seventeen

 

“He’s crazy.”

 

I don’t respond. I merely listen as Kai prattles on.

 

“What did he do to Luhan? Are they teammates? Is this some kind of plot to lure us out?”

 

We couldn’t talk when Tao first passed is the gem. Classes were about to start and Tao dragged me away. But now it is lunch and I managed to get out with Kai. We weren’t able to skip out on the morning session but are making it a point to get away in the afternoon.

 

It’s amazing now that I think of it. Here I am about to skip school with the person I first thought was a demon. The me a year ago, no, even the me a month ago, or a week ago, would never let me skip out on playing music. But well, here I am doing exactly that. It’s proof of how I’ve come a long way despite not knowing what I was working towards.

 

That said, I don’t want to make any more mistakes. Not trusting Tao, or at least making myself his enemy sounds like it’s be a big one.

 

“We don’t know for sure if Tao just warned Luhan off or asked for the gem back,” I reason though I definitely couldn’t see either of those being the case in this situation.

 

“So, what’s your point? There are a lot of things we don’t know for sure but we don’t want to make stupid moves.”

 

“Yeah? Well we’re leaving school now but Tao is still there. Of course if it’s as you think Tao wouldn’t be working alone. Why leave school in the first place when it’s safe there? It’s basically our only guaranteed safe place,” I argue.

 

 

“And what exactly makes it so safe?” asks Kai. “Because Yesung’s there?”

 

By this point in our walk towards the station I see the stairway into that park. I feel a wave of apprehension as we approach but I wordlessly follow him up the stairs. My mind cannot help but flashback to the events of yesterday.

 

“Look, I’m all for covering my own by hiding behind Yesung, but we have a mystery on our hands and I want to solve it,” he says upon reaching the top of the stairs, finishing his previous thought.

 

“And how do you plan on doing that?”

 

“With these,” he reaches into his blazer and pulls out two cards.

 

“That’s---“

 

He nods with a smirk, “Their student records. Huang Zitao and Lu Han both. And we have our destination right here.”

 

My eyes follow where his index finger points to the address written on Luhan’s card and then shifts over to the same place on Tao’s. My blood runs cold; they both have the same address.

 

It’s as if the air is knocked out of me and I almost stumble but he grabs my arm in time, balancing me.

 

“Don’t make me say, ‘I told you so,’” Kai says, letting go and putting the files back away.

 

I still can’t believe it. My head feels like it’s reeling from the shock. What does it mean? Because they live together does it means they’re both guilty? If they’re hunters why didn’t Tao just kill me yesterday? Why did he give me Luhan’s stone?”

 

“Tao…. He’s an unstable variable. I can’t really say what’s going on yet but I can already tell he’s very dangerous,” replies Kai. “I’ve never met anyone like him.”

 

“I don’t think Tao’s a hunter,” I finally say. “I think if his aim is my gem he would have killed me last night when he had the chance. He’s never lacked chances.”

 

Kai seemed deep in thought but didn’t reply. We continued walking in silence, passing the manmade pond. I don’t want to get myself into further danger but like Kai I also want to solve the mystery.

 

“If we do this,” I begin. “If we cross the river we won’t be guaranteed protection.”

 

“I know that,” he replies.

 

“It'd be what Yesung would call a stupid thing,” I remind him.

 

Kai curses under his breath.

 

“Ah, I hate this! Why is this happening?” he stuffs his hands in his pocket. “I don’t want you to die!”

 

I can’t help but feel touched he feels so conflicted for my sake. I know he’s always said he’d protect me. I’m starting to feel like it’s not all lip service, that somehow he really does value me and want me by his side.

 

“I won’t die,” I assure him though I have no idea where my confidence is coming from, but I feel like I should try to reassure him somehow.

 

“You should fight me,” is his reply.

 

“What?”

 

“Come on,” he turns towards me and gestures towards his face, smacking lightly at his own cheek. “Hit me. Try to hit me.”

 

I scoff, “What are you even—We’re in the middle of the park.”

