Random Rambles: Guys, how did I end up being in the forties concerning chapters already? xD And y'all still reading this? Guess who's awesome? Yep! YOU! Upcoming chapters are a mix of fluff and angst, so I thought I'd give a heads up just in case. This particular chapter is just a (relatively) short 'stepping stone' before I get back to plot-related business. As usual, thank you for your support, even on days when I feel a writer's block coming, you guys give me the motivation I need to keep writing the story ^^ kamsahamnida sweethearts <3

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Crimson eyes stared from afar at the interaction between a shy and beautiful young girl, and only a so-so-looking young man. Sehun grunted a bit bitterly when he saw Lay-hyung winking at Jae, the girl responding with a cute little wink that was only directed to his older brother. Lay was all sunshine and daisies when he walked away, biting his bottom lip, looking ridiculously cheerful. 

Sehun wasn't jealous. He really wasn't. It was just that it irked him how natural and sincere this particular hyung could interact with Jae, being able to speak to her without hidden intentions. Lay wasn't the type for that, and if he was, he was really good at hiding them. Either that, or he was too oblivious of them himself. Sehun wished he could be jealous, just pure and simply jealous, so he wouldn't feel so guilty when he thought insulting things about Lay. The worse part of it all, was that Lay-hyung was one of his favorite hyungs, making him feel even more agitated. Lay wasn't even consciously flirting or anything, but he couldn't help the way he felt. 

This . Sehun had crushes before, but they often passed when he realized that the girls were just not quite right for him, when he knew that they couldn't keep up with his spirit. He was accused of being too fickle once. Of course that flame of love doused quickly, but he'd never forgotten what she said. One day he would have the personality of a gentle puppy dog, but the next he'd have the temper of a storm, accompanied by a mountain of sass up to the point that no one could tell whether his insults were just jokingly sarcastic or painfully cynical. Sehun couldn't help it. That was just the way he was. Just like a gentle breeze had the ability to turn into a raging tornado, so too was his personality. People who didn't understand that left him quickly and he had no need for them either, but it didn't mean that it never hurt.

He moved his eyes towards Jae, and Jae alone, seeing her walk around, looking with mild interest at the shops and establishments, fanning herself with her hands. Sehun gently blew a pleasantly refreshing draft her way, her dark, shining hair spreading out and flowing as his wind played with her locks. She blinked her almond-shaped eyes at the wind, her full lips formed into a perfect little smile at the cooling touch of the gust of air. It made Sehun smile as well, imagining that that smile was directed only to him.

All too fast was this moment over, when he felt someone smack him on the back of the head and the wind laid down.

"Yah, your eyes are showing," Kai warned with a smirk, handing him a cup of ice cream.

"What were you looking at, Sehunnie?" Tao joined, sipping his iced frappuccino, wanting to peek around the corner, had Sehun not stood in front of him.

"Nothing, I- uh, just saw Lay-hyung walking to the animal shelter, that's all. He didn't see me," he quickly waved off.

"Oh, really? I wonder if that stray poodle finally got her puppies. I want one," Kai mumbled, eating his snow cone.

"Just one?" Tao asked skeptically, knowing how the too-cool-for-school Kai had a certain weakness for dogs.

"Or five," Kai shrugged, smiling. "What I want to know now though is why Sehunnie looks as though he was caught staring at magazines."

Sehun blinked rapidly giving his hyungs a bewildered look. He must've flushed red since Tao started laughing while pointing at him. "What? What are you talking about? It's hot out, I'm warm," he protested, eating his ice cream as casually as he could.      

"You're warm or in heat?" Kai further teased, laughing when Sehun slapped him on the arm. 

"Shut up," he mumbled, looking at his ice cream. His brothers laughed at him. 

"Oh Sehun saw something he liked huh?" Tao said, quickly getting to his feet to look at the direction Sehun had been looking mere moments ago. 

"I didn't see anything of interest," he persisted, hoping that Jae would've gone into a store by now. 

"Really now?" Kai grinned, his eye smile making Sehun cringe. Even when he wasn't teleporting, Kai was fast. He looked around the corner, where Sehun had been staring at Jae and the youth bit his cheeks. Was she still there? 

"There's nobody here," Tao said, his disappointment evident. 

"Told you," Sehun replied coolly, though he was washed by a wave of relief on the inside. He winced again when he heard Kai sniffing the air. 

"Do you guys smell that?" he rubbed his nose and Sehun pretended like he didn't hear him. Tao, on the other hand, started sniffing around as well. There was a look of excitement on Tao's face when he recognized the scent of jasmine. 

"Jae-noona!" he exclaimed, suddenly cheerful. Sehun frowned at the lanky teen for it, unwittingly exchanging a look with Kai, who had a similar frown on his face. 

"Well, look who's excited now," Sehun commented to take the attention off him, but he didn't particularly liked seeing Tao so excited, only because Jae suddenly got involved. Did he really need more competition here? 

"What? I happen to like Jae-noona. Besides, it's okay to be friends with her now, right? Lu-ge himself said that she's one of us."

