“Okay, what the is she doing here?”

                  I thought that life had gone pretty smoothly recently, and now this demoness had to show up and ruined everything. It was a wonder how she came to this place and how she managed to bewitch everyone else into believing. I, for one, was not a fool, but just because I was not, did not mean that the others would follow. Kim Minseok, for example, was seriously – and helplessly – smitten with Yoon Sohee. How and why, I would leave a space for my wild imagination. Needless to say, I was pissed. Like raging mad and legit pissed.

                  “Sena, calm down,” Sehun reminded as we talked in a secluded corner while everyone was fawning over the newly arrived beauty. The more I looked at her, the more uncomfortable I felt, especially after I knew about her association with the Elders. She was very suspicious and her arrival did not help to clear up the suspicion. If anything, she added more oil to the fire. “Remember, this is not Seiryuu’s territory. We are just guests. No matter what, we have to know our places.”

                  Sehun was right. I had been acting all high and mighty in Genbu’s headquarter when I was nothing but a refugee. Still, I hated Yoon Sohee’s appearance and I did not bother to hide my dislike. She just tilted her head and blinked those innocent puppy eyes at me and people already started judging. It was shallow and utterly despicable how easily they fell because she was pretty and I was… not so. “Why is she even here?”

                  “Minseok’s invitation when they met in town,” Sehun calmly replied, but he was just as uncomfortable as I was. Luhan looked cluelessly at the two of us and I did not bother returning his stare because I was too pissed for my own good. Jongin was somewhere, just like he usually did. The other Elites joined in the crowd, but instead of fawning over her, they tried to gather as many information as they could. “You should’ve known her position by now, right? She was engaged a long time ago to Minseok and now that he is officially a leader, of course she would come and pay him a visit.” Perhaps stayed for a long time as well.

                  “Or she came to his for that position,” I hissed and did not bother to filter my words when it came out of my mouth. Sehun was looking at me half-amused, half-reprimanding and I knew why. Words like that – as the deceased Mr. Kim often reminded me – were not to be spoken by a learnt young lady like me. But who the cared? “But for real, Sehun, I can’t be the only one who senses that something is terribly wrong with her, right?”

                  “You’re not the only one,” He nodded in agreement. Finally! Someone admitted it. Yoon Sohee was not just weird, she was fishy. First she tried to befriend me – which ultimately failed when I came to Singapore and stayed for almost a month and a half now. Then she was closely linked to the Elders, and trust me, nothing good ever came out of those greedy old men. Now she appeared in the Genbu headquarter with a smitten Minseok as explanation. These were too absurd and planned to be called coincidental. I, Yoon Sena, would not believe in her innocent façade unless proven otherwise. “But you ought not to be so hotheaded, Sena. She hasn’t even done anything yet.”

                  “Yes, yet, Sehun, and by the time she finally does it, we would all be too late,” I grunted, folding my arms protectively. “I can’t stand goody-two-shoes like her. If I look any more, I would vomit on the ground and that would be disastrous.” I walked away and only Sehun followed me back.

                  “You should really restrain, Sena, Dear,” His voice was soft and gentle and it calmed me down a little. “I know how you feel for her, and even though the others have their suspicions as well, you can’t really do anything even if you are engaged to Kim Joonmyun. You’ve seen how Minseok’s treated Joonmyun even though he is his younger brother. We are under his protection and it is out of family relation that we got to be here today. You are smart, Sena. You would understand, right?”

                  “Of course, Sehun,” I took a long and deep breath and sighed. “You are right. It doesn’t matter how I feel right now. Kim Minseok that is her fiancée and she is loving the attention now. I just have to learn how to be…” sighed again, “patient. But you know me, Sehun. Patience is not my strong forte. It’s yours and Joonmyun’s.”

                  One of the monks in Tibet once taught me that one was not born with patience. It was learnt and practiced and often, we failed. That was humane. I had always failed miserably because I was too explosive and temperamental. Meditate, they said and urged me to follow their leads, but everytime I did, I would imagine thousands of different things in a mere ten minutes of meditation, so in the end, I gave up. My heart was tangled and my mind was too messed up to learn. Needless to say, I dropped out of that temple and wandered to another.

                  “If it ever gets hard, you can vent it out to me,” Sehun gave me a reassuring pat and a small smile. He looked cold and unapproachable, but he was actually quite a warm person, albeit a little too confusing. Unlike Jongin who preferred to shield himself from the world, Sehun just chose the persons he opened up to, albeit it would take him a long time before he really came undone. It was endearing how he always observed and knew me so well even when I did not know when or how. I guessed while I was busy looking at Jongin, others were staring at me at the same time. I smiled at the thought.

                  “Thanks, Sehun, but I am calm now.” Calm like the calm before another big storm hit.

(18)

                  “There you are, Jongin. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Sohee threw one sickening sweet grin that would have melted others’ hearts but his. He was sitting in the training hall’s lounge with his sweatpants and T-shirt. He had heard of her arrival, but did not bother to find her in the gathering place and instead, found this place to calm his mind. Lately, he had too much to think about and it was starting to burden him a little.

