This chapter is dialogue heavy since it is the awaited EXPLANATION chapter, yay?

Mina’s phone dinging brought her out of her small make-up frenzy, where she was applying contour to her cheeks in front of her wall mirror attentively. If it was a single ding, she would have ignored it, since her makeup was a lot more important than her phone messages (which were nothing more than advertisements and the boys’ silly emojis in the group chat) however, there were multiple dings, which worried her. Multiple dings usually meant emergencies, didn’t they?

So she hurried to her desktop and took her phone, replacing it with the contouring bottle she had in her hand. Her phone was unlocked already – she forgets her phone unlocked at least three times a day – with three text messages all from different numbers.

At the same time.

Could that be a coincidence? Surely, since none of the messages came from people who were together, and they all had different contents as well. She opened the first message, which was from Minseok, curiously. Wasn’t she with him just yesterday? What did he want now? She vowed to kill him if he wanted her to be his slave for this day too.

- Minseok:
- I’m sorry.

Sorry? Why was he sorry? She furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly worried. Did he do something to make him say that when she was with him? Well, aside his rude way of telling her to leave, but she didn’t even think he had noticed! She quickly typed a reply back.

- To Minseok:
- What for?

Then, she went for the next text message, which surprisingly was from Yixing. When was the last time she talked to Yixing? After she found out they knew of Suho’s knowledge about her feelings, she didn’t talk to anyone aside her roommates, Minseok, who forced her to talk, and the two boys she was entangled with as of now. Wow, now it sounded like she talked to everyone! But it didn’t mean she had to be less angry to the rest to talk to them. At least Minseok made her talk. Jongdae came to talk to her, whereas she did Sehun and Baekhyun wrong. What did the rest do? Nothing. She opened Yixing’s text message with an angry pout.

- Yixing:
- Sehun, can you bring my mathematics book? I think I forgot it in your apartment >.<

Mina couldn’t help but scoff, reading into his try to reach her right away. Did he think that pretending to misdial her phone for Sehun, she’d fall for it?

- To Yixing:
- You know this is not Sehun, but nice try.

Huffing, she went for the last text message she received, and the name atop her messages’ list left glowing green with unread, made her chest swell. She quickly blinked her eyes, closing them and opening them hurriedly, rash speculations circulating her mind right away. Her finger hovered over the name for a few seconds, heart pounding, before quickly clicking on it.

- BaeSuho <3:
- Meeting at my house, ASAP.

She released a sigh she didn’t know she was holding, clear, burning disappointment swallowing her whole. Oh, who was she kidding. He didn’t reach her out to talk or to apologize. Why would he when he kept mum through her one-sided conversation? When she went to his house to speak but he stayed silent? She just hoped he’d reach for her, apologize and beg for her forgiveness.

But no! He didn’t even bother. And her, oh how stupid of her to react to his name, the name she didn’t even bother change in her contact list! She was so pathetic. She quickly deleted his message away, and in that minute, another message from Minseok popped up in her timeline.

- Minseok:
- For telling you to leave that way? I don’t know, I feel bad about it.
- Also, you were right.
- Luhan has a crush on me.
- He told me that yesterday.

What.the.actual.! Luhan did what? Mina mentally squealed, fangirling like a stupid, lunatic alien. She always thought Luhan was too obvious for Minseok, even though Minseok himself didn’t agree. She knew he had been crushing on the older, brooding guy, but Minseok kept his enmity intact. It was easier to collect enemies than admitting of their crushes on you. Damn, she didn’t think Luhan would have the guts to confess so soon. She absolutely ships it!

- To Minseok:
- Omfg are you for real
- Woksospwpqpqpq
- Why did I guess it
- I TOLD YOU SO
- DIDN’T I
- AOKEKSPQQQQLASMNSS
- PLEASE TELL ME YOU SAID YES
- HES GORGEOUS

Mina continued to squeal loudly, shaking in her room in circles, and opened Yixing’s upcoming message. Her short joy was cut though, by his sheepish reply.

- Yixing:
- Busted.
- How do you always know when I try to be slick?
- Please talk to me though TTT.TTT

She snorted under her breath and sent him long periods, expressing her silence with them.

- To Yixing:
- …….

Next on, she went for Minseok’s message.

