***

It was a gray and dreary day today, and I was exhausted. 

The events from last night still made my head spin and it caused me to lock myself up in my room, where I could avoid my parents altogether. I had jolted awake when I heard my father’s phone ring early in the morning in the other room and quickly turned around in my bed, trying to drown it out. I knew that it was him getting a call that something had happened at E.T. Corp and I still resented it that I was the one responsible for that. 

Sure, I found a heart by stealing that dagger, whooptie-freaking-doo, but it did nothing for my guilt. I wish I could turn back time- but even Tao said that he couldn’t do it so why would I think that I could?

I turned around to look at my desk, which was cluttered by all the notes I had made and shown to the boys. Out of context, it looked like the deranged scribbling of a paranoid hippie who believed in conspiracy theories. 

My fingers jolted when I sensed that pulsating energy and I stared at my drawer. I checked to see if my door was closed and then slowly opened the drawer. The cloth of the dagger had slid off slightly, revealing part of the hilt and the green heart-shaped seed. 

It was by far the strangest weapon I had ever seen, almost as if it was alive and sentient. What was I supposed to do with this thing? The ghost wolf failed to mention that. 

I took a deep breath when I reached out to pick it up. The heart glowed green, the silver shining like it had recently been polished. It felt light in my hands, but heavy at the same time. My skin was tingling wherever it touched the dagger, but it wasn’t unpleasant. At the same time, I felt uneasy holding it. Familiar and so very strange…

“What am I supposed to do with you?” I wondered out loud. “What even are you?” 

What else had the wolf told me on abandoned Exo planet? 

Find the heart. Remember. If you find the heart, you might save your home. 

Well. I found the heart, now what? Did it automatically mean that my world was saved? Was this it? Should I wait for more instructions? But the wolf also said that it wouldn’t be able to help again. 

“Save the world…How is this thing supposed to save the world?” I scoffed and clacked my tongue, sinking down on the chair behind the desk. “What the heck did we do? We’re like lost sheep…” 

I breathed out as calmly as I could. What if the fate of this world really was in the hands of a group of teenagers with super powers? That was an awful heavy burden and a terrible responsibility. Let’s be honest here; the world would totally be screwed if we were the ones that had to save it.

But then again, who else was going to do it? You know another group of responsible people who happen to have supernatural abilities that can save the world? 

“Maybe they know how to do it,” I muttered sarcastically to myself, wrapping the dagger in the cloth again. 

“Oh my, do I want to know what ‘it’ is?” 

I let out a shriek as I jolted up, looking behind me to see my mother leaning against the doorpost while eating a cup of yoghurt. She laughed at my startled reaction and entered my room. 

I threw the wrapped dagger into my drawer and slammed it shut, quickly trying to clean my desk and hiding the notes I had written down. 

“Mom! Eh, h-hi, good morning,” I greeted rather stupidly, trying to look casual.

“Wow, on edge much? You know, you’d think that a student whose school got cancelled would be a lot more relaxed,” she remarked. “Something bothering you, baby?” 

“No, it’s nothing,” I smiled, coughing. “W-why would you think there’s something going on?” I muttered oh-so-smoothly.  

She narrowed her eyes at me as she slowly walked in my room. “Did you take your medicine? Don’t make me call the doctor on you again, Missy,” she warned and I shook my head. 

“I’m fine, Mom, I promise. I was just daydreaming,” I dismissed. “So, have you heard from Dad yet? He left kind of sudden this morning,” I said to put the attention away from me, but I wasn’t out of hot water just yet. Mentioning my Dad gave me an ulcer and having to pretend like I didn’t know what was going on was even worse. But the alternative would be telling her that I stole a dagger from Dad’s company with my friends because a ghost wolf told me to. So, the first option seemed like the lesser of two evils. Relativity’s a , ain’t it? 

“No, he hasn’t called,” she confessed, looking worried. “Something significant must’ve happened, otherwise he would’ve already called. But maybe he’ll do so later on,” she shrugged her shoulders a little. My mom was smiling, but I could tell that there was something bothering her. 

“Dad is fine, you know,” I told her because I knew that was what she needed to hear,  and she chuckled, taking a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing. 

“Oh, I know, baby. But with the weather lately, and him staying at work all night and then being called to work in the morning-,” she sighed deeply as I bit my lip. “I’m just a little worried. He’s spending an awful lot of time at that company.” 

I gave her a comforting smile. “Yeah, but you know Dad gives his all where his work is concerned. He’ll be fine,” I tried, glancing briefly at my drawer, where I knew the dagger was pulsating..

