“So do you think they’re together or something?” Eli asked the other five behind him as they continued to walk, forgetting that they were just supposed to go to the garden.

Kiseop shrugged in response. “Who the hell knows.”

“I knew there was something fishy about those two,” AJ remarked, catching up to Eli. “You remember Kev’s birthday, right?”

“Who doesn’t?” Dong Ho mumbled.

“Lexi was quick to accept,” AJ said. “And then quick to go when Eli said something about Ye Jeun.”

“Maybe you should stop with those assumptions, ne?” Hoon muttered. “And ask someone.”

“You said that already!”

Hoon shrugged and continued walking.

“Who do we ask?” Soohyun said, a curious look washing over his face.

“Oh, so now you’re interested,” Eli mocked.

Soohyun retaliated at once. “I’m interested! I just don’t behave like a stalker. Unlike some people I know.” He looked at him then at Kiseop pointedly.

“Maybe you should just ask Lexi and Kevin,” Dong Ho put in, looking up from his PSP, which he recovered from Eli. “I mean, you’re talking about them, so ask them.”

“Sh. Tone it down, maknae,” Kiseop hissed.

“And we can’t talk to them,” AJ added. “Kevin will probably faint, and Lexi –well, we’d probably get to see a supernova firsthand.”

They nodded in agreement.

Hoon shook his head. “Sometimes you do live up to the word idiot.” He dialed something on his phone, all the while looking at the five people before him distastefully. “Hello, Xander-ssi? Yeah, it’s Hoon. Some dweebs want to ask you something.”

They were silent for a while as Hoon listened to something Xander was saying.

“Okay, I’ll put you on speaker.”

“It’s about Lexi, isn’t it?” Xander’s voice crackled no the speaker as soon as Hoon gave him the go.

“Well- wait, how did you know?”

Xander chuckled. “It’s only a matter of time I think. They’re probably more obvious that failed ninjas.”

Everyone spoke at once.

“You should see -”

“Do you have any idea how -”

“Hyung, you should -”

“Ho!” they could almost imagine him holding the phone away from his ear. “Hold your horses. One at a time.”

“Who is Lexi?” Dong Ho asked. “I mean, W-H-O.”

“Oh, so it’s not noona anymore, huh?” Xander teased.

“Hyung,” Dong Ho complained.

Xander laughed. “Okay, okay. Her real name is Alexses Jung. You call her Eun Byul? I guess Kevin told you that, but it’s her Korean name anyway. Pure Korean. Name’s a novelty, grey eyes are a DNA quirk. At least that’s what she thinks. Family is in Danville. One brother.”

“You sound like a PI,” Dong Ho muttered.

“Well, do I have to use full sentences?”

Eli interrupted. “Wait, Danville? As in US? Isn’t that where Kevin is from?”

“Bingo.”

“So what is she to you?” it was AJ. They all turned towards him.

“Seriously?”

Eli made an impatient sound.

“I don’t even know why I’m entertaining this,” Xander said, sounding incredulous.

“Xander!”

“You already started this!”

“Fine, fine. She’s my friend. I met her more than two years ago. Like before she went to Japan.”

“Then what’s Kevin got to do with this?”

The other line grew silent. Then a sigh. “I guess I owe this to you guys. Alexses was with Kevin.”

The six of them exploded(yes, even Hoon) in surprise.

“Ssikeureo!”

They grew silent.

“I mean seriously childhood. They were together since Lexi was like fourteen, I think.”

“But then?” Kiseop said, egging Xander on. The six of them were leaning close to the phone now that they knew at least something about what happened.

He sighed. “Don’t judge, okay? But well, Kevin sort of cheated on Lexi.”

“Let me guess,” Soohyun muttered. “Song Ye Jeun.”

“I knew there was something bad about  the publicity of that,” Kiseop added.

“Right,” Xander affirmed. “Anyway, after that Lexi flew to Japan and became L-XS.”

They were silent again, trying to digest the history lesson they just had. Thoughts were flying above them, intertwining with each other, shattering some of the earlier theories and strengthening some.

It was Eli who broke the silence. “Is that why Lexi accepted the merger? I mean, I’m thankful but that’s sort of insulting.”

“Aniyo!” Xander exclaimed. “It wasn’t like that. She’d already accepted the merger but she didn’t know it was UKISS. Remember when you called me about Kevin going AWOL?”

“Yeah?”

“I called her then.”

“So she made that moron come back? ” Soohyun asked.

