Thirty minutes passed until Hongjung finally announced that the preparations were finished and instructed Paro to undress and take place on the bed that would be covered with the glass cap, that was hanging down the ceiling for now. Thirty minutes long Paro had an internal battle with her instinct and the various emotions she still didn’t understand, trying her hardest not to jump at someone seeking comfort or to flee the room and run away to find Hyunseung, who still hadn’t returned.

She didn’t do any of those, nor did she show anyone her inner turmoil to the others present in the room. Though she was in a daze, everyone assumed that the girl was probably upset because of Hyunseung’s absence and didn’t want to bother her by asking about it. They comforted her and talked to her during the half hour in an attempt to distract her. Paro’s responses were even later and slower than usual, mostly because she wasn’t able to take in anything, nor generate a response quickly as she also avoided eye contact with them. The lie she told moments earlier left a bitter taste in and an unsettling feeling in her chest.

“Are you ready, Paro?” Hongjung asked the girl.

With a jolt, Paro snapped out of her thoughts. She gazed at the female in front of her for a while as she extended her hand for the girl to take. After a few seconds of silence passed as Paro gazed at the girl’s face that was always smiling gently and gracefully, before glancing briefly at the hand at taking it. She slipped down the bed she sat on and onto her feet. Slowly she walked over to the bed that was surrounded by heavy equipment and devices and slipped out of the last piece of clothing she wore, right in front of the bed.

Once she laid down on the white sheetless bed, Paro glanced at Jaeli briefly, whom nodded in response. Though she was smiling at her, the Banshee’s eyes were serious and unsettled. Paro’s eyes moved over to Baeri and Chaima, whom smiled at her genuinely, telling her that they would be right beside her. The boys as well joined the murmurs and Junhyung even planted a kiss on the girl’s forehead.

“When we’re done here, I’ll teach you how to iron properly.” He told her and smiled.

“Yah. Hyung, I already promised her.” Dongwoon complained.

Paro smiled at the two and even let out a sweet giggle as the glass came down, surrounding her completely. Doojoon who held the girl’s hand was forced to release her and retreat, before the glass detached his hand from his arm. Gikwang waved at her before retreating, while Yoseob tapped the glass to get her attention and made a funny expression at her in an attempt to cheer her up. When he saw Paro smile, he as well stepped back slightly feeling accomplished.

Once the glass was down and surrounded her completely, Paro heard the others fall silent. The snoring and humming of the devices around her were the only sound that was left for her to hear. She closed her eyes to the nostalgic sounds, remembering her days in the capsule before the lab caught fire, before meeting everyone. The days when her instinct was the only thing she could trust, because she couldn’t understand the various other sensations she felt.

The sudden dripping of water on the skin of her legs forced her to snap out of her thoughts. She tilted her head slightly and saw water running, slowly forming a puddle on the bed soaking her feet and legs. Soon enough the top of the bed Paro was lying on was completely wet. The water level kept rising, and Paro started floating on the water surface until she could touch the glass with her hands. She started to feel restless as her room for breathing became more and more cramped.

Paro’s hand started to move and tap against the glass slowly at first but quickened the pace once the air to breathe was almost nonexistent. The girl was panicking as her heartbeat increased and her breathing became irregular. Her head whipped from side to side, as the water level increased. Her eyes expressed helplessness and fear, while the regret was still lingering as well.

Hearing the tapping against the glass, Gikwang jumped to his feet from the corner he sat in and made his way to the bed. His reflexes were faster than the rest who arrived seconds later, with the exception of Yoseob and Chaima who went to search for the illusionist.. They watched Paro’s last bubble of air disappear and the water entered and nose. They saw her starting to choke on the water and cough violently.

Doojoon had immediately taken action and took a pen from the table. He drew some symbols on his hand and touched the metal table with that same hand. The metal bended and wrapped around it to create an armored fist. He pulled back and lashed at the glass in an attempt to break it, but his punch was stopped in midair. He looked up with fierce eyes, filled with fury at Jaeli whom had wrapped solid tendrils of the shadows around his arms. Hongjung shot him an apologetic look while she looked after Paro.

