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"Oppa!"

No reply.

"Haewon-oppa!"

Silence.

Darn it, where is that dork? Minjee hissed as she tried looking for her older brother.

"Oppa!"

No reply.

"Darn it. Where's that darn giant lurking this time?" Minjee sighed and walked around the living room. "Come on! Where are you? You're going to be late!"

Silence.

Geez. Once I find you, Lim Haewon I will surely- "Blegh!" a sound echoed at one particular place of the room. Minjee, alerted by such noise, headed to the source of the sound, which was by any chances, the bathroom. Of course, if it wasn't her inside that room, it was surely Haewon. "Oppa?" she called out, knocking on the door, her ear pressed slightly on the door. "Something going on?"

"Minjee, I'm al-"

"Oppa. Are you vomiting?"

"Wait for me to come out for a while. Wait in the... living room." Haewon said, seemingly seeing weakness in his voice. Obeying without a doubt, Minjee hurries to the living room, the sound of her brother "vomitting" echoing their silent home. A few minutes passed and Minjee saw her brother step out of the bathroom, a blue towel wiping his mouth. "Oppa? Are you okay? You look pale!" Minjee worriedly cried.

"The breakfast was spoilt, I think." Haewon laughed.

"But... you look pale."

"I'm alright. It's just an after effect of vomitting I guess. Nothing to worry about." Haewon smiled and patted Minjee's head. "I'm alright."

"Can you go to work though? If not, you can just call your boss and tell that you'll have to leave." 

"I'm alright, trust me."

"Oppa-"

"Minjee. I'm sure that I am okay, alright? Don't push it." Haewon laughed. 

"... Understood." Minjee nodded in defeat, her head hung down. With that, she watched her brother grab his things, fix his tie and hair and head to the door, but of course, placing a small peck on his siter's forehead before waving goodbye at her. "I'll be back as soon as possible, Minjee." Haewon smiled.

"I'll expect that." Minjee nodded. As her brother left the house, Minjee sat down on the couch, having zero plans to do for the day but sit and watch television.

... Well, originally, that was her plan.

A small knock on the window was heard and it made Minjee nearly jerk up in astonishment. It was no other but her wolf-boyfriend knocking. He wore a beanie on top of his head and smiled as he waved, making Minjee smile. Hurrying to the door, Minjee let the yellow-headed male come in, and to her surprise, he came alone. "Hey." Tao greeted, blushing a bit. "Hi." Minjee smiled, blushing along. "What're you doing here?"

"Simply looking out for you." Tao smiled. "Same ol' same. Where's your brother?"

"Off to work, as per usual."

"I see. You're alone then?"

"Mhm. It's pretty boring to be honest. I'm starting to grow bored already and it's only been seconds!" Minjee giggled and looked at Tao. "How about you? Simply dropping by to visit me?"

"Part of it is correct." Tao laughed and nodded, rubbing his nape. "I didn't bother you perhaps, did I?"

"You didn't, and to be honest, I am definitely glad that you came along. I can drop by at your place again."

"Sounds like a great idea. Everyone would definitely love to have you around, especially Sehun and Kai, and maybe Xiumin-gege too." the male smiled, nodding. "But hey, I don't want them to know about us yet."

"I understand." Minjee brightly smiled. "It'll be quite a shocker if they know!"

"Exactly." he nodded. "So, shall we go?"

"Give me a moment to dress up for a while, okay? I'll be quick."

"Okay. Take your time, Minjee."

"Tao!" Minjee called out, dressed in a rather simple yet attractive clothing of a rose pink colored dress and black leggings. With the sight of his beloved that beautiful, Tao's jaw fell and he blushed bright scarlet. "Let's go?" she giggled.

"... Erm-"

"What's wrong? Am I wearing too much of revealing clothes?" Minjee worriedly asked, not wanting to show too much skin and have to walk around in public like that, it'll embarrass her and Tao! "Shall I change my clothes?"

"N-no. You look fantastic." Tao smiled, still red-faced. "Let's go?" he smiled, offering his hand to the lady, which she gladly held. His hand was bigger than hers yet the softness was just melting. She loved that feeling with her fingers interlaced with Tao's. She loved holding his hands. Happily, they skipped off and headed to EXO's lair.

Upon arrival, Minjee was greeted by a tight bear hug that literally made her fall down, much to Tao's surprise. Of course, like always, this giant Sehun was the one to greet her, and accidentally, due to his towering height, he made the senior fall down and loose balance. "Sehun! Get off of her!" Luhan scolded, playfully hitting the younger's back.

