Baekhyun's POV
"I don't think he will be coming anytime soon."
I heard Joonmyeon say from his position on the bed, his head lying down on his opened palms. I shifted while standing, because my legs had turned numb from standing at the corner and just waiting for the boy to appear. With Hani, of course.
I watched Sehun shift as well, and his entire body was shaking. I could tell he was affected by Joonmyeon's words; more than before actually. I didn't know what to say to be honest, because I knew Sehun liked the girl too much, and maybe he even trusted her to a large extent. I don't know when it started, him trusting her; even though I told him we shouldn't trust her. I guess having Minseok hyung and Joonmyeon hyung beside her as well and trusting her wholeheartedly was putting him at ease too.
I darted my eyes to the place Kai had teleported to with the box, and then back to my fingers. When he first took the box, I had thought something bad will happen to us, but after merely ten minutes; nothing happened. That had worried me even more.
"Do you really believe something bad will happen to Hani?" Xiumin hyung asked, as he was leaning against the single window, staring outside. The window was bigger than normal, and the fading light glistening from the sun was reflecting over him, giving him an odd, ethereal view that I wasn't used to.
"I didn't say that," Joonmyeon hyung sighed, rubbing his eyebrows and dragging his hand down until he was grasping his chin, before he looked up at Xiumin with empty eyes. "I just.. I don't trust Kai at the moment,"
Just when Joonmyeon hyung said that, a small sound of a click resonated in the entire, quiet room, and almost immediately; most of the heads present shot their heads toward the source of sound. Beside the window Xiumin hyung was leaning against stood a very healthy-looking Kai, carrying a half-dead Hani in his arms.
Before I can even get appalled, or distinguish the horror slowly slipping past my sanity; Joonmyeon roused hurriedly, but before he could even rush to the girl, Kai started moving and gently placed the girl on the bed.
I was so scared then, so shocked. Because she looked scarred for the rest of her life, both physically and mentally. The tension in the room rose by the appearance of Kai, and I could catch Sehun's murderous stare directed to Kai's skull. Even I, the boy who shows no emotion; was practically radiating heat. Hani looked fragile, there was no negotiations in that; but right now, she looked far worse. Her hair was half bloody half dry, and there were scars on her face. I noticed the hand she had kept on her side, even when Kai laid her gently on the bed. Her jeans were dirty, bloodied, and just simply uncomfortable.
Sehun and Joonmyeon fussed over her almost immediately, and Xiumin walked away from the window, sparing Kai no glance, who had gently backed away, eyes staring onto Hani's body and feet shuffling; before crouching down beside her bed. Xiumin's eyes were wide, terffied and there was a pinch of sadness as well. He reached to touch her under the moving limbs of Sehun and Joonmyeon, but retreated gently to glance at his freezing fingers numbly.
I knew what he was thinking, and I too; glanced down at my abnormally cold fingers. We were cold, freezing. We had been like that ever since we were cursed. But Xiumin was colder; he was the coldest due to his powers. He was afraid that touching Hani might make her condition worse, especially since she looked like she would pass out if he only did touch her. I backed away the same way Xiumin hyung did, my back grazing the wall of the big room of Hani's. I heard murmurs and hisses of are you okay, coming from Joonmyeon's and Sehun's mouths, while the remaining three of us stared with shock, heart accelerating in a scary rate.
One would think that having a blood bond with Hani would make us feel her agony, but all I could feel was the empty feeling in the depth of my soul, as I stared at her with my cold façade, still legs, and shaken fingers. I was never one with feelings, never a guy who could express his heart's thoughts at all. I hadn't been like that; I had changed and I was aware of that. Something had died in me, something that I wasn't sure I'll be able to grasp back.
"Joonmyeon.." I heard her tender voice whisper in a broken noise, accompanied by a hiss of pain. I realized at that moment, that she radiated power; power so great that the moment I had figured it's existence, I slowly came crumbling down to my knees. "Sehun.." she called Sehun too, but the boy turned to me with furrowed eyebrows, because he didn't understand what was the reason of my sudden fall. Then, his eyes widened; and he snapped his eyes to Hani's body with a gasp he tried to hide. I had known this boy for a long time to forget about his quirks and the slight shift of his expressions.
