[title song: go - grimes ft blood diamonds]

chapter 14;

“,” Sehun mutters, a little franticly. “, , , , .” Hyemi turns to him, eyes full of panic and Sehun just barely manages to blow a gust of wind out from in front of him, subsequently dragging Hyemi across the clearing. She stumbles, scraping her knee on the rough, dead grass, but she barely notices, not when all she can hear is the snarls of the monster ripping and echoing through the clearing. “.”

“We need to get to Jongin.” Hyemi exclaims, watching as the monster’s head swings from side to side before it suddenly snaps onto Sehun and her. It doesn’t move, though. It just stays where it is, its bloodshot eyes fixed on her, unblinking. It stays crouched like that for exactly three seconds before it shoots forward, hands plowing through the dirt as its tongue lolls out of its bony, mangled face.

Sehun literally drags her along with him, fingers digging into her skin, tone incredulous. “You don’t think I’m trying?” Sehun shoots them straight into the air, arms wrapping around her waist, and for a moment she feels weightless as they float above the ground for an unnatural amount of time, the monster plowing through the dirt just below her feet. She shivers at the proximity and unconsciously brings her feet up. She feels like Sehun’s personal rag doll, but she figures this is best for him since he is doing all the work. It’s not like she can do anything.

“It’s smart.” Sehun points out, grimly, expression serious as she stumbles into his chest, where they’re standing at the very edge of the clearing.

It is, she realizes, eyes widening, it’s incredibly smart. It’s not only going after Sehun and her, but it’s also clambering into Jongin’s path. Every time Jongin tries to teleport to them, the monster barrels at him, gnashing its teeth, efficiently breaking Jongin’s concentration. It’s able to crawl across the clearing at an alarming speed and Hyemi’s heart pumps at the sight. It’s terrifyingly smart, Hyemi realizes.

“.” Jongin shouts from across the clearing, where he’s sprawled on his back, arms over his head. He reappears a couple meters from where Sehun and Hyemi are standing, right when Sehun gives her arm a sharp tug and she finds herself plummeting face first into plowed up dirt, a few meters to the right. “It’s moving too fast.” Jongin’s voice carries through the clearing.

Hyemi takes a moment to glare up at Sehun, wiping her face of dirt, and Sehun pulls her up by the elbow, expression sheepish. “Sorry.” He mutters, right before he pulls her along behind him, her knees buckling from the sudden blast of air. She loses air from her lungs and she gasps, coughing.

“Slow—it—down—Sehun.” Jongin grunts and you flinch when he falls sideways into the ground, after teleporting into the center of the clearing and losing his balance. “Drop the pressure. Anything. Just slow it down.”

“Can you do that?” Hyemi asks, glancing at Sehun. Sehun bites his bottom lip, eyes unsure even as he slowly nods. He then pats Hyemi’s head and mutters a soft “Stay” like she’s a pet or something. Hyemi grimaces as he steps forward and leaves her on her own.

Sehun delicately flicks his wrists, like he’s a conductor, and Hyemi feels her chest tighten. The air thins out and she has trouble breathing. The monster’s head swivels from side to side and it comes to a sudden halt, fingers and toes digging into the dirt. Suddenly, its head snaps up and locks onto Sehun, expression gaunt.

It doesn’t move. It remains poised, eyes locked onto Sehun.

The wind picks up all around them, until she’s surrounded by a whirlwind of gust. Jongin’s crouched against the ground, fingers clamped onto the grass around him as if he’s bracing himself. The pressure all around her begins to converge onto the monster, specifically, and Hyemi can feel herself sliding forward, the wind dragging her.

She follows Jongin’s actions and clutches the ground, straining against Sehun’s wind gusts. Her hair whips all around her, the ends smacking against her face and into . Sehun remains still, arms outstretched and chin up, even as air pressure begins to build and thin out, alternating between the two. Hyemi finds that she has to concentrate in order to breathe properly and her head feels light.

A distant high pitched keening fills the clearing, piercing through her thoughts, and suddenly pain blooms in her temple and she ducks her head further towards the ground. The bracelet Baekhyun had given her begins to glow a bright, bright gold, and she hisses, a pounding sound resounding in her head.

Boom, boom, boom.

Then she hears it.

That voice.

That soft, ethereal voice rings in her ears. It’s as if there’s a million voices merged into one, voices of men, women, and children all with different accents and different pitches. It’s unsettling and a chill runs to the very tip of her toes. She feels warm all over.

