Dinner that night was insanely awkward. Kris didn't show up, and for some reason Xiu Min was acting really strange. Tao, Lay and Chen spoke in quiet voices while Phoebe sat pushing around the mashed potatoes on her plate in silence. Suddenly she stood up and headed toward the door. "Thanks for dinner," she called softly over her shoulder before leaving the room.

Lay glanced at me questionably while Tao and Chen exchanged glances. I could feel Xiu Min staring me down from the other end of the table, but I shook off the chilling feeling and hurried out after her.

When I got outside Phoebe was just entering Keunjib. She didn't hear me when I called after her, so I started toward the building. However, I was surprised by an icy hand on my shoulder.

"Oh! Xiu Min!" I gasped. "You scared me!"

"You like Phoebe don't you?" His question hit me out of nowhere.

"W- what?" I asked, wondering if I had heard him correctly.

"Oh, don't act all innocent," Xiu Min rolled his eyes. "I saw how you were around her today."

"I really don't know what you're talking about," I said, taking a defensive step backwards.

"Oh come on, Luhan! You wouldn't leave the two of us alone! We were having a great time until you budged in," he crossed his arms.

"Oh, until I budged in?" I retorted. "Well I'll have you know that Phoebe and I spend a lot more time together than you think! Remember, she went with me to the cave!"

"Yeah and you almost got her killed! Not to mention how the group split up thanks to your little excursion!"

"Kris is the one that lied! How is it my fault?!" I shouted.

"If you hadn't been so desperate to spend time with Phoebe, you wouldn't have gone to the cave and nobody would've known Kris's secret! You ruined us!"

"Sure, blame it all on the messenger right?" I said sarcastically.

"You bet," he smirked.

"Just!-," I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before things got out of control. "Back to Phoebe; she's more fragile than you think. If you try anything on her I will personally send Anonymous after you."

"The feeling is mutual," he scoffed. "But no matter what you say, nothing is going to change how I feel. Phoebe is just as much mine as she is yours."

"Then let the best man win," I stepped toward him so we were face to face.

"Thanks; I expect a gold medal when I do," he smirked before pushing past me.

I stared after him angrily. It wasn't until now that I realized I had such strong feelings for Phoebe. There had always been something about her I was attracted to, but now that I had competition my feelings were overwhelming. There was no way I was going to lose Phoebe; not to Xiu Min, not to Anonymous, not to anyone.

---Point of View Switch: Phoebe---

I left the dining hall with the feeling that something just wasn't right. As soon as I got outside my pace quickened, and before I knew it I was running up the stairs of Keunjib. My feet carried me down the hall to one of the doors which I recognized as our leader's.

"Kris?!" I shouted and tried his door. To my dismay it was locked. "Kris are you in there?"

The sound of glass breaking came in reply, along with something getting thrown against the wall. It sounded as if Sehun had created an indoor wind storm in Kris's room.

"Kris?!" I shouted more desperately this time and began pounding on the door with all my might. More frightening sounds came from the other side of the wooden barrier.

My heart was racing and my mind fuzzed over. The only thing I could think about was saving Kris, despite how much I hated him. In my desperation I began kicking at the door. Finally the rusted, old lock broke and I was granted entry into the room.

A quick flash of black fabric out the window caught my eyes and I hurried over to it. However, the owner of the fabric was fast and had already hidden out of sight. I pulled my head back in and looked around the room. It was a mess; with broken glass and overturned furniture. Just then I caught sight of Kris. He had been thrown haphazardly into the corner and hardly looked conscious.

"Kris!" I exclaimed, hurrying over to him. His face was covered with bruises and cuts, and blood streamed from his nose. "Kris, can you hear me?" I gave his shoulder a light shake.

"Anonymous," his voice croaked while his eyes struggled to open. 

"What about them, Kris? What happened?"

"Ughhh," he groaned and began to fall over. I caught him just in time and sat down with an arm behind his back for support.

"Kris?" I asked softly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"A- Anonymous," he whispered breathily. "They w- were here..." His eyes stared up at me helplessly and a chill shot through my body. Kris had always been strong and unbreakable in my eyes. Knowing Anonymous could make him this way meant they were more powerful than I had anticipated.