Mom nodded absently, the spoon dangling from . “Do you think I overdid it when I invited Miss Kumiho over for dinner? Your father didn’t want me to invite her. What if that just drove him right into her perfect little arms?” she asked out of the blue, causing me to snap my head up at her.

“Oh boy, Mom this is so not appropriate,” I groaned. “Come on, you’re talking about Dad here. Trust me, he doesn’t even like that woman,” I gritted my teeth. 

“Good. I don’t like her either,” she decided firmly, heaving another sigh. “So then, now that’s out of the way, what’s been eating my teenage daughter lately?” she asked with a teasing smirk. 

“Me? Nothing, Mom,” I said casually, shrugging my shoulders though I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. 

Mom regarded me thoughtfully, a sad smile on her face this time. “Nothing, hm?” she asked as I did my best to keep a straight face. I only lifted my eyebrows as confirmation. 

She chuckled and caressed my cheek. Her hand was a little cold, but her touch burned. 

“You are so much like your father, do you know that?” she mused gently. 

“Hey, you’re trying to insult me?” I tried to joke. 

“You’re good at keeping secrets,” Mom clarified soberly, nearly stopping my heart. Her smile this time showed that she knew I was keeping something from her, and that it was hurting her. My mouth was dry as parchment and it was so difficult for me to swallow. I searched for the right words to say, but I drew a blank. Somehow it felt like I would be insulting her if I persisted that there was nothing going on. Instead, she was the one who broke the silence. 

“I’m here, too, baby,” she said. She had told me so before, and I should’ve known that I couldn’t pass anything by her. I felt the guilt come back with a vengeance so I just stared at the floor as if it fascinated me to no end. Mom’s eyes were gentle, I know, but her staring felt unbearable. 

“Jae, baby, when do you think you’ll be able to tell me? Whatever is going on with you?” she asked straightforwardly this time, the way only a mother with sharp instincts could. 

Denying anything would be hurtful to her, since she’d know that I’d be lying. So I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders and gave a wan smile. 

“In due time,” I replied in a mere whisper, my eyes stinging slightly as I pushed the tears back. Mom heaved a sigh as well, but I couldn’t tell whether it was one of relief because I’d confirmed her suspicions, or of concern, because she was right about me having secrets and not told her about them. I’d like to think it was one out of relief. 

“You trust me, right, Mom? I-,” a sigh escaped my lips. “I need you to trust me.” I gathered my courage to look her in the eyes and she took full advantage of that. Mom scanned my face, reading my expression, my eyes, and nodded hesitatingly while gnawing on her bottom lip. 

“I always do, baby. Just…be careful. You’re my daughter. I know you. So, you come to me when you’re ready, okay?” 

Someone punch me in the gut and slap me nine ways till Sunday! I’m a horrible, horrible daughter…

“I will, Mom,” I breathed, my voice frail. “Don’t worry about me. All you need to know right now is that I love you.” 

Mom nodded so patiently, so understandingly. She kissed my forehead. “I love you, too, baby,” she whispered and then regained herself, giving me a bright smile. “Well then. I was planning to head into town today. Try and seize it despite the grimy weather. You wanna come with?” she suggested cheerfully. 

“Oh, well, actually, I’ve been meaning to ask. Since we don’t really have school right now, I thought I’d hang out with friends. Is it okay if I have some come over today?” I asked, rubbing the back of my head. We still needed to find the answers, and if I had the house to myself anyway, might as well invite the guys over to figure things out. 

“Ah, that sounds like a nice idea, honey. There’s plenty of drinks and snacks downstairs so you have some fun, okay?” Mom pecked my cheek. “But no funny business, hear me? Your Dad will have an aneurysm for sure if he suddenly came home and caught you with Suho, or that other boy we saw- Luhan, I believe? Or one of the group of cute guys you introduced us to the other day,” she managed to tease, laughing at me when I groaned out loud out of embarrassment. 

“Oh, Jae, is it such a bad thing to have a boyfriend?” she smacked me playfully on the arm. “You’re young and so high-strung. Live a little, baby,” she winked. “I’m gonna head out. You’ll be okay entertaining friends?” 

“Yeah, for sure. You be careful, Mom,” I blurted before realizing what I had said. “Uh, because of the weather and stuff. If it gets bad then come back home, okay?” I added quickly and she gave me a warm smile.  

“Will do, baby. Be good,” Mom waved and left. I waited until I heard her leave the house before breathing regularly again. I opened the drawer to check on the dagger and closed it again, shaking my head. I grabbed my phone and sent a message to the pack. 

