The Inescapable Beat

The Sun has risen, marking another brand new day.  The house was still relatively quiet with only a few clattering sounds coming from the kitchen. It was a Sunday morning and even though EXO slept in late after last night’s event, they were already up. As for Lana, the guys thought she must still be in bed since they only reached home 5 in the morning.

They gathered for breakfast, everyone except Lana and immediately, Mrs Yoon noticed. “Joonmyun, can you check whether Lana’s up?”

“It’s okay Mrs Yoon. Let her sleep more since she had a long night last night.” Joonmyun replied.

The guys took their seats and nodded when Joonmyun mentioned about Lana. “Yes Mrs Yoon, she must be tired.”

“Oh? What did you guys do to her last night?” Mrs Yoon asked as she placed a plate on the table.

“We brought her into the forest.” Sehun answered.

Mrs Yoon almost dropped a fork. “What?! The forest is dangerous for her.”

“We have 12. The filthy cold blooded won’t even come near us.” Kris spoke confidently.

“Kris –“ Mrs Yoon sighed. However, she let her worry passed and asked another question. “So, you told her everything already?”

“Yes.” Tao said.

“Good morning, mom.” Mira entered and sat in.

“Morning sweetie...”

Mira looked around to find Lana but she wasn’t in so she casually remarked. “Wow, just a day here and she already shows her true colours; waking up late and skipping breakfast.”

“Mira, she’s tired...” Kyungsoo explained. “She was out the whole night.”

“Out? Where?” Mira became interested out of a sudden.

Baekhyun grabbed a sausage before replying. “Forest.”

“Forest with you guys? In the middle of the night?” She asked and received nods. “Great, I’ve been living with you guys for years and you never brought me to the forest ever.” She muttered in envy.

Jongdae chuckled. “We did –“

“But you chickened out, remember?” Chanyeol added. “You started crying barely 3 steps into the forest. Tell me how are we supposed to bring you if you keep crying and asking to leave instantly?”

Mira groaned. “But she went to the forest –“

“Because she’s brave, Mira... She’s really brave.” Luhan replied, causing Mira to feel even more infuriated. She slammed her chair backwards and was about to leave when suddenly a voice entered the room.

Lana came in dressed in a loose oversized sleeveless top with jeans and her hair was neatly tied up. She looked surprisingly refreshed. “Good morning.” She greeted with a sweet smile.

EXO was surprised to see her. They thought she was probably too tired after last night but apparently she was up early. “Oh Lana, you’re up. I thought you would be tired.” Mrs Yoon said and led her to sit.

“I’m fine.” Lana spoke and grabbed a seat beside Jongin. She smiled and greeted. “Morning...”

However, Jongin stared at his and only gave a nod of acknowledgement. Lana shrugged and went on with breakfast. As soon as she was about to eat, Mira pushed her seat noisily and walked away; all grumpy and moody yet again. It was only day two but she already hated having Lana around in the house. Her presence only meant that she would lose EXO’s attention. Furthermore, Lana was supposedly the special one. This irked her more especially when the guys had to deal with everything concerning Lana’s safety.

After breakfast, EXO lazily occupied the living room while Lana helped Mrs Yoon and the maids in the kitchen with the washing and clearing of the plates. Even though they refused her help and requested for her to join EXO instead, Lana insisted without hesitation.

While Lana was wiping the dishes dry with the towel, Mrs Yoon approached her and asked. “How was last night?”

Taken aback by her sudden question, Lana stared at her for a while before answering. “It was okay.”

“Just okay? Did they tell you everything?”

“Tell me everything about? Am I supposed to know anything?”

Mrs Yoon vehemently shook her head and stuttered. “I...I...mean....so you know who they are right?”

“Err yeah...” Lana replied but she eyed Mrs Yoon suspiciously as though she was keeping something away from her.

Mrs Yoon let out a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood a little before saying. “They’re nice guys, though they can be mischievous and noisy at times, but they’re good guys.”

“They seem nice so far.” Lana smiled and agreed.

Back in the living room, Luhan thought of a great activity to fill their Sunday. So, he called out s and shared. “Hey guys, how about we bring Lana to tour around the area?”

“That sounds like a good idea! Since it is the daytime, maybe we could show her more of the forest and the surrounding area.” Sehun exclaimed.

However, Kris cut his excitement by saying. “Not the forest. It is still too risky. We’re trying to contain her scent.” He remembered Mrs Yoon’s warn and realised it was indeed a rash act last night to have brought Lana into the forbidden forest. Yes, there were 12 of them but they must never underestimate whatever that was going to come for them and Lana.

Joonmyun nodded and added. “Kris Hyung is right. Last night was actually really dangerous to have her in the forest.”

“Then what should we do today?” Jongdae asked.

Minseok scratched his head and spoke. “We need to know more about Lana, like what she her likes and dislikes. I don’t know, maybe an activity where we can relax and talk as well as have fun?”

Baekhyun tapped his chin and mumbled. “What can we do?”

Jongin stood up out of a sudden and casually said. “I’m going to wash the trucks.”

“Trucks..?” Chanyeol chimed in.

In a flash, the rest of them looked at one another and roared in laughter.

Kyungsoo then yelled loudly. “Lana! Lana!”

Surprised that her name was called suddenly, Lana quickly finished the last bit of the work in the kitchen and headed out to where the guys were at. She scanned their faces and they looked happy and bright which made her wonder what was the occasion.

“Yes?” She said softly.

“Lana, are you free? Since you like washing so much even after we tell you to leave the jobs to the maids, how about you help us wash the trucks?”

“Wash what?”  She asked in shocked.

