“It’s just a slight injury. I’ll give you a medicine to make you feel a bit better. Lay will be here this afternoon. He’ll be able to fix you,” Doctor Kim stated before letting go of Mina’s ankle. He looked up at Kai who was leaning on the wall. “It’s her first combat training and you really had to tackle her that hard?”

Kai shrugged rather nonchalantly. “It’s not my fault. She was not paying attention.”

Mina held back the urge to punch him on the face. Doctor Kim gave him a what-the-hell-are-you-thinking look before standing and heading to the cabinets. Mina watched him as he rummaged the contents of the steel cabinets before going to the other table to pick a glass. Suddenly, Kai walked in front of her and sat on the chair across her.

“It’s just a slight injury. Getting injured during a combat training is normal. When I had my training with Yunho hyung, I broke four ribs because I was not paying attention when I had to.”

“Geez, thanks for making me feel better,” she sarcastically stated and Kai just sighed.

“What I’m trying to say is that it’s better for you to get injured during training and learn from it than get killed during a real fight,” he said with a serious tone. “You need to learn fast because you’re you. And being the Queen, many eyes are focused on you. I know it’s going to be hard and you’ll go through pain while learning but it’s all for the best. Trust me.”

For the first time, Kai’s not sounding like a jerk. He actually sounded worried and sincere. Just when she was about to think that Kai has a side of him which is not that annoying, he grinned. “So you need to keep up, darling, because I’m not going to slow down.”

“But if you send her here with another injury, I swear Kai, I’m going to give you the tiest treatment once you break your arm again,” Doctor Kim butted in as he handed Mina the glass of an icky looking substance. She flashed the doctor a grateful smile for what he said. Kai looked unfazed as he watched her down the medicine. She grimaced at the taste of it.

Doctor Kim reached for the empty glass and placed it on the table beside him. Just when Kai was about to open his mouth to say something, the door flew open. The three of them looked at the tall young lad who was catching his breath.

“Lucas, what are you doing here?” Kai asked right away. “I thought you were-”

“They’re near the barrier,” Lucas cut in with a heavy accent.

For a second, Mina saw how Kai’s expression changed into a serious one. “Go, they need you,” Doctor Kim said, looking up at the pink hair. Kai met Mina’s eyes but did not say a thing. He looked at Lucas and nodded at him before they left the room. Mina’s gaze was glued on the door as Kai closed it behind him.

“Kai’s a raider,” Doctor Kim informed as if he read Mina’s mind. “I suppose you know what that means.”

Mina slowly nodded her head. “Yes. I’ve read about them – the Noir and the raiders. They’re the ones who hunt the Black Organization.” She never imagined Kai to be a raider. Knowing that Kai’s risking his life to protect the Alice community makes her think that maybe he’s not a total jerk – maybe. “What’s the barrier?”

“It’s the thing that keeps the school hidden from ordinary people’s sight and it also protects the school from the attacks of the Black Organization. After the death of one of the pioneers who had been securing the barrier, the rebels have been lurking near the barrier lately. They’re looking for a way to enter.”

“I see,” she muttered, taking in the information that she just heard. Silence enveloped the whole room and she started playing with her hands.

“I heard that you hate him.”

That comment from the young doctor made her blush and flinch on her seat. He chuckled, finding her reaction cute. “Well…I can’t help it after he ki- after what he did. He’s annoying and he keeps on calling me darling which makes me really…” She trailed off as she looked at the floor. “…uncomfortable.”

Doctor Kim grinned. “I heard what he did from Lay.” Mina’s head shot up, meeting his eyes. “Kai’s a good guy. He’s just playful. He has a hard time showing his affection to people so he tends to just play it cool and act like a jerk. Trust me, calling you darling’s his way of showing it.”

Yeah, right; just like how Baekhyun shows me his affection when he calls me pretty face with a sinister voice.

Mina bit that comment back. With a closer look, Doctor Kim’s really attractive. His eyes look like they’re twinkling. His shoulder length jet black hair was braided on the side. And his hands are really pretty.

“Yunho told me that nothing’s really explained. I know that you have a lot of questions. If you’d like, you can ask me and I’ll try my best to answer them.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line as she stared back at the doctor. Out of the questions in her mind, she decided to ask him about one which has been bugging her too much. “Is there something wrong with me? I can’t use my Alice. In the past, I wanted to not have this kind of ability because I feel odd. But now that I’ve learned that I’m not weird because there’s really a community of people like me, I feel left out because I can’t do anything.”

Doctor Kim gave him a small smile. “There’s nothing wrong with you. You just need training. You see, you’ve been so accustomed to using your Alice on ordinary people. Alice users have a natural ability to block your kind of Alice.”

“So I’ll be able to use my Alice after training?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

He nodded right away. “But you’ll have to be in a certain level to be able to read some people’s minds, for example, the Royals. They’ve underwent mental training since they were kids so reading their thoughts would be like going through series of doors.”

Mina fell into a deep thought after that.

“Yunho said that you were able to hear people’s thoughts without looking in their eyes.”

Remembering what happened at her parents’ funeral, she nodded. She unconsciously touched her right ear as the memories of that day flashed in front of her eyes. “It was very painful that I thought my head was going to explode.”

“Your emotion’s deeply connected with you Alice. You need to learn how to control your emotions even during stressful times. If you’re able to do that, you’ll be able to read people’s minds while looking in their eyes, block their thoughts and even hear their thoughts without looking in their eyes.”

Mina blinked. “I can do that?”

Doctor Kim nodded, smiling. “Sir Han Shinwoo, your father, was able to do those things. He was a great man. I can still remember how he told me to grow up into a fine man.”

“Y-You saw him?”

“Yes. You know, you have his eyes.”

“I’ve heard that before,” she commented recalling how Suho said the same thing. There’ s still on question that she’s been meaning to ask. “Doctor Kim.”

“Hmm?”

“What about my mother? I don’t know if Suho forgot to give me her records but I don’t know a thing about her. There was no mention of him or me on the records. Where is she now?” Mina stared intently at him. He sighed.

“Mina, I don’t think I’m the right person to answer that.”

Feeling of disappointment hit her hard. She smiled bitterly. “I see. There really is something in there. Maybe there really is a reason why I was left at an orphanage.”

“The only thing that I could say is that they loved you with all their hearts. It’s just that-” He paused, sighing and shaking his head. “It’s just that…trusting anyone at that time did not come that easy.”

Fixing the strap of his gloves, Kai followed Lucas through the deep woods. While they were walking near where the other raiders were, he noticed Sehun standing under the biggest tree in that area. “What are you doing here?” he asked right away when he got to where his friend was. Sehun did not bother turning to look at Kai.

“Old Song told me to