"Sorry!" Sehun squeaked as he quickly shoved himself away from the senior. Glad that the girl was not flat by the giant, youngest brother, Suho hurried and offered the female a hand, which was happily taken about as Minjee stood up. "Are you alright, Minjee?" Suho asked.

"Yes, oppa." Minjee nodded.

"Sheesh, another wrong move, Sehun, and you could've squished Minjee flat!" Chanyeol teased.

"You are quite a heavy one, brother." Baekhyun added, trying to conceal the laughter. "Seriously, Minjee wouldn't want to be squished now, right?"

"Hyung!" Sehun whined, stomping and playfully hitting his two older brothers. "Stop-!"

"Alright, alright, stop the cries and whines." Xiumin laughed and patted his brothers' backs. "Minjee, did you have breakfast yet?" he caringly asked.

"Yes, oppa. I did. Have you?" 

"Mhm. We just asked since well..."

"We cooked quite a lot, thinking that you would have breakfast here." Lay smiled and held the female's hand. "So, what do we do for today? Stroll in the park? Amusement park again?"

"Nah, I can just stay here and be with you guys." Minjee smiled and sat on the couch, between Chen and D.O, who were seemingly smiling by her presence. "Sure? You might get bored here." Chen snickered.

"True. We do nothing but boy stuff." D.O sighed. "And to be honest, it's not that enjoyable."

"Really? I always do those boy stuff with Haewon-oppa." Minjee giggled. "So... I can say that I am slightly used to such stuff your kind does."

"... Alright. But if noona ever gets bored, Kris-hyung's always there. He's the only sane and mature person here." Kai joked, purposedly eyeing the two eldest brothers. Minjee, as per usual, giggled softly as she watched the twelve be themselves as usual. Watching from afar, Tao smiled as he saw how glad Minjee was. It was enough just to see his beloved smiling like that. "Hey, Tao." Luhan called out, tapping the younger's back. "Yes, gege?" "You're staring completely at Minjee, something wrong?" "W-what? No! What made you think of that... geez."

Laughing, Luhan nodded and went over to chat with Minjee along with his brothers. Tao followed quite soon and purposedly sat quite far from Minjee. Soon, Kris came out of his room and smiled upon seeing Minjee. "Good morning." the tall golden-brown headed male greeted. 

"Good morning, oppa! Just woke up?" Minjee asked with a bright smile. "Not really. I was reading this and that." Kris answered cooly.

"Oh, cool." Minjee smiled. "So... what do we do for to-"

"Ah, it crossed my mind. Did Tao perhaps walked you home last night?" Kris asked, blinking a few times. "Because, well, Sehun came here earlier than expected and that he didn't walk you home."

"... Er-"

"I walked her home yesterday, ge." Tao smiled brightly with his innocent eyes blinking. "Don't worry. It's my job, right?"

"Well, I was just kind of worried if she would walk home alone. It's a minefield out there! Who knows what might've happened there." Kris sighed.

"Well, I'm okay now, oppa. Nothing to worry." Minjee giggled.

"To be honest, you two act like a couple instead of a mistress-servant like!" Chen suddenly commented, making Tao and Minjee spin their heads and look at Chen, who was seemingly clueless of what he said.

"What made you think such, gege?" Tao nervously laughed. "I'm simply doing my tasks. Don't think other things!"

"Exactly, oppa! Gross." Minjee cooly answered, even rolling her eyes, as if it was really the truth she spoke. Well, she knows these twelve are quite intelligent and one missed factor, they can surely see through.

"Sure? Because, well, you're quite... closer." D.O commented.

"Very sure." the two answered in unison. "Come on, let's talk true here, we grew up pretty close so it's quite obvious that we are close." Minjee said.

"But you two were separated for seven years." Lay blinked.

"Exactly." Suho nodded.

"We're just close, that's it." Tao smiled, laughing nervously as per usual. "Trust us."

"Alright, alright." Kris nodded. "Why don't we have a family meal tonight? Minjee? Are you free?" he questioned.

"... I don't know. Oppa said he might come home early today." Minjee said, rubbing her nape. "I'm afraid I can't come along this evening."

"Then let's make it a bit earlier!" Kai clapped as he wrapped his arms around Minjee's arms. "Is that a bit better, noona? You come along this time, right?"

"I sure think so."

"Then it's settled!" Sehun grinned, chuckling. "Let's have lunch together! Or maybe a late lunch-snack or whatever. Can we, hyung? Can we?" he whine oh-so-cutely, tugging on Luhan's shirt. "Please~?"