I’ve got the house to myself. We have stuff to talk about. Can you guys be at my place in about an hour?

My phone was spammed with messages after I sent it, and again, it felt pretty nice to know that I at least wasn’t alone in this madness. I wonder if they were able to sleep last night. If they could, I hope their dreams were good. Mine had been vague and flooded my brain with scrambled images that didn’t make a lot of sense. Dreams of red skies and black water, of freezing fire and burning ice. Dreams of tall trees and shiny daggers. One big, confusing mess. 

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the drawer and soon reached out to it again, grabbing hold of the dagger so I could stare at it. Carefully, I removed the velvet cloth and cautiously held the dagger in my hands, fully exposed. The blade shimmered and I thought for a split second that familiar-looking symbols reflected within it. I searched for the triangle I saw on it last night, but there was no sign of it. Maybe I had imagined it after all. 

“So. Here we are,” I mumbled absently to the thing, still examining it. “I don’t suppose you could start talking and tell me what to do with you, eh?” Of course there were no voices this time. That would’ve made things too easy. 

 “How does this work?” I ever so gently tapped against the pulsating, lightly glowing seed and tried to see where the batteries were hiding, but I couldn’t find anything. How did E.T. Corp even get by a trinket like this? Or was it an invention from E.T. Corp? Is this new technology? A new gadget that would turn into a Tree of Life and provide endless energy? 

I jolt up when the doorbell rings and I blink, checking the time. Only fifteen minutes passed. Who could be at the door? 

Just to be safe, I carefully walk over to my window and take a peek outside. I huffed in relief at seeing a smiling and waving Sehun on the front lawn. 

“Hi noona!” he greeted cheerfully when I answered the door, looking clean and fresh. I doubted he had trouble sleeping last night. 

“Hey, Sehun. You’re early,” I chuckled, letting him in. 

“Oh, yeah, well, I was in the neighborhood when I got your text, so I hope it’s okay I got here sooner,” he shrugged ever so casually, running a hand through his platinum blonde hair. “Ah, t-these are for you,” he moved his hand from behind his back, revealing a modest bouquet of white roses, almost as if he had picked them along the way. 

“Aw, you didn’t have to get me anything, Sehun,” I accepted them. “Thank you, they’re beautiful. They kind of look familiar, though,” I said, frowning a little as I caught the look of guilt on his face. 

“Better not put them where your neighbor across the road can see them, noona,” he said with a mischievous smile, closing the door behind him. 

“You’re unbelievable, Oh Sehun,” I laughed, leading him to the living room. 

“So I’ve been told,” he boasted playfully, looking around. “I’m the first one, right, noona?” he asked. 

“Yeah. The others won’t be till later, I reckon,” I nodded, walking to the kitchen to get a vase. “Make yourself comfortable, okay? You want something to drink?” 

Sehun followed me and shook his head. “I’m good, thank you. Where are your parents, noona?” 

“Mom went out into town,” I started, trying to swallow away the lump in my throat. “Dad is, well, at the office,” I bit my lip and Sehun cringed. 

“Sorry,” he apologized.

“Don’t be. I suggested it, remember?” I shrugged, putting the roses in the vase and arranging them a bit. 

“Here, I’ll put them on the dining table. They’ll look nice there,” Sehun remarked, grabbing the vase from my hands, his fingers ghosting slightly over mine. 

He smiled brightly and walked towards the dining room, completely at ease, as if he was already familiar with his surroundings. I admired how calm he was, too. As if this whole end-of-the-world-dagger business wasn’t fazing him at all. 

“You know, noona, I know that I’m the youngest of the pack,” Sehun suddenly started. “But, that doesn’t mean that you can’t confide on me. If there’s something troubling you, you can rely on me. I’ll be happy to listen and help in any way I can,” he suddenly said in a quiet voice. 

I blinked rapidly at him and chuckled. “Is it that obvious?” I asked, a little embarrassed. “My mother asked me if I was okay too, before she left. Guess I have to work on acting, huh?” 

“Not at all, noona, I think your mom just has good instincts. I can’t tell by looking at you, but I can sense that there’s something up. I get it, though. All the things that have been going on, must be hard,” Sehun rubbed the back of his neck and beamed a smile my way. “But that’s where I come in! What can I do to cheer you up, noona? It feels like it’s been forever since you laughed,” he added gently, standing in front of me. 

