!! double udpate !!

As soon as they entered their base, Jinah dashed to her bathroom and rubbed her face harshly with water so the makeup comes off and quickly entered the shower room. In the shower, Jinah growled and squealed like a piglet in disgust of herself. “Ew, ew, ew…” she muttered over and over as she scrubbed herself down. She hadn’t even overreacted that much at the interview, but the thought of acting in a similar and fake manner as Jaein and Yooni made her feel degraded and contemptible. Of little value. Pathetic. And even more because she kept remembering Callidum and everyone else. It’s been a week already. Wasn’t it time for her to visit? She should bring up the topic of visiting to the gang soon…and… Jinah turned off the tap and the water stopped flowing through. She leaned her head against the tiled wall, her shoulder hitting against the same surface. I need to know more about gangs, and find Tiff. Before, she was undoubtedly curious about who Fang was and what they do and did, but now that she knew, her curiosity turned into a grudge. Tiff seemed just fine, but that scar on Soyu was definitely not normal. Fang, Fang, Fang…just that name darkened the mood with Wolf. What history did they have with everyone else?

          Jinah sighed as she got out of the shower. She hated not knowing, especially when she was really curious. Minjung. Her too. Where is that silly girl? Which gang was she with again? She remembered Cheonsa’s eyebrow-raising moment, like she knew something Jinah didn’t. She even said that she pitied Jinah. How dare she? And from the way Cheonsa briskly glanced at the rest of Wolf, Jinah knew that Wolf knew the same thing. Something about gangs in general…there was something Jinah didn’t know. She was sure of it. She tried to recall any moments, similar to this. Anything about gangs and differences…unusual things, events, traits, something – anything…was there anything? She tried to replay everything that happened since she talked to Wolf. At the ceremony meets, first day at the base, the next day at the markets with Luhan and Rave, the following days…

          Jinah froze. There was something. When she and Baekhyun had returned from their shopping at the markets on her first day, and she was stirring the kimchi stew, Luhan had stumbled upon a question that made Jinah frown. “Say, what do they teach you at the dwelling? Anything about gangs or whatever?” Luhan had asked in his sweet but not tender voice. “You know…maybe some common traits between the gangs or…certain – ah, capabilities?” Jinah remembered it. Common traits? Capabilities? Capabilities…ability to do something…?

          Kris, Chen, D.O, Lay, Sehun, Xiumin, Tao, and Kai were gaming. The other four – Luhan, Suho, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun, were lazing around on the couch, watching the other eight game intensely. Chanyeol stretched his arms as he yawned. Then he leaned his head against Baekhyun’s lap and puffed out his cheeks. He scratched Baekhyun’s knees and Baekhyun smacked his flat palm down at the side of Chanyeol’s face. Chanyeol yelped and dug his nails further into Baekhyun’s knee, and Baekhyun pinched Chanyeol’s cheeks. Finally, the two called truce and stopped. “I am bored out of my mind,” Chanyeol announced.

          Jinah came out of her room. She was in her gray shirt and home shorts, which had been washed by D.O sometime in the past few days. Looks like he knew a thing or two about the washing machine. “Can you tell me more about gangs?” she asked, drying her hair with a towel as she sat down on the edge of the couch, one leg up, the other down.

          The four who weren’t gaming blinked at her in confusion.

          She sighed in exasperation. How do I bring this up? She hesitantly poked Luhan’s shoulder, who was already facing her. He raised his eyebrows in amusement. Jinah initiating skinship? Well that was new. “Y-You asked me what dwellings taught me the other day…remember?” she said hesitantly.

          Luhan looked away for a second and his eyebrows furrowed slightly, trying to recall the memory. “Yeah, sort of…” he said, remembering vaguely. “Why?”

          Beating around the bush for a bit wouldn’t hurt, Jinah thought. “Well, the only things we learned from dwellings in general are etiquettes and like, math. The things we learned from our seniors who didn’t get chosen, err, comes back crying and they refuse to talk about it. And when some do, they end up choking or bawling. And if they do end up telling us, it’s a real bitter story. Yet here I am,” she lifted the other leg and crossed her legs as she lifted her arms a bit before letting them drop for a dramatic effect. “I can’t pick up anything that could make a girl cry. At least, from you guys. Fang is a bunch of pricks, I get that.” Well, there’s Xiumin, but that’s personal grudge…

          “Do you know how many girls Luhan made cry?” Suho asked, but his gaze wasn’t on Jinah. They were on Chanyeol, meaning he was asking Chanyeol.