"... Kris..?" Luahn laughed, eyeing the leader with his doe eyes. "What do you say?"

"... Sounds well. Everyone, dress up." Kris ordered. "We're going out."

"For real?" Tao blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"... It doesn't sound like my Kris-gege, the way you speak I mean." Tao laughed, earning a rather judging look from the golden-brown headed elder.  "I'm taking a shower now! Kris-gege! Come along!"

"What do you mean come along?" Kris cried, raising a brow at the yellow haired younger.

"You're coming along with me to the shower... right?"

"Who said I am?"

"Gege!"

"No. Go alone!"

"Sehun? Come along? Please."

"... Erm, no." Sehun squinted, shaking his head vigorously. 

"Seriously, Zitao, man up! Like someone would suddenly fall down the ceiling!" Chanyeol joked.

"Ge!"

"Take a shower on your own, Tao." Xiumin sighed, trying to hold back his intense laughter. "Go on. Or else we might leave later than expected."

"... Fine!" Tao pouted and stomped away, annoyed. Secretly, Minjee smiled as he saw how cute his "wolf-boyfriend" was. Sure, she had already seen how things go for Tao, but this side? It's just too cute to resist! In fact, mentally, she was jumping and squealing on top of her lungs. 

A few moments passed and sooner than they expected, everyone was finished dressing up and the group had began to stroll in the streets of Seoul happily. Everyone was busy looking around and talking with each other, and of course, to avoid seeing through things, Tao and Minjee casually walked together hand by hand. And as expected, no one seemed to notice their new relationship. With the typical talks and actions, it's quite normal. 

Though some brothers were teasing Tao non-stop, Minjee often whispered to her wolf to simply ignore them and if he could, simply counter back like normal. And obediently, Tao did so.

"So, where do we go first?" Suho asked, eyeing his brothers.

"Park!" Sehun, Kai and D.O cried in unison.

"Eat!" Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Chen cried.

"We can do both." Xiumin grinned. "We can have a picnic in the park!"

"Talk about a great idea, gege!" Lay clapped happily. "Can we, Kris-gege?"

"If everyone is okay with it, why not?" Kris chuckled as he ruffled Minjee's hair, eyeing the shorter female. "Of course it is, oppa! It's been quite a while since I had a little picnic." Minjee grinned, her eyes sparkling with joy.

"Alright. Let's buy some food first. The rest of you kids, go back home and get everything we need for the picnic." Kris ordered. "Half of us are buying food, half of us are going to go back home and get things. Who's going where?"

"Suho could accompany the ones going back home." Luhan suggested.

"I can go and get the things for the picnic." Minjee smiled. "Who's with me?" she giggled.

"Me!" Sehun, Kai, D.O, Luhan, Lay and Tao said, raising their hands up in the air, making the female giggle by the men's overflowing cuteness.

"Alright, so those who're left are me, Xiumin, Chen, Baekhyun and Chanyeol are those who're going to get the food." Kris nodded and averted his attention to Suho. "Joonmyeon, guard the kids well, alright?"

"Count on me, Kris-hyung." Suho nodded, smiling. "Alright, let's get going everyone!" he said as he eyed his brothers and Minjee. "Let's meet each other at the park, okay?"

"Alright." Kris nodded and walked the opposite directions with his four brothers following close behind. Suho, meanwhile, led the way back home with the remaining brothers following close, and of course, Minjee along. The two teams were happily doing their own tasks, eagerly and with fun of course.

Minjee had lots of fun. 

It brought back fragments of those happy memories of hers. Memories of her and her family. She recalled how her biological parents used to carry her to the park and have those unforgettable moments together. They would have those delicious treats in that particular straw basket and eat until they feel their stomachs would explode. She recalled how her father used to carry her little self on his shoulders, her dreaming and feeling that she could reach the heavens. She recalled how her mom sang songs to her as they strolled the park.

She recalled everything.

And those times too with her step mother and brother. She recalled how her "mom" would always cure her wounds when she tripped and scrape her knee. She would recall how her brother panics and coninuously ask if everything's ready and there before they pursue going to the picnic area. Admitting it, Haewon looked like a panicking idiot.

And this time? She was spending it with her third family, EXO. It's like any other picnic. Aside from being the only female, there were no other differences. The same family warmth, the same joy, the same laughing means, everything was perfect and unforgettable.

"Hurry!" Suho clapped. "Quit slacking. Kris-hyung might be there already and burning down in impatience already!"