“Uh-uh,” Xander laughed. “Probably threatened to beat him up if he didn’t.”

“Cool,” AJ remarked. “I’m totally falling in love with her now.”

“Yah!” Xander protested and Kiseop and Dong Ho pounced on AJ. “You big ert!”

They grew serious again.

“Hey guys. I only told you this because I think it’s right. But don’t use it against Kevin, okay?” He lowered his voice. “Part of the deal with Lexi is that I have to take care of Kevin.”

“Okay, ” Eli muttered dazedly.

“I need your promise.”

“We promise,” they said in unison.

Xander sighed. “I gotta go.”

He felt it again. For some mysterious reason, he was ticked off and felt the need to abuse something else. He had a nagging feeling it had something to do with talking about Lexi and Kevin to UKISS. He wondered what they’d been doing to alert so much suspicion.

Maybe Lexi’s right, he thought. Being close to Kevin means something inevitable. He dispelled the thought quickly.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” he said aloud. “I’m not even supposed to be talking to them.”

The next day seemed warmer than the last, and Lexi was leaning on the balcony again.

“Holy hell.”

“Don’t you get tired of saying that?”

She turned to find Soohyun looking at her with an amused expression.

“No.” then she turned back to the view.

In truth, Soohyun wanted to see if she was –okay. There was no other word for it. After knowing part of her history, he wondered why he didn’t notice things before. Like how she was never off-guard.

Or how she put up with the whole superstar deal.

“Aren’t you coming for breakfast?” he asked. “We’re already the last two in the house.”

“Huh?” she grunted, eyes closed.

Soohyun laughed. She’d suddenly reminded him of someone who’d  had a selfsame reaction to things. “Dong Ho’s going to eat everything.”

“Right,” she said, smiling.

They walked through the sand towards a small café not far from the shoreline. It had a balcony like the house. White-washed, it was almost blinding even under the winter sun. added with the sparkle of crystal-clear water, it almost seemed like darkness was inevitable.

“I was wondering,” Soohyun said, turning to her, his head tilted slightly in a questioning expression.

“Nae?” She splayed her fingers and leaned towards the sea.

Soohyun grabbed her by the hips when she threatened to topple over. “How does working with us feel?” He righted her.

She smiled at him gratefully then danced away. “I’ve had worse, trust me.” Her eyes sparkled as the wind blew through her hair. It made sSoohyun wonder how she was like before the whole fame thing. He suddenly felt like a e and said so. She shot him an incredulous glance and scoffed. “Hyunnie, you’re barely two years my senior.”

He laughed at the nickname as they reached the other six, who were already eating. Dong Ho and Kiseop were busy inhaling a couple of steamed fishes and didn’t look up.

“What took you so long?” Eli demanded with mock severity.

Soohyun took the empty seat beside Kevin. “Lexi was busy daydreaming and cursing the landscape.”

“And Soohyun was being a ,”  Lexi muttered, sitting across Kevin.

Eli made a face. “Do you have something to tell us?” he asked jokingly. “A secret relationship or something?”

Beside Soohyun, Kevin choked on his steamed vegetables. Soohyun thumped his back, looking meaningfully at Eli. Lexi  looked at them questioningly, thoroughly confused. Kiseop stopped inhaling his food to stare at the current commotion.

“Is this some kind of joke?” AJ asked. “Because I honestly don’t get it.”

Lexi threw a piece of tomato at Eli, who was laughing evilly. “That’s a stupid thing to say!” she was thinking how close he was to the truth, just one seat off. She continued hurling insults at him until Dong ho was force to calm her down, although she was already laughing.

“We’ll be heading back this afternoon, ne?” Kevin asked when everyone(including him) had calmed down.

AJ rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer.”

They were all business now.

“Hey,” Lexi said, catching everyone’s attention. “I just remembered  something. Shane totally caught wind of who we’re performing with at MC.”

“Really?”

“Ne, we’re up in two weeks, right? Same time we launch the album. Only group on the list seems to be MBLAQ.”

“Mwo?” Soohyun said incredulously. “I didn’t even know they were launching an album.”

Lexi laughed. “Guess who’s got a similar concept?”

They stared at her inn horror.

“You mean -”

“Uh-uh.” She nodded. “Merger with a solo artist.”

“Mwoya?!”

Oh no! UKISS and MBLAQ’s go the same album concept? What? What?

LOL.

Anyway hope you like this chappie!!

COMMENT! Give me your view on how the story is going ^3^