumin oppa, she wanted to feel the gentle and protective hugs from her eight unnies but she knew that they all were so far away from her now.

All that she could do was laying helpless there. She let her wings blanketed her body from the cold rain as she slowly closed her eyes. Seohyun felt strangely tired today – like the last bit of her energy had left her human form now. She decided to give up trying to save herself and just prayed.

“Father...I beg you to hear me...I know that I’m destined to be a guardian angel...but here on Earth, I hope you can send me someone...at least someone...to be my guardian...and protect me, Father...please, my most Gracious...I’m so tired...”

As she whispered under her weak tears that blended with the rain, Seohyun didn’t realize it at all how her Lord above had allowed a personal light into her life.

That light was him – a pair of long legs that was walking slowly towards her.

Kris stopped exactly beside her body that was laying fragile on the ground. He was as wet as the rain too but he put down the hoody of his cloak and revealed his face to the rain as his eyes never leave Seohyun. He barely sees her face that was covered with her long russet hair, damp and wet by the rain. Kris bent down to his knees and he gently touched Seohyun on her shoulder, trying to wake her.

“Omo, hyung!” Chen, Tao and Lay appeared from behind as they all put down their own hoodies. Lay walked closer to stand next to Kris as he travelled his eyes wide upon Seohyun and her widely opened wings.

“No wonder we saw something shone so brightly just now...it was her...” Chen commented again and Tao got down near her head and picked Seohyun up by her shoulders to rest her head on his lap. Tao looked up to Kris.

“She looks very lost, hyung...what are we going to do with her???” Tao asked exactly when Lay spotted the blood flowing from underneath her knees. Seohyun might hurt her legs when she fell down from sky just now.

“We need to help her...” Lay answered on behalf of Kris and he was about to reach out towards her knees, wanting to heal her wound but Kris grabbed his wrist.

“What?” Lay frowned up to him. Shaking his head, Kris let go of his hand and glanced down again to Seohyun. He could clearly see her lovely face right now when Tao had brushed her hair out from her face. She had fainted out of the frustration and she looked so pale but Seohyun was still shining as ever. Her long lashes veiled her eyes that were shut tight and she was breathing slowly on his lap.

“You can’t heal her...or else she’ll know that we’re angels like her...” Kris finally reasoned out after a few minutes mesmerized by her unspeakable beauty.

“Then do you have any idea, hyung? We can’t leave her here...what if somebody else found her here and aware that she’s an angel??? She could be in danger, hyung!” Lay protested again and Kris furrowed to him.

“Who says I’m going to leave her alone? Of course I’m not!” Kris replied, slightly annoyed by Lay when he made him looked like he has no brain at all. Kris sighed shortly and looked down again to Seohyun.

“We’re taking her to Luhan...he knows what to do...” with that, Kris signaled for Chen to help folding in her wings properly to the back of her shoulders again. When Chen finished it, Kris gathered her small body into his arms and lifted her up so easily with bridal style.

-Broken Arrow-

The first thing that came into her sight was the white ceiling above. Seohyun blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes with the florescent lamp before she sat up her body.

“Ouch...” she howled under her breath, feeling her body all gone numb and there was a stingy pain felt upon her knees.

Seohyun looked down to it as she flipped off the blanket from covering her body. Then only she saw the wound had already bandaged with plasters on both top of her knees. She sighed and checked around the room.

It was true. This was her room inside the human house where Luhan and Xiumin were staying with her. But how she ended up here? Seohyun bit her lips and ruffled her hair messily for no answer came to her. Laziness got the best of her and she decided to drop the matter as Seohyun got out from the bed.

“Luhan oppa...” she called out to him once she saw him standing by the kitchen counter, probably chopping something. Luhan glanced over to her and smiled.

“So you woke up? Good...it’s not healthy to stay too long in the bed...” he reminded her with his teasing tone and Seohyun finally managed to laugh a little. Leaning her body next to the windowpane, she peeked outside and realized that the sun was shining so brightly this noon. Seohyun closed her eyes, savoring the calming warmth from it.

“Oppa...who brought me back last night?” Luhan almost drop a glass bottle of milk that he held in his hands when Seohyun suddenly asked. Luckily she was still enjoying the view outside and Luhan arranged his face to look fine again.

“Em...it’s me...” he answered without hesitation. Seohyun looked ahead to him. “Really? How do you find me inside the wood? What are you doing in there?”

“Err...what forest are you talking now, Seohyun sshi? I found you fainted by the street last night...Xiumin and I carried you home and you hurt you knees...that’s all...” Luhan lied to her, holding tight to his promise with Kris when his leader didn’t allow him to tell Seohyun the truth.

