After that encounter I gripped my camera tightly in my hands, following the curving edge of the crowd to the other side of the room. Behind the towering pillars was a set of two wide balcony doors, swung open to a wide terrace and outdoor gardens. People in masks and marked by glitter weaved inside and out. I squeezed my way to a shadowed corner nearby, taking a couple deep, calming breaths, my face burning underneath my mask. Xiumin said he was fine, so he was fine. I had to stop myself from worrying about him or those stupid irises.

I held my camera up, focusing in on a random area of dancers. With the strobing lights of the DJ booth no one noticed the bright white flash as I snapped a photo. That was promising, maybe I would actually get a good range of shots. For the next couple minutes I took pictures, slowly panning my way across the room, trying different angles and zooms. The work was mind numbing without a particular subject. Just silhouettes or momentary flashes of skin, fabric, and color filled my tiny screen. Amidst the waves of people I found a figure standing alone. Not dancing. Not even moving, just staring back in my direction.

I lowered the camera from my face. An instant strike of fear struck my chest at the thought of it being the guy from the library. It was too far to tell for sure. His hair was definitely dark, swept up to one side. His dress shirt was neatly tucked into the waistband of his trousers, both matched in black. He had no coat or tie, a simple white mask held loosely in one of his hands. I could just catch it shimmering from this distance.

The most unsettling thing was he wouldn’t look away from my direction.

I turned my head, as if scanning the area, taking baby steps closer to the nearest cluster of dancers. I ghosted behind their circle, hidden as I approached the area he stood. I had to be sure, leaving it as a guess would make me paranoid all night.

A group of girls all wearing cocktail dresses made entirely of sequins pulled back from the crowd. “Excuse me!” One of the girls grabbed my elbow, the red sequins of her dress nearly blinding. Even though she was shouting I had to read her lips to fully understand. “Take our photo please!” The rest of her friends were already pulling together, striking poses while holding their masks up. My stomach shifted uneasily as I lifted the camera to my face.

From the various degrees of bold and cute in their poses, there was space between some of them, enough that I could make out individual figures in the background. I put my finger on the clicker, feeling an icy jolt when I realized the lone figure was in the frame.

The thought to just turn and bolt crossed my mind instinctively. But then I looked closer.

With the way the lights hit shadows were drawn across his features, his jaw and neck highlighted in sharp lines. Faintly, the outline of his lips were visible. As was the arch of his nose, and his brows as they remained raised in surprise. His irises, hypnotic in honey gold gleamed in and out of focus.

It wasn’t the guy.

It was another kingka.

“READY?!” One of the girls shrieked. My heartbeat thudded against my ears, drowning the music and the people screaming along to the lyrics of a song I didn’t know. This feeling was familiar now, enough that I could tell why my body was reacting the way it did.

I was exhilarated, and some ridiculous part of me was attracted.

The girls smiled widely, some counting along so it would be loud enough to hear. “ONE, TWO, THREE!”

The flash went off. They immediately circled around, nodding and giggling at the photo’s turn out. The moment I was released I headed for the balcony doors, the bass drumming into my chest. I couldn’t have seen wrong. This made six, six times I’d seen this happen. Sehun hadn’t been lying; the relationship between the two wasn’t only uncanny, but fixed.

The outside terrace was starkly cool, and clustered by people giggling, chatting, swaying along with the wind. It was like the music had drifted its way into people's minds, making them hazed and giddy. I bunched my skirt in my hands, taking on a light jog to get someplace less crowded. It may have been the breeze, but I already lost feeling of the the pinch of my shoes.

The venue was large, and it’s outdoor gardens spanned well out from its parameters. I passed statues and tall hedge bushes, all artfully cut to precision. The shadows drawn in the grass were long and malformed, creeping figures watching me as I went. Stout hedges weaved in and out, cropping the area into a maze. I kept the building’s on my side, and wound around until the wide drive of the front entrance came into view. I stopped a couple hundred yards back, near a wide arc of degressing steps surrounding a platform. Panting, I dropped my camera and purse on the cement. There was next to no one here, and any sounds of excited chattered were still farther up ahead or back behind me. It was like a bubble of peaceful calm, something I desperately needed from this night. I waved my hands furiously in front of my face, trying to quell the flaming rouge that had spread.

WHY did you run? Gold eyes or no, Nana is going to kick your for not being on camera duty!!!

“He wasn’t even scary looking.” I muttered softly, checking over my dress. Unsurprisingly the cocktail dresses had left their mark; a spot of red and gold sequins on one side of my skirt. Lovely.

I began swatting them away, silently cursing the glitter and sparkles and the formal. A rustle came from behind. I froze. Footsteps - quick ones - were coming closer to where I was. A voice rose from the quiet.

