Luhan was surprised and not surprised at all. He gauged Jongin and Sehun's reactions first, and they both seemed pretty surprised. The two leaders and Minseok kept their expressions perfectly neutral, as expected, but the rest of EXO couldn't help but show mild surprise at the fact that a girl had managed to outhack all of them. They seemed more relaxed as well, as if they knew she couldn't do much to them. But Luhan knew from experience that with a mind as sharp as hers, her physical training couldn't be far behind.

 

For some reason, Luhan felt the strong urge to grin. She liked to surprise people, just like him.

 

He liked her already.

 

"In case you didn't know, my name is Jin Taohua. You can decide if that name is fake or not," she introduced herself. "Don't look so shocked a cute girl is a better hacker than twelve boys combined. You guys aren't much, but together you're something. Which is why I want to join."

 

Junmyeon merely raised an eyebrow. "How can we trust you?"

 

Taohua laughed. "We're hackers. We don't trust anyone."

 

Luhan almost felt as if she were taking the words out of his mouth. The more he heard her speak her mind, the more he was a sure she had a dark past, just like him. And curiosity about her was getting the better of him. He needed to get closer to her, find out why she was so similar to him.

 

Maybe he could find clues about his own past in her.

 

Chanyeol's loud words snapped Luhan out of his thoughts. "We trust each other. Otherwise EXO wouldn't exist."

 

Taohua sneered in response. "Yeah, whatever. You guys are like brothers, so what? I'm here for pro hackers who can help me get what I want, not a family."

 

Yifan stepped in now, silently conveying to the rest of the boys that the leaders should handle her. "And what exactly do you want?"

 

"I want Unibank," she said simply. "Don't ask me why, but I know you guys managed to crack them. And I can help you get what you want, without taking any of the profits. As long as you let me destroy them."

 

Luhan froze.

 

She was in this for revenge.

 

Just like him.

 

"What's the catch?" Junmyeon asked. "What do you want from us?"

 

"Like I said, nothing," Taohua replied evenly. "Just a temporary alliance and the opportunity to take Unibank down. You get the money."

 

"And why should I believe you won't just take the money and run?" Yifan jumped in.

 

"You shouldn't. But you should know that I'm the only way you're going to get the money, and I guess you'll just have to believe me then."

 

So she was a tough negotiator too, but she had a point. Luhan gave a pointed look to Minseok, whose advice was always valued. He opened his mouth to speak. "If you'll excuse us, we need to discuss this before we give you an answer."

 

Taohua just smiled. "I'll wait."

 

The boys trekked out of her earshot and began to whisper furiously.

 

"She's a girl?"

 

"But she's so good!"

 

"She's smart too!"

 

"I think she's lying!"

 

"I don't know, man. Why would she?"

 

"Hyung, what do we do?"

 

Luhan, Jongin, Junmyeon, Minseok and Yifan stayed silent. When the other boys finally quieted down, Jongin blurted out, "We should trust her."

 

The other boys seemed surprised, but Luhan decided to save him some embarrassment this time. "I agree with Jongin. She's an asset, and she has no reason to lie, as she knows we're basically unknown and has no reason to take advantage of us."

 

The two leaders gave each other a look, then Junmyeon spoke. "We're a group, so we vote. All in favor of Taohua joining, raise your hands."

 

Minseok, Luhan, Junmyeon, Yixing, Kyungsoo, Tao, Jongin, and Sehun raised their hands, making the majority of EXO. "It's decided, then."

 

They walked back to where Taohua was standing. "Taohua, you're in. Welcome to EXO."

 

She just smiled that mysterious smile. "I know."

 

Luhan almost smiled back.