7. A few mysteries

           Minseok was walking through the almost empty hallways of the college building at 7:45 am, heading to his locker before he go to his class, as his everyday morning routine. On his way, he heard a few girls who were also early at school chatting about the new addition to their little group of friends. Compliments about his looks and his brains that Zitao never seemed to hear. This time it was “Zitao’s so handsome and smart! I think I’ll vote for him for the class representatives!” or something alike, Minseok didn’t really pay any attention because his friends (minus Zitao, the boy was probably still in the bus) standing next to his locker, so early in the morning, and seems to be in a serious conversation, surprised him. He wondered quickly if they had any important tests this morning that can cause such an impromptu reunion and when he remembered none he fastened his pace, wanting to know the reason behind this group-gathering he wasn’t aware of.

           “Hey guys, why are you here so early? What happened? Do we have a surprise test? Oh no, I didn’t study last night! For once I lazed around! Yixing, help me!” he started to panic, gripping on the arm of said boy and pouting at him.

           “Wow, calm down Minnie! We have no test, we were just discussing about a few things.” Baekhyun stopped his speech. He then added “And I think you should let go of Yixing’s arm, you are probably cutting his blood circulation…”

           “Not until you tell me which spell made you and Lu up and fresh at 7:50 am, it’s really scaring me right now!” he retorted, still clutching on Yixing’s arm.

           “Okay, okay, we were talking about an important thing, now can you please let go of him please? It’s starting to get blue…” Kyungsoo intervened.

           “What is the matter? And why I wasn’t aware of this meeting?” Minseok continued to question after he let go of Yixing arm, with a slightly better mood now that he knew his grades were safe.

           “Firstly, we didn’t tell you because we knew you would be coming early so we don’t have to wake you up earlier. And secondly, we were talking about Kris’ acting” answered Baekhyun.

           “Well, he’s weird. There’s nothing new…” he said.

           “Of course” Luhan confirmed, “But lately, he’s been extremely strange and clings with us a lot without a reason which, you can’t disapprove, is really creepy.”

           “And we’ve been wondering why he would do such a thing. The few new elements to take into consideration is the recent addition of Zitao in our group and the soon to be elections for class representatives.” Kyungsoo completed.

           “That’s right, detective Kyungsoo” Baekhyun agreed, thinking back to what he discovered before Minseok interrupted their conversation.

           “I heard some girls talking before going to you guys. I don’t know what exactly, but it was about Zitao and those elections. I believe it was in a positive aspect” added Minseok, joining their brainstorming.

           “Let’s look at this in a different way” started Yixing. “We all know Kris has a big ego. He is so full of himself that he would do anything for something he wants. What can he desire right now? Being a class representative, even though I don’t know why because he wasn’t one last year. Maybe he has a sudden craving? I don’t know. His mind is one, big maze. Plus he’s being all friendly to a new student who bumped into him, and we all know you’re dead meat if you put one of the Kingkas into an uncomfortable situation. That’s one of the rules. Yet, Zitao gained popularity and students started talking about him being a class representative, as Minseok said.” He took a breath and then continued “I don’t think Kris is suddenly opening up to us. I have a feeling it’s just an act, because he sees Zitao as a threat. Why would he befriend us? He just wants Zitao as his friend because he’s becoming popular, but we’re in the way. If Zitao becomes his friend, he will think of something to put him out of the competition and Kris will have his place as the class representative. In my opinion, that’s what he’s planning, from what I have observed.” There was a silence at the end of his speech. All of his friends were just looking with big round eyes and gaping at him.

           “One of us really took this detective-play to heart…” commented Luhan after he slowly gained back his ability to speak.

           “I agree…” said Baekhyun in a small voice. “However, all the things he said are true, it makes sense, don’t you think?”

           “Oh no, I smell something fishy with all this drama…” sighed Minseok. “Does it mean that Zitao is being chased by the Kingkas?”

           “I think, yes. They want him to be a Kingka” answered Yixing.

           “We have no chances! 6 against 5 in unfair” Baekhyun whined then pouted.

