[AN: Yes, it's a double update °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° It's a miracle, I know. I'm currently waiting for a new poster for this story, and usually I'd update the story once I have it, but I couldn't wait for that long haha. If you haven't noticed, the Description and Foreword also changed~ Hope you'll enjoy the chapter! The next one will come as soon as possible ;) Feedback will be greatly appreciated!] 

Chapter 2

“It’s not every day you see someone giving Sehun a run for his money,” Baekhyun mused, an impressed smile hanging on his face.

“I think it’s long overdue,” Kyungsoo mumbled, earning a laugh from Jongin who was sitting down beside him.

“She’s been in this school for as long as we have, right? She could’ve popped out sooner,” Chanyeol chuckled.

“Sehun seems to have taken a liking to her, though. He usually hates it when somebody compares him to Jongin or any of us,” Suho mentioned, eyebrows drawn into a frown,  astonished nonetheless.

“Well, can’t help it if I’m the hotter and more talented brother, right?” Jongin smirked, earning a light punch on his shoulder from Kyungsoo.

“Whatever you say, Jongin,” Baekhyun responded wryly, his smile turning rigid.

“And he kept smiling like an idiot even though people were staring at him,” Kyungsoo added, throwing a glance at Suho.

“… Yeah, I think he’s smitten for her.” Chanyeol clicked his tongue, speaking in a finalizing tone.

The group showed mixed expressions, some having looks of agreement while the rest didn’t look convinced.

“Or maybe he’s just glad that he’s finally got a friend,” Jongin remarked. “I mean, all of us have friends outside of our circle, but Sehun doesn’t,”

“Well, the girl didn’t look like she’s looking forward to this friendship,” Baekhyun snorted. “With that poker face and his attitude, I’m not surprised that he hasn’t made any friends,”

“And the only ones that wants to chat with him aren’t even intending to be his friends,” Kyungsoo toted up, referring to the girls that always attempt to be Sehun’s paramour.

“He’s probably glad that this one looks like she’s gonna stay for a while,” Suho chuckled.

All of a sudden, the boys dropped their smiles and stilled. Upon hearing noises approaching, they turned their heads to the direction of the rooftop door, catching the sound of footsteps. They all groaned collectively, once again having their idle time disturbed.

“They found us again,” Jongin announced in a mutter.

“Didn’t you put the no entrance sign on the door?” Kyungsoo nudged Baekhyun who was lying down on the ground.

“I did,” Baekhyun exhaled. “But sometimes it doesn’t work on these girls,”

“We shouldn’t have accepted that offer for the school’s performance,” Chanyeol grumbled as he stood up from the ground along with the others.

“I don’t get why we shouldn’t scold these girls for stalking us,” Jongin blurted, showing his look of dislike to Suho. “They’re getting pretty annoying,”

“That’s because I’ve already scolded them in the past,” Suho sighed. “Those who had some sense of rationality listened, while the rest got even greedier for attention. That’s why it’s useless to scold them,”

“Humans are pretty funny,” Baekhyun chuckled dryly, finally removing himself from the cold ground.

“Besides, we have to be exceptionally nice towards humans, knowing how those higher ups think about us,” Kyungsoo muttered, his tone significantly dropping the mood. “If they catch any news about us being a nuisance or feared by humans for any reason, we might have to move out again,”

There was a short and somber silence. If it wasn’t for the sound of the girls trying to pry open the door, none of them probably would’ve made a move.

“Jongin, you know the drill.” Chanyeol nudged the younger.

“I know, I know,” he clicked his tongue, walking over to the door. “I’m the sacrificial lamb.” he joked dryly, trying to put the tension away.

“You talk as if you don’t enjoy it,” the taller sneered lightly at him.

“You know how to deal with girls best, Jongin,” Suho used a more encouraging tone, patting the younger on his back, sealing his lips into a tight smile in attempt to hide the bogus behind his words.

“You mean girls prefer him best,” Kyungsoo corrected him jokingly.

“Seriously, wherever he walks in, girls stick on him like gum.” Baekhyun jeered, gaining titters from the others.

Jongin rolled his eyes, opening the door to reveal himself to whoever it was who were trying to sneak into the rooftop. Just when he took two steps across the door, the rest of the boys could already hear surprised squeals and gasps from some first years, and the five of them jointly shook their heads.

“What do you girls think you’re doing here in the restricted area?” Jongin plastered on his signature smirk, complemented by the playful tone in his voice. “Come on, there’s nothing to see here.” he opened his arms wide and herded the girls away from the rooftop with little to no effort.

Baekhyun peered his head out a bit to see whether the coast was clear, and just when the sound of girly giggles disappeared, Baekhyun nodded at the others as a sign that it was safe for them to leave. Chanyeol sighed loudly as they walked down the stairs, wondering how long they have to sneak out like this every time they want some private time. In attempt to shake off the irritation he’s feeling, he parted ways with the boys who were approaching the halls to their respective classrooms.

“You guys go ahead. I’m going to get something to drink.”

“We only have a few minutes left until class starts,”

“Enough time to search for books as reference,”

“Alright, so where should we start?”

“You go search over there, while I—“

“Hold on, let’s just search for it together. We don’t have to split up,”

“Didn’t you say that we only had a few minutes left?”

“Yeah, so?”

“… Okay, just do whatever you think is necessary…”

You shook your head as you started with the section right in front of you, totally ignoring the beaming male beside you. You actually thought that he wouldn’t have wanted to do anything with you after your argument with him, or at least come back after a while, but he came back immediately and twice as happier.

Those girls got him all wrong. He’s not the icy member of the group, he’s the weird one in the group.

Just when you were about to approach another shelf, you felt a sudden ‘greeting’ from your monthly friend in a form of agonizing pain in your abdomen. You in some air, gritting your teeth to hold the pain. You threw a cautious glance at Sehun who seemed to be preoccupied with some books—not a sight you get to see every day—and you felt slightly calmed down upon seeing that he hasn’t noticed you slightly crouching your upper body.

“Hey, Alice,” you immediately straightened your body by reflex when you heard Sehun calling your name.

“Y-Yeah?”

“How about this one?” he showed you a few pages of the book in his hands, “It’s just about the visual features and specifications, but I think it’ll be useful for the introduction,”

“Okay, I think we’ll use that,” you nodded, trying your best to keep a stoic expression.

“Alright, I’ll go look for some more books over there,” he pointed at one of the aisles before leaving.

Just when he left, you could finally crouch your body again and heaved a sigh—partly due to relief and pain. You scanned the area in search for the closest chair, and before you could even spot one, Sehun came back to you. Cursing under your breath, you aligned your body once again, much to your painful dismay.

“I found a wolf encyclopedia,” Sehun stated in his usual flat tone, but you could tell that he’s fairly proud of himself just by looking at his face.

“Okay, that’s good.” you commented with your poker face on, pretending to be busy.

“How many have you found?”

“I haven’t found anything substantial yet,”

“At the rate you’re going, I’m going to end up getting full credits for this project,”

Shooting a glare at him, you muttered, “As if I’d let that happen,”

“… So, until when are you going to keep up this act?”

You whipped your head to him, eyebrows knit together. “What?”

He glanced at your stomach. “It hurts, right?”

“… How did you—“

“If the sighing and hissing weren’t obvious enough, you always have one hand on your stomach,”

You pursed your lips, unsure if you should feel embarrassed or amused that he found out.

“I wanted to see how long you’ll last, but you look so dead awful right now,”

“Thank you, Sehun,” you thanked him sarcastically with a flat expression, clutching to your stomach now that he knows.

Sehun stared at you for a moment befo