“I swear school is trying to kill us”, Dara complained as she grabbed a wine glass from the granite counter in the kitchen. She slowly shuffled towards the U-shaped sofa and dropped face forward into the cushion. She sighed and lifted the glass up to me. “Maknae I need more.”

Somewhat dazed, I poured Dara more wine and proceeded to drink some myself. Quickly glancing at all the junk food splayed across the center of the table, I proceeded to chuck some M&M’s in my mouth before laying back down to hug the oversized pillow.

It was a Friday night and they found themselves at Dara’s place. She lived in a condo at the top of a hill overlooking Seoul. Gleaming sky-high glass walls surrounded the spacious area, offering them a magnificent view of the city. On many nights they would do nothing but climb to the rooftop and look out into the city as it came alive with the lights and the buzz of its inhabitants. They always ended up here whenever they needed a breath of fresh air. But at the moment everyone was too exhausted. Lazy acoustic guitar music dripped from the stereo in the background as they all laid around the sectional sofa in the middle of the living room. The table bordering the sectional was piled high with fruit and snacks. Dara always kept a full stock of food in her pantry, which was one of the reasons Bom was always there.

“I’m tired of being tired”, Bom grumbled. She sat at the edge of the sofa, brows furrowed in concentration as she struggled to open a packet of chocolate-covered strawberries. Chaerin, who sat next to her, noticed her struggle and took the packet from her hands. She opened it effortlessly and grabbed one before handing it back to her.

“Just a couple of more weeks and we’ll go on break,” Chaerin got out before yawning. She grabbed a remote and switched the tv on.

Dara flipped herself over so she was now staring at the sky through the glass ceiling and began talking to Chaerin about the Ball that was happening tomorrow night. I feigned interest but soon drowned out the chatter. She didn’t feel excited for the Ball anymore. Instead her  thoughts took a turn in the other direction. All the questions she’d been asking herself this week circulated in her mind, clouding her memory, making her dizzy. And at the center of all of this, was of course, Jongin. Why was this bothering me so much? The thought of him kept nagging her for the past few weeks and every time she was around him she felt like she was missing something very obvious.

I was so dazed I didn’t see the pillow coming at me until it was too late. It hit me square in the face and I yelped in surprise, turning to glare at my members who all had amused expressions on their faces.

“Unnie what was that for!” Scowling, I picked myself up, sitting upright and continued to hug the pillow. Focusing now, I glanced around to see that Bom was still eating but playing with makeup while Chaerin had a book in her hands. Dara, now wearing a face-mask, crossed her arms tentatively, her frown evident even behind the mask. Minzy could only sheepishly smile.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost two hours. You’ve been acting weird these past two weeks.You keep staring off into space and you keep mumbling to yourself.” Chaerin and Bom nodded in agreement. I opened my mouth to argue but I couldn't think of an excuse. The only thing that came out was “Aniii.”

Chaerin, who got up to refill her drink, came back from the kitchen and lifted an eyebrow at me as if to say, yeah right.

I sighed. Nothing can get past Chaerin. Even I knew that didn’t sound convincing.

“You are a terrible liar. I thought we were best friends. Hmphh~”, Bom huffed nonchalantly as she grabbed the popcorn bowl.

Chaerin chuckled and sat on the arm of the sofa where I was at. She gingerly placed a hand on my back encouragingly.

“Minji-ah, you know you can tell us anything. We’re right here with you.”

“Maybe she’s been secretly going out with Kai all this time”, Dara sneakily commented. Bom emitted a high shriek of laughter as I choked on my drink.

“N-no!” I coughed out and grabbed napkins to wipe myself off, and hoped that they couldn't notice my face turning red.

“Tell us then. What’s wrong.” Chaerin turned off the television and the static buzz disappeared with it, leaving the room quiet.

I sighed in defeat, taking a deep breath as I turned to my members. Momentarily my heart softened. Looking at them now they gazed at her at her with worry in their eyes. She realized at that moment that they truly were concerned. In an instant she felt guilty about not telling them everything that was going on.They’d always been there for her and she knew they cared. They had become like sisters to her and she honestly wouldn’t know what to do without them. Minzy trusted them completely, and they had every right to know what has been going on. At once she was glad to know she had them by my side. If I was really going crazy, they’d know what to do.

Slight relief flooded me at that thought, which pushed me to begin.

"I’ve been having…bizarre dreams.” All of them stopped laughing. It was so sudden that an uncomfortable silence passed before I cleared my throat.