“Miss?”

I stood, just as Byun Baekhyun emerged from the path. He looked slightly out of breath, but his eyes were the same gold I had found them. He had followed me here. I shifted back, and my heel slid on the long grass. The world was suddenly on a high angle, my body falling back into the depress. I let out a cry. A hand came across my shoulders, following my momentum. In the same moment an arm came beneath my feet, and I was lifted up into the air in a sweeping arc. Reflectively my arms wrapped around his shoulders, trying to anchor myself still.

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked. His expression looked fractured between concern and fascination, directed entirely at me. I could only stare, the butterflies reviving inside my gut, threatening to rise into my head and turn it into mush.

“Miss?” He murmured. Those eyes were testing my ability to keep my calm. And my sanity.

“I’m o-okay.” I stammered out. Instead of letting me down he tilted his head to match my own, his illustrious gaze scanning my features carefully. Maybe to see if I was telling the truth, or just because he wanted to look at me. After some consideration he set me down. The moment my feet touched the cement a sharp flare of pain shot through my ankle.

“Ah-!” I cried. His arms immediately came around my waist, holding me steady. I stared at his collar, my hands clutching at his shirt.

“You’re hurt.” It was a statement instead of a question, and to my surprise alarm quickly grew on his face.

“I rolled on it funny when I stood-” my voice sounded strange, my left calf still swung up from the ground. Very unhelpful in pleading my case. His face drew in, and in the next moment I was in the air again.

“Y-y-you don’t need to carry me!” I cried, keeping my hands pointedly off his shoulders. “I can just take off the shoes!”

“I don’t think that’ll help.” He gestured to my foot with his chin. The ankle had already turned slightly pink, puffing around the strap of my shoe. “We need to see if it’s sprained.” I bit my lips, trying to find a protest as he looked for a place to sit. His arms were wrapped tightly around me, and he walked as if I weighed a feather, which I definitely did not. Any second I anticipated feeling his arms to strain. Finally I spotted a wooden bench and jabbed an arm out to it.

“I’m sorry.” I said the moment he set me down. He gave me an easy smile. In all of a minute I could tell he was a more brazen and forward Exo member, and the golden eyes could probably drive him further. To increase my horror he went down on one knee, unclasping the ankle strap of my shoe. I tried blurting another wave of protests, but he ignored my flustering hands.

“Relax, are you going to hop back to the dance?” He joked, somehow at ease with the situation.

“Of course not!” I said, trying in vain to cover my ankles with my hands. “But I can take care of this, don’t trouble yourself.”

“It’s more troublesome if you don’t let me help.” He said evenly, but it was also good natured. I tried meeting his eyes, but the hypnotic gold was just too dangerous to test myself with. “What is it?” He asked, noticing my conflicted expression.

“N-nothing.” I turned my head, embarrassment and a whole mound of other emotions burning my face.

Get a grip woman!

For a couple minutes he just examined my foot, cautiously testing the muscle’s ability to move. I winced, peeking a glance at the crown of his head. My mind flew with thoughts. Did he not realize his eyes were gold? What was Xiumin doing now that he knew; what was Baekhyun going to do?

“It’s still sore isn’t it?” He asked. “I don’t think it’s sprained, but it doesn’t hurt to keep off it for a little while.” He settled my foot against his knee.

“Your knee will hurt if you stay in this position.” I said in a lowered voice. He blinked up at me, and on cue my head swivelled to the bushes.

“It’s fine.” He said, his voice musing. “I’ve actually hurt my ankle a bunch of times so I’ve gotten good at treating foot injuries.”

“Oh, uh... how?”

“I practice hapkido, or I used to. Nowadays I play regular sports.” I nodded at the piece of information, staring blankly at the hedges nearby. His golden orbs were still burning in my head, making it hard to think.

I had done it again, and I still couldn’t figure out the how.

He wasn’t going to try and kiss me like Chanyeol did… right?

“It’s kind of cold huh?”

“It is a bit chilly, I guess.” I said mildly. He shifted, careful not to move the knee supporting my foot. He was looking at me, and I wasn’t at him. Technically this was the rudest I’d been to a stranger.  

“Are you…?”

I turned my head slightly in his direction. “Hm?” I managed, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

He wouldn’t give up staring. “Are you a first year?”

“I’m a second.”

“What class?”

“B.”

“Oh, then do you know Sehun and Kai?”

“Yes.”

“...Do you always give short answers to strangers?”

“N-no.” My evenness cracked, making him chuckle. I bit my lips into a thin line, my cheeks reddening. “I’m sorry.” To his credit, his expression never dampened.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“W-why would you say that.”