 

“So what?” He ignores my protest. “Come on. If you can hit me you can hit a homer. Hit me.”

 

“No way! You’re crazy! As if I could punch a homer!”

 

“I know you have some hidden abilities somewhere. Come on. Hit me,” he presses. “Nobody is going to care.”

 

I take a glance around and an old grandma is sitting quietly on a bench breaking up biscuits to feed to the birds.

 

Kai reaches out and turns my head away from her.

 

“Nobody is going to care,” he repeats.

 

I shake my head, “I can’t. Let’s just wait.”

 

He doesn’t nod. He only grins and moves on leading us deeper into the park.

 

“Great. So you will hit me?”

 

I don’t answer.

 

“Because, so far you’ve only relied on others to protect you. Me, Yesung, even that human, Tao,” he counted off on his fingers. “Hah, that’s already three times you’ve been utterly useless.”

 

I still do not answer but I move away.

 

“Do you really want to keep being so useless?” he taunts. “Because if you do, no one will want you around anymore. Not me and not even Tao.”

 

“It’s not like that,” I try to argue, turning back towards him.

 

“Then what is it like then?” he stretches out his arms and drops his school bag on the ground. His teasing grin only grows wider. “Come on. No one is around now.”

 

He’s right. He’s led us off the path into a dense patch of trees. There is no one around us. The little old lady has long been left behind.

 

“Hit me.”

 

I knit my brows and clench my fist. If he wants me to hit him so badly then fine, I will! I  hate how smug he is. I’m sick and tired of his games and of being pulled along, of wondering who to rely on and of being weak. I pull back my arm, eyes never leaving his still smirking face. Trying to use every bit of power I scream out as my fist pushes forward right towards face but at that very moment just before contact he disappears.

 

I stumble forward from the momentum I put into throwing that punch. I fall to the ground and I hear Kai’s laughter as I sit up. I glance behind me glaring even harder.

 

He’s standing a few meters away with arms still outstretched.

 

“Hit me.”

 

I growl, picking myself back up and charging again with the same results. It’s as if he’s teleporting away, that’s how fat he seems to move and his mocking laughter echoes through the tree tops. I keep my balance this time and pivot on my heel charging forward. Of course he evades me once more. After the fourth time I’m panting. I wipe my brow and he’s in a tree now, high above me. I’m not even going to bother.

 

I almost flop down onto the leaf, moss and twig covered ground but he suddenly appears in front of me. Our faces are level and he drapes both of his arms over my shoulders. That annoying smirk of his even in this situation, where he’s playing with me like some toy, is so y. Is he aware of it? Is that why he does it?

 

He leans so close that our lips almost touch. I close my eyes and I feel as his tongue darts out to my bottom lip. Unintentionally I moan and my hands move to rest on his hips as I reopen my eyes. He comes forward again but this time stops with his lips against the shell of my ears.

 

“Catch me,” he says huskily.

 

My hands move to clutch tighter at his hips but just like that I’m holding nothing but air.

 

I turn and I see him with his tongue out. I roll my eyes. Is he five?

 

I don’t think any further than that though. I have my mission. I begin running and he bolts away. I follow. He runs up the side of a tree as if unbound by the laws of gravity and latches onto a tree branch, pulling himself up. I try my best to follow up a different tree trunk, foot slipping slightly. I grab at a low lying branch and hoist myself up with a grunt.

 

I feel a bead of sweat run down my forehead once I’m up, straddling the large branch. I pant and look over and see him happily hopping away from tree to tree with ease and I precariously get to my feet to follow. I jump to the next branch but miss and have to catch another lower one. I manage to hold on for a few seconds before I’m falling hurtling towards the ground. Somehow though it’s like slow motion. I see him in the distance my hand stretches out at his retreating form.

 

If only I could just grab him. My fingers clench as if to grab and pull him back and suddenly a large gust of wind blasts through the trees sending Kai’s body hurdling in my direction. I finally hit the ground, landing on my back, gritting my teeth in pain, but I’m aware of the way Kai’s body flies over my head before crashing into the trunk of a tree with a loud crack. Kai hits the ground with a thud.