She’s doused in pitch black, her limbs frozen.

“Why do you evade us, child? How can you be so cruel?” The voice sounds angry and dissatisfied, like a mother chiding her child, and for a moment she feels disappointed with herself. For a moment, she really believes she’s being cruel, that she should find this voice and give herself to them.

Slowly, the pitch black in front of her morphs into a beautiful pair of slanted eyes, as large as moons. Crimson red stares back at her, dark black slits placed at the very center. Hyemi’s enchanted by the sight but she’s also petrified.

“Either way, we’ll find you.” The voice—she can’t quite figure out whether it’s deep or high pitched or anything, it’s a myriad of voices—speaks in a silky smooth tone. “You can’t hide forever, girl.”

Something bubbles up at the pit of her stomach and warmth begins to spread from her core outwards. Her head pounds and she sees a flash of a horrific smile, lips curling up over sharp teeth, and blood, pooling out from beneath a familiar symbol. Her heart tightens in grief at the sight but she doesn’t understand why.

“We’ll rip that pretty little throat of yours right out.” Hyemi shudders when she’s bombarded with the image of claws slashing at . She can feel it slice at her skin, ripping into her flesh, and she screams, choking on her own warm blood. “We’ll take you like we took your mother. We’ll use your energy.” Hyemi can’t breathe as pain bursts from , her vision blurring. “And we’ll ruin you.”

The voice echoes and booms in her head, finality ringing in her ears.

Her knees buckle and she gasps for air that just won’t come. A hand, a soft, slender, familiar hand, caresses her cheek, even as something warm and wet drips into her hands, down her chest, her vision spotting. She turns her cheek into the familiar touch, heart rate picking up, when the touch becomes harsh and grips at her jaw, relentlessly. She whimpers, her whole body on fire, crimson filling her vision.

The voice is as soft as a feather, like a whisper in the wind.

“Don’t cry, lovely. We’ll turn you into something beautiful.”

~.~.~.~.~

“Hyemi…Hyemi.” A sharp voice reaches her ears. Her body still feels like it’s on fire and she immediately draws her hands to , breathing ragged. She looks down, a sigh of relief leaving her lips.

There’s no blood on her hands, so why does Sehun look so agitated? Why is he so far away? Where did that monster go?

Then she feels a pressure at her side, as if someone’s pushing her while she’s pressed up against a screen door. She whips her head to the side and her eyes widen. The monster is at her side, but there’s something off. It’s as if it’s pushing into a bubble all around her, which only she can feel. With each push against the bubble around her, its black beady eyes locked onto her form, her body heats up, energy slowly draining from her body. What makes her gasp out loud is the fact that it’s disintegrating before her. With each push, its fleshless limbs crumble into yellow dust, the smell of burning flesh overwhelming her. As she panics, the ground under her cracks and crumbles. She stumbles, the grass around her turning into dust that sifts in the light breeze.

“Wh—what’s going on?” She fumbles with her words, as the monster snarls and keens, painfully, but doesn’t relent on pushing forwards. It’s a horrifying sound, the sound of its painful screams, and Hyemi wants it to stop. It booms all around her and echoes in her head, making her realize that she’s the reason this creature sounds like its dying. Even if it’s trying to kill her, she feels strangely accountable for it. Maybe because the screams sound so human-like, the screams grating at her nerves.

“Calm down.” Jongin’s Mentor Voice cuts through the horrifying screeches and growls. “You need to calm down and control it.”

She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate, but the monster drills even further, its cries of obvious pain filling her head.

She can’t do it.

“I can’t do it.” She shouts over the noise, panic building in her chest, weighing her down as she presses her palms against her ears.

With each tremble, her bubble of destruction grows wider. The monster is half engulfed and half disintegrated, its haunting black and red eyes still fixed on her as it just screams. The ground around her shakes and crumbles, cracks spreading out as she sinks into the ground, lurching forward as a particular rock knocks at the back of knees.

The more emotional she gets the worse her environment gets. Sehun flinches and immediately scrambles further back; gashes deep enough to reveal muscle forms across his arms so suddenly that Hyemi is terrified with herself. She can’t control what’s happening and she wonders if the voice she had seen is somehow instigating this. She feels helpless as she watches herself destroy with no means to stop it. She’s lost control of her own body and it’s horrifying.