“I laugh,” I protested, putting on a smile to make a point. Sehun only looked at me, judgment clear on his face when he propped up a single eyebrow. I looked away, giving in. 

“It’s okay, noona. I’ll make you properly smile and laugh, I promise,” he said sweetly, not a care in the world. 

“How do you do it?” I blurted, the words flying from my mouth. 

“Do what, noona?”

I paused a moment. “Everything,” I said quietly, looking at him. Sehun bore a look of temporary confusion on his face, waiting for me to explain. 

“How have you dealt with everything all these years? Keeping things secret from your family?” 

Sehun nodded understandingly, standing in front of me. “It wasn’t easy in the beginning, but you learn how to adjust,” he started. 

“You never feel guilty for hiding something so big from them?” I continued. 

“Of course, but I guess I never told them because there’s no use for them to know. I know it feels like things would be easier if they knew, but I don’t think outsiders could really understand,” he tried. “But then there’s the hyungs, and there’s you, so I don’t feel so bad about it,” he added quickly. “Though I can imagine that sometimes that’s not enough,” he murmured. 

“Of course it’s enough,” I replied, seeing his smile reappear tentatively. “But it would’ve been a little easier if I didn’t have to stress about keeping it a secret,” I admitted, to which Sehun nodded understandingly. 

“It’ll all be alright, noona. Really,” he said. 

I nodded at him. “Yeah, I know. Thanks, Sehunnie,” I know that I didn’t sound convincing at all, so I wasn’t surprised that Sehun regarded me skeptically. 

“You’ll see. Where’s the dagger?” he asked. 

“The dagger? Upstairs, in my room. But we should probably-,”

“Great! Come on, noona,” Sehun pulled me along with him, finding my room with ease, feeling absolutely comfortable walking into it with me in tow. Suho had been nervous and shy about the mere idea that he was alone with me in my room, but Sehun wasn’t even blushing. 

I shook my head in amusement and walked to my desk. He followed my movements and looked over my shoulder when I opened the drawer. 

“Cool,” he cooed, gently taking the dagger from my hands to inspect it a moment as he plopped down on the chair behind the desk. “So has this thing helped you wake up yet, noona? Is it some kind of weird alarm clock?” he asked and I shook my head, leaning against the desk. 

“I don’t think the ghost wolf meant for me to wake up in such a literal sense. To be honest, I don’t know what the dagger is or what it’s for,” I sighed, and frowned when I thought I saw another strange symbol etched in the blade while Sehun was holding it. 

“Well, we should try and figure it out,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

“Yeah, that’s why I asked all of you guys to come over, remember? We should wait until the others get here,” I replied, grabbing the dagger from his hands again. The moment I did so, a sudden dizziness overwhelmed and I needed to steady myself. The dagger was pulsating brightly for a moment before the light faded again. 

“Noona! Whoa, careful, are you okay?” Sehun held me upright and I chuckled out of embarrassment. 

“Yeah, I’m okay, I’m fine. S-sorry. That happens a lot, lately,” I breathed, trying to stand straight, but failing. I leaned against Sehun’s chest, who held me protectively against him. 

“Is it the dagger, noona?” he asked, glaring at the thing in my hands. 

“No, I think this is just a Jae-thing,” I looked up at him. “I get sudden panic attacks,” I confided, my voice soft. 

“Panic attacks? That sound serious,” Sehun muttered worriedly. “Here, noona, sit down,” he guided me to my bed and waited until I was properly seated before he knelt down before me. 

I was short of breath and did my best to calm down. 

“I’ll take that, noona,” Sehun said quietly, grabbing the dagger, but I pulled back on instinct, startling him. 

“S-sorry,” I apologized. “I’m sorry, but, I’d like to keep holding it for a while,” I felt like I’d feel worse if I wasn’t touching the dagger for some reason- maybe this was a dagger-thing after all. 

“Okay,” Sehun said, pursing his lips and holding my shoulder when I took deep steady breaths. “What do I need to do? What do you need, noona?” he asked. 

“I just-,” I inhaled for breath, wondering why I still felt this way. I thought the dagger was the answer to everything, but that’s apparently not the case. The anxiety took over, that horrible sensation of not belonging anywhere, not remembering anything from my past, took over. The dagger felt warm in my hands and I could feel it pulsating like a steady heartbeat. When I closed my eyes, I could see a green, glowing heart thump in my mind’s eye. 

“Noona? Jae-noona?” Sehun called softly, shaking me lightly to get me to open my eyes, but I couldn’t. Was the dagger alive after all? Was it sending me images that it wanted me to see? 

