Random Rambles: Hello? *Taps the mic a few times* hello, is this thing on? Is there anybody out there? All my Exo fans out there, are you still alive? Their last concert has been the death of me so many times I’m starting to wonder why I’ve decided to stan them OTL So ex(o)hausted…Oh well, gonna happily continue fanficcing as if nothing happened~ New chappie sweeties, enjoy! <3 

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“I can’t believe this, I cannot believe this! You just hit someone with a frying pan, Yoona- a frying pan! Who does that?!” 

I sat uneasily on the couch, watching Mom pace back forth in front of me as she mumbled to herself in what I presumed was an inner freakout. No one dared to utter a word or make a single sound. The thirteen of us sat on the couches in the living room in a neat row, following my mother with our eyes. I was much too late to communicate to them that they should stay away. They all burst through the door, screaming my name and that of Kai, when my mother turned around, still armed with the frying pan that she had not let go of since she got home, commanding everyone to sit down and to shut up. 

Mothers had amazing powers of persuasion, so we’ve been sitting in awkward, tense silence watching a hobbit-sized woman talking to herself while swinging a frying pan around from time to time. We were superhuman beings, able to transform into vicious wolves, but we were too chicken to evoke the wrath of mother. Nobody messes with momma, and we all seemed to know that. 

That woman probably knew that too, once she woke up. I still nervously gazed at her unmoving form in the kitchen from time to time, afraid that she’d suddenly bounce back up with a vengeance. It’s only been a few minutes since Mom epically smashed the frying pan against that woman’s noggin, and it was obvious that she wouldn’t wake up for a while, but that didn’t necessarily relax me. 

“Um, Mom?” I ever so cautiously called out. I sensed the boys becoming tense when I did so, and given any other circumstance I would’ve laughed at them, but not this time. Mom didn’t seem to hear me. 

“Well, it wasn’t like you had much of a choice, did you, Yoona? That crazy lady pounced on your daughter, she’s lucky that she wasn’t impaled by the frying pan instead!” Mom continued her monologue. “A frying pan, Yoona! You cook for your family with this thing! Then again, how dare she break into my house and attack my baby?! Attacked someone else’s baby! Attacked my living room!” 

I cringed when her voice became gradually louder. “Mom,” I tried again, hoping I could get her attention, but she was too much in her own world. Not that I could blame her. 

“Jae, I don’t think you should interrupt her,” Kris whispered ever so softly, hardly moving his lips. 

“Yeah, what if she finds out that the mess in the living room was our fault, noona?” Chen added through stiff lips, having to lean over D.O. who was sitting beside me, and sitting up straight when Mom turned around towards our direction as she kept on pacing about. 

“Shh,” Xiumin warned, never once letting his eyes off my mom. 

“What even happened? What made this woman go crazy like that? Attacking a bunch of kids?” Mom still muttered to herself. “I mean I know teenagers can get on your nerves, but these aren’t even her teenagers!” 

“Well, at least you know where you get your monologuing from,” D.O. remarked dryly, wincing shortly when I nudged him with my elbow. 

“Noona, how high are our chances of escaping?” Baekhyun asked softly, sitting next to Kris. 

“I think we’d only get out of here if Kai can teleport us,” I answered, cringing at watching Mom swing her frying pan around. 

“That might take some time,” Baekhyun whispered in regret, looking over to Kai who sat between Chanyeol and Lay. During this time, Lay had ever so subtly started healing his injuries without Mom noticing, but I could tell that Kai was still in pain. What had she done to him? 

Luhan caught my look and lifted an eyebrow in question, as though asking for permission. I nodded. 

Don’t worry, it’s nothing Lay can’t heal, Jae, he assured me. 

Yah, be quiet everyone, Suho suddenly sounded, widening his eyes at us in warning, sitting perfectly straight. Why did I get the feeling that Suho never got into trouble before?