Stop, she repeats over and over and over again in her head, clenching and unclenching her fists where they rest against the sides of her head. The bracelet around her wrist glows and she stares at it. Stop, stop, stop, stop.

And then it does.

Everything just stops.

The screeching halts and she realizes it’s because the monster is gone, a pile of dust in its place. The clearing is filled with silence, ringing silence.

Her whole body is warm and she feels a sharp sort of exhaustion fill her to the bones. She’s shaking, horrified with herself.

A light hand falls against her shoulder and slides down her arm until it finds her fingers. Her hand lies limp as he wraps his fingers hesitantly around her hands. He gives her fingers a reassuring squeeze and when she looks up Sehun smiles down at her, nervously, eyes flickering to Jongin’s still form.

Jongin, on the other hand, looks tense, his eyes guarded.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” Jongin murmurs, stiffly.

~.~.~.~.~

Hyemi can hear them whispering about her (because someone had forgotten to close her bedroom door all the way) and when Hyemi hears a loud, indecipherable shout and the slamming of a door; she stiffens and scowls at the ceiling.

She wonders if they’re scared of her now. She’s sure as hell scared of herself, now. She’s able to disintegrate a person and she’s positive that’s not even what she’s fully capable of. She’s worse than her mother and she wonders if they know that, if that’s why Jongin had seemed so angry. What scares her the most is that she couldn’t stop it, she couldn’t stop herself. She lost control of her own body and she’s always thought that’d be the one thing she’d always have authority over.

“We’ll use your energy.” The voice in her vision had said to her.

Is that how they’ll use her?

How will they turn her into something beautiful when she’s capable of so much ugly destruction? But something at the back of her mind tells her that’s exactly what the voice finds beautiful. It finds death and destruction beautiful.

“You’re thinking too much.” A voice states, words bouncing off the walls.

Hyemi jumps, bracing the extra pillow by her head in her fists.

Baekhyun chuckles, “How do you plan on hurting someone with a pillow?”

“Shut up.” She mumbles, softly, glancing away from him as she drops the pillow back on the bed.

The bed dips by her hips and she catches a glimpse of Baekhyun at the edge of her vision. His eyes are soft and there’s a sad smile on his face, his hair rumpled artfully. She can almost pretend they’re back in high school again and he’s just barged into her room asking for advice on how to text the cute lab partner from chemistry. She can almost pretend everything’s normal.

“Don’t mind Jongin. He’s just had…a bad experience.” Baekhyun says, slowly, as if he’s weighing his words carefully.

“With my mother.” Hyemi says, a little sullenly.

Baekhyun sighs and nods, in confirmation, and Hyemi takes a deep breath. Baekhyun, then, chokes out the softest of snickers and Hyemi makes a face at him. “I’m sorry. You’re just so…” He trails off and scrunches up his nose, the tips of his ears turning pink as he gestures at Hyemi. It’s such a flustered action that it surprises Hyemi. She doesn’t remember the last time she’s seen him act flustered.

It’s silent for a long time before Baekhyun finally speaks, casually. “Cute.”

Hyemi snaps her eyes in his direction. “What?” She asks, confused.

Baekhyun is staring at her now, as she lies there with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “You’re cute.” He pouts a little as he looks away. “I can’t stand it when you’re sad.”

“Oh.” Hyemi breathes, blushing.

Baekhyun eyes her weirdly. “That’s all you have to say. No you’re cute, too? Not even a simple thanks?”

Hyemi can’t help the quiet giggle that bubbles from her lips and Baekhyun smiles in a satisfied way as he shifts on the bed and crossed both of his feet under him. “You’re gross.” Hyemi tells him, smiling despite herself.

Baekhyun reaches out and lets one of his thumbs graze along the corner of her lips and her face freezes. She stills, heart thumping in her chest. His eyes are unreadable as he smiles gently. “But I like it when you smile.”

His hand caresses her cheek, the rough pad of his thumb brushing along the corner of her soft lips, down to the tip of her chin, and back again. His soft, slender touch feels all too familiar but she doesn’t understand why she feels a sudden rush of anxiety at the pit of her stomach.

She flinches away, almost unconsciously; face sinking back into the pillow on her bed and Baekhyun’s hand hovers before he pulls it back. “Are you scared?” He asks, soothingly as his hand flutters to her waist, resting there. It seems unconscious on his part, but it makes her heart rate pick up. “We’re here. You’re safe. There’s nothing to be scared about, Hyemi.”

