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kpop-fanatic-lover16 · 10 months

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Turn Traitor - Hwang Hyunjin

Pairing: Skz Hyunjin x fem!reader

Genre: Mafia!au, enemies to lovers!trope, supernatural!au

Word count: 29k

Warnings: murder, talks of death, panic attacks, mentions of hell/satanic behavior (it's light not heavy), torture, drowning, suggestiveness, some intensive fight scenes, fighting scenes aren't written well...let me know if I missed something.

Disclaimer: none of these characters depict or display the members of Skz accurately. The personalities are purely fictional for the plot of this story.

A/n: it's finally here!!!!! Yeahhhhhh 29k is my apology for not posting sooner. Once again this is different from what I've written before and my writing style has changed some. Anyway hope you enjoy!

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Darkness…emptiness…despair. Three feelings circling the room like tornado clouds that were waiting, begging, to form a funnel of destruction. Those dark clouds began to form overhead, blocking the ceiling, thick and rolling. Just like a real storm, the atmospheric energy erupted goosebumps over your arms; hairs on the nape raising uncomfortably. Just looking at him, you knew his mind was completely lost in his anger.

“You’re scaring me,” your voice was weary, only ever seeing this emotional reaction twice in your life. Both of those times being from your father not your older brother.

His words flowed through his eyes, like a river of death daring anyone to pass through and suffer the wrath of its currents. He was a raging river of death.

They would all pay. All of them.

“Minho,” you whispered, it took all your courage to approach him in his anger to lay a hand on his left cheek. His eyes were glossed over in anger. “Minho, please stop.”

Lee Minho. Storm user and Darkness user.

When the clouds flashed with lightening, fear struck through you. Out of fear of what might happen, a strong thick fog of pure white shot from you and filled the room from floor to ceiling, taking all of the anger and atmospheric energy with it. A hand reached out to you.

“Y/n,” came his breathless voice. Like an echoed whisper calling for you. “Let go.”

You grasped the hand tightly as ice cold tears streamed down your face, hair completely white, skin ice pale. A hiss sounded in the distance when your hand intertwined with the person reaching for you.

“Y/n!” the voice was strained. “Let go!”

In an instant, the fog drew back to you with the speed of light. The room became silent as you collapsed to the ground. When you came back to your senses, Minho was staring at you with wide fearful eyes. Another person had joined the two of you. He was familiar to you, familiar like family.

Chan. Healer and…Death.

“Sit up,” he instructed, lending you a hand to help you into a sitting position. He too hissed when his skin touched yours, which confused you. “What are you feeling right now?”

Your head was throbbing, but more so you were freezing, “I’m cold. I’m so, so cold.”

“Has this happened before?” Chan was now directing his attention to your shocked brother. Chan slapped a hand on Minho’s shoulder to redirect his fearful gaze to him. Minho had registered the question and after another moment he shook his head slightly.

“What happened?” your voice was meek, recovering from the moment previous.

Chan peered down at you as he thought for a brief moment. How was he going to explain to both of you just how important and dangerous the skills performed minutes ago were?

“Y/n,” Chan set himself onto one knee to look into your eyes and at the same level. “As you know you are a White Mist user. But what I think you just demonstrated out of an emotional explosion belongs to a White Fire user. A one-of-a-kind user that only appears every ten millennial's.”

“What?” you furrowed your eyebrows. Minho took your hand in his and gulped.

“Do you not remember what just happened?” he asked you, concern wrinkling his handsome features. You only shook you head, remembering the fog. Out of your own fear, you squeezed his hand in yours for reassurance. He gladly gave it.

“There was only a white fog that filled the room. I couldn’t see, I could only hear your voice echo in the distance…”

“Y/n, you were on fire.”

Chan nodded, “Pure white fire. It’s similar to fire in the way that it hurts to touch it, not because it’s hot but because it’s so cold it burns. Like ice made into fire.”

Now you were looking at your hands, your arms, your legs, even touching your face and hair trying to find any trace of burn or scorch marks.

“I’m assuming the fog you experienced is what was happening in your mind as your body lit up in the flames,” Chan continued. “The amount of time you were on fire is what is concerning me and needs special attention training to control it from happening. You could be very vulnerable if you go into that state again.”

“What do you mean the amount of time? I was gone for only a minute.”

Chan and Minho shared a concerned look. Minho shook his head, “No, more like an hour.”

Now you were terrified.

Y/n. White Mist user. And…

White Flame user.

Years passed; seasons changed frequently. You spent every waking hour, in the rain, the heat, the wind, and the snow, learning to control your new gift discovered the night of your parents’ murder. By dedicating your time to training, you were taking every opportunity to be reliable for Minho, the now head boss over Mafia Grim—your home, your family, your lifeline.

Despite being sent to the very top of the tallest mountain in your homeland and told to remain there until you had mastered the ability, your brother often came to join in on teaching you how to train; Teaching you things he’d learned from your father before he died. Sometimes he’d bring his other network friends who became his inner circle as years passed on.

Only when you completed your training with the masters of the mountain did you return home.

Though there was a problem when you returned. The other opposing mafia, Mafia Malefic, knew you and Minho were hiding something from everyone else when you were sent to the mountains for years. To them, it had to be something vital since Minho sent you away the same night the rulers of Mafia Grim were slaughtered.

And the boss of Mafia Malefic? He wanted to know what it was you were hiding.

The crickets chirped and sang in the darkness of the night, providing the only other noise next to the sound of footsteps walking down the gravel dirt path to a warmly lit-up cabin. It was a cool evening and despite it being almost the peak of summer there was smoke coming from the chimney on the roof.

With a determined step, he walked up to the door and lifted his fisted hand to knock, but before his hand came down on the dark wood, the door unlocked and swung inward. His determination stopped faintly when he realized just how little power he had here.

Inside the cabin was warm. Almost to an uncomfortable level. The light inside was a warm glow from the raging fire located to the left of the front door. Plants of all different kinds hung from the roof, sat on windowsills, stood on handmade stools and benches, some even resting on the wooden floors. Brown dried herbs hung over the fireplace and even some fresh green ones were tied to start the drying process.

With a skeptical gaze, he scanned the rest of the cabin. Every other wall in the cabin had a floor-to-ceiling shelving system with hundreds of bottles. Most of them were either labeled, in colored bottles, or in some sort of compartmentalize box.

“Good evening.”

The voice startled him as his attention flew to the person standing by a table of instruments. The Healer raised his eyebrows as his hands (left hand with a cleaning cloth, right hand with a dangerous looking knife) worked. The blood on the knife didn't go unnoticed.

The Healer was strange. He wore attire completely unfit for his title, such as a hoodie with the hood pulled over his cap, and a pair of dark baggy sweatpants. Only socks. No shoes. His decorative jewelry flickered in the light whenever he moved with enough motion.

“Hwang Hyunjin,” Chan continued. “New Mafia boss of Malefic.”

Hwang Hyunjin. Electricity and Fire user.

“Healer–”

“Chan.”

Hyunjin startled at the interruption. He took a moment to recompose himself before starting again.

“I’ve come to ask a favor of you.”

Chan looked down to finish wiping the knife and then set it down among its companions. He reached for a set of gloves and began to slide his fingers into them.

“Hyunjin I’m afraid your father did not teach you just exactly where I fall in line with the two Mafia’s,” his hands reached for something underneath his table. The bottle he placed down on the table was rich with green liquid. “And where my abilities stand.”

“I was told you could tell me something I want to know regarding Mafia Grim,” Hyunjin spoke, walking closer to cool off from the fire.

Chan ignored him, “My role is neutral. I do not bend to either Mafia. Thus, the abilities I possess are not on the table for those to bargain with at their own gain.”

“Is you holding information on them from me and everyone else not a clear violation to your said neutrality?” Hyunjin reached to grab one of the bottles off the shelf closest to him when his hand lit up with strong licks of pain and almost brought him to his knees before it flickered out as if it hadn’t even touched him.

Chan was staring at him with strong focused eyes, daring him to do it again. With a calculated step, Hyunjin stepped away from the shelf remembering who was in charge here.

“Like I said,” Chan took the green liquid and poured it on the cloth and began to slowly coat the instruments, watching it sizzle and burn the impurities coating them. “It does not matter what I know. Only that by me remaining neutral means that I will not grant you knowledge for your own evil gain.”

Frustration hit Hyunjin hard at the Healers words, “Do not talk to me of evil gain. You are Death itself. There is nothing pure about what you are or anything you’ve done for that matter.”

An explosive force jolted through Hyunjin as wind whipped around him so strongly, he lost his balance. Purple waves and black smoke like tendrils erupted from the Healer. His voice was a loud echo as it dropped a few octaves.

“I am both Life and Death! Leave or you will discover what I have done to only a few by yielding the power of both!” The Healer’s voice was booming viciously. Hyunjin fought his way to the door, grabbing the handle and opening it with much difficulty. But in the midst of his escape heard Chan’s last words.

“What you seek to gain will result incompatible with what you desire the most—”

Hwang Hyunjin wanted power. And he knew Mafia Grim had it. He wanted it; he wanted the power so badly.

“Destruction.”

The sun hadn’t broken the edge of dawn when you woke. Now that you were home, it was hard to get used to your bed and the routine. This time of day you’d already be out on the peaks playing and training with the air as the sun rose. Being in a room wasn’t going to stop you from continuing your morning fun.

It was cool when you stepped outside. The stars were fading away as the light from the sun began to diminish them to sleep. Your eyes scanned your surroundings for a comfortable place to put yourself for the morning, which after a moment of deciding, you settle on the roof of the fortress.

Once you were perched right on the top of the roof, your eyes slide shut as you reached deep inside you for your power. Everything was quiet. The smell of sweet dew filled your nostrils, and the feeling of a thick cool mist touched your skin in a gentle greeting.

When you opened your eyes, the fortress and land around you was enhanced by the thick mist. Not fog, with that you couldn’t see the beautiful mountains beyond and the trees filling the valley.

“Is this a morning ritual?” came a soft voice to your right. You simply smiled at him as he took a seat next to you.

Jeongin. Force field and invisibility user.

And a part of your brother's inner circle.

The two of you sat side by side in silence for the morning. Jeongin watched your powers work in interest and awe. He’d only visited you when you were off the training schedule. Minho had only told him the things you could do since he’d seen them in person. It was amazing to have you back home and experiencing all that you had learned.

“This is only a tiny sliver of my power in its calm state,” you mumbled, not wanting to disrupt the beautiful silence. Jeongin’s heart thundered in excitement as he only imagined what it would look like in all its glory.

“Breakfast?” he asked after the sun finished peaking over the edge of the horizon. He took your hand in his and together you climbed down the roof to enjoy the rest of the morning.

Once inside, Minho came to you looking slightly rushed.

“There you are,” he looked at the two of you standing together. “Somethings happened. Meet me in my office.”

You looked at Jeongin as Minho scurries off to go find everyone else. He shrugged causally but kept focused as the two of you walked to the said office to wait on everyone else.

When everyone has gathered around, Minho began.

“I just received news from the Healer that the Ancient Peacemaker passed early this morning.”

“The last one?” Han was in shock at the sudden passing. “But that means–”

“Mafia Malefic is no longer suffering repercussions from when they disrupted the peace between us by killing my–” Minho glanced at you, “our parents.”

“War is upon us now,” Han sighed out.

Han. Illusion and Time Master.

“Does Chan know if it was an ill murder or natural passing?” Jeongin spoke up. Since Mafia Malefic had already done something horrific, it wouldn’t come as a shock if they were behind it.

Minho clenched his jaw tightly, “Chan said there was foul play. I could taste blood in the air the same time it happened.”

“It has to have been done intentionally. Whoever committed the crime is using it to frighten enemies and to assert dominance,” Han spoke, but his mind was far away reality, lost deep in thought. You shifted uncomfortably at the sudden realization that you weren't safe.

“So, what does this mean for us?” you piped up. “I mean, what do we do moving forward? What if Mafia Malefic is behind this and they took out the Peacemaker to get to us again?”

“We keep our guard up. Chan spoke of a funeral. A funeral which everyone in this land attends to honor the Peacemaker before a new one is born,” Minho answered. The room was heavy. “I can only hope that if both Mafia’s are present the means of the funeral will be enough to keep any attacks from sprouting. Though I can’t promise anything. Mafia Malefic would be stupid for showing themselves after all these years despite their attendance being mandatory.”

“Then I guess we will have to see,” you replied, standing up from your chair with a mission you wanted to complete. Worry was striking your heart and you needed some peace of mind.

“Where are you going?” Jeongin asked, stopping you from flying out the door.

“I don’t want you going far with the Peacemaker dead,” Minho warned. You shot him a smile. Where you were headed off to be was a place no one would dare attempt to attack you.

“Don’t worry. I won’t go too far.”

The sun was now high in the sky directly overhead, beaming down hot rays against your head and skin. It was uncomfortable but the last thing on your mind as you trekked through the forest with a quick step. Birds sang in the distance, and everything was lush and green. What did that mean? There was water close by.

In only but a couple hundred feet did you start to hear the sounds of rushing water. Then you were upon it. Clear rushing water sparkling under the sun with pebbles and rocks at the bottom. It was about knee to ankle deep like you remembered it.

No one else was here except for the person you were expecting. He stood on the other side of the bank smiling at you with the prettiest smile. He looked the same as you’d left him that night in Minho’s office. The small path of dry rock sticking out from the rivers current gave him a way to you.

“I thought you might show up,” the Healer smiled at you warmly when he reached you, taking your hand in his and bringing it to his lips politely. His lips barely touched your skin before he was pulling away and returning to his herb picking.

“Then I suppose you know the exact reasoning behind my presence?” you inquired, walking to the water’s edge.

The water sparkled up at you like it was giving you an eye smile. Without even lifting a finger, mist fiddled upward from the water surface and caught the reflected light in a warm hug, casting a rainbow. Chan watched from the corner of his eyes, knowing full well that it took an incredibly strong mindset to be able to perform one’s skill without lifting a finger. On the inside, the Healer was chuckling to himself as he remembered the visitor in his cabin all those years ago who wanted to understand what you were.

Oh, he was going to have a field day.

“I know of your intentions, yes,” Chan nodded, taking out a cloth and placing some herbs on one side and folding the rest of the cloth over top of them. “But I cannot grant them.”

Now you were looking at him. “Why not?”

“It is for your own gain,” Chan only smiled. “You of all people know my ways.”

“What if I were to give you something in return?” the two of you held eye contact for a moment. The slight glint in his eye was a peek of interest.

“I’m forbidden to accept or bargain if it be for your own gain,” Chan made his way to you as you stood from the bank of the river. “Though, I am listening.”

“Two twines of Mullein herb from the deep pockets of the Senator caves.”

Chan’s jaw clenched, hard. He desperately needed the herbal medicine for his chronic cough patients.

“Five twines.” he bargained.

“Three.”

“Four and a bushel of Feverfew and we have a deal.”

You lifted your chin slightly, “Fine, deal.”

Chan smirked slightly and stepped away to pick fruit from nearby trees. It was silent for a few breaths as the wind rustled through the tree trees and the soft flowing of the water behind you made your heart yearn to jump in and swim.

“So,” Chan smiled once more. “Tell me what you request.”

“I thought you already knew my request?” you teased, pressing your lips into a line to hide your growing smile as the Healer quirked an annoyed eyebrow at you.

“What I know could make or break you, Y/n,” Chan warned lightly. “Tread carefully.”

Now you were slightly nervous. He was right, but this information wasn’t for you, it was for your brother.

“Will Mafia Grim fall?”

Chan was surprised. He was expecting some request at your own gain. Perhaps he didn't know you all that well...that made him nervous. You watched as the surprise in his face changed to a grim and darker shadow. His eyes held an apologetic glint in his eye.

Your stomach dropped at what he was telling you. Instantly you looked away, your thoughts running a million different miles at the revelation. What were you going to do? How were you going to protect Minho?

“Will it be Mafia Malefic who does it?”

Chan didn’t respond.

Without another word you began walking back in the direction you came, needing to get as far away from the Healer as you could to avoid him being injured. You were about to explode. You could feel it.

“Y/n!” Chan’s voice stopped you in your tracks. “Mafia Malefic will not be responsible for the downfall.”

A breath of tension as your mind began spiraling. Chan’s eye shifted to sadness.

“Y/n, you will be the downfall of Mafia Grim.”

And then darkness covered your eyes.

Chan watched as your eyes fell shut and just like the night in the office, thick flames of white fire shot up in a perfect circle around you. Fire engulfed you entirely as a pulse stronger than anything Chan’s ever felt washed over him in waves. This time it was double the amount of strength it had once been.

But then a cloud appeared over the two of you and a thick drizzle began to fall as thick rolls of fog came over the river and seeped from the bottom of the treeline. Chan stood in amazement as he watched the drizzling water put out the fire slowly.

Once the fire was extinguished, Chan realized just how much exertion the outburst took from your body. You fell to your hands and knees as you regained consciousness. Chan came over and laid a hand on your shoulder as he extended a cup of medicine he’d created with his skill.

“Drink.”

You did with strong, fast gulps. The drizzle was beginning to make you feel cold and weak.

“I’ll take you back home,” Chan mumbled, lifting you up before taking you in his arms and beginning the walk back to your home. His words were the last thing you heard before slipping into an exhaustion ridden sleep. “Just call for me when this happens. I will always help.”

Months later you were worse. Chan’s words rang through your head like a ritual chant, taunting you over how you’d be the one to make Mafia Grim fall. It kept you awake, distracted you in the mornings, and made you suffer in so many other ways. And with the news spreading fast that someone (probably Mafia Malefic) had murdered the Peacemaker, the tension was high.

Most nights you thought to grab your things and disappear permanently before anything happened. During the day you avoided Minho as much as you could without being suspicious, but you knew he was catching onto your weird behavior. You tried your hardest to remain unbothered, but your thoughts were restless. Constantly bothering you.

As for the others, Han and Jeongin seemed slightly out of the loop on your behavior and were instead putting on full focus after learning the passing of the Peacemaker. Things could change at any minute and they needed to be prepared. Nobody was stopping Mafia Malefic from attempting to slaughter the rest of you before the funeral. Nobody except for Minho; he wouldn’t allow it. Not after losing both parents.

