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"Sehun! Kai! We're gonna be late!" Minjee cried as she knocked on the youngest's room. "Geez, what is taking you boys too long?" she whined.

"Minjee, give them a break." Baekhyun chuckled from the kitchen, sipping his chocolate drink. "They'll come out eventually. Plus, you won't be late with them around."

"Yeah right..." Minjee laughed as she playfully rolled her eyes. "If they don't come out within five minutes, I seriously am-"

"We're done, noona!" Sehun cheered as he came darting out of the room with his tidy uniform on. "Let's go!" he invited and dragged the female along with her.

"Hey, don't pull Minjee-noona around like that, Sehun!" Kai cried as he ran along with his brother. "Hey! Are you even listening? Oh Sehun!"

Days passed too quick.

Before she knew it, it was her second week with the boys. Yes, two weeks with EXO. Two weeks of being exposed to their life style and everythig and to her surprise, some were more crazy than that she had thought and some were just, well, had their first impression speak up and continue along.

And she truly saw how these wolves were. 

The stories were a big, big mistake. The stories told to her during her childhood days were a fraud. Wolves weren't as bad as they looked like. They aren't beast-bad, but yes, they are beasts. Some of them, according to Xiumin's stories, were the bad wolves. Most of them are the bad wolves. 

Them?

Well, they are different. That's one factor why they are the "outcast" pack. They aren't the "beast" types, though yes, they have unimaginable beasts lurking in them. It's like a Jekyll-Hyde factor: another side lies within them and majority has no control over the other side.

Well, back to the EXO pack, Minjee saw who the wolves were in reality.

Sehun and Kai are the quirky ones... and the troublemakers who love annoying their brothers to hell! Plus, their idiocy just makes Minjee loose her head! Despite this, they are rather the ones Minjee finds fun being with. There isn't a time where they don't make her smile or giggle or laugh! They were the fun ones.

Next, there was D.O... or so they refer to as "mom". The cook, the most responsible one and has the most white part in his eyes. Despite the lack of height, he actually acts more mature than the others. He sees them, instead of brothers, as his kids. Whether older or younger, he's obviously more mature. What else, D.O is greatly caring and protective of his "only girl"!  The way he pats his head and lovingly calls her name and everything was really nice. Despite being someone the same age as her, he actually made her feel that there's a mother beside her.

Byun Baekhyun, Kim Chen and Park Chanyeol. The beagle trio indeed. In the family, they would be the middle kids. Chen is the popular troll who loves playing pranks on his brothers. Chanyeol is the music-lover and would be sitting in one corner listening to raps and other pop music or maybe composing his own! Baekhyun can be the fashion diva. He can be the one Minjee can relate to when she talks about fashion.

Next was Lay, the rather kindest and most caring brother among them. He can be clueless at some times... and even forgetful at some incidents. He loves to look out for his brothers, older or younger. Plus, he seems to be the "doctor" of the house, thanks to his healing medicines.

Suho is the co-leader and rather, the corniest brother. Whenever he tries to be funny, well, it ends up wrongly. Despite this, he can be one of the most responsible brothers too, next to D.O and Kris of course. 

Next one is Kris, the REAL leader, also known as the scary, responsible, most mature brother. He appears cold and cool, and rather quiet but in reality, Kris is actually soft-hearted and kind... and easy to bribe. Along with this, Kris has a soft side for her and his brothers and of course, to the irresistably cute Tao.

Following this is Luhan, the "deer" wolf. Minjee first sees him as feminine, thanks to his looks and those annoyingly sparkly eyes of his. But despite his feminine looks outside, he claims that he is the manly one...or is he even? The way he acts, the way he sits, the way he talks and eats and even picks his styles! They're all feminine, more feminine than her even! What else, he is abnormally close to Sehun too. 

Xiumin is rather one of the sane persons in the pack. He can be cute and manly in one blink of an eye. A real brother for Minjee indeed. He cares for her, makes her laugh, and like Lay, he always is there for her! Unlike his best friend, Chen, he actually is the serious one and is the ONLY one who can stand up with him... thanks to his uncontrollably annoying trollings. But one thing worries Minjee a lot and that is Xiumin having constant heart pains. Despite this, he actually refuses to show it and has him dealing with it alone.

And Tao? Oh, she knows Tao more than anything so there's no need to tell anything anymore.

"Sehun! Kai! Wait up will you?" Minjee cried as she ran along with the two. "Sheesh! Can you guys not slow down just a little bit?" she cried out loudly.

"Noona, this is already slow!" Sehun cried back.

"We're wolves, remember?" Kai literally laughed as he looked back at the panting female.