“Your expression kinda shows it.”

My gaze flickered, going to the side of his cheek. “Y-you’re reading it wrong.”

He smiled a little brighter, laughing at himself. “If you say so.” It was an honest expression, tugging my conscience out. Like Chanyeol, Baekhyun was known as one of the more friendly and open kingkas. Expression seemed to come easy to him, so it wasn’t hard to see his mood or sincerity. He was comfortable, and it made it easier for me to try to be. But brown eyes would make it so much more better.

I ducked my head in a small bow. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.” He offered his hand. “I’m Byun Baekhyun, a third year.” I took it, offering a tentative smile.

“Yes, I know who you are sunbae.”

“As a kingka right?” He scratched his head. His gaze crossed over the nearby bushes and statues, as if searching for something to say. I slipped my foot back into my shoe, loosely fitting the strap.

“Um, I should probably get back inside-” I reached for my camera. “I’m in photography club. Got to take photos.”

“Already?” He said, his expression falling. Probably out of concern. He stood, offering his hand. I accepted the help, testing out my foot. Tender, but thankfully not painful enough to stop me from moving. “I’ll walk you back.”

I hesitated at the offer, my eyes trailing up to his golden irises. I need to say something.

“Do you..?” I started, but then he looked at me, so I had to place my eyes somewhere else, over his shoulder. Baekhyun followed my gaze.

“What are you staring at?” His mouth twitched with humor.

I cleared my throat, trying not to sound like an idiot. “They have nice… art work...statues. It’s pretty.”

“You mean that?” He gestured behind me to a stone woman, arms extended gracefully over flowing robes. It was the only one in our nearby vicinity.

“Yea…” I said in a small voice, turning back around. He was already looking at me amusedly, but his gaze inherently demanded to be acknowledged. Looking at him directly crumbled my thoughts, the shifting hues of gold hypnotizing me into quiet.

“You know,” I murmured, hesitating. He waited patiently “your eyes changed color earlier. They’re um, yellow right now.” The realization was slow, but when it fully hit him he was as motionless as the stone woman.

“Oh,” He said. I watched him carefully, half anticipating a string of curses or for him to bolt off in terror. Baekhyun did neither, his eyes only stretching bigger. “Oh.” He looked like all the air was knocked out of him. Incredibly similar to Xiumin. “So… you’re…”

So Sehun, Kai, and them did warn the other kingkas about me. “Yeah.” I said shortly. Baekhyun’s gaze fell to the ground and I felt my conscience twist into guilt. “I’m sorry, it’s because of me-” I struggled to find the words. “Sehun-ah told me I had something to do with it. I didn’t mean to look at you directly earlier, but I thought you were someone else and needed to make sure-”.

“It’s alright.” He murmured. I stared, not entirely convinced.

“Are y-you sure? You don’t feel woozy or pain-” Or intense shock or a need to start kissing people? Surprisingly I earned myself another smile, though I didn’t understand why. Despite my guard being up, that instinctive flutter inside my chest began to build from the way he looked at me.

“Not really. I mean I was expecting something but-” He caught himself, slowly shaking his head “I didn’t think it’d be this.”

“Oh.” I said. “Is it... bad?”

His gaze said something entirely otherwise. “Not even close.” We were caught in a staring contest, one that didn’t feel like it could break. I was drawn to the details of his face, seeing them in a way the darkness of the dance hadn’t let me. Ever so carefully he leaned closer, his eyes falling to the lower half of my face. His hand left a tingly warm imprint on my cheek, and I could feel the trace of his fingers over my ear, finding the roots of my hair. Instinctively I leaned back, but only a little. When I stilled again he reached behind my head, and I could feel the satin strings of my mask being loosen.

“What are you doing?” I spoke. He didn’t answer right away, gently pulling the lace mask off and taking in my face in with his eyes. It was a gaze of unguarded affection, I couldn’t explain it to myself any other way. But to me, a stranger, it didn’t make sense. The reasoning side of my mind told me to ease away from the kingka but I swept the thoughts back instinctively. I needed to stand my ground, I had to know more about them.

Abruptly the expression vanished, his eyes becoming vacant. A slow crease began to form in his brow. I saw the emotions as they rose up to his face. Confusion, then shock. Then the beginnings of anger.

“What’s wrong?” I said cautiously. He blinked, but his gaze wouldn’t return to the present. He was in his head, with hidden thoughts I couldn’t decipher on my own.

“Let’s go inside.” He said suddenly.  

