Jamie’s life a mystery. Nobody knew what were her abilities. Nobody knew the reason why she was accepted into SM. Not only her life but she, herself, was a mystery to those around her. Despite gaining EXO, Hye In and Kyungmin as her friends, they knew near to nothing about her. 

Even Tao, who was the closest to her, knew very little about her. Aside from what kind of person he thought she was, he didn’t know anything about her family or her life back in her home country. All he knew was that she’s a lonely girl who needed someone. 

And maybe, just maybe, Oh Sehun, instead, was the first person to find out. 

Sipping his milk tea, without pearls, he thought about the petite girl. It’s been a day but he still remembered the scent of her hair, the warmth as her breath fanned against his collar bones or the weight of her head as she leaned onto his shoulder. His face burned as the memory of her soft cheeks rubbed against his neck. He had started to feel strange urges and he was ashamed. 

But what beat everything even physical contacts was the fact that she had opened up to him about her life. It was smaller than a speck of dust but it was something. Something she felt safe enough to disclose to him. He felt that maybe, just maybe, he could become more than just a friend. 

Despite all the joy with their developing relationship, he was very well aware how close Jamie and Kyungmin also were as he saw them at the company this morning. They weren’t happily chatting but Kyungmin was holding her hands as they stared into each other eyes. It sounded romantic but Jamie had a confused and disoriented expression all over her face while Kyungmin looked apologetic and concerned. Jealous at their proximity though Sehun willed it away and left the two to figure things out among themselves. He still disapproved her hanging out with Kyungmin but it’s her decision and he’s respected that. However, if Kyungmin hurt her, Sehun would be more than welcome to kill the bastard. 

“Yo maknae!” Chanyeol greeted him boisterously like the person he was. 

“Hello hyungs.” Sehun greeted the rest of EXO with a monotonous voice. 

“Why so grumpy maknae? Shouldn’t you be overjoy?” Kris smirked. 

“Why should I be?” Sehun looked at the Chinese male with narrowed eyes. What is he talking about?

“We heard you scored big time.” Kai winked.

“What are you guys talking about?” He whined, not liking how the hyungs hidden smiles.

“You and Jamie, what else?” Luhan scoffed. 

“Wha-? What about me and Jamie?” 

Smirking like freaks, Chen and Chanyeol reenacted the scene which Baekhyun saw yesterday. 

“Baekhyun hyung!!” Sehun growled as he reached out towards the laughing male two bodies to his right. 

“Good job maknae!” Baekhyun roared in laughter as the others joined in, embarrassing the youngest male as his cheeks beamed red. 

“Mind telling us the details?” Kai wriggled his eyebrows as they calmed down. 

“I-It was n-nothing... She was tired. That’s all.” 

“That she need to lean onto your shoulder and your hands need to be on her back??” Baekhyun chirped. 

Gasps were heard from everyone in the group as they acted like dramatic high school girls. 

“Way to go maknae!!” Chen cooed.

“Shut up hyung!! I just comfort her that’s all...” Sehun trailed off with rosy cheeks, unable to hide it as suddenly, he felt like her cheeks were against his neck again. 

“Ooooooo~ He’s blushing~” Kai cooed as he pinched his same aged friend cheek, rewarding himself a smack on the head. 

“Shut the hell up Jong In.” 

“How is she?” Baekhyun suddenly asked with strangely serious voice. 

Studying his hyung’s expression, Sehun vaguely know what he’s talking about. 

“Better than yesterday.” Sehun sighed as he remembered how she had a long chat with Kyungmin in the hallway.

“You saw her? Why don’t you invite her to have lunch with us?” Chanyeol frowned. 

“She kinda need some breathing space. She’s mentally and physically exhausted.” Sehun sighed again before sipping the milk tea.

“I could never understand her.” Chanyeol pouted as he sprawled out onto the table only to have Luhan smacked him up straight. 

“No one could.” Baekhyun shrugged.