“Okay. I know this all sounds crazy, and maybe it is. But just listen till the very end". They all nodded reassuringly, and so I told them everything.

I rambled about Kai being in my dreams, about the forest, and about those things that tried to kill me. I tried to describe the creatures to them but just thinking about them made my skin crawl. Judging by their reactions I was pretty sure they felt the same way. I continued to talk about my suspicions of Exo and the accident I had. Once she began to talk the rest just poured out of me. It felt like I was there, talking  for hours. As if getting everything out in the air was helping somehow. Keeping all of these things inside me was taking a toll on me, and deep inside I knew that. I felt liberated. I didn’t care anymore if I sounded crazy. I was not going to deal with this on my own. Doubt slowly turned to certainty as I revealed all of my thoughts. The girls just stood wide-eyed the whole time, taking it all in. Lastly I told them about the voice that kept telling me over and over to seek out the one that bore the Silver Heart. A collective gasp coming from the three could be heard that same second and I looked up, slightly surprised. Bom had dropped the popcorn bowl while Dara had stopped mid-way from taking a drink, mouth open in shock. I glanced at Chaerin and she was frowning. All of them were rigid, rooted to their spots. It was then I realized something was wrong.

“What is it.” I urged them. Still, no one spoke up.The silence was ear deafening. Guitar music could still be heard in the air. I could hear the cicadas screeching outside. I quickly glanced out the window to see that it was pitch black outside. I involuntarily shuddered and grabbed a blanket as I tried not to think of what could be hiding in the shadows near the woods. Stupid nightmares..

I turned to look at the girls and they still seemed flustered.

“Come on guys, what’s wrong why are you all quiet.”

“I’ve...had them too..”, Bom softly whispered.

“Had what?” I was completely oblivious. My stomach seemed to stir in anticipation and dread. What came next me her like a brick wall.

“The d-dreams Minji. I’ve seen them as well.” Dara muttered it out, struggling to talk. It was then that Chaerin looked straight at her with a bewildered gaze and spoke in a clear crystal voice.

“We’ve all dreamt of them.”

The color drained from my face.

____

“Why are we doing this today”, Kyungsoo scowled as he grudgingly sat down on the couch.

“We need to be prepared for whatever stands in our way. Especially now that 2ne1 might know something”, Kris answered sternly as he turned back to look at the glittering hologram display.

Kai stepped over some daggers and sat next to Kyungsoo, who scowled and wrapped his arms around his waist for comfort.

The night was deepening and everyone was dispersed around the house as everyone tested out all the new gadgets and special items their mentor had sent them for emergencies.They figured they had to learn sooner or later, so they had decided to do it that Friday night. Suho, YiFan and Jongdae circled and monitored the multiple holograms that gleamed around the room with information and news they all had to catch up on. Tao took command over the weapons and was in the adjacent room with some of the others. They cleared all the furniture out of the area to practice and soon enough the sound of metal hitting metal and shouts of commands could be heard all over the house.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun were testing out some devices Kai vaguely recognized. From where Kai was sitting he could see Chanyeol strapping on what seemed like a watch. But then Chanyeol pushed a button and his body started shifting colors immediately until he blended seamlessly into the background. Baekhyun on the other hand, flipped the switch on a hoverboard and was soon making a racket as he flailed around ten feet in the air, trying to not fall.

In the kitchen and dining room area medicinal vials, antidotes and special first-aid kits were scattered all over the counters, where Yixing, Luhan, and Minseok were studying them.Yixing, being the expert in health and healing, was slowly explaining the uses of a healing antidote against wounds caused by dark magic while Luhan held a list and was taking inventory. Minseok bustled about,making coffee.

It was only a couple of hours since they had gotten home from college but I could say for sure that the place was a mess. Soon enough multiple weapons and gadgets were strewn across all the rooms as music played in the back.

I turned to look at Kyungsoo again, who had his eyes closed.

“Ey, don’t look so glum hyung this isn’t that bad. We’ve been run to the ground other times this is nothing compared to that.”

Kyungsoo opened his eyes and scoffed at me.

“Look who’s talking Jongin. You’ve been moody all week.” Upon discovering why, he barked out laughter before asking the obvious.

“Is Minzy still ignoring you?”

To that question I could only sigh, which confirmed Kyungsoo’s statement. I slouched on the couch in frustration. I had spent a lot of time with her this past week, but she was still half-ignoring him. She was slowly opening up to him again, but she was stubborn, I had to admit. She definitely knew something and wanted to steer clear of me.

Exactly what she knew worried me. Could it be possible she knew our secret? I shook my head.