A white light twirled around the heart, followed by a shadow of similar size. When the shadow swallowed the light, the heart cracked and I could feel its pain. Its sorrow. All of those emotions made way for the purest of fear when the shadow proceeded to swallow the heart as well. I knew this story. I saw it somewhere before. The ghost wolf showed it to me on Exo planet. 

I heard the sound of my rapid breathing, felt how my shoulders shook. 

“Noona, open your eyes,” Sehun’s voice sounded from far away, but I couldn’t. 

“Noona! Noona, stop!” 

Stop? What did he want me to stop? 

“Noona,- Jae, don’t be afraid. I’m here,” Sehun said ever so softly and I could feel his presence in front of me. Why couldn’t I open my eyes? 

“S-Sehun,” my voice was shaky, panic kicking in when I lost control over my movements. “I can’t open my eyes,” I trembled, the grip tightening on the dagger. 

“You need to calm down, noona, I’m right here,” he told me, but he seemed worlds apart. 

“I-I can’t,” I breathed, my body stiff with tension. In the dark, my heart thumped rapidly as fear started gripping it. “I can’t!” 

Where was this coming from? Me, touching the dagger? But I’d touched it before, so why would I react like this right now? Was it the stress of all the events that had occurred? There was a quiet storm, wherever I was. This terrible cold and dark place, with no one around that I could hold on to. Were these the emotions of the dagger? Could it feel? I was trembling so much, my body was so tense- frozen with fear and despair. I was drowning in a black abyss, disappearing, sinking further into the darkness-

But then it all suddenly stopped. Two warm, reassuring hands cupped my face, thumbs gently wiping away what I assumed were tears. Had I been crying? 

A gentle, summer’s breeze made my skin shiver pleasantly, a ripple of warmth flowing through my body as that wind played with my hair. My body relaxed slowly, my breathing slowing down. I became breathless when the same pair of thumbs ever so gently caressed my eyelids, the touch so careful and tender like the beat of a butterfly’s wing. The gesture calmed me down and I wasn’t drowning anymore. 

I gasped softly when the tender touch was replaced by chaste and careful kisses on each eye, making my eyes flutter. I was covered by a sense of security which washed away the fear and the pain I felt before. I gained control over my body once more as if a connection had been broken. I could breathe again. 

When I opened my eyes, Sehun was there, inches removed from me. His hands were still cupping my face, but I didn’t mind. He was smiling when I looked at him, his thumbs softly caressing my cheeks for comfort. 

“That’s better,” he murmured with a smile. “Everything is going to be alright, noona. Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” he reassured me, for which I was thankful. 

“Sehun,” I sniffed, trying to regain my composure. I was so happy to see him. What I felt before was beyond terrible. I never wanted to feel like that again. Letting out a breath of relief I leaned forward and hugged a surprised Sehun. He steadied himself and wrapped his arms around me. I felt safe as I allowed the scent of freesias overwhelm my senses. I didn’t mind. 

“Thank you,” I whispered and he responded by my back, soothing the last bits of nerves and anxiety I’d been feeling. 

“I was worried, noona. You hurt yourself by gripping the dagger too hard,” he explained calmly when I had pulled back. “I wanted you to stop, but you were already out of it,” he got up from the floor and sat next to me while holding my wrists, gently prying the dagger from my hands. I think he expected it to be stained with blood, but there was nothing there. The damned thing shimmered and shone as if nothing had happened. 

I looked at my hands and they were fine as well. Not a scratch on them. I don’t think I felt a sting on my hands to begin with. 

“That’s weird,” Sehun murmured under his breath. “You were bleeding, noona,” he elaborated without panic in his voice, as though he deliberately controlled his emotions for my sake. He held my hands to inspect them and didn’t let go when he asked, “what happened?”

I let out a deep, exasperated sigh and lifted my shoulders, feeling like I’ve aged a century. 

“Did you wake up?” he then asked, but I shook my head. Whatever I just went through was anything but an awakening. 

“I don’t feel any different,” I told him. 

“But you did see something, didn’t you?” Sehun read off my face. 

“I’m not so sure what, though,” I bit my lip. “Sehun, if I told you that I think the dagger might be alive- sentient, somehow, would you believe me?” I asked him in all the graveness I could muster. The maknae gave me a puzzled look before his eyes darted over to the silver dagger, the heart pulsating softly. 

“Well, I don’t see why you would lie about something like that, noona,” he answered with a shrug. “You think it’s alive?”