His eyes began to close again, but I gave his cheek a few light taps with the palm of my hand. "Stay with me," I demanded and he gave a slight nod. "Do you know what they wanted?"

"They said I knew... what they wanted," he struggled. "They said we have it. I- I told them that I don't know what "it" is, but they wouldn't believe me. If you didn't come I would be... they would have..." Suddenly his voice cracked and I watched in disbelief as a tear escaped the eye of the strongest man I had ever met.

"Shhh," I awkwardly brought his head to my chest and his disheveled, blonde hair. "Everything's okay now. You're going to be fine."

"I need to protect the others. I need to warn them..." he tried to get up, but fell back down before he'd even made it to his feet.

"Kris, relax," I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm the leader!" he pulled away. "It's not okay for me to be like this!"

"But it is," I moved close to him once again. "It's okay to cry."

His face scrunched up and he shook his head in denial. However he couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes, and soon enough the leader was really crying.

"Shhh," I wrapped my arms around him and laid his head against my chest once again. He didn't try to fight it this time, and cried into my arms like a baby. I knew his ego was hurting along with his body, but at that point he had too little pride left to care.

I lay my head against his and rocked him back and forth. He felt fragile in my arms, despite his muscular structure. The feel of his thin waist told me that he had been skipping meals, most likely to conserve food for the rest of us. Who knew this tough leader could be so selfless.

Kris cried himself to sleep in my arms, and I found myself in my own dream soon after. My mind placed me on a white, sandy shore with crystal clear waves rolling in. Palm leaves swayed lazily above me, and were accompanied by seagulls calling to each other. There was a hammock tied between two of the trees and in it was a man. He had a ball cap over his face and seemed to be sleeping. There was something comforting about the man, and I felt myself drawn to him. However, when my eyes scanned the shore, I caught sight of two cloaked figures walking toward me. Nobody needed to tell me they were Anons; it was obvious.  I was about to wake up the man in the hammock, but at that moment I was ripped away from the fantasy world.

My eyes flickered open to reveal Xiu Min standing over me. He looked incredibly shocked and his mouth hung agape. Just then I remembered where I was and who I was with.

"Oh! Xiu Min!" I pulled my head away from Kris who stirred in my arms, but continued to hold me close. "Thank goodness you're here. Kris was attacked by Anons and needs healing. I need you to get Lay."

Xiu Min stood there for a few seconds before closing his mouth and slowly nodding his head.

"Like, can you get him now," I asked while loosening Kris's hold around me.

"Oh... oh, yeah!" the penguin boy snapped out of his shock and scurried out of the room.

"Are you okay?" I asked Kris, still supporting him.

"I- I'm fine," he shook himself awake and pulled away from me. "Ugh, my lip hurts though." He put a hand to his mouth.

"Well you're pretty beat up," I pointed out, as if he didn't already know. "Come on, let's get you on the bed-,"

"I can do it myself," he pushed me away and attempted to stand himself. His legs were shaky, so use of the wall was necessary for him to make it to his bed alone. As soon as he got there, he crashed down on the mattress with a groan. I stood beside his bed and looked down at the sorry sight.

"Don't look at me like that," he growled, though it came out as more of a whimper.

"Well you shouldn't try to act all tough around me anymore," I stated matter-of-factly.

"A man still has his pride," he said while trying to get comfortable on the lumpy mattress.

"Here," I helped him adjust and he looked up at me blankly. "I've seen you at your worst now," I reminded him, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "You don't have to hide from me anymore."

"Hide?" he laughed. "Well you don't have to act like my mother anymore. I can take care of myself."

"Who said this was for you?" I narrowed my eyes. "Maybe I just helped you for the sake of the group."

"You expect me to believe that?" He sat up so we were face to face and supported himself with his elbows. "Listen, I'm the leader of this group, and I don't need anyone to look out for me. So you just take care of yourself and I'll do the same. Are we clear?" Our faces were only inches apart now.

"Crystal," I whispered, staring hard into his eyes. "Just promise me one thing."

"What's that?" he whispered back with a smirk.

I shoved him back down onto the bed and stood up in one motion. "If I'm not allowed to swoop in and save you anymore, promise me you won't do anything stupid and get your whipped again." With that I walked out of the room, leaving my words to ring in his ears.