Kai continued to flip through the numerous files that he had requested from the professors that taught the first and second years. These files contained the profiles of the school’s top students. As the new Head of the Student Council, Kai needed to continue the responsibility and tradition of choosing the next council members.

 

But he couldn’t seem to keep his focus, remembering the strange event that happened the night before. If he wasn’t mistaken, Baekhyun’s friend had purposely wandered and rushed into the woods on her own. And there didn’t seem to be an ounce of worry on Baekhyun’s face when she did.

 

“Suho,” Kai blew a raspberry and threw his head back against the swivel chair. He didn’t have to do this on his own anyway, it was usually the vice chairman that goes through their profiles. Kai only had to finalise the decisions made. “Have you seen anyone who stands out?”

 

Before the man could respond, the door to their basement was opened, revealing a sheepishly looking Baekhyun.

 

“Oh wow, you guys did a good job in changing the place.” He remarked, plopping onto the grey couch in the middle of the room. “Our seniors were pretty bad designers.”

 

The basement was surprisingly bright, the ceiling lights lit the room; emitting a white hue over the place. It was where the Student Council members would often hang out, hold their meetings and small discussions. There was a shelf full of books, not that Baekhyun knew what those were for. None of them read often, except for Suho.

 

The basement room was filled with cosy beanbags, a huge pool table near to the furthest wall and small drinks’ bar just behind the couch. The colours of the room were a fresh white with oak touches; it was most definitely a room you’d only see in a rich man’s mansion.

 

“I didn’t think it would change this much since I left,” Baekhyun added, resting his legs on the coffee table. “Of course, I never doubted your grandfather’s capabilities either!”

 

Kai’s eyes turned to slits as he narrowed his gaze onto Baekhyun. He had to admit, the boy didn’t know when things shouldn’t be taken too far.

 

“You can’t come in here as and when you please, you know.” Suho sighed, shaking his head. Baekhyun was one of the greatest gems they had in their previous year. Many things were implemented and changed because of his ideas—making things better for the students here in Empire Institute. Unfortunately, the boy left 6 months after being accepted into the council.

 

Baekhyun wore a pout on his lips, “Sorry.”

 

Despite leaving, he still maintained a strong friendship with his batchmates in the council. Still, things in the council should be kept within the four walls and only amongst the council members until further notification. And because Baekhyun was no longer part of the council, the boys no longer discussed matters regarding their activities whenever they hung out together.

 

“I just thought you might need some help with the selection this year!”

 

Kai looked over to his team; a council which only had 11 members; six of which were from the 4^th year, and the rest were on their 2^nd. All boys-turned-men.

Well, at least most of them were men.

 

His eyes fell onto the one he worried for most, and even when they’ve been friends for so long; Kai still had doubts about Chanyeol’s abilities.

 

“Well, as you can see…” Suho trailed, jutting out his bottom lip. “Our seniors didn’t gather any freshmen two years ago, resulting in the absence of the third years here. And following the rules of the school, you can only be part of the executive committee once and only in your fourth year.”

 

Kai let out another groan. Of course, seniority was still a big deal in Empire Institute.

 

“These boys,” Suho pointed to the 5 boys that had gather around the coffee table with a rolled paper, “Can only take over us in two years’ time—”

 

“So, to put it simply—we are in need of third years. Desperately.” Kai finished it up for Suho, rolling his eyes at how Suho dragged the entire problem into paragraphs.

 

Baekhyun kept mum. Even he didn’t know how to help. The reason why there wasn’t any gathering of freshmen two years ago, was because the intake for that year was too low. And almost everyone else was interested in other curricular except the student council.

 

Competition for their year was high too, everyone was desperate to climb to the top—and because of that, about 60% of them didn’t even take part in any extra curricular activities.

 

“Well, sorry.” Baekhyun apologised, scratching his head. “I came here with a bunch of suggestions from the 1^st years but, no junior years.”

 

The air was filled with silence, only the flipping of files could be heard. And judging by the files that Suho tossed away, the rest of them knew that there wasn’t a single individual from the junior—

 

“Hey! I found some!” Suho exclaimed, but his smile died down as he sighed. There were only two files left in the tray. “Well, I found two.”

