"This is only happening long enough for this person to know what the plan for us is", Hyunwoo reiterated for the millionth time. Somi waved a hand at him dismissively as she was sick of hearing the same thing again and again. She picked up the card, eyeing it like it was gold.

"I know, I know", She muttered and held her finger out to Hyungwon, who was prepared with a pin in his hand. Somi hissed quietly when it pierced her skin and quickly put it on the card. Her eyes were glued to the card as it absorbed the blood before their very eyes. It went quiet until Somi breathed in and then out to ease her nerves, and then she knocked on the card, waiting to see what would happen.

"Hello, thank you very much for finding me, Miss" When Somi looked up, she was faced with the most elegant bowing figure she had ever laid eyes on.

Well, this is different from Changkyun thinking I would attack him.

The male was tall, Somi noticed this when he stood back to his full height in front of her, and it seemed only then he saw the three other people in the room. The male was muscular yet lean, especially at the waist. And despite being shocked by the other people in the room, he held a shining smile that glittered just like his card had when Somi spotted it. 

"Hello," Somi answered in a daydream-like tone, smiling absent-mindedly at their newfound company. The male grinned back at Somi as her eyes fluttered, immediately caught up in the male's beauty that quickly stopped being noticed as just a physical trait but was also noticed as an embodiment. He had Somi speechless; she had never seen anyone like him.

"Would you mind telling us your name?" The whole room lit up with his presence, and Somi was in awe; she didn't even notice Hyunwoo talking to him.

"Yes, my name is Hoseok, Lee Hoseok" Introducing himself, Hoseok beautifully bowed again, eyes shining as he looked at Somi with her chin resting on her open palms, wholly absorbed in Hoseok's existence.

"Lee Hoseok" Somi trialled his name on her lips, dazedly smiling when Hoseok chuckled.

"That is me", Changkyun mockingly vomited, quickly covering the action up with a clearing of his throat and his closed fist in front of his mouth when everyone turned to look at him in a lack of amusement.

"Hoseok," Hyunwoo brought everyone's attention back and gestured his hand to Hyungwon.

"This is Hyungwon, this is Changkyun, and I am Hyunwoo. Most importantly, this is our lady, Han Somi" Hyunwoo gestured to each of them, and when Hoseok's eyes widened, Somi blinked hers unsurely.

"Han? Do you mean the Han family?"

"Yes", Hyunwoo nodded, and Hoseok swallowed.

"That would mean you are Son Hyunwoo, is that right?"

"That is correct" Hyunwoo continued to nod.

"You already know about us?" Somi frowned, and Hoseok nodded his head hurriedly.

"Everyone knows of Son Hyunwoo and the Han family, they have done incredible work, and it is said you are very lucky if you are able to work for most of the Han family, " Hoseok explained. With the explanation, Somi hummed.

"Most?" She asked, and Hoseok swallowed.

"Like everyone else, not all members of the Han family are nice to work for, but that is only a couple of them, and you have multiple people with you, so I believe you must be one of the nice ones, my lady."

"He called me his lady" Somi sunk into the couch with both her hands covering her face. She couldn't help it anymore; she had been trying so hard not to combust this whole time. Hoseok was like a dream come true.

"Somi, could you not embarrass us, please?" Changkyun begged, making Hoseok laugh.

"It is fine", He assured. Somi only melted further.

"Gosh, he's only been here five minutes, and he's already so much sweeter than you, " Somi scowled at Changkyun.

"Not you though, Hyungwon. You're always a sweetheart, most of the time," Somi reassured, reaching out to Hyungwon and clasping his hand.

"Thanks Somi" He nodded, and Somi beamed at him.

"Now, if you do not mind, Hoseok, we will explain our situation to you" Hyunwoo cleared his throat, prompting Somi to drop Hyungwon's hand and sit up again, looking at Hyunwoo over the couch.

"Somi has just started in the higher grade,"

"As I would expect of the Han family", Hoseok nodded appreciatively.

"And as you would know, the more cards someone has working with them, the more dangerous it can be for everyone involved, especially when we are still in the process of making our team work."

"Teamwork is a forever developing thing, and I believe that there is strength in numbers" Hyunwoo's eyebrow twitched. Somi could tell that he wasn't used to someone having a response to everything he said.

