Chapter 2; Tales To Tell

         "Why didn't you rip it?" Kai asked Ana curiously while he drummed his fingers along her arm.
      "Just in case..." Her voice trailed off, knowing her boyfriend's response.
        "In case we got back together?" Jongin suggested pulling his girlfriend to him. She nodded in his chest, the colossal adobe respecting their silence. However, EXO did not:
        "WAHH! I LOVE THIS PLACE!" Sehun ran through Baekhyun's home, his lisp tinged voice echoing down the countless corridors.
        "Yah. How many kitchens do you have in here?" Kyungsoo shuffled from door to door, his pupils widening, if that were even possible. Kai and Baek shook their heads in unison, regretting their decision. EXO had only visited the artist's home so many times, and each time they were more astonished than the last.
        New artifacts popped up inside the walls each day and the family couldn't help but wander in awe. Though at least they knew the eldest would never be effected-
        "Omo! A library behind a bookcase? The irony!" The leader exasperated, a thud of dictionaries heard when Suho locked himself in.
        "And this, is our family," Baekhyun laughed, shuffling off to find the maknae.

        The family was gathered in the library study, after taking three tours of the house. One hour wasn't simply enough to explore  the residence. And after three shattered antiques, courtesy of the maknae, everyone piped down.
        "Is there anything we don't know about you?" Ana asked mischievously, pointing a fork at Suho. She nested in Kai's embrace, in a tranquil state.
        "Umm..." Junmyun squinted, thinking "I don't think so." He shrugged, hoping he eased off of Ana's radar.
        "What about you?" Ana's eyes flickered to Sehun.
        "Hehe. Noona." Sehun laughed then lowered his voice to a whisper "I ship KaiAna." EXO and Ana immediatly rolled their eyes playfully, the obvious outspoken. Who didn't? Besides Vera of course, though Ana didn't dwell on that.
        "Come on Suho. There must be something." Ana returned to the leader, absent mindly feeding a slice of orange to Kai.
        "Wait, I got one. Tell her that one story hyung." Kai chomped, purposely chewing loudly to get Ana's attention; he got it.
        "Which one?" The Leader's eyes narrowed and everyone huddled closer.
        "Unknown thief." Kyungsoo suggested, quiet till now.
        "Okay." Junmyun agreed, and they all scooted forward to hear.


        "The SHINee sunbaenims just debuted, successfully. So the whole entire company went, every single trainee/staff/artist to celebrate. Meaning the building would be completely deserted. Prone to any theft, damage, break-in." Suho blinked, uncovering the memory.
        "We were all in a restaurant. Grilling pork, cutting steak, slurping noodles. Just your average get together, including Chairman's endless interruption of phone calls." Suho's hand twitched, as if he were taking the calls himself.
        "He smiled at us and waved for us to continue. Swiftly, he pressed a button to change from Bluetooth to handheld, so he could hear better" Junmyun explained "he turned around, his back facing us. Taemin hyung had just walked through the door then, and we think, accidentally; Chairman locked eyes with Taemin. A twinge of panic relished over Chairmen's face, although in a second he quickly recovered." Suho observed the in disbelief faces, pausing for a moment. Then the leader gulped, like he was reaching the of the story.
        "The recovery didn't last very long though, because his phone rang again and he picked it up on the first ring. He froze, almost dropping his Bluetooth into the boiling hotpot. Chairmen bolted for the exit, but not before he turned to us, with a face of fear, that we had never seen and said "Someone broke into the company. My office.'"
 

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China;
       

        "I was a goddess," Vera scoffed at herself " like dad." She talked to the picture of her brother and mother, expecting it to answer back.
        "My father was an assassin. A killer." She explained at the photo "and I was born into his world without choice."
        "I could make a weapon out of a toothbrush, kill with a pinch, and break with a flick. I was quite the machine."
        "Dad almost killed mom, the poor thing. She was petite and beautiful, though she couldn't keep up with his crimes. So she had to leave, flee away from it." Vera's voice chimed high, no emotion at all for the woman who gave her life.
        "Quietly, I was slipped between their lifestyles. Heavenly and deadly. My mother was an angel, an angel to the world. As for my father, he was the devil, a devil to the already sinful world. I guess that's why they attracted each other, being opposites. Even though they didn't last very long." She shrugged, smoothing her manicured fingers on the laminated faces, city night lights glaring the background.
        "When I triggered my first bullet, mother remarried. And when I made my first bullet, I was revealed to have an older brother, a step brother." Vera paused, fishing another picture out of the box "Another was angel added to the family, as if two weren't already enough. Our meeting was horrendous, leading to numerous apologies from both parents." She giggled, hugging the handsome face to her chest.
        "Eventually, we did get along though. And soon we were best friends, until mom died and we grew apart." She frowned, pouting at the frozen picture.
        "Neither of us talked about her death, though we both secretly grieved for her. And when he didn't pass the audition, I went to change that." She smiled again, proud of her criminal accomplishments.
        "It was quite easy really." Vera insisted, nodding and then breathing deeply to re-tell herself the story.