I turned the compass in my hand nervously as I my lips and forced myself not to throw the compass away on instinct.

As much as I would like to finish this secret mission once and for all, at the same time, I dreaded finding out what sort of horrible mission that lies await for me.

Staring blankly at the compass screen, I waited with a pounding heart for Exo M and Sehun to get ready, my mind wandering somewhere else; a habit I had formed ever since I became an Unknown.

My heart tweaked a little in pain as my mind wandered off to painful memories. Of my miserable past life, of how my unni died and how…Kim Jongin died in my hands.

“Soyoung, we’re ready now.” Sehun patted me on the shoulder, snapping me out of my painful daze.

Blinking a little, I glanced around at Exo M and realized that they were all staring at me, waiting for me to set up the compass so we could hurry up and get to the Unknown already.

“Do…do we have to go to the Unknown?” I hesistated as I turned the compass nervously in my hands, reluctant to put it on the ground. “I mean, is there no other way to complete the mission than to go to the Unknown-“

“-We’ve been through this a million times already, princess.” Xiumin interrupted me irritatedly. “We’re here to help you, alright?”

“I know that!” I snapped, my nerves getting the better of me, “I’m just worried that the guardians and warriors in the Unknown is going to beat us all to a pulp.”

There was brief silence as everyone stared at me, and I squirmed uncomfortably under everyone’s blatant stares.

Then before I knew it, Tao had burst out laughing as if I had just said the funniest joke he had ever heard.

“Soyoung,” Tao said between laughs, “Sometimes you’re really funny, you know that?”

I frowned a little.

“Yah,” I made it clear that I didn’t find this funny, “I’m being serious here. Warrior Yonghwa caged you all, remember?”

Tao’s laughter died away as abruptly as it came and his face hardened along with every other member of Exo M.

“Who said that weak little thing caged us?” A deep growl sliced through the tense atmosphere that had built up.

I turned around to see Kris walking over to us, his hair tousled messily against his forehead and his chest heaving up and down in shallow pants.

“Oh, duizhang, you’re back.” Lay nodded his head at Kris who stopped next to me, “Feeling better?”

Kris shot Lay a glare before directing his glare at me.  

“I asked you,” Kris’ tone was hard, “Who said that we were caged?”

I gulped a little and stepped back from Kris.

“Weren’t you?” I felt Sehun place a reassuring hand on my shoulder, and I relaxed a little as I felt Sehun’s presence behind me. “I thought you guys conducted two massacres.”

The look that flashed past Kris’ eyes was so sad and so angry at the same time it made my heart tweak.

“What do you think?” Kris spoke softly, “Do you think we did?”

Do I? Do I think they conducted the massacres?

The answer was fairly straightforward to me.

I didn’t even need to think to know what the answer was.

“I don’t.” I replied Kris firmly, “You guys aren’t mean and dangerous enough to conduct such an evil thing. Which is why…I’m worried for you guys. Warrior Yonghwa isn’t anywhere as nice as you guys are, and he…he did cage