"Until we can ensure our safety in numbers, we do not want anyone else to be aware that you are with us,"

"I see" Hoseok nodded, and Hyunwoo sighed, glancing at Somi for help.

"What Hyunwoo is trying to say is that it is a great honour to have you with us, and I am so very excited to work as team members with you, but until we can work well as a team, we want to keep ourselves and you safe by not letting anyone else catch onto the fact that you are working with us" Somi nodded, proud of her words on Hyunwoo's behalf. Hyunwoo couldn't say the same as Somi, but at least she had gotten across the point he wanted to make.

"I understand, my lady" Hoseok nodded, and Somi hummed, melting into her own hands again.

"What I am asking is if you would be ok with not being seen?" Hyunwoo asked, and Hoseok hummed in ponder.

"Well, my lady has already bonded her blood with mine," Hoseok glanced at his card that Somi had put down and then back to Hyunwoo, "So I suppose if my lady sees this to be our best option, I shall not protest" He concluded.

"You are so sweet", Somi mumbled. Hoseok heard and smiled at her.

"Thank you, my lady," Hoseok bowed his head in a show of respect.

"We would still very much like to train with you", Hyunwoo continued and Hoseok's head kept bobbing.

"It would be an honour to train alongside you, Hyunwoo" He bowed and Hyunwoo nodded, bowing back to Hoseok.

"This will be fine," Somi turned around to sit on the couch properly and picked up Hoseok's card from the table.

Lee Hoseok

Strength level: S

2/5 stars

"Hoseok," Somi muttered and put his card back on the table. Hyungwon looked at her curiously, so she slid the card across the table.

"Yes, my lady?"

"Do you know where you were left or how you got there?" Somi queried. Hoseok shook his head in response to the question.

"My previous owner was not the nicest of people, but we worked together well, and I doubt she would have left me behind intentionally. I believe she may have lost me." 

"That's really interesting," Somi muttered, trying to wrap her head around what she had just read.

"Hoseok, do you remember what your strength level is?" Hyungwon pondered, picking up the card.

"I was strength level S, last that I remember," Hoseok answered, unsure if he was correct and uncertain of the energy in the room.

"S?" Hyunwoo almost exclaimed, full of doubt as he rounded the couch and came to a stop next to Hyungwon, who was looking at Hoseok's card.

"Strength level S, unbelievable" Hyunwoo wanted to treat the card like a scratch and sniff to see if anything was hiding beneath the ink on the card. Out of respect for the newcomer, he refrained himself and instead passed the card to a curious Changkyun so that he could see too.

"They are not lying", He muttered to himself, taking one more confused look at both sides of the card before giving it back to Somi. She took it from between Changkyun's fingers with uncertainty showing. She smiled, trying to assure Hoseok that everything was alright as he became restless upon their change.

"It's alright, Hoseok, it's just, well, I have not been here for too long. But I would assume just stumbling upon an S grade card is not just something that everyone is lucky enough to have happened to them," Uncertain, Somi looked down at Hoseok's card that she kept safe in her hands.

"No, I would suppose that is not something that happens to many people, my lady" Hoseok was sullen as his head shook. Somi's cheeks flushed and she cleared to compose herself.

"We all tend just to call her Somi; she doesn't let us use any other name typically", Changkyun explained to Hoseok, and Somi shot up in her seat.

"No!" She exclaimed, only to quickly realise how foolish she looked.

"I mean, you can address me however you feel comfortable to Hoseok" She smiled warmly. Hoseok nodded, showing that he understood.

"Well, now that we are aware of this," Hyungwon intercepted, "What now?" On edge, Hyungwon's muscles were far from relaxed as he looked around at everyone in the room.

"From now on, we all move very carefully; we do not want to step on any traps that reveal Hoseok just yet", Hyunwoo started as he took a seat next to Somi on the couch, Changkyun followed Hyunwoo's movements, but Hyungwon and Hoseok didn't.

"People will have their eyes on us. And it is not just because we are the new people. We have shown that we can have strength too. We do not need to give them more motivation to take action towards Somi, or any of us for that matter. So long as Hoseok is alright to do so, we will continue showing the faces that they know, and as I said, we will move carefully not to reveal any of our hidden cards" Under his direction, everyone nodded. Hyungwon looked like he was seconds away from gnawing away at his fingernails out of stress, but he had calmed a little at Hyunwoo's incentive.