“Trucks...” Tao chuckled.

EXO left the house and went to the garage located beside. Lana followed them without asking more. When she was outside, she stood in front of the garage. It was huge and the roof looked really rusty and worn out. Yixing stepped forward and pressed a button at the side of what looked like the entrance. In an instant, the garage door opened with a loud screeching sound from all the rustic metal. Lana watched closely until she saw three huge trucks inside the garage. The size was commendable but of course it wasn’t the size which caught her off guard. The trucks were absolutely filthy.

“When was the last time you guys washed the trucks?” Lana gulped.

Joonmyun patted her back and replied. “A long time, ever since we don’t really need trucks to travel...”

Chanyeol shouted gleefully. “Man, I miss these machines.”

“I hope the trucks still work!” Baekhyun added.

Meanwhile, Sehun asked. “Hyungs, can we go for a ride later?”

EXO immediately skipped their way inside the garage excitedly while Lana glanced weirdly at them. She then turned her attention back at Joonmyun and asked. “What do you mean by you don’t really need trucks to travel?”

Kris sighed and answered. “You didn’t pay attention to whatever we said last night.” Lana tilted her head and stared blankly. “We run. We just run to wherever we wish to go. We run faster than humans. We are a lot stronger too.”

Lana finally understood. She then requested shyly. “Can I see how fast you guys are?”

“Not now, Lana. Not now.” Kris smirked, grasped her hand and led her inside the garage. “We wash the trucks first okay?”

Jongin fixed the water hose while some of the guys were already holding sponges and the water hose to wash. Since there were three trucks, four of the guys were assigned to one. After which, it was a battle between which team managed to have the cleanest truck at the end of the day. Lana could choose whichever she wanted to help out with. She was able to choose between, Luhan, Sehun, Jongin and Kyungsoo or Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Kris and Tao or lastly; Joonmyun, Yixing, Jongdae and Minseok. Finally she decided to go with Luhan because out of all the guys, she found Luhan to be the sweetest among them. He was gentle to her and spoke in a calm manner as compared to some of them, who behaved too rowdy that it sort of intimidated her in a way.

Luhan felt so good when Lana chose to be in his team even though it was something trivial. Undeniably, he felt strong attraction for her right from the beginning. She was not just pretty but the way she speaks and looks at each and every one of them innocently only prove that she was real, a real human.

So, he handed her a towel and winked. “We must win this okay?”

Instantaneously, the guys got into action. They scrubbed, washed, wiped, vacuumed and polished the trucks. Being in the same team as Luhan, Sehun, Kyungsoo and Jongin; Lana was not much of a help since they did most of the job for her. However, she wasn’t going to be a free-rider. She picked up the sponge and cleaned the tyres. Because it was so dirty, she had to really scrub it hard. Thankfully, she was quite a strong girl which amazed the guys especially when she didn’t show any sign of fatigue despite the lack of sleep the night before.

Sehun took the hose to rinse the soap with water. As he the tap, he underestimated the water strength. As a result, the water got splashed everywhere.

“YAH SEHUN!” Kyungsoo shouted as he shielded the water using his hands.

Luhan saw that the water was coming straight for Lana and with his quick senses and reflexes; he pulled her away from Sehun and stood protectively in front. Instead, the water got splashed on him.

“Sehun...” He hissed.

Sehun blinked innocently and apologised. “Sorry Hyung, it wasn’t on purpose.”

Meanwhile, Lana stood behind Luhan and she was still in shocked at what just happened. Luhan was still holding her hand and she looked at both their hands holding one another. She blushed and turned shy.

What is he doing? Oh my God...

Lana’s thoughts entered Luhan’s head and immediately he let go her hand. He didn’t want to scare her off. He thought maybe she didn’t like the sudden physical contact and it was probably making her uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry.” Luhan muttered and turned around to face Lana.

Lana shook her head and replied. “No, don’t apologise –“ She paused and then gathered her courage to gaze his hazel brown eyes. “Thank you.”

From afar, Jongin watched the both of them secretly. His heart was beating at a normal pace but someone’s heart wasn’t. It was beating so fast that it made Jongin annoyed. Was it really just annoyed?  Or was it jealousy? Either way, he wasn’t happy. The fact that he could feel Lana’s heartbeat and feelings was making him extra attentive of her.  It wasn’t like he could choose not to. The strange connection he had with her was already ingrained in him. He could not avoid it.

It was inescapable.

They continued with their respective job. Lana got back to scrubbing the last bit of dirt from the tyres and finally done with it. She stretched her back tiredly and smiled proudly seeing that the tyres were squeaky clean.

“I’m done.” She announced.

She took a step backward; however, the water Sehun used to wash the trucks has not dried up. The floor was wet and slippery. She didn’t realise her slip until someone caught her waist preventing her from falling to the floor.

“Be careful –“ He said.

Lana stared right at Jongin’s eyes. They were so close that their noses almost brushed against one another. “Th-thank y-you.” She stuttered.

Jongin made sure she was all steady before letting go off her. Without breathing a word, he turned his back and walked away. Lana, on the other hand, was so nervous after seeing his face up close. His eyes were absolutely mesmerising and his lips were luscious. She didn’t know why but the physical contact with these guys was only sending butterflies in her stomach. Was it because she never really had any interaction with guys before? Maybe that was why she was quite awkward and shy around them.

As Jongin walked away, he smiled silently at what just happened. Because of his innate ability to feel Lana’s heartbeat, he was pleasantly surprised that her heart was beating really fast when they were close. At least his mind was now at ease because he knew her heart fluttered not only for Luhan but for him as well.

Jongin still has a chance, he thought.

To be continued