He was sitting down, so the force of the power didn't knock him down. Joonmyeon seemed like he had realized it the moment she had appeared, but he was strong enough to be standing beside her carelessly, stroking her cheek gently with the tips of his fingers. Xiumin too, who's face was close to Joonmyeon's thigh because of the proximity, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if he could smell the amount of power she has.
Hani raised one of her hands up, her entire body shaking. Joonmyeon immediately sat down beside her, curling one of his legs under him and leaving the other outstretched towards the ground, and clutched her hand in both of his, directing it to his cheek.
"Are you okay?" he whispered gently, and it doesn't take a genius to see the sheer worry in his eyes, or the anger he so willingly wanted to show, but didn't. It was magnificent how hard he tried to conceal his feelings, because Joonmyeon always relied on his shown emotions. I wondered why he didn't want Hani to know of his anger, but my eyes wandered to Kai, who retreated more and more into the shadows of the curtain belonging to the window, and the answer came to me right away.
Hani smiled in response, nodding her head vigorously despite the heavy wound bleeding on her head, before looking at Sehun, reaching her hand for his neck, curling her fingers on his skin, before pulling his head to the crook of her neck. Unaware of myself, I stiffened. I never liked it when Hani showed any sort of physical affection to any of my brothers. Touching leaves bonds with people, and I didn't want that thing to be created between Hani and my brothers. Sehun seemed to believe the opposite, because he snuggled in her embrace even though his cheeks were burning, and his pride was apparent. Instead, he lied down fully beside her, and Hani took the chance to nuzzle his hair with her nose.
"I was so worried," she said, and I was surprised, because I thought Joonmyeon would be the one to say that, not her.
"What?" Joonmyeon seemed to think the same. "Why were you worried? You were the one who was kidnapped," Joonmyeon made sure to stress the last word, and I did catch Kai wincing and curling more into himself.
"Come here," she called out instead of answering, beckoning Joonmyeon to lie closer to her. There was evident surprise flashing in his eyes, but he complied with a timid smile and lied on her other side. She caressed his hair as well.
"I was worried because they wanted you. I was afraid I wouldn't be brave enough and give you away," Hani spoke, and for the first time since she had came here, she finally let the tears fall.
Something in the back of my heart, in the deepest part of my rotten soul, there was a sound of a crack, followed by another until an entire wall I've set for protection fell down from its almighty stand. Something about the way her face reddened and swelled, and the way her blinking tears fell down her rosy cheeks made something within me disappear. I sat down Indian style instead of standing back up, watching with the limited angle I had (the bed boards were huge) how Joonmyeon unconsciously reached for a spot on her stomach, and started circling calming circles on her skin, comforting her.
"It's okay, Hani," Sehun murmured, because Joonmyeon seemed in a lot of shock to say anything. "It doesn't matter now. You're fine now, and that means you haven't given up."
"I haven't," she sniffled, and something about that movement made the corners of my lips curve up. "I haven't."
"Do you.. want to talk about it?" Joonmyeon spoke timidly, and the timid side of his was the worst. It meant something he hadn't expected to happen had happened, which would be his embrace with Hani. He is a playboy, but he doesn't like the idea of having skinship without him initiating it first.
"No.. I want to forget about it entirely," she murmured like a child, hiding her face through Joonmyeon's hair.
"Talking about it helps," Xiumin suggested, and I realized it was the first thing he had said ever since she had showed up. Hani seemed to realize that as well, as she lifted her head from Joonmyeon's head to glance down at him with affectionate eyes.
"Xiumin, come here, I want to hug you too. And where is Chanyeol?" while Xiumin blushed red and stood up to hug the girl, I eyed the door of the room with calculations. Hani's mom should be here by now, and I was afraid something might have happened with Chanyeol.
"Chanyeol's watching out for your mother's arrival and he will distract her if she arrives," Xiumin mumbled with his head on her shoulder, before pulling away from the hug to sit back down at his place. I noticed his red cheeks and my thoughts about him were confirmed. He has some kind of feelings for the girl.
The girl started telling what happened with her after more nagging from both Xiumin and Joonmyeon, and my heart thumped in disappointment when she didn't mention me. I felt.. forgotten. It annoyed me, because I knew I don't deserve to be remembered anyways, but.. it hurt. Surprisingly.
I glanced down at my shaking fingers that were slowly turning to normal, my ears listening carefully to what she was saying but my heart felt heavy. I unconsciously let out a sigh, and turned around to see Kai. As if sensing my stare, he turned to me with hopeless eyes that were stronger than before, before ticking his head to the door slowly, and disappearing into black smoke.
