Random Rambles: Whoa, I feel like I've been on a vacation or something...it feels like it's been too long xD Quick new chapter, I wanna get this story rolling rawr! On another note, check around Christmas time for another special ;) Also, wow, so many new subscribers! Hi everyone ~ thank you for subbing to the Fallen! I'll keep doing my best guys, stuff is gonna go down for Jae and the boys ~(^.^)~ <3

***

Kai didn't like this. 

It was not like D.O. to be late for any appointments and it was definitely not like him to not tell them where he was. He looked around in agitation at his other brothers as they sat around a table in a more private part of Chanyeol's parents' café. Even though they were sitting next to each other, they had all resorted to looking at their phones. He rolled his eyes since they were trying to reach Jae-noona, but Kai didn't understand why they were so concerned. Was it that strange for the girl to want to be alone for a while after everything that had happened? 

Heaving a sigh, Kai watched as his hyungs were glued to their phones. Sehun hadn't even looked away from the screen, absently blowing bubbles into his bubble tea, his eyes locked to the device. Kai looked around the restaurant, his eyes shifting at the door each time it opened, hoping to see D.O. walk through it. There was an overall elated atmosphere at the café, but there seemed to be a cloud of gloom hanging over their table. 

Should he be worried? What if something had happened to D.O.? It wasn't unthinkable anymore, not after Lay-hyung... Kai swallowed, guiltily looking over at his exhausted hyung. Even though Lay hadn't gone to school today, he still looked weak and pallid. Sure, Jae-noona healed him, but it wasn't enough to heal him 100%. In truth, Kai didn't care. He was already glad to be able to look at this smiley hyung, looking even more blank and dazed than usual. If it weren't for him, it would've been Kai that got shot instead. Kai swore to himself that he'd make up for it, somehow- and, perhaps, to Jae-noona as well. Knowing her, the foolish girl probably thought that all of it had been her fault, but she had tried to stop him. Kai reacted on instinct, he always had, and last night, the fear of possibly losing one of his own was too great. It was a strong emotion, a burning, painful itch that made him react in ways he really shouldn't. An itch that he was feeling again, right at this moment. 

Where are you, D.O.? 

Kai stirred a little when he looked at his phone. He opened the messaging app and clacked his tongue. Really? 

He looked over at Chen-hyung, who had stuck out his tongue absently while he was typing in the group chat and Kai huffed out some air. Here they were, literally sitting next to each other, but his tech-crazed brothers opted to communicate through the freaking group chat instead. Twenty-first century technology for the win... Not. 

ChenChen: Do you think we did something to upset noona? 

BaeBacon: I knew it! Yah, Chen, what did you do?!

Kai rolled his eyes when he saw that Baekhyun had sent a sticker, pointing accusingly through his screen. 

ChenChen: Me?! I didn't do anything! Maybe...It was you!

Another sticker, a cartoon with fire in his eyes. Were these hyungs really older than me? Before he knew it, his phone kept buzzing, Chen and Baekhyun spamming the group chat with emojis and stickers. Kai was ready to groan out of frustration when a new, private message appeared. His eyebrows flared up and relief settled in his uneasy heart. 

D.O.: Are you still at the café?

SKailark: D.O.! Where are you? Why are you late? Did something happen? 

D.O.: Relax, everything's fine. I'm heading over with Jae. 

Kai's eyes widened. D.O. was with Jae-noona this whole time? Why would D.O. be with Jae-noona? She had been avoiding everyone, why not D.O.? Why do you care, Kai? He nipped at his lips. He suddenly felt the light touch of rain against his skin, Jae-noona before him, bathing in the silver light of the moon, with the droplets of rain in her hair, as though she wore a crown of stars. He resented the smell of jasmine that night. 

I don't dislike you. Just so you know. 

Why D.O.? he then thought. Kai was the one that got to Jae first, to protect her...

D.O.: There's something all of us need to discuss. Jae has some news.

Kai stared at his phone, and again, his undisciplined instinct took over. 

SKailark: Since when are you so chummy with Jae-noona? 

D.O.: Since when does something like that matter to you? 