"Wait, did you just try and use a pun of some sort?" Changkyun noticed. Hyunwoo blinked in return, not giving himself away.

"I do not know what you mean," He denied.

"We are not going to reveal any of our hidden cards; Hoseok is our hidden card", Changkyun explained like it was a math equation that no one understood.

"He's right," Nodded Somi, catching up to Changkyun.

"He just made a pun" Changkyun turned to Somi with a throw of his hand.

"He did. He's trying to be the funny one in the group," Somi agreed with a hasty nod.

"I do not know that he is adequate for the role."

"Well, I don't need anyone to replace my role in the group. There can't be too many comedic relievers here," Somi remarked, and Changkyun and Hyungwon grimaced at the same time.

"I do not want to upset you, my not-so-fair maiden, but I do not think that is your role in the group" Hyungwon had to show that he disagreed with Somi.

"Well, what else would my role be? I'm funny," Somi refuted, bewildered by how often Hyungwon was telling her she was not the funny type lately.

"You are more suited to the role of the child we have all been tasked with babysitting" Hyunwoo jumped back in as Hoseok watched from outside the circle, unsure what to do in this situation.

"That is so not my role in the group. That's Changkyun, one hundred percent."

"What about me is a child that needs babysitting? I take care of you; I even cook for you," Changkyun argued back, and Somi gasped.

"Yeah, like twice."

"More like three times", Changkyun fact checked, and Somi crossed her arms with a heavy huff that blew through her nose loudly.

"I do not mean to interrupt this discussion, but what shall I do?" Hoseok piped up with hesitance, and everyone shot their heads up to look at him.

"Oh, Hoseok, I'm so sorry, don't feel excluded. Come and sit with us. Are you hungry?" Somi gestured next to her on the couch, on the side that Hyunwoo didn't take, so Hoseok shuffled closer unsurely to take a seat. Not looking nearly as comfortable as Changkyun and Hyungwon did in the armchair and beanbag or as relaxed as Hyunwoo and Somi next to him.

"No, I have eaten. Thank you, my lady."

"Well, that means we all have, so we'll just have to get to know each other over something else" Somi clapped her hands on her knees to show she had a bright idea.

"Exercising our strength?" Hyunwoo immediately assumed, and Somi shook her head.

"I was more thinking along the lines of a game of UNO", She explained, confusing Hoseok and Hyunwoo.

"I will be watching you. Sit there," Hyungwon pointed, telling Changkyun to get closer to the coffee table.

"Watch yourself; you are not going to win this time", Changkyun shot back in a warning mutter, dropping from the armchair and onto the floor in front of the coffee table as Somi stood up, and Hoseok quickly did the same.

"Oh, Hoseok, I'm alright to go myself. You sit down with the others and make yourself comfortable," Somi gestured back to the trio on the floor as Hoseok followed Somi off to her room.

"Surely there is something I can do instead of my lady having to do so."

"Well, you look a bit too big and strong for me to manhandle just yet, so how about you sit yourself down and get comfortable since I can't do it for you?" Somi proposed, and Hoseok bowed his head, turning to go back to the ones sitting around the coffee table instead of staying as her shadow.

"Can one of you start to explain to Hyunwoo and Hoseok how to play? I'll grab the cards," Somi requested as she disappeared into her room and the chatter started.

Then, they were all sitting around the coffee table with their cards in their hands and a sharp glint in the eyes of Hyungwon and Changkyun. Hoseok was a little uncomfortable. The air surrounding him was tense and serious. He moved closer to Somi, and Somi chose not to mind it, seeing that Hoseok needed someone to be a comfortable grounding point for him.

"I will change the colour to red," Hyunwoo had managed to understand the game's rules from the moment it started and was playing well. In a style typical of Hyunwoo, he stuck to the rules, playing by the book and calling out foul moves from Hyungwon and Changkyun.

"I did not want to have to use this card yet," Hyungwon in a breath with a tilt of his head, "but it just cannot be helped after your move Hyunwoo. I will change the colour back to green" Hyungwon placed down a colour swap card of his own, and Hyunwoo's head snapped to look at Somi so quick he could have given himself whiplash.

