A buzzing sound echoed through Xander’s ears, dragging him out of his dreams. The alarm on his cell phone was silence with a hectic push of a button. His eyes narrowed, protecting them from the harsh glare of sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. It was time to get ready for school. He stumbled out of the warmth of his blankets and into the bathroom to wash up. When he returned to his room he rummaged through the pockets of the jeans he’d worn the night before. A jingling ring of keys fell from one of the back pockets along with a thick shadow. With a thud, the shadow landed on his left foot.

        "Oww!!" he yelled, hopping onto his bed. On the floor was a metallic blue cell phone. With a click of a square button he saw there were twenty missed calls. "So it wasn't just a nightmare," he sighed.

        He stuffed the phone into backpack and quickly dressed. Since it was still too early to go to school he decided to stop by the house. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with another troublemaker. That’s all that girl would be to him, another troublemaker. Nearing the house he made a slow right turn up another street. From the corner he spotted AJ and Eli carrying a tray of food. There was an empty parking space beside the discolored home big enough for Xander’s car. He parked and walked towards his friends with long strides.

        "Everyone else still asleep?" He asked as they walked into the living room.

        "Kiseop is awake and making more food," AJ answered, walking up the stairs.

         Xander followed them upstairs hoping there would be enough food left for him. Eli was already in the room with the tray. The girl was asleep on the bed. Her black hair was spread out over a white pillow while a light blue blanket was tucked under her chin.

        "Her parents must be worried, they called twenty times."

        Just when he spoke the phone started to ring.

        "So what do we do?" AJ placed the tray on the nightstand.

       "Nothing." Xander turned the phone off and shoved it back into his backpack. "As long as it stays off they can't track it, but we have to get her out of here."

        Minjee peeked through her eyelashes to see the three boys arguing over what they should do to her. Looking around she noticed someone had covered her with a warm blanket and left a tray of food by the bed. No one took note of her scanning the room.

        "We shouldn't be arguing about this now," Eli said, "let’s just eat and go to class. We'll discuss this after school."

        They left the house, passing by Kiseop on his way inside. Not wanting to disturb the girl, he quietly took the chains around her wrists to unlock them. A wave of black hair whipped him across the face and before he could react he saw the girl move to the other end of the mattress. He put his hands up, palms facing forward, to show her that he meant no harm.

        "I was just letting you go. You have some time to wash up before we have leave for school."

        Her eyes were fierce as she searched his face for a hint of a lie. He stood at the opposite edge of the bed, unmoving, until she raised her wrists. The metal clanked when it slid off her and hit the mattress. Once all the chains were off she kept her eyes on him while he took hold of her arm. He led her down the sturdy stairs and out the front door. Across the lawn was another two story house. Minjee noticed the shades were drawn on all the windows and that  they were walking towards the back door. Once they stepped through the threshold they stepped into the kitchen where some of the boys from the night before were having breakfast. Xander glared as he watched her being led upstairs. Kiseop stopped inside the second door on the right. It was a white bathroom with fresh towels on the rack, a new brush with the price tag still on, a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt. He closed the door on his way out and walked back to the others.

        "I'm leaving," Xander stood up, placing his plate in the sink. "Hoon, stay here with Kiseop and Kevin. Once she's clean take her back and check the lock. I don't want her escaping and getting into trouble.” He continued under his breath, “I already have enough to deal with."

        AJ and Eli quickly stuffed a spoonful of rice into their cheeks, left their plates in the sink and followed Xander to his car. AJ hopped in the front seat earning a snicker from Eli. The car ride to school was very distracting, anything to make Xander not think about that girl who was now a liability.

        They parked in an empty space in front of the gates. There were eyes watching them gather their things and waltz onto the campus. On their way in there were whispers and students carefully stayed out of the trio's path. They strode to their lockers and were greeted by Dongho, Soohyun and Kibum.

        Dongho spoke in a low voice, "Before I left the house last night I checked her wallet for a name, it's Min Minjee. I haven't looked it up yet. We should check it out at lunch."

       "When did you have time to do that?" Soohyun asked.

       "I'm a bona fide thug, aren't I?" He popped the collar of his white button up shirt.

        His friends rolled their eyes and chuckled at the youngest's naivete, but Dongho smiled widely feeling proud of himself. A few minutes later Kevin, Hoon and Kiseop met them next to the cafeteria, but as they joined the group Kibum spotted something.

        "Mayday, we have a problem," Kibum said looking over at Xander.

        "I'll play nice," he responded in an unconvincing tone.

        He was keeping his eyes on her the whole time. She sauntered towards their group, looking up to make eye contact with him. He tried to compose himself, to look expressionless. Her lips curled into a smirk, but when she reached them she turned away and kept walking. He couldn't help the look of anger that crossed his face. His brows scrunched. His eyes burned into her back as she found her friends.

        The ringing of the bell snapped his attention off of the girl across the hall. Bodies were making their way to class, Xander blending into them. He entered his class and took a seat near the back beside Kibum. He couldn't help thinking about her. How could she just walk past him like that? It was as though they were nothing to her now. She seemed a lot like that Minjee girl at first glance, harmless, but he knew better than to trust appearances.

        Suddenly, he had an idea.