By the time the funeral for the Peacemaker came around, your emotions were getting out of control. Episodes like the one you had at the river began to happen frequently. You would wake up after being unconscious and find yourself in bed drenched in sweat or on the floor heaving for air--sometimes in different parts of the house at night. They were hard to understand and to control.

“Hey,” Minho’s hand gently grazed your elbow as he took a seat beside you the night before the funeral. His eyebrows were furrowed softly, “talk to me.”

After dinner you disappeared fast, prompting him to look for you. He found you in your room on the floor, fog filling the floor and a chill so cold he almost couldn’t enter.

“I’m fine, really,” you insisted, trying to avoid this conversation without suspicion. “Minho, I promise.”

“How long have you been having episodes?” he pushed. You debated on telling him the truth.

“Since the day we found out the Peacemaker passed.” Truth. Minho listened intently. “I think since Mafia Malefic is no longer facing consequences, I’m nervous about them attacking us and making us fall.”

Lie.

“I won’t let that happen,” Minho’s eyes were hard and determined. He hugged you strongly, holding you in his arm comfortingly. The sudden show of affection only made you feel worse. Tears slipped past your lashes as you squeeze him back.

You had to leave as soon as possible.

It was the morning of the funeral when you got up from bed and sensed for the first time in a long time, peace. It was strange but welcome as you got ready. It was smart to wear something formal yet protective in case of an attack.

Minho, Han, and Jeongin did the same with their apparel in preparation for the funeral. Once everyone was ready, the four of you gathered into the main foyer and circled up. Minho watched the clock and just as it struck 9 o’clock, he nodded.

You stepped forward, extending your hands out for Han to grab and for Minho to take, leaving Jeongin placing his hand on your right shoulder. Heavy thick rolls of fog erupted from underneath you and engulfed the four of you as you apparated to the Cliffs of the furthest mountain range.

The sky was gloomy as if it understood the situation and mourned for the Peacemaker. Deep dark blue puffy looking clouds rolled in from the west despite the early morning. Those clouds filled Minho’s soul with relaxation as he took a deep breath through his nose. This was just what he needed to start his morning. Just like a fresh cup of coffee.

“Minho,” Jeongin spoke up, speaking through his teeth. “Your 12 o’clock.”

Directly ahead stood the trio of Mafia Malefic’s inner circle. They all stood in pitch black leather with thick dark royal blue cloaks sitting off their shoulders. Their leader was absent, but that didn't deter them from looking intimidating.

“Figures,” Minho mumbled below his breath. “They always overdress any occasion.”

The broad muscular one in the center caught your attention first. He was very familiar to you due to your observation training and studying the night previous.

Changbin. Blade Conjurer and Darkness User.

He was Mafia Malefic’s most lethal weapon; literally. He could conjure up any blade known to man and that mixed with his darkness...he was not something to be trifled with. His accomplice to his right was not to be reckoned with either.

Seungmin. Mind Controller and Whisper User.

Seungmin, in your option was much more dangerous. He could infiltrate anyone and anything without even lifting his finger if it weren’t for his limit; he was cursed with it years ago after crossing a bad line with a Witch Cursor. This limit however didn’t stop him from using his skill dangerously.

“Remember what we went over,” Han said to you, noticing Seungmin’s gaze now homing directly on you. A wicked smirk lit up Seungmin’s face indicating he heard what Han had said with the use of his Whisper skills.

“What doesn’t kill him, disappoints me,” you mumbled back to Han under your breath. Now Seungmin was smiling wickedly with a playful glint in his eyes like he was ready to have some fun. He was in for a rude awakening.

The last one was Hyunjin’s second in command. He seemed softer and if you viewed his skill from an outside perspective, it seemed weak, but have you ever tried to look into the sun and won the challenge?

Felix. Sun and Light User.

It was rare to see Felix use his powers to harm others, though he could do it and create massive damage. He was often used to help the other two in combat, providing loopholes and pockets for them to use to their advantage. Felix enjoyed making people happy rather than destroying them.

Despite all three of them being able to hold their own, one of them was missing.

“Only time will tell,” Minho said to you as he noticed your eyes sweeping the area for said person.

Felix himself was observing you and your family, homing in on you more specifically. Changbin raised his chin up slightly in defense while glancing over at Seungmin to figure out his assessment.

Han scared Felix in most ways because of his skill. He’s been on the short end of that skill and paid for it heavily, having been bed ridden with petrifying nightmares for weeks. Seungmin helped control the worst of it but barely managed to keep Felix at bay.

As for Jeongin, he was a lot stronger than meets the eye and very light on his feet which made his close up attacks lethal and dangerous. Despite Changbin’s fierce abilities, Jeongin has given him a run for his money not once, not twice, but three times over. Changbin has never once slipped since then but only dreamed of delivering such a blow in return. Jeongin always managed to evade it.

Now Minho, Felix had heard of him but didn’t know what to expect considering he was only a child before his parents died. However, he was expecting him to be strong and not worth stirring up.

A brisk wind washed over Felix right as his eyes landed back on you. You were the one nobody knew anything about other than the Healer himself. Rumor has it something bad happened at your expense the night your parents died and the only ones to witness it were Minho and the Healer. When you were sent away to the mountains, Felix knew whatever you possessed, Minho didn’t want anyone to know about it. All of them wanted to know just exactly what you had up your sleeve. Just how dangerous you were and what to look out for. Especially since you were now known by whisper as Minho’s strong hand. That wasn’t common in a Mafia according to tradition.

“How easy is it to get into her head?” Changbin whispered to Seungmin. Felix didn’t have to possess the skill of Whisper to hear what the Blade Conjurer had asked.

“Aht,” Felix clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Orders are orders. You aren’t to do anything unless boss says.”

“I didn’t tell him to,” Changbin countered, eyes still focused on you. Felix pinched him under his armpit.

“You’re insinuating it,” Felix bit back.

Just then, the world began to fall away. The ground was being replaced by old cottage wood flooring and the sky was being blocked out by an old hay roof forming overhead. Panic struck through Felix like a lightning bolt and his knees buckled at the impact of how fast everything was changing. How fast the one place his nightmares stemmed from was forming around him.

Walls closing in and ear deafening screams—

In the blink of an eye it disappeared, leaving Felix gasping for air as he re-centered himself. Changbin was experiencing the same as he too recovered. Felix’s eyes shot to Han, Illusion Master, who was returning the gaze with a sharp warning look.

Felix looked at Seungmin who was glaring at Han.

“Get away from her mind right now!” Felix demanded, knowing the only reason Han did that was because Seungmin had been poking at your head.

Seungmin looked away and faced his group before lazily casting his gaze to the open cliff. “She dared me to try it.”

Just as you were smiling to yourself over how easy it was to taunt the Mind Controller, you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the atmosphere held a strong buzz. Minho took your hand right as a blue buzzing light with great magnitude struck the ground twenty feet away. A person, more specifically a male, stood on the now smoldering black ground as he adjusted himself. Loud cracks and popping left him as he took steps towards you.

He stopped in front of you, eyes scanning your figure, your face, searching your eyes. His gaze pressured you unlike any other. He was undeniably handsome. His eyes were a fierce almond shape with dark luring iris’s, his jawline sharp, lips plump and gorgeous while his nose was straight. His hair was long behind his ears and on the sides of his temples, pitch black in color. Just like his skill, his hair had a kinked curl to it.

Hyunjin. The most lethal Mafia boss to ever rule Malefic. There was no explaining what Hyunjin had done in his reign. It was nothing short of evil.

“Hyunjin,” Minho acknowledged, stepping up beside you.

Hyunjin didn’t tear his eyes away from you, “Minho.”

“Look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Hyunjin only cracked a small smile as his gaze moved to Minho briefly. “I don’t listen to little boys.”

Hyunjin’s attention flew to the strong painful frostbite feeling as his left hand. It burned badly and almost floored him—then it quit. Hyunjin was already looking at you.

“That’s a warning,” you said simply.

“An Ice User,” Hyunjin smiled, noticing his inner circle had gathered behind him. “I could have sworn you were a White Mist User. Shame. I was hoping for a challenge.”

Though Hyunjin’s words rang out, he was very unsure of them. No Ice User had ever given him that much pain. You were something entirely different and he wanted to know what.

Jeongin snorted loudly, having seen your skills up close, knowing that Hyunjin would actually break a sweat going up against you. Hyunjin didn’t miss the mockery.

“We’re not here to fight,” Minho cut in, stepping in front of you. “Though I have complete justification to do just that.”

“Wise thinking.” All of you turned to the new voice. The Healer was wearing something other than his hoodie for once, opting for a black button up and some dress pants. His hair was styled, and he smelled of pine.

“I might advise you to wait until after the funeral is over to avoid adding an additional coffin,” he was looking at Hyunjin as if he would be the one dead. “I’m sure your inner circle would agree.”

You caught the wink he sent you before leisurely walking over to where the coffin rested. Hyunjin gave you a once over before spitting at Minho’s feet.

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding as soon as they were far enough away. The four of you shared looks before making your way to the seating area.

Hyunjin mumbled under his breath just enough for Seungmin to hear right as the ceremony started.

“Break her.”

The ceremony was just about halfway done, led by a local preacher. During the ceremony he explained just how much a Peacemaker takes care of his community and how much he contributes. Until a new Peacemaker is born that duty falls to the people for the time being. It was very factual and informative for you to know such things.

But what occupied your mind instead of the preacher speaking during a scripture reading, was if the duty fell to the people while the Peacemaker was gone then you needed to leave town by tonight to avoid disaster.

Thoughts of you destroying everyone here at this moment made your heart race. What if this was what Chan meant by you being the downfall? Or would it be through other means? There were children here from the town along with women and babies. There was no guarantee you would not harm them in the process.

Within minutes, your emotions had taken over and you were beginning to panic. All you could see were the images passing through your mind like a film canister rolling through a film camera. No training had ever been given to control your emotions due to the calm and peacefulness of the mountains. This hadn’t come up before.

Do it.

No, no. You couldn’t have an attack right now. You had to fight it.

Just let it happen.

Now you were slightly shaking, breaths becoming staggered, numbing rushing through parts of your body. Tunnel vision and dizziness. Your stomach turning with nausea. While your thoughts were fogging over, so was the ground. Just like all the other attacks, thick fog began to creep along the ground, alerting some people as it crept past their feet underneath their chairs.

Hyunjin noticed the fog instantly and looked at Seungmin to see him concentrating deeply. Hyunjin was now more than confused as the fog was an indicator of a White Mist user. You could be both an Ice user and a White Mist user, but they weren’t very common.

When you felt that ice cold feeling in the middle of your spine, you panicked. You looked up frantically to see Minho glancing back at you worriedly. From across the aisle, Chan looked at you, knowing exactly what was happening, but remained seated. What sent you into pre-attack was the look on Hyunjin’s face.

Gotcha.

And then a faint breathless whisper right next to your ear, “Do it.”

Chan threw a protection spell around you as thick white fog exploded from you, right before white flames covered you. A drop of sweat fell from his brow as he knelt down on the ground, trying with all his might to prevent those fleeing away from you from injury. Mafia Malefic was up in an instant rushing to attack. Chan was faster, knowing this was not the fate he’d seen many years before. Chan released the protection spell and split the cliff in half, opening it to the fire pits of hell, letting the rift separate both Mafia’s. Hyunjin halted at the edge, ready to attack if things came to that.

Minho was fast at work, getting the rain from the clouds to begin a soothing treatment to calm you. Han and Jeongin remained still at the command of Minho, waiting to jump in and help when called. They took it upon themselves to be physical barriers between you and Mafia Malefic. Though they were your family, it did not settle the nerves spiking in their bodies over the sight of you.

Just before Minho could release the rain, you attacked.

White fire shot straight at Mafia Malefic, aiming at Seungmin who barely dodged. But he wasn’t quick enough to dodge the second as he was hit with a wall of more fire. Minho watched in complete shock and horror as you shot to the sky and put out that thick white mist to snuff everyone out into a disadvantage.

Hyunjin whipped his blue loud popping electricity right from his fingertips as he strategically felt through the mist for any movement. Then he felt it. That ice cold feeling he felt at his hand in stark contrast to the heat coming from the bottom of the split cliff. He spun around just in time to dodge your attack and used a zap attack to try and disable you. When the mist cleared just enough for Hyunjin to see, you had a white fire shield blocking his attack. Your eyes were glowing white, filled with a hatred he’d never seen before.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

“Hyunjin move!” Felix called out right before white fire bolts were raining down on top of him. But Hyunjin was moved not on his own accord.

Jeongin had moved him with the help of his skill to spare him from the worst of the bolts. His shoulder was on fire and his hand was injured, barely escaping the edge of death.

“Don’t attack her!” Han called, using his time skills to know the exact moves you were about to use only seconds before they happened. “You all will die!”

Felix emitted light allowing for better vision. Changbin was now battling you with a blade of mass destruction, however to Hyunjin’s horror, you had your own blade made of the same fire as your shield, repeating spar after spar of sequenced moves to exhaust Changbin.

Then, Changbin was struck down in two moves, completely defenseless as you arched your weapon. Just before you could deliver a devastating blow, you were knocked out cold. You fell to the ground, still bright in white flames. Changbin conjured a massive weapon and made a move to bedhead you. Minho acted fast and used a lightning bolt to block the attack.

“Enough!” Chan roared; hand still extended toward you after using an Anesthetic spell. He was knelt down by an unconscious Seungmin who had deep rose-pink marks on his skin. His clothes had seared holes and his skin was paler than a sheet of paper. Hyunjin came over and took a hold of Seungmin in his arms, wincing at how cold he was. They needed to get back home immediately.

“Don’t touch her!” Chan demanded when Minho went to roll you over onto your back. The flames had ceased and you were now unconscious, but that didn't mean you were safe to be touched. “Or you’ll end up just like him.”

Everyone looked at Seungmin to see if he was still breathing. Barely. Guilt swarmed over Hyunjin knowing he told Seungmin to get into your head which is why you attacked him first. Hyunjin feared if he hadn’t asked Seungmin to do it, he would have been the one you attacked instead.

“You told him to get into her mind didn’t you?” Minho asked, fury slipping off of him like a deadly poison. Hyunjin ignored him and kept looking as his friend, examining wounds he’s never seen before. “Answer me!”

“You are to blame!” Felix cut in. Tension rose as Felix's voice became louder. “He never should have gotten into her head, but you should’ve told everyone what she was! By hiding her and keeping us in the dark is the reason both of them are in this state.”

“I don’t have to tell you anything!” Minho’s voice thundered. Deep rolls of thunder sounded in the distance. “Why would I after you attacked and killed my parents and the Peacemaker? Why would I tell you what she is when all you would do was kill her too?”

Everyone was silent.

“I’d rather keep her a secret and have you lose someone out of sheer stupidity than reveal her and have you take her from me,” Minho’s words were like a knife, cutting through everyone. “At least then you’d know how it feels.”

Hyunjin released Seungmin and extended his hand that was now popping and whirring with electricity. Changbin limped forward and put a hand on Hyunjin’s chest, facing him.

“Not right now,” his voice was strained. He was putting all his strength into his step. “Seungmin is top priority right now.”

Hyunjin shoved Changbin away and faced Minho again. The two Mafia bosses said nothing as it slowly began to sprinkle. Rage was pulsing through Hyunjin’s heart and he wanted nothing more than to rip Minho to shreds.

“What is done in the dark always comes to light,” Minho snapped, instantly grabbing the fist punch Hyunjin threw at him, taking the chance to deliver his own attack. Han jumped straight into the middle and pushed the both of them apart, clearly at his wits end. Hyunjin threw him a dirty smirk with an eye roll as he slow began to back away.

“Stop!” he demanded Minho in a low voice when he made another step to jab. “Don’t let him get under your skin.”

“Get Seungmin back to your headquarters,” Chan looked to Felix who nodded once and helped Changbin haul Seungmin onto their shoulders.

Hyunjin began to laugh slightly, wanting to taunt Minho. “You’re a coward, Minho. You couldn’t even train her to kill me the second I was in front of her. One day you’ll be bowing before me asking for mercy.”

Minho gritted his teeth, “I won’t be there. I’ll be at your cremation. And the best part about it will be her doing it.”

Another sharp laugh escaped Hyunjin as he glared at Minho. What terrified him was he actually feared you doing something like that to him. Not a moment later, Hyunjin was transporting his team back to headquarters.

Chan sealed the cliff back together within seconds afterwards and got straight to work. Minho stood by Chan's side, praying you'd be okay, and he wouldn't lose you. Han placed his hand on Minho's shoulder when Chan was unsuccessful three times in a row. It didn't look good and there was no telling what the outcome would be.

Later in the evening, Hyunjin knelt down next to Seungmin’s bed waiting for Chan to come by. The groans of pain coming from his close friend worried him with every passing second. He couldn't touch Seungmin for fear of hurting him further and his patience with Chan was running thin.

“Why did you do it?” Felix asked from the door. Hyunjin let his head fall to the edge of the bed at the question.

“I shouldn’t have,” Hyunjin mumbled looking at Seungmin once more. “I just wanted to know exactly what she was and why they were hiding her. My inability to stand by and observe almost cost me.”

“You should have known since that night.”

“I didn’t want to believe she was the one who did it.”

Two sets of footsteps echoed down the wood floor hallway, nearing the room Felix, Hyunjin and Seungmin occupied. A few more steps echoed and then Changbin appeared with Chan by his side. The two of them said nothing as Chan clapped a hand on Felix’s shoulder before entering the room. The Healer came over to the bedside and moved around Hyunjin who got up from the floor and out of the Healer's way.

After some long painful minutes of Chan examining Seungmin, he spoke.

“He’ll recover,” he looked through his trusted bag and pulled a few bottles out. “Do you have any clean cloth I can borrow? And a warm basin of water?”

Felix was leaving the room without moments pause to fetch the things Chan requested.

“His wounds will take time to heal,” he continued, “But just like his curse, the wounds will leave their mark.”

“What are those wounds if I may inquire?” Hyunjin asked. Changbin placed himself beside the Mafia boss, curious as well.

Felix came back with the said items and aided Chan in his practice. Chan took the cloths from Felix and answered, “These wounds are frostbite burns. The areas that are worse will leave their mark, but some of them can be persuaded.”

“How?” Changbin asked. Something about the idea of somebody possessing the ability to create wounds like this didn’t settle with him very well.

