[Year 19 of Exile]

[Kai]

“Find her, and don’t let her out of your sight.”

I grunted as my eyes scanned my surroundings before I teleported away. Barely landing for five seconds, I whirled wildly around and upon realising that she wasn’t here, I disappeared once more.

“Yeah, right.” Perspiration trickled down my temples and my back. “I can’t even find her.” And to think you regard yourself as one of her ‘knights’. Pathetic excuse, Kai Kim.

I teleported myself through the woods and after skimming through dense trees for the last time, I found myself in an open space – at the edge of a large lake backed by picturesque snow-capped mountains.

“Wow!” I exclaimed as my eyes lit up at the beautiful white tips of the tall mountains that stood proudly beyond the woods that grew on the other side of the lake. The large body of water was blue at first glance, but as I carefully made my way towards the edge I discovered that the water was clear.  Crystal clear. I couldn’t see the bottom of the lake but I wonder of the creatures that dwell within this vast lake.

Momentarily putting the search for Jen on hold, I followed the edge of the lake while my eyes never left the snowy tops of the mountains. You could say I’m very intrigued by the white substance as the thirteen of us used to engage in backyard snowball fights all-year round, courtesy of Minseok-hyung’s power and the generosity of Jen’s grandparents with their loan of their backyard.

It wasn’t until I stepped on something soft, something that didn’t feel the same as what I’ve been walking on, that I tore my eyes away from the scenery and looked at the ground.

A scream caught in my throat.

“Aera!”

I whirled around at the call of my mother’s name and a man whom I recognised as my father bounded up the porch of a familiar doorway and ran right through me.

Oh. I’m in a flashback again.

I turned to my parents as my father lifted my mother up in his arms and planted a chaste kiss on her lips before setting her down. My mother giggled as another woman entered the living room and my eyes widened.

Aunt Min…? What’s Yeol’s mother doing here?

I stood rooted as she smiled and walked over to my parents. “Nick, you have to be careful with her!” My mother laughed and put an arm over her friend as her free hand travelled down her body and rested on a bump.

A rather large bump that I hadn’t noticed through her baggy dress.

“Could that… be me?” Hearing my own words, I hurriedly cupped my mouth for fear of them having heard me but soon let them fall. “They can’t hear you, idiot.”

And they couldn’t.

The three of them continued to converse as more figures entered the small room, which I’ve recognised as the cabin’s living room.

The cabin that the thirteen of us are currently hiding out in.

Kai’s father sat between Chanyeol and Luhan’s fathers on the small couch in the cozy (read: small) living room. His eyes were the same as the ones that surprised me in that cupboard I was hidden in during the raid; although they were more youthful, and more full of life than the ones I’ve seen in my time.

So he’s been here before. It’s no wonder he wanted us to come here.

I let my eyes scan the faces of the people that have gathered on the first storey of the structure and realised something that ignited hope within me and brought perhaps the first genuine smile I’ve had in a week to my face.

James Pigalle wasn’t amongst them.

[Baekhyun]

“I hope Kai finds her.”

Looking up from my book, I found my roommate pacing our small room with his fingers in his hair. A definite frown was on his face and his eyes were devoid of positive emotions. Instead fear and worry, emotions that I’ve been seeing in everyone ever since we escaped here, were reflected in them. I sighed, and went back to my book.

“Why the sigh, Baek?” I felt the end of my bed sink and he flicked my toes with his fingers. “Something on your mind?”

“No,” I flipped the page. “Rather, is something on your mind?”

The springs in my bed recoiled and I felt my bed ease up.

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