I’m outside the apartment where I will be staying. I don’t know what voodoo magic was used on this one, but apparently, not everyone can access it. People can’t even see it. Yah! This is so confusing. How did I end up here?

“We have to protect you, Miss Young. Our kind’s population is dwindling to extinction,” Dr. Horace McLaren tells me as he stands patiently, waiting for me to recover from this stupid headache. I can’t believe this is really happening.

“My generation had thirty-seven students. Your mother’s had twenty-three if I’m not mistaken,” he adds.

“And my generation?” I ask as I look up at him. His grey hair is balding. Fine lines stretch across his forehead.

“Thirteen,” he sighs. “It’s quite a curious case.”

“Curious? How?” I ask, my eyebrows furrowing.

“You’ll see soon enough, Miss Young.” He smiles kindly at me. Jeez. This old dude gives smiles away like its extra change.

“In my years of experience, I have learned that sometimes, a smile is all it takes to help someone on the verge of insanity,” he responds to my silent comment.

So, you’re saying I’m almost crazy?

“I said no such thing, Miss Young,” he answers, his eyes sincere.

I roll my eyes at him. I sigh, slumping my shoulders. “Where are the others?”

“They’re on their way here. They just got a tad bit hold up in the airport.” He straightens his jacket.

It’s really cold outside. I shiver, rubbing my arms with my hands to warm them up. I really need those puffy jackets that EXO wear.

I hear Dr. McLaren chuckle. I look at him, confused. He gives me a smile, as if he’s enjoying a private joke.

“Is there something wrong, Dr. McLaren?” I ask him. This guy is so weird.

“Oh, nothing, Miss Young,” he says, but there is still that glint in his eyes. “You do know that you can produce heat, right?”

“I don’t want to use my power,” I grumble. There is no way in hell that I will use these stupid ‘powers’ that killed my father.

This time, Dr. McLaren is the one who sighs. “There are things beyond our control, Miss Young. You must understand that none of the horrible events that transpired are your fault.”

“Welp, you can control your freaky mind-reading so can you please get out of my head. All you’ll read is infinite sighing and regret, and I really think those are not your style.” I stand up, grabbing the handle of my luggage and my paper bag of super awesome treasure-slash-posters. I need a freaking break to process all of these stuff that life had just dumped on me.

∞∞∞◊∞∞∞◊∞∞∞

I am taken aback by the interior of this ‘rehabilitation institute’. I prepared myself for bleak, grey surroundings where I can lie down and rot to death. I expected cold, steel rooms, where killers like me belong. I was not ready for something as, well, normal as this apartment.

I close my mouth, trying to gain my composure. They know that I killed someone, right? That I killed my own father? Why the hell do they not punish me for it? Or is this the punishment? Eternal guilt? Yah! This is so much worse.

I walk around, looking for any signs of my room. Finally, I see my name on a piece of pink paper, which is taped on the door of the last room. I open the door, and enter the room—enter my room. My room that I burnt down, with its light green walls and wooden floor.

I roll my eyes, trying to ignore the pang of pain that accompanies the memory of my non-existent bedroom. I open my bag of goodies and take out my new posters, one by one, looking at them and squealing upon seeing my babies. The last one kills me. It’s a poster of my OTP, HunHan. I scream, seeing Sehun and Luhan with their arms placed over each other’s shoulders.

“My babies,” I whimper, tracing my fingers over Luhan’s cheeks. I immediately forget about my old bedroom as I smile at the piano-key-designed washi tape that Officer Langdon included in the paper bag.

In no time, each of the EXO members are looking at me, taped on the green walls. I placed my HunHan on the wall adjacent to my bed. This will definitely make each morning worth waking up to and guarantee sweet, sweet dreams every night.

I look at the bare bed and decide to look for beddings that might be hiding somewhere in my new bedroom. I open my closet after grinning like an idiot upon seeing the Tao poster taped on the closet doors. My grin quickly disappears as I see a long strawberry pillow like the one that I used to have.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops when I see a penguin stuffed toy who looks like Mozzarella, my penguin stuffed toy which was burnt beyond recognition. I take it with shaking hands, but instead of blood draining out of my face, I feel heat flowing in my system. It reaches my fingertips, and I yelp, throwing Mozzarella No. 2 on the bed. My thumb has left a burn mark on its stomach.

I run out of the room, afraid of— Of what? My memories? Myself? I randomly open one of the vacant rooms, not caring if the other occupants will mind. I throw myself at the bare bed, finally letting my tears fall.

∞∞∞◊∞∞∞◊∞∞∞

I hear voices, though they are undistinguishable. I hear whispering but I don’t hear what these voices—male voices—are saying. It’s dark and I’m still in my housemate’s bed. I instantly knew I was dreaming when I heard Huang Zitao somewhere near me.

“Oh! Who is she?” Tao asks someone.

“Who is she?” I hear someone say, mimicking Tao’s voice and intonation. I bet that that guy is Byun Baekhyun.

“Suho!” Tao calls his mom. I stifle my sleepy laughter. This is one of the nicest dreams I’ve had. I wonder if I can remember this.

“Let her sleep,” I hear someone say, chastising the other members. This might be the first EXO dream that I’d remember. I feel the bed dip.