“I think your boss can tell you that,” Chan replied, dabbing a medicine-soaked cloth onto a burn traced from Seungmin’s left shoulder down in front of his chest to his ribs. Seungmin stirred at the contact and let out a deep groan before his eyes were peeking open. Changbin went around the bed and sat down on the mattress.

“Son of a–” Seungmin groaned, heaving breaths of air as he fought the pain. This face contorted and then slowly relaxed as relief washed over his body. Chan drew back and began to work on another burn, less bad than the previous.

“What is she?” Seungmin gritted out. Sweat covered him now as his body began to fight the wounds on its own. “And why did she explode like that?”

“She’s a White Mist and Fire user,” Chan glanced at Hyunjin who remained expressionless. “She’s the first one of her kind in 10 thousand years. As for why she exploded, she’s dealing with a lot mentally. Don’t blame her for the explosion when you’re the one who poked her.”

“How was I supposed to know when you wouldn’t tell me what was happening?” Hyunjin snapped. Felix gave him a warning stare.

“You wanted to kill her,” Chan simple stated.

“Can you blame me after hearing and seeing the horrors of that night?” Hyunjin barked out irrationally, halting when he realized he had revealed something he meant to keep to himself.

His team stared at him dumbfounded. Hyunjin jumped to answer before they could bombard him with heated questions. “Yes, I was there. I saw a bright light flash and I watched her go into such a state of shock that even I almost forgot what happened. Her parents were dead when she woke up. I didn't do it.”

Chan was now looking at Hyunjin very seriously. Felix had to sit down and both Changbin and Seungmin had grown still, well as still as Seungmin could get.

Hyunjin gulped, “I saw her in the room her parents were, and when they revealed some sort of information to her that was when I saw the bright light. When I looked once more, they were both dead. She was crying over them right as I was discovered in the hallway by a guard.”

“Did you see anything else?” Chan pushed, giving Seungmin a bored look when the Mind Controller spit a nasty word at him over the pain.

“No…” Hyunjin lied.

He did see something else. He knew you saw him but now he was sure you hadn’t been conscious when you saw him. Your eyes had been the same glowing white.

Chan sighed deeply. The stress growing on him hadn’t been this strong in years. He needed to take some time alone to think things over and understand exactly what was going on here. When Chan was leaving, promising to check on Seungmin in the morning, Hyunjin pulled him aside.

“There’s something else." Hyunjin said, his mind reeling over the question. "Do you know anything about soulmates?"

Back at home, the second you regained consciousness, you were in Minho's room under the covers. It took you a few minutes to fully understand why you were in his room. Memories of the funeral came flooding into your mind the instant your feet were on the floor. The rush made your head throb and panic filled your heart when you couldn't remember what happened after you exploded.

Your feet carried you fast across the wooden floor to the door of Minho's room. It opened with a bang against the wall behind it as you threw yourself into the hall, catching your balance on the wall in front of you. Everything was dark. It was night outside and there was no sound in the house.

"Minho?" you called out loudly, walking down the hallway in a panic. "Han? Jeongin?"

No answer.

Fog began to seep in through the windows and underneath doorways the longer you walked the floor plan of your home, looking and searching for any signs of life other than your own. The entire house was dark and no one was in their rooms asleep. Their rooms were a mess from getting ready for the funeral just like you left them and there was no note left for you explaining what was happening.

When you came to the living room, you collapsed on the floor in the center of the room, letting out a sob as tears streamed down your face.

Y/n, you will be the downfall of Mafia Grim.

The words stung your heart and you gripped your hair, yanking at the stands. How could this have happened? It was just like the night your parents died. Why was it that when you experienced an episode as strong as you did that night and like the one last night, that people died or disappeared? What was the root of all of this?

A tear escaped your eye at the sound of Chan's words repeating itself over and over in your mind. Taunting and tormenting you to the point of no return. You couldn't live with yourself over what happened. The truth of the matter was Minho was gone. Han and Jeongin were gone and there was no way of getting them back.

The mountains were the place you needed to go, to escape. You needed to get far away from everyone.

Hours later, deep into the forest is where you found yourself, aimlessly trying for the mountains. Each step you took only quickened as your breathing became heavy and you felt your chest caving in with your pulse rushing in your ears. This panicking had to stop, or you’d explode again. You could not bare to loose control again. More tears were streaming down your face.

“Don’t tell me,” a voice echoed loudly, halting your steps as you frantically began glancing around you. “You're running away to try and be….mmm what could it be? A hero? A protector? A good sister?”

You whorled around to see none other than Hyunjin. He smirked deeply, “Don’t make me laugh.”

Despite your current state you couldn’t help the snarl coming from your lips, “Says the one who’s a clown making a joke out of his choice of location right now.”

A wicked sociopath smile creeps onto his face as he tucks his fingers behind his back. “Then you’re the perfect punchline to my little joke.”

“Bite me, see what happens.”

“It would be fun.”

He didn't deserve a response. With a quick step you turn back around and began walking in the direction that you were going in before he showed up and stopped you.

“I know what's happened,” he called. You hated the way your feet stopped in place at his words. “Running away will not get them back nor can you find them yourself all alone.”

A scoff coughed up from your chest, “Oh yeah and I’m supposed to believe that you know what I can and can't accomplish on my own?”

“I know you are capable of finding them on your own, but I also know that if they're gone, you're going to be next. You're venerable Y/n. I know it and so does whoever it is that killed the Peacemaker and took your family."

Silence passed for a beat. His words rang true in the air and you hated it. You hated how he was right and more importantly, you hated how you knew this from the beginning and chose to ignore it.

“What are you proposing I do then?” you inquired, throwing your hands up dramatically as you let every defense you had up, down. You were tired. So incredibly tired.

“I don’t reveal my plans to prying ears.”

You glanced around realizing he wasn't referring to you, and suddenly you felt a hundred different things listening in on the two most dangerous people in the valley. You had to agree with him on keeping this conversation private.

“You’ll just have to trust me.” he finished.

For a moment you gave it a thought, going over every scenario and instance you could conjure up before finalizing your thoughts. Maybe if you went with him, he could help you get Minho back. With a few steps you stood in front of him, “Lead the way.”

He smirked once more and extended his hand for you to take. Unbeknownst to you, Hyunjin noticed the tears on your face. He would fix this, he just needed you to accept his offer and then he would know.

You furrowed your eyebrows and rejected his hand. Hyunjin only rolled his eyes as you spoke, “I said I’d follow you, not take your hand.”

Hyunjin looked at you incredulously, “Do you know just how far you’ve walked? It would take us three hours before we reached my headquarters.”

Three hours?! Had you really been so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t realize just how far you’ve walked?

“Fine. But we’re going my way not yours.”

“No deal.”

“I don’t know you which means I’m not allowing you to take us through your means of apparation.” You snarled meanly.

Hyunjin glared at you, “I could say the same thing except for I didn’t almost kill everyone so automatically my way seems safer.”

Pain struck you in the chest at his words. The thought of Minho being dead almost had you dying from a broken heart. A huff escaped you as the guilt overwhelmed you. You hadn’t meant to almost kill everyone. But according to your anxiety that’s exactly what you meant to do.

A breeze blew by as the two of you stood together. It was warm and welcoming, drying up the tears welling in your eyes. You turned your head away from the Mafia boss and simply nodded, placing your hand in his. To your surprise, his hand was gentle and soft. Hyunjin only gripped enough to keep a hold on you as pops and zaps filled your ears followed by a bright electric blue flash.

Your feet sunk into the surface underneath you slightly as you took in your surroundings.

The room was welcoming, white furniture, dark cement-colored walls, herbs and plants decorating the window to the East. A lush white carpet gave cushion to your feet and a great white comforted bed sat quietly on the south wall. The rest of the room was spacious. A bathroom sat directly opposite the bed.

“Rest if you need and get cleaned up,” Hyunjin spoke, lighting a candle over on the desk. “When you’re finished, touch the wire running along the wall.”

Sure enough, there was a very thin wire running along the perimeter of the room, almost snug with the wall.

Then he was gone. For maybe half an hour you stood in the middle of the room questioning and wondering just exactly what you were thinking when you agreed to come with him.

Eventually, you explored the bathroom (a huge white tub, a shower with three different shower heads, a toilet with enough buttons to confuse you, two sinks and a linen closet full of the softest towels you’d ever touched) long enough to waste more time before deciding to shower. It took longer when you couldn’t figure out how things worked. What kept you even longer was the hot water and how baffled you were to find the exact scent of shampoo you used.

To say you were skeptical when you finally touched the wire running along the wall, would be an understatement. You were officially creeped out by your scenario. After a few seconds, small bead-like pulses of blue light began running down the wire toward the door. When you were out into the hall, both sides of the hall lit up blinking in the direction you needed to go, like an airport runway.

With a good, paced step, you follow the lights all the way into an open dining room. The hallways were similar to your room but much darker due to the small number of lights igniting the ceiling. The floor was marble which was slightly darker than the other flooring you'd been walking on.

After a few minutes, you came upon the dining room, entering it. Discomfort swarmed you like a beehive when you saw who was sitting at the table.

Changbin and Felix.

Even looking at you seemed detestable in Changbin’s book as Felix turned his head to face you, providing a simple nod and then he was returning to his plate. You remained at the entrance not daring to move. Their presence reminded you why you agree to go with Hyunjin in the first place. Your family.

“We promise not to bite,” Felix’s deep voice echoed slightly. “If you can promise the same.”

No answer.

“Changbin,” came a higher, smoother voice. You looked to your left to see Hyunjin descending a set of stairs into the dining room. “Care to greet our guest.”

Changbin scoffed slightly, “I won’t entertain your jokes Hyunjin.”

A lick of flame stirred inside you. Hyunjin ticked his tongue rapidly at his Blade Conjurer. “Now, now, don’t attempt to stir anything out of its sleep.”

“Don’t speak of me as if I don’t possess a soul or contain feelings,” you interrupted. Now you had all three of their gazes trained on you. Felix glanced at the other two before nodding.

"That's fair," he said lightly, "Apologies."

It took you a bit before you sat down at the table and even after completing that task, you didn’t eat.

Changbin complained about the only vacant seat being next to him when Hyunjin went to sit down. With little care, Hyunjin simply put the chair next to Felix who didn’t seem to mind at all, though he'd always been a more reasonably tolerable person in Mafia Malefic.

“So, in order to help you, I need your full cooperation,” Hyunjin began, taking a bite out of his food. “Then I can tell you what we'll require to complete our task.”

Your full cooperation? Like hell you were going to give in that easily. “I need to know exactly what I’m getting myself into before I give you my full cooperation.”

“No deal.”

He says that a lot…

“Put yourself in my shoes for a minute,” you stared straight into his eyes as you spoke. “I’m in the opposing Mafia’s headquarters, sitting with the opposing enemy, being offered help that won’t be revealed until I sell my entire cooperation over to the boss. Now you tell me, would you say yes if you were in my shoes?”

Felix gulped and reached for his cup awkwardly, giving Hyunjin a look before taking a drink. The Mafia boss didn't like the look his second in command gave him. Hyunjin only stared back at you, looking as if he knew something you didn’t.

The tension in the room was palpable and not getting any thinner. How long was it going to be like this before two dominant personalities agreed on equal control or one of the two caved? You needed to keep your independence and not rely solely on Hyunjin to help you find Minho, Han, and Jeongin. You needed to make it clear that the Mafia boss couldn't control you.

The room began to get cold. The hair on the back of your neck stood up as fear zapped down your spine. No, no, no, no, no...

You were up from your seat in an instant and backing away from the three of them. You knew why there was only three of them dining with you tonight instead of four. You knew they would all be in the same state if you didn't get out of the room. This was a mistake. No matter how evil they were, you couldn't kill them when you needed their help.

"Y/n," Hyunjin began softly, standing up. You panicked and held out your hand for him to stop.

"No, please, don't come near me," your voice was loud as the rolling mist began to filter in through the openings in the room. "I don't want to hurt you."

For a split second in the moment of Changbin getting up and yelling for Hyunjin to take care of you and get rid of a potential attack, you saw Hyunjin's gaze soften slightly as he ignored your cries for him to stop coming closer to you. How could he feel and react this way toward you with so little information and knowledge of you? How could he when he didn't know you?

"Kill her now!" Changbin's voice rang through your ears as it bounced off the stone and echoed. Panic filled you to the brim, choking you as you looked at Hyunjin fearfully right before everything exploded. You saw Hyunjin jump toward you; a warm touch engulfed your body sending a spark through you right before you lost consciousness, and everything went black.

The next day you found yourself next to your window, looking out. Due to the sworn secrecy, you never knew exactly where Mafia Maleifc's headquarters were. Now that it was daylight and you could see everything in vast majority, you knew exactly where you were. Hidden deep on the other side of the main valley in a deep forest canyon where the second biggest valley lay. Hyunjin must have had someone enchant the place to hide it from the view. From what you could observe, it appeared the fortress was built into the side of the canyon wall.

Rich green and deep cement colored rock was all you could see from your window besides the massive drop to the sloping rock below your room. It was beautiful and private which was comforting. It soothed you like when you lived in the mountains. No one to bother you or see you. It was like you'd never be harm to anyone again. Though you knew better than to think that.

A light caught your eye. It was the wire summoning you to Felix's office.

Last night didn't end very well. When Hyunjin refused to see your side of doing things, and you became anxious, that thing inside your head began to chant for you to get out of the building. You lost all consciousness and when you woke, you were back in your room.

Chan had been there next to you, tending to you and nursing you back to your healthy state. He informed you hadn't injured anybody, thankfully, and everything around you stayed intact. That information struck you with surprise.

"Hey," Chan's voice was soft as he gently laid your awaking figure down against the soft comforter of the bed. "You're okay, just take your time."

Your body felt hot, and your limbs ached deeply. Out of all your attacks this was very different. What confused you even more was the white figure-eight like band wrapped around your left thigh, right below your hip. You would find this later when you changed into something for bed. Unlike most of your attacks where you felt anxious and afraid after the fact, you didn't feel anxious or out of control after today's attack or while you were in the middle of it. You needed answers.

"What happened?" you asked after a minute of silence. "Why am I feeling this way?"

"Explain to me what you're feeling," Chan countered. He knew exactly why you were feeling this way. Hyunjin had him on standby before it happened, knowing that it would. Chan also knew exactly why the attack felt different for you. Now he was curious to know what you'd felt and seen on your end.

"I feel hot and achy," you explained, tapping into your central NeuroSystems to try and understand what else was different. There was something pulsing that was helping you stay grounded and feeling calm. You shut your eyes slowly to really search for the source of that feeling. Endorphins. It was Endorphins that were keeping you calm and... happy. When you went to explain more you couldn't collect your thoughts to overcome the feeling.

"What do you feel, Y/n?" Chan was sincere. You blinked a few times, trying to find words to explain it.

"Chan, something happened. Something I can't even place." to your relief, Chan only nodded as if he understood. "Do you know what it is?"

"I do," Chan nodded. But before you could launch into a heap of questions, Chan continued, "It is not my place to tell you why you are feeling this way, however, I can tell you that from now on, you won't have another attack like you used to have. You won't hurt anyone ever again."

Now you were buzzing with questions. "How is that possible?"

Chan shushed you and pressed a firm, yet gentle, hand on your shoulder to lay you back down against the pillows. "I can't be the one to explain it. Just know that you should have full confidence to practice and learn to know your true powers without harming anyone."

Chan refused to give you anymore answers as he helped you recover and mend you before you went to sleep for the night. Before he left you, he promised to be at your disposal whenever you needed, all the while encouraging you to take and work with Mafia Malefic. It took a few tries, but eventually you promised to try before giving up completely. Truth be told, you didn't know if asking for their help in finding Minho would be useful or not and you wouldn't know until you went to the office. Tomorrow you would make your final decision.

So here you were, standing by your window, dressed in clothes that were comfortable but easy to defend yourself in, as you stared at that pulsing blue wire. One side of you knew you needed to go, and the other half was stubbornly keeping you in place. It wouldn't hurt to keep them a few minutes. Deciding to be fashionably late satisfied your stubborn side enough to move you from your spot and follow the pulsing blue light.

You arrived at a double door entrance into a pit-like room with shelves and shelves of books and a great table in the center. A great big hole at the top provided the light into the very bottom where you located Hyunjin and Felix. They were both talking in low tone voices, having a deep conversation about something. You sent a rush of mist like water droplets to fall over them, announcing your arrival. They got the message and looked up to see you staring down at them.

One look at the stairs made you want to curse. Surely, they didn't go up and down that many steps daily. You'd be winded and done for the day if you attempted to descend those. Without much thought, you carefully climbed over the railing and jumped off the edge, allowing the water droplets in the air to slow your descent, enjoying the way the rush of wind flowed through your hair and across your face. You landed softly on the floor at the bottom of the pit right in front of Hyunjin and Felix.

"Good morning—"

"You're late." Hyunjin cut Felix off, giving you a roll of his eyes.

"And you woke up on the wrong side of the bed," you sneered at him. Who does he think he is?

"I don't sleep in a bed." Hyunjin rolled his eyes again. Doesn't sleep in a bed? Then where—no you don't need to know. That wasn't important right now.

"Enough," Felix dragged out, extending his hand for you to take, which you did. He began to pull you toward the middle of the room. "We have work to do."

Hyunjin grabbed your arm right as you went by him and pulled you back, pressing his lips to the shell of your ear. "Keep your tongue tied, or else I will do it for you."

The rush of endorphins flooded you and you thought you were having a different reaction between your legs, like urinating yourself, but remembered the band around your thigh. It was becoming warm. The reaction had you stumped, and you could tell Hyunjin knew exactly what was happening to you. The slight smirk on his lips didn't go unnoticed by you. You yanked your arm out of his grasp with the little remaining control you had and spit at his feet.

"I'd like to see you try." you revealed in the disappeared smirk and anger now prevalent in his eyes.

Felix led you over to the center of the pit right next to the table. Before him was a great map surrounded by books on different areas in your country. There were also a few history books, mainly on the Peacemaker and Mafia Grim. Your hand reached for the book on your family when Felix stopped you.

"We'll have time to read that later, right now you need to tell me all the events leading up to the Peacemaker's funeral."

