When they were out of the markets, on the way to the car, the atmosphere between them became pleasant again. Just when he was about to ask about Taehyuk or the dinner date, he let go of Jinah’s wrist. Suddenly, a strange thought hit him: why am I doing this to Jinah? He questioned his actions. Why was he holding her wrist? Why did he stick up for her? Why did he take her away from Aheun, Xiumin, and Tao, potential threats? Why did he buy her the wallet? Take her out? Why did it matter? Why was he –

         “– running?” Jinah asked, as if finishing his thought. “Seriously. I don’t think the girl’s bad. Xiumin’s an , but –”

         “Didn’t I tell you not to swear?” Luhan growled.

         Jinah frowned. She was unhappy with Luhan at the moment. Why was he so bipolar? First he takes her out and pays for her Yakult, then the awkward moment after the ist remark at Gajuk, and then playfulness at Nana’s Bakery, and then half-scolding her when they were out, and now this.  “I’ll swear if I want to.”

         “Don’t. Seriously.”

         Jinah opened to childishly swear at him, but something stopped her. It wasn’t Luhan’s hardened, pensive expression or the sudden chilly wind that brushed past her cheek. No, it was the uncanny, disturbing image in her head. It didn’t stay long enough for her to see what it was, but it looked like a thin object of some sort…

         Her eyes widened and all the sudden, her instincts forced her body to move – somehow, in that split second, her body knew that she wasn’t strong enough to move Luhan when he was deep in thought and rooted to the ground. It was second nature to her that Luhan would probably pin her to the ground with a knife by if she did that. No, her body was smarter than that. She instinctively took him by the shoulder and turned around, her back facing away from Luhan, and squeezed her eyes shut.

         Jinah’s right shoulder was slit by a sharp blade and she winced, tightening her grip on Luhan’s jacket. The cut wasn’t deep, so she didn’t stay in that position for long. She sighed at the little cut in her white shirt around the shoulder. Great, a shirt ruined. The thought, however, didn’t linger in her head for long. Her mind immediately blanked out, for Luhan grabbed her bent elbows and looked at her in the eye. “Are you okay?” he asked.

         She blinked way too many times to be considered normal, but she managed to nod.

         He let go of her again and cleared his throat. He frowned at her. “What the hell, Jinah, jumping in like that!” he abruptly scolded. “How did you even know that the arrow was coming our way? If that was a LUX-444 poison dart, you’d be writhing on the ground, foam in your mouth – dying!”

         She scoffed. “If it was a LUX-444 poison dart, whatever that is – it means I saved your life! You should be thanking me, not scolding me!”

         Luhan rolled his eyes before turning his attention to the arrow. Just before he touched it, Jinah stopped him. “Leaving fingerprints is dangerous. Taking that thing with us to the base is dangerous too – what if it has a tracker? Use this,” she mumbled, handing him a handkerchief.

         Luhan raised an eyebrow at her. Jinah was the last girl to carry anything nearly feminine with her. “In mystery novels, the chief inspector always uses this to prevent getting his fingerprints on the murder weapon…” Jinah answered, feeling awkward. “Just in case someone tries to use your fingerprint for the ja – I mean… you know. The thing.” Jinah knew it was dangerous to mention the jade statue out in public, too, since no one was supposed to know they had a second base underground, beneath the picture-perfect glass one. “I’m not worrying about you so just take it!”

         Luhan chuckled as he took the green handkerchief, but he didn’t thank her. You’re a male. She’s a female. Why are you treating her differently? He paused. “Thanks,” he said, and Jinah smiled at him. What the hell, why’d you thank her?! You didn’t ask for it… Luhan mentally groaned to himself, but took the arrow out without another mental complaint using Jinah’s handkerchief. There was a note.

         Jinah took a peek, and the content made her scowl. ‘Jinah would make a perfect addition to our collection,’ it read. It was a direct threat to Wolf.

