The Hidden - Chapter 14: Just Checking
Baekhyun wakes up, shaking, but not from from fear.
What the hell? His mind surges with the things he was told last week. "I have no idea what I dreamed but my mind hurts now." he complains to himself quietly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Can knowledge make you shaky?" he wonders.
Meh. He quickly picks his clothes out and takes a shower before brushing his teeth, hearing Xiumin shouting. "Baek, we're gonna be late!" He spit the toothpaste out of his mouth. "Coming!" he yells back. He pulls his clothes on and runs down the stairs, going down half way before realising he forgot his bag. "Shit!" he mutters, going back up and grabbing his things. "Have a good day boys." Mrs Byun calls to them from the living room. "And Baekkie?"
"Yes eomma?"
"Stop swearing." He smiles sheepishly and nods, apologising.
Mums hear everything.
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"What were you guys doing last week?" DO asks Kai, the two talking quietly compared the rest of the screeching group.
"Nothing much." Kai answers, scratching the back of his neck.
Well I suck at lying. He notes.
Can't be worse than Sehun though.
"Kai, are you lying? You only scratch your neck when you're lying." he pointedly observes, raising a brow at him.
"Course not hyung." he smiles, moving his hand. "Sehun put itching powder in my clothes this morning." he explains, whining as he scratches his arm. DO bursts out in laughter, earning a pout from Kai, before he stifles his laughs with his hands.
"Sorry." he giggles, his eyes curving into crescents. "Just don't come to close, okay?"
"Why not?" Kai teases, chasing him.
"Stop!" DO shouts, running behind Xiumin. "I'm being attacked!" he glares playfully.
"I'll stop." he raises his hands.
"Promise?" Kai nods his head in confirmation and DO moves from behind Xiumin, returning to Kai's side.
"Xiumin hyung, Baekhyun and I have really sensitive skin." DO explains. "Xiumin hyung and I get rashes because of itching powder and Baek has slight irritations." Kai nods in understanding.
"D'you think they'll let me miss Korean to go change out of these things?" he motions to his clothes, tugging the neckline.
"If Miss Kang's feeling nice, maybe."
"Seulgi noona loves me." Kai brags.
"How long has she known you?"
"Since I was nine."
"She'll let you." DO nods, smiling lightly.
"DO hyung?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you and Xiumin hyung not like us?"
"What? Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?"
"You just never come over to our's. When we ask, you always make up excuses. You don't want our numbers. You avoid us in school unless Baekhyun hyung's with us." Kai mutters, his head hanging as he looks down.
"We're just not really comfortable around people." DO answers, not really knowing what else to say. "We've known Baekhyun hyung since we were young so he's basically our brother. We've only known you guys for two years and because of family things last year..." he trails off, tears stinging his eyes as he forces them back.
"It's okay. Sorry for pushing you."
"No, you're right. Let's fix it."
"What d'you mean?"
"Let's exchange numbers." the shorter suggests, the taller nodding as he types his number into his phone. "'Kyungsoo hyung'?"
"Call me by my real name." he suggests. "My friends always do - or they used do." he says the end under his breath, so Kai doesn't hear.
"What?"
"Nothing." He plasters a smile on his face.
"Hey!" Suho shouts. "You've passed the school!"
"Whoops!" Kyungsoo says, turning and almost grabbing Kai's sleeve before remembering the itching power and grabbing his hand and dragging him to school. "Don't even think about it."
"Hyung." Kai whines.
"I had a feeling you were gonna try to ditch me here." Kyungsoo fakes sadness and lets go of his hand before walking up alone.
"Fine!" Kai gives in and runs after him, making Kyungsoo smile.
"Hyung?"
"Yeah?"
"Call me Jongin."
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The group runs into the school and Chanyeol notices something.
"Hyung, where's Lay hyung?" he asks Suho.
"He's late - probably just overslept." he replies, the younger shrugging before seeing something in the corner of his eye. A silhouetted figure following Baekhyun from the closure of the darkness, his hands reaching out to grab him before quickly drawing back as Baekhyun becomes surrounded by people, the figure turning and running away.
"Hyung, hyung!" he shakes the man's arm, his eyes not moving from that spot. "Did you see it?"
"What, the random shadowy figure that's been following us for around five minutes? No, of course not(!)"
"Wait, it was following us?"
"Oh my god." Suho face palms and walks away from Chanyeol. "Yes, it was following us. When it didn't do anything for three minutes I guessed that it was a rookie hunter so if we kept messing about, it would guessed we were human and left us but obviously not."
"It was going for Baek so it must have been waiting for him to be alone but as he got away from us, his classmates surrounded him."
"Hyung!" Sehun shouts, running back to him. "Heechul hyung said that if you guys don't come in now, he'll give you a detention."
"Tell Heechul hyung, propter hoc stercore serio possit meiere. Suus 'aliquis quaerit nocere hominibus nostris." [he can piss off because this is serious shit. Someone's trying to hurt our human.] he say, smiling sweetly.
"Really? What happened?"
"Someone tried to kidnap him." Suho tells him, walking to class.
"Chanyeol, I'm gonna tell him!" he calls over his shoulder as leaves them in the courtyard. He waves him off before facing Sehun again.
"How can he not notice though?"
"He's a bit of a dreamer."
"Will Heechul hyung really give us detentions?"
"Yes."
"See you then." He races into the building, Sehun close at his heels.
"Hey!"
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"Sorry for being late." Lay apologises to Heechul, after coming to homeroom halfway through the lesson.
"You know this is a late detention right?" Heechul tells him, Lay's face falling as he nods in understanding.
"Yes hyung, sorry." he bows, walking towards his seat. Heechul sighs to himself.
This kid, I swear. Too polite for his own good.
"This is your first time so I'll let you off with a warning though." he gives in.
"Really?" Lay asks.
"Yeah, yeah." he waves his off. "Just don't come this late again." he warns.
I swear if I keep letting this lot off the hook I'm gonna lose my situation. Who says that anymore- My job. he thinks, correcting himself.
"Lay hyung." Baekhyun calls. "You have dirt and twigs in your hair." he points out, Lay fixing himself accordingly, nodding a 'thanks'.
"I fell out of a tree." he explains sheepishly.
"Why were you in a tree?" Sehun asks.
"Mrs Kang's cat got stuck again. She was chasing squirrels."
"Who was? Mrs Kang or the cat?" Luhan snickers, earning a weary look from Suho. "Don't look at me like that, she's a bat; she threw a softball at me. Because I definitely look like the six year old girl with pigtails that 'destroyed her lovely flowers'." he rants sarcastically.
"Relax Luhan gege, next time her cat climbs a tree and decides not to leave, I'll leave it there." Lay offers. "I swear, how is that that is worst thing you could actually do?" Luhan smiles. "I'm glad at least one of us is sane."
"He's nicer than you, that's obvious." Heechul calls, making Luhan scowl lightly.
"Stop exposing me hyung." he whines.
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It was break and the boys were all having their separate conversations.
"Baek?"
"Yeah?" the boy mumbles around a mouthful of kimchi.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, why would I be?" he asks, swallowing.
"No reason." he lies, the words slipping off his tongue easily. "Just making sure you aren't too freaked out because of what we told you."
"I can handle it." Baekhyun replies, rolling his eyes at the other.
"No doubt." Chanyeol smiles, agreeing. "Just checking though."