"All of them?" you asked, anxiously to reveal everything that had happened. Hyunjin came over to the table and sat down at one of the chairs, busying himself with a pen and a sheet of paper. Felix only nodded.

"Well—"

Hyunjin interrupted, "And in as much detail as you can remember."

A scowled appeared on your face at his interruption and audacity. Felix took the pen next to him and threw it at Hyunjin's head, completely ignoring the cry and fury on Hyunjin's face once the pen made contact. You didn't miss the small smile that appeared on Felix's face as he turned his attention back to you. Hyunjin seemed to let it pass which struck something inside you. And then, a small smile broke across your face too.

The rest of the morning you shared all that had happened leading up to the funeral. You kept some personal things, like your attacks, to yourself only informing how many had occurred since then.

"There has to be a correlation between everything happening around us and also directly to you," Hyunjin spoke up, focusing on a spot on the table as he tried to make sense of everything in his head. The room became silent as the three of you thought through all the information to see if there were any red strings attached.

"More importantly," Felix reached for the Mafia Grim history book. "Is there someone angry enough to take out Mafia Grim all at once?"

"Let's not acknowledge the elephant in the room," Hyunjin's tone dripped with sarcasm as he let his feet come off the table surface. Felix raised an eyebrow at you when you didn't say anything despite the words being directed at you.

You rolled your eyes, "I have no doubt that it could be Mafia Malefic that kidnapped them. How you could be playing me right now like a cat with yarn, reveling in the fact you have complete control. However, I'm willing to play my cards."

"It's not as simple as us just kidnapping them," Felix spoke, heaving a sigh as his body relaxed into his chair. "If we wanted to get rid of Mafia Grim completely, which we can't, it would've been done long ago. Not now all of a sudden."

"You tried to before," you gritted out. "What's stopping you this time?"

Hyunjin leaned forward, clearly pissed off. "How about the fact that in order to take Mafia Grim down completely, you would have to be weak. To our unfortunate luck, Mafia Grim has displayed and demonstrated the exact opposite for as long as I can remember. Also, how about the known fact that Mafia Malefic wasn't responsible for killing your parents."

"Choose your next words very carefully," you said. Felix raised his eyebrows at you in surprise.

"As if you'd be stupid enough to attack me in my own home," Hyunjin scoffed. "You might work on that temper while you live under my roof." He got up from his seat and straightened his tight shirt. "And while you're doing that, maybe educate yourself on what happened the night your parents died instead of believing what everyone feeds you."

You shot up to attack when you heard him mumble, "Thought you'd at least have your own spine."

Felix pressed a hand to your stomach area and stopped you from moving forward. When Hyunjin had gone, you settled back into your seat and let out a strong huff. The view of the Mafia Grim book stared at you as you let your anger fester inside you. You needed to find them. You needed to get your revenge on whoever did this. Felix ran his fingers through his hair as he opened the Mafia Grim history book and jumped back into your investigating.

Every morning for two weeks, you gathered in the office with Felix and sometimes Hyunjin too. You narrowed possible areas and potential people on the suspect list. It was gradual and none of them were solid enough to completely know for sure. Every night you continued your search, sometimes asking Minho to send you some sort of sign on where they were. To help you in your search to find him.

One particular morning you positioned yourself in front of Felix at the table with your head laying on your folded arms, listening to him go over some information regarding the Peacemaker and some of the enemies he had. You weren't really listening due to how physically exhausted you were from last night's events when you went walking to clear your mind.

Your feet carried you far until you came upon a river rushing rapidly. It was pitch black out with only the half crescent moon creating little light to guide yourself.

In the spur of the moment, you let your fog creep onto the water as you took a seat at the bank of the river to watch. You played with the fog like it was smoke in your hand, enjoying nature in its stillness. The stars twinkled above you in masses of millions, comforting you oddly enough. It didn't take much to prompt you to stick your feet into the rushing water and let the water soothe you.

A cricket began to chirp as you released a slight mist into the air to create some humidity for the life around you. In the peace of the moment, you closed your eyes and asked deep down for Minho to send you some sort of sign. You waited. A breath...nothing. Defeated, you huffed a breath and hung your head shamefully, letting the tears fall down your face. How was it that you couldn't find him? Were you so weak that you couldn't even find your own brother?

The feeling of something touching your leg had you flinching away. You looked at what had touched you only to see a small white rabbit twitching its nose at you curiously. The thundering of your heart was all you felt as you slowly relaxed and extended the back of your hand to its nose as an offering of peace. It inspected your hand briefly before hopping closer and nibbling on the plant by the water. Its fur was soft as you stroked its back lightly.

"Hello," you whispered out to it. It carried on as you continued to pet it gently.

A force sealed your lips completely shut as your body lifted into the air. Panic nearly choked you as you struggled against the strong force taking control of you. The sight below you of the rushing river that you were now suspended over had you thrashing harder. Your eyes scanned the clearing desperately to try and see who was behind this. A hooded figure in the trees was all you saw right before you went under the water. Having not taken a breath of steady air before you were bound, you were already struggling for air.

The force pulled you deeper into the water all the way to the bottom of the river. Rocks scrapped against your body as you thrashed around to fight against whatever was holding you. Having no more strength and will to hold your breath, you inhaled deeply. Water burned your nostrils and throat as your lungs lit up in flames at the amount of water now occupying the air space. More water filled your stomach and lungs as you continued to fight. Black clouded your vision, and you were still inhaling water after a few seconds longer. Within a few more second all your strength left you and you went still. This was it. This is how you were going to die.

Everything became light for a brief moment of your consciousness before something solid wrapped around your frame and you were being pulled upward. Gravity weighed on you greatly as you landed on bank. A strong hand violently pressed into your chest, forcing water up your throat and nose. The feeling had you regaining consciousness, coughing and vomiting water onto the grass. Everything hurt. Everything.

Huffing and slight coughing was next to you as you looked at your rescuer. Hyunjin.

"Is she okay?" a voice filled the air as you began vomiting again. Hyunjin crawled over to you and held you up as best as he could while you heaved for air. He looked through the dripping wet strands of hair hanging in his eyes and on his face at the Light User and Blade Conjurer who were standing a few feet away.

Hyunjin only nodded, patting your back slightly. He let you collapse onto the ground when you stopped vomiting.

"Who was it?" Hyunjin asked, looking to the two standing. They exchanged a glance.

"We didn't see who it was, but they ran away as soon as we attacked to keep their identity hidden." Changbin spoke up.

"Get her back to headquarters," Hyunjin mumbled, making a move to stand. "I need to check the perimeter and track down who it was."

You reached out for Hyunjin's arm when he began to move away. Hyunjin stilled as he felt your hand. Words could not form in your throat due to the rawness in your vocal cords, but Hyunjin didn't need words when all you did was squeeze his hand.

"Changbin," Hyunjin huffed, slipping an arm under your neck and the back of your knees. "Run a perimeter around the river, and hurry."

Hyunjin lifted you in his hold as he motioned for Felix to grab onto his shoulder. The three of you were back at headquarters in seconds. Heat surrounded you as you began to cough violently, water scraping its way out of your lungs and onto your chest. Everything still felt on fire as Hyunjin laid you on a surface.

"Call for Chan immediately," Hyunjin began beating your back to help you cough up more fluid. Within another minute, Chan was walking through the door, eyebrows furrowed at the sight of you.

"What happened?" he asked, replacing Hyunjin's place as he pressed a stethoscope to your wet chest to hear what was happening inside.

"It was an attack from someone," Hyunjin said, taking your hand that reached for him. Chan looked at your joined hands and pondered deeply about it as he went to work on drying up the water on the inside of your lungs. It hurt like hell, like you were becoming ash, but the IV in your arm, inserted before Chan began working, was helping you stay hydrated during the process.

"Okay," he pulled out some bark and gave you a cup of steaming tea. "Take a sip of the tea to soothe your throat and then eat the bark."

Hyunjin got behind you and braced you into a sitting position, acting as your anchor. The Healer aided you when you struggled to swallow and slowly, you began to feel better. Your head fell back into the Mafia boss's shoulder from exhaustion when the pain ceased into almost nothing.

"Y/n," Chan's voice was tender and caring. "You can't go off on your own like this."

"I'm well aware now," you grumbled, voice still hoarse.

"Did you see who it was?" Chan asked, packing his things back up. You shook your head and watched Chan and Hyunjin exchange uncertain glances.

"I only saw a hooded figure."

Hyunjin unconsciously squeezed your elbows gently in his hands, leaving you feeling warmer than you had a few seconds ago. His presence, being your rescuer, comforted you and made you feel safer. It was reassuring.

Felix's words sounded distant as you slowly came back to reality. He didn't seem to notice you had dosed out of reality for a bit. After a few minutes longer, you noticed the light Felix had created to give light to your materials laid out on the table. You focused on one individual ray of light and reached deep within yourself to cast a thin layer of mist right at the light.

A rainbow appeared softly, shining brightly for a second, then fading as the water evaporated into the air.

Felix caught the rainbow in the corner of his eye and paused in his sentence. He'd never seen anyone do that so closely to him. Subtly, he moved the light a bit closer to you as you created more mist. The rainbow was a lot brighter this time, lasting longer. You hadn't registered the silence until the door to the office opened. Hyunjin stepped into the room and closed the door. At his presence you sat up straight.

The last you saw of him was when he walked you to your room and enforced more protective spells around it to help you feel safer while sleeping. Truthfully, you wanted him to stay with you and hold you due to how fearful you were, but you kept your mouth shut and nodded simply when he bid you a good night.

"Good afternoon." Hyunjin greeted, he set down a cup of hot tea, from herbs left by Chan, in front of you and rubbed your back lightly. "How are you feeling?"

You offered him a small grateful smile as you nodded and pick up the mug, "Better."

Hyunjin was satisfied with the answer as he dragged up a chair to sit on.

"So Changbin could only trace the attackers whereabouts two miles South before they disappeared," Hyunjin was pointing at the location points on the large map of the valley. "If they headed South then that only leaves us with three options. The Healers cabin, the Breath Takers located in the sharp points of the mountains, and lastly the Peacemaker's Ruins."

Breath Takers...soul sucking monsters. You prayed that Minho, Han, and Jeongin hadn't been taken by those things. Unfortunately, there was a very high chance, and it made your stomach turn.

"Did Chan see anything?" Felix asked, surprised at the mention of the Healer. You thought about Chan. If anyone saw anything it'd be him.

Hyunjin shook his head, "Changbin did find traces of Feverfew near the area. I questioned Chan about it, and he said someone broke into his supplies a few days ago and he's been trying to catch them. Now that he sees a connection, he's not pleased. Needless to say, whoever this is, they won't try to cross him again."

"I think we should call it a day," Felix began to close up books. He looked to you, "You need rest."

There was no arguing with him since you felt so tired. Sleep sounded wonderful; you might have considered a bath if the fear of drowning wasn't going to give you a heart attack. Somewhere deep inside, you knew you had to overcome that fear though.

Felix departed when Changbin came to get him for other responsibilities. It was just you and Hyunjin now. There wasn't any tension or animosity between the two of you which was welcome. The two of you slowly began to clean up the office and reorganize it, silently. You made no effort to strike up a conversation due to your sudden shyness. The question you wanted to ask seemed a bit personal and you didn't want to come across as nosy.

"I think that's all," Hyunjin finally broke the silence and turned to face you. He gave you a short smile before making his way over to the stairs.

"Wait, Hyunjin?" your voice came out rushed as if you were afraid that he was suddenly going to disappear on you. He paused by the steps and gave you his attention, watching as you came over to his side. "Will you let me take you to the top?"

"Take me?" Hyunjin raised his eyebrows in surprise. You looked away for a moment from slight embarrassment, but nodded, nevertheless. The mafia boss pondered over the request for a moment before deciding to let you take him to the top of the steps.

"Okay," you breathed realizing you didn't think you'd get this far and wasn't sure exactly how you were going to take hold of him to get him up to the top of the stairs. You reached down and gently took his hands, wrapping them around your waist and securing your arms around his neck. The new proximity brought your faces closer together and pressed your bodies flush against each other. You knew you couldn't hide the small blush that appeared on your face as you tried to focus on lifting the two of you to the top of the stairs.

"Y/n, wait," Hyunjin whispered. You opened your eyes and looked into his, suddenly feeling your heart beating faster. What was wrong with you? If Minho saw you like this, he'd bury you into the ground himself and disown you until his death. You felt Hyunjin's arms wrap around you a bit tighter. "Let me show you something."

You didn't dare say anything this close to him, so you simply nodded, putting your trust into his hands. There was something about the way he held you that made you never want to leave his arms again. It was as if there was an invisible pull keeping you tethered to him. The feeling made you sick to your stomach since you didn't know what it meant, and you had been raised to hate this man with your entire being. All of that was slowly unraveling.

Within a flash of light, the two of you disappeared from headquarters.

Rushing wind whipped around you and the roaring of water filled your ears. A waterfall. When you heard the sound of water and noticed that you were extremely high up, you tightened your grip on Hyunjin. Heights didn't agree with you well and often intimidated you while the sound was traumatic. This waterfall seemed to be the tallest you've ever been to or seen.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Hyunjin's voice penetrated over the roaring water of the waterfall. You looked at him.

"I'm afraid of a lot of things," you admitted. The expression on his face changed. It was one of understanding.

Hyunjin slowly released you, keeping a hand firmly grasped onto your arm to secure you, "Me too."

He pulled you down the side of the waterfall down to a small hidden path just wide enough for one person to walk on. Hyunjin went first, keeping his hand in yours all the while guiding you along the edge of the waterfall, right underneath it. You focused your attention on the mist pouring off the waterfall, moving it away from the two of you to keep you dry against the cooler weather. Hyunjin thanked you through his body language right as he went under the rushing water.

"Do you trust me?" Hyunjin paused, waiting.

You looked at him for a second wondering why he was suddenly asking you this after you agreed to let him take you from the office without so much as knowing just exactly where he was taking you to trusting him through your fear. His question was a genuine one, asking for reassurance that you felt comfortable and safe before moving forward. It was new.

"Only if you promise not to throw me over a cliff," you joked. The joke settled well with Hyunjin, and he took it as a yes that you did in fact in this moment, trust him.

"Then close your eyes for me."

A rush of chills decorated your skin as you closed your eyes for him. Hyunjin noticed the bumps appeared on your skin and smiled to himself. Gently, he took both of your hands and pulled you through a hidden archway right under the waterfall. Your ears picked up on the gentle falling of more water as you smelled a deep water-like earth smell mixed with floral. The rush of the waterfall was gone. Hyunjin stopped slowly and stepped to the side.

"Okay, open."

A soft gasp left your lips as your eyes looked at the scenery in front of you. The two of you were inside a beautiful cenote. Flowers lined the walls, drinking from the water falling through the open hole in the river. The light reflected off the water making it sparkle. Small beams of light reflected onto the stone walls not covered in deep magenta flowers. The sight was amazing and one you'd never seen.

"It's beautiful," you smiled at Hyunjin, stepping forward to dip your hand in the water. It was lukewarm and crystal clear.

"Do you want to swim?" his voice was careful. You looked back at him with a puzzled look. Hyunjin only smiled, "The water has healing minerals in it. It'll help soothe sore muscles and replenish the body, but if it's too much for you considering last night..."

The thought was sweet. "But I don't have a swimsuit, and I won't go in naked."

Hyunjin laughed, his laughter echoing off the walls. "I wouldn't ask you to get naked, and your training clothes are sewn to make you a swimsuit if you ever find yourself needing to be in water."

Hyunjin, being a man, gulped down the idea presenting itself. He had to stay focused, or he would lose his control and blow everything. You raised one eyebrow right before your skeptical look changed into shock as Hyunjin unzipped his shirt and pulled it off. He was sculpted like a Greed god with broad shoulders, big arms, and a toned chest with a few abs. He tied back his hair and transformed his pants into shorts before stepping into the water, sharing your gaze.

What was this man doing to you?

"The water is nice," he taunted softly, splashing water onto his skin to make it shine against the light. You swallowed hard.

"Turn around," you chided. Hyunjin laughed and rolled his eyes before turning around. His back is ripped too??

It took you a few minutes, but you eventually figured out how to transform your outfit into a two-piece bathing suit, not thrilled with how much it was lacking in coverage, but satisfied enough with what it was covering. You placed your clothes next to his and tied your hair up just like Hyunjin had. You took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the water, letting it engulf you up to your waist.

"Okay," you said softly. "You can turn around."

Hyunjin only looked over his shoulder, wishing he hadn't as his insides turned inside out after seeing you in your swimsuit. Your chest and neckline looked so soft to him and your shoulders too. He wanted nothing more than to touch you and kiss every inch of skin on those areas. Wanting to show you just how much you affected him. Playing it cool, he smiled and treaded into the water further; he swam closer to the water softly falling over the edges of the wide whole in the middle of the cavern and waited for you to join him, which you did with deep breaths.

Since the water was still and crystal clear, it was a bit easier to force yourself to walk toward Hyunjin. He met you halfway and took your hands in his, helping you feel grounded. It wasn't as hard when he was touching you.

The two of you soaked in the mineral water and allowed the water to heal injuries and sore muscles, which you in fact had quite a few. Hyunjin had a few cuts and bruises on his back and chest that you watched heal wondering if he acquired them while trying to save you last night.

"How do you know about this place?" you spoke after a long while.

"Chan told me about it a long time ago," Hyunjin said, swimming a little closer to you as the conversation struck up. "Over the last few weeks, we've been bringing Seungmin up here to help heal his wounds."

Guilt overwhelmed you at the mention of the boy you'd almost killed. You thought about going to apologize in person, but he was so well hidden in the compound that it was difficult for you to build up the courage to seek him out. It did bring you some comfort that a place like this was here for him during his healing process. Not knowing how you gave him the wounds, scarred you beyond measure.

"Oh," you replied softly, looking away for a moment to tie your thoughts back together after wondering about Seungmin. Maybe Hyunjin would be honest with you, so you took a leap and asked, "Is he okay?"

Hyunjin raised his eyebrows slightly before nodding gently, "He's recovering. He's awake more now that his wounds are mostly healed. With time he'll be back to his normal self."

You only nodded. Hyunjin noticed the guilt even before you asked the question. He sees that a lot in you whenever things go sour or mentions of past horrors come up in conversation. Hyunjin avoided those if he could in order to make you not feel deep levels of guilt that might manifest itself.