 

Kai got off the couch and shuffled up to him, “Irene Bae? I’ve never heard of that name before…”

 

“States here that she just enrolled; yesterday was her first day then.” Chanyeol came by their sides, snatching the file away. He wiped the chocolate stain on his lips hastily and was about to flip the pieces of papers when Kai snatched it back.

 

“Could you please just—wash your hands first?”

 

Chanyeol tutted but complied as he left for the washroom a few feet away. With a quick gesture of his fingers, Kai gather his boys around and scanned the file with his digital watch. He placed his watch in the middle of the coffee table and as he pressed a blinking blue light, a holographic projection of her face and information emerged above his watch. Suho went on to scan the second file with his own watch, preparing to show it to the rest once Kai was done with explaining the first candidate.

 

“She just got transferred, from Illie West.” Kai began, a frown on his face.

 

“Huh, why would she want to come here instead? Isn’t Illie West a great competitor of ours?” Chanyeol chimed from the washroom.

 

Although Kai did agree, he didn’t think it was important for them to discuss it anyway.

 

“Hm, she got in through recommendation actually. Her grades are on par with ours, and she was even part of their discipline department.” He continued, flipping the pages. “Other than that, all her other testimonials look more or less the same. Humble, kind and… a maniac…?”

 

Baekhyun spat out his cucumber juice and raised his brows in shock. The rest of them had the same expressions on their faces.

 

“Oh, a maniac for mind games.” Kai added, “I didn’t see that, sorry.”

 

Paying no heed to the mess Baekhyun made, Kai looked to Suho and signalled him to place his own watch on the table.

 

“Wow, wouldn’t it be easier if we had a soft copy for all of them.” Chanyeol yawned, leaning his head against a junior’s shoulder. “We wouldn’t need to flip every single file and go through all these holographic—”

 

“Soft copies get circulated easily, Chanyeol.” Suho told his friend almost kindly. “Personal information such as these can’t be given so easily. Only the school’s management hold such valuable particulars in soft copies. That way if anything gets leaked, it’d be much easier to—”

 

“Okay, okay. I get it gramps.” Chanyeol groaned as he rolled his eyes. What he said wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously, but he guessed Suho had other ideas.

 

Baekhyun got off the couch and was about to take his leave, seeing that he really shouldn’t be meddling with their discussions, when Suho mentioned a name that should never be part of any curriculum. Especially after school.

 

“Oh Sehun.”

 

The man spun around, his eyes growing wide as his gaze lands on Sehun’s holographic face.

 

“WOAH! THE SEHUN?”

 

Baekhyun’s eyes whipped to Chanyeol; the latter’s face dreamy and in awe.

 

“Anybody would want her to be in their club!” He squealed, taking the file away from Suho’s grasp.

 

“Hey! Chan—”

 

“See! She’s beaten so many records for this school, she won a gold medal in swimming and also clinched first place for Empire Institute’s team in a Mandarin debate against Lian Hua Academy! Lian Hua!” Chanyeol looked more like an excited child getting their first lollipop after three days. In other words, Baekhyun was pretty sure he idolises Sehun. “Her grades are top notch, she’s first in everything. Even in badminton and shooting Kai! She’s practically the uncrowned queen of Empire High.”

 

Baekhyun’s fingers trembled as he gripped onto the rails of the stairs.

 

“Wait a minute.” Kai raised a brow, “If she’s that good, how come the school has never mentioned her? And I for one have never heard of this, girl before.”

 

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and tossed the file over to Kai’s lap.

 

“Boy, you’re really clueless huh.” Chanyeol sighed, folding his arms. “In return for her victories, Sehun has requested for the school to keep her identity private. She said she wants to live a quiet life but promised to hand over her successes for the school’s name and sake. Haven’t you ever wondered why whenever the school announced their top 10 students; you’re announced second even when there’s no student above your name in the list?”

 

Kai’s left eye twitched, almost annoyed at how much emphasis Chanyeol placed in the word ‘second’. The latter even had his fingers in a ‘V’ sign shoved into Kai’s face.

 

“No wonder they never showed the face our female swimmer last year and the previous.” Suho finally caught up to what Chanyeol meant. “She even wore a mask during the Mandarin debate on Technology, didn’t she?”

 

“Yup, and she only uses her Chinese surname in competitions.” Chanyeol added almost gleefully, “Which is why we could never find her name anywhere. Unless we searched hard enough.”

