Listen to Only One by BoA : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SaIKbhR7ps

"What's his name?"

"Howon."

"And that.... geez, what the hell is pretty face doing here?" The old man scoffed but admitted to himself the formidable aura surrounding the two newbies. 

Kang Howon and Choi Sehun. The two looked as opposite as black and white, yet their camaraderie proved that they had strength of character. 

The old man waved his hand at the female secretary. The people nearby saw his action and began scurrying around. The race was about to begin. 

"Nervous?" Sehun asked, grinning widely when Howon shook his head with fervour. 

"Alright I get it," he laughed, stretching his muscles and rolling his neck from side to side. He looked towards the packed audience and sighed. Howon caught his expression. 

"What's with the emotions?" he asked. Sehun looked at him and gave a bittersweet smile. 

"I wanted to be a racer. I know this sounds weird but... it feels like my dream is coming true. Though I wish it didn't have to be this way."

Howon nodded and sneakily surveyed their radius. He didn't want any words from the young man's mouth to cause them trouble. "Careful," he murmured and clapped him on his back. "Good luck by the way."

Sehun nodded and said, "You too. Don't kill me."

Howon shrugged. "Hmm." The younger of the two looked at the tough guy walking towards his car and whispered to himself, "He's not that bad."

The timer began ticking off and Sehun knew that the old man was staring at him. Hoya was the new guy too but it was obvious that his looks would arouse doubts regarding his skills. It was a sad card that the world had often played with him. Sehun was a man of many talents, but his background and his looks had been anything but a blessing. His bright and candour behaviour was criticized and given skeptical glances and in the end, he decided that he only had one option -- to rebel and run away from it all. 

As he sat down inside the car, Sehun remembered the first few weeks with EXO. They had refused to let him in because of his history and decided that he was simply a confused teenager. It was only when he stuck with them for three years did they realize his determination. That was when he got the tattoo and that was when he became Sehun, a member of EXO. 

"Hey!"

Sehun looked up and found a familiar face knocking on his window. He narrowed his eyes then recognized the young girl as the new recruit of their team. Suzy, the unexpected Invictus. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice drowning in panic. Suzy smiled and mouthed, "Pull down the window!" He did so, with extreme hesitation and waited for her to speak. 

"Best of luck!" she smiled and ran away towards the tracks. His gaze followed her feminine skip across the field and he shook his head in confusion. It was only when he found her standing next to a particular someone did he realize what was going on. 

"What the hell was that?" he heard Hoya's voice ask him through the Bluetooth headset. 

Sehun didn't reply and continued looking at the girl and the man she had looped her arm with. He narrowed his eyes and widened them, cursing profusely once he recognized the man. 

"That's Shin," he murmured.

"Who??" Hoya shouted, his voice struggling to be heard above the machines' growling. Sehun turned to him and shook his head, not willing to share information in such a risky way. 

The two gave each other a thumbs up and with the wave of a flag, the cars were set free. 

                                                                       ***********************************************************

Suzy was trying hard not to think of the man she was clinging to and the man in her heart. They were two different people and one of them was on the track, risking his life. They had a plan for sure, but this was a racetrack. It wasn't like their leader had signed a contract with each and every one of the race participants, gaining a guarantee that his teammates wouldn't be attacked. 

Ever since she had entered the headquarters, she had recognized Sehun. Oh Sehun. 

Meeting someone after a long time has two repercussions. Either you're pleased because they haven't changed or have become happier, or you're disappointed by a snide remark from them. With Sehun, it was something else altogether. 

Suzy always wanted to be the sunlight in Sehun's life. As a kid, he had it all and despite it, he was lonely. Suzy wanted to be his tree, shading him from the blinding glares and being the filter through which she could at least comfort him. But news broke out one day, when she was a tender age of ten and he was fourteen and she had oerheard her mother talking in a scandalous tone to her kitty party friends. 

"Remember the head of the Zhang Foundation? His adopted son Sehun? He ran away!"

"Isn't that illegal?", a decked up old lady asked, gasping and clasping her turquoise pendant with obvious glee. Suzy's mother sighed dramatically, setting her wine glass down and caressing her own hair. 

"Couples eloping is illegal. I think it's a blessing that the boy finally gave up. Poor Mr. Zhang, being burdened by a blood that wasn't his own!"

"So where is he now?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Suzy then saw her mother think again and lean forward to add spice to the conversation. "Don't tell anyone but I've heard from trusted sources that he's actually a meth addict and he's run away with a much older woman, a drug dealer!"

"Omo!" the ladies gasped. Suzy was trembling by then and a certain meeting five months later had made her work harder in school and be the best in sports. Why? Because she wanted to be chosen for the next INVICTUS scouting and be strong enough to find him. 

