Chapter 11 

❝I wish to be a good deciever.❞

[Next Day; After school; Gym]

Luhan

"JAY! PASS IT HERE!" I waved my hands to signal that I was open. Jay turned around and passed the ball to me. I spun to the side, dodging an incoming guy who was trying to block me, but I naturally shot the ball in the net just as the buzzer rang.

"YEAH!" My teammates yelled as the boys clad in blue came to me, patting me on the back. Jackson's team in red stared down at us as Jackson himself looked ultimately pissed.

"Well done, Luhan!" Coach Sanders praised, nodding his head. "Red Team 4, Blue Team 6." He looked at those of us in blue, "Welcome to the basketball team." My teammates howled, some jumping on each other in excitement and some falling to the ground in disbelief. "As for the Red Team... Please line up in single file in front of my office and come inside one by one to know your fate." The coach blew his whistle. "NOW, HIT THE SHOWERS!"

As Coach Sanders walked ahead, I watched the red team quietly follow him from behind. My eyes met with Jackson’s momentarily, he was the captain of the red team, and he glared bitterly. Before I could respond with my own look, I suddenly felt someone jump on my back.

"HYUNG, WE MADE IT!!" Jay exclaimed, letting out a roar of excitement. The blue team followed in suit.

"Luhan, bro, you're SUPER good" one member exclaimed.

"Yeah, like NBA kind of good!" Another one chimed in, but he was from the red team.

"Planning to get a scholarship for basketball or something?" One of the guys on my team who started stripping off his shirt asked as all of us entered the locker room.

"Scholarship?" I questioned, the unfamiliar word rolling off my tongue. I turned to Jay for some help and he nodded.

"Scholarship for basketball, Hyung! You know, if you're good enough you get scouted by big universities to join their team. Usually if you play for a University, they pay for most of your school fees and etc." Jay began undressing himself, wrapping a towel around the lower half of his body. "And then from there, you have a chance to make it into the NBA!"

"N...B...A?" I slowly said to myself as I watched Jay walk away. I started to undress myself as well. It wasn't that I didn’t know of the association, I knew it fairly well actually. So well, that I kept up with the basketball games daily when I was back home in EXO, but these days other things have been keeping me busy.

Unlike a bad game play where I could shut the TV off as I like, Krystal was something I was forced to watch with no permanent mute button or an off switch.

I checked my surroundings to make sure the coast was clear before I magically made myself fresh, clean and dressed in less than a few seconds. Before putting away my full-length mirror, I straightened my white under shirt underneath my plaid top, and double-checked that my black skinny jeans were properly tucked into my Timberland's. After packing up the last of my things, I shot Jay a text as I left. I told him I’d be waiting for him in my car outside.

"LUHAN!" I turned my head looking for whoever called my name. I spotted Coach Sanders, his head peeking out of his office, his fingers motioning me to enter. "Can I talk to you for a second, son?"  

"Oh, yes sir" I replied as I spun towards Coach Sanders’ Office. Prior to entering the doorway, a familiar body mass nudged me as I passed by. Looking over my shoulder, Jackson shot me an evil glare before turning around. Scanning the envelope in his hand, he had made the team as well. So what was his problem? I smirked to myself stating the obvious in my mind; it must have been because I made it on the team before he did.

"Luhan, my boy" Coach Sanders’ voice called for me. He directed me to his office once again. "Sit down, sit down..." I did as I was told. "So, I hear that you are a transfer student, yes?"

"Yes sir," I replied. "From South Korea."

"That explains a lot..." Coach Sanders said under his breath as he typed something on his keyboard. "I was trying to look you up on our system, but then again..." He gave me a mischievous smile, "Maybe it’s best if you tell me yourself in person, eh?" I nodded my head. Creating lies for humans to believe, and storing them as so-called memories, was one talent I couldn’t acquire naturally. It took hundreds, maybe even thousands of years to perfect these kind of skills.

"What would you like to know about me, sir?" I smiled invitingly; open to anything he would throw my way.

"How are your grades, son?" Coach Sanders asked without beating around the bush.

"Straight-A student, and top 1% of my class at my old school" I replied reasonably, in a non-bragging manner. I actually didn't have to lie about that one; with years and years of knowledge, why wouldn't I have those kinds of grades?

"What about sports? Play anything other than basketball?"

I gave him a small smile, "Sir, I'm good at anything and everything."

Coach Sanders gave a hearty laugh, probably thinking I was joking. "Son, the next question I ask is not to pry on your business or anything. More of... to distinguish where you stand when I ask the next question after this." Coach Sanders casually leaned back in his chair, hands at the back of his head. "Do you have a girlfriend, by any chance?"