SKailark: Good or bad?

Kai eventually asked, since D.O. had a point. Since when did it matter? Why did it matter? It wasn't like it was bothering him. Not at all, he thought, uneasily cracking his neck. 

D.O.: Good or bad, what? 

SKailark: The news. Good or bad?

D.O.: Uncertain at this point...She'll be able to explain. We'll be there in three minutes or so.  

Alright. So D.O. was with Jae-noona, and she had news to tell everyone, while she had been avoiding them the entire day. Girls... he sighed. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about either of them anymore. Sort of. Why hadn't D.O. just told the others that he was with Jae? The rest of his brothers had been worrying all this time that something might have happened to her. Speaking of which...

"Yah! 226 messages?!" Kai exclaimed, looking at his brothers. "We're right next to each other, why not just talk to each other, guys?" he said tiredly, managing to make a few of them look ashamed.

"But... stickers," Chen-hyung pointed out, a slight pout on his lips.

"Aish," Kai shook his head and rolled his hand over his face. "Anyway," he changed the subject. "D.O. just told me that he'll be here soon," he paused purposely to ensure he had his brothers' attention. "With Jae-noona," he finished, sipping his drink to wait for their reactions. Three, two, one...

"WHAT?!" they shouted. 

Kai couldn't help but smirk. Boom. A cacaphony of voices errupted, but Kai wasn't really listening to their surprise and utter confusion. He did roll his eyes again when he noticed Tao checking himself out on his phone after hearing that Jae-noona would join them, and of course Sehun was sulking a little. Honestly, it was rather amusing to see them like this. All because of some girl... the smirk on his face slowly dropped, his fingers tingling where he had felt her fingers brush against his skin. Yeah, he swallowed, a lump suddenly in his throat. Just a girl. 

"Yah! You! How dare you hijack Jae-noona from us!" Baekhyun suddenly stood up, pointing at D.O. who had come in, eyes wide in surprise at the attention. Behind him stood Jae, a similar expression on her face. The scent of jasmine wafted gently his way, but Kai suppressed a snarl when he saw D.O.'s scarf wrapped around her neck. 

"Don't you worry, Jae-noona, I'll save you!" Baekhyun stated dramatically, ready to run towards them, had D.O. not coughed loudly, stomping his feet to shook the ground below Baekhyun, bringing him out of balance.

"Pabo," D.O. sighed tiresomely, but something seemed to have changed. Kai couldn't really put his finger on it, but... Is D.O. glowing?

"Come on, Jae," D.O. called to the girl and Kai noticed that she seemed somewhat reserved. They moved so D.O. and Jae could join their table. 

"Wah, noona, we're happy to see you. What happened?" Chanyeol asked immediately, worriedly glancing at her. The girl immediately blushed at all the attention. Kai looked away, forcing himself to look bored and more interested in the food on the table. 

"Yeah, you just disappeared last night and then we didn't see you all day," Chen summed up. 

"Not to mention that you didn't reply on our messages. Did you get them, noona?" Sehun added, though his eyes shifted at the scarf around her neck, as though he wanted to rip it off. 

"I did, Sehun, and I know, Chen, I'm sorry, everyone," she apologized, and if there were those amongst them that were agitated or even angry at her, no one was now. The girl wasn't even trying to be cute, but there she was, looking as though the guilt was consuming her and there was no one around to save her, making people want to grab her and just squish her in an embrace. 

"Tch. You couldn't have said anything?" Kai blurted out before he realized that it were his lips that were moving. He nearly cringed when Jae looked straight at him, looking ashamed. He hadn't meant to sound so crude. Why did he always do that?

"I know, I'm sorry," she said again, her voice soft. "It's just that I started to think about stuff and after everything that happened-, I just- I..." 

"You got scared," Luhan filled in, looking at her in concern. 

"Yes," Jae admitted honestly. "But most of all, I felt guilty, responsible - for everything. I caused trouble and brought you guys in danger, and that's the last thing I wanted. So, yes, I got scared. Scared that you'd all get hurt because of me." She looked at Lay then, who was shaking his head, meaning to protest against her claims. 