“Believe it or not, I actually asked around but no one knows her. If I say Jamie, nobody knows but they knew the purple hair midget. They said she never interacted with anybody before us. She always go to practice then go back. And the process was repeated until Tao introduced her to us.” Chanyeol pursed his lips. 

Sehun raised his eyebrows upon hearing such thing from his lanky hyung. It never occurred to him that he was interested in her as well. It may not be the same interest he had for her. He felt worried nevertheless. He didn’t like the fact there were other males who were interested in his crush. Though Chanyeol didn’t seem to be interested in dating, the male was less of a worry. 

His bandmate’s voice snapped him back to the conversation as soon as he brushed Chanyeol as a potential competitor away. This time it’s Kris hyung. 

“I like her gaze. It always show her true emotions. She’s truthful and I guess I like that about her. You know when she was lying or telling the truth.”

“And when do you have a chance to confirm that hyung?” Chanyeol asked teasingly.

“We hung out a couple of times.” Kris shrugged as he sipped his coffee. 

“What?!” Chanyeol shouted, he never expected Kris to be close to Jamie at all. And when did they exchanged numbers??!! 

Fair enough, the other members were not less shocked. Especially the maknae. His eyes were bulging out of their sockets. And of course, Kris noticed. Snickering to himself, the elder shrugged nonchalantly despite his giddy inner self. 

“We both speak English fluently so I guess we kicked it off quite well. I showed her a couple of places, mostly eatery and clothing stores. Then I knew what she likes and dislikes. Every time she likes something, her eyes would widened then just lifts with them. And every time she saw or I showed her something dislikes, her nose scrunched up and her eyebrows draw together. Kinda funny how she didn’t even try to mask it. Very straight-forward despite for shy demeanor.” Kris laughed as he told the members, who not to mention were still shocked that he and Jamie hung out, as he not-so-subtly eyed Sehun. The maknae glared at his hyung with a most scary eyes he could muster. Didn’t faze the older boy one bit though. 

“Awwww~ now I feel like like crap with my crappy English. Not that I don’t feel like so already.” Chanyeol slumped onto the table with one side of his face pressed against the surface, making a quite unpleasant sight for s. 

Slapping his best friend on the head so he would sit straight up and spared them the ugly sight, Chen inquired with a quirked-up eyebrow. “And why are you so eager to be a her friend? I never saw you so into a girl before.” 

“Are you kidding me?!” Chanyeol asked in disbelief. “Don’t you think she’s the most interesting being we ever met in a while?” 

“Well she’s pretty mysterious. I guess that’s what make her interesting…” Luhan hummed.

“I feel like we could be great friends!” Chanyeol chirped. “Since we’re both very straight forward.” 

“That I don’t disagree.” Baekhyun nodded as the giant grinned. 

“But I don’t think she’ll appreciate your childishness though.” Kris sang song. “Since she could barely stand Tao’s.” 

…

…

…

“What?” Kris asked as he felt an uneasy atmosphere engulfed the group. 

Xiumin and Lay seemed to be at a loss too. They didn’t know why the atmosphere got so heavy and everyone went quiet all of a sudden.

“What’s going on, guys?”

Baekhyun leaned over to Suho and whispered into the leader’s ear. “You didn’t inform them, hyung?” 

Suho winced as he muttered a tiny ‘sorry’ that made the cheeky male shook his head at the leader’s absentmindedness. 

“Well you see when Tao was in hospital..” Baekhyun began. 

“Okay? W-wha! Don’t tell me something happened to him again?!” Kris panicked. 

“Calm down hyung, Taozi is fine.” 

“Okay. Then?” 

“Tao got into a huge fight with Jamie and now the two are not that close anymore. From what I know, Tao was the one at fault and their friendship is at great risk.” Baekhyun sighed while stirring his drink. 

“Why didn’t you tell us about this?” Xiumin frowned. 

“While somebody forgot to.”

“Sorry..” Suho squeaked, sometimes he didn’t know if he’s a leader with this rate of bullying from his younger bandmates. 