"A girlfriend, huh..." I mused, copying his stance. I thought about the situation. I could declare the truth, and say no. Then again, I’d been maintaining the charade of Krystal and I being 'something', correct? It was always fun seeing Krystal getting annoyed of the rumors that was made about the two of us as a 'couple', but my conscience took the better of me. "No sir, no girlfriend. Just... admirers."

"Admirers?" The Coach cackled yet again, shaking his head. He straightened his back in his seat, "I like your character, kid. And you know what else I like about you?" I shook my head no, even though I knew the evident reason. "Everything son; your skills, your intelligence, your... leadership." He tapped the clipboard on his desk. "What you showed today is exactly what I am looking for in a Captain."

"Oh, is that so?" I played a surprised gasp. I leaned in, pretending to have interest in the topic as I had seen eager humans wait for something to be said or done. "Me, Coach? Captain?"

"Indeed, my boy" Coach Sanders nodded. "Although you will have to wait until the first game of the season, which is give or take a few weeks from now. I feel like you have the potential to become a good Captain of this team."

"I thought Jackson was Captain?" I graced a concerned expression; when on the inside, I was overjoyed.

"Yes, yes. Well he’s also competing for the title of Captain this year." Coach Sanders scribbled something on the piece of paper on his clipboard. "I feel as if you are a worthy opponent of his, to challenge his potential leadership. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a little competition now and then, don't you think?"

To be honest, the idea of becoming Captain of this team was not exactly something I had in mind. Sure, I had talked smack about "becoming captain" this year with Jackson, but in reality, that would mean I was playing my role as a 'teenager' TOO well. To become Captain, I had an obligation to stay here for as long as the season lasted. Did I really want that? Besides, as a Genie my job was to get home as quick as possible, and I had planned to do that before the end of the year at the very least. Then again, I had already passed the desired time to break my own record; so... why not? I could already imagine Jackson's face finding out that I was to compete for the title of "Captain".

"Competition?" I smirked, adding a chuckle. "I would be honored to take the opportunity to become Captain of this team."

Krystal

"So then I was like, no way! And she was like, yes way!" I articulated while on my phone as I opened the pantry. I took a peek inside, deciding what to eat. "Ugh, you should have totally seen the look of Carol's face when I proved HER wrong." I pulled out my personal jar of Nutella.

"I swear, sometimes the way the cheer squad acts just makes me want to pull on their childish, oversized bows off their heads" Jesy growled on the other line.

"Agreed." Annie approved on another line. "Anyways, did Jay text you anything about the results of the tryouts today?"

"Nope." I took a spoon out of the drawer and opened the jar of Nutella, taking my first dip. I haven't spoken to Jay about last night's situation. I wasn't really ignoring him; this morning, I told him that his outfit didn't match, so I made him change.

"Helloooo I'm homeeee!!" An irritating voice echoed through our abode. I heard high heels click-clacking towards the kitchen with a rustle of plastic bags.

"Ugh ,” I whispered to myself. I gathered all of my things in my arms and ran in an attempt to escape the witch. I turned to sneak towards the opposite direction of the kitchen.  

"Oh! Krystal dear!!" I stopped on my tracks, turning around slowly to face Lydia. As she placed the plastic bags on the kitchen isle, the maids scurried to organize the groceries. "You're home early! Does that mean Jay is here too? And your boyfriend, Luhan?"

I cringed at the last part she said. "I came home alone today." I promptly ended my phone call, telepathically apologizing to Annie and Jesy for the sudden hang up.

"Oh, really? Hooray, we can have girl talk then! Yes??" Lydia clapped her hands excitedly. I rolled my eyes as she signaled me to sit down by the kitchen isle’s stool. I silently cursed myself. If I didn't give into my Nutella cravings, then I would probably still be in my room doing anything but hanging out with this woman....

"Sooooo" Lydia leaned forward, flashing her cleavage. "Tell me about you and your 'baeee'." She giggled, raising her hands to create air quotes around her slang word. She speaks as if she didn't know enough about him. Luhan was here daily, every waking hour, just like Lydia. Apparently, Lydia and Luhan were becoming a staple in this household and I, in particular, was not enjoying it one bit. Everything was moving too fast for me to adjust myself.

Mickey was even starting to shed; he only did that when he sensed I was getting stressed.

"Bae?" I forced a laugh, unamused at her attempt on adding the generation slang for 'boyfriend'. Maybe now would be a good time to mess around with Lydia's pretty little head. These past few dinners I've had with her, she was the typical air headed kind of woman... "Oh, you mean Jackson?"

Her smile slowly faded, features contorting into a confused look. "Jack-son?" She scratched her scalp with one of her manicured finger nails. "But, what about Lu--"

"Look, Lydia..." I whispered, pulling her in with my 'worried' face. I bit my lower lip, looking around at the now empty kitchen for an added effect. "Do you want to know a secret that nobody knows... only you?"