"Geez, calm yourself, Joonmyeon!" Luhan yelled in the kitchen. "These sandwiches don't get done that easy!"

"It's only you, Luhan-hyung." D.O sighed. "You're much of a perfectionist in everything."

"Gotta agree with D.O-hyung." Kai chuckled.

"Me? Psh, nonsense! Right, Sehun?" 

"I am in their side, hyung." Sehun laughed.

"Hey! You're supposed to be in my side! My side!" Luhan whined as he held the younger yet taller brother's shoulders and began shaking him vigorously, making everyone burst into laughter.

"Sheesh, boys! Hurry up!" Minjee chuckled as she shook her head. "I'm getting hungry!" she pretended to whine, making everyone flash into action. Tao, meanwhile, eyed Minjee's cuteness and with that noticed, Minjee walked towards the pale-yellow haired one, who was quite busy putting everything in the basket. 

"So..." Minjee smiled and sat down beside her beloved. "Is this the first time your family would be having something memorable like this happen?"

"If you do expect not to count those typical teases and light fights we have, yes." Tao nodded, excitement shown in his cat-like eyes. "You?"

"Third time to be honest." Minjee laughed. 

"Oh, really? When was the first time?"

"First was with my biological family. Next is with my foster family and now, with you guys!" she grinned.

"Well, we must make this memorable then, shouldn't we?" Tao laughed and eyed Minjee, who simply replied with a silent nod partnered with a rather sunny smile. "Alright, your wish is our command." he laughed, patting Minjee's head as if she was a small kitten. 

"Tao! Minjee! Let's get going!" Suho called from the kitchen, sandwiches in front of him. "Zitao, put these in the basket."

"Alright, gege." Tao obediently nodded as he carefully got the sandwiches and placed them inside the basket. Soon, he received a small nudge from Luhan, who was rather grinning like an idiot. "I sense something fishy, Zitao." Luhan grinned.

"What?" Tao blinked, trying to be clueless.

"You and Minjee-"

"Please, not again, oppa." Minjee cried, rolling her eyes playfully. "Like I said, our closeness are in that level where it seems like we're a couple."

"... W-what she said." Tao nodded.

"Eh, are you sure?" Sehun teased, joining his older brother along.

"Yes!" the two replied in unison. "Come on, let's get to the picnic area already, can we?" Tao whined, pouting cutely, making his brothers nod and agree. 

Hours passed and not being disappointed, Minjee enjoyed the mini picnic they had. Everyone was greatly fun to be with, and the most fun part was when Chen started a small fight and when a bread hit Kris' face, everyone knew all hell would break loose. That moment when Chen ran for his dear life and Kris tried to catch him, ending up that Kris ran over Chanyeol and it looked like the twin towers fell yet again. It made little Minjee happy.

Unfortunately, they had too much fun after the picnic that they didn't recognize that it was rather late. Upon noticing so, the group then decides to head home and of course, before that, they must walk Minjee back home yet again. In fact, it was kind of like a daily routine whenever Minjee is around them.. and that happens every single day.

"So..." Chanyeol began. "Was I really that idiot like when I crashed on Kris-hyung?" he questioned, eyeing Baekhyun, who was walking down beside him.

"A lot." Baekhyun laughed. "Wait, since when did you not look like an idiot anyway?!"

"Hey!"

"Sheesh, can't you kids pipe down for a single second?" Kris sighed in annoyance as he scratched his head, which eventually silenced the two's arguement, and again, Minjee found that kind of amazing. Everything seemed to be going well, well, seemed to be. The group came across Minjee's "bully" classmates with a few males along, most probably, their boyfriends and the others, their friends. "Oh look who came by!" one of the girls laughed. "Ms. Geek!"

"... Good evening." Minjee softly greeted as she refused to look at them directly. "Who're you with, eh, Minjee? Twelve hunks and one nerd? Ironic and disgusting!" another cried, making Minjee feel more insecure than she is already. "Why does everyone hot looking tend to hand out with you in the first place?"

"To, maybe, make you look lower than you already are?"

"Hilarious!"

"That's not quite a nice thing to say about Minjee, girls." D.O said, stepping in front. "Exactly. Where are your manners?" Xiumin added.

"For seniors, you do act quite more immature than we are!" Kai cried. "Exactly!" Sehun added, nodding his head.

"Are you guys picking up on our girls?" one of the males in the other group cried in annoyance. "Who're you to speak up like that, eh? Think you're so high up now, hm?" another chuckled sarcastically.

"Excuse me, but your ladies began this nonsense. Picking up so immature like." Xiumin stated. "Indeed. If there is to be lectured, they're your lassies." Chanyeol nodded, his face all serious. 