- Minseok:
- You’re gorgeous too

She paused, her fingers hovering over her phone screen. Um, why did he seem so serious when saying that? She thought, mumbling under her breath how many times Minseok told her she was beautiful, gorgeous, stunning and pretty as passing compliments whenever she dissed herself jokingly. However, those were always fleeting and playful compliments, whereas this one seemed to be serious of him. She blinked her eyes, mind going blank. What does someone reply to this anyway?

- To Minseok:
- Do you not like him or something?
- I thought all of your enmity was just a disguised love

Yixing was buzzing her phone with texts so she didn’t get the chance to say more to Minseok, angrily tapping Yixing’s name with a deep frown.

- Yixing:
- PLZZZZ RALK TO ME
- TALK***
- I LOVE YOU
- I AM SORRY
- PLZ FORGIVE THIS IDIOTIC UNICONN
- UNICORN**

You know Yixing is nervous when he makes a lot of mistakes during text messaging, which is not as frequent as it seems. But the fact he was nervous didn’t thaw the ice around her heart, and so she humphed, smacking the periods again as a reply.

- To Yixing:
- ……

She clicked on Minseok’s text message with a roll of eyes aimed at Yixing.

- Minseok:
- He’s amazing at playing soccer
- And he’s cute looking, I admit
- But that’s all I see him as

- To Minseok:
- Why the heck not? I would have dated him within a heartbeat if I was the one confessed to

Well, it was true. If she didn’t have Jongdae or Baekhyun and was confessed to by a man as beautiful-looking as Luhan, who’s athletic and generous, she’d give him a chance as soon as possible. She was a thirsty like that anyway.

- Minseok:
- That’s because you’re as hormonal as a teenage boy.

See? Even Minseok is completely aware of this fact. She grinned a little, finding the whole thing amusing; but her smile turned into a scowl at Yixing’s text message.

- Yixing:
- That’s it, expect me to follow after you when the meeting with Suho is over.
- If you’re not talking to me, I’ll force you to.

- To Yixing:
- I dare you. I’ll smash the door of the apartment to your face. EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN

- Yixing:
- Wojdoswppqkaksksopwowowo./—90–0:&:@1001

Somehow, his last text made her smile. He always became so childish when he didn’t have anything else to say. She left him at read and quickly headed for Minseok’s texts.

- To Minseok:
- Rude. THAT’S VERY ROODDDEEWW
- RUIUUUUDE**
- RUUDEEE*****
- By the way, did you receive a text message from Suho requesting for a meeting?

- Minseok:
- Yeah, I’m guessing he finally had the answers to whatever happened with you and Jongdae.

She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking. The fact Suho finally received an answer was a little, well, nerve-wrecking. What was the answer to what happened to her and Jongdae? She wanted to know beforehand, but now when she was a few steps closer, she found out that she was actually nervous. What if it was bad? Them and their werewolf side, it made everything so… out of this world. Her thoughts were interrupted by another ding, and she went for it right away, thinking it was from Minseok, but she paused when she saw the unknown number lighting up her screen. With increased heartbeats, she clicked on the text.

- Unknown Number:
- Greetings. Your job application at The Yellow Elixir has been accepted. Please report to the café for your interview at 4 O’clock.

A slow, wining smile lit up her face.

-

That slow, winning smile slowly disappeared from .

Not because she lost in her interview or something, no, she didn’t yet go for her interview. That was at least five hours away from now. That smile of hers disappeared because Suho’s regal house brought her fear and anxiety, instead of the usual comfort it always gave out inside of her heart.

She had taken a ride with Sehun and Kai, who were all deathly silent, probably because they could sense her worry, or maybe because Kai thought she was still angry with him (which she halfway was) whereas Sehun knew his sarcasm will not be tolerated at this moment.

Throughout the long, silent drive, Mina took notice of Kai constantly eyeing her through the rear mirror, eyes worried but also concealed of any emotions, not wanting to burden her with his concerns when she looked so out of it herself, whereas Sehun was tapping his fingers over the wheel (he was the driver, imagine that) a gesture he always did whenever the sphere around him was suffocating.