"Is that allowed?"

"Uh, yes?" Somi answered, laced with uncertainty in her tone from the shock of the sudden demand for an answer from Hyunwoo.

"You do not sound certain. Are you certain that is allowed?" Hyunwoo pointed at the deck of played cards with his pointer finger. Somi's eyes instinctively followed to look at what he was pointing at.

"Yes, it is Hyunwoo. Hyungwon's card is allowed as much as yours is."

"You are sure?" Hyunwoo verified, and Somi continued to nod.

"Positive"

"I see," Hyunwoo leant back, resigning himself to watching until it would be his turn again.

"What colour did you change to again?" Questioned Changkyun.

"Green," Reminded Hyungwon.

"We are putting a pause on our friendship." Changkyun voiced his decision, reaching out to pick up a card as he grumbled under his breath about his friendship with Hyungwon being over.

"Foolish of you to believe we had a friendship, to begin with", Hyungwon shot back without a thought.

"Your turn Hoseok" Somi reminded, ignoring the trash talk that Hyungwon and Changkyun meddled in, Hoseok nodding, looking at his cards that hid under his chin to protect them.

"Play one of these ones," Shoulder to shoulder with Hoseok, Somi advised him on what move to make.

"The green ones", Hoseok muttered to himself as he pondered which card to play.

"Ok," With a green number four placed down, it was Somi's turn next.

"I wonder if I should change the colour again?" She muttered, just loud enough for everyone, especially Hyunwoo, to hear.

"If you were to make it red, yes" Without a word, Hyungwon looked down and eagerly looked through the cards in his hands, further provoking Hyunwoo with his actions. Somi gave out a snort that wasn't very elegant, and unlike she taunted, she did not put down another card to change the colour.

"I see how you're playing," Changkyun commented as he put down another card.

"When will this game end?" Hoseok questioned Somi, needing to be reminded.

"When everyone has put down all of their cards."

"I see that this is going to be a very long game for us."

"Tsk", Hyungwon clucked his tongue as he, too, put down a green card. Hyunwoo contemplated his next move, carefully looking over the choices in his hands.

"Would you just put down a card?" Hyungwon sighed as Hyunwoo took his time.

"Have you eaten, my lady?" Hoseok asked in Somi's ear.

"Yes, I have. Thank you, Hoseok."

"There was no explanation of a time rule, is a time limit enforced?" Hyunwoo retorted without looking up from his cards. Once again, Hyunwoo carefully scrutinised his cards until he could reach a decision. He played a simple move, putting his green six down as Hoseok sighed into the cards he was holding.

"Take your time Hoseok. There's no rush," Somi assured Hoseok as his eyes danced over his options.

"Well then, I will choose carefully."

Soon, two hours had passed, and everyone had a mug of hot chocolate to themselves, and a blanket draped over their shoulders to help keep them warm, and Somi was starting to feel an overwhelming sense of Deja vu. Changkyun had his sunglasses on, and despite the struggle to see being evident to all of them, he was keeping them on as he squinted to work out what was happening. Hyungwon wordlessly clucked his tongue to tell Changkyun, 'I told you so' as he rolled his eyes.

"Can you see what is going on yet?"

"You do not have to fret, Hyungwon. Unlike yourself, I do not win by cheating", Changkyun retorted, delicately placing the palm of his hand towards Hyungwon in a motion to silence him.

"That is something only a sore loser would say, so obviously, you are a sore loser."

"Thanks for explaining what you were trying to say; otherwise, I was going to be extremely confused by your high intelligence," The motion of Changkyun's head told everyone that he was rolling his eyes as Hyungwon glared at him.

"Would you hurry up and have your turn?" Hyungwon snapped back, grumbling at Changkyun under his breath as he continued to take his time.

"You could take the glasses off, you know", Somi offered, and Changkyun shook his head.

"Not until that torch is gone," Pointing, Changkyun called out Hyungwon for the torch that he was keeping in his lap.

"It is there to make sure the rules are followed", Reasoned Hyungwon, causing Somi to sigh heavily.

"Is it going to be a long night, my lady?" Hoseok wondered as he took in Somi's sigh.

"I'm afraid it is Hoseok."

