“W-What do you mean move in with them!?”

“YAAA YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?”

“Ugh it’s too early for this.”

“Kris said they’ll properly explain when we get there, but that we should go ahead and start packing.” Everyone stood around in dazed silence as Chaerin continued to speak. “He says their mentor contacted our parents and they gave the okay. ‘I don’t know how, but all of your parents know’, he told me.” My jaw dropped. They know?

    “Know what, exactly”, Dara demanded.

    “I don’t know. It’s alarming how much we don’t know,” Chaerin responded. “How long have we been kept in the dark, I wonder..”

“We can run away. I have a mansion in Paris we could flee to, and France has the best colleges in the country.They also have great cuisine,” Bom rambled on fretfully. She fell head-first onto the bed, groaning at what she knew was already coming.

“They’d probably be able to track us down in an hour”, Chaerin began, effectively breaking apart Bom’s plan. She continued to pace back and forth, a cup of coffee in her hand. “And what do you reckon they’ll do when they find out we don’t want to cooperate? Besides, you heard what they said. We’re not safe by ourselves anymore. Those creatures are after us now.”

“Aren’t you guys curious,” Dara began, sliding off the bed. Her hands were going through her hair as she spoke, trying to untangle her messy locks. Sighing, she walked over to the nightstand beside the bed and opened a drawer, pulling out a hairbrush. “That light coming out of us that night, don’t you want to find out what it is?”

“I still think we imagined it,” I grumbled, “but I am a little curious.”

“This is ridiculous. Who are they that we have to listen to them?” Bom snapped at the air, clearly frustrated. I sympathized with her. What are we getting ourselves into? Could we really trust them? Sure, I had developed a soft spot for Kai. But it could be a trick. For all she knew he could be playing her, teasing and luring like he had done dozens of times to the others before she came along. A part of her taunted herself cruelly for being so gullible. “Do you think you’re that special?” She shook her head, as if her own thoughts would dissipate and stop troubling her for once.

“What other choice do we have then Bom? Running away isn’t an option.” Chaerin replied with an edge to her voice.

“We shouldn’t be bickering like this right now”, I said, trying to fix the tense atmosphere. Or maybe I was trying to soothe my own nerves. “I know it’s sudden, and we’re all worried about this. We’d be stupid not to. But think about it. If what they say is right, we need their protection. We also need to find out why we now have these stupid powers and why they led us to them.” Taking a deep breath, I spoke in a more gentle manner. “If our parents agreed to this, then there is obviously more we need to know. Why did they agree, and how much do they know? Let’s try it their way for now. It can’t be that bad right? Maybe it’ll be fun, even.”

I refuse to let this worry me, I chant into my mind.

“I need some fresh air”, Bom said suddenly. She got up and hurriedly began to dress.

“You’re leaving? Where are you going?”

“I need some alone time.” She stood up and grabbed her purse from the countertop. “Some time to think and- ” She breathed out slowly. Sensing our distress, she rolled her eyes and added dryly, “I doubt I’ll get attacked by some monster, so don’t worry.” And like that she walked out the door. Chaerin frowned but let her go.

“She’ll be fine. She needs to decide this on her own.”

“There’s really no way out of this is there”, Dara answered sardonically. Chaerin shrugged.

“I’m afraid not.”

 ~.~

The scenery blurred into unrecognizable shapes as she sped down the road. It was mid morning and the roads were still pretty empty, to her delight. She hit 70 mph as easily as it was to blink. But her mind was elsewhere.

In the end they had decided to split up and head home to pack. They’d all meet up again later and then drive over to the new house.

New house. With Exo.

That was enough to send knots of anxiety whirling in her stomach.

A dog jumped in front of her car suddenly and she practically had to slam on her breaks, nearly scaring her half to death. The dog yapped as if nothing happened and ran away. She hurriedly checked her rearview mirror for any cars and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no one. Oh, how badly she wanted to be home already.

 ~.~

I pressed forward and five minutes later, rolled up on the familiar driveway and into the garage. As soon as I walked in through the garage door I was met with the smell of blueberries. With a start I knew Imo was baking, and as I rounded the kitchen door and saw the silhouette crouched over the oven, knew I was correct.

Which only meant one thing. I gulped.

Hearing someone approaching, she turned around and broke into a smile. “Minji honey, you’re home! Just in time too.” She held a pie in her hands, and I could only lightly smile.

Baking was a little like therapy for her. Whenever she needed to think, or was frustrated with anything in particular, I would always find her in the kitchen, baking up a storm. She especially baked on days she needed to talk to me. Today, she looked a little worn out than usual. Dark circles were apparent under her eyes and her hair was messily put into a bun without thought. She seemed a little out of it. Still looking at me, she walked over and hugged me tightly, taking me by surprise. And just like that I understood why.

“Y-you know?” After a second she nodded.

“Tell me everything.”

“Take a slice and sit with me child. It’s a long story”, she answered warily.

 ~.~

“So you’re part of a secret organization that helps protect the Silvanaë?” I shake my head in disbelief. “It doesn’t sound real at all how is this all even possible?” I take a bite out of the slice of blueberry pie in front of me and chewed in silence. It was delicious, as always.

I lean back and take in everything she’s said for the past fifteen minutes. I sat through the whole thing quietly, slowly eating as I listened to her every word, giving her a chance to explain. Eating was a comfort in a way. It was something real, and normal. There was no secret behind it. It also gave me an excuse not to talk. My head buzzed a little, and I couldn’t figure out if it was because of the conversation we were having or the sugar in the pie.

How? As if hearing my thoughts, she chuckled.

“I know it is hard to get your mind wrapped around it, but it’s true Minji. All of it.”

“So you know about what happened the night of the Ball, and the…” I didn’t want to finish the rest of the sentence, but thankfully she gave a quick nod.

“When I heard about the attack I couldn’t even sleep. I’m so sorry Minji.” She held my hand and sighed. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if something had happened to you. You know you’re like a daughter to me.”

I smiled. “And you’re like a mother to me.” I helped myself to another slice before I continued. “Do you have a clue about the white light that destroyed the Kaapo? There must surely be a mistake, right?” I looked at her while she thought it over.

“Frankly, we are not too sure either. You showed no signs at all until recently, when your nightmares resurfaced.”

The nightmares.

“The nightmares were signs?”

She nodded. “Even when you were younger, you always had them. But you never remembered them. But for the past month or so you’ve been waking up in the middle of the night screaming in terror. It’s intensified, up to the point that you do remember them now. You’ve muttered a lot of things in your sleep. The attack probably triggered a reaction in your system.” She said it so casually, like she was commenting on the weather or what they were having for dinner. I was too stunned to speak. “Keep in mind this is all speculation. It could certainly be false.”

“You seem pretty sure, though.” I mumbled. “So what? Does that mean I’m really not normal?”

“There’s no such thing as normal, darling. Everyone has their own secrets, and you’ll be surprised to hear of some extraordinary and bizarre things people can do. You are no different Minji. And that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. We’ll find out eventually, now that we know. I think it’s a wise decision for you to go live with the girls and Exo for the time being. There’s a safety in numbers and they’ll be able to train you far more than we will be able to.”

“You really think so?”

She nodded and patted my hand. “Although I’m going to miss you terribly here. Who’s going to eat everything I bake after you leave?” She grinned then, and I let out a laugh.

The doorbell could be heard ringing throughout the whole house, and we looked up. “Who could it be?” We both stood in silence as we faintly heard the servants open the door. Muffled conversation, and then giggling could be heard. A second later a couple of servants arrived in the kitchen, their cheeks slightly red and their smiles wide.

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