“Why would she even go off like that?” Mom still babbled. “What could these kids have done that was so bad? They’re decent kids, aren’t they? Suho is well-mannered and kind,” she muttered, heaving deep breaths as to contain her freakout as best as she could. “Given, I’m not sure about the kid with the catlike grin on his face. Poor child looks a bit like a dinosaur - but that’s no reason to attack them,” she suddenly commented, causing Chen to blink in shock. 

“Yah,” he protested softly, the rest of us trying to bite back our laughter. I decided that this had gone on long enough and took a deep breath. I saw the dagger gleam on the table before us. Mom hadn’t realized yet what it was and that’s how I wanted to keep it - for now. 

“Mom,” I said again, my voice louder and stronger, startling at first when she looked at me as though she saw me for the first time. The shock was still evident in her eyes and I swallowed. Where do I start? 

“Mom, look, I understand that this is definitely a weird scene to come home to, but- and I know it’s hard -, I need you to calm down,” I regretted saying it the moment I caught a glint of something switching in Mom’s eyes and her body tensed. 

“I can explain everything,” was my go-to response, a lump forming in my throat. “I hope you’re willing to listen, and leave these guys out of it,” I gestured at the nervous boys behind me. “We’ve all had a long day and the boys really don’t have anything to do with all of this. They were just trying to help me, so don’t be mad at them,” I tried to salvage whatever I could and luckily - though annoyingly typically - the boys made no attempt to protest against my words. Probably figured that since she’s my Mom it was best that I should deal with her. 

“You can explain everything,” Mom repeated, stating it, rather than asking. I noticed her hand readjusting her grip on the frying pan. I my dry lips and nodded. 

“Hmhm,” Mom mused and the tone in which she said it, signaled trouble. Oh crap. “You’ve had a long day,” she repeated again as I slowly shrank down. “And I should calmly listen and leave these boys out of this, right?” he added, breathing through her nose. 

“Ah, so you understand, ajummeoni, then we’ll be off,” Baekhyun commented as he stood up from the couch. I sincerely hoped that it was because he was nervous, otherwise he really at reading the atmosphere. Of course Mom’s eyes darted towards him, sharp and punishing like that of a hawk eyeing its prey. 

“Young man, sit down!” General Mom scolded, causing Baekhyun to immediately plop back down in his seat. “No one is going anywhere until all of this madness is explained,” she said firmly, pointing at Baekhyun with the frying pan. He jumped a little. “What’s your name?” she asked him. 

Nervous, Baekhyun swallowed, fidgeting with his shirt. “Chen, ma’am,” he answered, prompting the actual Chen to protest. 

“Yah! Don’t lie!” he piped up in mild panic, immediately quieting down when Mom glanced at him. 

“Chen, huh?” she directed her attention towards him. “Tell me, what’s his name?” she gestured. 

“Byun Baekhyun, ajummeoni,” Chen replied without skipping a beat.  

Mom nodded slowly, turning back towards Baekhyun who seemed to shrank by the second. “Byun Baekhyun,” she mused in that frightening way that only mothers could get away with. “I’ll remember you,” she gave him one more look and only after she saw that she successfully intimidated him did she wink. 

“Okay, down, mother,” I interjected, her head turning sharply to look at me. 

“Don’t you start, young lady, I’m not nearly through with you,” she pointed out. “Jae-,” she started, making wild, twitchy gestures as she tried to find the proper words. When she couldn’t, she huffed in frustration and simply gestured all around her. “Look!” she raised her voice. “I don’t even know where I should start my questions, so you better just start talking, young lady! Tell me why the house is a mess and I was forced to knock out your father’s colleague with my favorite frying pan?!”

Mom stared at me, waiting for an explanation and I was completely stunned. I didn’t know what to say or how to start. I couldn’t make up excuses anymore. The lie was over. We’re busted. What do I say to my mother? She was gonna freak out no matter what I told her, so I wouldn’t even know how to minimize the damage. 

I took a deep breath and started to speak when all of a sudden, 

I can erase her recent memories if you want, Jae. You know that you can’t explain this to her. She won’t understand, said Luhan in a grave voice. 