But his answer didn’t really manage to clear up the confusion in her head. Seohyun shook it; she didn’t remember falling anywhere near the street but...

“You knocked your head, Seohyun sshi...you might still feeling dizzy by it and couldn’t really remember what had happened...” Luhan cut out her intention to ask further again about the matter. Seohyun pouted.

“It’s not the problem...but I...”

“Why don’t you help me with grocery today? I think you need to go out for a while...refreshing your mind again...” he suggested to her and Seohyun felt no need to argue with him. Indeed, she needs to wind off her mind.

“Yeah...so what kind of thing that can I buy for you?” Seohyun walked nearing him that was now standing in front of the refrigerator, checking the ingredients inside.

“Em...I think I’ll list the items for you...you know the little shop down the street, right? Just buy it there...we’re going to prepare for a welcome party tonight!” Luhan told her excitedly, winking but Seohyun blinked her eyes.

“A...welcome party...for who?” she questioned and Luhan moved to the counter back, jotting down the items list on a piece of paper before he handed it straight to Seohyun with an amount of cash.

“For my old friends...they’re coming to stay here with us...I hope you don’t mind that I didn’t tell you beforehand...” Luhan grinned playfully to her but Seohyun shook her head and took the money alongside with the paper.

“No, of course not...the more the merrier...but...are they human???” she asked hesitantly and Luhan stopped picking up his knife. He dropped his hand and looked up to her again.

“Yeah...they’re just like me...they’re going to be your best friends too...” he assured her and it curved up a relief smile on Seohyun’s lips. She nodded understandingly before she excused herself to the market.

Luhan started whistling to himself, continued with his cooking but then...

“Yah, Luhan ah!!!” he tilted his head to look through the window when his eyes saw the brothers that he missed the most.

“Omo! Yah, all of you!!!” Luhan left the kitchen and walked out straight to the garden in the backyard of his house. Lay was the first to come running to him before they exchanged brotherly hug between them. Chen, Tao and Xiumin rolled their eyes simultaneously from behind the two.

“Welcome, Lay ah! And you! Yah, you shortie! Come here!” as soon as Luhan let go of Lay, he skipped towards Chen and finally hooked his neck into his arm. Chen choked in surprise and punched Luhan on his arm to let go of him.

“Yah, hyung! Stop it! I’m still learning to breathe!” Chen reminded him and Luhan grinned teasingly. He made a high five with Tao before he realized that Xiumin didn’t bring back with him the most important person among the M members.

Luhan glanced around to Xiumin. “Yah, did you leave Kris anywhere?”

Xiumin chuckled while the rest laughed at him. “No, slow poke...Kris excused himself for a while...he said just now that he wanna go check out the market nearby...he said that it’s polite to bring you some souvenirs...”

Luhan snorted upon his explanation. He grinned, feeling silly since it wasn’t the first time Kris ever visited his house here on Earth but then he grabbed Tao by his elbow and started dragging them to walk inside.

-Broken Arrow-

“Vege...table...” Seohyun bit her lips, thinking while she read on the paper that she held in her hand.

“Aish...which one is vegetable? I don’t remember eating vegetable with Luhan oppa...” she mumbled alone and cornered inside the shop to enter the fresh items section.

“Em...ah! Here you are...” Seohyun jumped once happily when she caught sight of a big board hung on top of the wall with a bold font written VEGETABLE.

As she looked down on the rack full with freshly grown vegetable, Seohyun sighed again to herself.

“Aigoo...there are so many of them here...what type of them that Luhan oppa want then?” she questioned herself again, sweeping her eyes all over them before it stopped and Seohyun smiled widely.

“Ah! This look delicious!” she picked up the one colored in dark green and shaped like small tree. Seohyun waved the vegetable in front of her face, playing with it like a rocket until she accidentally slipped it off from her hand.

“Ah! No!” Seohyun spun around, stretching out her hands to catch for the vegetable again but then she stood frozen when another pair of hands was catching it inside his. Seohyun looked up to him and her eyes landed straight on a face of a man, a very tall man that caused Seohyun to crack her neck backward a bit in order to stare directly to him.

She blinked, finding herself was so loss of words as they stared on each other. “Here...I believe this is yours...” until he spoke and held out the vegetable back to Seohyun, then only she was snapped back to reality again.

Seohyun felt herself turning red and she bowed down to him before taking the vegetable back into her hands. “Yeah...thank you for saving my tree...”

The man laughed a bit but quickly covered his mouth with his fist, preventing himself from laughing louder.

