Jinah met the librarian, Kim Taeyeon. She was a nice woman in her twenties with blonde hair and sparkly makeup. She was a bit short, considering her height was average with heels. Jinah checked out several books: anything with the words “supernatural abilities” or something similar in it, historical records, unexplained phenomena, disbanded gangs, and more. She even took out a book about the human body. Jinah stacked the dozens of thick books to the side and began organizing them. Luhan, who had another dozen, put the pile in front of Jinah. Jinah opened the books and her notebook. She scanned through the table of contents and flipped to the page that seemed useful and took quick notes. If it didn’t contain useful information, she put it to the far side, away from the others. She’d return them to the cart later.

          Luhan, who helped her read through the books, stole glances at Jinah. She was so concentrated and focused on reading and taking notes. He could practically see the determination burn in her eyes. She was mouthing words as she read and her eyes darted back and forth on the pages. Her fingers swiftly flipped through the papers, and her hand jotted down readable but brisk notes. When Jinah seemed absolutely immersed, too immersed to notice anything, Luhan stealthily put the useless books to the side without looking at the table of contents. He had gone through this procedure before. None of these books were new to him. He himself had gone through these books. It took him all night and even a part of the next morning to read everything pertaining to abilities and assimilate the information, but nothing was spectacular. He had wasted a score of hours for nothing. Everything he “learned”, he had either already speculated or known.

          They spent the next hour and a half like that. Neither of them spoke a word, although they mutually felt each other’s presences which triggered a subtle sensation that gently flowed through them. Jinah didn’t get to take all the notes, only a bit. She knew she couldn’t focus very much with Luhan staring at her like that. She also knew that Luhan was tired, and remembered him saying something about valuing his sleep. So when his head lolled to the side a few times, she quickly chose the books that had the best information in it (or least seemed to have it) or a decent table of contents, and decided to check out a total of eight books.

          “You done?” Luhan croaked when he heard the quiet stacking of books.

          “Yeah,” she said, doing exactly what he had heard. “Sorry for making you wait.”

          He waved a hand lazily. “It’s nothing.” Luhan glanced at the eight books that were in a neat stack “I’ll carry those,” he offered.

          “No, it’s okay. I can –”

          He wordlessly slipped his hands underneath the lowest book and picked the stack up. Jinah scoffed lightly, but put the other books that weren’t of much use in the cart without complaint before heading over to Taeyeon and Luhan. Luhan had already paid for the books and the receipt was printing as Taeyeon gave them a free reusable bag. She put the eight books and the receipt in it. Jinah thanked her and Luhan remained silent. Males were socially on a high rank, so he didn’t have to. That was just how DE was like. However, Taeyeon bowed at him as he turned around. When Jinah bid Taeyeon goodbye, Luhan was already outside. Jinah jogged forward to catch up with him.

          They awkwardly walked side by side in silence. One of Luhan’s hands were in his pockets and his eyes continuously closed and reopened. Jinah felt a pang of guilt hit her, but didn’t really know why. It was his fault for following her, and even carrying the books. The bag was on the other side of him, so she couldn’t take it without reaching over, and that would be really awkward, especially if she missed, so she kept quiet. Jinah was tired, too, but all the information floated around in her head. She didn’t find out anything special. It was just basics, things she could have guessed, but she knew that she would find something, a lead – sometime soon. She knew it. Maybe then, she could strengthen the gang? And then they’d owe her so then they could rebel against the government for female rights or something? And then – oh, Jinah, she thought. You’re thinking nonsense.

          In self-embarrassment, she cleared , even though no one could hear her thoughts. had become dry.

          “Mm?” Luhan hummed, sleepily looking at Jinah with worn out eyes.

          “N-Nothing. There was just something caught in my throat…”

          Luhan nodded a bit before he resumed his sleepy routine of closing and opening his eyes, swaying slightly. They slipped back into that silence that enveloped them much too often. The area was quiet, and the only sounds were their soft breathings and light footsteps. The crepuscular night’s air was cool and pleasant, the glimmering stars shining brightly. Stars… so far away, yet so luminous… Minjung, are you seeing this? You can, right? Stars meant good news. Perhaps she was going to meet Minjung soon, or get some real answers out of the heap of books that she had checked out. Before she could get into more of her superstitions or abstract thoughts, Jinah realized that they had arrived at their destination.

          “Hey, uh… Luhan?”

          “Mm?”

          “We’re here.”

          Luhan opened his eyes halfway and nodded. They went inside, the glass doors letting them in, moved the jade statue, went downstairs, and finally arrived at their underground base. Luhan tossed the keys and it bounced off the key plate and landed on the counter, instead of hanging on the hanger. Luhan didn’t bother putting it back up. He gave her the bag of books as she gladly took then. Just as she was about to thank him, he muttered, “Good night.” And before she could answer him, he went into his room and closed the door. She heard him literally collapse on his bed, for the loud bouncing and creaking noise of the mattress indicated a sudden weight.