Their meeting after ten years wasn't what she had expected. Suzy had scared herself during that time, thinking that Sehun really had vented out his frustration in life through substance abuse. But a small voice in her heart and the memory of a Sehun who would find his happiness in art reminded her of her motives. She would pick herself up and suffer all over again, just for Sehun. 

Sehun did not recognize her and when he caught her staring at him once, he simply smiled and went back to talking to another EXO member, Chen. She was deeply disappointed but upon seeing her leader, Kang Baekho, remind them of their priorities, she set herself straight. She had to continue her facade of being Shin's girlfriend, one that had lasted for three years now, and she had to be fully aware of everything. Before Shin would even think of proposing to her, now that they had crossed the minimum three years of a Partner alliance, Suzy and her new army would have already stormed the offices of the General and returned Paragon it's rightful place. 

"Who was that?" Shin asked. Suzy looked at him and realized he was referring to the giddy cheer she had handed to Sehun. 

"Oh! No one. He's a new racer on the block so just wanted to make him feel a little less nervous." She beamed and smiled, knowing fully well the effect it had on her so-called boyfriend. She wondered why Shin had not recognized Sehun, considering they were rivals at one point. But at that moment, Shin's cold face melted into a smile and he lightly bumped his forehead with hers. 

"Aye!" Suzy playfully complained. Shin grinned and caressed her face, returning his focus to the race below him. Suzy's jaw hurted from all the smiling, but she looked back at the car painted number 19 and told herself to hold it in. 

It's all for you Sehun. You're my only one. 

                                                                        *******************************************

L.Joe played the last note and let his fingers linger for a while. His chest was heaving, but not because he was a little exhausted after playing the challenging Revolutionary Etude. His emotions were collapsing inside him, his memories speaking in a jargon that was of a condescending yet vulnerable tone. He was bullying himself and it was all because of the special piece that his employer had requested him to play. 

Kim Taeyeon clapped and gave an appreciative nod. She turned to look at Baekhyun, who upon her request, had been sitting on the couch with his partner Luhan. "That was beautiful," she said to the two,"wasn't it?"

Baekhyun and Luhan nodded, not with too much fervour so as to indicate that they were bodyguards of a class apart. They weren't ministers ready to please the king or queen of the court at any cost. They were only guards, meant to protect the rich widow. It was not, of course, their sole purpose but the process was as important as the attainment of the goal. 

Taeyeon smiled a little and stood up from her futon. She then made a surprising move, letting her long brown hair loose on her shoulders. She fluffed them a bit and glanced at her vanity desk, applying some lip gloss and darkening the kohl on her eyes. After a moment of perception, she removed the kohl completely with a piece of wet tissue and threw it in the metallic trash can beside the table, half of it already filled with used eyelashes, old perfume bottles and cold cream boxes. 

She clicked her fingers motioned Luhan to accompany her to her walk-in wardrobe. Luhan curtly nodded and did so, skillful at hiding his shock when he saw the amount of dresses and power suits lined up before him. 

"What colour is it today?" she asked, glancing at Luhan. Luhan looked at the clothes arranged according to their shades and pointed to an olive green gown. 

"I like your fashion sense Luhan," Kim Taeyeon said, sounding sincerely impressed. Behind him, Luhan could hear a muffled giggle. He suspected it to be L.Joe. 

"There's a huge ball taking place at my cousin's mansion," she informed as she changed in the bathroom. She peeked out from behind the door and pointed at L.Joe. "I want you to come along, the party will need some entertainment."

L.Joe flushed and hurriedly nodded, feeling a little peeved. Baekhyun gave him a glance, warning him to control his temper. 

Taeyeon walked out looking like the person who she was expected to be. She proceeded towards the shoe rack and wore a pair of silver pumps that helped her to be at level with Baekhyun. 

"Even though you are my bodyguard," she said to him, fixing his collar and tie, "I want you to be my for tonight."

"As you wish ma'am," he said. 

"Taeyeon," she reprimanded. "Call me Taeyeon please."

As the three walked out of the door, she spoke in a hushed tone certain words that changed the atmosphere completely. 

"I don't think your Suho hyung would have liked it, having you treating me like an old lady."

A/N : The funny part is, I had written the draft for this chapter way before Sehun and BoA's collaboration performance had been announced. Imagine the pleasant surprise I felt when I saw the EXO-K maknae performing to this song. :D

For those of you who did not see the talented EXO member's cameo appearance, here is the link. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg4QQUpN5kM

Enjoy and please remember to prepare your questions for the special FAQ at the end of the story.