Realizing that he wanted me alone with him, I stood up gently not to cause any ruckus, and exited the room and closed the door behind me gently.
Kai was leaning against the wall, next to the door, and the moment I was out, he turned to me with wide eyes. He slowly trudged to me, as if scared I'll say or do something harsh to him, before he reached to my sides, clutching on my woolen sweater, before slowly placing his head on my shoulder.
He was taller than me by slightly ten inches, so he had to bend. His whole body was shaking terribly, and I realized that Hani wasn't the only one traumatized. As gently as I could, I reached for the boy's back and started patting him.
"Hyung.. I was so scared," he let out gently, and I realized he hiccuped in the middle of his words. Whenever Kai was about to cry, or when he was in too deep with crying, he always ended up hiccuping. I knew he was about to break down anytime, and I didn't hesitate to embrace him properly.
When we were humans, he was two years younger than me, and we weren't that close. He was closer to Chanyeol, and when he feels overwhelmed with life or when stress starts to pile up, he will always go to Chanyeol for comfort. But I guess I'm the only one available now, and our relationship when we had turned into this had brought all of us together.
"I was scared I'm going to lose her," I was surprised about Kai's words, but I didn't pull away from the hug because I knew he needed it. "They did horrible things to her. They cut her and they hurt her. I've never felt so hopeless in my entire life, I've never felt like I couldn't do anything but watch. They let me watch while they did what they desired because I was a coward."
Kai had to sniff his snot, and my heart constricted in my chest at the weakness he was showing. None of us were that weak, and we didn't like to show this side of us with the rest of us around or not.
"He had my card and he threatened to cut it up. I knew he wouldn't kill me because he wanted all of us but I still was afraid and I listened to him. Hyung, I listened to the guy I hated the most and gave him the person I love..-"
"You love...her?" the preposterousness in my voice was so clear that Kai fell silent, and he didn't say anything to confirm what I heard. But I didn't need any confirmation, because I've already guessed it. It didn't help that when Kai opened his mouth to change the subject, he ended up worsening it.
"I've been watching her for so long. She was so different and the way she treated you guys. I just—I just had a chance to meet her before she owns me and I just... I felt like I knew her, like I'm attached; like I'm attracted. And the amount of powers she has.. she is so amazing."
"Kai, you're attracted to her powers, not her. We all are. Don't mix things up. You are not in love with her, I won't allow it."
"I'm not in love with her," Kai sniffled, slowly breaking the hug. He didn't look at me, because he knows the scolding look would be there. He also didn't look at me, because unlike Chanyeol, and just like Joonmyeon, I was great with reading eyes, and he didn't want me to see the real feelings he had for Hani.
"Do you think.. the boys would mind if I gave her my card?" Kai tried changing the subject, and it worked, because my eyes turned into wide saucers. I honestly wanted to say yes, they'd mind, but I know they wouldn't.
"No. They'd actually love it," I rolled my eyes, because no one seemed to understand how dangerous it was to give Hani, the weakest girl on the campus our cards; the power in controlling our fate. I don't trust her, not even for a bit; but they all do, and I don't think she's ever going to give me my card. (A voice in the back of my head told me I'm wrong, and Hani won't hesitate to give me everything I wanted if I asked her to).
"Really?" the boy seemed delighted, as his entire face brightened, and I unconsciously squinted my eyes at him. I was a person who was easily suspicious of everything I'm facing.
"Really," I deadpanned. In the depth of me, I felt kind of relieved Kai will be able to do whatever he desired from now on, because Hani was never restrictive or violent. But another side of me, I was scared we'll all face our doom with her. It's not like she can't be trained, because Xiumin and Joonmyeon are working on that. But she was a childish person, and I don't exactly like some of her actions. Her thoughts conflicted with mine, and I doubted every single part of her moves.
A very different side of me, a third side I've never really shed any light on due to fear of believing it, said that I was just scared someone like her existed, someone that could be so perfect in every aspect.
-
When Kai and I returned back to the room, Hani was taking a shower so we could leave (and so she could hide her gruesome wounds) the three boys were deep in thought, and they almost snapped their heads dangerously towards us.