She might, I replied, instantly knowing that my answer was a weak attempt to sound convincing enough that I could actually believe it myself. What could I do, though? I didn’t particularly liked the idea of Luhan messing with my mother’s mind. 

She won’t. How can she understand this when she’s already reacting like that? he added, but this rubbed me the wrong way. Having seen Luhan’s memories, I knew that he had a difficult relationship with his parents back in Exo planet, but that didn’t mean that my mother was the same. 

I have to give her a chance. She deserves that much, Luhan, I told him, and I could hear him sigh softly behind me. 

“Jae?” Mom called, still waiting for an answer. 

“I’m thinking,” I said and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest. 

Jae, it’s no disrespect to your mother, but the truth will freak her out and she’ll say and do things that will hurt you and even drive you away from her. You don’t want that- trust me. Let me erase her mind, he sounded less crude this time, the warmth and concern evident in his manner of speaking. 

The corner of my lips twitched into a smile. My mother armed herself with a frying pan to protect me, Luhan. Let me try and tell her. If you’re right, then you have my permission to erase her memories, I compromised with a heavy heart. 

And what if I’m wrong? You’re willing to expose her to our secrets, increasing the risk that Mr. Yok and Miss Kumiho will come after her if they deem it necessary? 

. He had a point there. I was vaguely aware that Suho was trying to talk my mother off a ledge when I took too long to answer her, and it was a distraction that was greatly appreciated. 

If they are as evil as I think they are, then they’ll come after my family regardless. A knot twisted itself in my stomach at this detestable shot of reality. If my mother knows about it, she has a chance to defend herself. That seems preferable than have her get hurt without her knowing or understanding why. 

I understand that, Jae, but think this through. It’s dangerous to tell her everything. Whether she wants to or not, there are ways to make people talk. On the other hand, if there is nothing your mother knows- well, you can’t squeeze blood from a stone, he reasoned. 

Except you can from humans. Should they come after my mother for information or whatever, and find out that she truly knows nothing, she would be considered obsolete and that would put her into more danger, I retorted, knowing all too well how that woman had no problem trying to squeeze the life out of me. 

Luhan sighed again. It’s your call then. 

“Okay, you know what, you go and have a think how you’re going to explain everything to me- and baby girl, this better be good or so help you God - and I’ll go and call the police. They have trash to take out of my house,” she pointed at Miss Kumiho. However, her announcement of calling the authorities nearly had all of us getting up to stop her. 

“What in heavens name?!” Mom exclaimed, a frown gracing her face as she saw my hand around her wrist, preventing her to take another step. “Jae, what has gotten into you?”

See? I told you she won’t understand, Luhan remarked snippily and I turned around to shoot him a glare. My mother, being ever so observant followed the gaze, but noticed Kai instead. 

“Oh. Oh, goodness,” she muttered. “Yes, you- cutie pie number five, what’s your name?” 

I frowned at my mother, pulling a questioning face at her when she shrugged. “What? I don’t know all their names yet, I have to find a way to distinguish them,” she dismissed quickly. “Don’t worry, Suho, you’re number one,” she added to my embarrassment, directing herself to the young man in question. Despite the situation, Suho tentatively and shyly smirked. 

“Oh my God,” I muttered in disbelief. 

“Your name, sweetie,” Mom urged a confused Kai, who was still holding onto his side. Lay may be healing his injuries, but the blood on his shirt wouldn’t be washed away. 

“K-Kai, ma’am,” he muttered. 

“Kai. Alright, Kai, we should get you an ambulance,” she stated, starting to make her way to get the phone. 

“Wait, that’s not necessary, ajummeoni,” Kai immediately prompted, the others having already twitched to stop my mom. “I’m fine, really. I don’t need an ambulance,” he insisted, eyes darting over towards me. 

“Don’t need an ambulance? You’re bleeding, young man!” 

“Actually, he’s not, ajummeoni, really no need to worry,” Lay added, in hopes to calm her down. 

