For a few moments, Kai and I stayed still. The hope that the people would leave, however futile, was still with us. A strange sort of faint peace. It was only broken when someone behind us coughed. Kai immediately whirled around, but I did not move.

“Your brother’s Kris, right?”

Out of all the things I thought they would say, those four words had never crossed my mind. I think it was the surprise and bewilderment that caused me to turn around as quickly as I did. I stared at them, as Kai had done earlier, but I could make out very little in the dark.

I was about to speak, but Kai gripped my elbow and pulled me back.  

“Don’t talk to them.” Kai said quietly. “If they try to get your wallet, just throw it at them and run.”

“We’re not bad people,” one of them said loudly, rolling his eyes. “Besides, you look broke as so don’t worry about us mugging you.”

The boy who spoke was really just a boy. Though it was hard to tell in the dark, he looked younger than I was. Though it was foolish of me, I stopped feeling worried. On the other hand, Kai appeared not to have heard. He mumbled something unintelligible to me.

“Sehun, don’t be so rude,” another boy chastised. He sounded a little older. He was the one who had asked me about my brother.

At least he was polite.

“I’m Chanyeol,” the polite boy said. He motioned to the people surrounding him. “We work with Kris.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be working?” I asked skeptically. Kai glowered at me for talking.

“We work part-time,” Chanyeol clarified. “You are his sister, right?”

I hesitated, torn between curiosity and Kai’s death grip on my arm. In the end, Kai’s death grip won and I said nothing. Chanyeol continued anyways.

“He hasn’t been home these past few days, has he?”

At this, I started. How could they possibly know? I looked at Kai, but he was lost in his own thought. He let go of my arm, however, and I took that as a sign that I should talk.   

“What do you know about that?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“We’re his co-workers,” Chanyeol said smoothly. "We're also his friends."

“Really,” I said. I didn’t trust him, but he didn’t seem dangerous.

“Yes.” He kept his pleasant tone. The others behind him were growing restless. I didn’t say anything for a few minutes, and that just about killed Sehun.

“Chanyeol, hurry up so we can go home!” Sehun whined. “I’m tired and she not even saying anything.”

Someone must have punched Sehun, because he yelped rather loudly. Chanyeol ignored him.

“Okay,” Chanyeol said. “Look. We’re your brother’s friends, and he’s in a little trouble with our boss. It’d be advisable for him to lay low for a few weeks.”

“He’s coming back tomorrow,” I said, nonplussed. “What kind of trouble is he in?"

“Just a bit of trouble. Our boss has a pretty nasty temper, but he’s an okay guy. I’m just saying that Kris should get out of town for a while.”

“He’ll lose his job if he does that!”

“He won’t. Our boss doesn’t fire people.”

Chanyeol was talking in riddles. I was never good at riddles.

“Do you hear what I’m saying?” Chanyeol asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.

I countered his question with another question.

“What kind of company do you work for?”  

It was hard to see, but I was sure that the corner of his mouth quirked up.

“You ought to ask your brother that. After all, we’re only part-timers.”

A/N: Dear readers, if any of you are interested in creating a main graphic for this story, it would be greatly appreciated! As a token of thanks, I will take your request for a oneshot based on a theme/character of your choice (limited to EXO, uKISS, Infinite, and GOT7) if you choose to make a graphic. The artist of the graphic I choose to make the cover of this story will receive an additional oneshot! 

As always, thank you for reading and comments are what makes an author's world go round :)