          Chanyeol shook his head. “After the first year, I lost track.”

          Jinah scoffed. “You’re kidding, right?”

         Baekhyun picked at his fingernails. “They practically ask for it. Attempting a conversation when he’s clearly uninterested…how foolish.”

          She frowned. “Then why –”

          “You treat me differently, I treat you differently,” Luhan replied simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He shrugged, “There’s nothing more to it.”

          “So you’re saying you like to be treated like ?” Jinah questioned, followed by a small laugh from him. She was actually anticipating his answer.

          Luhan gave her a small smile, and Jinah felt her heart pulse a bit stronger than normal. It wasn’t a mocking one – it was tender. It was strange. “You don’t treat me like ,” he said.

          “I certainly don’t treat you like a king.”

          “And please continue not treating me like one. It gets boring after awhile, you know?” Luhan smirked, and Jinah nodded, her gaze shifting to the ground, taking in the answer. “But,” he commenced, making Jinah look up at him again, “I know that’s not the answer you’re looking for. You’re asking the wrong question, aren’t you?”

          She tightened her jaw momentarily. She didn’t hesitate to ask though. He brought it up, and this was her chance. “After you asked me what the dwelling taught me, you asked something about common traits between gangs and their capabilities, right?” Jinah asked, just to make sure. Luhan nodded. “What…did you mean by that?”

          Luhan’s eyes went to the other three boys who weren’t gaming for a second, then whipped back at Jinah with a type of ferocity that didn’t make her wince or back off, but enter a trance. She didn’t dare and try break this tension. She was about to finally get some answers. If there’s anything a Callidum would be obsessed with, it’s knowledge, information, and answers. A clear opportunity like this – she wasn’t letting this slip through her fingers. Luhan his bottom lip, looking troubled. “Someday. You’ll find out someday.”

          “No. Today. I’m finding out today,” she said sharply.

          The intensity in her eyes were intriguing, and Luhan didn’t look away. She really was thirsty for knowledge. The end of Luhan’s lip tugged upwards. She was determined, driven. He glanced at her watch. He waited a bit before smirking. Well, well, well… “Yeah. Today. But a couple hours later.”

          “What?”

          “It’s twelve right now.” He pointed at her watch, and she looked at it – six seconds past twelve. That juck. “Sleep. You’ll find out within hours.” He looked at her displeased face, and when Jinah opened to say something, he recited, “‘Code of Callidum Ethics, section eleven: You will not take your words back. Choose your choice of words carefully, for future benefits.’ Right?”

          Jinah was surprised. How did he know that? Even she got the sections mixed up. “I’m not a Callidum anymore,” she argued. “I’m a Prix.”

          “Who comes from Callidum.”

          “Who is now part of Wolf, a gang. I’m no longer a candidate – henceforth, those codes and rules do not apply to me anymore.”

          “So you’re willing to admit that you’re wrong?” Luhan challenged.

          “Wha – what? I wasn’t wrong. I said I’m finding out today. And whether I find out now or after I sleep, it’s today. How am I wrong?”

          “Then why are you not satisfied with finding out after you sleep? It’s still ‘today’, isn’t it?”

          Jinah narrowed her eyes. “I never said I wasn’t.”

          “Then what were you going to say before I recited code eleven?” he said with a sigh, turning his gaze at the TV screen. Kris was getting killed by D.O.

          Jinah swallowed. She was going to demand an answer from him – but thinking twice on it, it seemed like a very stupid thing to do. “Ask what dinner is,” she lied smoothly. “I’m hungry, you know.” Scoffing, Jinah got up.

          “D.O made dinner. Scoop some up from the pan!” Baekhyun advised her.

          Jinah nodded as she walked on, only to come right back and occupy her seat again with suspicious eyes. “Wait, how did D.O make dinner? I thought you guys only ate out or had takeouts.”

          “We did,” Baekhyun said, a bit slower than usual. “But D.O cooked for us when we were with the sixth generation. He learned from H – I mean, recipes, from online. We had ingredients then. I guess he remembers some of the food he made two years ago.”

          “What happened to the sixth generation?”

          “They got official jobs.”

          Jinah slowly nodded again as she left the leisure area and headed to the kitchen, with her pride. She looked at the pan that was over the stove, which was, luckily, turned off. It was fried rice with miscellaneous things – carrots, onion, meat from the other day, kimchi, and more. She did as Baekhyun advised her. Food always tasted best at night…but it was also the time when she was most susceptible of gaining weight. Shrugging, she shoved a large spoonful in , her cheeks full. Who cares?