          Jinah let out a short chuckle, surprising herself a bit. Enjoying yourself, aren’t you? She mentally scrolled through a list of unusual signs, things out of her regular disposition that happened tonight. Little things, like remembering how Luhan likes his sleep, or being considerate for him to leave the library quicker than she had planned, and even thinking about helping the gang improve their abilities which already seemed insurmountable.

          Jinah let herself smile. It was the voice, the one that made everything complicated, left Jinah contemplating and second-guessing everything, including herself and her morals. But this time, Jinah had an answer for it.

          Yes.

          Jinah crept inside her room quietly. She triple-checked that Sehun was asleep before changing into comfortable clothes. She took out the eight books onto the desk and the small desk lamp, the light brightly illuminating the flat desk, her notebook, and the books. She checked behind her again, and she confirmed that Sehun was still fast asleep. She remembered a part of their first conversation: “I’m practically dead when I’m asleep,” Sehun had said. Taking those words to heart, Jinah began her research without worry or hesitation. She read more slowly and took more precise notes this time, making sure not to overlook things. She highlighted some parts of her notes, or put a little drawing to remind herself to refer to that section in the future.

          In the next few hours, Jinah read, wrote, and drank water ( which she had gotten to get from the fridge sometime earlier). She also finished about half of the candies from Miss Kim’s plastic package. During her study session, Jinah found out what exactly abilities were. They were superhuman abilities that ranged from elemental (physical), manipulation (mental), and persuasive (emotional). The effects of the abilities can differ from damage (destruction), to changing (modification), to bettering or worsening (revival or deterioration). The strength of the ability solely depends on the person, without a specific trait to compare (eg. height, age, etc.). In other words, someone short and young can have a stronger ability than someone taller and older, and vice versa. However, it is believed that exhausting the body to the point where it becomes numb, helps enhance these abilities, which is why the boys are sent to the Army to train hard.

          The scary thing was that there wasn’t anything about limitations.

          She memorized a few famous names and their birth dates, along with their death dates. She kept their abilities and gang names in mind too. Luckily, the historical records had some photos, so she even knew the faces of some. They were ancient pictures from the digital cameras of 2080s or so. Old, but good enough. She studied very hard.

          And Sehun could tell.

         Sehun woke up peacefully the next day. He always woke up at around ten or a bit past ten, so he wasn’t surprised to hear silence. The gang doesn’t move until after noon, unless there’s a special plan, such as a meeting before or it’s a Rave day. When he blinked awake, he simply got up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. That was when he realized Jinah wasn’t in her bed. Still relaxed and unsurprised, he glanced up and saw her figure by the desk. His eyes narrowed as he cautiously went over to her. Jinah wasn’t a light sleeper. She was a deep one, much like himself. Her dark curtain of hair covered most of her face. His face still blank as he pushed the hair away, revealing her sleeping face. He didn’t make any noise outwardly, but he did chuckle inwardly. Hearing from Xiumin and Lay, girls were supposed to look pretty when they were sleeping. Jinah didn’t. With her dark brown eyes hidden by her eyelids, he couldn’t see the intriguing mix of meanings and feelings that seemed to have charmed the gang. Not in a seductive way, and not necessarily friendlily, but nevertheless, charming. With the captivating charisma and the anomalous glint in her orbs that made her interesting concealed by a blanket of skin, it made her an average girl. Her nose was squished by her arm and was boldly open. Sehun made sure not to get too close to her; people’s morning breath stinks, and he knew this from experience. The unendurable stench was one of the reasons why he had isolated himself from the other gang members.

         He grabbed her pillow from her bed and was about to gently lift her head, but his hand stopped halfway. Oh Sehun, what are you doing? He retracted his hand and frowned a little bit. Was he being considerate? In confusion, he dropped the pillow, feeling a tad dazed. Just what were you about to do? Sehun completely shut down his thoughts as he made his way to the kitchen, leaving Jinah’s neck angled painfully and the lonely pillow on the floor.

         A few hours later, at around twelve, the gang began to crawl out of their rooms. By then, Sehun had already cooked basic breakfast: pancake and syrup, another set of meal that had been bought by D.O, Jinah, and Baekhyun, who became the grocery shoppers. The instructions at the back were simple – apply oil on pan while heating; place frozen, imperishable pancake mixture on pan; fry until golden brown. Making them pour their own milk and get their own cutlery, Sehun sat on the couch to enjoy some TV. Cold pancakes for the late ones, hot pancakes for the early ones. Unless they heated it up themselves. Sehun really didn’t care.

         “Hey, where’s Jinah?” Baekhyun asked, biting into the slightly-burnt pancake that was thoroughly soaked in maple syrup. He was hoping that the sweetness would overcome the bitter taste of the burnt parts.

         “Probably sleeping,” Chanyeol muttered.

         “Still? Well, that’s the first. It’s two o’ clock,” Baekhyun said, putting another forkful in his mouth.

         “Hm, that really is weird…” Chen said, frowning. “Are you sure she’s sleeping?”

         Chanyeol shrugged. “Where else could she be? Headquarters?”