“She seems to be pretty wary for the past week.” Sehun muttered as he stirred his drink as well. The beverage suddenly lost its appeal. “The things she drew in her sketchbook, they’re so dark and depressing. When I went to talk to her yesterday, she looked so tired with dark circles and her cheeks in. She looked like she hadn’t slept for 2 days. She consumed caffeine way too much to be healthy.” The boy sighed. 

The hyungs looked pleasantly surprised as they listened to the maknae. Even though it wasn’t a happy expression, they were more than glad when he at least showed something other than boredom.

“You’re so whipped.” Kai deadpanned as he ruffled his friend’s hair. 

The boy blushed heavily as he tucked his chin back to cover his red face with his long bangs. Kai might have struck a chord. Per say pretty accurately. 

“Shut up, Kim Jong In.” Sehun growled as he smacked the tanned skin boy’s head. Kai flinched but still chuckled at the flustered Sehun.

“And I wonder why she doesn’t trust you more.” Baekhyun smiled. 

“I guess because of one mistake I did…” Sehun mumbled as quietly as possible, hoping no one could hear but that seems not to be the case.  

“Mistake..?” Baekhyun inquired.

“It’s nothing hyung. Just something really small.” 

“Tell me and I’ll decide whether it’s small or not.” Baekhyun sternly said with a slight threatening tone. 

Fidgeting, Sehun considered to just spit out the truth since he already spill one third of it already or just run out of there and deal with his hyung’s wrath later. He knew how protective Baekhyun was since Jamie was as close as a sister to him. Unknown to Jamie, Baekhyun flipped knowing Tao hurt her. He could never fathom how he would react when he found out Sehun kissed her and got kicked out for it. 

“Tell me now Oh Sehun or else I—” Baekhyun started threateningly but he was cut off by their manager’s booming voice. 

“Boys! Lunch break’s over. You need to head back for practice!” The older man clapped his hand as he neared their table.

The maknae felt like kissing his manager out of gratitude. He knew he wasn’t off the hook yet with his hyung’s menacing glare but he at least dodged the bullet for now. Sehun heard the members scrambling around to gather their stuffs while giving the two curious glances. At that moment, the young boy realized he might not only get it from Baekhyun but as well a whole group of protective ‘oppas’. 

He started to wonder for the first time ever since he met her; what was so special about her that she managed to get to every one of the males she met. Now he just had so many more competitors for her attention than he knew. 

——————

“Listen to me Jamie!” Kyungmin plead as he gripped her elbow. He had been trying to track her down ever since he heard about the manhunt Sarah ordered Ji Woo to lead. He didn’t think that girl would have the guts to do such thing as going against him. It’s given he knew about her feelings for him from long before, he thought he had her wrapped around his finger but apparently that girl had a different agenda in her head. 

“Listen to what Kyungmin?! That you are sorry that your lackeys went after me?! That you didn’t know he would do such thing without your permission?! I don’t know who to trust anymore! I tried to trust you! I tried so hard Kyungmin! How could you slap it back to my face just like that! How could you??!!” Jamie shouted as she yanked her arms away from Kyungmin before hitting his shoulder repeatedly. 

Kyungmin’s eyes drooped down as he let her hit him but her fists barely had any strength behind them. He didn’t mean for this to get out of control. He didn’t mean to hurt her. Telling her he had feelings for her was the truth. And he had never lied to her before about his intentions. He wanted to be closer to her and maybe one day, when she decided to forgive him completely, win her heart, make her his. Because he thought he could never meet anyone who could make his heart raced like she did. He opted to set this straight. Now that her trust in him was damaged because of this misunderstanding. He didn’t think he could handle it if she cut him off completely. 

“WHA- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? PUT ME DOWN!!” Jamie yelled as her fists pounded on his back. 

