Byun Baekhyun was a really nice looking young man in his early twenty. Even with heavy eyeliners, he was flawlessly beautiful. Moreover, it accentuated the oddness of his eyes – one in blue colors and the other in brown. He was born with the pure blood gene of Byakko, and was said to inherit it from his uous parents. And according to the rumours, that also impacted part of his brain – though no one would deny he was a child prodigy.

                  It was our first time of seeing each other, so when we did, we took good look of each other from head to toe. His protectors were a pair of fraternal twins – Taehyung and Daehyun, still a close relative to Baekhyun’s family. The three of them looked almost alike – except that the two wore heavy frowns while Baekhyun had a dazzling smile on his perfect face.

                  His smile ceased when he moved from me to the man beside me. Instead, Baekhyun narrowed his eyes and stepped back a little upon seeing Kim Joonmyun. Likewise, Joonmyun wasn’t too pleased that Baekhyun was eyeing the both of us, and especially me, in a not-so-respectful manner. I unconsciously reached out to squeeze someone’s hands, and that someone happened to be a demon-in-disguise, Kim Jongin.

                  “Guess the news isn’t a false alarm, after all,” Baekhyun chuckled lightly, but his gaze was empty. “Congratulations on your engagement, Yoon Sena.” He didn’t even glance at Joonmyun anymore after his first, “You are quite the looker, huh? Too bad you’ve got the worst luck in finding suitors.”

                  I bit my lips and almost crushed Jongin’s hand underneath the long sleeve of my dress until his other hand tapped me lightly as a reminder. Baekhyun was basically insulting both of us, and I sure as hell wouldn’t let him get away so easily. Joonmyun’s face didn’t change a bit. He just looked unamused by Baekhyun’s statement.

                  “How could you say something so carelessly in regards of my fiancée and future husband, Byun Baekhyun?” I coldly remarked and threw out the insult at him. “Are you trying to disrespect me in the Genbu’s coronation ceremony?”

                  “Of course not, Sena,” He warmly called out my name and smiled. It was almost too bright of a contrast between the grace of his curved lips and the cruelness in his dark eyes. “Please forgive my careless remark just now. I just feel a little bit regretful that you are taken away so early.”

                  Even Jongin didn’t look so humored by his fake apology. I let the tension settled down for a moment before I chuckled and shook my head at Baekhyun, “Why should you be so apologetic, Leader of Byakko?” Bastard. I wanted to slap that smile off of his lecherous face. “Please don’t make such a bland, tasteless joke in an important event like this.”  

                  Without waiting for his reply, I held Joonmyun’s arms and pulled him away from the hotel’s lift and onto the ballroom’s door. He lifted his hand to touch my hair, but settled down for a pinch on my chin and gave me the most radiant smile I had ever seen of him, “You could have avoided insulting him just now.”

                  I rolled my eyes angrily and hissed quietly, “And let that bastard win the argument? No ing way, Kim Joonmyun. Did you even digest what he said to us?”

                  “And why are you so angry over him?” His eyes were full of warmth and affection that I softened a little and calmed myself down. He withdrew his hand and put my hands over his, “Byun Baekhyun is an immature jerk. Do you want to fight him over that title? Should you?” I looked at him with expectant eyes. “No, you do not need to dirty your mouth and hands over a petty man like him. Should it come to that, I will dirty my own hands for you.”

                  I was a bit flustered by his sweet promise and wanted to let him know that I wouldn’t ever let him fight this alone. However, I was reminded by Jongin’s presence and held back the words I wanted to say. The Elders didn’t need to know so much of our business and relationship.

                  “Sena,” It was Luhan that intercepted, and I swore I saw something sinister flashed in his eyes before he blinked it away. This man was most definitely jealous, but he hid it quite well so that no one else knew. “Byun Baekhyun has already gone inside. The ceremony will start anytime soon.”

                  “Well then,” I straightened my back and looked at Kim Joonmyun with a playful smile, “Ready to face your family?”