When your legs began to get tired you caught yourself slipping into the water a bit further. Hyunjin moved before you registered it, taking you in his arms and holding you up. You inhaled heavily at the close proximity and looked into his eyes. They were a beautiful chocolate brown with sparkles of reflected light coming down as he looked into your own eyes and searched your face.

Hyunjin Mafia of Malefic was incredibly handsome through his visuals but also through the way he held himself when he walked or stood, when he sat down and gazed over a crowd, but more importantly through the way he touched and handled you. His hands being gentle and respectful as they held you at your waist and the soft gaze in his eyes when he looked at you made you melt slightly in place. It was very hard to keep your distance when he gave you nothing to stand on, keeping you suspended all the time.

The longer you stared at him, the closer he pulled you into his chest. His soft skin against your own was addicting and enticing. With every passing second, your heart rate sped up, beating rapidly. And just when you didn't think it could progress further, Hyunjin pressed his lips against yours for a brief second.

You gasped, pulling back slightly to stare at him with surprise. His grip on you tightened a bit as he waited for you to say something. Something about the way he pulled back didn't sit right with you as you moved your hands to rest just under his ears and returned the kiss. This time Hyunjin didn't allow for either of you to pull back as his hand moved to hold the middle of your back, to press you against him, and the other holding the underside of your left thigh.

When he needed air, which took him a long while, he pulled back and inhaled deeply before attending to your neck. You tipped your head back to give him better access to your collarbones and Jugular area enjoying the way his hot plump lips felt against your skin. He kissed your chest before his lips came back up to kiss yours, hard. You did not miss the way his hands were kneading the flesh of your skin while his lips bruised yours.

"Hyunjin," you breathed out, closing your eyes when you felt his hands at your waist. He rested his forehead against yours, heaving for air as his brain fogged up.

"If you say my name like that again," Hyunjin panted, kissing your lips again. "I will not be able to hold myself back."

A small laugh escaped your lips before you ducked your head into his neck. Now it was his turn to laugh as he squeezed you in a hug, resting his temple against yours. The water was a bit warmer as your powers let heat flow from you. You couldn't tell if it was the minerals in the water or Hyunjin that were making you feel better; you wanted it to be the latter.

For a few hours, you let yourself forget all your stress as you swam around cenote with Hyunjin, being playful and bold with him. You let him kiss you and make you feel like a queen, you let him touch you and worship you like you were going to be gone from him in the next second. He let you do the same, kissing him deeply and letting himself be shaped by your touch. It was healing for the both of you even though you both knew things would not be the same when it was time to return to headquarters.

By evening, you had showered and dressed yourself into some more comfortable clothes. It was close to dinner time and despite having a very intimate moment with Hyunjin and still trying to wrap your head around the feelings you were experiencing, it did not deter you from your search for Minho. The idea of Minho finding out what you did with Hyunjin in that cenote made you laugh softly to yourself. He'd blow his top off at just the thought.

First, you needed to find any strengths or weaknesses on Breath Takers and also more history surrounding the three areas suspected from this morning. This strategy had been one of the first of many you learned when growing up under your parents. Always start with information to better able yourself. The library was where you were going to start.

The problem for you was going to be finding it. The hallways all looked the same but if you walked long enough you might find it and get more information before dinner started. Minutes had passed and you were slowly leaving a trail mist on the floor to help you find your way back when you came upon a windowed hallway. It piqued your interest enough to make the right turn, seeing that the windows looked out over the river. It was a bridge hallway.

The water rushed below, surrounded by deep green trees and shrubbery. Suspended at the same level as the hallway was a balcony with seating and tables to sit at. The longer you observed it, the more you were able to see what was behind the glass window beyond it. With a few more steps, the light glaring on the glass disappeared and you saw it.

A shelf full of books.

When you entered the library, it was so quiet you could hear yourself breathing. Taking in the books made you realize that this wasn't a normal library with books labeled and sections on display to help your search. All of the books were of a deep brown with thick heavy spines, dozens of pages, and no titles on the front. Maybe you could get lucky.

You decided to start on the left side and work your way back and then repeat on the other side coming from the back to the front. If you picked up a few books every now and then, glancing through them, you might get lucky and find the section you were looking for.

So far you had found factual books on intellectual studies such as herbs and plants and guides on how certain life forms grew and prospered under a specific instruction. There were at least three rows from top to bottom on understanding all forms of skill as well as those who use them. You'd be lying if you said you didn't get caught up a little in those books. It was especially amusing for you to discover that Changbin's kind was actually huge softies. You just had to gain their trust and full comfort level in order to see it at its peak.

"Trying to find a way to befriend Changbin?" a voice scared you into dropping the heavy book as panic rushed through you.

Seungmin, was leaning against the bookshelf on the opposite end of the isle with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching you. The panic eased almost immediately, but not through your own means. It was almost as if it never happened.

"Taking away my panic so I don't attack you?" you countered, picking the book up from the floor and putting it back on the shelf.

"Maybe," he replied, remaining in his spot. He quirked an eyebrow at you pulling another book off the shelf and skimming through it; repeating the action a few times. "Wouldn't be the first time."

You were a few seconds short of biting back something harsh, when you remembered what you had done to him the last time the two of you were this close to each other. You only heaved a sigh and continued to look through the books. Seungmin followed silently which seemed to be putting you a little on edge the more you were looking for information.

"You're digging for something," he suddenly spoke, finding his comfort in leaning against another shelf.

"How incredibly observant of you."

"The information you're seeking is not in this library," he said, straightening up into a normal standing position. His words made you falter slightly in your reach for another book. If what you were trying to find wasn't in here, then where was it? When you looked back at Seungmin he was observing you again.

Then he spoke again, "If you're as smart as I think you are, I'm willing to trade information."

"No way." you shot down the offer immediately. There was no way you were going to unfold your families' secrets just like that.

"Only specifics." he bargained lightly. "More specifically, information about you."

Now you were puzzled, "You don't want information on my family to exploit them?"

"Don't need it when I can simply convince the information out of them."

The two of you stood silently with heavy tension as you thought over what he was offering. Whether he was trying to take advantage of you or gain strength for himself through other means, it was hard to tell. Seungmin was hard to read. The longer the silence went on, the more impatient he was becoming.

Something didn't feel right. You shook your head slowly, finally coming to a decision. "No."

Seungmin smiled widely, retreating slowly. "Very well. You know where to find me if you change your mind." Seungmin turned and was almost out of sight, "and you will."

After hours of searching after your encounter with Seungmin, you were exhausted. He had been right about you not being able to find anything. And he was right about you dying to gain information for your benefit that only he had. It did take a few hours of you sitting in your room, torn over your own self-ego and the surrender of yourself to Seungmin's will; ultimately, you did give into his wants, having no other options.

When you entered the hallway, you stood for a minute pondering over what he meant by where to find him. You had explored most of the compound in the weeks you had stayed, but Seungmin's area or room was one you didn't go looking for in case he wanted to kill you outright, which he was more than justified to do.

You supposed you could just start walking and hoped to find his quarters soon.

His door was the only one you'd seen, so far, that was solid black and had no handle. For a moment you didn't know how to approach it. You tried to push inward and with no luck, it remained shut. The second thing you tried was a knock. Nothing. A sigh escaped you as you pondered over any other options. Your fingers grazed around the door for a button and you inspected the floor for any triggers. There was no physical way in. If there was a mental one, you didn't know how you would use that.

"I should do this to my room," you mumbled to yourself, realizing how much protection was provided. Maybe you could ask Felix to help you on that. You inhaled deeply and closed your eyes. You needed to think. How would you get into this room? You had to put yourself in the shoes of Seungmin.

You started by voicing specific words meant to open things—like abracadabra or open sesame. When those didn't work you imaged the door opening for you. Again, nothing. You turned to walk away when you paused. The last stretch of hope extended your hand to where the doorknob would've been. Your fingertips came in contact with cool metal as you wrapped your hands around a doorknob.

You breathed a sigh of relief but also cursed the Mind Controller. The doorknob had been so black that it was invisible against the same black of the door. A mind trick without any effort. You pushed the door inward after turning the handle and walked into the room. To your surprise, you raised your eyebrows and paused halfway in the door.

"You heard all of that didn't you?" you started at the Mind Controller who was sitting in a chair facing the door. His hands held a stopwatch that was paused with a good five minutes recorded.

"Glad you aren't completely stupid." he only smiled, setting the stopwatch down on the table in front of him and gesturing to the chair opposite of his. He watched as you followed his request without question. The room was very dark and simple. The room you were in was a living/study area. From what you could tell there were two other rooms; one to your right and the other to your left. The air was cold to you and you were confused to see that there was a fireplace but no fire going.

"Start one."

You looked at Seungmin for a moment only realizing a second later that he was asking you to make a fire. You shook your head. "My fire doesn't bring warmth," you told him. Seungmin looked like he was trying to figure out how to ask why, but you beat him to it. "I've tried."

Seungmin tilted his head back slightly as of remembering just what your fire could do. He smirked slightly, "I know it doesn't."

"Why ask?" you grumbled as you looked at him. He sighed and pulled back the collar of his shirt to reveal one of the now faded pink scars.

"Because this is a wound from powers unknown to most," he shrugged. "Doesn't mean you aren't capable of igniting a fire that produces warmth. Though if you really tried, I suppose you're right."

You furrowed your eyebrows and grew uncomfortable at his assumption regarding your lack of trying. It wasn't because of lack in effort, but in pure ability. You weren't gifted the skill to provide warm fires. "Just because they aren't warm doesn't mean they won't burn you."

"Now that," he uncrossed his legs and stood. "I figured out the hard way."

He walked over to one of the shelves and collected two large books. One that looked older and the other looking merely untouched. Seungmin set them on the table in front of him and motioned for you to take a seat across from him.

"Now, the information you need is in this book here," he laid a hand down on the book to your right while he rested the other hand down on the book on the left. "And the information I want to know will be recorded in this one."

"Recorded?"

Seungmin nodded, "I'm half the reason all the books here are written the way they are. I either stole the information or asked people to explain."

"Why do you want my story?"

"Because," Seungmin leaned forward. "You are and will be legendary."

"And what's in the other book."

"The last bit of the Peacemaker's enemies."

Hours later, you were walking out of Seungmin's room with a rushing heart. You pulled the door to as you tried to wrap your mind around the information revealed to you moments ago. Everything made sense. All of the information clicked for you and you had no time to spare.

Just as you went to take a step, there was a gravitational pull at you. It was comforting, familiar. Tears were welling up in your eyes at the feeling, having not felt it in so long. You were practically sprinting in the direction of the pull coming to a door on the other side of the compound. Your hand closed around the handle and turned the knob pushing it inward.

Then your heart dropped to your stomach.

Jeongin was barely holding himself up at a desk in front of Hyunjin with Felix next to him. Tears streamed down your face as they all turned to see who had opened the door. Jeongin breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of you, squeezing you into his embrace when you sprinted to his arms.

"Oh my gosh," Jeongin was huffing and puffing, locking you into his arms tightly. "You're okay, oh my gosh."

He hushed you softly while carding his fingers through your hair comfortingly, barely comprehending you standing in front of him. He took all your tears as you sobbed into his neck and held him closely.

"It's okay," Jeongin whispered, kissing your temple. "You're okay."

"Okay," Hyunjin spoke up breaking the moment. "That's enough. Release her."

Jeongin ignored Hyunjin's command as you sunk further into his embrace at the voice of the Mafia Malefic's boss.

Felix saw how Hyunjin was getting worked up over watching Jeongin, but you needed this moment. Carefully, he stepped forward and laid a hand on your back when enough time has passed. Jeongin glared ever so slightly at the touch, yet knowing what Felix was trying to avoid, he softly helped remove you from his embrace into Felix's arms which you didn't want.

"Stop," you interjected, when you tried to pull away from Felix, but his grip tightened.

"Y/n," Hyunjin's voice rose in warning, eyes dangerously staring at you to stop resisting.

"Let her be," Hyunjin only rolled his eyes at Jeongin's words. Jeongin eventually got you to calm down and go with Felix, assuring you that he wouldn't be leaving.

"Please," Hyunjin grumbled, standing from his chair. "Just because you are standing here does not explain your actions and why you are here. I will protect everyone here in this room except for you. "

"If you love her," Jeongin leaned onto the desk, getting right in Hyunjin's face. "Then tell her."

Love me? What?

"If you say it again," Hyunjin's voice mumbled for only Jeongin to hear. He leaned closely, threateningly, "I will kill you in front of her."

"Y/n," Jeongin turned to look at you. Hyunjin tried to interrupt but Jeongin was looking straight at you. "Do you have any kind of marking on your body that wasn't there before?"

Now you were dead still. You hadn't told anyone about that and even at the cenote, Hyunjin hadn't seemed to notice that it was on you. That mark. You knew it had significance.

"Perhaps," Jeongin continued, "A white figure eight?"

"How do you know that?" your voice was barely above a whisper. Felix heaved a heavy breath. This is not how he wanted this conversation to go.

"Show her," Jeongin was now directing his stare straight at Hyunjin, demanding that he show the matching mark. Hyunjin made no move to do anything only staring at Jeongin with a look that could kill. He wanted to be the one to tell you when the time was right, not through the means of this moment.

Felix looked at Hyunjin almost pleading with him to just reveal the mark. This had gone far too long. "Hyunjin. Just show her."

Hyunjin finally looked at you and saw the confusion in your eyes and how wet they were from crying. He didn't want to be the cause of that. So, Hyunjin unbuckled his belt and unsnapped the buttons connecting his shirt to his pants, and folded down the waistline of his pants to reveal the same mark wrapping around only his left hip bone.

Your knees gave out at the sight of it.

Your mind was reeling with thoughts as to what that actually meant and if your mind was steering in the direction you thought it was, the sight of the mark wasn't good for you. In fact, it would throw your entire plan completely for a loop and you would be doomed.

Felix helped to stabilize you as the information hit you like a fast train. This could not be real. A part of you was overjoyed by this information, and the other was terrified, having this information confirmed. All of it being so new and only in the span of a day.

"Soulmates," Jeongin stood up straighter, staring at Hyunjin with a strong glint in his eyes. "If I could kill you without it affecting her, I'd do it without any hesitation."

"Soulmates?!" you gasped; your suspicions being confirmed. "Kill him??"

"I think you've over welcomed your stay," Hyunjin looked at Jeongin, after hearing the desperation in your voice. He needed to speak to you alone. "Since you can't be trusted, enjoy a cell."

"You have no idea what you're doing." Jeongin shook his head, standing unafraid of what Hyunjin might do. "If you trap me, she will die."

"Over my dead body." Hyunjin's voice rang out, sending a rush of shivers over everyone's skin. "She's mine. I'll do anything it takes to ensure her safety."

Jeongin opened his mouth to reply, but Hyunjin beat him to it. Electricity lit up Hyunjin's fingers threateningly, "Say goodbye."

"No–" you were out of Felix's hold in seconds trying to keep Jeongin with you for a little longer. He could confirm who had done this and tell you how to get to Minho and Han. It didn't matter to you how he was standing here now without them.

When you went to reach out for him, a strong hand wrapped around your bicep and pulled you back. Hyunjin held you by his side.

"Y/n stop," Hyunjin demanded when you applied every ounce of energy into trying to escape his hold. "That's enough!"

"Go to hell!" you screamed in his face. Within the next second, he held his hand out to Jeongin and sent him away.

Hyunjin gave one look to Felix and the second in command was out of the room in a matter of seconds. When the door shut behind him Hyunjin released you. This gave you the perfect opportunity to turn and slap him hard.

Hyunjin recovered and grabbed the hand that came back up to slap him again, "I said that's enough! Listen to what I have to say."

"Do you think I care what you say?" you growled through gritted teeth. "What was that? Lying to me about this mark we share that will change everything? Who do you think you are to keep that from me?"

"Yours." Hyunjin was now looking deep into your eyes. They searched your face for acceptance and a kind of wanting you weren't used to seeing. He drove you mad.

You swallowed the knot in your throat, half lying to yourself, "I don't want you."

Hyunjin let go of your hand with his jaw clenched tightly and turned away to put as much space between the two of you as he could. His eyes avoided you as he gathered a few knives. The rejection was something he was expecting but didn't want to hear. Not when he tried so hard to build trust. Not when he thought even for a moment that you returned the affection.

"Hyunjin," you closed you eyes as instant regret hit you. "Tell me why Jeongin was in here. Tell me why you chose not to tell me?"

"Jeongin," Hyunjin snapped. "Is the one that attacked you. He attempted to drown you. Forgive me for putting him far away from you."

"He was forced!" you exclaim. "I know who attacked me. I need Jeongin to help me go fight and get Minho and Han to safety."

"Absolutely not," he instantly shot you down. "I will not let you out yourself in danger. I will deal with Jeongin and take care of everything."

You watched as he grabbed a bag next to the desk and hoisted it onto his shoulder. He walked up to you and tried to grab you hand, but you moved away from him. His hands gathered the front of your shirt and he forces you closely to him.

"Maybe when things settle down," he slowly moved his lips to your ear. "Then you'll kiss me like you did under the falling water and touch me like you love me and can't control yourself."

You hated yourself deeply for the way your breath escaped shakily at his words. It affected you in ways you didn't want and made you want to cry at how cruel he could be. This was toxic, he was toxic. Why did it give you such a thrill?

His lips kissed your cheek lightly before letting go of you slowly so you could stabilize yourself back onto the floor.

"Then I'll go by myself," you mumbled.

Rage was pulsing through you as he began to walk away from you. Out of spite, you reached for his hand and as gently as you could, stepped up to his side. Hyunjin stilled when your hand came up to his jaw, turning it to you. You stood still for a second before shoving his jaw up and back as white fire-like ice ripped up through your hand and into his neck.

Hyunjin cried out and got out of your grip as fast as he could, eyes wild and high on alert as he dropped the bag on his shoulder and touched where you had attacked. His eyes flashed angrily as he counterattacked by trapping both your hands into a twist with his own, holding them against your stomach and pinning you to the desk with a strong force. Now that he was leaning over you, Hyunjin gritted his teeth before sending a huge wave of pulsing electricity shooting into your body. Bright blue static lines popped through you as you screamed loudly from the pain.