The parking lot of Suho’s humongous house – He has an entire parking lot there people – was already filled with the other’s cars, and Mina’s eyes widened. Did they arrive together or something? True to that mental statement, the boys were crowding around each other a few steps away from the front door, an air of comfort around them.

“Hey, you guys are here,” She found herself saying, jogging toward them and bringing all attention toward her. She could hear Sehun and Kai’s tread behind hers. “Did we just reach here together?”

Kyungsoo, whom she was still mad at, tended to ignore questions to ask ones of his own, or ignore them just because he can; like how he all but reached over her head to flick her forehead, annoyance written all over his face.

“I can smell your anxiety from here, you turd. It’s very distracting.”

It wasn’t her problem she was anxious! What did he expect of her anyway? To be dancing in joy while in Suho’s property? Those days of delight with seeing him ended the minute she realized she had been lied to. Growling slowly under her breath, Mina rubbed her sore spot while guiding a dangerous glare to Kyungsoo, a glare he scoffed at.

“I’m not anxious! Who said I’m anxious? Definitely not me!” She blurted. She really wasn’t helping herself cease her anxiety, or hide it away. She was dripping from the top of her head to her toes. She saw the secretive stares everyone shared around them at her response, her eyes lingering a little over Chanyeol, who had an unlit cigarette hanging off of his mouth.

Seeing her like that, Baekhyun wanted to step forward and comfort her, and he even took a few steps forward, but Jongdae pushed past him and walked forward before him, and he had an arm slung over Mina just as quickly. Baekhyun glared but didn’t say anything, because Mina didn’t seem to notice (or mind).

“Hey, It’s just Suho.” Mina heard Jongdae murmur softly atop her head, and she glanced up at him with an unconscious pout. “You’re not actually scared of what he has to say, right?”

“Nope, nah, not really.” Her pout faded away for a fake sniffle, a casual shrug of her shoulders, and wandering eyes. She was so obvious. “I don’t care what he has to say at this point.”

Although Jongdae didn’t believe her, he didn’t say anything, opting to rub under her lips tenderly, his eyes soft but concerned too. She was too anxious to notice that the racing of her heartbeats was because of that gesture of his rather than her anxiety to be in close proximity to Suho.

“Then why are you so anxious?” Chanyeol asked, the cigarette stick twirling around inside his mouth. Mina just glared to the ground, everything in her telling her not to reply at him, because she was still angry in someway, but there was also a reasonable part in her that kept repeating the answer in her head, so she ended up blurting it out under her breath.

“Didn’t you hear? I thought rumors traveled fast through this group.” She mumbled, not specifically talking to him or looking at him, but definitely answering his question. Chanyeol frowned but didn’t say anything, recognizing the signs of upset Mina right away.

“Are you calling us snitches? How dare you! I’m not a snitch.” Baekhyun sassily exclaimed, trying to make the atmosphere become less tense or just being his stupid, argumentative self. Mina rolled her eyes but she was slowly beginning to smile.

“I’m saying that everything that happens usually travels very fast to everyone in the group, and Baekhyun, you’re the biggest snitch I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

Baekhyun simply beamed back at her, happy to have her smiling again, but Jongdae crushed his momentary happiness with a nasty comment.

“She said displeasure, with meeting you.” Jongdae smirked, and Baekhyun instantly grew angry. It didn’t help that Jongdae was still glued to Mina’s side, with his hand buried inside her hair, soothingly playing with her locks and making the girl lean her head over his shoulders subconsciously.

Baekhyun glared again.

“You’re not trying to divert the subject, are you?” Chanyeol suspiciously asked, yet again, not dropping the fact she wasn’t talking to him. There was a glint in his eyes and he looked ready to burst into tears, which broke her heart but not her resolution.

She kept shut closed.

“Mina.” Minseok called her name in warning, knowing that under her pretense of not wanting to speak with Chanyeol, she was also refusing to admit what happened with her and Suho. All of them were aware she figured things out and that she was upset, but they didn’t know she had gone over his company, terrorized his workers, and ended pretty much most of their friendship. She didn’t know how to admit that.

“I had a fight with him.” She mumbled, weakly, scuffing her feet on the ground and avoiding their widening eyes.

