[Hellion Brothers: Book #1] Hellion Brothers

16: Rules

”And you know, I think we could go visit that newly opened ice-cream shop nearby. They say it’s like the one before that but only, like, creamier and with more cheese and—Maeji, are you still listening?”

“Wha--? Ah, oh yeah. Ice cream. Yeah I’m listening.” I forced a smile. Chen narrowed his eyes at me for a few seconds, before returning to his blabbering. Unfortunately, Chen had the energy to wake up early this Monday so he decided to “hang out” with Lay and I in room III-C since we were the regular early birds. But for the past 20 minutes, he had been the only one talking, but that didn’t seem to bother him. Lay could only stare and listen half-heartedly (if he even understood anything) while I had my mind wandering towards the near-disaster last Friday.

Not that I’m a war freak or anything, but honestly, I was slightly expecting a nerve-wracking hide and seek or some adrenaline-filled chase scenes. But there was no need for any of that because of Kai’s teleporting ability. Before I could even offer something for help, he immediately brought me to my house and into safety. I didn’t expect myself to see that as disappointing. So yeah, I never was able to witness how the Hellion Brothers dealt with Kris. If they chased after him, or hid from him, or did some awesome aerial battles, I have no idea. And by the way Lay and Chen aren’t mentioning anything about it, I think maybe it’s better if I do not ask.

“Anyway, guys, have you seen Sehun anywhere?”

Lay and I exchanged confused looks. “No... didn’t you meet him before going here?”

“No,” Chen grumbled. “He’s already gone when I woke up. I told him we’ll leave together so I can show him where I work. He promised that he’ll sign up! But since he’s gone, I decided to just go to school early.”

“You’re working?” My eyes widened and I scooted my seat near him to hear more about this interesting topic. Ever since we moved here, I was thinking about finding a job to help mom and dad with at least a little money. But since I didn’t know much about this town yet, I didn’t know where and how to start.

“Well, yeah... I work part-time in a coffee shop...”

“Great! Bring me along with you, ok? Thank you so much!” And so I squealed and gave him a power hug. I could feel them giving me weird stares, but who cares? I’m going to have my first job and finally be a useful daughter for my parents!

“Maeji, I don’t think Tao would approve of that.” Lay said coolly. My bright smile immediately transformed to a grimace.

“And why would I follow him?” I stated in annoyance. I’m doing this for my family, not for him. I want to do this, and there’s no way anyone could stop me. While Chen looked at me with uncertainty, probably because he’s afraid Tao would scold him, Lay looked at me with amused eyes. Smiling slyly, he crossed his arms and leaned forward in his seat.

“Tell me, Maeji. What exactly happened between you and Tao in the tunnel? I don’t remember you speaking like that.”

‘You’re irreplaceable.’

“N-Nothing! He was just so annoying, that’s all!” I forced an angry face, hoping that he would mistake the redness of my face as a sign of anger. But he kept his eyes narrowed, anyway.