Edited :)

I woke up earlier than I should, before my alarm clock by half an hour. Yesterday, I hadn't asked the boys to return back to their cards because they didn't want to, and the minute I opened my eyes I found Sehuns face meters apart from mine. Instead of blushing like how he does whenever he's caught doing something out of his character, his intense gaze didn't change at all. He was staring at me as if trying to search for any signs of whatever he was searching for, and when I blinked my eyes to break him out of his haze, he only squinted his eyes.

I looked down at his hands, and realized he was intertwining them over his chest. I lifted my body up silently when he continued to watch me, and turned around to notice the boys all scattered around. Jongdae was crouching down, following the trails of an ant village that was somewhere behind the walls of my bedroom. Baekhyun was sitting on his regular beanbag, a teenage magazine in his hands that he kept frowning at. He obviously didn't like the information provided within. Joonmyeon, Xiumin and Kyungsoo were talking to one another with hushed voices while standing in front of the single large window, reflecting light over their faces. I looked to my far right, to where my desk was; and noticed Chanyeol and Jongin wrestling one another to the ground silently not to wake me.

Where was Lay?

As the question popped in my head, a crash noise resonated from outside, followed by a womanly yell. The noise reminded me of when Baekhyun went downstairs in my home to practice chopping the carrots, and my mom caught him. My eyes met Baekhyun’s across the room, and I knew he was thinking the same.

Throwing the blankets off of my body in haste, I slipped my feet into my slippers with rocketing heartbeats.

“No one follows me,” I told the boys immediately, shooting them a glare. Joonmyeon turned to me and he seemed like he wanted to protest against my decision, and I sent him a look. “No, Joonmyeon. Those are three five-ranked Wielders, have always been here before me and you know what kind of rules they have applied. I’ll fix this myself.”

“We can help you,” Kyungsoo seemed to grow annoyed as well, and I helplessly let out a noise of disagreement.

“No, Kyungsoo. You’ll stay. They were looking for a mistake to attack and now they’ve found one. Your presence will only worsen things,” He bit his lips at my words, looking away frustratingly. I knew that he wanted to help, that they all did, but their help can be anything but helpful in this situation.

I strolled out of my room and gently closed the door behind me after I gave my boys a look not to intervene. I only hoped they wouldn't do anything reckless. I headed to the kitchen, following where the voice was the strongest. I remembered their rules of no warriors wandering around our dorm apartment, and I hadn't been making my warriors out of my room at all. Why was Lay out? Why did the boys even let him when they already know the rules?

I went inside the kitchen and found the three triplets all crowding around Lay, scowling at the poor Wielder who was looking at the ground, where a pile of broken glass was close to his feet. I realized that one of his feet was bleeding, and I smacked my head. I should’ve bought them flip flops for home as well.

“What's going on here?” I went inside the circle they made around Lay and stood in front of him protectively, giving an appropriate distance between the glass and I. Lay didn't lift his head from the ground and I didn't expect that from him. He probably thought I was just like the three Wielders that were staring him down like he had made a crime.

“Oh, Hani is here,” Mia said sarcastically, twirling one hair lock around her finger with a wide smirk on her face. They were all already wearing their uniforms, ready for school, and I pursed my lips thin.

“Don't you remember the rules?” Mae scowled. She looked the angriest, and I shifted my eyes to look at her. “I told you we don't want any warriors inside our residence. We already gave you permission to have them inside your room, but not in the kitchen.”

“I just wanted a glass of water,” Lay mumbled from behind me, and I looked back at him with an angry face, not because he didn't play by the rules, but because I was angry at the stupid triplets for making such a big fuss because of something as trivial and harmless as this. They probably haven't even heard his part of the story.

“Did you hear him? He said he only wanted a glass of water. No harm has been done. Why are you making a big fuss out of it?” I twirled back to face the triplets with a scowl of my own. I know how awful and demanding Wielders can be, but they are honestly being too much.

“Excuse me?” Maia sounded angry too, but she still held herself with an air of arrogance and dominance. “There were rules, and you should’ve applied to them.”

“He even broke a glass,” Mae continued her sister’s words, furrowing her eyebrows at the small flash of bravery that she had witnessed from me. I can tell she didn't expect it. “That is the harm. He needs to pick up his own shards.”

“Also wipe down the water he spilt,” Mia added, looking smug and confident. I wanted to shove a shard of glass down , but I shook my head thinking of something else less dangerous.

“I’ll do it,” I announced, turning around to face Lay one more time, catching his moist eyes, before falling down to my knees and picking up the glass one by one, piling them further away from Lay’s feet. I can hear them snickering, scoffing and calling me names with loud whispers so I can hear them purposely. I could see Lay’s knees shake, and I looked up to shoot him a comforting smile. He pursed his lips in worry and another undefined expression I couldn't read.

“He should never venture inside places he’s not allowed in. Lets go girls,” Mae said, and I looked back at her to watch her giving me a last glare before turning around with a dramatic twirl, walking away with obvious stomps of her feet to get her point across. Her sisters followed her with snickers, and Maia childishly stuck her tongue out at me, before running after her sisters out of the front door.

I looked back at the glass and sighed. There was a pool of water between the smaller shards, and I stood up to look for a mop.

“We need to wipe the water first. Why don't you pick up the bigger ones I had already picked and dump them in the trashcan?” I gave Lay a wide smile, and he sniffed. He gave me a long stare filled with raw emotions I couldn't read, before silently doing what I asked him. I searched for the mop relentlessly until I found it, and then begun cleaning the remaining mess made by Lay. I crouched down to pick up the smaller shards with a small broom, shooting the awaiting Lay a grin.

I cut myself with a smaller shard and a small circle of blood started appearing on my finger. I sighed helplessly and finished the rest. This was probably the reason why my mom never allowed me to do anything of this sort, because I was both clumsy and careless, even when I didn't try to be.

After finishing, I glanced at Lay with a focused stare, noticing the redness of his left cheek fading into nothingness. Had one of those s slapped him this hard so only now it faded? I took a small step forward, and Lay’s eyes shot up to meet my eyes almost right away.

“Lets talk. On the rooftop.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

For just this time, I won’t comment about him calling me ma’am.

-

“Sit,” I commanded with a blank face, pointing at the single bench around. He gave me a mere stare before politely sitting down and dropping his head low. He was wearing a dark red sweater and plain jeans, and god knows how he was convinced to wear such things without being traumatized. I think Joonmyeon was responsible, since the man was the only one who was excited to do so.

I crouched right in front of him, on my knees, and looked up at his face. He looked away right away, and I sighed at his reluctance. In a moment of bravery, I reached out for his hands and clutched them in mine. He snapped his head to my hands wrapped around his, before slowly lifting his head up to me with moist eyes. Was he scared of me this much? Even when I haven't done anything to him at all? This sudden display of emotions startled me so much that I turned speechless. I didn't know what to say, and the things that I wanted to say before vapored like thin air. He didn't need to say anything at all to render me awestruck, and I found myself blurting out my plans.

“I’m going to set you free,” both his and my eyes widened at what I just said, and I cleared my throat right away. He sniffled and wiped his tears furiously with his sleeves, staring at me with awe soon after.

“What?” he softly murmured, blinking his eyes.

“The witch that had turned you? I found where she is,” even when I urged myself to stop speaking, I still did speak, and continued to blurt out everything I know. “Or was. I know where she used to live, and I’m going to start my plan of freeing you, all of you, from that place.”<