 

“Kai!” I cry out and roll onto my front, wincing in pain and pulling myself to where his body lay.

 

I get on my knees and crawl the rest of the way. By the time I reach his side he’s sitting up and rubbing at his neck, face scrunched up in what I’m sure is pain. He hit the tree pretty hard.

 

“Kai,” I say, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Are you, OK? What happened?”

 

“What the heck did you do?” he counters.

 

“What do you mean what did I do? You went flying through the wind like it was a typhoon!” I retort.

 

He chuckles and shakes his head, “Yeah. So I did, huh? Sehun that was all you.”

 

“Me?”

 

He nods and I blink confused. He laughs brightly and leans forward placing a small peck on my lips.

 

“You’re so cute when you’re stupid,” he beams.

 

“Hey!” I protest. “I’m not stupid. Just… I’m confused!”

 

“That wind was you. Hmmm… wind, huh? So that’s your ability.”

 

“Ability?”

 

“Yeah we all have abilities. It’s not powers. Humans call it powers but it’s not. It’s just a bodily function like breathing or changing into our spirit form,” he tells me.

 

“Why do you always tell me these things so slowly,” I whine.

 

He reaches out and ruffles my hair, “You’re a slow one. If I told you from day one you’d go into some extreme shock. You remember how badly you just took the whole eating passion thing, right?”

 

Point taken.

 

“Anyway, I can teleport. That’s why no one can ever catch me… and I can just appear in your room,” he grins.

 

“I hate you,” I say and turn away, feeling like I’ve been taken for a fool.

 

“So you used your wind to push me back,” Kai goes on, seemingly unaware of my change of mood. “I’m sure you can do more with it in battle. I’ve met other elemental type muses… Yesung’s non-elemental. The strongest ones always are.”

 

He reaches out, pushing my shoulder so I’m facing him again.

 

“You have to learn how to manipulate your abilities. Once you do that it’s the first step you have to defending yourself,” he explains.

 

I shake my head, “I can’t do that.”

 

“Why not? You already learned how to transform, right? You can feed, right? It’s the same thing!”

 

I shake my head, “No. I know how I did those things. But this… I just wanted to catch you. I don’t know what I did!”

 

“Just breathe,” he replies.

 

I look down and bite my lip. How can he say it like it’s that simple? I am breathing. I never stopped breathing. Why does he always explain everything as if it should be some instinctual bodily function? If it were so simple wouldn’t I have already done it before long ago.

 

“Come on,” he urges, voice low. “He grabs both of my shoulders now and squeezes. “Just breathe.”

 

“I am breathing,” I whisper.

 

“No, you’re not.”

 

“I am,” I say, a bit louder.

 

“No, you’re not.”

 

“I am!” I say, snapping my head up. “I ing am!”

 

And with that a gust of wind comes up from the forest floor beneath us. Leaves fly into the air and whirls around us and our hair and clothing bellow upwards as well. The winds whip around like a tempest for a count of only a few seconds before dying down and the leaves flutter down, some landing in our hair. We stare at each other wide eyed as things settle down before bursting into a fit of laughter, falling against one other in a hug.

 

“Oh man, you look ridiculous,” he says reaching up to pick some leaves from my hair.

 

“You do too,” I say, swatting at his hand and pulling back.

 

I smile slightly, “This is so ridiculous. How am I… how is this even happening?”

 

He shrugs and clutches my hand that had been swatting at his. He pulls it forward and he falls back, pulling me on top of him.

 

“I don’t know. But I really… I don’t regret meeting you at all. I don’t think I ever could. You’ve given me so much life,” he says.

 

I stare down at him and he’s shifted so that I’m fitting perfectly between his legs. I am so stunned by the words he’s just said. Me giving him life? Is he crazy? I am the one who should say that to him. I’ve never lived before I met him. Doesn’t he know that? I was convinced up to this moment that he knew it, that he was aware of how indebted to him I am. That’s why I’m clinging to him, right? Because he’s my boss, whatever that means, and he’s leading me wherever I need to go.

