“I’m… I’m in.”

All eleven pairs of eyes widened incredulously and looked back at her with such surprise that she swore she saw their ears comically perk up. Sookyung had no idea what she was doing and what she was thinking. It seemed as if and heart had acted on its own and her mind and subconscious were currently mentally punching her.

But as all of the grown men standing in front of her with their jaws still hanging open continued to stare back at her, she knew, deep down somewhere in there, that it was the right thing to do. The four districts were none of her concern and she could care less about what happened to the West, but that didn’t mean that she would let go and easily forgive her father for her past, and the only way to do that was to join the East and help them get what they needed to stop her father.

And this was only temporary--Sookyung planned to only tell the East what she knew and potentially help them get Chanyeol back. That was it.

The eleven of them looked at each other perplexed and utterly surprised that their plan had worked. “You-you’re serious?” Baekhyun spoke first, his glasses slipping down his nose, mouth still agape.

Sookyung sighed. “Y-yes. I mean, I honestly have no idea what I’m doing,” she admitted, voice trembling, “my knowledge about the West is not extensive and I don’t have much in my arsenal either. All I have is… is me. I’m just sick of seeing my father killing with no cause,” she muttered, head hanging down, fidgeting with her fingers.

A few seconds of suffocating silence passed before a brave soul spoke up again, stuttering. “But h-how do you know that we aren’t as violent and hungry for wealth and power like your father?” Suho inquired, testing her. Everyone around him nodded.

To that, Sookyung didn’t have a clear answer. She paused, unsure for a second, until she actually remembered sneaking into her father’s study one night years ago when he was out doing god knows what, and reading a portfolio about a 'Kim Jaesoo' that was left scattered open on his desk.

“I know that your father was not a bad man that killed without cause,” she began and she saw Suho immediately tense up at her words, “in fact, I have read all twelve of your profiles before, a few years ago, when I snuck into my father’s study one night. And I stumbled upon the section where it had mentioned that all of you guys all share something--a damaged past. I know that all of you here have a scar somewhere in there that covers up the fact that family was never really an option for you. Jaesoo had taken all of you in at a young age and treated you all like Suho; his blood children. Hey, I’m a nurse, for crying out loud; even if I may be hot-tempered and stubborn, I know a good heart when I see one. And Suho, your father had one.”

The boys all glanced at each other, intrigued that they weren’t the only ones who had background knowledge about the other side. She saw a few of them look down at their feet, kicking at the dust on the cold, cement floor at the mention of their family, or lack thereof.

“And how do we know if we can trust you?” Kris asked, cashing in all of his final chips. That was it; the last straw.

Sookyung smiled softly, “It's simple--you don’t have to. I don’t have to plead my case and try to appeal to you guys. I said I was in and it’s up to you if you believe me or not. I don’t have any evidence here right now to say whether I’m truthful to you or not. All I have is my word and my past that could hopefully help you to bring my father to his right mind and snap him out of this illusion. This is only going to be a temporary thing; I’m going to tell you what I know and I’ll be on my way, and I’ll be keeping my word that I will not say anything to anyone," she sighed before looking up at them one last time from her spot and almost whispered, "it’s up to you guys.”

All in. She laid herself out there and it was up to them now whether or not they would accept her offer and help. Sookyung herself was surprised that she had spoken so truthfully from the beginning until now.  

The guys all shared one last look with each other that Sookyung could not decipher. Anyone on the outside could tell, just at one glance, that no matter if Suho and Kris were the leaders, every member in this group had a role and was equally as included in the group's fate as anyone.

After a few more seconds of them silently conversing, they looked back at her again, all with a determined look on their faces.

"Well then," Suho began, "I guess it's decided.”