Hyunjin let it go after a long brutal minute, practically shoving himself off of you and gathering his things in a huff. He was fuming and needed to leave before he did any crucial damage to you. A minute long of being electrocuted seemed to just about disable you from attacking him again.

"Screw you, Y/n." Was all he called out before leaving you shaking on his desk; the buzz still pulsed through you and tears cascaded down your cheeks silently.

Changbin was the one that came to you after what felt like forever, only being a few minutes in real time. He wrapped you in a blanket before touching you and carried you to the medical ward where someone treated you for Shock. To your grateful surprise, Felix stayed with you during the entire procedure and made sure you weren't alone. For a brief moment you wished Felix had been your soulmate instead of Satan himself.

You were safe to shower in water and move about, but you would feel weary for the next day or two.

Hyunjin picked up a rock laying on the ground at the edge's cliff and hurled it out into the deep drop. This is where he had gone after your fight; the only place that was familiar to him, comforting to him.

He roared out as he threw another stone. Tears rippled down his face as his heart ached to the point of no return. His tears were hot against the cold air and he felt the rocks bite at his knees when they hit the ground. Stinging erupted from his scalp—his fingers working up knots in his hair over and over again.

"This cannot be happening," he pleaded out loud to himself, desperately trying to run through the events that had just happened. The words you said to him and the look in your eyes when you found out he was your soulmate. Hyunjin would rather be dead than to be feeling what he was feeling right now. His breath was coming how in short huffs as the tears continued to fall down his face.

"Is she dead?" he asked.

"You'd know if she were," came the reply. Felix stood not to far off from where Hyunjin was kneeling. "You shouldn't have handled it the way you did."

Hyunjin was not in the mood for a lecture. His sorrow turned to anger as he got up from the ground and faced Felix. "Fight me. Distract me from my thoughts."

Felix tilted his head down slightly, an unamused glint glossing his eyes. He raised his hand and a flash of light so bright blinded Hyunjin in half a second. He closed his eyes and submitted himself to the dark, thriving off the sounds in his ears and the sensations through his hands and feet. Felix was deathly silent on his feet, but every once in a while, he slipped up.

click.

Hyunjin attacked behind him and opened his eyes slightly to see if the attack had given him his sight back. The light was gone but Felix had blindsided him and thrown a nasty punch to the back of his head and made direct contact. Growling from frustration, Hyunjin stomped on the ground, sending a pulsing wave of electricity. Felix was up in the air in seconds, dancing on sun beams and narrowly missing the waves before arching his next attack right at his friend.

Hyunjin blocked.

The light absorbed Felix into nothing, leaving Hyunjin to guess where he would appear next. He waited with his eyes on the next cloud in the sky, mere seconds from blocking out the sun. Right as the cloud covered the ball of fire, the Mafia boss caught sight of his second in command coming back from the light with a series of more physical attacks. Hyunjin geared up another attack, only for Felix to blind him again and deliver the final blow.

Felix stared down at his friend laying on the ground, "You need to talk to her and explain everything before it's too late."

"I already tried that." Hyunjin grunted as he took Felix's outstretched hand. "That's why things ended the way they did."

"You aren't trying hard enough." Felix boldly spoke. "You better get yourself together and treat her the way she wants to be treated." Hyunjin glanced at Felix to see the hard serious gaze he was giving him. "Minho was right you know. She is her own person and needs to be treated as such. You'll never lose her if you do that."

An angry roar left Hyunjin's throat. He was now left alone on the cliff's edge. Alone to his unending thoughts.

It was only a few hours later when you woke. Your mind was only thinking of one person and one goal the second your eyes opened, but they were harder to reach because of your condition. The effects of Hyunjin's attack made it very difficult for you to function properly. Even something as simple as walking was challenging.

When you could move without struggling too much, you sought out the person on your mind. It didn't take you nearly as long to find him this time around, having desperation at your back and hateful revenge in your hands.

The leaves crunched underneath your feet as you stumbled to the front door. The lights were on inside and the forest around the building was silent. Inhaling, you reached for the knob and pushed inward.

The fireplace was glowing brightly, igniting the inside with light. You barely glanced around, looking to make sure there was nobody else inside. Completely empty. This prompted you to investigating all the walls for a trap door or secret latch that would open into another hidden room. However, there was nothing.

Panic filled your throat as you racked your brain to figure this out. There was no telling how much time you had left. Sounds outside had you searching for a place to hide immediately. The corner behind one of the chairs next to the fireplace seemed good enough.

Though as you ran to the hiding spot, your foot hooked on the edge of the rug on the floor and you fell face first into the wooden floor. The sounds we're getting loud and you had to make sure it didn't look like anyone was in here. Your hand grabbed the edge of the flipped rug to tug it back into place when you saw a hidden latch.

It was now or never, you pulled the latch upward and climbed under the trap door, trying your best to place the rug back before you pulled the latch shut. It was pitch black in the small space you were limited to. Praying the rug was in place, you lit your hand with the white fire to inspect the space.

There was a ladder leading from the small square space you were crouched on top of down into the darkness. You shot the fire down the hole. It disappeared after lighting up what looked like a hallway.

This had to lead to Minho.

You quickly made work of the ladder and landed on the cold stone floor at the bottom. A gasp escaped you at the sight of the hall. Bloody dead bodies hung on the walls like trophy's on display. Fear was drowning you as you walked as fast as you could down the hall. You became very uneasy when you saw who was hanging above the door at the end of the hallway.

The Peacemaker.

When you opened the door you gasped again. Minho and Han were shackled to the wall. The shackles had needles on the inside, sticking them through their wrists and ankles as some sort of deep purple liquid filled their bodies. It looked as though Jeongin had been here before escaping as there was a place for a third victim.

"Minho," you whispered frantically, lifting his head and seeing if he was dead. He was incredibly weak, but he opened his eyes to see if he heard your voice or if he was simply imagining it.

"Y/n," he couldn't even say your name properly. You moved to check and see if Han was also alive, finding him to be in the same state as Minho.

"Y/n," Han's voice was slightly better than Minho's as he called for you.

"Yes, yes," you touched his face tenderly. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"Y/n," he looked at you. "Run."

The source of his fear stepped into the dark stone room and leaned against the wall, eyes directly on you. "Y/n," Chan greeted you stone-faced, putting his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie. "Oh Y/n, y/n, y/n. You finally figured it out."

You slowly rose from your crouch and held your head high. "With some help."

"Oh yes," Chan reached behind him and dragged Seungmin into the room and tossing him onto the floor at his feet. "I'm well aware."

"You won't hurt him," you gritted out at Chan. "I won't let you."

"Why would you want to help the one person that is the key to my betrayal?" Chan furrowed his eyebrows and quirked an eyebrow at you like you were strange. "He may have given you the last piece to your puzzle. But ultimately, he did what I asked him to do."

Seungmin's eyes shut in shame as The Healer clapped a hand on his shoulders and squeezed tenderly. Chan looked back at you and your stone still figure. The new bit of information wasn't comforting in the slightest knowing he had a spy in the middle of Mafia Malefic. There's no telling how long this had been going on.

It was more baffling to you that Chan was behind all of this. He was the valley's Healer and caretaker. Always willing to extend a hand to help and soothe during the hard times. Seeking to care for his patience's and at a beckoning call at any hour of the day or night. Why was he doing this after all that? After all he'd done to help you during the last five to six months.

"Should we tell her, Seungmin?" Chan taunted him, gliding his fingers through Seungmin's midnight black locks before gripping them between his fingers tightly and yanking back hard. Seungmin cried out as Chan put his lips to the Mind Controller's ear. Seungmin's hands went back to try and control how hard Chan was pulling as you took a step forward in panic.

"Wait, stop! Don't hurt him."

"I think we should tell her," The Healer's voice was airy as he kept a strong hold on Seungmin's head. You had enough of this. You widen your stance and let your fire consume both hands to form your attack. Chan slowly moved his gaze to you and chuckled.

"Let him go or I will make you." you said smoothly. Seungmin opened his eyes to see you circling over to him.

"No," Seungmin grunted out. "don't!"

Chan only smiled. The floor began to shake roughly destabilizing you and just as it stilled, the floor split open to reveal hell at the bottom. You grabbed a hold of the closest thing near you to ensure you weren't meeting fate too soon. Huffs of air escaped your chest erratically. Seungmin only watched you from the corner of his eyes in horror.

The Healer was calm as he spoke "Let me tell you the whole story."

"Back before your parents died, I had issues with an old friend. Because what I wanted went against his rules and regulations and he had a higher position of power than I did, he kept me under his thumb and prevented me from leveling out the three-power party system that the valley had been running on for centuries. For years he kept me under that thumb; he did that for so long that I had to play an entirely different part from what I wanted," Chan laughed incredulously at the recalling of his memories.

He loosened his grip on Seungmin's hair but didn't let go. Your grip was weakening, and you peaked at the open ground, wondering if you could hold on for much longer.

"So, while I waited to take out both the highest Mafia's in the valley, I worked my way into both of them. Seungmin came in very handy with that. His little encounter with the Witch Cursor. Of course, it wasn't actually a Witch Cursor, but rather an encounter with me. He would've gone free, but he decided to challenge me and put up a good fight, almost defeated me. I think you know how it ended though considering how beautiful he looks in my clutches." A sadistic smirk appeared on his lips as he looked at the Mind Controller.

"Once I had him under my control, I was able to infiltrate Mafia Malefic with ease. The best part is he knows how to break the control I have over him. Most curses come with a catch and well, that's just the thing—Seungmin here can't repeat it once it's been said. Which works out perfectly for me. Now my next step was to infiltrate Mafia Grim, and it was too easy. My pawn for the perfect match,"

You readjusted your grip and tried to move toward Seungmin. To your horror, Chan tightened his grip again, making Seungmin cry out once more. It made you pause again.

"You. You were born and from your birth I saw that you were different. No one knew, but I sensed it. The night when your parents died, I was there. I was there when they told you exactly what you were, and I saw the very second you lost all control. That was my chance—my opening into taking down Mafia Grim. To kill your parents while you had your reaction and to be there for you when you woke up. It just so happened to work in my favor that Hyunjin was just outside the room, watching you."

The sudden news of Hyunjin not being responsible for the death of your parents had your mind spinning in chaos. Your attention was long gone away from Chan and Seungmin as memories of that night flooded your head. How could you believe him? Was he really telling the truth and revealing what had been lost to you for so long? Or was he playing you like he had everyone else in his life.

Your head hurt and the palms of your hands were growing sweaty.

"And you were so gullible too. Taking everything I said very seriously, listening to Minho's suggestion for you to train in the deep mountains far away from gaining your full potential next to Minho, that you'd gain full control of your gift and be stronger than everyone in the valley including me. Well, I couldn't let that happen, so I strongly encouraged Minho to send you away."

"Stop," you begged, not wanting to hear anything more.

"Now that I have a full grasp on exactly what you are all thanks to Seungmin, I can finally finish my plans," Chan chuckled darkly.

You needed Hyunjin now, knowing you couldn't do this alone. But there was no sign of him coming to your aid. Especially after the way you treated him the last time you saw each other. Would he be willing to listen to your even after all that had happened?

The ground shook again as it sealed shut. Chan released Seungmin and shoved him in the opposite direction you were, where he stopped himself from injury before turning back to The Healer. If only he had his limit lifted, he could do an ungodly amount of damage that he's been saving up. You came over to him in order to shield him from Chan.

"You're useless to me now." Chan's face went back to bored as looked at Seungmin. Slowly, he strolled over to a table full of instruments. "It's time for me to go, really wish I could stay but, I'm late to destroying all of you."

And in that second, you attacked. Chan barreled out of the way as your fire came raining down on him. He watched carefully as your white eyed figure watched his every move. Truth be told, he was a little nervous over what you might do to him now that the soulmate bridge had been completed. Chan made his attack when he thought you'd be least expecting it and watched it hit you square in the stomach. While you were down and standing back up to recover, Chan threw his next attack at Seungmin who was still on the floor.

Chan took a step back when you blocked the attack without even so much as putting very much effort. Chan's gaze darkened as he faded into the the dark. You felt him through the air as you waited to see where he would reappear. A warm feeling vibrated through the air making that spot your target. Splitting pain licked your ribcage area as you looked down to see the edge of knife sticking through your stomach. It hit you straight in your core, taking you down so far that you couldn't even think about getting up. Seungmin yelled your name, but you couldn't see anything. The only feeling was the one in your middle, consuming you inside and out. The knife was pulled back, ripping your insides up even more.

Chan suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up right before a surprising wind picked up and he saw flashes of blue followed by loud pops and zaps filling the air. Hyunjin appeared inside the room, attack mode on and ready. He looked at Chan for a brief moment before seeing you on the floor. Chan began to walk backwards, stepping into the wall behind him as he dissolved into ash and disappeared.

Seungmin flipped you over and began to inspect you as Hyunjin rushed over. His eyes went to Minho and Han—both pinned to the walls and shivered in fear at the sight of them.

"What happened?" Hyunjin demanded, taking you into his arms. He felt you gravitate toward him and pull him closer to you. The instant his body was on yours the feeling in your middle began to settle though it was still very painful. Blood was everywhere.

"There's too much to explain," Seungmin shook his head, tears slipping past his eyes. "We have to make sure she's okay."

Hyunjin was deep in the dark, but he heard your call and felt your pain which brought him here. There would be time to explain later; right now, he needed to tend to you.

It hurt when he picked you up in his arms and took you back to headquarters, which to you was a flash of time due to your fading in and out of consciousness. The softness of his bed cradled you gently as he laid you down against the mattress and helped you settle into a comfortable position. Hyunjin moved the hair from your face while looking over your body for any physical lacerations, finding nothing visible to his eye. He called for Changbin the second they were in his room, needing him be on guard while his mind was otherwise directed toward you.

"What happened?" Changbin asked, appearing in the doorway with a nasty looking weapon drawn in his left hand. "Who did this?"

"That's not important right now," Hyunjin stated calmly, fitting his hand around the back of your neck to cradle your head while his other hand held your waist gently. "Y/n, open your eyes sweetheart."

You could hear him, you could feel him; you just couldn't respond. Hyunjin's gaze went to your left hand briefly pausing before taking the his thumb and index finger to aggressively pinch your palm. A small flinch was your reaction.

"I got you baby," Hyunjin mumbled. "Just hang in there for me."

"I'll go get the doctor." Seungmin volunteered, worry straining his voice as he left the room to go find someone to help. Hyunjin said nothing in response, only pulling you closer in hopes that he could help relieve some of the pain.

"Changbin," Hyunjin began, moving hair out of your eyes to keep you as comfortable as he was able. "Send a group to The Healers cabin. You will find the inner circle of Mafia Grim down there. Use caution and take an expert in medicine and torture instruments with you."

"What happened?" Felix asked when he arrived.

"That question has expired," Changbin responded with a bit of attitude as he followed his orders.

Felix only walked further into Hyunjin's room, coming over to the other side of the bed to sit. Hyunjin acknowledged him with a look and then focused his attention back to you. The room was still as no one breathed and the time ticked by slowly. Slowly, you felt yourself falling into a warm dreamy place, a comfortable slumber. The voice of the medical personnel filled the room just as you slipped into darkness.

Cool. Soft. Damp.

Hours later you were coming to your senses again, one of those being the cool, soft, and damp object at your forehead. It was a cloth being pressed to the skin of your forehead to help soothe. The owner behind the touch was intentional yet light in their touch which felt nice next to your now subsided pain. You opened your eyes slightly to see Hyunjin leaning over you with the cloth in his hand.

"Hyunjin," you breathed out, trying to focus. "Chan..."

He shushed you softly, not wanting you to worry about what had happened before you passed out. "Don't worry about him."

"He's controlling Seungmin," you continued, this timing trying to sit up. "You have to help him."

"Y/n, lay back down," Hyunjin demanded softly. You looked around the room for Seungmin or anyone else that was at The Healer's cabin. You felt Hyunjin place his hand on the side of your face, drawing your panicked gaze back to his calm one. "Everything is under control. Right now, I need you to rest. You won't be able to help me stop him if you aren't in good shape."

"But—" Hyunjin shook his head gently while pressing into your shoulder. You fell back against the pillows again feeling just how weak you were after the intense blows aimed at you. It had been years since you felt this exhausted.

Hyunjin put the cloth back on the side table next to his bed and reached for the glass of water, but paused when our hand came up to grab his forearm. He looked at your hand and took it in his gently before turning his attention to you. You pulled his arm toward you to cradle your connected hands into the curve of your neck.

"Thank you," you closed your eyes as you spoke, losing confidence and becoming too shy to look into his eyes. Hyunjin squeezed your hand in his as his response, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead.

"Never thank me," you opened your eyes to look at him, confused. Hyunjin ran his thumb over the back of your hand as he continued. "It's my job to answer to your calls and to care for you. That goes for even sharing the truth with you and keeping you informed, which I didn't do. I'm sorry, Y/n."

It was still a problem that he chose to keep you in the dark for so long. Some of it couldn't be helped like the block of time you where you both were purposefully separated from each other by the means of Chan to further push the gap between the bonds. Chan had come close to being successful by making it harder for the two of you to become connected even after you returned from the mountains, if only he had prevented Hyunjin from bringing you home with him that night after the funeral.

"I forgive you," was all you said. Hyunjin nodded, squeezing your hand again. "It's going to be a slow, long journey for us, but I'm willing to put in the effort if you are."

The look of relief and joy on Hyunjin's faced didn't even surface what he was feeling inside. It would all be worth it in the end if it meant he could try to win your heart little by little. The small nod of his head killed off any remaining tension between the two of you. Mistakes would be forgiven and the two of you would grow to know each other over time and accept what was between you.

"Just please don't attack me like you did the other day," Hyunjin said as he got up to change the water, he'd been dipping the cloth into. "I'm a strong man don't get me wrong but that was terrifying."

Your laugh hit him straight in the chest, making him feel bubbly on the inside.

"It's good to hear that," came Felix's voice as he entered the room with food for both you and Hyunjin. He helped you sit up and set the tray in your lap then setting Hyunjin's on the desk in the room.

"How's the progress going?" Hyunjin asked Felix through his teeth—a small bag of herbs was wedges between them. He returned with fresh water warm water that he set back down on the side table.

"It's slow, but we already know where Chan lives so we'll start there."