“No...it’s not a tree...it’s broccoli...that vegetable...” the man explained to her, pointing a finger down to the little broccoli, still placed inside her palms. Seohyun blinked on it but she finally grinned.

“Oh, really? Ah...forgive me...I’m not very familiar about vegetable and their names...so...” she made an excuse but the man nodded his head understandingly. He came to stand next to her as they both faced the rack together.

“Then do you know what is this?” he tested her one more time by picking up something round and red in color before holding it up in front of Seohyun. She eyed it questioningly but simply shook her head.

“I don’t know...” she answered him honestly and the man smiled again. “Its name is tomato...”

He placed the tomato back to its place as Seohyun nodded with interesting smile on her face. She stared up again to him.

“It seems that you know so much about vegetable...” she complimented his knowledge but the man shook his head, still grinning.

“Nah...of course I know...I’m eating vegetable for all of my life...I’m vegetarian...” he told her but Seohyun frowned.

“Vegetarian?”

“Yeah...it’s a title for somebody that never eat anything else except for vegetables...” he explained to her but Seohyun pouted and shook her head.

“That’s very poor of you...you should really try something else, you know...how about fish or meat??? My friend once cooked for me a dish called steamboat...it’s a mix of seafood, I guess...but it tastes really good...you should really try it and stop being vegetarian...” Seohyun mumbled to him, waving her hands around as she explained but then her eyes stopped on the wall clock hung nearby them.

“Ah! I’m late! Sorry...I think I have to go...” she yelped cutely as Seohyun started picking up any type of the vegetables that were close enough within her reach. The man stood still, watching her clumsiness with a broad smile on his face but then a little boy greeted him.

“Excuse me, adjusshi...you’re blocking my way...” the man looked down to him and stepped aside to give the boy a free space to walk by. Seohyun laughed upon them but she handed a basket filled with those vegetables to the shopkeeper so that she could pack them for her. Meanwhile she was waiting, Seohyun looked back to the man.

“Adjusshi...is that your name?” a frown slightly creased on the man’s forehead when she asked him such a weird question. He wanted to laugh again but he quickly stopped himself, acting cool.

“Em...actually...adjusshi is...”

“There you go, miss... 2200 yen, please...” the shopkeeper had finished packing the vegetables for her and Seohyun handed her the money before she bowed down with smile to her.

“Thank you...” then she waved back to him. “I have to go...thank you so much and bye, adjusshi!”

She was still smiling brightly to him but without giving the man his time to reply, Seohyun left the shop and him carefreely. The man followed her steps with his eyes until she was gone from his sight. He smiled again, thinking how inexperience Seohyun was with human life and language. He shook his head but turning his body back to resume shopping there.

“I have to admit that I’m older than her...but I don’t think I look like an adjusshi...besides, I do have a name...and it’s Kris...” he mumbled to himself, wishing that he could explain the same thing to Seohyun but what to do, she wasn’t there anymore.

But at his second thought, Kris realized that he was going to the same way as her and going to stay in the same place as her so he quickened his pace and grabbed the first thing that he saw to become a souvenir for Luhan. Then Kris paid and walked out from the shop.

He was running until he saw Seohyun was about to enter the front garden of Luhan’s house. It was the same second when Luhan and the rest of the M members stepped out from the door to take a walk around the backyard garden. Luhan looked up and saw Seohyun that stood by the gate, reaching outward to pull it open.

“Ah, Seohyun sshi...you’re back...” he greeted but then his eyes darted over her head and caught of Kris walking towards them too.

“Oh, Kris is here too! Annyeong!!!” Xiumin who didn’t aware of the atmosphere, waved up his hand to smile towards Kris. Seohyun had her eyes frozen on Luhan and the rest of the dashing boys before she noticed that Xiumin was greeting someone that stood behind her and she turned around.

“Annyeong, Xiumin ah...” she met his eyes again and Kris stopped standing exactly beside her. He glanced down on her surprised face before Kris bowed slightly to her.

“Annyeong...we meet again, I see...” Kris told her while Seohyun bit her lips, didn’t really know how to react to their unexpected meeting.

Luhan walked approaching Seohyun and him until he pulled open the gate wide enough for the two to step inside.

“Come on in, Kris ah...Seohyun sshi...em, an introduction for you...” Luhan welcomed them. He was about to start explaining to Seohyun but she turned her body to face Kris and said,

“Are you following me, vegetarian adjusshi?” she voiced out the curiosity felt in her heart. Xiumin, Tao and Chen automatically burst out laughing funnily upon listening to the way Seohyun was addressing their leader. Lay and Luhan fell silent while blinking their eyes on Seohyun and lastly Kris, he dropped his eyes down to her face.

