Ignoring Chen, who was still in a shocked silence as a result of Lay’s speech, Eve looked forlornly in the direction that the aforementioned boy had gone. She couldn't help but blame herself for the rift forming between the boys. Guilt began to build up in her chest.

 

She glanced at Chen contemplatively before deciding that Lay was the better option. With this thought in mind she rose from her seat and tried to follow the path that Lay had taken, climbing up the stairs for the first time.

 

As she reached the top of the stairs she observed a hallway with four doors, all closed, that lead to an open area that then split of into three other hallways. Every single door was closed. Her thoughts began to fill with doubt, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. However, as she thought back to the fight between the two boys she felt guilt consume her once again. Falling entirely into that chasm of negativity, she resumed her task with added enthusiasm.

 

Desperate to find him she began knocking on each door she passed by hoping that someone would respond. Even if it wasn't the one she was looking for they were more likely to know where he had gone. Eventually one of the doors she knocked on opened, revealing Xiumin. He tilted his head in curiosity.

 

“Eve? What are you doing up here?”

 

“I was looking for Lay, do you know where he might be?”

 

“Yeah, I have an idea. Why do you need him?”

 

He questioned as he stepped out of the room in order to help her.

 

“It’s nothing.”

 

She said, too shy to explain her thinking. However, as she thought about what happened another question came to her mind.

 

“Hey Xiumin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

She gulped, she had a feeling this question would not be well received.

 

“Can anyone in this realm go to the other one? Or is there any way to get from the other realm to this one?”

 

His reaction was much calmer than Baekhyun’s, much to her relief.

 

“Not that I know of. If anyone Blessed could come here they probably wouldn’t want to, and if anyone here could go there they probably wouldn’t come back so we wouldn’t really know about it. Why?”

 

“I was just curious. Since I can come to this realm and my own I was just wondering if anyone else could do something similar.”

 

He hummed in understanding before suddenly stopping and turning towards her with a serious expression.

 

“If you can go to this realm shouldn’t you be able to go to the other one as well?”

 

She immediately felt herself tense up, still unconvinced that she should tell them.

 

“Umm, I'm not really sure. I don't exactly know how this whole transport thing works yet.”

 

She just hoped he would believe her. He looked at her suspiciously, but let it go as he continued to lead her to where Lay would most likely be.

 

After twisting and turning through a multitude of hallways, she had lost count after seven, they finally reached a little alcove with one door hidden within it.

 

“He should be in there.”

 

“Okay, thank you.”

 

He smiled and turned to leave, but she stopped him before he could get too far away.

 

“Wait! I don't think I'll be able to find my way back, this place is way more complicated than I thought it would be.”

 

He chuckled lightly at her concern.

 

“Don't worry, I'm sure Lay will be willing to help you when you're ready to go back.”

 

Eve nodded in understanding and turned back to the door as Xiumin walked away for real. Taking a deep breath and slowly opened the door, peeking her head through the gap but leaving her body in the hallway.

 

Her head snapped to the left at the sound of a laugh.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Part of her felt embarrassed, but it was quickly swept away by the relief she felt upon seeing the kind boy that she had been looking for.

 

She slipped the rest of her body through the door, closing it softly behind her.

 

“Did you need something?”

 

She shuffled her feet nervously before responding.

 

“I just wanted to apologize. I feel responsible for your fight with Chen. If you want I can leave, I don't want to cause problems for you all. “

 

He was frozen for a moment before he offered her a smile.

 

“You don't have to worry about that, Chen is just an . He had been since we met him. If we weren't fighting about you we would probably be fighting about something else.”

 

She looked at him skeptically before letting it go, she didn't have a plan in mind for leaving anyways.

 

“Did you apologize to Chen as well?”

 

“No.”

 

He quirked his eyebrow up in question.

 

“Why not?”

 

“You said it yourself, he's an .”

 

Lay laughed at her response.

 

“I think you're picking up our bad habits. Pretty soon you'll be swearing all the time.”

 

She shrugged and allowed a teasing smile to occupy her face.

 

“It'll help me blend in with the indigenous people.”

 

He snorted in amusement.

 

“Hate to burst your bubble, but something tells me you won't be blending in any time soon.”

 

“Whatever, blending in is for losers anyways.”

 

“Are you calling me a loser?”

 

“Hmm, maybe not you.”

 

“The others definitely are though.”

 

“Precisely.”

 

“You never know though, the people who seem to blend in the most could very well have the capability of standing out more than any other. “

She contemplated his words before deciding that she wasn’t quite sure about whether or not she believed that. Maybe it was because she had such limited interactions with others, but for some reason she could not grasp the idea of someone blending in for so long, only to stand out more than any other later on in life. However, she decided to trust him on this considering he had more knowledge when it came to other beings.

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Sorry I'm so slow, hopefully I'll be able to improve soon. I hope all your winter holidays were enjoyable and I apologize for any mistakes!