“Don’t worry Paro, you can breathe in that water.” Hongjung told her.

Paro didn’t hear her at first and felt her lungs being filled with water. Seconds later she realised that it wasn’t just water. It was a substance she was strangely familiar with. She stopped panicking and tapping tapping the glass and closed her eyes for a moment. Dongwoon misunderstood this when he saw her arm drop and was about to rush forward when he felt his feet unable to move.

A glance down wasn’t even needed since he knew that Jaeli had chained him to the floor with the shadows. Junhyung as well found himself unable to move his legs, while the movement of all of Gikwang’s limbs were sealed, since he was phyisically much stronger than the others. The four shot sharp looks at the Banshee who didn’t even spare them a glance. Baeri was the only one who didn’t make any movement to free Paro, since she trusted her friend. Despite her attitude, Jaeli showed that she did care for the girl’s life, an innocent life. Besides Hongjung was there as well.

Soon enough Paro’s eyes opened as she gazed at her surroundings curiously. The liquid was familiar, almost the exact same as she had been in since her creation. Strange enough she could breathe in it, but also felt lighter and fresher in it compared to being outside. Her body automatically reacted to the liquid that was optimized to preserve her body functions. She saw Baeri and Hongjung smiling at her and strangely enough relaxed.

When they saw the girl relaxed and curious expression, the four males relaxed their tense muscles as well and stepped back slightly. Hyunseung’s words were ringing in the back of their minds, while they also trusted, or at least wanted to trust, Jaeli. She wasn’t one to harm the innocent, they knew that very well, but after living with her for the past week, they developed a brotherly affection for this girl, wanting to protect her, guide her and raise her. Doojoon was sure he wasn’t the only one. Even Dongwoon had matured a lot after living with someone much younger than him.

About a minute later, a device with an arm shaped like half a circle moved down, until the arch was bent over the glass lid at the foot of the bed. It shone down a grey light in a straight line from left to right. Slowly the arm moved up to the other side of the bed as the light crept up Paro’s body towards her head. Once above her head, it moved down once more back to the girl’s toes.

At the movement upwards Paro only stared at the device and but didn’t react much at all. When it moved back down though, all of her muscles tensed as she wrapped her arms around herself. The girl whimpered in pain and when it moved down her chest area, she let out a muffled scream. Hearing this, everyone in the room, including Jaeli tensed. She and Hongjung were forced to calm down though, since one wrong movement could be very harmful to Paro.

Paro’s screams stopped once the arm was down her legs and moving over her feet. Gikwang’s face had fallen completely as he had watched her squirming and screaming in pain. He could swear he saw tears in her eyes, but wasn’t sure because the tank was filled with water. Once her screaming stopped, he watched the girl pull up her knees, still with her arms around her and roll up. Her eyes closed and her face still twitching in pain. The experiments continued without causing the girl any discomfort anymore, nonetheless the boys kept a close watch on her.

* * * * *

About an hour later, Paro was already dressed up again by Esmee and Baeri, while Jaeli and Hongjung discussed the results of the experiments The boys waited patiently in the main hall, everyone of them restless. The results better be promising, since Paro was hurt badly by it. Doojoon couldn’t forgive himself for letting her get hurt, even though there was no way Carlo nor anyone else would have let him interfere. His shoulders sank in shame as he came to a realisation.

“I broke the promise.” He muttered in a low voice.

Gikwang had heard his words and cursed softly. “We did, not only you.”

“Hyunseung-hyung even disappeared.” Dongwoon added.

“He was the only one who strongly disapproved of this though,” were Junhyung’s words.

It was then that Paro arrived in the hall again, to the boys’ dismay, she was pushed in a wheelchair by Baeri and accompanied by Esmee whom was carrying a bag in each hand. She looked worried about the dark haired and every one of them could see it. Baeri as well had noticed the questioning gazes from the four men and nodded with a small smile to assure them that she was okay.