           “Should we let him decide?” wondered Kyungsoo in a whisper. He then continued a little louder this time. “He has a chance to be a Kingka, and not stick with us, the Nerds. It should be great, right?” It wasn’t and they knew it, just by looking at their faces full of abhorrence when they thought about the 6 Kings.

           “But Zitao is our best friend already…” tried Luhan. “We can’t let him be used by th- Oh! Hey Zitao!” he said waving to said boy who was walking to them. Yixing gave his four other friends a do-not-say-anything-about-this-to Zitao look.

           “Hey guys! Why are you here so early?” asked the newcomer. Their early presences were unusual, and he remarked it.

           “We just missed each other so much that we came early!” lied Baekhyun, hoping it was convincing enough. He thought about explaining a little more, so that it would be believable. “Since we will only see each other in 2 hours, you know, I have business and Yixing will have performing arts. And we will only be together after these 2 hours, with Mrs. Choi, yeah…”

           “Uhm sure…” Zitao agreed, not wanting to confuse Baekhyun more than he seemed to be already. The bell rang and they hurriedly went to class leaving Zitao with a quick “See ya at lunch!” Only Luhan and Minseok took their time and walked to their shared class with the youngest in silence, making the latter wonder what got into his hyungs’ mind this morning.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

           Lunch came by and Kyungsoo waited for the others to show up at their “meeting place” as he liked to call it. He was always the first to go out and always has to wait for the others next to Minseok’s locker. Today, he took this time to reflect back on the talk they had this morning before classes started. He had to keep an eye on Kris’ actions. Since their discussion, he took his time on thinking back about Kris’ actions and had a bad feeling. He can’t pinpoint what is it exactly, but he knew that something is missing in the theory they established. Nevertheless he stopped to reflect on the subject when he saw his friends approaching him.

           “You’re all there quickly and at the same time, I almost hadn’t waited. What’s up?” he questioned, amused by the growling of Baekhyun’s stomach.

           “I’m hungry, you had no idea how I suffered during the last hour” Baekhyun responded, exaggerating a sigh. “Come on!” He took Kyungsoo’s hand and dragged him in the direction of the restaurant. The others watched them go with a smile playing on their lips.

           “Let’s follow them” suggested Luhan, going after them. They walked behind, taking a look at today’s menu displayed on a wall. As soon as they entered the place a girl looked at them from a corner then turned to talk to her friend, yet loud enough for the boys to hear.

           “Look, they’re the Nerds and the handsome boy who ate with the Kingkas yesterday. It was weird seeing them together at lunch…” The rest was drowned by gasps and squeals from girls who saw the Kingkas enter the restaurant. The Nerds decided to quickly forget what they heard and sat at an empty table.

           Kris took his meal and scanned the area for a place to sit. He smirked when he found one and elbowed Chanyeol, signaling him the place where they’d sit. The blond then made his way to the circular table, his buddies following close behind and not commenting on his choice when they saw who was already seated.

           Luhan looked up from his food when he sensed someone sitting in front of him. His eyes widened when he recognized the figure who had a smile that could scare a shark away. He immediately stopped eating and watched with wary eyes as the others Kingkas sat around Kris, disturbing the little moment of peace they had. The boy with auburn hair looked at his friends, everyone having a face showing pure confusion and a little bit of questioning lingering in their eyes. Luhan was more amazed by the fact that he was sure the boys in front of him heard the girls’ talk about themselves sitting and eating with the Nerds yet, they’re here once again.

           “Hey guys! We meet again! It’s nice!” Kris started, with a smile that seemed more convincing than yesterday’s one. ‘He must have practiced before’ thought briefly Luhan.

           “I guess?” was the only answer given by Kyungsoo. The silence soon came back to the table but this time Kris thought of ways (actually, only one) to bring the atmosphere up.

           “Do you know why I think assassins are impressive?” he asked. Yes, jokes were his backup plan. And by the faces everyone was making at his utterance, he knew they wouldn’t know the end of the joke.

           “Because they kill?” tried Baekhyun, thinking that with the guy’s character the answer could be everything, or even worse.