"That's not true, Jae-yah," he said. "What happened last night could have happened whether you were there or not, and you saved me, remember?" 

"Barely," Jae replied, her eyes glistening with tears, though she held them back. "That woman that was there with my father, she was after me," she suddenly said and this had all of them on alert. Kai remembered her. Her skin was as white as snow, but her face seemed just as cold. There was something about her that made him angry, the way she smelled alone made him itch all over. That woman worked at E.T. Corp and she was after Jae? Why? 

"What do you mean, she was after you? Does she know who you are?" Suho asked, one big lump of anxiety and concern. This, while moments ago he had told them that he was ready to scold Jae for all she was worth. 

"No, I don't think so, I mean, not in human form, I think. But in wolf-form...It was like she knew me," she abruptly shut while the brothers were given a moment to process the information. D.O. quietly nudged her. 

"Tell them what you told me," he encouraged softly. Kai would let the intimate way he said it go for now. 

"I know that it sounds preposterous, but I think that woman might be the ghost-wolf, the one who attacked me," she said.

"What? Are you sure, Jae?" Kris asked, stunned. 

"I'm never sure about anything when it comes to this stuff," she replied, "but, yes, I'm pretty sure. Why else would she try to coax my father to shoot?"

"But, that doesn't make sense. Why would a wolf work for E.T. Corp only to hurt and capture other wolves?" Suho asked, but something told Kai that it was rhethorical. He could almost hear the cogwheels spinning in leader-hyung's mind, and his own was starting to work overhours as well. One thing was for sure; everything that had happened so far was not a coincidence. He didn't want to say it out loud and even thinking it was giving him an ulcer. But...

"Is someone hunting for Jae-noona? Perhaps even hunting for us, too?" he asked, a tense silence falling at the table. 

"But, why? We never did anything wrong, and Jae-noona least of all. Besides, no one knows about our existence, right?" Tao tried to reason. 

"Unless they were wolves as well," Luhan deadpanned, but his expression was serious. 

"But why go after Jae-noona?" Chen wondered. 

"What kind of skeletons do you keep in your closet?" Kris tried to joke, but Jae only grimaced. 

"I don't know why she's after me, but...there's more," she started. 

"More?" Xiumin asked, astonished. 

Jae winced a little. "See why I want you guys to stay out of it?" she commented before she continued. "My mother doesn't trust that woman, she has the best instincts when people are concerned, but well, long story short; she may have kind of invited her over for dinner at our house," Jae breathed, looking nervous and uncomfortable. Kai did not envy her at this moment. He knew what it was like having to carry around this secret, keeping it hidden from the people closest to you. It was no wonder that Jae seemed so high strung from time to time. He always dismissed it as being girly dramatical behavior, but now he was starting to understand that she was dealing with a lot of pressure. 

"You're kidding me, noona," Baekhyun said sympathetically, shaking his head. It looked like he was still trying to process the previous information. 

"Could we slow down for a moment?" Sehun then spoke, looking around the table. "Jae-noona," he directed himself towards her and Kai could recognize it when Sehun was playing around or not, and at this moment, he wasn't. "You had us worried last night and for most of the day today. You say that you don't want to see us get hurt anymore because you think that you're the cause for all the trouble, and then you say that the woman we all saw last night might be the ghost-wolf that was after you," he summed up, letting the words sink in. "And now, your mother, who doesn't know what's going on, just like your father, invited the same woman over for dinner at your house because she doesn't trust her?" he continued, checking to see if he got it right. 

Jae nodded. "Keep your enemies close, and all that," she clarified. 

"I see...Noona, you lead a complicated life," he said sympathetically, scratching his head. "Can't you get out of it? I mean, wouldn't it be dangerous if she really is the wolf?"

Kai listened as Jae started explaining everything, making his head spin with all the new information, the relevant and irrelevant matters. However, to Kai it all summed up to one thing: That woman was dangerous and they needed to figure out why she was going after Jae. The only advantage they had right now was the fact that this woman most likely had no clue who Jae was in human-form. 