There’s no possible way.

If she did, I had a sinking feeling it was because of me. Somewhere along the line I must’ve slipped up. I do admit I’m not as careful around her like I am with everyone else. He couldn’t help but smile. Something about her makes me want to put down my guard. Sometimes I found myself thinking if it was because I wanted her to find out our secret. Wouldn’t it be just easier to tell her everything? To go on a stroll with her at the park, among the changing trees, and sit with her beside the lake, and finally explain everything to her. To make her understand. But then reality came back to slap me to reality.

If it was only that easy.

I instantly straightened up and turned to Kyungsoo. It was bound to get messy. Kyungsoo seemed to know what was on my mind and lowered his voice, nodding in sympathy.

“We don’t want it to happen again”. His worried eyes mirrored mine and understanding crashed into me with apprehension.

He didn’t have to explain.

Although Exo constantly moved around whenever a Soul Hunter found them, in the past there were cases where a person, or a group of people have found out about Exo’s secret. Our mentors considered that a breach of protocol and therefore there were consequences. Their minds were wiped and Exo always disappeared without a trace. They had to learn the hard way as time after time they had to leave friends and significant others behind. Kai momentarily glanced at Kris across the room and felt sadness for him. Nobody knew the pain of separation more than Kris.

Kyungsoo must’ve sensed my distress because he patted my back.

“Don’t worry too much Jongin. Things have a way of working themselves out when it comes to us". Before I could ask him how it could ever work out Suho's distracted voice rang out in the room.

“Guys gather around for a sec.” His eyes were glued onto the hologram.

Everyone gathered in the room as I glanced over to the shimmering display they were fixated on and saw images of white spots of light falling in the sky.

“What is that?”

“Listen.” Suho turned up the volume.The guys momentarily stopped to focus on the man on the hologram, who was talking while footage of balls of bright light falling onto earth were being shown behind him. Was it light or fire?

“This past week there have been numerous civilian sightings of falling orbs of light around the world, unusual for their size and trajectory. Experts are confused and comment that they have never seen anything like it. Some even go further to speculate that they are unidentified flying objects, which have sparked discussions and theories all over the world. Future foreign sightings are likely to follow". The man continued to talk but I tuned him out. I looked over at Suho and Kris, who were intently staring at the images, frown lines beginning to form on their faces.

“Hyung what does it mean.” Kris looked over at me, his arms crossed on his chest.

“I’m not sure but I don’t think it’s anything good.”

Just then my phone dinged. Everyone heard it and curiously looked over at me. I shrugged and took out my phone, unlocking the screen.To my complete shock I read the message. I rubbed my eyes to make sure they I wasn’t seeing things.

We’re coming. 5 minutes.

I stared at it for a minute, confusion and surprise clearly written on my face, quite not comprehending what it meant.

“What is it Jongin.” Baekhyun walked closer to peer at my phone. Everyone, now filled with curiosity, inched closer to me.

I turned my phone facing them so everyone could see it. Even as I answered I couldn’t quite believe it. “It’s Minzy.”

“We’re coming. 5 minutes.” Baekhyun read out loud.

Everyone grew quiet.

____

“Are you sure this is the one?”, Dara asked as she nervously glanced at the lavish mansion, which was bathed in light. I  stared at the stone and clapboard exterior and nodded. We were just outside the open gate, shrouded in the dark inside of Dara’s Range Rover. She seemed hesitant about driving in. She wasn't the only one. I gulped before answering.

“I’m sure of it.”

“How do you even know where they live?” Chaerin asked. She peered at me.

“..Kai told me.” Chaerin raised her eyebrow in surprise and I squirmed. Once again I realized that I hadn't told them much these past couple of weeks and I felt relief that I wasn't alone in this.

“Are you sure about this?”, Bom whispered. “It’s not just that we’re all going crazy or something?”

“Exo has something to do with this I just know it.There’s no point in avoiding them now.”

“The dreams did start when they came. And they’re in them. The sole fact that we’re all having them is not a coincidence.”

“I’ve lost sleep because of those stupid dreams”, Bom mumbled drowsily as she leaned her head on the headrest. Dara nodded.

“If you think about it, it all adds up. We've all seen some odd things about them."

“You have?” I leaned forward on the edge of her seat to see them and they all nodded.

I sat back and groaned. It didn’t ever occur to me that they also could’ve picked up on some of the odd things. To think I could’ve spared myself the trouble of thinking I was going crazy. I wanted to kick herself for being an idiot. Dara faced me and reached for my hand. S