“O-okay.” I said, pulling the camera strap over my head. He took my arm, walking us through the dimly lit path. It was like he was in a trance, aware of his surroundings but then not. I could stare until I tripped from my heels but he would only grip me tighter, and continue at a slightly slower pace. “S-something’s wrong, isn’t it?” I finally blurted, the tense quiet too much for me. “Please be honest.”

“I need to find Lay.” He said, looking down to my foot. I followed his gaze, confused.

“Why?” We stepped onto the stone terrace, weaving between party goers. These were the people I regularly saw at school, but in masks and fancy outfits they were suddenly strangers. Entering the hall, the music blasted over my eardrums. It felt louder than the first time.   

“There’s something I have to do. You need to stay with him.”

“But why?” I tugged back on his arm and Baekhyun finally slowed, peering down at me. “I already have photography to do. And,” I lowered my voice “your eyes still haven’t changed back.” He considered the thought, and then blinked them shut, taking a few long breaths. When he opened them next they were dark.

I’m not that surprised anymore.

His eyes momentarily widened, as if realizing. “I wasn’t supposed to do that infront of you.”

I kept my voice even. “Kai already has once, but it was by accident.” I shoved down the butterflies in my gut. That fact that it just kept happening so easily, multiple times in one night irked me.  

“If you’re busy I should-”

“No. You need to stay with one of us.” Baekhyun said quickly.  

“What’s wrong Baekhyun sunbae?” Watching him made the colors and flashes of light feel hazy. We were right in the middle of it, but masquerade dance was suddenly miles away. My curiosity was tipping over into wariness over what this could be about.

He leaned closer so I could hear better. That left only a slim gap between our faces. “Just trust me.” Each of them found a way to leave it at that. Trust. How was I supposed to if I was the one purposely left in the dark? “I’ll bring Lay, wait here.”

“Bu-” He turned before I was able to form a whole word, breaking through the crowd in a jog. Heads turned to follow his movements, but the parting he made quickly swept away, and suddenly I was all alone to my thoughts. And a dull pain beginning to pulse from my ankle. Great.

I hobbled over to one of the walkway pillars, bracing my hand on it while I undid the strap on my ankle. I rotated my foot around a couple times, wincing at the minor flashes of pain. A few faces turned to me even though I was without a kingka. Without my mask I felt even more stripped and vulnerable. Tingles still ghosted my cheek from where he touched me. It was like my body was hyperaware to skinship.

I squeezed the mask in my hand, stuffing my foot in the stupid heel. I took careful steps into the crowd, slowly scanning its contents for kingkas, even Jae Hwa or Nana if I could find them. Suddenly there was a crash, glass breaking across the marble. Girls shrieked as the crowd surged, and then I felt the press of a body larger than mine, pitching me back onto the ground. I fell, pain immediately flaring at my spine and head when I hit the ground. The size of the body squeezed the remaining air from my lungs, so my instinctive cry sounded crushed and pained.

“!” Onlookers crowded around from the boy. The first thing I realized was how entirely limp he was. I tried to push his shoulders, but nothing, his masked face flat on the ground next to my ear. I didn’t hear a groan, or the sound of breathing. The floor against my back was cold, but his body temperature was the same, if not colder, and my own body temperature was immediately  starting to seep from me.

Two guys managed to pull him up by his slack arms, his face becoming level to mine. It was entirely covered in his mask, only two puncture holes in the nose open to let him to breath.

I in air with a gasp, my senses burning.

His eyes were wide open.

“Hello little lamb.” He spoke, soft and gentle, but his mouth was covered by painted golden lips in a ghoulish smile. “I thought I’d never find you.” Fear unfurled deep from within my stomach, rocketing up my body in a burning panic. I didn’t need to see a face to recognize those charcoal eyes.

I clawed at the ground, scrambling to get my legs out. Suddenly he lurched back, peeling off me in one fluid movement. A hand held him roughly by the collar, making him dangle at the tips of his shoes. The onlookers immediately backed away from Sehun, fury writhing off of him so intense and cold the surrounding temperature dropped a couple degrees.  

Hands grasped my shoulders, a voice calling me: “Lena?” The masked guy rolled his head to the side, staring Sehun behind the fixed smile of his mask. He could have been saying something, I couldn’t tell.

“Can you stand?” Chanyeol was crouched down, holding my shoulders. Pain pulsed at my head and feet, uncannily in time with the pounding music. A thought pulled from the recesses of my mind, something I had forgotten, but still so important it started pounding in a mantra against my skull.

Sehun was going to kill him. Sehun was going to kill him. Sehun was going to kill him.

I had to stop him.

Kai shoved through the crowd, his face hardened into a glare before he caught sight of his target. The guy tilted his head, golden lipped smile and all.