 

I squeeze his hand tighter and my heart is beating so hard. I am leaning down on my elbow and his hair is a mess and I want to brush it back away from his face. His face is so cute. He’s normally so cool looking and y but he still seems younger than me. How old is he even? Is he the same age as me or is there some strange pace of aging among muses.

 

I make a note to ask later, because now I don’t want to talk. I let go of his hand and bring both of my hands to cup at his face. His slightly tanned skin contrasts so much with the paleness of my hands. So much of him his dark, from his skin to his life, I still don’t know very much about him. Why am I finding myself suddenly so drawn?

 

His eyes close and I take it as an invitation. Leaning down I capture his lips in the very first kiss I actually initiate. It’s so soft and he reaches up, curling his fingers into my hair and pressing against me. I moan and our tongues touch sending waves of heat through my body. I my fingers against his skin and breathe slightly into him before letting my lips trail down to kiss his chin and jaw.

 

“Sehun,” he says and his eyes flutter open and for the first time he’s completely open.

 

I reach over, letting my thumb rub at his bottom lip. It’s so soft and moist. I dip down, moving my thumb out of the way to kiss him again. When I stop I move scooting back and pulling him with me, circling my arms around his back to embrace him. I press my face against his neck and sigh against him. He hugs back.

 

“Sehun,” he says again. “I really am sorry. I don’t know why they’re after you, but I can’t help but shake the feeling that it’s somehow my fault.”

 

I shake my head, “No. Don’t say that. I think we both know that if you didn’t come into my life when you did I could have been dead.”

 

He frowns, pulling away and pulling his legs up with a frown.

 

“I don’t know…,” He says sounding so unsure and it’s so disarming. Lately, I’m starting to see more of this vulnerable side of him. “It’s not like I don’t have my own share of enemies. I just wanted to be more independent from Yesung. I didn’t mean to make any trouble.”

 

I reach out and cover his hand which rests on the ground with my own. He turns to look at me with wide eyes and I smile lightly.

 

“It doesn’t matter. We’re going to go there and figure this out together,” I say, trying to be as supportive as possible. “After all, it’s what I’m here for, Boss.”

 

He stares at me back for a few seconds before returning my smile with that usual grin of his own. He reaches out and ruffles my hair.

 

“That’s right! And don’t you forget it.”

 

He stops ruffling my hair and stands. I follow his lead, feeling lighter than I did at the start of the day.

 

---

 

As we made our way out of the park I couldn’t help but play a bit with my new found abilities. In the end it’s as Kai said. I don’t have to think about doing it; I just have to do it. So soon I’m able to carry leaves or small bits of debris lightly along the paths as if it’s a breeze. I don’t know how something like this would suit my in battle really, other than slamming them into trees like I did Kai, but that will be a path crossed when the time comes, just like basically everything lately.

 

It’s nearly 2pm by the time we reach the other side of the Han River. We alight from the train at the designated station and the neighborhood is definitely not what I imagined when I imagined Tao or Luhan. The place is dingy and smells of waste. There is litter everywhere and everything looks degenerate and sad.

 

We walk 5 minutes from the station and find the apartment building listed on Tao and Luhan’s records. It’s a small two story affair. Three stray cats are fighting over something in a plastic package before the rusted over stairwell and Kai shoos them away. They scamper away only long enough for us to walk up the steps before returning to their original spot. My eyes linger on them as we ascend but when we reach the top I plaster myself to Kai’s back.

 

He doesn’t seem to mind and walks on looking at each of the number plates beside the door. 201, 202, 203. He stops in front of the door that matches and tries the knob, but of course it doesn’t work. He raises his hand as if to knock and I stop him grabbing his wrist, my heart hammering in my chest.

 

“Someone might be there,” I hiss in a whisper.

 

“That’s why we knock,” he replies, shaking my hand away and then proceeding to rap at the door.