“No, I’m not...and stop calling me like that cause I do have a name...and you heard it already from Luhan just now...it’s Kris...so happy to see you, miss...” Kris introduced himself while Seohyun scratched her hair in confusion.

“Huh? Your name is not adjusshi? Then what is adjusshi means???” she asked again, now turning her face towards Luhan to seek for his explanation and Luhan finally understood the situation. He nodded his head.

“Ah...now, I get it...you met Seohyun sshi at the market, right Kris?” Kris replied him a quick nod and Luhan smiled back to Seohyun.

“Seohyun sshi, adjusshi is actually a polite title or way that the younger use to call the older one...it’s not exactly a name...” he finally explained to her and it cleared off all the confusion inside Seohyun’s head.

Realization on her misunderstanding finally hit her and Seohyun closed her eyes. She quickly looked down to her feet to hide away her embarrassed face from Kris. Kris stood expressionless but Luhan cleared his throat and started introducing them to each other.

“So yeah...Seohyun sshi...as you can see, this is all my friends...first, this is Kris...and Kris...this is Seohyun sshi...” Luhan pointed his hand to Kris and moved it to Seohyun. Seohyun forced her face to look normal again before she raised it up to stare on Kris.

She had her movement simultaneously with Kris until they ended up staring on each other again like they did in the shop before. Now the misunderstanding hit her double in time. First, she mistaken his name by ‘adjusshi’ and second, she accused him for following her here when Kris was actually the friend of Luhan that was going to stay with them from now on!

Seohyun felt her blood rushing up towards her cheeks out of the embarrassment and she quickly looked away from him. Kris was feeling something different in his heart too and he gulped down the awkward feeling before turned looking on Luhan.

“Here...you souvenir...” he said and passed Luhan the plastic bag before he walked away to enter the house again.

“Oh, thanks...but you really shouldn’t bother yourself with this, Kris...” Luhan grinned, peeking down inside the bag to look at his souvenir but then he narrowed his eyes on it.

“What? Your souvenir is a chilli sauce, Kris?” he questioned weirdly to him but Kris had long disappeared from behind the door. Of course he didn’t really know what he was buying for him, he just busy chasing after Seohyun a few minutes ago.

“Luhan oppa...here are the things that you asked me to buy...” then Luhan turned back to Seohyun as she too, handed him with a plastic bag from the same market. Luhan took it before he watched in confusion when Seohyun slightly bowed to the rest of his brothers but didn’t wait for any further introduction with them. Instead, she simply entered the house.

Xiumin turned to look at Luhan who gazed confusedly on Seohyun’s and Kris’s plastic bags.

-Broken Arrow-

Amber danced in the middle of the dance floor. Her body moved around wildly, following the rhythm of the loud music breaking inside the whole club. Out of nowhere, her cell phone vibrated. She could still feel it inside her pocket though she was quite taken over by the alcohol influenced on her. She pulled out her phone and picked it up at once.

“Yo! Hello, Krystal ah!” she greeted with her voice deep in intoxication.

“Am...Amber ah! Please!!! Help me!!! Help me, Amber ah!!!” but Amber stopped moving. Her body stayed frozen once she heard the voice of her best friend was shouting for her help.

“Yah! Krystal ah! Where are you??? What is happening to you???” Amber started pushing her way out from the dancing crowd. The second thing that she expected to reply her was Krystal’s voice but unfortunately, it was the evil laughter of a man.

“Hahahaha! Annyeong, Amber ah...you don’t want Krystal to die??? Then come over here, babe!” and click! The line was shut off.

Amber dropped her hand as she was staring in major panic upon her cell phone. She scanned around the club nervously.

“Dammit! Krystal ah!!!” she shouted on top of her lungs before she stormed out from the club. As she ran, a pair of mysterious eyes was actually in the middle of observing her movement.

Kai took a sip on his beer before his own phone was ringing. He picked it up while Amber finally disappeared from behind the club entrance.

“Kai ah...it’s all done now...we informed Amber already...and I think she’s rushing here now...” Chanyeol informed him from the other line and Kai smirked.

“She is...let’s just wait for her...” and he cut off the line after catching the suffering scream of a girl, Krystal.

To be continued...

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Hello, readers! First of all, thank you so much for all the compliments and lovely comments from the previous chapter! I'm so glad that everyone liked it...and I hope to hear the same for this recent chapter...hehe...okay, I know...it's long and somehow the AFF's new font setting is getting on my nerve! Grrr! So I'm truly sorry if the font disturb your reading, okay...feel free to change the font according to your comfortability...and thanks also to all the new subbies! Love you guys so much!!! Annyeong! =D