“Oh, I see, you’re a doctor, are you, Mr. Dimple?” she snapped. I cringed.

“He’s fine, Mom,” I interrupted, swallowing again when she widened her eyes at me. “Kai only fell. He spilled ketchup on his shirt and barbecue sauce…it was a whole mix, wasn’t it?” I feigned, seeing Kai catching on and nodding to confirm my words. I figured it would be the last lie I’d tell my mom. Luhan did have a point after all, but I we had to explain this to her somehow. She could know the global bits of information. I’ll keep magic and shapeshifting out of the equation- for now. 

“Ketchup and barbecue sauce?” Mom asked in disbelief. 

“Yes, ajummeoni, Kai and I were eating at my parents’ restaurant before coming here. It’s a special, thick sauce,” Chanyeol added, his grin wide to hide his nervousness. 

Mom shook her head. “Regardless, I’m a responsible mother! It’s my duty to call- someone!” she started, a freakout pending to explode at any moment. 

“Mom, you can’t- I mean, you don’t have to,” I stammered, feeling the panic and helplessness kick in again. Maybe Luhan was right. Maybe I shouldn’t tell her- how would I explain? I looked at the others briefly. 

Just say the word and I’ll erase her recent memories, Jae, Luhan offered again. 

And if I still don’t want you to? I asked. 

We trust you, Jae, D.O. suddenly sounded, the others nodding subtly. 

Okay, so no pressure, right? I attempted to joke, taking a deep breath before looking at my mother. 

“Mom, you once told me that you were here, too, remember? If I was ready then I could come and talk to you,” I reminded her. I hoped it would have calmed her down somewhat, but instead, she became more tense and worried. 

“Yes?” she urged, and it was some consolation to see that she set the frying pan down. 

“Well, I’m not ready to tell you, to be honest, but there’s no better time than the present, right?” I continued as calmly and gently as possible. She had slowly sank down and Sehun quickly got up to get her a chair to sit on. 

“It’s a long story,” I started, though I could sense Luhan’s disapproval in my mind. Bad idea or not, Mom deserved to know the truth for once. She’d understand, or at least try to…I hope. 

“And it’s definitely not an easy one to explain or comprehend,” I made sure to carefully pick my words. 

“Jae, just tell me what happened here,” she interjected, a hand placed above her heart as if she couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. 

“We- well, Miss Kumiho, she- um,” this was not going well. I fumbled and stumbled over my own words, until my mother had had enough and grabbed my hand, forcing me to look at her. 

“Just tell me the truth,” she stated. 

“The truth. Right,” I nodded. The others looked like they wanted to hide as I sat down on the coffee table so I was at eye-level with her. “Here it is. I know that it’s going to sound ridiculous, but I swear that it’s the truth. The reason that Miss Kumiho went after us, and tried to choke me to death, was because of this,” I grabbed the dagger from the table and showed it to her. Mom frowned at the weapon, a puzzled look on her face. 

“This dagger is a pretty big deal, in ways that I can’t even begin to explain- it’s not from this world, exactly,” I cringed as I realized how I sounded, but the thing about the truth was that sometimes it sounded ridiculous. “But it has the ability to change this world. Miss Kumiho- she’s working for someone bad, who wants to have this dagger for himself, but he’s going to do bad things with it. Dangerous things. We didn’t know this of course, before we went to get the dagger from E.T. Corp, but now that we do know, we can’t let Mr. Yok get the dagger back.” Alright, so that was the extremely short version of the whole story, but it was what it was. 

I glanced at my mother who let the words sink in. She looked down at the dagger and reached for it. 

“Whoa, I don’t think that’s such a good-,” I started, but fell still when she grabbed it and held it in her hand to look at it. “- Idea…” I finished. 

Mom blinked her eyes rapidly before focusing back on me. “Mr. Yok wants this dagger that you all got from E.T. Corp?” she asked. 

I nodded whilst biting my bottom lip. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but that dagger is important, Mom. Important enough for someone like Miss Kumiho to want to kill me for it,” I emphasized, carefully waiting for the bomb to explode. 