                  “Of course,” He sounded detached and distracted by the familiar guests that arrived not long after that, but he patted my hand reassuringly with a tender expression on his dear face. Joonmyun opened up the top buttons on his black shirt and straightened his blazer with hands. “I’ve missed them so. It’s about time I face them again.”

                  And we both knew that two liars played a more convincing stage than one.

***

                  Kim Minseok looked so pleased with himself when his father – the old man Kim – made an announcement speech full of praises to him and indirectly implied that the throne had been passed onto his oldest son. In that room filled with the nobles of Genbu and the leaders of other clans, nobody dared raise their protest against this decision. Rumors had it that Joonmyun left the clan to marry me, so we both weren’t much favored by the Elders of Genbu.                  

                  Our clan had a table to ourselves, directly beside the families of Genbu in the very front seat. Jongin and Sehun sat on both of my side – in accordance to the ethical custom – and Luhan and Taeyong sat on Joonmyun’s sides. I noticed that none of them had talked very much since we came here, presumably because they were uncomfortable in the presence of Kim Joonmyun.

                  “Sehun?” I whispered to my left and covered up my mouth so that no one could listen. He tilted his head slightly towards me and gave a charming smile. “What do you think of Kim Minseok and Jongdae?”

                  Sehun’s eyes shifted to the younger boy who sat with Minseok and his parents on the round table. He didn’t look close to his brother and father and chose to keep quiet instead. I remembered Jongdae wasn’t such a gloomy kid before, but it seemed that circumstances had inevitably changed him.

                  “Jongdae is too young to understand, but he is much more sensible and intelligent. He isn’t very close with his parents, is he?” Sehun remarked and I shook my head with pity. Neither Joonmyun nor Jongdae was close to their parents. “That would explain his odd behaviour, though it is upsetting to see his mother ignoring him so blatantly in front of everyone.”

                  Their mother wasn’t a bright woman. She was twice younger than her husband, and was weak mentally and physically. To secure her position in the clan, she chose to support Minseok who was favored by his father, which resulted in the negligence of the other sons. She used to be pleasant to Joonmyun because he held as much power over the council as Minseok, but ever since Joonmyun moved away to our side, she had yet to say a word to him.

                  “And Minseok?” I waited, “What about the eldest one, the newly crowned leader of Genbu?”

                  Sehun was about to speak up, but he was interrupted by Jongin, who apparently had listened to our lengthy conversation and thorough analysis. Jongin wasn’t usually so hasty, but his words were as sharp as his eyes, “Kim Minseok is nothing but a pawn. Sooner or later, someone will end his reign and replace him with another pawn. Genbu does not bless someone with arrogance and pride.”

                  It was the first time of that night that I looked at Kim Jongin in the eyes. He, too, was staring at me with such intensity that the entire atmosphere seemed to have shifted a bit. “And whose pawn do you think he is?”

                  “He could be anyone’s pawn since he doesn’t seem so guarded, unlike you or Baekhyun, or even Wu Yifan, that child of Suzakku,” Sehun calmly replied and again, my attention went back and forth between two of them. Jongin then continued with a small smirk, “He could be his father’s pawn, his mother’s, the council’s, or even… your fiancée’s.”

                  I glared at him angrily and stared straight ahead. Kim Yong Ha stood up from his seat and proposed a toast for everyone in good will, “Tonight has been eventful. My eldest son, Kim Minseok, is young but remarkable, and has always been just and fair in his doing. I believe that he would be fully capable of leading this clan in the future. Genbu the Shield has been one of the great four clans, and we are known for our…”

                  “Halt!” Baekhyun rose from his seat with an indignant smile. I had a bad feeling about this. “Kim Yong Ha, you do not need to propose a toast in this manner anymore, we all know about your clan and your son. Instead, I would like to make an announcement on my clan’s behalf.”

                  Almost at the same time, the thirteen-year-old heir of Suzakku stood up. He was a pre-teen but his facial structures were hardened by ambition and power. Wu Yifan was too young to be a leader, but not once had the Elders dare to defy him, and this proved that behind that childlike façade, lies a great power beneath. His father’s protectors, Han and Yun, also shot up from their seats instantly in case anything happened.

