They Never Know, Exo, 'Ex'act', [2016]

“We have to go find Boa-Noona.” Chanyeol, the punk, piped up after the awkward silence left by the revelation.

“We?” Bobby raised an eyebrow at Chanyeol’s self-proclaimed involvement with the issue.

But the red-haired guy ignored this comment altogether, “If you claimed she sent you on this goose chase, then we have to hear the truth from her.”

“I’ve got all the evidence we need right here!” Bobby complained as he pulled the remaining pages of the dreaded book from inside his jacket, Nari’s entire past resting in his very clutches. Poetic irony at its finest. He felt so bad for acting so indifferent to her, when all he wanted to do was run away with her, take her to Neverland and never look or come back. But with what he now knew...looking at her wouldn't be the same for a while.

Chanyeol pulled a face at the comment, “Why should we believe a word you say on the matter? You’ve probably been set up for all we care!”

“’Set up’ – this guy has got to be kidding me,” Bobby chuckled, shaking with sheer anger as this guy pushed him beyond limits of anger he didn’t even know he had, “I’ve been through way much more with Nari than you will ever know-“

“So what, it’s a competition now?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow, an ability that Bobby envied, only making him even angrier with the guy. He hated how badly this guy got to him, how easily he doubted his allegiance towards this girl – but most of all, the way he looked at her in exactly the same manner Bobby himself did. He didn’t even want to know what would happen if this guy continued running his mouth the way he was.

But Nari -ever this calm to his storm- put a halt to this fight before it could even embark on its vengeful course, “Stop, now. Neither of you are helping.” She turned to Bobby with eyes filled to the brim with sadness, exhaustion, “I thought since- since we parted I’d finally catch a break from this mess.”

Bobby reached out for Nari’s hand, and she let him; cold, nimble, shaking. It killed him a thousand times over seeing Nari so vulnerable like this, put through the endless pain of being confronted by the skeletons of her past. But it killed Bobby even more for having to be so distant from her. If he broke and told her what he now knew...she'd never look at him again.

“In a way I’m glad.” Nari managed a smile, “I got to see you – more than I could ever hope for. But I also get a chance to put this mess to bed at last, which is why- why I agree with Chanyeol.”

Bobby felt as if he may as well have been dumped in that one sentence. Sure his feeling was an over-reaction, more so when he felt the need to let go of her hand. He knew very well how selfish and jealous he seemed but he couldn’t help but feel wounded; he had all the proof of the truth in the pages of the book that were in his hands, death certificates, school files, housing deeds, newspaper articles- sure, he didn’t actually know it for sure, but if there was one thing Bobby trusted more than anything this world had to offer – it was his instinct. And with the information from Boa – well, Nari would certainly be in shock.

Yet he still found it in him to support the girl he loved in spite of himself, “As you wish,” Bobby nodded, forcing a soft smile on his face.

Nari smiled warmly at Bobby, her eyes glowing with a happiness he’d never thought to see again, “Thank you. It means a lot. Just- just hold onto those pages for me, please.” Nari rested her hand on Bobby’s, the pages of her past in both of their hands, “I- I wanna’ see them- just not now.”

Bobby nodded before placing the pages in his jacket. Nari turned back to her comrade, Chanyeol, “How fast can you boys arrange a rendezvous with Unnie and get her to meet us there?”

Chanyeol grinned devilishly, “This is us you’re talking about – is our efficiency a question that really need be asked?”

Nari shook her head, “Forget I asked,” she turned back to Bobby, “Can you do the same with your Daebu?”

Bobby sighed, uncertainty clouding his mind, “He won’t if it’s for a Rookie like me – but if I can get it touch with G-Dragon-“

“Fine,” Nari cut him off, her tone suddenly indifferent, “He clearly knows more than he’s letting on. In fact, I better call Jaebum whilst I’m at it. Nothing would make me happier than being in the same place as all the people who continually and systematically lied to me throughout my life.”

Bobby chuckled at Nari’s pessimism, the girl clearly never having changed despite their year in constant company with one another, “Think about it as you getting the family back together – the adoptive one – again.”

“Remind me where you picked up this goofball?” Chanyeol groaned at Bobby’s ‘reassurance’ as he pocketed his phone.

“Has anyone ever told you, you look a little like a taller version of Toad from Mario with that red hair?”

“I’ve heard it a few times actually,” Chanyeol mused, suddenly running his hands through his hair, self-conscious apparently, “Maybe I should sort it out.”

“That was supposed to be an insult, not advice,” Bobby scoffed.

“When you guys are done measuring ,” Nari piped up, clearly annoyed with their incessant bickering, “Can we get a move on? Let’s not forget there’s a burning building a block away and a horde of emergency services on our tail?”

“You’re right,” Chanyeol grunted, clearly peeved at someone committing arson other than him, “Follow me.”

“Where’re we going?” Bobby asked as Nari immediately followed her friend. Bobby ran to catch up.

“Exo’s base,” Chanyeol sighed as they quickly advanced back into the busy shopping districts – now crowded with panic shoppers and observant onlookers, despairing over the loss of the historical site.

“I thought you guys were based in China?” Bobby questioned, unashamedly exposing his knowledge on his rival’s comrade’s associate’s activities.

Yet Chanyeol halted in the middle of the busy street, suddenly brooding, angry, “Complications.”

Bobby didn’t need to guess that bad business had gone down with some of Exo’s members. He remembered Junhoe and Mino joking about Exo reaching 9 members faster than Red Velvet when news of the groups’ losses emerged. Bobby couldn’t imagine what he’d be like had something similar happened to iKON.

 “Oppa,” Nari’s voice was serious, a tone that Bobby knew only brought bad news (from personally experience more than anything), “Who lit