they say time will solve everything but it only scares me more
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Something was wrong.
Well—everything was wrong, but even then, my house had retained a certain level of twisted normalcy. It had people, was filled to the brim with it, even if the said people weren't quite normal. After all, twelve people were a lot for one house.
Now, though, there was an abrupt silence that greeted me instead of the flurry of good-mornings. Lucas and Seulgi were missing from their usual perch at the couch during breakfast, and the table for six was occupied only by four, not including me.
"Where is everyone?" I wondered aloud as I sat down, but the question directed at Ten, as he was the only one I could talk casually to without feeling too awkward. Vernon and Taeyong occupied opposite ends of the table, stiff and silent, and there was no way I was even looking at Jungkook.
"Scouting," he explained, not looking very worried, but I was sitting up straight in my seat the moment the last syllable had left his mouth. "Don't expect anyone back for a couple of days. They'll probably stay out in their places, just to check for spooks."
"Spooks?"
"Lees."
My mouth formed an 'ah' shape, and I leaned back in my seat. When Jungkook had declared that they had to send people out soon, I hadn't expected it to be this soon. Ten noticed the bemused, slightly concerned look on my face, and explained further. "They only move by dusk, so it's all right," he said, waving his fork in the air to show his nonchalance. "And they're all experienced killers, so they will probably be fine."
Experienced killers. When had that phrase become so ordinary for me?
Across the table from me, Taeyong looked like he wasn't so sure of Ten's confidence. My brow furrowed. There was no one else in the room who knew as much about the clan as him, and it didn't seem to me that the racers were trying to glean information from him. Knowing Jungkook, he had probably only invited him back to use him as a weapon, but if that were true, he wasn't being utilized efficiently enough.
Utilized. The word came to me before I even realized it, detached, as if I thought of him as nothing more than a source.
I looked down at the omelet. I didn't want to speak out about this, especially not at the dining table. My dad was still in the kitchen, and I knew he was listening in, but didn't want to associate himself with them.
With us, I reminded myself bitterly. You're one of them now.
Maybe the tension between Taeyong, Vernon and me was obvious to him. If everyone else, then why not my dad? After all, he knew me best. It should have made me uncomfortable, but the only thing I could think about was the scouting party. Did they truly know enough? What if not all of them made it out?