That’s when she sits up, startling Baekhyun seeing as he jumps a little and blinks rapidly. She turns to him, fists balled. “I said this once before and I’ll say it again, I am not ing safe.” The volume of her voice even startles her. She’s shouting at him, frustration coloring her tone. She moves her hands franticly, as she searches for words. “I couldn’t control myself out there. I’ve always…I don’t even have control over my own body, Baekhyun. I don’t know what to do. I’m dangerous. I’m ugly, horrible destruction. I destroyed everything around me. I…Sehun…I…hurt him. You—you can’t protect me from myself. You know that and I know that. So stop lying to me. Stop trying to give me a false sense of security. Just stop. Please...” Hyemi is breathing hard, as she stares at Baekhyun’s expression. Her voice cracks halfway through her next words, from exhaustion or something else entirely, she isn’t too sure. She closes her eyes, finger clenched, “God, please. Why can’t this be over?”

There’s a shift in the mattress and the soft creaking of the bed.

“Baby,” Baekhyun coos, so tenderly that Hyemi’s anger deflates almost instantly. He reaches up and cups her face, thumbs drawing circles into her skin and she’s suddenly aware of how close she had been to him. She slumps a little and he holds onto her face like she’s something precious, something beautiful.

“Don’t cry, lovely. We’ll turn you into something beautiful.”

She whimpers as she remembers that voice and it’s soft, delicate words, spoken with such waiflike authority. She trembles and Baekhyun’s grip tightens just a tiny bit more.

“Baby,” Baekhyun says, again, even softer this time, his eyes focused on her face. His pupils dilate and he leans so, so close, his breath fanning against her face. She closes her eyes and just breathes, slowly, deeply, heartbeat inexplicably steadying. His scent, the smell of mint and pine cones and something else she can’t quite pinpoint, floods her senses and it both overwhelms her and calms her down. His fingers sweep along the corners of her lips, along her jaw, to the pressure points of her temples, and through her hair and she doesn’t feel so anxious anymore. She doesn’t feel like destruction. She lets out a shaky breath when there’s a soft, feathery pressure against the tip of her nose.

“Look at me.” Baekhyun whispers and it’s like he’s pleading with her, his voice laced with thick emotion. She can feel his lips ghosting along her skin, centimeters away. “Open your eyes.”

So she does, she opens her eyes and he’s so, so close, his nose brushing against hers and his warm eyes, filled to the brim with words she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to read. “Baekhyun…” She murmurs, barely chokes out really.

“You’re not dangerous. You’re not horrible. You’re sure as hell not ugly.” Baekhyun murmurs, holding her eyes, his voice dropping a whole octave. It’s soothing and melodic and she finds herself nodding, her gaze unconsciously flickering to his lips.

“You’re beautiful.” His right hand drops under her hair and threads around the nape of her neck, strands of hair pulling and tangling in his fingers. His left hand cups her cheek so gently, so affectionately, that she feels a sense of home in him. She’s hanging on to his every word, eyes trained on his lips. “You’re in control. You’re safe.” Baekhyun whispers.

She realizes with a start, thoughts penetrating her hazy mind, that he’s giving her the chance to make the first move. He’s giving her control and her eyes dart up to those soft pairs of eyes she’s known for so long. His pupils are blown out and his eyes keep darting downwards. Something at the back of her mind says she shouldn’t do this, but she feels warm and secure in his embrace and her desire to taste those soft pink lips ploughs through every other rational train of thought.

She leans forward and presses her lips to his, hesitantly almost, and he responds immediately, soft lips moving against hers so fluidly. He tastes like mint and something sweet and her heart races in her chest, knocking against her ribs. He grips the back of her neck, pressing her closer and the butterflies in her stomach run rampant, morphing quickly into ing eagles or something. She threads her fingers through his hair and when she tugs at the strands, he pulls at her own hair, quickly bringing her into his lap, the hand against her cheek falling to her waist, steadying her.

Almost too quickly, she pulls away, breathless and gasping for air. They stare at each other, a million words passing between them without a single one actually being uttered. His hair is a mess and his pink lips are swollen, his eyes filled with want and fondness that leaves her flushed. Slowly, she untangles her fingers from his soft hair and lets them fall to his chest. He visibly shudders as her hands trail along the barely visible skin of his neck before coming to a halt.