“I think it just made me feel what it felt,” I started, fully aware at how ludicrous this sounded. “And it wasn’t necessarily good,” I said with a sarcastic chuckle. At this, Sehun watched the dagger again and cautiously grabbed it. There was a pensive look on the boy’s face, but I couldn’t read it. 

“Hm,” he hummed, rubbing his chin absently. “What if it’s some kind of USB device? Or an external hard-drive, a place to store memories? Maybe what you saw and felt were data belonging to someone else, noona. A dagger can’t be alive, you see. It’s an object. But if it’s some fancy new device created to transfer saved data to another person, it wouldn’t be so surprising that you could feel and see what it had recorded,” he tried to reason, but even to me it sounded rather farfetched. 

Sehun seemed to realize this as well as he scratched his cheek and flushed red. “What exactly did you see, noona?” he asked to change the topic. 

“I saw a green heart being swallowed by the shadows. The next thing I know I’m drowning into the abyss as well. I’d probably would have been stuck in that darkness if it weren’t for you. So, thank you, Sehunnie,” I smiled genuinely this time and it made him cheerful as well. 

“I told you that you can rely on me,” he boasted, a smug grin on his face. He then glanced at the dagger and picked it up, walking towards the drawer. 

“What are you doing?” I asked, seeing him wrapping the weapon neatly in the velvet cloth before putting it back where he had found it. 

“We’ll get to that dagger once the others are here. I don’t want to risk anything happening to you, again,” he explained. 

I watched him carefully as he smiled. Sehun had gentle eyes, and even though he didn’t look it, or acted on it, I could tell that he had a good, and caring  heart.

“You’re something else, did you know that, Oh Sehun?” I told him, taking one more deep breath for good measure. 

“Naturally. What else would I be? I’m pretty amazing, noona, I’m surprised you haven’t caught up to that yet,” he stated in such a casual, naive manner that I blasted out a laugh, immediately feeling better. I punched him against the arm before I leaned my head on his shoulder, feeling grateful once more that he was here to talk me down. If he hadn’t decided to come early and I had picked up the dagger like I did, I wouldn’t know what could have happened. All these boys seemed to have perfect timing. They were there when I needed them, even before I realized that I needed them. 

“Hey noona?” Sehun called. 

“Hm?”

“Do I get something for keeping my promises?” the cheekiness that dripped from each word were impossible not to notice. 

“What promise would that be?” I mused as he leaned his head on mine. 

“I made you laugh and I made sure you can always rely on me,” he answered casually, though I could feel him become a bit warm. He was blushing. 

“Well, I guess that’s true,” I mused again, gently pulling away so I could look at him. Sure enough, the tips of his ears were red and he was trying to hide the fact that he was feeling shy by putting up an act of confidence and cheekiness. I played along. He did help me, after all. 

“Name your price,” I said and he blinked, probably not thinking that it would be so easy. 

Sehun smiled, unable to keep up his act and he flushed. Then he looked at me with a pair of adorable puppy dog eyes that nearly made me want to reach out to pinch his cheeks and then go to buy him all the bubble tea he wanted. Thank goodness I had a thing called self-control. 

“Do you think that- ehm…well,” he stammered shyly, swallowing hard. “Ask me to the Homecoming Dance, noona?” he questioned, lowering his gaze so he wouldn’t have to look at me. Now it was my turn to turn into a tomato. 

“T-t-the Homecoming D-Dance?” Oh, eloquence that is me! 

Sehun nodded, pursing his lips together to prevent from laughing out of nervousness. “Yes,” he still managed to answer. “Don’t worry. When you ask, I promise I’ll say yes,” he added with a cute little wink that made him feel even more embarrassed. 

I chuckled and covered my face. What could I say to this? Gosh, I wish I could be as carefree as he was. I’d forgotten about Homecoming all over again. 

“What if Homecoming Dance gets cancelled anyway because of the weather?” I answered after giving it a serious thought. 

“Then I’ll settle with a dance,” Sehun replied promptly. “Do we have a deal?” he held out his hand and waited for me to shake it. 

“Just one dance?” I teased. He laughed.

“If you want more then all you need to do is ask, noona,” he retaliated cleverly. 

Chuckling again, I took his extended hand and shook it firmly. “It’s a deal,” I promised. 

Later I would wonder why I felt a little uneasy making this promise to Sehun, but I couldn’t pinpoint the reason. Maybe it had something to do with the end-of-the-world-brouhaha that was still hanging over our heads. 

It won’t be long now. 

We had the dagger. 

Time for some answers.