The male tried to ignore the stinging sensation on his back as he maneuvered her towards a more discreet location where their voices would not bounce off the wall. It’s given that no one was around at this hour but he couldn’t risk somebody walked in on their quarrel.

“PUT ME DOWN!! KYUNGMIN!!” The girl continued to bellow despite the fact that her voice had long turned hoarse. 

“Stop shouting. You will ruin your voice.” Kyungmin sighed as he set her down. 

Jamie huffed angrily as she noticed they were now at the part of the company she didn’t recognize. It’s awfully discreet. Her spine started to shiver, imagining all the scenarios that could happen that could go unnoticed, seeing how well-hidden this area was from the rest of the building. 

Noticing how her eyes darted around nervously, Kyungmin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at how distrustful she was. She’s getting way too deep inside him but it stopped bothering him long ago. He had a feeling that she would run off so Kyungmin, very much reluctantly, yanked her roughly and slammed her against the wall. He knew she had fast reflex so he could only catch her off-guard. Jamie let out a surprised yelp as her back slammed hard against the wall. Fear flashed briefly over her eyes before they hardened at the sight of the boy in front of her who quickly pinned her wrists above her head. 

“What are you doing?” She spat as she glared at him with sharp, unwavering eyes. 

“Just let me explain will you?” Kyungmin bowed his head in defeat as he sighed. 

Her eyes softened momentarily before went back to staring at him with a hard, unyielding gaze. She knew she did not deal well with displaced trust. For a fact nobody did. But her case was just worse. Though she also knew she could not complete shunned him without hearing a proper explanation. 

“Go ahead.” She finally said.

Sighing, Kyungmin released Jamie’s wrists and ran a hand through his blonde locks. Explaining might be a drag but he saw no choice. 

“First off, I had no part in that ‘man hunt’ last time. Sarah wanted it and Ji Woo didn’t hesitate to please her. That idiot actually thinks he could have her if he does whatever she wants. Second, I was planning to earn her utmost trust before complete shunned her. She might be crazy over me but trusting is another thing. Besides I owed her and that’s the only reason why I did what she said before. But I feel like I no longer feel that I owe her so I want to cut off our ties. But I couldn’t easily do that when she’s like some heiress and I’m just some random peasant. I’m finding my way out just like you want me to. And I swear I would never involve you in any of it. Believe me. I have nothing to do with the chase that day. I would never dare to hurt you. I wouldn’t and I couldn’t.” Kyungmin said with finality as he stared straight at Jamie in the eyes. He hoped she would be the sincerity in his words. He hoped he saw how sincere he was being. He couldn’t lose her now. 

Jamie got startled when Kyungmin stared straight at her. She didn’t expect to get a bunch of information thrown at her but she slowly let them sink in. It might not easily be digested but she had to. The fact that the kid that shouted orders to catch her was madly in love with the notorious Sarah Kim and the same Sarah Kim got a crush on the boy in front of her who, by the way, claimed to like her. Her brain was only capable of so much. She almost forgot that Kyungmin had some plans up his sleeves to get out of Sarah’s grasp. She did not remember telling him she wanted him to do so but all in all, it could do the boy some good. He already told her he wouldn’t involve her in his mess. Though she felt that Kyungmin wasn’t entirely truthful, she knew he would not try to harm her. And it occurred to her that their relationship was so incredibly odd. They went from enemies to close knitted friend in such a short amount it should be freaking Jamie out. Only now did she felt the impact of their odd arrangement. It spooked her how easily she could trust the older boy and it did not help with their current situation at all. 

Kyungmin saw so many emotions played out on her face that his heart beat wildly in fear. It prickled and squeezed tighter the longer Jamie stayed silent. The girl stared at her feet as the gears in her head desperately turned to assemble the mess inside. When he saw the first droplets gathered at the brim of her dark orbs, Kyungmin could hear the sound of his heart dropped down onto the floor. It hurt him to see her in distress. And it hurt immensely to know she might not be able to trust him ever again. 