“Maybe she’ll freak out if she sees me,” Kris says, his cold guy voice unmistakable. I wonder if I can talk in this dream.

“Shut up, Wu Yi Fan,” I mutter sleepily. Whoa. This must be the lucid dreaming thing that I heard before. I face the side where the bed dipped, presumably the side where Kris is.

I hear Baekhyun laugh with another member, Chanyeol. I can’t believe my OTP is here! Okay, fine. One true pairing is not really just one. It’s more of 983839658321 true pairings. Though in EXO, my OTPs are HunHan, KaiSoo, and BaekYeol, who are teasing Kris right now. I smile.

“Admit it, Kris. You lost your cold guy image on the shooting last week,” Chanyeol says, still kidding around with Kris and Baekhyun.

“Excuse me, oongya oongya,” Baekhyun mutters. I wonder what they’re talking about.

“Yah. But it hasn’t been aired yet. I hope they cut it. I love my cold guy image,” Kris tells BaekYeol, haughtily. I roll my eyes even if they’re still closed. I wonder if I can open my eyes in this dream. I want to see my babies.

“Shut up, Kurisu,” I say again, smiling because of my ability to talk with my babies, even if it’s just a dream.

I feel the bed dip again, closer to me this time. I guess this is the time where I’ll wake up and soon forget this awesome dream. I sigh. Someone flicks my forehead and I expect to jolt awake in the dark. Instead, my eyes open, right then and there in my dream. Kris is looking at me, pouting.

I sit up and look around. Chanyeol waves his hand, greeting me. My eyes widen, blood draining out of my face. Baekhyun has his hand up near his face, his fingers forming a peace sign.

Suho enters the room, looking at me. “Oh, you’re already awake. Good morning—” he looks at the pink paper he’s holding, the one taped on my door. “—Robin. I’m Suho.”

∞∞∞◊∞∞∞◊∞∞∞

“Is she okay?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol.

I don’t know how many minutes have passed. All I know is that I’m not dreaming and almost half of the EXO members are in the same room as me.

“Robin,” Kris utters my name. I feel the blush creeping up to my face. Damn it! I’m not ready for this. Never in my life have I imagined that I will be living with EXO. . I feel the warmth flowing through my veins.

“Why is it so hot in here?” Xiumin enters the room. He looks at Chanyeol accusingly.

“I know I’m hot, Wumin.” Chanyeol grins and winks at him. Yah! So hot! My heart beats faster, like it used to when I spaz.

Xiumin sees me and immediately greets me. “Oh. Hello!” He bows and grins at me. Ahh! My baozi! My heart beats even faster than before. I think I’m gonna burst.

“Robin?” Suho says. I really want to respond but all of my nerves have short-circuited and I’m left here, catatonic in the same room as the loves of my life.

In my peripheral vision, I see Suho reach out to touch me. Though before Chanyeol, Xiumin, and I can react and stop him, his right hand comes in contact with my arm. My temperature rises, burning Suho’s hand.

“Yah!” he exclaims, shaking his right hand.

I wake up from my motionless phase, frantically apologizing to Suho. Chanyeol, Baekhyun, Tao, and Kris are laughing so hard at Suho’s misfortune. I glare at them, and they stop. Xiumin shakes his head and smiles. He touches Suho’s right hand. Frosty fog emanates from Minseok’s hand, cooling Suho’s. Suho exhales a sigh of relief.

“I’m so sorry, Junmyoonie,” I tell him before I even realize that I called him Junmyoonie. Yah! Why can’t my inner fangirl shut up?

The other members enter the room. Lay is poking chopsticks at Chen’s arm. “I’m hungry,” he says.

“Food is here!” Kai announces, before going to the kitchen with Tao and Baekhyun, who are very eager to eat dinner. Chen, Lay, and Chanyeol follow them outside.

“Do you want to eat?” Kyungsoo asks me, his head tilted to one side. His hair is sticking upwards, his heart-shaped lips forming a smile. I think I die a little inside.

All of a sudden, I have lost my voice again. I feel my muscles go stiff and rigid. Get it together, Een!

“Can we please just go?” Kris says impatiently. Oh, no. Kurisu.

Suho looks at me and sighs. “Maybe you only talk when you burn people?” He chuckles and stands up. He pats my head and walks out of the room with Kris, Kyungsoo trailing behind them.

I know he was joking and he had no idea what those words meant to me, but Suho’s remark lances through me. When you burn people. I feel white-hot heat flowing inside of me. I close my eyes, trying to concentrate. I smell something burning.

Before I know it, I am floating in mid-air. Telekinesis. I open my eyes and scan the room. I spot Luhan looking at me in the eyes, concentration etched on his face.

Xiumin’s hands turn into ice and Sehun blows a wind through them. They extinguish the small fire that I have set on the comforter. .

I jump down, taking Luhan by surprise, making him release his telekinetic grip on me. I squat, burying my face on my hands. I concentrate really hard, trying to stop my tears. I will not cry in front of HunHan. I must not cry in front of HunHan.

I hear the light gusts of wind stop. Footsteps approach me from where I’m sitting. A waft of cold wind breezes through my hair, making me look up.

“Your hair was on fire, Goku,” Sehun says, grinning at me. “Let’s go eat. Wumin will even share his blueberry ice cream with you if you want.”