“Wait-!” The cry was from me. But Kai had pulled Sehun back, his hand clutched in a fist. He hit the guy square in the face, splintering the mask with a resounding crack. The guy dropped to the ground clutching at the pieces as people gasped.

“ing hell.” Chanyeol breathed out, and jumped to squeeze in before either of them could land another punch. I tried to stand too, but new hands held me down. Lay’s voice filled one of my ears, his words blurred in a hum along with all the surrounding noises. Music, gasps, words. I kept staring numbly ahead, his arms holding me to him. Baekhyun and another kingka - Luhan? - emerged from the crowd, backing the youngest two away from the laying figure. In the matter of moments we had the attention of more than half of the school, people crowding in with rippling shock.

This scene was really... eerily familiar.

“-is she alright?”

No. Not the crowd, not Lay or Chanyeol. My line of sight unconsciously narrowed to the two original figures of the stand off. The guy in the crippling mask, and the ice prince.

“Her ankle- “ Fabric swept over my legs, a feeble warmth enveloping them. “-need to get her out…” I felt Lay prepare to lift me but I stiffened against his grasp. Bits and pieces of a memory seemed to fit together in my head, building an image mirroring the present. Filling the details I missed just by looking.

The soccer field. The forest. Queenka minions-

“Lena-ah. Hey!” Lay cupped the side of my face, turning my head so I’d look at him. “Are you hurt anywhere?” He look worried, but tensed. Like at the slightest indication he was ready to grab me and make a break for it. Nana was standing behind him, her brows knit in a line as she watched the ice prince. I turned to the figure on the ground, partly concealed by the legs of people standing over him. His fingers remained stretched across his face, but between the broken pieces of mask and fingers I was suddenly sure he was watching, smiling at the chaos he started.

The name formed on my lips, the last shard to fill the tortured picture. And with it, a renewed sense of terror I didn’t realize was familiar washed over me. Hei.

“STOP!” A voice screamed. Not mine, even though my chest was painfully empty of air. Yukiko emerged from the crowd, flanked on one side by Mun Hee, and a cluster of minions on the other. Many of them gaped at the spectacle in front of them. The third year queenka was the only one who dared to walk straight through, wedging herself between the kingkas and Hei.

“Move Yukiko sunbae.” Kai said lowly, his murderous gaze solely for the crouched figure. Sehun wasn’t even going to bother with a warning; his hand was tightened into a prepared fist, waiting for the next opening to land a hit.

“That’s my brother.” Yukiko said, her voice even, holding her ground. Kai finally looked down at her, his enraged eyes widening. My own mouth popped open. Though a queenka - as cold, calculating, and perceptive as they came - I couldn’t picture the two being related. Yukiko didn’t say anything further, her lips in a firm line.    

“What is going on here?!” A voice bellowed. Two or three of the teacher chaperones pushed through the crowd. Murmurs instantly drew to a hush, leaving only the blaring dance music to fill the silence, uncomfortably echoey. The gym teacher immediately went for the kingkas along with Mr. Im. They halted at a puddle of liquid and glass shards, a drink spilled. Alcohol, a forbidden item at school functions.  

The school nurse crouched down in front of me. “Are you alright?” She said, helping me to stand. My foot immediately throbbed, but Lay had a hold on me before I would pitch down. He spoke to her, but their conversation another blur to me. It wasn’t long before she was called to Hei, and a violent shiver rattled down my spine when she and Yukiko helped him up to a sitting position.  

“Disperse!” Mr. Im ordered, waving his hands over the crowd. The outer rings slowly obeyed, but some of us were stuck frozen in place, reeling. The minions, Mun Hee, Nana.

The gym teacher had successfully grouped the kingkas a little ways away, and was speaking animatedly, demanding an explanation. I watched them, my eyes going from face to face. When I reached Sehun and Kai, something inside broke. They knew what had happened, they let me forget.

Luhan was the only one who caught me staring. I couldn’t control the hurt and fear that twisted my expression. It was a look that said I blamed them, even though my feelings were much more complicated than that. I stared and stared, and a distant part of my mind finally realized how brown his eyes were. Brown, and not gold. His weren’t changing, stuck in a normal, unseeming color.

~~~

Hi everyone!

I am back with another update :) if only I could always be this fast  

Yes this is a single chapter update, I know I made a habit of posting two chapters at a time but I think going forward I won’t be so strict on that (meaning if I get two chapters done fast, it’ll be a double update. If I get only one, then it will be a single chapter update).

Please subscribe, comment, or upvote if you enjoy reading M.B.N, I will always appreciate it ^^

And until next time! *Throws sparkly confetti cause why not*

Bye~