"Well, walk slower! You're going to give me a heart attack sooner or later!" Minjee whined as she ran to reach the boys. "Come on, let's go."

"Hey, have you heard the big news?" 

"Which news?"

"What else, that news about her!" 

"Oh, yeah. Poor her!"

"I heard she's living with twelve hot guys now!"

"Talk about being a flirt! I won't get surprised if she quits college in no time."

"Flirty nerd. Why are we in the same class with that anyway?"

Murmurs. Painful murmurs that greeted Minjee every morning. They shot her like arrows in no time every single day. Since the day she moved in with EXO and since the day Haewon died.

Two weeks and she can still never move on with the death of her beloved brother. Everything seemed so empty now. She dropped in rankings, had low attention span, and became MORE quiet and distant to others. She didn't care anymore. She had no inspiration despite having EXO beside her.

She wanted her brother back so badly. All she wanted was her brother to kep living, was that too much to ask? Why, of all people, must be him to die?

She hated fate's way. She hated destiny. She hated things.

"Hey, Kang." one of her female classmates called out, making her raise her head up and tilt it. "What is it?" she softly asked, blinking a few times.

"I heard you've moved with twelve hotties. So, do they take care of you at night well?" she slyly questioned, making Minjee glare at them as if she wanted to kill them.

"They aren't like that." she hissed. "EXO will never do that to me. We're just like a family and I'm just a sister to them. That's final."

"Psh, that's what all of them say! You big, big -"

"I am no !" she literally screamed. "Look, if living with twelve men who initiated on me to do so is being a , well, better review your education, idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot!" her classmate answered, hitting her.

"Well, why shouldn't I when you're one?!"

"You-!"

As fast as the wind blows, the two females ended up into a physical fight, making everyone scream in shock, terror and some were just screaming to initiate the fight more. Minjee, thankfully learning defense attacks, easily defending herself and throwing the other to the ground. 

Everyone continued cheering for her, well, not exactly.

Half were cheering for her and the rest were cheering for the other girl, who she had pinned down the ground easily. But with the opponent struggling strongly by kicking, slapping and pulling of hair, Minjee grew impatient and furious, thus, attacking in full force.

Her eyes saw how teachers and other faculty members darted in the class. The next thing she knew, she was pulled away from the bruised enemy by a female teacher and was pushed out of the classroom, heading to the office.

"Does anyone even have an idea where the office is?" Kris sighed as he rubbed his nape in annoyance. It has been quite some time and they still haven't located where the "darn" office is.

"We should've asked Sehun or Kai." Suho sighed heavily.

"They are having classes, remember?" Xiumin reminded, eyeing the younger. "We'll just have to keep searching patiently, and who knows, we'll find the of-"

"-It's here." Kris cuts off as he pointed a particular room to their left.

"Told you." Xiumin laughed softly and followed the taller brother. As they opened the door, they saw Minjee, sitting quietly while being sermoned by the faculty members. On the other hand, another girl sat beside, head hung low and an older woman seemingly standing up for her.

"Must be that girl's mother." Suho whispered as they entered the room. With due respect, the three bowed and upon that sight, Minjee hung her head low, her black hair covering half her face but most especially, the guilt and small fear sparking up her eyes.

"Ah, you must be Minjee's guardians." one of the female teachers smiled. "Funny, most often times, it's either Mr. Haewon Lim that comes here or maybe, her mother."

"They are quite busy." Kris answered in a calm matter before sitting on the seat next to Minjee. "So, ma'am, may we know what happened exactly?"

"Yes." she nodded. "You see, Ms. Kang Minjee started a fight with this stu-"

"I did not!" Minjee cried, standing up. "I did not commence that darn fight! She started it! She even called me a for unknown reasons!"

"Minjee." Kris called out as he looked at the younger. Upon meeting his eyes, she nodded and sat down. She saw how Kris was so angry, and it was very visible in his eyes. It made her guilt grow bigger and bigger.

And it was about to explode for she cannot contain it anymore.

Eek.

"Hey! You're back!" Baekhyun greeted as he saw his brothers and Minjee enter their home. Seeing Minjee have her head hung low made Baekhyun shut his mouth and blink a few times before sitting down again. "What's up with them?" he asked, whispering to Chanyeol, who sat beside him.

"Beats me." Chanyeol answered softly. "But I have a feeling it's something bad."

"I feel that thing too!"

Silence. Eversince Minjee and the other five men went back home, no one dared to speak a single word in fear. Once Kris gets quiet, everyone knows he's mad.

And in this case, they knew who the reason was.

"Hey, what'd you do?" Chen mouthed to the female, who was on her way to her room. No response was received but with the sound of a firm call, everyone froze.

