In the end, I didn’t make it to the press conference. I figured I didn’t need to, because I liked controlling the scene behind the curtain. Something evil and sinister was lurking somewhere in the corner, and it was not Byakko. So who was it this time? It couldn’t be the Elders, since all of them were injured during the first attack in city center. There had to be someone else, someone strong enough to hide and move its pawn without revealing who he was.

Ever since the party ended, we moved onto another house. Smaller, but it was closer to my school that I could just walk without having to be driven to. But things took turn for the worse, at least in my opinion it was. For example: Yoon Sohee’s visits had been very frequent nowadays. Sometimes she would visit four to five times a week, claiming that she wanted to be closer to me. Of course, seeing such a beautiful girl, all the guys would welcome her with open arms. I was the only one guarded in that house and I didn’t feel good about it.

I could not stress more about how much I disliked her. Why? Luhan had asked, for he was the only one who knew about my unreasonable hatred for my cousin. I didn’t know why, but it sure as hell wasn’t jealousy like most guys claimed to be. She was just oddly unpleasant in my eyes, sticking out like a sore thumb. So I let Tao entertained her most of the time, because he was the only one fake enough to smile at her every time she came here.

Yoon Sohee wasn’t the only pain in the , there was Kim Jongin, who was hot and cold at the same time. Sometimes it was frightening how he could smile in front of everyone, when the truth was stabbing us behind the back. Thank God Jongin wasn’t one for pleasantries, so he didn’t even try to sweet talk me to anything. He just stayed quiet, observing most of my movements. Since there was nothing much to do, I let him hang around me like before, sometimes forcing him to help me with my mid-term homework.

Speaking of which, school was starting in two days. Taeyong was officially enrolling. It was good that he was because I wouldn’t feel so lonely anymore. Even a month after adapting to that school, I still couldn’t find anyone to befriend with. Maybe it was my distrusting nature or because I didn’t seem to blend in well enough.

The sad thing was, most of the Elites had been away most of the time, trying to investigate what was going on. I should have gone with them, but instead, I selfishly sat in my room, catching up with the latest news on business transaction and trading, as well as keeping an eye on Byakko and Suzakku’s movement.

There hadn’t been much interaction with Joonmyun lately, but I didn’t want to do it so soon because the Elders would bombard me with tons of questions. I figured out I should wait until Joonmyun came to Korea so he could help to persuade those stubborn old men. I couldn’t help it that he was the better talker out of us two.

In one morning, however, I got a surprise mail and an international call from Kim Minseok in Philippine. He sent me the details of our deals so that it could be documented and signed properly by both parties. He also told me to take care of his younger brother, for Joonmyun could be rash and extremely impatient at times. All in all, he sounded grateful that the biggest threat of the heir position was removed, so now he only had Kim Jongdae to worry about.

Out of the two, it was easy to see that the Genbu Elders would pick Minseok as the heir. Jongdae might be smart, but he was too wild and carefree to take on an important position. So far, Minseok seemed to be the most preferred, but some of the clan’s important figures supported Joonmyun, and their opinions couldn’t be unheard, so the selection got delayed until further notice.

“Hey, Jongin,” I stared at the window and felt my blood chilled at the sight of the woman in the front door. She had come again. This was the sixth time of the week. Did she not know shame after I refused to meet her so many times? “I think you should entertain Sohee this time. You would suit each other because you are both eyesores.”

“The girl who comes everyday?” Jongin closed our distance and put both arms at the side of my shoulder so that I could not move an inch. His head was slightly touching mine as he looked over the window and hummed. “No. She is not my guest.”

“Don’t you dig girls, as long as they have s and s?” I stubbornly insisted, not backing down by his odd rejection. The more I spent time with Jongin, the less I seemed to know him. To describe him as a puzzle would be too kind. He was just onion; the more I peeled, the more I cried. “And this one is drop-dead gorgeous, too. You shouldn’t pass her up.”

“Very funny, Princess,” He rolled his eyes and stared down at me. My back was still facing his chest, so other than his obvious stare, I didn’t know what kind of expression he had now. “Tell Yixing to entertain that girl. Tao is starting to get sick of her.”

“My sweet, gentle Yixing?” I gasped dramatically. “No way in hell, Kim Jongin.”

“Then shut it with the idea of matchmaking us together,” He finally stepped away and at the same time, I released a deep sigh of relief. This man was forever the death of me, before or after the betrayal incident. “I don’t do innocent, sweet girls.” I turned around as he smirked at me with those hazy, lazy eyes that made my heart skipped a beat. “I dig hardcore chicks.”

“, my innocent ears are bleeding,” I closed my ear and pretended what he just said was utter nonsense and I didn’t need to pay attention to that kind of things. “Don’t say anything anymore, Jongin. Else I would vomit it out for you to see.”