           “No, not the killing part. I think what’s remarkable is that they figured out a way to fit “” into the same word twice” he concluded and started to laugh loudly, clapping his thigh.

           Minseok was now half-way out of his seat with his sandwich in one hand, ready to go and definitively frightened by the joke, and took a quick look at the table. There was Kris still laughing, Chanyeol trying to bite back a smile and everybody else was looking blankly at the table: embarrassment from the Kingkas; to try to think of a way to escape all of this from the Nerds. However Minseok hadn’t been able to run away as Kris came back from his laughter and started another conversation, trying to let everyone take part in it. Before they decided that it was time to go back to their classes, you could have heard awkward laughter coming from two-third of the boys, the last third still having difficulties to loosen up and act friendly. They finally parted ways, going to their respective afternoon classes hoping on both sides to never live another embarrassing situation like that one, again.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

            Minseok finished his classes early in the afternoon, his timetable of A subjects differing from his friends’ ones. He then chose to use his free time wisely, and took his time to walk back to his flat enjoying the slow pace of his steps. He barely set his foot on the sidewalk, thus exiting the campus, when a voice made him drop his mood immediately.

            “Minseok, wait up!” a guy’s voice was heard. But Minseok wasn’t planning on stopping. He even sped up his pace. He sensed the guy finally at his side, breathless from his running, still he didn’t looked at him. The young man looked at the chubby male next to him who was looking straight ahead doing his best to ignore him and put a smile on his face before asking. “What are you doing here?”

            Minseok brushed him off and continued to walk, not sparing him a glance. The boy tried to change tactics.

            “Well, for me, I’m going to the ice cream shop to spend time waiting for the reading club to start in… 2 hours.” he said after he took a look at his watch and looked for any sign of listening from the other male. Having none, he opted for an interrogation. “Wanna go with me?”

            “Jongdae,” sighed Minseok “aren’t you tired?” he answered with another question. “It’s been near 2 years, now. Didn’t you ever think about stopping to pursue me? Why can’t you let me alone, for a few moments?”

            “I’d never get tired of chasing after you” Jongdae answered with sincerity even if he knew the older would never trust his words.

            “Too bad, because I am” he finally looked up at Jongdae’s eyes. “I am tired of your every day’s teasing. Could it be possible for you to let me breathe for a while? I would appreciate having my personal space for myself, sometimes. Can’t you understand?!” Minseok ultimately shouted before he hurriedly crossed the road, turned into an alley and disappeared from Jongdae’s vision.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

            5pm. Yixing and Baekhyun finished their classes for the day and the former was waiting for the latter to finish his business in front of the bathroom’s door. They were at the 3^rd floor of the Sociology division because Baekhyun liked privacy in those kinds of moments, and the last floor of this department was often empty. Not that Baekhyun spend time searching for the perfect place beforehand. He would never admit it or else his friends would nag him (again) about being a diva. There was only his classmate who wouldn’t care about it. Usually the hallways were deserted and Yixing wouldn’t meet someone, so nobody would guess they were here. However, today was an exception. Well, Yixing knew today was going to be unusual. Since the morning when he himself was astonished by his deduction, he was certain it would be an unconventional day. It began when he heard a voice singing at the other end of the corridor, coming closer.

           “Kiss kiss kiss baby, hush hush hu-” the man stopped when he opened his eyes and met Yixing’s. The Chinese boy gasped when he recognized the figure who was a few meters ahead of him. Here stood Junmyeon who looked surprised, supposed Yixing by seeing his with wide eyes and general expression of stupefaction on his face. The future class representative quickly took back his posture and smiled. He then brought his left hand up, put his index on his lips and whispered “Shh…” After this, he his heels and walked until he disappeared of Yixing’s sight, humming another Miss A’s tone.

           Baekhyun exited the bathroom a few seconds later after Junmyeon left and found his friend spacing out staring at the wall in front of him.

           “Yixing?” He wondered, taping the other’s shoulder. Yixing simply hummed and slowly turned to him as an answer. “Hey dude, what’s wrong?”