                  Now there were three of them standing up while the other guests watched on with curiosity and anxiety. Byun Baekhyun had been known to be unpredictable, but I didn’t know that his case was this severe. He literally ignored the custom and common courtesy in a Genbu’s territory to speak up in a careless, disrespectful manner.

                  “I would like to declare an open war against the other clans,” He smirked and raised his hand up in the air, and in that moment, a loud sound was heard, and Kim Yong Ha dropped dead on the ground, bleeding from the gunshot. Immediately, chaos ensued. Everyone frantically tried to push their ways out. In the midst of it, I was separated and pushed back from one corner to another, completely missing both my protectors.

                  Both Daehyun and Taehyung pulled out a handgun from their sleeves and started shooting randomly. The weapon looked like a S&W 500 Mag, but the color and design was a bit different from the original that I suspected Byakko had done something in their prototyping to adjust its speed and power to hit the target with more precision. It was a surprise to see them carrying it into this room since Genbu had done a security check on the entire body before entering the premise. Unless… They had sneaked it in through another staff in this hotel.

                  And that sniper somewhere in the far left! Damn! I should have known better. There was smoke and small fire on the expensive carpet, and a room full of nine hundred people trying to run out all at once. I had to fight my way out to find my Elites. In that exact moment, I saw Jongin, holding onto a table knife and swung it with such ease at the Byakko guards. He ran and used the tablecloth swiftly to avoid the gunshot.

I hadn’t bothered to count the guards’ numbers before, but now, I realised that there were more Byakko invaders than I had realised. They were all carrying the same guns as Baekhyun’s twin protectors’, and all dressed in suits and pants with a small emblem on their cuffs. How could I not notice these details before?

Pale and trembling, I looked for things I could use while trying to push my way through the sea of people. Bloods of innocent people were spilled on the ground and it was one of the few times that I got to see the corpses in real life. I looked at the fancy dining’s utensils and grabbed onto the fish knife and dinner fork, just in case someone tried to attack me.

“!” I heard Jongin muttered that curse when he saw me hiding underneath one table in the middle of the room. The Byakko guards were still shooting, and they wouldn’t back down so soon. He roared loudly onto the destroyed stage, where Sehun was, “Oh Sehun, you’d better get her to safety right now!” 

I lifted a bit of the cloth and saw that Suzakku had left very early on, snuggling their heir out cleverly when people were panicking. Realisation dawned on me as I felt my heart turned cold when I saw Jongin charging towards me in maddening speed. What if he tried to kill me now? Would he…? Would I be dead then?

No, I couldn’t die yet! I gathered all my strength and estimated my distance towards the nearest Elite in my side, Taeyong. He was about ten feet away from me, so I supposed, if I ran quick enough to him, I would be safe.

                  Without thinking much, I got up from where I hid and ran towards Taeyong, who was fighting his way through three grown up men with lethal guns on their hands. I ran, and ran, and ran… Until Jongin suddenly appeared on my right hand side… And took a shot for me in the arms. I was shocked.

                  A few seconds after, he took the second shot… This time on the chest.

                  I gasped. I heard Baekhyun’s order from afar, but all the noises seemed to buzz in my ears as I watched Kim Jongin spat out blood, and fell down so gracefully and beautifully in a slow motion tape that was played on without music or sound. His hard body hit me as the both of us fell onto the floor in a loud thud.

                  “Kim Jongin,” My hands trembled so badly as I tried to shake him awake. I shouldn’t have done that, because the wound opened up even more. “Kim Jongin, don’t scare me like that!” Something choked me up from the inside. I had never yelled so loudly in my life – not when my parents passed away in that car ‘accident’, and not when my Grandfather took me away from them, “Sehun!”

                  “Sehun, help me!” I sobbed like a mad woman, “Help Jongin! Someone, call the ambulance! God, Jongin, don’t you dare die on me! Kim Jongin!!!”   

                  Kim Jongin wouldn’t die… right?