Kai glanced down at the girl. Ara was fast asleep, her head on his shoulder and her shoulders heaving up and down slowly as she breathed. She must have been exhausted from her ordeal with the shadows. The man recalled the very first time they had met. Kris had brought her here to the mansion and Kai remembered that the girl was still in her school uniform. Though he had not taken any special notice of her in the beginning, Kai, like the other guys, had found Ara to be extremely pretty. The fact that she did not shy away from them just intrigued him further.

Ara stirred a little as she muttered some incoherent words.

" Don't ... it hurts. " The girl frowned as she shuddered in her sleep.

Kai stared at her, worried that she might be having a nightmare. He brushed the hair which had been covering her face as he examined her facial features. Her thick straight brows were knotted together as she continued mumbling. Ara trembled slightly as the wind blew in from the adjacent window. Kai quickly pulled up the blanket around her petite shoulders before she could catch a cold.

" Sleep tight "

" Duizhang, can you not go please? " Tao muttered as he stood at the door. Kris sighed as he gave the maknae a reassuring pat on the shoulder. " I made a promise, Tao. "

" Take care of Naeyong... and Ara. "

The leader got in his car and drove off under the 10 pairs of reluctant eyes.

-

Sehun sighed as he watched his leader leave. He wanted to tell Kris everything he knew about Naeyong's attack but it seemed as though he had been too late. With Kris gone from the mansion, Ara would be in much more danger. Sehun knew that this time, he had no choice but to help Kai in keeping Ara safe. The man decided that it was time for a talk with the boys.

" Listen to everything that I have to say with an open mind. " Sehun warned his brothers beforehand as everyone turned towards him in suspicion and curiosity.

" Aww man. I was being such an to her! " Chen complained loudly. " Why did Naeyong have to do that? "

Sehun rolled his eyes. " You accused her even before Naeyong woke up. "

" Still, Nae shouldn't have lied to us! " Tao scuffed his foot against the floor with a hurt expression." Ara must have felt so horrible. "

" Naeyong is obviously doing this because of Kris. Don't be too hard on her. " Sehun stated calmly.

" So what now? " D.O scanned the faces of his brothers. " What can we do? "

-

" It's time for dinner. "

Ara opened her eyes groggily as Kai tapped her gently on the cheek. 

" You go ahead, the others still hate me for hurting Naeyong. " The girl sighed as she looked down.

Kai remained silent as he contemplated Ara's words. It was true, Ara being there would only make the atmosphere worse for her.

" I'll save some food for you, wait for me. " He finally said.

" Where's Ara? " Xiumin asked when Kai sat at the table alone. 

" Why are you looking for her? To continue making her feel bad about Naeyong? " The man replied sourly as he settled down in his seat.

" We know that she's innocent. " Luhan replied softly after a quick glance at Kai. " Sehun told us. "

Kai widened his eyes at the cold man. " And how did you know? "

" I have my ways. " Sehun smirked as he met Kai's eyes. 

" I'll go fetch her down! " Tao volunteered before he shot out of the dinning room.

" Nice attitude change. " Kai muttered sarcastically as they glared at him.

Ara gasped as Tao held on to her wrist. " Didn't you- "

" We know that you're innocent. Sehun told us! I promise that I will make it up to you for being a jerk. " Tao replied confidently as he dragged the girl out of her room down the stairs. 

Sehun?

" Hi. " Ara muttered awkwardly as Tao pushed her towards the crowded table. The girl glanced at the tall men looking at her and noted their facial expressions. They were ranging from ashamed to guilty to regretful. 

" Let's eat now that everything's fine! " Chanyeol hastily called out to break the silence.

The clinging of knives and forks filled the air as dinner began. It was only several minutes later when Ara finally pinpointed the wrong feeling she got. Kris wasn't here.

Tao placed a huge drumstick on Ara's plate before proceeding to pour orange juice for the girl. Ara hide a grin as she gladly accepted it. So this was his way of apologizing.

" Where's Naeyong? " The girl asked hesitantly. 

" She's still weak so we bring food up for her instead. " Suho quickly replied as he glanced at his sister. He wanted to make things right again.

Ara nodded as she chewed on her food slowly. 

" What about Kris? "

At that question, everyone around the table fell completely silent. Even Kai avoided her gaze.

" He's... er he's visiting some relatives in the South. " D.O replied as he kept his gaze fixed on his plate of potatoes. The rest of the guys nodded in agreement while Ara narrowed her eyes. It almost seemed like they were hiding something from her. 

" He'll be back soon. " Kai added. " At least that's what I hope. " The last part of his sentence was muttered so softly that it was out of Ara's hearing range.

" How about some star gazing outside tonight? " Chanyeol exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air.

" We can't leave the mansion, it's too dangerous for A- " 

" It's too troublesome. " Chen stomped heavily on Tao's feet as he interrupted the maknae, ignoring his pained expression. " Not tonight. "

" Let's play a game instead. Have You Ever. "

" Nice idea Chen, I really want to know what Ara has not done yet. " Baekhyun chuckled as he looked unabashedly at the girl.

The 11 guys gathered around the table with glasses of wine in their hands.

" I'll start. " Baekhyun announced. " I have committed a crime before. "

Immediately, everyone grinned as they kept their fingers up in the air. Ara winced as she lowered her pinky. Somehow, she had a feeling that she was going to lose this. Badly.

" I have killed a person before. " Sehun muttered with a poker face. All 11 pairs of hands remained intact while Ara gaped at them in astonishment. " You have taken a life before? "

" It's unavoidable sometimes, Ara. " Kai mumbled as he sensed her discomfort.

" One more finger down for you. " Tao reminded the stunned girl.

" I have gone to full base with a member of the opposite before. " Lay smirked.

The boys laughed as Ara's face flushed a crimson red before she slowly lowered her third finger. The girl didn't fail to notice that she was the only one who had to do it.

To her left, Kai exhaled deeply while glaring at Lay. " Our lifestyles are kind of complicated. " He explained tensely, observing Ara's expression.

The girl remembered one of the maids mentioning on her first day here that the 12 masters were all professional heartbreakers. It shouldn't have been a suprise given their blessed looks and status. Still, it made her feel slightly out of place among them.

Finally, it was Ara's turn. " I... I have obtained a perfect score in a school examination before. " She knew that it was ridiculous thing to say but that was all Ara could think of.

Groans were heard as every single one of the guys lowered their finger.

" Seriously Ara? That isn't fair. " Tao whined as he unwillingly lowered his pinky as well.

" I'm still the one losing here. " The girl replied sticking her tongue out at him as he beamed.

" I have made out with a member of the opposite in a public place before. " Luhan stated. Ara widened her eyes at his statement. With his boyish and innocent face, who would have thought that Luhan was capable of such actions?

" Sorry Ara. " He winked as Ara who was left with only 7 fingers yet again, was the only one who had to lower another finger. Turning her head to compare Kai's score, she realized that he was exactly on par with the rest of the guys.

" You have done what Luhan mentioned too? "

Kai cleared his throat as he shot a death glare to the guy. " Ahem. It was a long time ago. "

" I see. " 

With all eyes on Xiumin who was next, no one saw when the glass of wine slipped through Luhan's nimble fingers. It was only when the beautifully sculpted glass shattered into a thousand shards against the edge of the marble floor that everyone's eyes flashed to Luhan. The unmusical tinkling of the broken glasses pierced the deadly silence as Luhan's face arranged into a look of terror and despair.

" Kris is in trouble. "