           “Oh, nothing…” he answered.  “Can we go back home now? I’m a little bit tired.”

           “Sure, you don’t really seem okay. Did you see a ghost in the hallway?” joked the brunette.

           “No, I just thought too much. You know, it happens sometimes” Yixing said.

           “I’ve never been looking haggard after thinking too much but if you say so…” Then Baekhyun began to walk to the directions of the stairs, taking a glance behind him to be sure his friend was following him. What a strange day. He couldn’t wait to go back home and lazing on his bed next to his computer.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

            Jongdae made his way back to school after he walked aimlessly around the block, kicking whatever he would find on his way. When he entered the room of the reading club everyone could tell he was sulking, his face sullenly and eyes somber. He took a seat and looked at his shoes, determined to not say a word during this hour. The others waited for the latecomers to show up and start today’s session, not wanting to bring up the subject which would surely make his mood worse. The meeting passed by quickly, in Jongdae’s point of view. Getting lost in his own thoughts helped his cause for once, he hadn’t listened at all. The students started to leave the place quickly leaving Jongdae behind, as they were all aware that the last had to wake him up from his daydreams. The unlucky boy sighed and approached the dreaming boy, shaking gently his shoulder and calling his name.

            “Uh?” Jongdae said, coming back to the real world looking around the empty room.

            “The class is over. Everybody’s gone. You should too” he announced.

            “Youngjae?” asked Jongdae, blinking his eyes up at the boy standing in front of him.

            “Yes?” he answered, quickly noting that Jongdae still looked a little bit dazed. ‘Probably from dozing off too much’ he thought.

            “Could you to do me a favor. Please?” he requested immediately giving the other a puppy look.

            “What is it?” Youngjae breathed out, hating the fact that he can’t refuse anything to any of his hyung. He was too kind.

            “Firstly, I need your number” he said and fished out his phone, handing it to the other. “Good. I need you to go to this address Saturday morning” he spoke and gave him a paper with the address written on it.  “I can’t tell you so much about it right now, I’m in a rush, but I’ll text you the details. Thanks, I have to go now! Bye!” he said and run in the hallways of the school, letting Youngjae standing alone in the classroom with a paper in his hand. Once he was on the sidewalk, in the direction of his flat he took out his phone and sent a few messages.

            From : Jongdae

            To : Daehyun

            ‘Saturday morning, at XXX Park. Got you a date ;)’

            From : Jongdae

            To : Youngjae

            ‘By the way, it IS a date. Don't try to get out of this!’

           He put his phone back into his pocket and resumed his walk. When he heard the vibrating sound he didn’t bother to check up the message, knowing it was a message full of disbelief (and probably some hate, too) from the two he just set up. A smile timidly made his way across his face as he reached his destination, feeling a bit of happiness in trapping his 2 friends. His entire body collided with his couch as soon as he opened the door of his apartment, feeling drained and out of energy after all the walking he did today. He closed his eyes and let sleep took over him, too tired to get up and prepare some food even if he’ll probably be awake and hungry in 2 hours.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

            At the same time a young boy opened his laptop and quickly logged in on the online game he was playing every night (or almost). As the page was loading, Baekhyun quickly went in the kitchen and took some snack before going back into his room and closing the door. His parents would come home late and he was sure he will use his time wisely. He ate one of the snacks and looked if any of his friends were logged in, especially one.

            HapV92 is logged in.

            Baek_65 : Hey, you’re here

            HapV92 : Yea! How are u?

            Baek_65 : Fine and u?

            HapV92 : Fine. Any weird things happened today?

            Baek_65 : You have no idea. It was horrible.

            Baek_65 : Like every day, recently. I’ve seen and heard a lot.

            HapV92 : You know, since the day your new friend came into your life I think it’s also the day when odd things started to happen to you. He may be the cause of all of this?

            Baek_65 : Not really, but we kinda know the cause now. It was far-fetched.

            HapV92 : I’m happy you know the reason ^^ Hey, wanna try the Dark Cave? One of my friends succeeded this dungeon and he gave me tips.

            Baek_65 : Sure. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.

