RAVI'S POV

    I opened my eyes slowly, blinking and looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling above me. I sat up with a rustling of bed sheets and winced at the deep-seated all-over pain in my muscles. My lungs felt labored and I took a moment to breathe deeply and sit on the edge of the bed. My hands wrapped tightly over the edge, my fingers contrasting with the pale blue sheets, and I eyed the fresh scars on my skin. 
    Standing, I braced myself for a brief moment to be sure I could support myself before crossing the room and opening the door. I closed my eyes, focusing on my hearing until I found the familiar beat of Youngmin's heart. I could sense her downstairs and I walked slowly down the wooden stairs, my hand firmly on the railing.  
    "When will Xiumin and Chen be back?" I followed Youngmin's voice to the kitchen, finding her seated on top of the counter, her legs swinging in lazy circles beneath her. An unfamiliar male was bent over the stovetop, his broad shoulders tense under his grey t-shirt, and he continued whisking something in a bowl next to the stove. 
    "They're the main recon members of our team. They'll be back within a few hours, don't worry." His voice was light and he poured the contents of the bowl into a pan with graceful movements, turning around. 
    Our eyes met and he set the bowl down swiftly, moving in front of Youngmin instinctively. I saw recognition filter into his brown eyes, and he stepped back. 
    "Ravi!" Youngmin leapt down from the counter, wrapping her arms around my waist. I clutched her tightly to me, inhaling her springtime scent and resting my chin on her head. 
    "Hey." I murmured, smiling ever so slightly when she pulled up and fixed me with a grin. She gestured to the male in front of the stove, and he extended his hand for me to shake. 
    "I'm Tao. I helped patch you up last night." he said, meeting my eyes levelly. His hand was strong in mine, and I shook it firmly. 
    "Thanks for you help. Are you with Kris?" I asked. Tao nodded, turning to stir the eggs sizzling in the pan. 
    A sleepy man shuffled into the kitchen, blinking owlishly at me from behind his nerdy glasses. He gave me a nod, his light brown hair curled and tousled from sleep, and poured himself a cup of coffee. 
    "Lulu, this is Ravi." Youngmin smiled at him. He nodded, bowing to me politely before holding out a cup of coffee. 
    "I'm Luhan." he said with a soft smile. I bowed in return, taking a hesitant sip of coffee and watching Youngmin pull out a package of strawberries and start slicing them after enlisting Luhan to wash them. 
    She looked perfectly at home with them, cooking and laughing. I sat at the countertop, watching her with my chin propped on my fist. Her eyes sparkled with a laugh when Tao tried to flip a fried egg and ended up dropping it. He gave up on making the fried eggs, returning to the scrambled eggs, and Luhan tripped and almost dropped all the strawberries. Youngmin helped him catch them, and they shared a grin. 
    I was surprised to feel the absence of jealousy. I was simply happy she was happy, and in awe of how she could look this good, with her hair twisted up in a messy bun and someone else's shirt hanging down to her mid-thigh. 
    "Hey, a little help?" I recognized Yixing's light voice and turned, looking at his pained face when he braced himself on the doorway. I leapt off the barstool, settling my arm around his waist and helping him carefully limp to a stool. 
    "How in the hell did you get down those stairs?" Tao asked, pointing an accusing spatula at Yixing. Yixing shrugged apologetically and winced, his hand clasped over his right hip. 
    "Let me take a look." Youngmin smiled, coming over to draw down the hem of his sweatpants, exposing the ridge of his hipbone. 
    A faint puncture wound was half-scabbed over, and Youngmin placed her hand over it. Her eyes closed and I watched Yixing's face melt into relief at the absence of pain. When Youngmin pulled her hand back a little while later, the skin over Yixing's hip was unmarked and supple. 
    "Now, don't be too rough with it yet, okay? It's still tender." Youngmin warned, turning to help Tao plate the eggs and strawberries. Luhan added pieces of buttered toast to each plate, sliding one towards me. 
    "Thanks." I said, amazed at how easily Youngmin blended in with the men. They were wonderfully efficient, plating and distributing food while Yixing poured glasses of juice and coffee. 
    "I'll take some out to Kris." Tao said, stopped when Kris appeared in the doorway. He looked ashen but still managed a tiny smile, leaning heavily on the door. 
    "I'm here already." Kris rumbled, sitting down on the barstool I pushed towards him. Tao set the plate of food on the countertop next to me, and Kris leaned discreetly on my shoulder for support while he took a bite. 
    "You're supposed to be resting." Tao said, but his heart wasn't in the scolding. Kris shrugged and Tao rolled his eyes, setting a glass of juice before Kris. 
    "Let's all rest up today. Xiumin and Chen will find out who did this, and then we can get rid of them before focusing on helping you two." Luhan said, looking between Youngmin and I. 
    "Sounds like a plan." Youngmin smiled, sitting down on the other side of me. She looked genuinely happy, the scent of fresh blossoms wafting off her skin, and I melted a little more when she rested her head on my shoulder while she ate. 
    We all finished breakfast in the kitchen, basking in the natural light filtering in from the large picture windows, and then moved to the living room. Kris settled in on the couch, a forearm curled protectively around his stomach while he moved. Both he and Yixing were speckled with purpling bruises, and I tossed a blanket over them both. 
    Yixing a foreign movie and promptly fell asleep, leaving Youngmin and I to suffer through the blurry subtitles. Kris was asleep too, his head pillowed on Yixing's shoulder. Tao was sitting on the floor with a pair of knives, sharpening them lovingly and occasionally looking up to watch the movie. Luhan had pulled out a sleek laptop and was typing away on it quickly, occasionally stopping to push his glasses up higher on his nose. 
    "So, if Xiumin and Chen are recon, what does everyone else do?" Youngmin asked, looking questioningly at Tao. 
    "Luhan is the tech guy, the one who cracks codes and hacks phones." Tao said, looking up at Luhan with a fond smile. Luhan waved without looking up from his screen, continuing to type.   
    "Kris is the leader and main planner. He handles medium-range attacks, with handguns and the like." Tao said, his hand sliding in smooth along his blades. 
    "Yixing is our sniper and long-range attacker. He's great with blending into crowds and finding things out." Tao fell silent, watching the movie for several minutes. 
    "And you?" Youngmin prompted. Tao looked up with a deadly smile, hard and glinting at the edges, and tapped his chest with the point of one knife. 
    "Me? I'm the short-distance, down and dirty fighter. Knives, hand-to-hand, tiger claw hooks, crescent blades...you name it, I use it." Tao said, his devilish smile still in place. 
    "Can you teach me a little bit?" Youngmin asked with an interested smile, shifting closer to Tao. 
    "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no." I protested firmly. "You just use your mistress powers and your ab