            Luhan immediately scanned the area, but he couldn’t see nor hear anything, or anyone. How dare they, Luhan thought. He didn’t know who it was, but he had some good guesses as to who it might be – Cougar, Fang, Smoke, Thorn. He knew that Cougar and Fang had a thing for Jinah. Smoke, despite being a Middle Gang, was a former Top Gang with half their money stripped by Wolf, so they were always looking for revenge. Thorn had wanted Jinah since the ceremony. Other than these four, the other gangs either left Wolf alone, or were too scared to approach them.

         He pocketed it. “Don’t worry about it,” he told Jinah, even if his mind screamed at him to stop reassuring her. “I don’t plan on giving you up to any of the dirty pricks out there.”

         Jinah snorted. “I don’t plan on letting them take me, either.”

         Luhan sighed at her ignorant bravery. “You may think this is a joke, but it really isn’t. Come on, let’s go to the base. Even if I don’t plan on giving you up, this is serious.”

Luhan and Jinah got to the base first. Neither of them said a word during the whole right there. Luhan was deep in thought, stringing the events together, until it finally clicked in. Jinah was hungry again, but she didn’t say anything. She knew Luhan wasn’t in the mood to eat. As soon as Luhan parked the car and turned the engine off, he got out as fast as he could, marched to Jinah’s side, and yanked the door open before Jinah could even undo her seatbelt. Jinah was startled, but he didn’t give her any time to say anything. He grabbed her wrist quite harshly, pulled her out roughly, shut the door behind her violently, and power-walked to the base hastily.

          “Whoa, Luhan!” Jinah yelped. She had almost tripped from her own feet because he was going too fast. “Why are we rushing?” Jinah asked. She had tried multiple times to escape his grasp but he wouldn’t relent. “Hey, Luhan? Luhan!”

          “Do you know what this means?” Luhan asked. He looked calm, but his voice was unstable. Just before he touched the dull sapphire gem necklace on the jade statue, he looked at her in the eye. “Aheun being accepted as Wolf’s Half-Prix. Aheun coming here. Here. The arrow. The note. Do you know what this means?”

          Jinah blinked. Why was Luhan getting worked up? He was fine just minutes ago. “I get to sleep in every other day? Chores cut down to half? A quiet Xiumin? I don’t know, you tell me. I don’t know these kinds of stuffs, you know that. And the arrow! You told me not to worry!”

          Luhan closed his eyes and sighed, pinching his nose bridge condescendingly. Something pricked Jinah’s pride. Luhan was treating her as if she said something childish and stupid. Wasn’t it obvious that she didn’t know? How could she, when no one told her? Then, Luhan spoke. “What do you think about Aheun?” he finally said. “What do you think about the arrow? Don’t you think these two might be connected?”

          “She seems fine…” Jinah trailed off. Luhan groaned as he pressed his hand against the cool blue jewel and dragging Jinah down the steps and through the dark corridor. Even in the dark, she could make out his scowl. Maybe Aheun coming here is actually related to the arrow? Jinah thought. Is that why Luhan is so worked up?

          “Aheun’s here,” Luhan announced when they were at the entranceway.

          The whole gang stopped moving. The gamers stopped clicking and the spectators’ gaze switched from the TV screen to Luhan and Jinah at the entranceway. D.O’s already-big eyes enlarged, giving the impression that he was terrified when he was really just surprised. Baekhyun’s slender fingers covered half of his face at the unexpected news. Chen opened his mouth wider than a hippopotamus at the sudden idea of a second Prix. Suho slapped Chanyeol who didn’t even flinch because he was in too much shock. Kris’ expression became a little grim, Sehun blinked, and Lay exhaled deeply.

          “What is this ery,” Kai groaned out.

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

A/N:

   Faster update, yeah? ><

   Cheesy, I know. But you guys are used to it XD

side note: any iKON fans here? (;

-deardeerhan