“You’re safe.” Baekhyun murmurs, his voice taking on a husky quality that makes her blush.

“Don’t lie. Please, don’t lie to me.” She says, her voice just as husky. He glances down at her swollen lips before locking eyes with her.

“I won’t.” His fingers are still threaded in her hair, but the other hand flutters up to brush away a few stray strands, fingertips grazing along her cheeks as he pats them down.

“Promise me.” Hyemi clutches his chest and stares at him, cheeks flushed.

He stares down at her and she feels overwhelmed by the look he gives her, his eyes hooded and so full of want. He leans closer and she wants to demand an answer, but she’s too distracted.

Suddenly, the door slams open and both Jongdae and Yixing arrive, eyes fixed on the way Hyemi is straddling Baekhyun. “Woah, sorry to interrupt.” Jongdae says, sounding not sorry at all.

Hyemi slides off of Baekhyun as quickly as she can, turning a deep, bright red, as Baekhyun just rolls his eyes, not even moving from his spot. His hand is still resting on Hyemi’s waist, as if it’s stuck there. She flushes but she finds she really doesn’t mind.

Yixing looks worried, his eyes too knowing as he looks at Hyemi almost piteously.

“Kris is here.”

Jongdae grimaces and looks very serious for once. Yixing looks at Baekhyun before focusing on Hyemi as he speaks. “He wants to see both of you.”

“He brought ing Kyungsoo.” Jongdae hisses and Baekhyun immediately grimaces before slipping off the bed.

Jongdae and Yixing lead the way and when Baekhyun holds out his hand, she takes it, forgetting her mother’s words.

~.~.~.~.~

“Dude, what the ?” Baekhyun says the moment they step out of the house and into the yard, where the others are standing, frowning deeply. Kris stands there in a crisp white robe, hair tied up into a high ponytail and eyebrows sharp. Chanyeol is at his side, hair a little longer than Hyemi remembers and iron knuckles adorning his fist. Flanking the other side is Zitao, expression stoic as he holds a silver staff in his hands. Then she sees Kyungsoo, his eyes wide and his expression grim and a little bit annoyed as he watches the proceedings before him.

Kris eyes Baekhyun with distaste, which only grows as his regal gaze flickers over Hyemi’s ruffled form. “At least have the decency to look presentable when you face your Prince.” Kris says, eyeing Baekhyun and Hyemi with an amused look.

“What do you want?” Baekhyun snaps. Only then does Hyemi realize her hand is still threaded through Baekhyun’s fingers. She attempts to pull away, embarrassed, but Baekhyun doesn’t let her go. She locks eyes with Kris who seems amused, although there’s a calculating glint in his eyes.

“I want her, as you all know.” Kris grins then, all teeth and gums. He snaps his gaze onto Baekhyun. “But I want you, too.”

“You can’t do that.” Suho steps forwards and crosses his arms.

Hyemi can feel the surprise in Baekhyun from the way his fingers tense around hers. She glances up at him and his eyebrows are furrowed.

“I certainly can do that, Joonmyun.” Kris says in an authoritative voice. Suho throws him the deadliest glare Hyemi has ever seen but Kris doesn’t even flinch.

“Why?”

Kris looks at Baekhyun for a moment and it’s like everyone is holding their breath. Kris just tilts his head to the side and shakes his head, a small smile falling from his lips. “Reasons.” He says.

The tension thickens as Baekhyun goes rigid and each and every boy in the clearing looks about ready to rip someone’s throat out. Hyemi thinks it’s a bit of an overreaction but she doesn’t say anything; there’s obviously something more going on. After a long, long silence, Chanyeol suddenly punches Kris’s left arm and Kris immediately cringes, throwing a sour scowl at Chanyeol.

“Don’t be an .” Chanyeol says with a wrinkle of his nose and a glare.

“Don’t punch me, Park.” Kris hisses. Chanyeol looks completely unfazed for someone who does everything the Prince tells him to and Kris snarls, rubbing his arm a little sullenly. It’s ridiculous and you watch the scene unfold in shock.