 

Kai’s lips thinned as they set into a straight line. His eyes went from the person’s file to her holographic photograph. As he squinted his eyes, Kai soon abruptly opened them and turned to Baekhyun.

 

“Hold on a minute, isn’t she your girlfriend!”

 

Baekhyun wore an astonished look on his face as he gasped, shaking his head rapidly.

 

“Yes, she is! She left so suddenly yesterday during the attack!” Kai’s voice was a pitch higher, making the rest of his council gawk at their chairman.

 

Baekhyun wore an apologetic smile on his face as he mumbled his apologies. He climbed back down the stairs and took her file from Kai’s hands. He looked at his friend’s profile, an evident crease wrinkled in the middle of his forehead as his brows knitted together. Everything—from her first victories and her first wins, everything was recorded and written.

 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. They weren’t supposed to be recorded, Tiffany was supposed to ensure that this never happens!

 

“Well, whatever it is, Sehun also mentioned that in return; she didn’t want to be part of any club or extra activities after school.” Baekhyun tossed the file onto the coffee table and turned his back against the council, heading up the stairs once more. “She cannot be taken by the council. Ever.”

 

As his back disappeared from the narrow door, Kai tilted his head in confusion and question. Why was Baekhyun strongly against the idea of Sehun being part of the Student Council? Wouldn’t it boost her CV if she intends to find and secure herself a job in the future?

 

Kai turned to the hologram before facing his vice chairman, “You can try, right?”

 

As Suho nodded, Kai stuffed his hands into his pants’ pockets and left the basement. Something was definitely up with the girl. Who in the right mind wouldn’t want to be given the recognition they deserve?

 

 

 

~”~

 

 

 

“Miss Se—”

 

“Really, Irene.” Sehun groaned as she fitted into her gym clothes, the grey top resting perfectly on her toned and lithe figure. “We’re of the same age, and the same year. Please just call me by my name like you do with everyone else.”

 

Irene scratched the back of her ear nervously, “Well… I have yet to speak to anyone, actually.” Her hands went down the black shorts as her fingers played with their sides, obviously tensed.

 

Sehun looked at her and pushed her blonde locks back as she tied them into a ponytail. She rested hand on the dejected girl and wore a small smile on her lips.

 

“You’ll get along well with them soon, I’m sure of it.”

 

Thanks to the small number, it was pretty much easy to talk and mingle around her batch. Amusingly, her batch was split into a 3:8 ratio. Only 15 out of the 55 students chose sports as their base. You could mention that she knew all of her classmates by the end of their first day already.

 

Before Irene could respond, the two of them whipped their heads to the loud commotion made behind the doors of the changing room. Frowning, Sehun went up to the entrance and wore a look of confusion when she saw the senior students filling up the gym hall.

 

“What are they doing here?” Sehun’s eyes fell upon Baekhyun and his group of friends. She jerked her chin upwards in a way to question their presence in the area.

 

Even they were dressed in their gym attires.

 

“What’s the meaning of this? Was there a mix up in our schedules?” Sehun asked her best friend with Irene following close behind.

 

Baekhyun shook his head, “Nope. Mr Jackson said that the school arranged for this because your class lacked a minimum of 25 people to acquire this gym alone.”

 

“What?” Sehun knitted her brows and looked to their gym teacher. “How come we’ve never experienced that back in the other building?”

 

“Because the other building’s gym isn’t ¾ as big as this one.”

 

Sehun cocked her head sideways, widening her eyes when she saw Kai advancing closer to the three of them.

 

“You must be Sehun,” Kai said with a smile on his face. “The one who ran off yesterday.”

 

The blonde gulped dryly and looked to Irene, “We should be with our class, Mr Jackson seems to have gathered us.” She turned back to Baekhyun and eyed Kai briefly, “You should get going too.”

 

“Well, we’re moving in the same direction anyways so—”

 

Sehun didn’t wait for Kai to finish as she her heels and headed towards the middle of the court. Jackson explained again as to why there was a merge in schedule, earning a few mumbles and whispers from the small group of 15 students while the senior students laughed and joked amongst themselves.

 

“So, do any of you have suggestions as to what to play?”

 

“Why don’t we play dodgeball?”

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be fair. Considering how there were about 30 students from the senior class. It was twice as many students in the other class, and it was definite who the winner would be. But of course…

 

No one dared to deny Kai’s requests.