Your ears perked up at the mention of Chan. "What's happened while I was out?"

"Y/n–" Hyunjin's sentence fell silent as he looked at your pleading expression.

"Please," you begged. "Tell me." Hyunjin nodded without hesitation and motioned for Felix to continue talking while he dug into his food. It had been a long minute since he last had a good meal in his stomach.

"Seungmin revealed everything to us once he knew you were going to be okay. Mafia Grim is being treated downstairs for their injuries and lack of nutrition."

The mention of your family had your heart aching in worry.

"Han, even in his recovery, is working on finding ways to break the bind Chan has on Seungmin so his limit can be removed. Since it wasn't a Witch Cursor's doing the spell might be persuaded. Seungmin mentioned there being a loophole through all of Chan's words and curses."

Felix took a grape from Hyunjin's tray and popped it in his mouth while you pondered over the information. It was a lot to take in but nothing you couldn't figure out.

"What did he say to you?" Hyunjin questioned, looking at you curiously. His question made you inhale deeply, trying to recall all the words The Healer had said.

"He just told me his real intentions and that he planned to eliminate the system between my family and yours. His plans came into place once the person stopping him was dead," you explained, shivering at the memory of the Peacemaker. "The Peacemaker was the one person stronger than him up until he killed him."

"That all checks out," Felix nodded. "We checked all of the timelines, and it matches up."

"Then let's get ready to take him down, " Hyunjin nodded determinedly. The three of you sat in silence for a while, thinking over all that happened and imagining what would happen in the future.

This was going to be messy.

A few days is all Hyunjin would allow for everyone to get ready for a planned attack. Mafia Grim was still recovering, but they assured Hyunjin that they wanted to fight despite their condition.

Hyunjin received a message from Chan himself yesterday to meet him at the Peacemaker's ruins today. He has no doubt that Chan knew he was bringing everyone. In fact he assumed that is exactly what Chan wanted.

A knock sounded against Hyunjin's bedroom door. He watched you open the door and peer inside. You walked inside closing the door behind you, his eyes watching your movements. The wound from the knife had healed completely and your strength came back, giving you confidence in each step. Slowly, you approached him.

"Are you ready?" you asked, taking his hand in yours when you stepped up beside him. His hand squeezed your hand back gingerly in response. You wanted to tell him you appreciated him, but the words got stuck in your throat.

Hyunjin saw the emotions behind your eyes and how your mind was turning. Boldly, he dipped down and pressed his lips to yours for a split second. He pulled back just far enough to look into your eyes, looking for rejection. A smile appeared on his lips the second he felt you raised up on your tip toes to kiss him back.

"I love you," he mumbled against your lips. His confession made you pull back. He wasn't afraid of rejection now. "I wanted to say it in case something happens."

"Nothing will happen," you insisted. "You and I will come back to each other when this is done."

Hyunjin only squeezed your hand again like he was hoping your words were true.

Another knock interrupted the moment you two were having. It was Changbin letting you both know that everyone was ready to go. Hyunjin nodded and grabbed his jacket that was laying on his bed before pulling you with him to where everyone else was waiting.

Just outside Headquarters, everyone was gathered in battle attire. They stood tall and ready for anything thrown at them. Minho looked to you the moment you joined everyone outside and glowed with pride over the person you'd become.

There was no hesitation in your steps to meet him where he was standing and give him a tight hug. His arm wrapped around your shoulders and his other hand cradled your head into his neck as he kissed your temple.

"How are you feeling?" you asked him.

"I'm much better," he smiled at you. A sharp sting erupted in your left hip as Minho smack it playfully. You stuck your tongue out at him as you checked on Han and Jeongin.

"Okay, let's go!" Hyunjin announced. And just like the day of the funeral, Mafia Grim gathered and Mafia Malefic made a circle so you and Hyunjin could apparated everyone to the Peacemaker's Ruins, where Life and Death was waiting for you.

Wind howled on the high cliffs. Huge arches and stone pillars made up a worn structure that was built possibly thousands of years ago. It had mixes of Greek and Roman architecture with intricate designs carved into the stone. Long ago a vast assortment of plants had inhabited the area, though when the Peacemaker's of the land die, so does the life around their fortress.

Minho, Han, and Jeongin stood strongly behind you with all their guards up. Mafia Malefic had similar stances though with a different approach. They looked almost relaxed. A quirk of your eyebrow had Hyunjin smirking playfully.

What did he have up his sleeve?

"I'm glad to see everyone," Chan's voice echoed off the stone. "Well...almost everyone."

The wind halted in its tracks, leaving the silence eerily loud. Everyone waited for Chan to make a move, having no interest in a casual conversation.

"What's that one spell everyone uses for magic?" Chan asked, rhetorically. You glanced at your blind spot to make sure you were covered. A nerve hit you uncomfortably, making you ignite your palms with flames. Then Chan remembered, "Oh yeah!"

Everyone drew their attack of choice at Chan's realization.

"Abracadabra!" Chan's voice boomed as the ruins shook violently and crumbled to pieces. The ground split and divided you from the rest of your family while dividing Mafia Malefic in the same way. Deep purple fire and lava flowed through the cracks in the ground as the middle of the ruins—a complete circle—was left untouched. Chan appeared in the middle of it with his hoodie and sweatpants, sparkling jewelry and a wicked grin.

It was very hard for you to find your balance as the ruins continued to shake, pushing everyone to different heights, far from each other's reach. You jumped to the middle of your platform when lava bubbles burst erratically around you. It was very hot around you and the cracks of lava were widen enough that it took some effort to jump over.

"I needed an audience for when I destroy the valley," Chan smiles cheekily with a shake of his shoulders, almost childlike with his excitement. "And then I'll enjoy killing you off individually."

A high pitch laugh squeaked from him before the middle of the ruins lit up in purple flames. Chan drew up a satanic cult-like symbol in the middle of the Ruins as if he were happily drawing a logo and let that glow brightly when he was done. Dark clouds in the sky formed overhead at the summoning of the symbol, flashing with purple lightning and releasing rain so dark it looked like the night sky was bleeding. Chan raised his hand to the sky and touched a lightning bolt that came down to strike him. He became a vessel that controlled the energy into the lines he'd drawn on the stone. With every drop of rain, the symbol began to glow neon purple, slowly becoming complete.

You had to stop Chan before the symbol finished forming. Inhaling deeply, you let all the built up strength you had sit in the middle of your chest as you allowed your power to consume you. The Healer only smiled at your white eyed figure before taunting you forward with his index finger. Though it wasn't you that attacked him first.

Blue electricity struck in three places around Chan as Hyunjin jumped from his lower level rock and landed at the same level as Chan. He whipped out long dangerous buzzing and popping whips for each hand as he began snapping at the ground around him. The Healer formed a crossbow and arrow of sharp bone. He shot his arrow before Hyunjin could attack, but the Electricity User was very gifted with his skill, simply whacking the arrow off its course. Chan raised an eyebrow irritated before creating his own whips of marrow.

Changbin and Felix immediately got to work, providing Hyunjin with advantages through darkness and light while Seungmin, to your surprise, took a seat on his rock platform and crossed his legs comfortably. There was no time to argue or question the Mind Controller. You turned to Han.

"Give me some cover," you said to him. He nodded and created an illusion that you were moving toward the fight down in the middle of the Ruins when in reality you were climbing to the highest platform where Minho was standing. Jeongin went with you at your request, moving some of the rocks to aid you in your climbing.

"What are you doing?" Minho roared over the pounding rain. He was trying to figure out how to stop the rain, but it was different from the H2O he was so familiar with. It was almost like blood from its thicker viscosity.

"Stopping the rain is going to take too long. You need to work with Jeongin to split the rock from the inside out. If we break the circle then his plan will be demolished!" Minho squinted against the blackness at you and nodded looking at Jeongin who was assessing the rock below with furrowed brows.

"If we break the rock from the center, the entirety of the Ruin's will explode taking everyone with it," Jeongin called out. You huffed worriedly and looked for a possible solution quickly. "It would be better if we disrupted the circle from the outside inward."

"Okay, do it. " you nodded. Jeongin and Minho left you standing at the highest platform, getting to work.

Hyunjin suddenly let out an explosion of electricity as sparks went flying and a fire caught on some of the dead vines nearby. Changbin was now going head to head with The Healer as he reinforced his strong up-close combat. Chan wasn't too bad himself but he would tire quickly if he kept battling the Blade Conjurer for much longer. A cry from the Blade Conjurer had the hairs on your neck standing up. Chan was laughing maniacally as Changbin held onto his throat, clawing at it. Felix stepped forward with a dark look in his eye; a look so dark, he could've easily surpassed as Chan's accomplice.

"Oh look," Chan smiled, leaning forward. "The sun after the rain."

Felix simply stared at Chan. You held your breath as you anticipated his attack. Then he closed his eyes—everything stopped. The rain, the lightning, the wind, and all sounds. Felix opened his eyes, lifted them to the sky and split the clouds in half to accessed the sun. He took in his hand a beam of light and broke it into ten different light orbs that began to circle around him at a moderate speed. The clouds shut and time remained as the rain began falling again. Chan's eyes widened as Felix drew from each orb and blasted with power so strong and bright you couldn't see how it hit Chan.

The Sun User did it over and over, finding new ways to use the light given to him so lethally that you thought Chan was dead. Though it didn't last for very long as Chan came back full swing with a black cloud of shrill screams that snuffed all the light Felix had. Chan was badly injured. Whelps, burns, and his vision half blind.

"Now!" Jeongin cried out. Minho absorbed all the energy in the clouds and bought down a massive lighting bolt upon the edge of the ruins. Rock burst into a million pieces as the lightning took off a huge chunk of the circle, but not enough to break the symbol. Chan looked to the circle in panic and threw his next attacks aimed at Minho and Jeongin. Han stepped up to pull the attention off the two on the rocks and was now attacking with mind bending illusions that were testing Chan's limits, though never surpassing them.

Changbin was clawing at his throat again when Han wasn't there to distract him from the pain. It looked as though Chan struck him with some sort of allergic herb to keep him from attacking again. All of this was happening so fast and you knew you had to take down Chan long enough for Minho to have another strike at the circle. You backed up to the edge of the highest platform you remained on from the beginning and inhaled, running into a jump before you exhaled.

"Jeongin!" you called out. Jeongin looked to you in the midst of defending himself and understood what you were asking of him, having done it a million times when you were growing up together, only this time it wouldn't be for fun and it could be the last time you did it.

Fire consumed you as Jeongin grabbed a hold of you using his Force and hurtled you down straight into the middle of the fight, right at The Healer. When you hit, a blast of ice fire exploded and pushed everyone back off the circle. No one dared to attack when they looked up to see both you and Chan in a globe of your white fire.

"This has to stop Chan," you spoke, watching to see if he would get up. His hoodie was no longer solid, but decorated in an assortment of holes while his hair was tousled and the exposed skin on his body scratched and bleeding. He gritted his teeth at you, deciding to stay on the ground.

"You don't understand," he chuckled out breathlessly. "This circle encompasses Truth, Lies, Control, Power, Life, and Death to their fullest. You cannot destroy this circle. Everything I've done, all I am is in this circle. If you kill me, everyone will parish. The valley will be gone. Is that what you want?"

Out of all the things he'd said to you over the course of your lifetime, this seemed to be the hard truth. If there was no way for this to be stopped then everyone was doomed. Chan did not miss the slight defeat in your eyes as you thought over all the things he was saying to you. There had to be a way out of this. Both Mafia's already won so much, this couldn't be the end.

"I told you," Chan growled. "You will be the reason Mafia Grim and Mafia Malefic fall."

You sunk to your knees at his words. Seungmin took in a breath, watching you closely. "Come on, Y/n."

"You are the reason all of us are going to die."

The guilt was overwhelming you and you couldn't even bare to look back at Hyunjin and the rest of them. No one knew about what Chan had said to you. Nobody knew of the words that plagued your mind for months after Chan had revealed it to you. When things turned around a few days ago and it seemed like Chan had made that up to scare you from taking him down, you felt at ease with the words, but no, you were back to feeling like you were going to throw up.

"But what if you made it all go away?" Chan persuaded, his tone airy and curious sounding. "Just say the magic words and I'll fix everything."

"Think!" Seungmin bellowed, his voice coming down like thunder across the Ruins. You felt another attack coming on. This is exactly what Chan wanted from you and you were about to grant him his wish. How could you stop it? There had to be a loophole. There had to be something in his words that revealed the truth to defeating him. Seungmin said there was a way to figure out the loophole.

"Think!" Then—

"But I can destroy a little bit of it," Chan looked over at your now extended hand over the tied neon purple connecting Control, Lies, and Truth. You quirked an eyebrow at him, "Right?"

Instant you broke the tie between all three, watching Chan fall to the ground screaming and crying in pain. Meanwhile on the rock platform, Seungmin inhaled deeply as his limit was released entirely, giving him back his full potential. Chan cried out again on the stone as he felt a part of him die, having put everything into this circle to destroy all of you and having saved none of it for himself.

Seungmin landed on the stone with a echoing sound as you released the globe of fire. Everything felt heavy against to as you walked passed Seungmin who was making his slow steps toward The Healer.

Your eyes made contact with Hyunjin. He took you in his arms and pulled you close to him, kissing your head deeply to say how proud he was of you.

Chan, grunting through the pain, looked up to see Seungmin staring down at him with his hands in his pockets. Seungmin leaned forward and squinted his eyes mockingly. "Didn't see that coming, did you?"

Without lifting a finger or so much as putting any effort, Seungmin entered Chan's mind and took full control of everything, bending him to his will completely.

It was almost two weeks later. Everything was slowly coming back to normal after that battle at the Peacemaker's Ruins. Seungmin had Chan reverse everything, removing all the markings and dispersing the clouds and rain. The process shredded Chan into pieces until he was nothing, gone in a wisp of ash.

To see Seungmin at his fullest strength was powerful and rewarding. He looked more relaxed and lighter than he ever looked, smiling and laughing when Felix ran up to crush him in a hug and ruffle his hair. Even Minho congratulated him. When he looked to you, he bowed deeply, holding it for a few seconds to express his gratitude toward you.

Your bone crushing hug surprised him when he lifted himself back into a standing position. Seungmin didn't normally do hugs, nonetheless, he returned it with just as much vigor.

After two weeks, you found yourself at much more ease that you had when you returned from the mountains to come home permanently. It's like The Healer's looming hidden dark energy was the root of how you felt all those months. Now that it was gone, you were free to move around as if nothing in the world could stop you. It also aided your relationship with Hyunjin.

Like now. The heavy comforter weighed upon your back as you lay awake, tracing random shapes onto the chest beneath you. Short clipped nails dragged lightly against the back of your bare shoulder, admitting goosebumps all over your body. Hyunjin moved his free hand to rest on your bare waist and rub circles into your hip softly.

"You are so soft," Hyunjin murmured quietly against your forehead. It was sweet compliment for a sweet moment.

Last night after taking you on a day trip to the mountains, he asked you to spend the night with him the moment you two returned. Your response was a tender kiss to his lips.

Hyunjin smiled against your lips and pulled you against him to enjoy the feeling of you. Since you were just outside his door, you were lifted into his arms and carried passed the door. Hyunjin kissed and sucked against your bottom lip as he laid you on the bed.

"Hyunjin," you looked into his eyes once he was settled over you. "I love you and I do want you."

His heart almost stopped beating with how hard your words hit him. Hyunjin leaned down and kissed you hard like the time in the cenote, "You don't know how much I love you."

Both of your lips connected again in a fervent kiss that continued into a heated make out session. Hands gripping skin, fingers carding through hair strands with heavy breathing and dizziness. All you senses could feel was Hyunjin. Everything you felt, heard, and tasted was him. Likewise for Hyunjin. You were so soft to him and addicting, he couldn't stop.

"Hyunjin," you heaved a breath after the third time. "If we continue much longer, things will change significantly."

"Just tell me when you're ready," he mumbled, kissing your nose before worshiping your neck in kisses and massaging your side with his palms. "Take all the time you need, darling."

"I don't need time," you said. Hyunjin raised up to look at you. "I just need to make sure you're ready for that change."

"I'm ready for anything as long as I get to do it with you."

This lead to the following morning where you were laying in his arms enjoying the moment together. It was early in the morning and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon. Normally you would be asleep during this hour but the feeling of Hyunjin next to you, kept you awake.

Hyunjin's eyes were shut but he was awake with you, feeling the happiest he's ever felt in his life. If he got the chance to go to sleep with you in his arms and then wake up in them too, he'd be on cloud 9.

"What do we do next?" you asked after a while of silence, thinking about the valley, about Mafia Malefic and Mafia Grim, what it would mean for both parties moving forward.

"That's your call sweetheart," Hyunjin squeezed your waist. "I think it's good if both Mafia's stay separate, but no matter what happens, I want to be with you."

"You always will be."

The same day, you left Hyunjin and the others to go back to Mafia Grim's headquarters. There was a lot you needed to take care of plus spending time with Minho, Han, and Jeongin. Everything was the same as you left it that night, even down to the shoes you wore to the funeral laying by the front door.

"Minho?" you called out, flashbacks of when you called out his name that night filled you, only this time you got a reply.

"In the kitchen!" he called back. You began to make your way to the said kitchen, smelling food cooking the closer you got. Han was sitting at the bar behind the sink while Jeongin was nowhere to be found. Minho stood by the stove, stirring whatever was in the pot.

He opened his arm to you as you settled into his side for a hug. Both him and Han looked a whole lot better than the last time you saw them. All three of them were still being treated for the substances put in their bodies.

"Where's Jeongin?" you asked, going over to Han for a hug. The Illusion Master stuck to you like a koala while you took a bite out of his food. A long whine escaped him as you did so, shoving you away.

"He's sleeping still," Minho answered. "I thought you'd be with Hyunjin."

"I was," you responded, not missing the way his hand gripped the utensil a bit harder. "But I wanted to see you guys and talk."

"About you siding with them or staying with us?" Minho refused to look you way, still stirring. Han looked at you with sorry eyes, getting up to give you and Minho some space to talk.

"Are you gonna say it or just stand there like a stubborn child?" you asked, your tone becoming bitter after his sassy question. "No need to extend gratitude to those of us who worked hard to save you."