* * * * *

Chaima and Yoseob had left the laboratory to find the absent illusionist, worried that he might either hurt himself or someone else. Despite being one of the rational members, they knew that Hyunseung was one of the most irrational when angered to the point he’d just leave the house to calm himself down. They knew from experience what he was capable of when angered to that point. He was usually the silent one who bottled up all his complaints and frustrations until they’d reach the limit where he would explode.

Those were the moments Hyunseung would seek a silent spot, where he could relieve his stress. How he did it and where he’d go was different every time. Neither Yoseob nor Chaima had a clue where he could be, so they decided to walk by the spots they knew he had been before. The first being a playground not far from the house, the second being a bench in the park of Shunkan and the list goes on.

Where they found Hyunseung was at the river where he sat at the side, gazing at the water surface. There was a trail of destruction in the woods behind the river, which was most likely the way he had relieved his stress. Branches were lying down lifelessly, trees had nasty cuts, plants were destroyed and rocks were smashed. Yoseob and Chaima had arrived at the opposite side of the river and jumped over it, using their abilities since Chaima lacked the patience to use the wooden bridge. Not long after, they were standing behind Hyunseung.

“She was looking for you.” Chaima started trying to limit the irritation in her voice.

There was no response from Hyunseung, causing the tall girl to inhale a sharp breath trying to calm down her nerves. Yoseob placed a hand on her shoulder and continued.

“Let’s go home, Paro’ll be arriving in a bit. She was worried about you, you know?” He continued in Chaima’s stead.

The words still had no effect on Hyunseung, so Yoseob continued.

“That girl even lied to us. She wanted you to be there with her, but she told us she was fine.”

He hadn’t expected these words and it caused him to eye Yoseob, trying to make out whether he was lying or not. If it were true, this would be Paro’s first lie. He even caused her to worry about him. His dark eyes locked with Yoseob’s questioning the sincerity of his words. The spellcaster though, saw right through his antics.

“You know I’m speaking the truth.” He assured Hyunseung with a smile.

Chaima let out a sigh and turned his back towards the illusionist. Before she walked away, she turned her head to look back at her friend who stole a glance at her.

“For your information, Jang Hyunseung, you look pathetic right now.” The pyrokinetic informed her before turning around.

She started walking back, while Yoseob extended his hand for Hyunseung to take. The male glanced at it for a moment and let out a sigh before taking it. The two men eyed each other for a moment before they followed the hot headed female whom was almost stomping angrily as she walked. Yoseob couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, while Hyunseung remained silent as he walked.

When they arrived home, the three of them started making dinner since they had skipped lunch. They hadn’t even noticed their hunger until they were standing in the fridge and figured that the rest must be hungry as well. Though Hyunseung’s mood still wasn’t the best, Yoseob and Chaima managed to prepare a meal normally, while they talked as well. He had even talked back at times, though most of them were orders and instructions.

About two hours later, they were done with most of the preparations and sat at the kitchen table with a drink each of them. That was also when they heard the front door opening and  the voices and other noises coming from the hall. Yoseob and Chaima almost ran to the door, while Hyunseung reluctantly followed them. Greetings were exchanged with each other and at the sound of Paro’s voice he unconsciously smiled.

Upon arriving in the hallway however, his smile faded as soon as it came. He stared at the scene of the girl on Gikwang’s back. Even though she was dressed normally and dolled up, probably by Esmee, she looked exhausted. Her eyes were red and swollen, while her skin was paler than usual. He noticed her trembling hands on Gikwang’s shoulders. When his eyes met Paro’s the anger in him awakened once again. It was fueled even more, with Paro’s smile at him. The smile that told him that everything was okay. A peaceful smile, that showed the relief to see him, after having suffered and that made his hands curl into fists as his nails pierced his skin.

Author's note

Sorry for the late update everyone~ <3 I've been quite busy this week and on top of that, a writer's block attacked me. I spent so long on writing this chapter, but didn't get the desired result in the end OTL I still hope you'll like it though : ]

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Saenan.