"Why you-!" one cried as he tried to punch Chanyeol, but was eventually blocked by Baekhyun's arm, which stood out as a defense. Without another second passing, this guy found himself being thrown to the ground by Chen with ease. The other males began to attack EXO but of course, being "non-humans", they simply protected Minjee with ease, throwing them as if there isn't such thing as gravity existing! 

But when one lands a punch on Tao successfully, the whole EXO stops and hell was set loose. Kris took revenge and threw the one who punched his brother down on the ground easily. 

One thing Minjee noticed was home Tao got tired so easily and how his eyes glowed scarlet. No, not only his eyes were glowing, everyone's eyes were bright scarlet. She knew their beasts were to be out any second now and if she doesn't take a move, it's game over for the bad guys. They'll not only get confined in the hospital, but worse, die.

"Stop it." Minjee said oh so softly, hardly heard by anyone.

"Stop." she repeated, but again, it was uneffective.

"... Oppa, stop."

"Stop."

"...Stop..."

"I said stop!" she cried loudly, making the twelve wolves stop their attacks and have their eyes on Minjee, who was in the verge of tears. "Stop everything you are doing now and leave them alone!" she ordered, which the twelve managed to obey to. It was hard for them to resist as they know that Minjee had taken over most of their beasts. "... As for you, leave me alone." Minjee said as she eyed her classmates and their boys, who were already scampering away for their dear lives, bruised and scratched. Afterwards, she looked at Tao, bruised and being supported in standing up by the kind-hearted Lay. "I'm going home alone." Minjee said, trying to put up a smile. "Good night."

"But, Minjee, you mustn't walk alo-" Suho called out, but was eventually cut off by Minjee's words. "I'll be fine, oppa. Go rest already. Head home before you cause any more troubles. Good night." she smiled and walked off, vanishing within minutes into the horizon.

"Ouch! Careful, will you!" Tao hissed as he glared at Lay. 

"It's not our fault that you're wounded, Zitao." Lay sighed as he retreated the cotton ball away. "You had your guard down."

"Fragile." Luhan sighed as he clicked his tongue. "What's wrong? You're kind of out of yourself today, Tao. Anything wrong? Tell us."

"... I'm alright. Like what Lay-gege said, I simply had my guard down." Tao softly said as he tried to endure the pain as Lay tried to heal his wounds.  He simply stayed still and upon feeling Kris' hand on his head, Tao slowly raised his eyes and saw the older brother looking down at him.

"You okay?" Kris asked, worried.

"I will be."

"Admit something to me, Zitao."

"What do you mean?"

"You're liking someone."

"Nonsense."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not."

"... Huang Zitao-"

"I'm stating the truth! I'm not liking anyone!"

"Liar." 

Silence. All eyes fell on Tao, and that made Tao lie harder and harder. The guilt grew bigger, and that made things a lot difficult for Tao. "I'm saying the truth." Tao insisted.

"Quit forcing things that aren't true." Baekhyun laughed as he ruffled the younger's hair. "We all can see that you are liking a human, and that human..."

"Is no other than Minjee-noona." Kai finished. 

"Come on, it's obvious that you're with her already!" Xiumin giggled. "You two are a couple already, aren't you?"

"Us? No wa-"

"No lies, Zitao." Suho smiled. "Come on, tell us the truth."

"... Okay! Okay, we're together now. I like her and she likes me back. Please, don't try to be a hinder, okay? I promise I'll be okay! I won't grow weak! I promise." Tao said with an honest look and tone.

"We know you will say that, we know you'll promise that." Kris said, sighing. "But we cannot bear to see you more fragile than ever."

"I am not fragile! I just don't know how to keep my guard up long." 

"That's it. And you are with Minjee now. You do know that wolves falling in love with a human makes them weaker, right?"

"Yes. But... can we not try?"

"You can."

"Exactly! Wait, what-?"

"You can try and we are permitting you with such." Kris smiled. "Hey, we're one, remember? We're staying side by side no matter what."

"Kris-gege-"

"Don't worry. I'm not mad."

"You aren't?"

"I'm not."

And by that time, Tao felt quite relieved.

Well, almost did.

When Sehun's phone began to ring and as he answered the phone, everyone was silent. The loud speaker-ed call made everyone stop whatever they were doing, and most of all, it made Tao panic and worry in an instant.

"Everyone, you need to come here at my residence quick."

"...."

"Haewon-oppa... he..."

"He was sent to the hospital."