"Luhan-hyung says a lot of stuff, and meanwhile he hasn't shown us what he saw in her mind," Kai said a little grumpily. Sehun blinked at this as he was surprised to see Kai so sulky all of a sudden. His mood was the opposite of Tao when Jae was mentioned and he wondered why. 

"You don't like her, do you?" he asked, watching Kai for a reaction. 

"Huh? Why wouldn't you like her?" Tao quickly chimed in, looking at Kai, waiting for an explanation. 

"It's not that I don't like her, I'm just cautious. Everyone seems to be welcoming her with open arms, while a few days ago everyone was told to beware of her. Plus, isn't it strange that she doesn't seem to have a power? What if her power is making everyone like her so she could do whatever she wants without anyone being suspicious of her?" Kai argued and for a moment Sehun considered it. He had noticed the obvious effect she had on him and his other brothers, but it wasn't with them alone. He saw how she had interacted with that stray rottweiler last night as well. The dog was so meek. Was she a manipulator? But Jae is too kind and oblivious for that, he was sure of it. 

"That's ridiculous, what reason would Jae-noona have to do something like that?" Tao dismissed. 

"Well tell me this, do you like her because you know you do, or is it because she somehow made you like her?" Kai stated, crossing his arms across his chest in a smug way. 

"How could she have forced me to like her? That makes no sense. When would she have been able to do it?" Tao shot back, in disbelief that Jae would be capable of something so low. Sehun was inclined to side with Tao, of course, but he couldn't help but feel just a bit uneasy over what Kai had said. He never thought about what kind of power Jae could have. Was his infatuation a spell? Was it fake? 

"I don't know, maybe when you sat next to her last night," Kai replied easily, shrugging his shoulders. 

"Well, if she put a spell on us, knowingly or unknowingly, how come it's not affecting you?" Tao then asked, Sehun bobbing his head along the words. 

"Guess that just makes me smarter than all of you," Kai prompted, sneezing when the smell of jasmine became stronger. Sehun sat up straight, feeling his heart skip a beat. She was coming closer. 

"Hmph, stop talking smart. Jae-noona said that she didn't know what her power was and she said herself that she didn't think that she had one. I believe her. She's completely new at this," Tao then decided, Sehun quietly agreeing to the statement. 

"Spoken like someone under a love spell. I tell you, that girl is not to be trusted," Kai commented, pointing at the both of them. 

"Ha! And there is where your theory is wrong! I like Jae-noona because this will mean that we'll have a sister. I've no intention of falling in love with her," Tao pointed back at Kai. 

"Well what you intend to do or not do isn't always up to you, is it?" Kai had meant it to sound as a joke, Sehun could tell, but the look of utter confusion that graced Tao's face told him that his brother hadn't caught up on that. He wondered though, why Tao would so blatantly mention the term 'falling in love'. Sure, his brothers all acted like bigger dorks when Jae was around, but they couldn't all feel the same way he did towards her, could they? Were they real brothers after all, to have the same tastes in girls?

He shook his head. Why was he thinking about this? A small smile trailed on his lips when he thought back to her, moments ago. She was smiling when she felt the wind- his wind. That smile was for him. 

Feeling embarrassed at his own thoughts, Sehun buried his face in his hands, ignoring Kai and Tao when they noticed his sudden, strange movement. 

"What's wrong, Sehunnie? You're not crying, are you? You know that Tao and I are just joking around, we're not actually fighting," Kai said, his hand pressed against his shoulder. 

"That's right, because Kai knows that I'd kick his , Wushu style in 0.6 seconds flat," Tao added to jab at his younger brother. 

"Hmph, you'll have to be able to catch me first," Kai reminded him, eyes shining playfully red for a second. 

"Puhlease, one flick of my wrist and you won't even be able to move," Tao reminded him, pointing at his wrist as though he was asking for the time. 

"One flick of mine and you'll all be blown away," Sehun commented, a smug smirk on his face as he got up from the bench he was sitting on. 

"Yah, what's with you all of a sudden?" Kai asked, recognizing the look of mischief in his younger brother's eyes. 

Sehun took a deep breath of air, the scent of jasmine sparking the nerves of his brain. "Nothing. It's just a nice reminder that I'm able to do that, just in case I get sick of all of you," he stated happily, wrapping his arms around both his brothers' shoulders. "Why don't we forget about all of this for a while and get some bubble tea? We'll worry about this when night comes again, okay?" he compromised though for completely selfish reasons since he didn't want his brothers to talk about Jae. Was it so wrong of him to just want to keep anything related to the girl to himself? Again, he felt like he couldn't help it; wolves were, by nature, territorial creatures after all. 

"Bubble tea? You just had ice cream!" Kai remarked. 

"So? Ice cream isn't the same as bubble tea," Sehun answered while they walked through the streets to head over to the bubble tea shop. While they were walking and talking about normal, mundane things, Sehun caught sight of a poster, hanging on one of the clothing store's windows. It was promoting the upcoming Homecoming Dance, reminding the ladies that they were the ones that had to ask the gentlemen to go to the dance. Sehun always got asked, by a lot of girls. He never showed it, but he loved the attention. This time, however, he only wanted one girl to ask him, but how was he going to make sure she would?

I wonder if she likes bubble tea...