Mom turned to the boys on the couch when she saw some of them nodding in all seriousness. She studied their expressions before turning towards me again. “Mr. Yok, as in, the founder of E.T. Corp, the company your father works for?” 

“Yes, Mom. The guy is insane. We’re not sure what he means to do with the dagger, exactly, but it’s going to be bad. I mean, it explains all the freaky storms we’ve been having lately. Maybe he’s somehow responsible for that, and he even sent that woman after us!” I told her. 

“Alright,” Mom suddenly said, surprising me. 

“Alright?” I repeated a bit hesitatingly. 

Mom nodded seriously and a silence fell. She didn’t take her eyes off me once, until she suddenly started laughing-, but not in a good way. I questioningly looked at the others, but they lifted their shoulders as well. 

“Let me get this straight, to see if I understand,” Mom started, but my chest tightened when I heard the skepticism in her tone of voice. 

“Mr. Yok is in secret an evil mastermind that means to do bad things with this dagger and sent one of his henchmen after you because you thwarted his plan by taking this dagger from E.T. Corp. Is that a good summation?” she asked. 

“Well, yes, but if you put it like that-,” 

“Do you think I’m an idiot, Jae?!” Mom interrupted, startling me. She…she doesn’t believe me? I felt Luhan’s presence in the back of my mind. 

Jae,-

Don’t you dare say it!

He became still as I looked at my mother in disbelief myself. 

“Did you hear yourself, just now?” she asked, standing up, the dagger in her hand. “Bad guy wanting to use some dagger to mess up the world? What is this? A fantasy novel?! I asked you to tell me the truth, Jae! And what do you do? Make up some fanfiction plot story?!” she yelled at me. 

“But, she is telling you the truth, ajummeoni-,” Tao carefully tried to back me up. 

“No, don’t any of you start as well!” she directed towards the boys. “I should call all of your parents!” she stated, trembling with anger and disappointment when she faced me again. “And this- thing?!” she held the dagger loosely in her hand. “Is this what I think it is, Jae?! Were all of you in E.T. Corp last night?” Shock was plastered on her face as realization sunk in. “Did you steal this dagger from your father’s company?!” she nearly shrieked, appalled. 

“We didn’t do it for the heck of it,” I started, feeling tears coming up since the shock of my own mother not even trying to understand this was a bit too much to bear. “I told you, it was something we needed to do. I’m- I’m not lying to you!” 

“You dare look me in my face and say that?” she retaliated, shaking her head. “I’m starting to understand why that woman had her hands around your neck- what, in heaven’s name, were you thinking, Jae?” she asked, disappointment and hurt clear in her voice. “All of you, decent young men risking your entire lives for a brief moment of adrenaline!”

“It’s not like that, ajummeoni, there’s more to the story than Jae told you,” Kris attempted.

“Yeah! It’s a lot more complicated than that! Mr. Yok and Miss Kumiho- they’re old enemies,” Sehun suddenly started wanting to defend me. 

“Sehun, don’t,” Suho tried to warn, but the maknae wouldn’t listen. 

“We’re guardians from another planet and that dagger was our responsibility, but we lost it. And now we found it again, so technically it never belonged to Mr. Yok to begin with, ajummeoni,” he pleaded, but we cringed. 

Mom looked like she was ready to explode. “Guardians from another-? Okay. That is it,” she exclaimed. “I gave you the opportunity to explain, Jae,” she said to me. “To tell me the truth, and this is what you come up with? Even drag your friends into this- I never expected this from my daughter.”

Bam. One of the worst sentences a child could hear from their parents, and it was directed right at me. I don’t believe I’ve ever felt so upset before. Mom was supposed to have my back, try to understand things, she was supposed to be different- but maybe she was like Luhan’s parents after all. I thought for sure that I could trust her, that she would at least try…

I’m sorry, Jae, Luhan said quietly. Offer still stands. It’s not too late, he added, but I shook my head subtly. 