That’s when Kyungsoo steps forward right past Kris. “Okay. Look.” Kyungsoo says, bluntly, throwing Kris a withering look. “The planet is dying along with its King. There have been attacks all along the countryside, as well as in a couple major cities.” He looks at Hyemi pointedly then, “Like Labyrinth City, for example. The people know you’re here. They’re looking for you. Xiumin been encountered a lot of people. He says they’ll tear through anything if that means they find you.”

Hyemi’s mind is reeling, her stomach churning uncomfortably at the imagery of an angry mob looking for her. After a moment, Hyemi finally finds her voice and speaks up, eyes fixed on Kyungsoo’s wide ones. “So why do you want me to go to the palace and put myself in the public eye? Wouldn’t it be better if I was hidden away?”

Kyungsoo gives her a look, eyebrows raised, and Hyemi knows what it means. Kris speaks up, then, his stature tall and regal. He looks incredibly serious and it’s hard to ignore him. “You know exactly why.” Kris voices exactly what Kyungsoo’s look says.

“No.” Hyemi says, shaking her head. Her fingers grip Baekhyun’s tightly and she can see him glancing at her from the side, eyes studying her carefully. “No. I’m not your weapon.”

She hates how her voice trembles a tiny bit, lilting up in pitch.

Kris’s eyes flash with guilt for the quickest of moments before it’s replaced with his usual cold, calculating look. “And what will happen if I leave you here? You blew up half of Labyrinth City. If you’re not our weapon, then you’re theirs. And trust me when I say they’ll be a hell of a lot less forgiving then I am.”

“Who are they?” Hyemi latches onto that word, her eyes fixed on Kris.

“Everyone else.” Kris snaps, tone vague. It’s so quiet, then, dried leaves rustling in the wind.

“Why do you want me?” Baekhyun breaks the silence, suspicion dripping from his tone.

“I didn’t think you’d want to leave her with us for an unspecified amount of time.” Kris says with a shrug. “You’ve always been possessive of your newest…fixations.”

Hyemi internally winces at his choice of words, wondering what the hell that means, while Baekhyun just slips into an irritated scowl. Suddenly, Luhan speaks, voice thoughtful and strangely not accusing. “Liar.”

Kris just smiles serenely and Baekhyun’s eye literally twitches, frown growing deeper.

“You have an hour before we head out.” Kris’s eyes lock with yours and he stares you down from afar. His look says there’s no escaping him.

~.~.~.~.~

“He wants your power in his grasp as well.” Luhan says to Baekhyun from where he’s leaning against the doorframe. Hyemi watches as Baekhyun gathers a few things and shoves it into a small rucksack, with too much force.

“That's ridiculous.” Baekhyun snaps. “What good can I do him?”

“Illusions can be powerful. We’ve all seen it before.” Luhan states, eyeing Baekhyun. Hyemi watches as Baekhyun’s back stiffens and she wishes she could see his face. “Especially when everything backfires and Kris needs a cover.”

“I’d sooner let him die.”

Hyemi shivers at his cold tone and Baekhyun must sense her discomfort, because he looks up at her, his shirt hanging from his chest as he eyes her through his lashes, still bent over. There’s something dark in his eyes that she doesn’t like.

Luhan shakes his head, a distant sadness in his eyes and Hyemi feels completely out of the loop.

~.~.~.~.~

Jongin appears in front of Hyemi the moment she and Baekhyun are in the hall, a wisp of black smoke making her cough. “Jongin…” Baekhyun mutters, tone full of warning. His hand tightens around Hyemi’s elbow and she grimaces at the forceful grip.

Jongin stares at Hyemi, a careful, guarded look in his eyes. With a deep breath, Jongin finally speaks, eyes unblinking. “Your mother…she’s the reason my family tried to kill me.”

Hyemi’s mouth drops open and she studies Jongin’s face in bewilderment. He looks exhausted and young, so, so young. It breaks her heart to see the millisecond of vulnerability clouding his features, his eyes falling to the ground. “They believed I was the reason for their hardships. I was a freak and I’d turn out like she had. They liked to remind me that everyone with powers would turn out as terrible people who can and will destroy society as we knew it.”

“Why are you,” Hyemi takes a deep breath, frowning. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

His gaze hardens, his expression becoming so utterly stoic and devoid of emotion that Hyemi heart begins to race. “Your mother made it practically impossible for our kind to live peacefully. People have tried to kill me on more than one occasion.” Jongin steps forward but Hyemi stands her ground, the two of them practically eye-to-eye. “I’m telling you this so that you know that the moment you step out of line I will come for you.”