"Minjee." Kris called out as he leaned on the doorway. Minjee refused to look and had her head hung low. She cannot face the leader of EXO for two reasons. First, of guilt and fear. Second, hello? Those wolf eyes are heck creepy! It's like your soul's being in by some supernatural vaccum! It haunted her. She hated it. She didn't like it, not even one bit...

"Minjee." the golden-browned headed brother called out again, raising his voice a bit. "Look at me. Now."

No response.

"Kang Minjee!"

"What?" she hissed and glared at the leader with full bravery. "If you're going to ask me the same questions those teachers asked me lately, you know my answers and my position of the case. I am innocent and not guilty. I did not stimulate the fight." she stated out in a clear voice, looking directly at Kris' obvious scarlet-colored eyes.

"Then why did you fight back?" he asked.

"Do you expect me to just stand there and hear those darn girls call me a ing ? That I flirt with the ones who adopted me after my brother's death? To disrespect you?" she glared. "Heck. No. I'm. Not."

"You should've known better! What if one of them was-"

"A wolf? Then let her kill me! At least I would die in fighting, not in such way where I just stand there and do nothing while my life fades away!"

"How about for us? Do you not care about our perspective and the burdens we'll carry once you cease like Haewon? It's too painful already! The loss of Lim Haewon was too much to take in already. Do you have any ideas how difficult it would be if you cease existence?"

"... I-"

"Thought so!" Kris hissed. 

"... You don't even know how to loose a brother, Yifan."

"What did you call me?"

"Yifan." 

"That's the last straw, Kang Minjee!" he growled as his eyes burned a bright scarlet tint and in one second, he was infront of her, his right arm raised and curled up into a ball of fist, ready to attack the younger female. To his surprise, Minjee didn't even show any signs of fear but stood there courageously, glaring back at him, scowling.

And in the next second, a figure stood in between Kris and Minjee. His yellow hair matched his radiating scarlet-tinted eyes for the moment as they glared back at Kris'. Tao stood there, blocking the older's attack from laying down on the fair female. "Kris-gege, you've gone too far this time." Tao hissed.

"Zitao, move."

"No."

"... Move."

"Unless I am here in the same area where Minjee is, no one is allowed to hurt even a strand of her hair. I am tasked with the role of protecting her since I was little, and I promised to live that up 'till time ends. Whoever that is that has any intention of hurting my mistress and my mate will suffer. That includes anyone, even you." Tao warned. "Back off or I wouldn't hesitate in hurting you... duizhang."

"... Alright." he nodded and glared back at the younger then took a deep breath before heading to his own room. With the leader out of sight, Minjee fell on her knees, her legs turned into complete jelly.

"Woah, no one really talked back to Kris here in the pack, Minjee!" Luhan cried in great amazement. "That was pretty brave of yours!"

"And quite unreasonable too." Lay nodded. 

"Why shout at him though?" D.O asked, blinking a few times as he crossed his arms on his chest. "It was quite a disrespect, Minjee."

"... I have no idea why I did so." she sighed heavily before she stood up with the help of Tao. "I-I'll rest for a while now. See you later."

"Noona!" Sehun called out.

"Yes, Sehun?"

"... Are you mad?" he worriedly asked.

"... No, Sehun. I'm not mad." she smiled and turned the doorknob. "Noona's just stressed. Stressed a lot."

"Why? What happened?" Kai asked next.

"Long story. I'll tell you later, okay? After I take my rest."

"Alright."

A few hours passed and Minjee never came out of her room. Neither did Kris. "Hey, Kris." Xiumin called out in a soft voice. "Can I come in?" 

"I'm busy." Kris answered.

"I don't think so." the eldest laughed as he peeked in the dimly lit room. "I do believe laying down on a bed is not that of being busy, Kris."

"Geez, what in the world do you want, Minseok?"

"Apologize to Minjee. You did have a mistake in your own part as you shouted at her."

"I was trying to discipline her."

"Oh, shut it. You yourself said that shouting never solves anything, Wu Yifan." Xiumin laughed softly. "Go on, you better apologize to her now."

"... But-"

"Kris."

"Fine! Geez. You're beginning to sound like Kyungsoo now." Kris grumbled as he wobbled out of his room.  "I heard that!" D.O cried from his room, surprising both older brothers and making them smile a bit. Kris wobbled towards Minjee's room and knocked softly. 

"Minjee?" he called out in a rather soft tone. "Minjee?"

No response.