None of them seemed to be angry anymore, but none of them seemed ready to talk with Kai. While a part of them understood Kai's actions, another part of them wished he would have acted in a different way (I wished that as well at the same time) so they didn't want to talk to him. It was childish, because they were all adults, but nobody could blame them honestly.
While Kai retreated into a far corner, away from the anxiety the three was giving him, Hani was out of the bathroom freshly washed and covered in comfortable clothes; though she was hissing softly.
"How could you endure all that pain in three hundred years when I can't handle just this," she rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help but let out a snort.
"Wait," her face suddenly scrunched into confusion, and she looked like something just dawned on her. "You guys are three hundred years old, yeah?"
"Yeah..?" Xiumin answered with slight hesitance, not quite sure where this was going.
"But Sehun told me before he was one hundred and something years old," I stiffened immediately, and all heads snapped their direction to Sehun with furrowed eyes. Sehun's face held confusion, wondering when did he ever say that, but he paled as white as a ghost as soon as he remembered.
"You see..." I drawled, and she snapped her head back to me. My heart raced when her dark eyes stared at me with avid twinkling inside. "Sehun's mental state wasn't that stable at that time. He doesn't just confuse reality from imaginations, he also confuses different events that were from the past and from his imagination, which results to him lying a lot of times."
"So he was the one lying, not you.." she mumbled to herself, still staring at me, but she didn't seem like she wanted any of us to hear her. She was like thinking out loud.
"I'm sorry?" I said just to make sure, and she smiled gently before looking back at Sehun with a grimace.
"Is he saying the truth? You two had messed me up so much with your puzzles that I can't differentiate between a lie and a truth."
"It's true.." Sehun admitted with a small voice, his cheeks burning and feet scuffling together. He reminded me of a small kid shying away, and I rolled my eyes at the resemblance in my head.
"When did this.. disease of yours actually stop?" Hani asked with a small voice, walking to the boy carefully and sitting down beside him, trying to muffle her hiss when her sides ached.
"Before we found Joonmyeon hyung..? I'm not exactly sure either," he mumbled in a small voice again, and Hani ruffled his hair with a reassuring smile.
"It's okay. I forgive you, I understand."
At this time, a frantic Chanyeol barged through the door with his sketchbook half tattered from the force he used to hold it. He was able to show us what he wrote beforehand before he noticed Hani sitting down beside Sehun with a smile.
"Hani's mother has been here for ten minutes and she isn't buying my excuses! What should we do? Hani is still gone!"
While I read, the boys all tried to bite down their smile at the silent scream Chanyeol let out before carefully hugging the girl. I looked back at them after I retrieved the sketchbook from the floor (Chanyeol had thrown it in shock when he realized Hani was here) and I saw Chanyeol crying silently in Hani's shoulder.
I wondered when Chanyeol had grown so close and attached to Hani?
After all the heartwarming hug, Hani looked for Kai, and found him hiding in the shadows while trying to make himself invisible. I scoffed in my mind, while Hani headed to the closet and took a pair of jeans she had previously bought for Sehun, and a large ebony sweater. She walked back to Kai, and I watched with hitched breathing, as she sent him a small, affectionate smile, before reaching the clothes for him.
"Welcome home.." she whispered gently, and I caught the small quirk of Kai's lips up in a smile, which unconscious of me, I found my mouth mimicking while staring down at my covered toes.
When Kai took the clothes from her hands, she snapped her head towards us all calmly, not caring that her mother was probably freaking out by now (or maybe she did care, but she just didn't want us to sense her anxiety) and asked with a growing grin.
"So, does a sixth rank exist then?"
Sehun flushed, Joonmyeon looked appalled, and I rolled my eyes.
'That devilish smile of hers wasn't so promising after all,'
-
Author note:-
Here's the awaiting chapter^^ how do you like Baekhyun's pov? And what do you think of his personality as a whole? Who is really waiting for an explosion from the girl so he would learn his place?
This chapter was really hard to write to be honest; because it focused on so many emotions at once.
How do you think of Hani? Honestly, her personality is different from mine in a lot of aspects, so I kind of hate her(?) lols, hating her is good because it means I'm doing exactly what I'm planning.
In the next chapter, there will be more explanation about more important details (It didn't seem like the right time to include everything because Hani was just saved) and there will be more details about what exactly happened with her, and how she healed Kai. Then, there will be a time skip of how much I don't know, but then I will finally start with someone else's arc! Who DO YOU want to see next? Because I still hesitate between two of them lols.