Listen to Venus by Shinhwa : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCupDlW0TU4

The days leading up to the function were burdensome. Every time I passed by Hero, Key’s snarky voice would echo in my head and I would right away make a U-turn, heading to any direction which did not end at him. For as much as I knew Yoona, I knew that she did not deserve to hold secrets for anyone, especially if they would make her smile vanish for just a few seconds. What was it that could ruin her mood with the flick of a finger? What mere thought held so much power that Yoona would unknowingly hide the Arthurs’ true identities from Verdelann?

Questions swirled in my head and as I walked down the corridor to the control room, where the music for the fashion show had to be delivered for soundcheck, a familiar presence hung over me.

“Hey.”

A voice that ended with as much bluntness as it did with the possibilities of more words, I pursed my lips and raised my hand to wave at Hero.

“Hey, long time no see. So um, I’m a little busy right now—”

Before I could scutter away to safety, Hero let out an annoyed sigh and grabbed my wrist, pulling me to the opposite direction.

My eyes widened at the sharpness and agility in his movements. Wasn’t he supposed to be touching 27? Focus Saya, I told myself and tried to wriggle myself out of his hold. Not only did I land up in failure, fear grasped me as we moved from the light of the dusk to a darker hallway.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait…”

My plead fell on deaf ears and I reminded myself that I had the ability to scream.

“How much did Key tell you?”

I wasn’t going to scream anytime soon.

I blinked as Hero let go of me, stationing himself against a pillar and making sure I was right under his nose. When his question received nothing but a blank face, he smirked and shook his head.

“Yoona taught you a thing or two on zipping it?”

The mention of my friend’s name pushed my pulse and I found my sense of speech.

“You started this topic,” I spoke through gritted teeth, folding my arms with the CD in my hand. Key would have to wait for his music.

“Hmm,” Hero mumbled. The stare contest began but it soon dissolved into something else.

Between refusing to say anything foolish and waiting for Hero to spill it, our eyes met in a peculiar way. The sun set, splashing the world in sepia and as the light hit the two of us, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.

Dust particles.

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Saya’s eyes flickered and a miracle took place as the shades of curiosity and stubborness vanished. My stiff stance loosened and my leg, that had been propped up against the wall behind me, let go. What the hell just happened?

Silence settled but it was more or less white noise as a thousand thoughts were exchanged between the two of us. Why did her shades vanish? Why could I not see her aura anymore? Why was Saya looking at me like that?

Almost as if she was studying me, Saya’s gaze moved all over me, from head to toe. hung as if in awe and she slowly blinked, trying to believe that I was standing in front of her or hoping that I would disappear by the time she opened her eyes.

“SAYA?!”

Key’s voice reverberated and his anxious aura of electric blue sent shivers of irritation all over my body. Just when I could have her to myself.

I experienced amusement upon seeing Key’s eyes narrow at me, the electric blue now mixing with his root shade of green. His eyes then shifted to Saya’s and the moment they did so, his aura changed. The blue vanished and before I knew it, Key ceased to exist as well.

“Saya,” Key murmured, slowly moving towards her as she continued staring at me. I exchanged eye contact with the lost girl, only to realize that she was looking at something other than me. Key’s hand hesitated to touch her, but when they did, she shook.

“Wh-wh-what? Oh hey.”

Saya rubbed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Her aura returned and so did Key’s and suddenly, I was the one with questions.

“Sorry but Saya needs to get back to work,” Key snapped, momentarily tempting me to fight against his claim. But my questions could not be answered like this, not when Saya was in this state.

As I watched Saya’s back, Key’s arms holding them as he asked her if she wanted to be dropped home, I pursed my lips. Key was now emanating an aura that stood in contrast to what he was saying. For while Key was looking like he wanted to protect her, his aura was intimidated, in awe, in surprise.

It was irritating to be blind to something others could see. What had happened back there?

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“How did you do that?”

“What?”

Key looked at me, waiting for my answer, though all I did was go back to the memory of what I had seen a few hours back. Key was dropping me home and although the cool air used to calm me down after a long day, the heat of a peculiar happening burned me inside.

Those dust particles had played around with Hero and at first I thought they were regular dust, settling in on his more than perfect hair. However, as seconds passed, the dust moved inside his eyes and before I could react to anything else, I had seen Hero’s eyes change from it’s normal jet black to a shocking shade of purple. His complexion paled even more and his dark hair was tinged by golden dewdrops. He looked beautiful and though the transformation seemed like an illusion, it felt like I had seen Hero for what he really was.

“You saw him.” The way Key emphasized on ‘saw’ made me realize that he knew what I had seen, that he too had seen Hero transform.

I sealed my lips and gulped. Key sighed.

“I understand, you won’t believe what happened. No it wasn’t you going crazy. You really did see that.”

“If you know what I saw,” I mumbled. “Then why were you asking me how I did it?”

“Because,” Key said, looking proud all of a sudden. “You brought it out. I’ve been waiting for you for so long. Can’t believe an idiot like Woohyun actually had the strength to hide you like this.”

“What?” The house was only a few feet away now and from the light inside, I could see Woohyun behind the window. His eyes gleamed as he saw me, panic settling in as he saw Key standing with me.

Key followed my gaze. “Ah,” he snickered. “Right, he needs to do his job well, of course.”

“You’re confusing me,” I said. Taking a hold of his hand, I said, “Tell me. Why did I see that?”

For a moment I felt like Key wouldn’t reply, that he would continue staring at me from underneath his dark blonde hair with interest.

“Read through the history section of your bookstore,” Key promptly replied. I raised an eyebrow but before I could ask another question, the slamming of a door interrupted me.

“Get in Saya,” Woohyun ordered. My mouth hung open in disbelief at his tone, but Woohyun had more important things to do. He moved my body so that I was halfway to the door, leaving Key to shake his head.

“I’ll see you later!” Key waved. When I reached my room, quickly opening the window to witness the scene, the strangeness of the situation hit me.

While Key stood infront of Woohyun with folded arms, Woohyun stood with his legs apart, his hands clenched into fists.

And for a moment, just for a moment, I thought I saw the outline of something bright on Woohyun’s back.