“Whatever,” He walked out of the room so casually that the ghost of his smile lingered around in the air long after he was gone. I hardened my fists and closed the door. It was better to keep Jongin close to me rather than having someone so deadly walking around, aiming to kill me for fun.

***

“So? Same class?” I peeked at Taeyong’s schedule. He also took science, but because he had a year off in Japan, his schedule was even worse than mine. There were so many mathematics and physics and worse, chemistry that I wanted to puke rainbow and bless him for being so pitiful and unlucky.

“Some of them,” Taeyong quietly replied. He was never much of a talker, but I was determined to make him talk to me. And best yet, I was his superior, so he had to answer to me. I was abusing my position to get closer to him, but I honestly wanted to be able to trust my Elites after my incident with Jongin. I realised that the longest and truest loyalty came from deep affection and not commanding fear.

“Are you going for any extracurricular activity?” I continued asking.

“Well, not if I can. These classes are already killing me as it is, and I can’t even walk you home most of the days,” That was the longest sentence he had ever said, and I only got to know how soft-spoken and shy he was when he talked. Ah, this guy was too cute for his own good. Even the ladies in administration office couldn’t keep their eyes away from him. 

                  “No worries,” I smiled and patted his shoulder. He stiffened, so I squeezed the little meat on his shoulder and said encouragingly, “You don’t need to baby me in the school. After all, you are here to learn. Just make sure to make out most of it for the last year in high school, or you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Stop talking like a mom,” Now he was blushing a bit. I didn’t know how a mother would do because I never had one of my own, but I figured mother must be naggy and talkative, so I would pass on that. “What is your mother like? Is she well?”

“She can’t stop worrying, exactly like you,” A small, but slow smile appeared on Taeyong’s face and boy, did he look good. I was so used to looking at model-like men and Godlike figures since I was a child, but the men I was with topped them all. I wondered why none of my Elites took up modeling before. They would have sold.

“Talk to her often,” My voice sounded weird, and I gave Taeyong one last pat as we headed to the class. He just gave me a stony glance, keeping his neutral expression as he went on to find the Math teacher and I sat in my usual seat in the class.

I could imagine my Elite getting most of the attention when he came in. Even as he stood outside, the girls were giggling and fixing their barely-there makeup. I smiled. It was nothing new. That was just how human was; the need to look at good new things and the need to own it.

“Alright, Class, be quiet!” Our stern English teacher, Mr. Jung walked into the class and hit the board to get our attention. His brows crinkled as he scanned the room and stopped at me. I stared back at him defiantly because I knew he didn’t like it. In fact, my English score had been kept at the minimum for this ridiculous reason. “New student, come in!” 

I swore I could see the girls’ eyes changed into heart shapes as soon as he stepped in. I should be careful not to bring the other Elites, especially Sehun and Jongin, else it would cause a huge commotion in school. Their appearances straightly spelt out ‘pheromone’. I shivered.

Taeyong’s eyes swept the room until he found me and an empty seat not far from mine. He understood that it was important to keep our identities a secret, so he didn’t do anything further than a simple glance.

“What are you waiting for? Introduce yourself!” To say that the middle-aged Mr. Jung was stern was actually an understatement. He was literally barking at a new student and even I, who just came recently, sometimes questioned his sanity. His mood was worse than a girl’s PMS.

“I am Lee Taeyong,” He nodded courteously at everyone, his back slightly bent. “Nice to meet you.”

It was short and simple, and way too clean, just like his personality. I nodded in approval until Mr. Jung decided to cut in again with his loud mouth, “This is Yoon Sena’s cousin. They are both from Japan.”

I ducked down at the curious stares from my classmates. I hadn’t received this much attention since my arrival. I could hear hushed whispers from both genders, mostly targeting me. How could they be cousins? One is so bland and the other is so eye-catching. I sighed and buried half of my face to the table. I knew I wasn’t good enough to stand next to my Elites without feeling inferior.

Taeyong’s eyes hardened, but he didn’t say anything. He just sat down and quickly got surrounded by other students. Out of all my guards, he hated attention the most, even more so than Tao and Kyungsoo. Still, he replied them out of courtesy, though his answers were nothing more than ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘maybe’.

“There’s also a new part-time Math teacher,” Mr. Jung cleared his throat as the door opened again. I was only focusing on his words, and took a glance at the newcomer, but holy crap! I didn’t know whether I was supposed to feel happy or angry. “This is Kim Joonmyun, a graduate from National University of Singapore. Treat him well.”

Kim Joonmyun, my fiancée, was standing in the front with the biggest grin plastered on his fair face, “Good morning, everyone. I am your Math teacher for the whole semester from now on. My name is Kim Joonmyun, graduated early this July. Pleased to meet you… all.”      

He devilishly smiled at the room. His tactic worked well, of course. The girls swooned again.