 

“But… it wouldn’t be fair…” Irene squeaked under her breath, but an assuring hand landed on her quivering shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry, stick to my side—okay?”

 

As Sehun gave a blinding beam, Jackson brought both her and Kai into the middle of the court, getting ready to toss the ball.

 

“Since we only have one ball because I don’t want to bring out the whole trolley, you only have 5 seconds to hold on to it.” Jackson warned, “Otherwise, you’re out.”

 

“Wait.”

 

Sehun narrowed her eyes when Kai stopped Jackson from throwing the ball, there was a sense of mischief in his golden orbs.

 

“Let’s make this more fun, between you and I.” Kai told, “Shall we make a bet?”

 

Sehun didn’t understand where he was going but kept silent as a sign of compliance.

 

“If we win, you pay for all the kids’ lunches for two weeks straight.” Sehun started, giving the man a smirk. Of course, knowing Kai and his pride, the man wouldn’t back down even if he wanted to. Not that he was incapable anyway. The evident grit of his teeth was proof enough, but the small smile that came after seemed to worry Sehun more than it should.

 

“Fine.” A soft gasp and loud murmurs came about behind Kai. But he gave his classmates a sharp look, “Wait a minute—do you think we’ll actually lose this game?”

 

“Well… she is Oh Sehun…” Kai heard someone whisper.

 

Was he the only one who didn’t know about her?

 

“Who?”

 

Well, maybe not.

 

He turned back to Sehun and landed his hands on his hips, “Well, I didn’t refuse your bet, so you can’t refuse mine.”

 

Sehun on her lips nervously, watching with beady eyes as Kai bent his upper body forwards; making the blonde mimic his actions. Jackson placed the whistle between his lips and prepared himself to blow.

 

“If we win, you join the Student Council.”

 

Sehun’s eyes widened. To others it didn’t seem like a huge deal. In fact, everyone would’ve been more than elated to be accepted. Everyone else except her.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

But of course, even Sehun had her own pride.

 

Kai held his shocked expression for a few seconds, his eyes went wide as his chest heaved heavily, trying to catch his breath. Beads of perspiration trickled down his cheek as he had his eyes trained on the blonde right in the middle of her court.

 

She was just one player. But because she managed to catch every shot they throw at her, his team depleted faster than he thought they would. Despite that, they still managed to hit everyone else.

 

“Um, Irene.” Sehun held the ball in one hand and brought an arm up to look at the girl behind her. “You might want to loosen your hold on my t-shirt. I can’t keep pulling you around.”

 

Irene looked up with a petrified expression on her face, “But you were the one who told me to stick to you! They even took out our whole team! Their shots were so brutal—please don’t leave me!”

 

Kai’s jaw dropped, realising that they never noticed the petite brunette who clung on desperately behind Sehun’s back. Even with the extra baggage, her moves didn’t seem to falter at all.

 

“Oi!”

 

Irene gasped in shock when one of Kai’s teammates screamed out of nowhere. The girl unintentionally hugged Sehun from behind in fear with a strong force, sending both of them toppling over and caused Sehun to let go of the ball she’s held on to.

 

“Oh no!” Irene wailed, pulling Sehun’s t-shirt yet again.

 

“Ow! Wait!”

 

Before either of them could react, the ball was taken and soon, it flew directly across the court; sending it straight into the small of Sehun’s back.

 

“Ak!”

 

The blonde had her arms wrapped around Irene to protect the girl from getting hit. She didn’t know whether it was a smart move because for one, Kai’s shots weren’t merciful at all. And two, Irene hadn’t even thrown a single ball yet.

 

Heck, Sehun didn’t even think the girl knew how to play!

 

“No no! You can’t just leave me! Can’t you take my place?”

 

Sehun turned to face Kai’s smug smirk, pursing her lips in distaste.

 

“Sorry Irene, but rules are rules.” Sehun said, facing the girl again with a sympathetic smile. “Just—try not to get hit.”

 

As she proceeded to leave the court, Kai’s team was about to send another blow when Jackson blew the whistle.

 

“Attention everyone!” Jackson called out, his voice cracking a little. “The ministers are here!”

 

 

 

 

***

a/n: oh dear this came a month late! Let’s hope this chapter is able to fill you all in for the time being, see you in the next update aye! xoxo