Then you’d have to erase my memories as well, because I won’t be able to forget that this happened, that my Mom would- I sighed quietly, biting back the tears. No. I’ll deal with this, I stated stubbornly, angrily. Was it stupid to feel betrayed? Maybe I should’ve seen this coming. 

“So that’s why you didn’t want me to call the police. Because then they would find out that this dagger is missing and that you were the ones that stole it,” she shook her head. “Alright. Here’s what I’m going to do. I am going to call the police to tell them that Miss Kumiho trespassed on private property and attacked Jae,” she started, a grave look on her face. “After I’ve called them, I want all twelve of you out of my house, and don’t think that you’re off the hook so easily. You better learn from your mistakes, or so help me God, I will call your parents and the authorities should something like this occur again! As for this dagger and the mess you’ve all made- we’ll deal with that privately,” she instructed, looking lastly at me. 

“I’m going to the kitchen to make that call. By the time I come back, I want you boys gone, is that understood?” she said derisively. 

“But, but- w-we’re wolves! We all are! We can do magic- that woman can do magic too, she nearly killed Jae-noona!” Sehun gestured at Miss Kumiho in a last attempt to convince my mother. 

“Sehun, stop,” Suho warned. 

“No, hyung, this isn’t fair! Do you know under how much stress your daughter has been living, ajummeoni?” Sehun suddenly directed towards my stunned mother, approaching her. “You’re her mother, so you must’ve sensed it! Every time you might’ve thought that there’s something troubling her, but she never told you- only said to you that everything was alright and that you shouldn’t have to worry, that you can trust her- That was Jae-noona protecting you from all the burden she was carrying herself! You claimed that you wanted her to tell you the truth, and now she has and we even back her up on it, you don’t believe her! How is that right, ajummeoni? Think about it! Jae-noona is your daughter, isn’t she? Have you known her to lie about something like this?” Sehun scolded passionately, until he realized what he had done and turned a deeper shade of red. He gulped and quickly bowed to apologize. 

“I mean, I say so with all due respect, of course, ajummeoni,” he mumbled quietly. 

The tension in the air was so thick I’m pretty sure it was bordering to obesity. Mom eyed him relentlessly, but there was also a hint of softness in her glare, though it faded when she spoke to him again. 

“I have not known Jae to lie to me,” she confirmed. “Then again, I never thought that she would commit a felony either,” she added harshly. “But here we are, with this dagger, this object that doesn’t belong to you- alien or not,” she nearly spat out of anger. “Please, leave.” 

“Ma’am, we know how this sounds and the situation looks even worse,” Suho dared to speak up. “Yes, we may have stolen that dagger, and if there was another, more legal, way to have obtained it, then we would have done that. Whether you believe us or not, we didn’t lie. So, please, whatever you do, don’t give the dagger back to Mr. Yok or Miss Kumiho.”

Mom blinked, taken aback by Suho’s words. It almost seemed as though she was considering what he was saying, but then shook her head again. “I’m very disappointed in all of you,” she only said. “Don’t make me change my mind. I can still call your parents. Go before I do,” she instructed, leaving towards the kitchen. I knew that it wasn’t going to be over for me though. 

There was a very slight dispersion of tension in the air when Mom left the room, but I still felt like I was in some kind of shock. 

“I’m sorry,” I apologized to the boys, feeling a heavy burden on my shoulders. “I made the wrong call. Should’ve listened to you, Luhan,” I mumbled, trying to keep my emotions in check. 

“Don’t be. You had to try, we get it,” Kris said. 

“Maybe it’s better that she doesn’t believe us, noona,” Chen soothed. “Sometimes it’s easier for adults to do so.”

“It’s still not fair,” Sehun interjected, sulking. 

“Yeah, fair or not, what the heck were you thinking, huh?” Suho scolded. “I know you were trying to help, but you just made things worse for Jae!” 

“No, I made things worse for me,” I breathed. “It’s okay,” I lied. “I’ll deal with this. You guys should go before all hell breaks loose.”