Lydia gasped, placing her hand over . "Only I would know?!"

I nodded my head, continuing to whisper, "Only YOU would know..."

Lydia looked around, and in turn, nodded her head. I compelled my sly grin as I motioned for her to sit on the stool beside me; she did as was told in less than a second.

"The truth is..." I whispered while casting my eyes downwards on the (surprisingly cute) pumps she was wearing. "I-I'm actually forced to be in a relationship with Luhan."

Lydia gasped, her eyes widened. She was falling for my act. "No..."

I nodded, keeping myself from laughing out loud. "Yes...it's true..." I looked up, playing the glassy-eyed look. "Daddy is FORCING me to be with Luhan."

"Forcing you?? Why would he do that?!" I knew I was getting to her , Lydia was clearly starting to sound quite pissed at Appa.

"It's all for business. All his relationships with anything are for... business..." I wiped away a 'tear'. "He's making me marry Luhan so he can cut a deal with EXO Corp. and his firm, and--"

"Oh, my dear that is absolutely terrible!" Lydia pulled me into an unexpected hug, my cheek on her bosom, squeezing the life out of me. "And so this... Jackson boy?"

"I-I've been going out with him secretly, behind Luhan's back" I lied. I cried even more as Lydia ran her fingers through my hair, comfortably patting my back.

"You poor, poor girl. Being forced into marriage at this tender age??" She clucked her tongue. "Look, I'll talk to your father about this and--"

"NO! YOU CAN'T!" I loudly exclaimed, sitting straight up, slightly startling Lydia with my reaction. "I mean--you can't because--because no one is supposed to know. Only Luhan, Daddy, and I... and now... you."

"NOONA, I MADE IT ON THE TEAM!! NOONA, I--" Lydia and I looked at Jay and Luhan who had entered the scene. "Noona!" Jay dashed towards me; dropping everything he had to the ground and kneeled down, looking up at me. "Noona, what happened?! Is this about last night?! Look, I am really sorry about last night!" Jay laid his head on my lap, squeezing my legs like a little kid begging. "I am really, really, really--"

"It's not because of that Jay--" I said through my teeth, ready to kick him off me when I saw that Lydia was still watching. I sighed, continuing to cry and stooped down to Jay's level, bringing him into my embrace. "Really Jay, it’s NOT you."

Jay made eye contact with me. Judging by the change of his facial expression, he automatically knew I was faking everything. He opened his mouth to call me out, but I squeezed that special little pressure spot on his shoulder, signaling him to do otherwise. "Ow! Oh! Ah! Yeah!" He cringed as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, leaving me with the height of success. I gave him a bit of a smirk, but started to wipe off 'tears' as I stood on my feet again.

"Krystal." I faced the stern voice coming from Luhan's direction. He looked unamused and unaffected by my actions. Could he really see right through my tears? He fell for them before, didn't he? Then again, for all I know he could have been invisible around me all this time, watching my every move and-- "Go get dressed."

"W-what?" Luhan caught me a bit off guard.

"We have that movie to catch, remember?" Luhan's eyes were suddenly becoming cloudy.

"Movie? What mo---" I felt my physical body separate from my senses in a way; I felt my body move on its own, exiting the kitchen. Was this Genie boy using his powers to... control me?! I thought I was his master! Was it not supposed to be the other way around?! That I was supposed to control him?! The only one who controls Krystal Park, is Krystal Park herself.

Not some Genie Boy who had an unfair advantage with his voodoo magic.

As much as I wanted to scream or shout in distress, I tried opening my mouth to do so but I couldn’t utter a word. Not only was he controlling me physically, but now I couldn't even control my own thoughts and feelings?! I attempted to turn around to look at Lydia for help or Luhan for an explanation, but I could not do that either. From the corner of my eye, I could spot Luhan explaining something to Lydia who was actually listening to him. From what I could tell, Lydia was being controlled under Luhan's magic. Had he overheard what I was saying to Lydia? Was he brainwashing her again to think otherwise of what I had said earlier?

Before I could try to turn my head a bit further, an invisible force pushed me into my room. I felt the weight of control lift over my body, and my voice and facial expression drew with my anger.

"THAT GENIE BOY IS GOING TO FEEL MY ING WRATH!" I exclaimed, startling Mickey from his afternoon nap. I headed for the door, only to realize that it was locked. I looked at the doorknob and noticed that it was unlocked from the inside. How could this happen?! Unless....he used his magic to lock me in my own room... did he really--just seriously--like--OMG. I screamed, running my fingers through my hair, nearly pulling it out of my scalp as I shouted in anger,

"LU-ING-HAN!!!!!!!"
 

Officially Posted on
August 22, 2015