“With Suho? You and him? In a fight? I can’t believe it.” Chanyeol wondered out loud, munching on his stick of cigarette while blinking. Mina wasn’t going to open and say anything more, not to Chanyeol nonetheless, and so she didn’t. Kyungsoo took that opportunity of silence to be an again.

“Can we please just go inside? We’re all standing in front of his door like a bunch of idiots talking about a person who’s waiting for us.” Kyungsoo exclaimed, looking at them with his wide eyes as if they were crazy, before pointing at the door and marching toward it, much like a soldier. Mina found it too funny, and she followed after him with a smile.

“Jeez, what got his in a twist..” whereas Sehun murmured irritably under his breath.

They all walked toward the door, and Mina paused when she was in front of it, sensing someone close behind her. They all thought she was becoming nervous again, freezing with her anxiety, and even though that was partly true, she also paused so that she could block Chanyeol from entering. When she felt the older boy stop as well, blocked from entrance with her back, she turned around and glared at him. Chanyeol blinked in surprise, munching the cigarette stick nervously because she was giving him that famous I’ll-hurt-you-very-bad look of hers. However, he was wrong. She didn’t want to hurt him, she wanted something completely different.

She reached for the stick of cigarette in his mouth and flung it away, glaring.

“You said you’ll quit, you .” She turned around and entered Suho’s house, ignoring his gaping mouth or the fact the boys spread apart like the red sea to give her entrance, all of them gazing at Chanyeol while blinking their eyes as well. What. just. happened?

-

“You came together or something?” Suho raised his eyebrows.

It was the first thing that greeted them past his house doors. Him, in his grey suit, looking so majestic and regal, despite the ruggedly, haphazardly worn way his suit was, or the shadows under his eyes, or the tension wrapped over his shoulders in a clear way she’d have spotted a few steps backwards. His eyes, right away, flitted over her, as if there was a magnetic force in her pulling them toward her. They still remained made of steel, powerful and demanding of respect, but right now they held an air of fragility and vulnerability.

Unconsciously of Mina, she hid behind the first boy she caught from the corner of her eyes, who happened to be Yixing, and even though she was upset with him, it didn’t matter. For now, she didn’t want to meet Suho’s eyes or even be in the same proximity.

“Nope,” Minseok replied, coming forward and dropping himself on the first seat next to Suho’s. The Alpha’s eyes wandered to him and away from Mina. “We came separately but we met at the door. What’s up? What do you want to say?

“I asked my dad about what happened with Mina and Jongdae. I just received an answer half an hour ago.” Suho replied, sighing and popping open the buttons of his blazer, loosening his tie. He leaned his head backward on the couch and he looked relaxed for the first time in centuries.

Tense silence quickly befallen them. He may look relaxed but the others didn’t share the same sentiment.

“Sit down.” The Alpha ordered, noticing their fleeting eyes. “What I’m about to say can be.. surprising.”

And sitting down they did, hurriedly. Kai went to join Minseok. Baekhyun quickly rushing to sit beside Mina before Jongdae could, who sat beside Yixing, clinging to the older boy without her knowledge. Yixing, thankfully, didn’t comment on that fact or the fact she was supposed to be angry with him. He simply let her hide by his side. Jongdae and the rest occupied the couch to Suho’s left. Then, all of their eyes went to the Alpha, who looked a little uncomfortable with the attention but didn’t divert away.

“Well, are you gonna say anything or nah?” Minseok questioned, raising his eyebrows and leaning back on the couch in the same way Suho was. Something in the oldest’ eyes flashed dangerously, and if she didn’t know the boy well, Mina would think he sounded a bit angry at Suho. Was it because she told them they had a fight? But wasn’t he a part of the royal scheme to keep everything hidden with the rest? So did he have any right to be angry?

Suho stood up, all of a sudden, and every set of eyes flew to him. He released a long, struggling breath out.

“I think I’ll go grab some water first.”

When he left to get himself water, everyone begun looking at each other, clear nervousness flashing over their eyes, their body physique suddenly looking tense and uncomfortable. Mina gulped, clutching on Yixing’s jacket sleeves, her eyes going from Minseok to everyone else, wonderment in her eyes. Seeing this, Yixing leaned back on the couch so she’d have to follow after him. She needed the most relaxation, since it involved her and Jongdae, and the look of horror painting her face gave everyone ideas about the a