“What about the dagger, noona?” Baekhyun asked. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll think of something. I’ll keep you guys posted,” I promised. “Just go.” 

“Jae,” Luhan called out, looking regretful. “I can still…” he trailed off, but I shook my head. 

“No, it’s fine. Having to pretend that nothing happened and that she didn’t react the way she did would just make it worse for me. Don’t worry about it. I’ve been making up excuses and hiding things from my parents for this long, I’ll cover it up,” I stated, trying to smile. 

“You sure?” D.O. looked like he could see right through me and that worried him. 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “It’ll be fi-,” my breath caught in my throat. I’ve said the words I’m fine and it’ll be fine so many times that I didn’t really believe it anymore. 

“I got this,” I eventually said. Of course the boys didn’t believe me, and of course they were inclined to stay. I finally managed to smile when I heard Mom coming back. I quickly ushered them away. “Go. It’s okay.” They left reluctantly, and even though they weren’t in the house anymore, I could tell they were still close by, keeping watch over things. 

“Police should be here in a few minutes,” Mom declared, coming back into the living room. I wisely decided to shut my mouth. 

“You know, I’ve been wondering what’s been eating you these past days, but I never would’ve thought that you would-,” she shook her head in disappointment. 

“Are you going to tell the police that we broke into E.T. Corp?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even and distant, because damn it, I was angry too. 

“No. And it’s not to do you or your friends any favors. I’m thinking about your father, thinking about his future and ours if this were ever to be known,” she stated, putting the dagger on top of the mantelpiece of the fireplace, starting to clean up the living room. 

“What are you going to tell Dad?” I then asked, shoving my hands into my pocket, carefully walking towards the fireplace. 

“I don’t know, Jae,” Mom breathed in frustration. “Tell him that we’ve been raising a thief all this time, maybe?” she lashed out, abruptly shutting and pinching the bridge of her nose. “I just can’t believe that you did this, Jae. Lying, stealing- evil masterminds, alien guardians, wolves- magic?! Unbelievable! If you would’ve just told me the truth that you made a terrible mistake than at least that would have been respectable! I thought that your father and I taught you better than that!” she said derisively. “Honestly. I don’t know what’s going on in your head anymore, Jae.” 

Blinking the tears away, I let her have her tirade. She wasn’t the only one that was upset. 

“You don’t know what’s going on in my head, huh?” I repeated and Mom scoffed because I dared to talk back. 

“Yes, I don’t know. Because whatever is going on with you right now, this isn’t the daughter I raised!” she exclaimed. 

“Wow,” I nodded, feeling one tear escape and roll down my cheek. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mom. Really, your trust means the world to me,” I spewed sarcastically. She threw a fallen pillow haplessly on the couch. 

“Don’t you dare smart-mouth me, young lady! You do not get to have that kind of attitude against me!” 

“And why not?! I tried to tell you the truth! I gathered the courage to tell you- do you have any idea how hard that was for me? My friends even told you that I wasn’t lying, but no- instead you say how you can understand how that woman wanted to kill me, but you don’t bother trying to understand what I’m trying to tell you!” I never yelled to my mother before. I never had the reason to. Never had that need, no matter how angry I was. But things were different now. 

“Of course you wouldn’t believe me,” I continued, crying, feeling breathless when I angrily grabbed the dagger from the mantelpiece, remembering exactly what it had shown me before, and it hurt so much. “Why would you believe someone who’s not your real daughter to begin with, right?!” I yelled. 

Mom gasped audibly, her eyes wide with utter shock. “Jae!” she exclaimed, appalled as I turned around to run to my room. I didn’t care if she came after me or not. I was sick of everything! I was confused and angry! There was already so much going on, so not getting the expected understanding of my mother was simply too much to bear. I locked my door and sank to the floor, grasping the dagger. 

I wished it would have never shown me that memory. I wished I never knew I came from Exo planet. Because if that was the case, then didn’t that automatically mean that my parents weren’t my real parents? 

I hugged my knees and leaned my head forward. 

I’m not fine…