He watched her as she spoke, how protective she was being towards them when she kept emphasizing how dangerous it could be if they were involved, how she stressed that the woman was after her alone- as if that would automatically make them think that she should handle it on her own, as if it meant that it was none of their business. D.O. sighed from time to time and it dawned to Kai that his older brother probably already told her that they, as a pack, would always stick together. New member, or not. That probably makes her feel even more guilty, he thought with a weary smile. 

"It would explain why E.T. Corp is so set to put those security systems in place," Suho pondered out loud. "That woman might be the dot to connect everything- or at least provide some answers. If she's after Jae, then perhaps she knows something that we don't."

"You don't think-," Kai looked at Chanyeol, who unwittingly made the flame on the candle on the table sway from side to side. "You don't think that Jae-noona is part of some scientific experiment, do you?" he fiddled with his snapback, his brothers gawking while pondering his words. Kai swallowed and saw Jae visibly pale. 

"Wh-what? N-no! No way! My dad would never allow something like that," she said, dismissing it quickly while rubbing her arms. 

"It could explain why we don't have memories of you," Xiumin mused and it was hard to tell whether he was joking or being serious. 

"Or why we didn't sense that you were one of us," Luhan added, bobbing his head thoughtfully. 

"Whoa, wait a minute- I am not a scientific experiment gone wrong, okay?" Jae piped up. "Besides, wouldn't I remember being a lab-rat?"

"Unless they made it so you couldn't remember anything, noona," Baekhyun replied, though he was obviously pulling her leg. 

"Come on, stop playing," Suho warned. "This is serious. If Jae is in trouble we need to help," he started. 

"Suho-,"

"And no protesting. Consider it a non-negotionable term, Jae," he interrupted her, his voice gentle. "You're not alone and we're not abandoning you," he stated firmly, his brothers nodding their heads with confident smiles on their faces. She looked at each of them, and when her gaze lingered at Kai, he made sure to look as casual as possible, only very slightly lifting his chin to acknowledge Suho's claim. She tried to hide it, but she was smiling into the scarf. 

"Now, you say this woman is coming over for dinner tomorrow?"

Jae nodded, looking regretful. "And she, uh, my mom, she kind of told me to bring someone to the dinner, so I wouldn't be the only teen bored out of their minds there," she said. 

"Wait, what, like a date?" Chen asked, a little stupefied. 

"I guess you could call it that," Jae shrugged, but she was blushing. 

Sehun immediately lifted his hand. "I volunteer!" he called out. 

"What? No way, Sehunnie, obviously I'm the better choice," Baekhyun spoke up. 

"Please, a dinner like that needs sophistication," Chen told Baekhyun. "I'll go," he grinned. 

Kai only shook his head bemused, rolling his eyes from time to time, watching his brothers argue. From across the table Jae watched rather uncomfortably, as though the girl was ready to disappear into a hole in the ground. Most girls he knew from school would be squealing their pretty heads off if they saw them arguing over who was going to be their dinner date, but not Jae-noona. She just watched in confusion and embarrassment. 

"Okay, everyone, shut up!" Suho then called out, eliciting a faint growl. "This isn't a game. We have to take this seriously and the fact that Jae is allowed to bring another person to come to the dinner is an opportunity to try and find out more about this woman. This could work out to our advantage if we play our cards right and send the right person." 

It was on moments like these, when Suho was mostly calm instead of a nervous wreck, that Kai was reminded why he was the leader. While everyone else seemed to try to take advantage of the situation only to become Jae-noona's date, he kept a clear vision on the whole situation. It was true that he and Suho usually didn't see eye to eye, but in cases like these, they seemed to be more kindred in spirit. 

"What do you suggest, hyung?" he asked. 

"Well, personally, I think we need someone who can focus on asking the right questions, while keeping an eye on things without raising any kind of suspicion," he explained. 

"And how do we get to decide, hyung?" Tao asked, though he sounded like he was already preparing to protest. 

"From an objective point of view, I'd say the best candidates for Jae to bring to the dinner would be Luhan-hyung, Kris, and maybe Kai," his statement was immediately met with protests, but Kai was still surprised that he made Suho's cut. Kris and Luhan, however, high-fived each other. 