“Welcome aboard."

~~~

Sookyung sheepishly and slowly walked down the steps of the grand staircase in the humongous house with a towel still wrapped around the back of her neck and hair still dripping.

After they had officially acknowledged her entirely and taken her offer, Kris immediately wanted to drill information out of her right away, before Chen and a few others interjected saying that she definitely needed to clean herself up and get comfortable before they try to milk any information out of her. She didn’t know if she should’ve been offended or grateful for that.

Sookyung was led upstairs by Lay and Chen on either side of her, leading her up the steps with her wobbly legs after everyone else had filed out the door and up the stairs first. She was led up to the living room on her way to the staircase and was incredibly amazed at the interior and beauty of the mansion. She was appalled that the East considered themselves lacking in the past decade--this place could easily feed hundreds. By the way everything was scattered, with dirty dishes still in the sink and the lingering smell of cologne everywhere, she knew at least a few, if not all, of them lived here at their headquarters that they also called home.

They'd given her a bowl of steaming home-cooked ramen before she went upstairs to shower. They all stared at her as she ate and she completely ignored their amused eyes as she gulped down the noodles like no tomorrow.

She was then led into a bedroom and told to wait there, and she did, until a young, black-haired, beautiful girl came into the room. She was undoubtedly one of the prettiest people Sookyung had ever encountered in her life. Sookyung definitely felt jealous at the girl’s tall stature and slimness, whereas Sookyung was a bit shorter and much more muscular than the girl in some places. One sniff of herself, and she knew she wasn't in any position to compare herself to the girl.

She introduced herself as Kim Seolhyun, EXO's official secretary. She told Sookyung she was sent here to help get Sookyung freshened up. She laid out undergarments, a simple pair of blue jeans rolled up at the cuffs and a loose v-neck, white t-shirt. Sookyung was grateful that Seolhyun chose something almost exact to her own wardrobe back home; she would've backed out of the whole plan immediately if she found a low-cut and tight black dress lying on the bed waiting for her after her shower like a typical mafia gang of young men would want her to wear.

After almost a whole hour of dousing herself in stuff that actually had a plausible scent again, Sookyung faced herself in the mirror with her hair still soaking one last time before walking downstairs. She stared at her makeup-less self and noticed how much skinnier she'd gotten, how much more noticeable her dark circles were, how the loose t-shirt seemed to hang off of her, and just overall how miserable she looked. She told herself to get used to it though; she was sure a lot more sleepless and tiring nights were to come soon.

Sookyung sighed and braced herself before walking down, ready to face the music. She made her way down, continuing to dry her hair with the towel, and saw a few of the guys lounging around the living room, waiting for her to come down.

Her footsteps announced her arrival and all eight guys present turned around, facing her. She cleared and looked slightly to the side, away from them; their glowering eyes made her flustered and even quite insecure. Really though, who wouldn't be--she was in regular clothes now, had no makeup on her face, just learned that someone like Seolhyun worked with them on a regular basis, and although she'd never in a million years admit it out loud, her captors were all fairly handsome.

"Good, you're here," said Baekhyun, "have a seat." He pointed to the couch opposite of where all of them were. Upon hearing him, the other three of them came in from the kitchen and den to join the conversation here.

Sookyung made her way to the appointed sofa and sat down, placing the towel beside her.

"Before we begin though," Chen started, "I think we should all individually introduce ourselves. I'm sure that'd be much easier for you." He gave her a small smile. Again, this was something Sookyung would never admit out loud, but she was surprised, yet thankful at the same time for the generosity from Chen. From when she first met him and he warned her to not mess with the rope since it'd burn her, to agreeing with Lay that she shouldn't have been handled so roughly right away, to just giving off a more laid back, gentle vibe than the rest, she was grateful that there was at least him that didn't seem overly intimidating like the rest of them.

Speaking of the rest of them, the first one to speak up was Kris. "I'm Kris, co-leader of--"

"Actually, I know all of your names," Sookyung cut him off, "I told you all that I read your profiles before, didn't I? I know all twelve of you, including your positions in the group, I just don't know who's who."

Sookyung explained this slowly, not wanting to come off arrogant and downright creepy. But she looked from the corner of her eyes to Suho standing there at the end, hands in his pockets, face lit up in slight amusement at the girl sitting before them.

Kris huffed, blowing the strands of hair on his forehead away from his fac