                  “I’m not interested in a conversation with you. So scram,” Jongin knew he was rude, but he did not care. Yoon Sohee was worthless in his eyes, no matter what praise the Elders had of her. She might be a little smart, but Jongin did not like girls with hidden motives like Sohee. He was disgusted and appalled by her sweet-nothing lies and innocent façade. It might have fooled Minseok, but Jongin was not stupid. He had eyes and there was no way he would succumb to this girl even if she were the last person on earth.

                  “Too bad. I won’t go anywhere because I am very interested in talking to you,” Sohee sat a little too closely for his liking. This girl was sick on the head – he knew as much. Grandfather must have loved her so, because this girl was exactly what he wanted Sena to be – ambitious, fake and submissive to the Elders. “Come on, Jongin. You can’t hide from me forever. One way or another, we are meant to be. Even Grandfather agrees.”

                  “I am more than pleased to break this off to you, Spoilt Brat: I am not like any of your boy toy. You are disgusting,” That came off from the mouth of the player so ignorantly. If Sohee was hurt – if she even had any shame at all – then she was good at hiding it. “I don’t know what those Elders told you, but you better stay away from my business.”

                  “Oh, don’t worry, Jongin, I won’t hinder you from your task. They just sent me here to remind you of your status,” She smiled again, showing a perfect set of teeth. Sohee her lips as her fingers grazed the smooth surface of Jongin’s cheeks. She wet herself at the thought of touching him – something she could only dream of before. “It’s been five and a half weeks, Jongin. Don’t you think it’s a bit to slow for someone as calculative as you? When I’d seen Sena in the hall, she was fine and scar-free.”

                  “I don’t go by your orders. I don’t have to tell you what I did and what I did not,” Jongin spat. “You are of no importance to the clan or the Elders, Yoon Sohee. You have neither power nor position in Seiryuu, and your parents do not hold much influence over the clan’s matters. You are the one who should be reminded of your own status, because you seem to be overstepping boundaries right now.” He caught her hand and twisted it mercilessly until she was writhing on the floor in pain.

                  “Kim Jongin!” She hissed in hatred.

                  “Yoon Sohee,” He brushed her off coolly. His eyes looked elsewhere, but he was very much aware of her. Calculative as she called him, Jongin was not impulsive. “I know what I’m doing and I’m very good at it. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be here right now, standing next to Kim Minseok. So be grateful and back off before I accidently slice your pretty neck with a knife when you are not aware.”

                  “Your threat do not frighten me,” She firmly replied, her hands clenching onto the hem of her blue coat. She was pretty, but pitiful.

                  “I know,” He lightly chuckled. He would have expected as much from a woman raised by Grandfather himself. “But the threat won’t be just a threat when I actually do it, right?” He slyly pulled out a small dagger from his pants pocket and played it with both his hands, “I am a man of no patience, Yoon Sohee. Do not test me. I have my ways of doing things, and none of that concerns you, so you’d better back off while you can, else you’ll ruin a perfectly good plan for me.”

                  She shivered a bit and stared at the floor.

                  “Can’t people have a little more fun, Yoon Sohee?” Jongin smirked cruelly. He was very good at threatening and intimidating others in an unconventional way. He had sharp, cold eyes that spoke of unfathomable depth of darkness. It was too late, he always reminded himself, there was no way to back out now. He was in so deep and he could not wash his hands or his memories away from his sins. What would be left off of him when he was done killing? Nothing. He had learnt how to enjoy it.

                  “But you look like you are falling in love with her!” Sohee protested and let out a little cry of fear when Jongin touched her neck. His heart skipped a beat and a face appeared in his mind. She was naïve, frightened and wounded – and he got her where he wanted to be. Sohee saw the pause in his movement and added on boldly, “We’ve seen what you did to her, Jongin. You almost killed Elder Junjin because of Yoon Sena, and if that’s not love, then I don’t know what it is!”

                  He clicked his tongue in distaste and shook his head, “There are a few types of human I hate the most, Yoon Sohee. One is like you; noisy, full of flattery and bull, and fake. The other – I hate even more – and that is someone who disrupts my plan, whether it is because he is trying to help or disturb me. It’s annoying, don’t you think?” He the tip of the dagger and grinned madly, “I’ve spent hours thinking of plans to kill her, and yet… you and the Elders just had to do completely unnecessary things that would ruin it. Of course I’m mad.”

                  “Are you sure?”

                  “I said, don’t test me!” His dagger purposefully missed a millimeter away from her smooth skin. She held her breath the entire time and dared not move in case Jongin became unreasonable. This man would go insane once he tasted blood. “The Elders should just wait for the play to unfold because now I’ve gotten all the chess pieces on the board. It’s about time I start moving them, don’t you think?”    

                  She smiled.

                  “Of course.”        

                    A/N: I update pretty fast nowadays, right? And before you throw me bricks for being so heartless, please halt. Please. Calm down yo. Now go back to the conversation he had with Sohee. Done? Okay. Bye.