 

He knocks twice and we wait. It couldn’t have been more than a minute but oh it feels so long. I am pressed so tightly against him that we may as well be one and he shrugs me off with his shoulder.

 

“What ever happened to you being my support?” he asks.

 

I say nothing and back off and then he disappears through the door. I don’t wait and follow, letting my body slip through the rusted door.

 

The inside is better than the outside, but only barely. The place is small and it’s obvious that Tao and Luhan aren’t the only ones who live there despite it being a cramped accommodation.

 

“A muse lives here,” are the first words that come out of his mouth when he speaks.

 

“What?”

 

“I feel it…”

 

There are 4 different racks of clothing. Three of them have uniforms from our school. All of them bear a small selection of private clothes. I notice there is a stained uniform blazer hanging up separately in a corner as if left to dry. Tao must have tried to get the homer’s blood out of it last night just like I did. Mother definitely wasn’t pleased with me having ink thrown over me but it was better than saying the truth.

 

Kai notices it too and walks over to the uniform observing the stain.

 

“He really did fight it,” he says. I can tell he’s impressed. “What kind of kid is that Tao?”

 

“Who are his other roommates?” I ask as I scan the rest of the room.

 

Kai has a look on his face that tells me he already knows but he only replies with, “Why don’t we have a look?”

 

He gestures to the three racks with spare uniforms. All of our uniforms have our names written on the inner tags so I go through. The first rack belongs to Luhan, the second has another name written in English letters.

 

“Kris,” I say slowly.

 

“I have no idea who that is,” Kai says. “He’s not the muse at any rate. We and Yesung are the only ones at our school. It’s the fourth guy. He’s definitely a muse.”

 

I have no clue what to say or how to feel. Tao lives with a muse and yet he claims to not have known what I am. Was he really so ignorant? Do the people he lives with keep him so much in the dark about their dealings? It is becoming harder to believe.

 

I ask, “Do you know who he is? The muse?”

 

I move to where Kai’s digging through the desk but it’s full of nothing but school work as well as sheet music and stationary.

 

He nods in answer to my question but isn’t forthcoming with information instead changing the subject completely.

 

“They live a minimalistic life,” he notes.

 

“They seem to be poor,” I supply.

 

He nods and continues to shuffle through the desk and I wander to the other side of the room where I spot Luhan’s violin case.

 

“This is Luhan’s!” I say, and that gets Kai’s attention because he stops what he was doing and comes over.

 

“Is it?” he asks.

 

I nod, “Yeah. Nearly every time I’ve seen him he’s carried this case on his back.”

 

I crouch down and touch the outside of the fabric casing and in a bit of air. It feels like him too. My eyes slide shut as the dull feeling of Luhan’s passion played against my fingers. It was so faint, unlike how it felt when I touched his sheet music before.

 

“What does it feel like?” Kai asked, interrupting my thoughts and my eyes snap open.

 

I blush at him catching me in that moment but he seems unfazed. It was a muse thing after all. There was no reason to be embarrassed.

 

“It’s dull,” I inform him. “Normally Luhan has a strong pulse coming from him.”

 

“Someone like Luhan wouldn’t leave their violin like this if he went away. He’s close by,” Kai mutters, turning and walking away. “But he’s alive… if only barely. Or else there’d be no signature left on his violin.”

 

I shiver at that. Barely alive? What happened here? There is no sign of struggle.

 

I lift my hands away from the instrument and stand back up.

 

“Sehun.”

 

I turn my head and see Kai standing beside the door to the balcony. He stands there in the way of the afternoon sun and slides open the door.

 

“You know Luhan’s signature, right?”

 

I nod and he beckons me forward. I step out onto the balcony and it’s completely clean but for a large black trunk in the middle. I immediately get a bad feeling and I, dropping to my knees, press my hands against the case.

 

“Luhan!” I call.