"Um, excuse me? I get where you're going at, but just a reminder; this won't actually be a date," Jae pointed out, but it didn't matter to them. She shook her head and sat back in her seat. 

"Before you all chew my off, will you listen? Luhan is well-mannered, considerate and suave. Not to mention that his ability to read minds could come in handy," Suho started explaining. "Kris could charm the pants off a snake and make it wear it like a hat. He's calm and keeps a level head." 

Kris nodded in approvement, thumbs up at Suho. 

"And Kai," Suho continued, making the person in question look up almost expectantly. "Kai has good instincts," Suho smiled appreciatively at him. "And he looks like a puppy, which I know the noonas all fall for," he added to jab him, so Kai glared at him for good measure. 

"And the rest of us are just chopped livers, aren't we?" Chen whined, not happy at all that he wasn't a viable option. 

"You know it's nothing personal," Suho soothed. "Xiumin-hyung is too quiet and shy, same goes for D.O.," he elaborated gently. 

"Which Jae already knows," D.O. said, giving her a tiny smile as though they shared an inside joke. 

"Lay could've been a good option as well, but there is no way in hell that I'm sending him into a house with the woman that indirectly got him shot, and the man that actually pulled the trigger- no offense, Jae," he said, but Jae gave a wan, but understanding, smile. 

"None taken," she said, mouthing another apology to Lay, who shook his head and smiled at her. If it were up to this hyung, all was already forgiven. 

"The three of you- well, do I have to point it out?" Suho stated at the beagle line, who were already prepared to retaliate, but Suho simply continued, ignoring them. "You two maknaes would probably be too distracted by the food and Jae's company that you'd forget why you were there in the first place," he finally accused, drawing astonished gasps from both Tao and Sehun. 

"And what about you?" asked Jae out of the blue. 

"M-me?" Suho flushed, scratching his cheek. 

"Yeah. You'd make a good candidate, I think, based on your reputation on the island, that is. Your vigilance could come in handy, no?" she said it so casually, but it looked like Suho was about ready to turn into a giddy schoolgirl. Our great leader, ladies and gentlemen. Kai heaved a deep breath of air. 

"Okay, so four candidates. How do we decide?" he asked, going straight to the point. 

"Well, the fairest way would be how we always do things," Suho answered, snapping awake. 

"What do you mean 'fair'? This whole competition was rigged from the start, hyung!" Sehun remarked snippily, his hands defiantly crossed over his chest. Beside him, Tao nodded fiercely. 

"Yeah!" he pointed out. 

Suho simply shook his head and held out his fist. "Guys?" 

Luhan and Kris followed his example quickly, with Kai hesitatingly joining last. 

"Wait a minute, you're chosing by way of rock, paper, scissors?" Jae let out a chuckle of disbelief. "Really?" 

"Do you have a better method, Jae?" Luhan prompted cheekily, silencing her for a moment. 

"I guess not. Go at it," she gave in, watching them. 

The four of them looked at each other and started the game. "No cheating, Luhan-hyung," Kai reminded him.

"I wouldn't dare, Kai."

"Kai, bai, bo!" the four of them chanted. 

"Wow, you actually really didn't cheat," Kai couldn't help but chuckle when his rock crushed Luhan's scissors. 

"Ah, crap," Luhan said, looking at Jae. "Guess we'll have to raincheck," he teased. 

"Kai, bai, bo!" 

"Meh, this isn't my style anyway," Kris sulked, with Lay patting the disgruntled duizhang comfortingly on the shoulder. 

"Just you and me, kid," Suho provoked. 

"Tch. Who are you calling kid, grandpa?" he retaliated. 

"Kai, bai, bo!" 

Kai looked at his hand and at that of Suho-hyung. Neither of them moved, nor spoke. Their brothers stared at the result in anticipation, gawking, eyes wide. 

"Well...that was unexpected," Suho muttered. Kai couldn't believe his luck. 

"So, who won?" Jae asked, leaning forward to check the results. "Ah," she nodded, her eyes wide. "This is definitely going to be an interesting dinner..."