"L-look. I'm sorry if I shouted at you. I was just... I care for you truly. You're like a real sister to me, you know? Like how Haewon sees you, that's how I see you as well. You're someone dear to me and I..." slowly, Kris began to choke on his words. He suddenly realized what he was saying. , what in earth are you blabbering about, Yifan. Darn it, get a hold of yourself. "Alright, since I began it, I'm finishing it nice and slowly. I promised your brother to take care of you and I thought that... maybe, if I took care of you the way your brother did, I could slowly fill that wound and space in your heart that Haewon left."

No response.

"Still angry, I see." Kris sighed. "I understand." he nodded and turned the doorknob which was, to his surprise, unlocked. Thus, he opened the door just to find that the room was empty. "Where is she?" he questioned as he faced his brothers.

"Who?" Suho asked.

"Duh, Minjee!"

"... She isn't in her room?" Luhan gasped.

"Oh dear." Lay blinked. "She must've..."

"... Escaped?" Baekhyun and Chanyeol cried in unison.

"Obviously, she did." Chen nodded in dismay.  

"... That-!" Kris hissed as he hurried outside, but was soon stopped when he noticed that there were only eleven brothers in the room. "Someone's missing." the leader stated out. "Head count, everybody! In the living room now!" 

Everyone obeyed in a second. Everyone gathered and Kris counted all of them. "Xiumin?"

"Here." Xiumin softly answered as he raised his left hand.

"Luhan?"

"Here." the doe-eyed brother cried.

"Suho?"

"Here." the co-leader answered.

"Lay?"

"Here." the dimpled-wolf smiled.

"Baekhyun?" 

"Here!"

"Chen?"

"Here, hyung."

"Chanyeol?"

"Here."

"D.O?"

"Here."

"Tao?"

No response.

"Kai?"

"Here!"

"Sehun?"

"Here!"

"... Well, now I guess, we know who's missing." Suho sighed and leaned on the couch. "Shall we look for him and Minjee now?"

"Let them be." Kris commanded. "They'll come home eventually."

A soft breeze made Minjee's black hair fly a bit. The gentle feeling of the light wind on her face made her jolt up and blink a few times. She stood in front of a gravestone, sighing heavily before falling down on her knees, eyes filled with tears about to spill. On the gravestone was Haewon's name, date of birth and death. 

It's been quite some time yet in only felt like a few seconds passed for Minjee. She still can't bring herself to believe her brother was gone.

Gone just like that. Most of all, just a few days to make it up on her wasn't fair. She didn't want her brother gone yet. Not yet. But hey, time cannot be reversed and sooner or later, she has to bring herself to move on already. She can't forever dwell in the past, right?

"Oppa, I miss you." she whispered as warm tears rolled down her cheeks. "I miss you badly. Can't you come back and live a few days more? Please?"

Silence.

"Of course not. Who am I kidding." she laughed in a rather sarcastic tone before she curled up into a ball and began to weep. All of the sudden, a pair of hands came about her shoulders, garnering her attention. "Boo." Tao smiled as he sat beside Minjee. "I see that you've snuck out."

"Obviously, I did." she nodded. "Thanks for protecting me lately, Tao."

"Hey, it's my role."

"... Yeah." she nodded. 

"Missing Haewon-hyung, hm?"

"You don't even know!"

"I'm sorry. Minjee, to be honest, you've got to move on sooner or later. Haewon wants you to move on too if he were to be alive. He wouldn't want you to dwell on things in the past."

"It ain't that easy." she sighed.

"Of course it isn't, but hey, Kris-gege did."

"Kris-oppa wouldn't understand!" she growled.

"Of course he would, you just don't know." Tao stated out in a hardly audible tone, making Minjee blink a few times. "What do you mean, Zitao?" she questioned, eyeing the yellow-headed male beside her.

"You see, neither Kris-gege nor Haewon-hyung told you about their bond. The two were like us, a master-servant pair. Kris-gege was Haewon-hyung's wolf beyond your knowledge." Tao stated out.

"What?"

"Yeah. Right after I vanished, he guarded you two. He and Haewon-hyung were great friends and unlike you, Haewon-hyung knew about Kris-gege's ability to shift forms of a wolf and of that of a human. They were the best of friends and having his dear master die just like that after years of not seeing each other is rather-"

"-Painful." Minjee completed. "I shouldn't have judged things. I was wrong, wasn't I?" she laughed.

"Eh, maybe."

"Sheesh, me and my darn stupid rebellion. Let's go, I'll apologize now." she smiled and stood up, offering a hand to Tao, who the male held onto before he stood up. Together, the two headed back home, faint smiles left on their faces.

"Minjee." Tao called out.

"Yeah?"

"... Just so you know, smiles suit you more. Frowns make you look a lot uglier." he laughed.

"Sheesh, that's what you all say!"

"Seriously, you're getting older if you keep that face of yours."

"Shut it, Huang Zitao."