------------

"You know, instead of spying on them, you could go and talk to them, like a normal person would" Minhyuk was hoping his voice in Jooheon's ear would make him jump, but he didn't even flinch.

"You're telling someone who came from a card and spent their life being graded to be normal, smart one, Minhyuk" Scoffing, Jooheon crossed his arms over his chest without looking over his shoulder to acknowledge Minhyuk.

"You know what I meant" Minhyuk used his right hand to casually wave off Jooheon's comment.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Jooheon was bitter, something that Minhyuk was used to from the other male.

"I was coming to see what my friend was up to. I haven't seen him for a while, you know?"

"Well, carry on, go and find him", Jooheon shooed Minhyuk away. Minhyuk smirked, and Jooheon was none the wiser until Minhyuk had his arm around his shoulders, almost strangling him with how tight he clung to Jooheon.

"Why I already have. How are ya, pal?" Minhyuk had the audacity to ruffle Jooheon's fluffy hair, sending him into a fit of rage.

"How dare you-"

"Shh, be careful. You don't like it when they see you!" Minhyuk hushed Jooheon, but it did nothing to silence him.

"I'm going to ing rip your head off, do you hear me, scumbag! Are you even listening?!" Minhyuk froze in a gimmick of fear, but it wasn't Jooheon that Minhyuk had his stare pinned to; it was someone else.

"What are you freaking looking at-" Jooheon froze, eyes meeting with a pair of light brown orbs that blinked at him femininely in wonder of what they were witnessing. 

"I told you to be quiet," Whispering mockingly, Minhyuk grinned, and Jooheon shoved him away to create distance between them again.

"Get lost", Jooheon hissed, but alternatively was the one to storm away like his entire week was ruined. Minhyuk's eyes followed after Jooheon, and the dark cloud hanging over his head with a chuckle escaping him. That was when he felt someone approaching.

"What are you doing here, Minhyuk?" Somi put her hands on the fence and leaned over, her tippy toes giving her only a little more height.

"Nothing out of the ordinary", He answered plainly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Somi, who is this?" Minhyuk hadn't said anything about another person coming up from behind Somi, and Somi hadn't heard him coming. So, when his voice filled the air around her, Somi jumped with a startle, turning her head back with wide eyes that fluttered at the sight of Changkyun.

"This is Minhyuk, the one who I said was at the museum my class went to" With her hand motioning to Minhyuk, Changkyun's eyes shot back to him.

"I remember you" He nodded, not an ounce of expression on his face, something that Somi wasn't used to.

"You were watching us the last time we were here" Minhyuk didn't even flinch when Changkyun called him out and simply nodded.

"Well, curiosity killed the cat, huh?" He replied. Changkyun nodded as if he agreed with Minhyuk.

"What do you get from watching us?" Changkyun stunned Somi, and she put a hand on his wrist to hold him back, not that Changkyun was going anywhere.

"A lot of nothing, actually." The other male clarified.

"So why do it?"

"Well, it's something to do" Minhyuk's shoulders bobbed uncaringly.

"Changkyun", Somi warned in a mutter.

"Is there something that you want from Somi?" He continued to interrogate, and Minhyuk shook his head.

"Well, is this not the same fellow that was watching us last time we were here?" Somi couldn't even be shocked this time around. The sound of Hyungwon's highly intelligent self only caused her to groan, throwing her head back as things continued to not go well for her.

"That is Minhyuk", Hyunwoo explained to Hyungwon, and Changkyun nodded. With the three of them looming over Somi, she could only ball her hands into fists and bite her lip, silently cursing the three of them.

"Have you forgotten our previous conversation, Minhyuk?"

"Don't worry yourself with such dismay Hyunwoo. I am simply taking the time to get some fresh air" Minhyuk brushed Hyunwoo's stern look off without a care in the world.

"Well, you can receive your fresh air elsewhere whilst you recall our previous conversation," Hyunwoo's hand landed on Somi's shoulder, and Somi was relieved to know they were walking away from the tense air that had formed between them.

"Oh, Minhyuk," Somi stopped Minhyuk mid-step.

"Try and be nice to Jooheon; the poor guy seems to have a lot on his mind."

"He's a troubled soul", Minhyuk commented before turning and continuing to walk away from the group.

"Now, why on earth did you all come and make yourselv