“P-please…” Kyungmin plead and wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks. He wanted to cradle her within his arms and give her gentle kisses to tell her he was sorry. He was sorry that he dragged her into this. He was sorry that he clung to her. He was sorry that he couldn’t be around to protect her. He was sorry for everything. Everything that hurt her. 

“I-I’m sorry.. so so sorry…” Kyungmin whimpered as he saw the faint bruises on her forearms and legs. He felt his eyes started to water as Jamie started to sniffled softly as tears continued to cascade down her cheeks. “Please don’t cry…” Kyungmin plead as he continued to wipe all the tears away. But the girl wasn’t stopping as she continued to sob quietly. At some point, Kyungmin decided to stop holding himself back and gathered her in hug. He patted her head gently as the girl cried into his chest. Kyungmin cooed as he tried to comfort her but he slowly felt himself cry along as well. 

Jamie couldn’t fathom why she started crying in the first place. She thought her eyes were dry by now after nights of crying herself to sleep. When she felt the shivers up her spine and the erratic beats of her heart, she figured maybe she was scared. So scared that she drew herself in. She was scared that in the end, everyone she cared about would betray her, abandon her and leave her. She was scared of being alone now that they became important to her. She was scared when Tao hurt her. She was so terrified he only stayed beside her because he, also, needed someone. She felt that she could easily be replaced by someone else who Tao would need more than her. Her heart more or less got stomped on and it hurt. It burned so much she could still feel it. She felt herself slipping further into the darkness she once defeated and yesterday’s incident did not make it any better. Even though Sehun was there to make it better, it wasn’t much better. The fear in her heart couldn’t subside no matter how much she tried. She tried seeking comfort from the boy who was more than willing to help her. From the boy who looked at her like she’s the only one in his entire universe. But she couldn’t find herself feeling better. If not, worse than before. He reminded her of someone she wanted to forget, of someone whose existence stung her, deep. 

And the boy who was embracing her in his strong arms was with her right now. He might not be the boy who give her hopes but he was someone she could rely on. Someone she could disclose many of her secrets. Someone who reminded her so much of herself. Someone whose heart was bleeding just like hers. He was crying as well she realized. It was the first time he cried every since they met. The boy, though hurt, always managed to mask it so well. He always appeared strong, stubborn and smug. But as his shoulders shook lightly along with his silent sobs, her tears began to flow down her cheeks for a different reason. 

“Don’t cry too Kyungmin… You’re making me cry too idiot..” Jamie circled her arms around the said boy’s waist and nuzzled her nose into his chest. 

The boy sniffled before pulling back to wipe his eyes with his forearm. The strong guy was replaced by a crybaby and the thought made her giggled. Kyungmin looked adorable rubbing his red eyes and runny nose. Who knew he had this side to him. 

“What?” The boy pouted as he tried to use his sleeves to dry Jamie’s cheeks too. 

The girl moved away and sported a disgusted look. “Eww! You just had your snot all over that thing!” 

“Sorry.” Kyungmin smiled, embarrassed as he drew his hands back. Arms still around Kyungmin’s waist, Jamie drew the boy back into her embrace as she whispered. 

“I’m scared.” She confessed. “I cried because I’m scared. I’m scared of how easily I let you in. Then I’m scared that you would shun me like you wanted to do with Sarah as well. I’m scared I would be as alone as I was before. And somehow I remember Tao, who hurt me but I couldn’t help loving so much. He was there when I was hurt but in the end, he hurt me the most. But stupidly I couldn’t stop loving him. And then there’s Sehun who likes me so much I could feel it radiating off him. I continued to hurt him as I gave in to his affections. He was so sincere I couldn’t help but use that to my advantage. He was the one besides me yet I constantly thought of someone else. And then there’s you who I rely on so much. Maybe because we’re similar in so many ways I couldn’t stop myself. I give in to your touches and kisses but I couldn’t return your feelings. I feel so guilty. I feel like I’m taking you for granted. And you don’t deserve that after how much you did for me. You were there for me when I was upset about Tao. You were there to hear me rant about Sehun. You kept me company. You kept me from feeling lonely and for that you deserve better than me being an annoying whiny kid every single living seconds of the day. And I’m sorry too. I’m really sorry that you are stuck with me like this.” Jamie murmured as she tightened her grip around Kyungmin’s middle. 