         “Sehun, is she still sleeping?” Baekhyun asked sternly. Jinah has exposed the fact that she was a at the interview, and she wasn’t just normal-pretty, but eye-catching, head-turning pretty. Gangs were bound to target her. But when Sehun gave a small nod while still facing the TV screen, Baekhyun relaxed. Jinah was safe. It was funny how Baekhyun was worried, but didn’t think of actually going to check if Jinah was asleep. In the Late Modern days, the 2010s, this may be out of respect (to not barge into a room with a sleeping female). However in DE, it was just in their nature not to take action for a female’s sake. Baekhyun wasn’t bitter towards females, or Jinah. In fact, he liked her a lot, but it was the messed up society they lived in that twisted their minds. Doing something for a female never clicked with them innately. Sure, they tried – they got her gifts, and most stood up for her when Xiumin was throwing insults at her, but they were all aware of that. Their nice gestures didn’t come naturally… or did they?

         Kris laughed as he ruffled Baekhyun’s hair. “Speaking of Headquarters, let’s hit the training grounds.”

         Tao groaned. “Again?”

         He poked Tao’s belly. “Yep. We’ve got to stay in shape.”

         “I am in shape!”

         “As much as you were at the Army? Or when we were with the Sixth? No, you’re not. Now that Jinah’s here, you should be more fit.”

         Tao sighed, remembering his eight-pack with the sixth generation a few years back. Xiumin snorted, making everyone else roll their eyes, for they knew that the next few sentences they’d be hearing would be about Jinah and Aheun.

         “See, if Aheun was around, she’d already be up by eight at the least, and we would all have warm and tasty pancakes because she’d do it for us. She’s supposed to do that. Jinah’s freaking sleeping in, and all she did was play victim with Cougar. She’s not even sorry! And if Aheun was here, she’d say that we’re enough protection for her instead of letting us tiredly train for her. She would notice our exhaustion. Jinah didn’t even catch a single hint that we’ve been training overnight. And Aheun would thank you all – not beg for Luhan’s attention and take compliments for granted. Unregenerate , she is.”

         Xiumin’s insults became more profound and meaner when Jinah wasn’t around, which never failed to spark irritation and anger with the other gang members. Whether or not they favored Jinah specially, no one liked to start off their mornings (rather, afternoons) with insults about someone. Xiumin had even adumbrated that Sehun’s pancakes didn’t taste good. Insults were negative, and it wasn’t like any of them hated her.

         “She doesn’t beg for my attention,” Luhan said, finished with his pancakes. He walked right by Xiumin. Instinctively, Baekhyun’s and Chanyeol’s mouths closed, their words trapped in their throats. They let Luhan speak because he was the leader. Xiumin stiffened but then scoffed as he relaxed his body when Luhan passed him. Just as Xiumin was about to make a sarcastic remark, Luhan said, “I beg for hers.”

         Suho choked on his pancakes. Chen’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. Kris’s head whipped towards Luhan. Kai raised an eyebrow with a hint of an amused smirk. Baekhyun and Chanyeol began stuttering nonsense. Tao stared in surprise, but not in disgust. Lay smiled proudly and Sehun had no reaction, his eyes glued onto the TV screen. Xiumin, however, looked absolutely horrified.

         “What?!” Xiumin shrieked.

         “You heard me,” Luhan said, walking towards the couch. He kicked the side couch aside and opened the bumpy tile, revealing the blue button as he smoothly changed the subject. “Are we still hitting the training grounds?”

         An incomprehensible silence came across, as the gang remained motionless and mute. It wasn’t until one of Luhan’s eyes twitched was there a response, and that was Baekhyun’s stammering. “Y-Y-Yeah, I guess. We are, r-right?”

         Luhan didn’t look at the others to confirm it. More or less, he avoided eye contact with them. Sehun got out of the way before Luhan clicked the blue button and took a step back to let the furniture and items fold into the wall. That was when the gang moved. Suho and Chen jumped off the couch and Kris moved away from the rug. Others took a few steps back to avoid getting caught in the hole. When it fully opened, Luhan didn’t wait for anyone as he began descending the stairs first. Although Luhan’s voice was stable, he was chewing his lip when his back was faced to the gang. The rest were still feeling stupefied, but Suho, who had great resilience, and Lay, who saw the best in everyone, followed him first. Xiumin was still gaping, so Lay tugged him with him. Then gradually, the rest of them followed. Just before Kai, the last one, headed down, he looked back. “Aren’t you coming?”

         Sehun shook his head. “I’ll skip today.”

         Kai nodded. Sehun was one of their strongest members. So was Kris, but Kris just loved training and taking the chance to beat them up. When Kai reached the bottom, he made sure to close up the hole. At that, the furniture returned to its place and Sehun went back to the couch and the TV. It was as if nothing had ever happened. The walls and the floor closed up flawlessly. If Jinah woke up with no one at the base, her shock would be unimaginable. What she would do was also unimaginable. It was safer to have someone up here, anyway. Plus, the TV’s alright, thought Sehun.