Enigma || an EXO fanfic ||

| 6 |

Since it has been decided that Bay will stick with us longer than planned, Lay decides to stay back with Bay at the hotel in order to teach her the basics of Korean as it would be necessary if she were to communicate to the rest of the team. And of course, if she stays in the hotel, I would have to stay behind as well. And because Chanyeol is still uncomfortable with the fact that Bay is now temporarily part of the family, he is staying behind too.

D.O. and Kai decides to catch up with the others after giving Bay a last encouraging smile and leaving the room. Lay gets to work right away, pulling Bay back to her room with his laptop, a Korean learning website on the screen. Chanyeol pulls manager-nim so they're both sitting on the bed and I pull up a chair, hugging the backside, so I can join their conversation.

"Alright, manager-nim, explain," he says, snapping his fingers.

Manager-nim shakes his head. "There really isn't much to explain because there isn't much I know," he sighs. "I asked a good friend to run a background check on her..."

We nod, urging him to continue. "The last thing we know of her is that she used to go to a middle school in America. She didn't even finish her first year yet before she went under the radar," he continues shaking his head with much on his mind. "We can't even figure out why she's in Hong Kong in the first place."

"Maybe she has relatives here? What if she's with her parents?" I suggest, trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding the girl across the hall.

Manager-nim looks at the both of us with sincerely pained eyes. "That's impossible. She has no family," he whispers, drooping his head. Chanyeol's eyes widen and I suck in a breath.

"So she's an orphan?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes.

"For now it would seem so."

"Age?" Chanyeol asks.

"What?" manager-nim looks up.

"Age. How old is she?" he says, motioning his hands to represent who knows what.

"19."

Manager-nim had to return to his work, so he left me and Chanyeol in my room. He lay on my bed horizontally, side-by-side. "What are we supposed to do now?" he lets out a deep sigh, looking at the ceiling light.

"Treat her like family," I say bluntly. "It shouldn't be hard. She already feels like a little sister."

I can feel his silent chuckles ringing through the bed. "She's amazingly attached to you, ya know, Baekhyun. Do you have any idea why?"

"Well maybe I'm just an incredibly attractive and charismatic person who people love right away?" I joke, smiling. "Why are we not exploring Hong Kong? I was looking forward to the food."

"Because Seonsaeng-nim got excited that he got a new pupil," he laughs. "We'll wait until they finish their 'lesson'," he says, putting sarcastic emphasis on the last word. "It's not like we'll get anywhere around here without Lay."

I nod, turning to my side so my back is facing him. Without knowing it, I've fallen asleep.

I wake up after who knows how long and slightly pick up my head to look at the digital clock on the tableside. 12:37. I hear faded whispering behind me and decide to listen in, not wanting to get up just yet.

"... do it," a deep voice says.

"No, you!" a softer voice giggles. "Wait, Lay, you do it!"

"Why me?" another voice speaks up. "I'd rather not lose a finger."

"Pleaseeeeeee," the soft voice begs and a low scoff follows.

Lay whines a bit. "How about we do it together?" he suggests and someone agrees.

Before I know it, Lay jumps on me and I struggle under his arms, surprised by the sudden assault. He straddles me, pinning my hands down at my sides. "Now!" Chanyeol screams and Bay slaps a good dollop of toothpaste on my face and kisses my forehead.

"Good morning!" she giggles, greeting me in Korean. She surprises me with her perfect pronunciation so I didn't get angry. I just laugh along with these idiots and sit up, wiping off the white paste off of my face with a towel Lay hands me.

"I see Lay's a good teacher," I tell her, giving her a warm smile.

"More like she's a good student," Lay counters. "I'm serious! She learns amazingly fast. And she seems to like our songs." He grins, taking out his phone to show me a video of her jamming to Overdose. Chanyeol jumps on the bed to watch it with me and bursts out in laughter. I follow her movements, from jumping on the bed to tapping her fingers on the table to the beat, and start wondering how one girl could be so adorable.

Chanyeol seems to have warmed up to Bay during the time I was asleep. Maybe it is because of the fact that she really is a likable person or the fact that he pities her after what manager-nim told us. Either way, Bay notices the subtle change in his approach towards her and gives him occasional smiles, resulting in him returning them.

We've given up on going to explore Hong Kong, because after all, we'll probably come back in a couple month anyways. Instead, all four of us huddle on my bed and watch a movie on Lay's laptop. By the time the movie is over, Bay has fallen asleep on Chanyeol's shoulder and I notice him look down and brush a stray hair out of her face. I admire her sleeping face, which seems more peaceful than it usually is.

"She really is cute," he whispers, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, and I nod in agreement.