“I didn’t…I…” Hyemi stumbles over her words, her eyes flitting franticly over Jongin’s tan face.

Jongin sighs and suddenly pats Hyemi’s forearm, consolingly. “As your friend, I wish you a safe journey. But if you lose control and do anything that will harm anyone, I’ll kill you. No one can stop me.” His eyes slide over to focus over your shoulder at his last sentence.

“Be careful.” Jongin says, his tone friendly and sweet, despite the edgy undertone to it. Something tells you that he’s still your friend more than anything. But he has a large heart and Hyemi gets where he’s coming from.

Hyemi nods as Jongin gives her a sincere smile, eyes turning to crescent moons. He’s gone a second later and she slumps back into Baekhyun, who just rubs his hands up and down her arms soothingly.

~.~.~.~.~

Jongdae throws his arms around Hyemi’s shoulders and practically squeezes the life out of her. She gasps for breath and he runs his hands up and down her back, laughing as he pulls away. “See you soon, I hope.” Jongdae says with a dazzling grin.

She grins back, nodding.

When she turns to Yixing, he looks serene, eyes careful. “Take care of yourself.” Yixing murmurs as he pats her cheek, gently. She doesn’t know when she had gotten so close with the two of them, but she figures walking in on them while they were getting intimate warrants some sort of closeness. Yixing’s eyes dart over her shoulder and she glances back. Baekhyun is standing there, nodding his head as Suho speaks to him, his dark hair ruffled and his hands wrapped around his rucksack. His side profile is mesmerizing and Hyemi quickly glances away when she realizes she’s been staring for too long.

Yixing looks worried, his eyes flitting from Baekhyun to Hyemi, bottom lip caught in his teeth.

“See you soon.” Hyemi says, eyebrows furrowed.

“Hopefully.” Yixing responds, that worried expression still clouding his features.

~.~.~.~.~

“Where’s Sehun?” Hyemi asks, when she’s standing beside Baekhyun and waiting for Kris to bring his carriage around.

Baekhyun shrugs, looking around in thought. “I’m not sure.”

They’re both technically alone now and Hyemi really does try to think about something other than Baekhyun’s lips or how soft his hair is or the way his hands feel against the nape of her neck but she was never too good at controlling her thoughts.

Baekhyun’s eyes suddenly snap down to meet hers and she finds herself turning a deep shade of red. She immediately averts her eyes but moments later she finds her eyes wandering back to Baekhyun. He’s still staring at her, his eyes twinkling and sparkling. He smirks, clearly amused, and she huffs, averting her eyes.

A hand slips around her waist, fingers gently grasping at the fabric there, before nudging her closer, and unfortunately her feet shuffle until she finds herself pushed up against Baekhyun’s side. He paints circles into her side with his fingers and she remains very, very still. Suddenly, he laughs and her face heats up in embarrassment. Slowly, one particle at a time, Hyemi relaxes into his side and lets herself melt a bit, her face pressed against his shoulder. Slowly, she lets herself breathe and she finds that she likes it here, at Baekhyun’s side.

She’s jolted out of her thoughts, however, when Kris’s carriage crashes into the gravel road in front of them, spraying them with tiny pieces of rocks. She flinches, yelping, and Baekhyun lets go of her, startled by the sounds of whinnying and crunching, spraying gravel. The winged beasts come to a sudden halt and one of their eyes focuses on Hyemi. She feels uncomfortable under its scrutiny.

The carriage door swings open and Kris is grinning at them, eyes switching from Baekhyun to Hyemi. He looks at Hyemi with a strangely knowing look and Chanyeol just rolls his eyes as he leans back, legs sprawled across the floor and intertwined with Kris’s legs. It seems unintentional to Hyemi but Kris doesn’t kick Chanyeol away. Tao seems unamused.

Hyemi steps in first and sits next to Kyungsoo, who has his eyes closed as if he’s sleeping, and hates the satisfaction dripping from Kris’s every move.

~.~.~.~.~

The moment the carriage comes to a grinding halt, Hyemi knows there’s something wrong. There’s a buzzing noise in her ears she can’t quite get rid of.

“We’re here.” Kris says as he pulls back one of the curtains and peeks out.

Kyungsoo opens his eyes and shakes his head, expression exhausted. Hyemi meets his gaze and she doesn’t miss the pity in them.