She relinquished the last bit of her control and indulged herself in his warmth. The boy was like her favorite blanket. She felt safe in his arms. Like how she used to feel whenever Tao hugged her. The only difference was the pace of her heart. It was peaceful and calm when she buried herself inside Kyungmin’s embrace. While it fluctuated as Tao cradled her head and pressed soft kisses into her hair. 

“Don’t apologize.” Kyungmin returned the hug and trapped her within his arms. “You did more for me than you know, kitten.” 

Jamie smiled at the nickname as chuckles fell passed her lips. “I still amazed how you and EXO both called me kitten. I look that much like a cat? I mean I love cats but looking like one never cross my mind.” 

“Put some cat ears on you and you will literally turn into one. That’s how much you look like a kitten.” Kyungmin said before placing a soft kiss on her forehead. He was glad she stopped crying but he was so embarrassed he cried in front of her. He supposedly to be strong for her. 

“Don’t be embarrassed idiot.” Jamie laughed as she poked his cheek. 

“You’re making me even more embarrassed kitten.” Kyungmin chuckled and avenged himself by squeezing her nose playfully. 

Pouting, Jamie wanted to hit Kyungmin for teasing her but her phone suddenly rang. Jamie scowled as she rummage through her backpack for the device. She gasped as she realized it was time for her private vocal lesson. The sound had been her alarm. She scolded herself for not recognizing it sooner. 

“! It’s time for my vocal lesson!” Jamie exclaimed in panic, looking around dazed and confused. 

Kyungmin snorted as he grabbed her wrist and proceed to the kitten to her vocal lesson. “You really should paid more attention to your surroundings. What if I wasn’t around?” 

Jamie scoffed in disbelief. He was the one who brought her here like a sack of rice. The only thing she could see was his back. 

“! You manhandled me here on your back then how could I see anything around me except your ing back!” 

Kyungmin clicked his tongue as he put on a disapproving expression. “Kids shouldn’t curse.” 

“W-what?!” 

Smiling in amusement, Kyungmin quickened his pace and tugged the young girl along. “Let’s go. You don’t want to be late for your vocal lesson do you?” 

Jamie rolled her eyes as she let the older boy ‘manhandled’ again but this time around she had no other choice. 

After Jamie made it to the private vocal room right on time, Kyungmin wandered around the company premise. He fiddled with his phone before retreating into an empty dance room. The boy dialed a familiar number as he waited for the person on the other end to pick up. Merely 10 seconds later, the person picked up. 

“Wae?”

“Noona~” The boy whined at the unfriendly tone. 

But she wasn’t fazed as she repeated. “Wae?”

“Haiz. You don’t have to sound so pissed off.” Kyungmin pouted unconsciously. 

“I wouldn’t if you didn’t interrupt my nap.” 

“Oops. I’m sorry, noona…” 

“What do you want?” 

Despite being scolded, Kyungmin was happy she was still willing to help. “Noona~ Since I’ve been keeping up my end of the deal, it’s time to uphold yours~” 

The person went silent for a short while before sighing. “Fine. What do you want me to do?” 

Kyungmin grinned widely. In Hye noona always kept her promise; one reason why he trusted her with everything. “Just be a good friend to her is enough. She’s surrounded with guys and I believe she need a girl company.” 

The line went silent again before she murmured lowly. “That’s all?” 

“Yea noona. For now.” 

Author's Note 

As an apology for a delayed update, I wrote a longer-than-usual for you guys. Hopefully you don't find it boring since I had trouble writing it. I never had time to write it one go so the mood and writing may alter a bit. I rushed the end a little too. T^T