 

My fingers fiddle with the double latches on the trunk before I throw open the lid and the stench of blood and other bodily fluids hits me so hard. But I can’t even bring myself to mind it as I stare in horror at the sight before me. It’s Luhan, body folded and crumbled, squeezed tightly in the case. I feel dizzy as I slump against the container, my eyes coming to rest on his face in a corner of the luggage. His eyes are blindfolded but his cheeks still show the remains of dried streams of tears. His mouth is gagged with a sock and a handkerchief tied around it as well to keep it in. I can’t even tell if he’s even breathing and his hair is so matted with blood and sweat. The once beautiful violinist was reduced to a state of near unrecognition.

 

Kai shoves me out of the way as I’m completely frozen and I watch as he digs in and pulls the crumpled form out. Luhan’s body unfolds limply in Kai’s arms but he doesn’t stir. His head falls back and limbs, bound with rope, hang limply as Kai shifts him into a bridal style.

 

“We have to help him,” I cry, finding my voice and following Kai as he reenters the apartment and sets Luhan down on the floor.

 

He begins to untie the blindfold and remove the gag.

 

“Help me,” Kai says, voice calm.

 

I come over and begin to untie the ropes at Luhan’s feet. The skin underneath is red and raw. My heart hurts and the tears are streaming down my face without my even trying.

 

“This... this isn’t what I wanted I…” I’m babbling but I can’t stop. “Luhan, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

 

My hands are shaking so badly I can barely work at the ropes and Kai smacks them away and undoes the rest.

 

“Please don’t die, Luhan,” I murmur, hiccupping a bit. “Please don’t die.”

 

“He’s not going to die,” Kai replies. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

 

“I don’t want anyone to die!” I say.

 

He looks at me and our eyes meet. I know I must look like a wreck because his gaze is soft and he reaches over and pushes my hair back and then wipes a bit of the tears away with his thumb.

 

“Neither do I.”

 

He then lets his arm drop and unties the ropes at Luhan’s wrists which are just as raw as his ankles. I can see now, despite how he first appeared, there is a slight rising and falling of his chest. I can’t help but feel relieved. However that feeling is short lived because it’s then that I sense Kai tense beside me and his head turns towards the front door just as it swings open.

 

I was expecting Tao, or maybe the bassist Kris even, but instead I’m staring up at a man I’ve never seen before. He’s thin with dark wavy hair and a slightly vacant gaze that seems to look right at and through you. He doesn’t looks surprised to see us here but his eyes fall upon Luhan on the ground and his gaze turns confused and then hostile.

 

“Kai.”

 

Kai replies, the man’s name falling of his lips.

 

“Lay.”

 

The man, Lay, comes in, dropping to Luhan’s side and my eyes widen when as soon as he cradle the incapacitated violinist his raw wrist and ankles heal over as good as new.

 

“You have ten seconds to explain yourself,” he hisses, looking up from where he Luhan’s blood matted hair and glaring at Kai.

 

“We just got here,” Kai says, sounding and looking as calm as ever.

 

I wipe at my tears with the back of my hands and just try to stay as quiet as possible. As long as the man doesn’t target me I should be fine. I can rely on Kai and he doesn’t actually seem threatened by the presence of Lay.

 

“Likely story,” Lay replies before looking down at Luhan again, expression softening with worry.

 

I feel strange watching it. So this is another muse, I assume, but I don’t know how am I to react. Is he an enemy? But he seems so gentle the way that he’s caring for Luhan and I just hate how nothing seems to be black and white.

 

“Really… just ask him when he wakes up,” Kai insists.

 

Lay levels another glare at Kai as if to show there was no way he trusted him but Kai seems unaffected by it, continuing with his explanation.

 

“Whatever happened to Luhan we have nothing to do with it. I can’t say the same about your roommate, Tao.”

 

-to be continued-

 

AN: oh SNAP son! Luhan! what happened to Luhan! AND OMG LAY! this was a long chapter haha. What do you think of all that has occured? Don't worry Lay is actually a really nice muse. Like really. Maybe all the other muses are bastards but not Lay. So yeah... HOW ABOUT THAT TAO!?

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