The buzzing noise isn’t quite buzzing, exactly. When the Royal Guards open the carriage door, she realizes that the buzzing was actually people talking.

She stares out the carriage in horror, angry buzzing filling her ears. She turns to Kris, her eyes wide, and he just rolls his eyes, uncaring. “You’ll have to deal with them sooner or later. Besides, it’s better if they know you’ve been arrested.”

“I…what—” Before she can say another word, Chanyeol pulls her arms behind her back.

Baekhyun clenches his fists, turning on Chanyeol, who looks apologetic even as he twists Hyemi’s wrists back almost painfully.

“Baek.” Kyungsoo places a hand on Baekhyun’s chest, eyes unwavering. “We’ll remove the cuffs as soon as she gets into the castle. This is all for show.”

That’s when Chanyeol nudges Hyemi out of the carriage and she hesitantly steps out.

The angry buzzing becomes louder, shouts and threats ringing in her ears. She sees faces of all colors, from brown to white to electric blue. It’s a sea of unique faces, but they all have the same expressions, expressions of anger, grief, betrayal, hatred.

They hate her.

Hundreds of people she’s never even met before absolutely hate her.

It terrifies her when they push against the barriers and she hears the creaking of fences. She hears threats in languages she’s never even heard of before and those, she thinks, are much easier to handle. The ones she does understand make her heart drop to her stomach. Kill her and Burn that and They’re dead because of you. They’re ing dead. The crowd is an angry mob of movement, the barriers and Royal Guard barely able to contain them. She walks quickly and keeps her head down, her hands trembling at the onslaught of words and screams and sobs. For a moment, she believes she’s done all those things. How could she do this to them? But then she remembers that it had been her mother. But does it matter? The people want to pin the blame on someone and her mother isn’t here.

That’s when something slams into her face and she stumbles. There are screams in the crowd, screams of surprise mixed with shouts of encouragement. Her face stings and Chanyeol’s arms tighten around her wrists. Suddenly she’s skidding along the ground and he’s practically carrying her weight as he ploughs forward. The shouting gets worse and her ears ring, her head pounding. She feels something warm drip down the side of her face and down her neck.

The gates loom over them and Hyemi’s catches a glimpse of a familiar hexagon shaped symbol, her vision swimming. The door swings open and the crowd roars louder than before, a loud thud and Chanyeol gasping reaching her ears.

Her vision stabilizes and suddenly everything is quiet, her ears ringing loudly. She’s nudged into a couch and she groans when her hands are finally free. She touches the side of her head and breathes shakily when it stings, her hand coming away bloody.

Kris appears in front of her, eyeing her seriously as his robes swish around him. “They’re really ing angry.” Kris declares.

“No .” Baekhyun responds, angrily. He’s at Hyemi’s side as he presses a cloth against her wound, gently. His expression is taut and Hyemi wonders how much effort he’s making to keep his movements gentle and calm. He looks like he wants to punch something.

“This is good, you see.” Kris continues as if Baekhyun hadn’t spoken. He taps his chin in thought. “Everyone knows you’re here. Plus, it’ll be easier to appease them when they’re this irrational.”

“I am not ing going out there again.” Hyemi says, woozily, shaking her head quickly.

“You don’t have to.” Kris says, his calculating eyes sliding over to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun stiffens, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

A lopsided smirk falls from Kris’s lips.

“Right, Baekhyun?”

a/n: a kiss!!! wow!!!!!! i was totally going to have both yixing and jongdae interrupt before it happened but then i figured that's way too mean and you've been waiting long enough right. besides they may have kissed but that doesn't mean they've sorted anything out yet lmao.

I have a feeling that this fic is going to be a lot longer than i originally planned because I update with a lot shorter chapters. Also, there's going to be way way way in the future at a Very Important Plot. Like I'm literally using it as a plot device so heads up. But I like writing fluffy (angsty) stuff more so. lol...

Since a few people want to know my inspiration: I was originally inspired by a nightmare I had (the bathroom scene particularly was a nightmare I had and it was so so so horrible omg kai did not save me lol T___T) and I also draw a little inspiration from the tone of the manga/anime Bleach!!

Please tell me all your thoughts and theories!

Remember to comment, subscribe, and/or upvote if you liked it! ONce Good Girls is over I will try to focus on this and update more often I swear!!

thank you, love you

xoxo