Ara remained rooted in her position as the incident which happened just seconds ago flashed through her mind. Had Kris.... actually hugged her? She lifted a trembling hand up to feel the frantic pounding of her heart. Shaking her head, the girl continued down to the kitchen in a daze. Ara had been so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the approaching steep spiral stairs.

" Will you at least watch where you're going? " A pair of strong arms caught Ara in time before she could fall. The girl gasped at the exasperated voice as she tumbled backwards into Kai's opened arms. She met his familiar dark eyes and her emotions rose. Ara missed Kai's arrogant smirks and his warm behavior. However, the man stepped back immediately after Ara recovered her balance thus creating a distance between them. She bravely held onto his arms in determination before he could walk away. Kai immediately tensed up at her touch, the veins in his muscular tendons straining.

" Please just listen to what I have to say..... please... Kai. "

Kai fell still when he heard the tears in Ara's voice. His heart ached for her as he felt how weak her hold on his arm was. The amount of worry and anxiety from the behavior that everyone had given her including himself must have affected her badly. Kai could not bring himself to ignore Ara any longer. 

" Explain. " He finally muttered wearily. 

Ara breathed a sigh of relief when Kai finally replied. He had always been an amazing friend towards her, a comforting shoulder to lean on. Ara did not want to lose this friendship.

" I know I should have stood up for myself. Not doing that made everyone including you suspect me more. However, give the circumstances, my explanation would have just sounded like a weak form of retaliation. I didn't know how to convince everyone that I hadn't done what they think I did. " 

Ara looked down at the floor when Kai remained as still as a statue. He probably doesn't believe me. The girl turned around dejectedly but a restraining hand appeared on her shoulder before she could walk away.

" I'm... I'm sorry. I was too much of a jerk to understand you. " Kai whispered guiltily. " Treating you the way I did honestly killed me, I swear. " 

Ara turned around to meet his sincere blazing eyes. " You believe me? "

Kai sighed as he gently cupped her face with his broad hands.

" I always did. "

-

Kris turned away from the couple. Seeing the intimacy between Kai and Ara did indeed fire sparks of jealousy in his heart but he had to admit, he felt relieved. At least Ara had someone by her side now. He knew that Kai would look after the girl. The tall man sighed as he recounted his rash embrace with her. He could still smell the soft scent of her on his shirt. Kris did not know what overcame him to pull Ara into his arms at that moment. However, he had not regretted his actions one bit. The promise that he had made to Ara was a serious one. Kris was determined to get to the bottom of Naeyong's attack. If Ara wasn't the culprit, it would be able to prove her innocence. If it unfortunately proved to be her, well, at least Ara wouldn't have to be unfairly accused. He shut the door of the study room with a click.

Sehun tousled his hair absorbedly as he leaned against the banister. Naeyong's room was packed with 9 guys and it became overbearingly stuffy in there. Just then, a small figure caught his eye. Ara had exited her room and was now walking slowly toward him. Sehun rose his eyebrows. The man had known all along that Ara was innocent. It was obviously not in her character to perform such an act. In addition, he had a fair guess of who the attacker might be. However, Sehun didn't plan on revealing his thoughts so early. One, he wanted to make sure that his theory was accurate before voicing it out. Two, he wasn't sure about his feelings towards the girl before him right now. Until then, he would continue being this way towards Ara. Cold and uncaring.

" Is Naeyong better? " her soft voice rang out hesitantly.

Sehun remained silent as he gave a curt shake of his head. Ara's face fell slightly as she bit on her lower lip.

" Why? Feeling guilty? " He smirked. The girl glared up at him and opened to retaliate. However, she seemed to change her mind and closed it again.

" Ran out of excuses didn't you? " 

The girl composed herself as she continued glaring at the rude guy.

" I didn't do it. It's your business if you believe it or not. " 

Sehun stared at her retreating figure. You're really confusing me

-

Kris sighed in frustration as he flipped through yet another page of a dusty book. Even after studying chapters filled with history of the power origins, he couldn't find a single clue regarding Naeyong's attack. All the books stated the same thing. It was impossible for different guardians to have the same power unless they were siblings. Kris leaned back heavily on the quilted velvet chair as he stared at the stars twinkling in the dark sky. He remembered Ara's face when he had brought her up to look at the stars before. Her face had been lighted up with admiration and he would never forget that memory. For some reason, every single second spent with Ara had been precious. Kris had never experienced this magnitude of feelings for anyone ever, not even Naeyong. Was it possible for him to love two women at the same time? The love was different though. The feelings he had for Naeyong were more brotherly than anything. It had taken some time for him to realize that. The feelings he had for Ara, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. Kris contemplated if Ara would turn out to be the true culprit. Even then, he realized that he would want to protect her. It was obvious.

He exited his room and headed to Naeyong's. Crouching down beside the girl, Kris gently her forehead. 

" I'm sorry for everything that has happened Nae. But I promise you one thing. I would never stop loving you, as a brother. "

Meanwhile, Luhan grinned to himself as he rested his hands behind his head. Duizhang has finally sorted out his feelings. 

Short double update because I really appreciate all my readers! <3