            HapV92 : Still there? Sorry I had to answer a phone call.

            Baek_65 : Yeah don’t worry it’s okay. But it’s my turn to go now... Sorry!

            Baek_65 is logged out.

            “Baekhyun! Open the door immediately!” screamed his mother. ‘Here we go’ thought the boy. He got up from his bed and unlocked the door, his mother instantly entering his bedroom. She was frowning at him, her fists on her hips.

            “What took you so long? Didn’t you hear me screaming for the last 5 minutes?!” she started. “Were you on your laptop again? Is that it? You should really stop and focus on your studies, socialize with your friends or do the chores! Be useful for once!” she yelled. Baekhyun kept a blank face, looking at her with eyes drowned out of expressions.

            “Tell me, what chores are there to do right now?” he asked her, fully knowing there was none.

            “You…! I swear I can’t bear with you sometimes!” she said before hastily exiting the room and stomping her way to the kitchen. Baekhyun breathed out and let himself fall on his bed, face first. He wasn’t hungry and even if he were, he was certainly not going to eat. He was tired and slept within minutes, too tired to be frustrated. ‘Tomorrow would be a better day’ as his friend would tell him. How many weeks passed since he started to wish for a better tomorrow? He lost count. He just slept it away. Sleep was always the best solution he could come up with.

X X X X X X X X X X X X

           Mysterious’ P.O.V.

           I arrived at my working place at 9:40 pm. I greeted my co-workers who were all over the place, cleaning, checking on the drinks, the stage, doing whatever was possible to do. I passed by them and went into a room with a sign “Staff Only” on it. In here I began to undress and put my working clothes. A dark suit and some silver jewelry which matched with my bleached hair. Today I had an early and short shift : 10pm to 1am. It doesn’t necessarily mean it would be easy. This job’s hard and the newbies often came here with stars in their eyes. When they are promoted to be inside with the seniors, they would quit after the first night. I stayed, because I really wanted to learn. This job required some abilities that I wished to get better. Our boss clapped his hands and we gathered for the talk we would always do before the club opened his doors. It was quick, and the same as the night before. To make them drink the more expensive bottles, to not offend the clients, to do some skin ship and to not forget to wash our teeth after we throw up. If we force the clients to drink and we don’t, wouldn’t it be obvious? We have to drink with them. It’s why the youngers quit the job, they can’t endure the amount of alcohol drank throughout the night and whine to the boss that they vomited. Not that he care, anyways. He’s just making money out of our participation. But let’s get back to the topic.

           The door opened and the new employees went outside to try to bring back costumers. Regular ones were already waiting and quickly chose their man. It was boring, but I had to. My conversations skills got better after 2 weeks of working here. My singing and drinking skills too, not that I was proud of the last one. A lot of old and rich women chose me, over the night I had to be with 3 of them. It was always more difficult to entertain older women, they were demanding, but I did my best. I had to.

           I threw up only once this night, and I had the mind to call for a taxi. I was happy, if I could say it in this context. I could feel my eyes slowly closing and my head dropping down, but I forced myself to stay awake until I reached my house. The music and the lights from the club had me so tired every time I went back home that I could only imagine to sleep and never get up again. It would be a waste, so I had a friend who always checked up on me in the morning (or early afternoon if my shift was later). He was the only one I could rely on. I cannot go and say to everybody “Hey, I’m working at a host club!” absolutely not. I don’t like this job in the first place. But oh well, I can see my bed here, just a few meters and I can sleep…

--

A/N : Oh My! I wrote volumes here!

First of all I'm so sorry for the lateness, my father took us in "surprise-holidays" and I couldn't write. Then when I started to type it wasn't very quick because I was depressed by my new hairstyle (and I'm still. "It'll eventually grow again", thanks sister! )

So, there's a lot of drama coming up ^^ Can you guess what it'll be? Ohohoh... See you soon!!! (sooner than this time, I swear!)

P.S.: Who else looove EXO-M's Thunder? :)

Roseamanelle : Yay! Edited! (<= you'll get your gift soon, be patient ;) )