Minho set the spoon down on the counter and looked at you, his eyes filled with annoyance and his jaw tight. "Do not sit there and tell me that just because they were capable of one nice thing that it dismisses all the other horrors they've committed!"

"Of course not!" you insisted. "But we're not all innocent either Minho and you know that first hand."

"So what you want to become all buddy buddy with them?"

You got up from you seat to stand in front of him. He looked away, knowing he couldn't look into your eyes as your older brother and cave into what you wanted.

"No," you answered. "I want you to accept that I can't change anything and that I won't pick sides. I will be a part of Mafia Malefic and Mafia Grim."

Minho huffed loudly, staring at your feet in anger. "What if I don't want to let you go? What if I want you to still be my baby sister that I love so much?"

"Then you'll get to see me twice as often," you reasoned with a smile. He wasn't smiling though he was looking at you now. The two of you shared a long hug that was much needed after everything that went down since you got home. "You'll never lose me."

You felt someone on the other side of you join the hug and looked back to see Han and a reluctant Jeongin. The four of you had a brief group hug before Minho couldn't stand being vulnerable any longer.

"So this means you're the boss of Mafia Malefic, right?" Han piped up.

You smiled to yourself knowing Hyunjin would not like that phrase if he wasn't included, "Yes, yes it does."

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sassycheesecake · 1 year

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A/N: I saw this earlier today and Iwa-chan first popped into my mind. Have fun reading lol.

Warnings: slightly suggestive

Genre: fluff

You’re just doing the dishes on a normal Tuesday afternoon, when your phone rings.

Setting aside the plate you were just scrubbing down, you dry your hands with the kitchen towel on the counter before grabbing your vibrating phone.

You don’t recognize the number that’s calling you, so you frown in confusion before swiping your lock screen to answer it.

“Hello, this is (Y/N) speaking.“

“Good afternoon, am I speaking to the spouse of Lieutenant Iwaizumi Hajime?“

You feel your heart drop in your stomach, already fearing the worst: death, accident, arrest, murder, sudden enlistment,…

You gulp down with a heavy heart and answer back.

“Y-Yes, this is them.“

“Hello this is Captain Shimazaki speaking. I am calling to inform you that your spouse Lieutenant Iwaizumi Hajime came into work with a bruise on his neck. Actually multiple dark bruises along his neck.” He stops to cough awkwardly. “Although he looked pretty satisfied and happy this morning, please move your love marks down, so they can’t be seen when in uniform.“

You can feel your face heat up a thousand degrees, utterly embarrassed and wishing to sink 500 feet into the ground to disappear.

“U-Uhm s-sure, I will remember that for next time.“

For next time? Could you have worded that any worse?

“Appreciate it. Have a good day.“

“You as well, goodbye.“

You hang up simultaneously and put your phone down on the counter, leaning both hands on the cool graphite stone to actually process what just happened.

Too much distracted in your thoughts, you don’t even hear the front door unlock.

“Hey baby, I am home.“ Iwaizumi loudly greets you as he steps inside your shared home.

Taking his shoes off and putting them neatly by the door, he waits for your greeting back but receives nothing.

He saw your car in the driveway, so you have to be home.

“(Y/N)?“ The brunette calls out again, this time a little bit louder.

His rough voice finally snaps you out of your trance and you turn to look at him and the first thing you notice are the scattered hickeys along his neck.

Iwaizumi‘s face melts into concern, as he takes in your face. You look like you‘ve seen a ghost because your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your husband.

“Babe, what's wrong? You are as pale as a sheet of paper.“ With deep worry in his voice, he quickly approaches you and puts his warm hands around your face to grasp it gently.

“Uhm.“ You don’t know how to start this conversation.

“Well, your uh… I guess your boss called me earlier, basically saying I should tone it down a notch with uh… my marks on you.“

Iwaizumi takes a few seconds after hearing your words and all of sudden he bursts out laughing.

Slightly jumping at his sudden reaction, you are now even more confused.

“Gosh, this day keeps getting better and better. First I got to make love to my beautiful partner last night and this morning and then had a great day at work and now you’re telling me that you’re the one who should calm down with your marks on me?“ He keeps on laughing and steps closer to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and gently pushing you against the counter.

He leans in and slightly growls in your ear.

“Good thing they can’t see all those markings I left on you last night.“

Something hard starts to press against your stomach.

“Hajime, you can’t be serious.“

You can feel him pressing rough kisses against your neck, occasionally giving you bites and licks that make you swoon and melt on the spot.

“Come on, mark me up some more. Want to show everyone how sexy and seductive my drop dead gorgeous spouse can be.“

You give in and let him carry you bridal style to your bedroom, both of you leaving marks on each other and both of you so exhausted that Iwaizumi and you call in sick for the next day.

@rukia-uchiha-98 @wake-uptoreality @nerd-of-karasuno

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyū!!#hq x reader #hq fluff #iwaizumi x reader #iwaizumi haijime x reader #iwaizumi x y/n #iwaizumi fanfic #military!Iwaizumi #based on a post #iwaizumi hajime #iwaizumi x you #haikyuu iwaizumi

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scummy-writes · 8 months

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Ikemen Prince Envelopes

I have a problem, and apparently it is trying to make the envelopes from these games!

No one asked for this, as per usual this was born out of my want of pritning out my fave letters from the games and keeping them around. I thought for the upcoming holiday, this would be fun to have :) There are envelopes for all 13 charas!

So there are two sets of envelopes this time, with a color taken from the Ikemen Prince japanese website for the emblem along with just a black version. Two different styles as well! One being a box flap that I enjoyed a lot, and another being one as close to the game's envelope style as I could manage! In general, and honesty, these would not exist without @fairy-marshmallow. She helped me find a pattern that was super close to the in-game one!

You can download these here.

Please keep in mind that there may be minor mistakes! More details are below the cut (as well as links to my previous ikevamp ones).

Alright! So this one will be a bit different than the other envelopes, as they're a different style. If we look closely at the in-game ones, we can see they don't have the side flaps visible, so that means they're hidden by an enlongated bottom flap. So when you print them out, you're gonna fold is like this before gluing the bottom flap down.

I recommend using cardstock for these, but that's primarily a personal preference since cardstock does not crumple as easy (but can cause issues folding if you're not careful).

You could use a wax seal on these, but it may cover the emblem a bit when you do.

The top flap is not as big as the in-game one, and, well, that's because it wouldn't fit all on one page without making the envelope itself Very Small. So I had to sacrifice some length to get this to work.

I will admit that I spent a year on and off making these, and there is a minor mistake of the bottom flap maybe being a bit too long.... it may just need to be shaved down a little. Sorry for not fixing it, but I went apeshit trying to get it long enough :') Its just by a few hairs.

Gilbert, Silvio, and Keith have envelopes with this- and I understand that this is clearly a Rhodolite themed envelope. However, they Do stay in the rose palace there so,,, we can pretend they just use what is available and stamp on their emblem when needed (or use a wax seal of it but yaknow,,,,)

If I'm able to ever get a clear image of the Rhodolite crest, as well as the Obsidian, Jade, and Benitoite(?) crest, I'd love to try to make themed envelopes for that separately, but that would depend on how much folks enjoy these and...creativity limits....I know Obsidian would use an all black envelope but that would murder our printers.

I wanted to try and make Ikevil envelopes eventually but :') apparently those are all black, or a very dark grey. So do not count on me doing so. My printer wheezes already, that would end it.

I have a fun set of Ikevamp envelopes here, as well as a version of the envelopes they hold in their 2nd bday gacha card series here. They don't include spoiler characters as these were made years ago.

Taglist (let me know if you'd like to be added/unadded!):

@yarnnerdally @katriniac @kissmetwicekissmedeadly @bakaneko-chan @skoetiepoetie @bestbryn @nightghoul381 @xbalayage @lokis-laugh @queengiuliettafirstlady @candied-boys @drachonia @keithsandwich @bubblexly @ridiculouslly-ridiculous @portrait-ninja @drewadoodle

Also, I normally write! Here are my masterlists.

Ikepri Masterlist | Ikevamp Masterlist | Ikepri/Ikevamp Discord

#ikemen prince #ikepri

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absolutebl · 1 year

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This Week in BL - Cameos & Familiar Faces

Entirely subjective yadda yadda. Organized by favs in each category. No numbered lists anymore, tumblr be buggn'.

End of Aug Start Sept 2023

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Sat iQIYI) 8fin - Oh the DRAMA. Why does the insane ex (my true love) remind me of the cartel leader from Romancing the Stone? Even the sides got HEA! It was fucking great!!!!! Charn remains a bonkers spoiled evil murderous brat with a cruel smile beloved by his one true paladin. Also: post it love note trope! Been a long while my old friend. NO SINGING!!!!! I do love that wedding jacket frock coat cape thing Charn wore.

In conclusion: This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. Charn may be my favorite lead character of 2023. However, this show is not entirely BL, more on the fringe, like Manner of Death. Add that to several "singing incidents" and pairs being a little weak in the chemistry arena, and this lands safely in 9/10 territory. It’s tons of fun tho: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

I Feel You Linger in the Air (Sat grey) ep 3 of 12 - This show is getting more and more lakorn each ep. Apparently the straights are having a class divide arranged marriage crisis. Who cares? Our boy is ALWAYS in trouble. Crazy that he has to save the people who betrayed him in a previous life - but I guess he chose revenge! That's unexpected.

Had to switch to grey and couldn’t find a working rip. It was frustrating and I wouldn’t have bothered except I like this show so much. Still, it means no screen caps because the rez is naff.

Dangerous Romance (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - Uh oh. Kang wants to save Sailom and be his hero. The fact that K’s Pa puts no pressure on him whatsoever, makes me wonder if K's Ma committed suicide or something? It’s definitely the opposite parental dynamic we normally see in BL. I have to say, the pacing is great in the show. And the acting is on point. It’s really great.

Hidden Agenda (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - these two just kiss well. I mean not "rip your clothes off Taiwan-style," but sweet young boyfriends-esk. Joke wants to be claimed so bad. It’s great. I enjoyed this ep, unfortunately it looks like we have a manufactured angst drama drop in the next episode. Is this a 10 episode arc? I thought it was 12. It’s odd to have doom happening next episode already.

Only Friends (Sat YT) ep 4 of 10 - Back story time! Ray and Mew are HARD to watch. Incestuous friend group gay is the worst. Omg I got such QAF vibes from this ep. Nick Boston Sand chats = very throw back 90s gay soaps.

Location game moment: Top's hotel room is also Chan’s apartment in Laws Of Attraction.

Naughty Babe (Sat YT) ep 1 of 8 - Ooo. Est is back! Hi handsome. Head of security suits you. Please lead out the new Waterboyy remake? You’re perfect for the role. (If it must happen.) Yi’s Pa is GREAT. Please give daddy a nice boy? Could that be our secondary couple for this series?

Meanwhile, with the leads (sorry I was distracted by daddy) we got us an arranged marriage, run away bride, and an amnesia trope. Put in a secret baby and it's squarely 1980's Harlequin. Will there be Vikings? Sex herbs? Pirates? Dub con?

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 9 of 12 - Again with lovely sex scenes, it’s just the plot stringing them together is frayed. Also don’t fuck in an onsen. Both yech and ouch.

That goes for all y’all.

Wedding Plan (Wed YT & iQIYI) ep 7fin - Trash watch here! Honestly this was an okay ending, I’m not mad at it. If you can tolerate Mame and liars (kinda the same thing) you’ll be fine with this show.

Summation: An innocent wedding planner falls haplessly and hopelessly in love with a groom who relentlessly pursued him, even though he’s about to marry someone else. A somewhat lackluster mame offering with less of the usual stellar chemistry, but all of the usual lies and manipulation. 7/10

Love in Translation (Sat iQIYI) ep 3 of 10 - I skip everything to do with Tammy and it’s fine. There’s only about 20 minutes of fine but that’s more than enough. On the bright side. So far. No singing.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 2 of 24 eps - Cassanova Begins Part 2. Aw. It was sad. Another variation on the “my ghost boyfriend” trope (usually sad). 2/10 I don't do sad BL.

Next up is Merry Go Round featuring the pair from Destiny Seeker (we likey) who want to marry each other, but end up fake engaged to the same woman. Beard squared? Looks silly.

Crazy Handsome Rich (Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - There are 2 things I like about this. I bet you can guess what they are.

Lee Long Shi

The whipping boy trope

There wasn’t enough of either in this first ep. ALSO the captions, sound effects, and voice over are truly next level bad. Utterly atrocious.

The 2 leads fucking around in the end credits was the funniest part of the whole show.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Jun & Jun (Korea Thur Viki) ep 7 of 8 - I am confused and frustrated about what the communication delay is between the two Juns. It feels artificial and narratively manufactured. But since this is a short form KBL and I know it will be resolved quickly, I’m not as annoyed as I would be if this were Thai BL. Still it feels audience manipulative. I also feel sorry for Simon. BUT it looks like it’ll be a sweet boyfriends final episode.

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 10fin - Omg they’re so cute!!! Taiwan the purveyors of ultimate sappy gay domesticity. I am going to miss having these to nonsencing all over my dash.

This show was an interesting take on the "ghost boyfriend" trope. About a boy who is tormented by hearing the dead, except when he is around one other boy - desperation+proximity = love. Unfortunately, the story was erratic and waffled about. While the leads turned in solid performances and the sappy domesticity was off the charts, it never really had the strength of the narrative convictions such a strong concept should have supplied. Highly rewatchable and enjoyable for that sappy domesticity but not a whole lot more. Still I always give extra credit for the diabetes-inducing sugar content and rewatch capacity. 8/10

Kisseki: Dear to Me (Taiwan Tues Viki & iQIYI) eps 3 of 13(?) - I love the punching thing - there is a lot of violent flirting in this show. I’m not mad about it. Ugh, poor thing has real abandonment issues. And now trust issues. I see why we’re getting 12-14 eps. This gonna be MESSY.

Meanwhile, does EVERYONE have a guest cameo? Not that I’m complaining. Hi BLIHID boys! Now I need to rewatch that show.

Love Class Season 2 (Korea Fri Viki) eps 7-8 of 10 - Oh my God the next morning w/ couple 2 was so darn cute. They are all such terrible flirts with each other. Honestly, this show makes me laugh more than any other BL currently airing. I’m not sure it is meant to be as funny as I find it. While couple 3 (the mature characters) is by far my favorite, I actually think they don’t work with the other two pairs, they feel superfluous to the show. I like the show better because they’re in it, but it feels like two different BL‘s stuck together. KBL certainly can’t handle more than two couple threads at the same time.

Why R U? (Korea Wed iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - Ugh. I am such a sucker for the FighterTutor dynamic. Why so good? Uh oh. Real kiss! KBL you're spoiling us. But, isn’t sad-seme-hyung dating some chick? Argh. Poor Sunwoo. This show is even worse at repping Fighter's character sympathetically. Who knew that was possible?

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho (Japan Sat Gaga) ep 3 of 8 - The date episode! Even Japan is doing it now. And these two who have been living/fucking together for ages still dance around each other like junior high kids. I gotta say, I watch this one twice because Vicki has different subs from Gaga. I feel like it’s easier to understand if I watch two different translations of the same script. But it’s still quite a taciturn piece.

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) ep 8 of 12 - Sides are great. It was mostly a cute ep with tiny bits of Progress and a proper Confession. I miss Shin’s siblings. And then… the much loathed amnesia trope. Really?

Everyone say it with me: Must you, Japan?

Stay Still (Hong Kong Tues YouTube) ep 5fin - It ended happier than I was expecting. Optimistic for one couple, and most likely optimistic for the other.

Summation: What to say about this offering from Hong Kong? It’s different, a mix of early CBL, Taiwanese shorts, and Pinoy visuals. It felt like the story was 2 independent shorts that had been lengthen and then stuck together, and I wish they'd been approached as separate and tighter entities. Nevertheless, this was a complex little piece, interesting in a sweaty grungy way, with a certain aura of queer authenticity that made it simultaneously tense, unpredictable, and refreshing. I’m not sure I would necessarily call it BL, but any county’s early foray into the genre usually starts out this way, so perhaps nascent BL? Worth watching, especially if you enjoy stuff from the Philippines and Taiwan. 7/10

In case you missed it

Dinosaur Love ended its run but the final 2 eps are behind a paywall. Word on the street is they aren't good anyway (shocker) so I'm marking it as DNF and moving on with my life. If I can find em grey I'll watch 'em merely so I can give it a rating, but I can't imagine it will get more than 5/10. Seriously, do not bother.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Coming September

9/15 You Are Mine (Taiwan Gaga) Secretary has to deal with grumpy boss.

9/15 Bump Up Business AKA Bump Up Project (Korea movie) suspected cinema release? I don't know much about what's going on. Last status update. Love story between a trainee who is about to debut and a celebrity from the same agency. Kpop boy group OnlyOneOf has signed up to star in this idol-based BL (based on a webtoon). They’ve been auditioning for this since Libido IMHO. You can watch me chronicle their BL MV series in this post. It’s from Idol Romance who will do sad but can do good kisses (Wish You, Nobleman Ryu, Once Again, Kissable Lips, Poongduck 304, Tasty Florida, Tinted With You).

9/26 I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan ????) - Adapted from the manga, childhood best friends: The cool, smart one who’s good at everything, and his average, dorky friend who struggles. Always by the other’s side, but not together in the way they truly want to be. No matter how hard they try, their hearts cannot reach each other.

9/27 Absolute Zero (Thai iQIYI) - from 2021, Studio Wabi Sabi and New Siwaj finally bring us this “time loop to prevent tragedy” romance. We don’t always get HEAs from them, so I'm on my guard.

9/? Venus in the Sky (Thai iQIYI) 10 eps

9/? Mr Cinderella 2 (Vietnam YouTube?)

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED).

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Hidden Agenda hitting us up with a hug + lap + kiss. Very nice.

I think these two might be GMMTV's best cuddlers.

Boys, I think your JoongDunk is showing.

(Last week)

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tenderlady · 9 months

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Hi there! A while ago, you said in your tags to this post that you believe David Lynch would be one of the best suited directors for making a movie about the Beatles. What can I say, I've been thinking about this ever since, vaguely-yet-passionately agreeing, without putting my thoughts into actual sentences...Would you mind elaborating?

You ever get an ask so good you have to break out your laptop to type up your thoughts with greater alacrity?

My friends and I have this concept that we call "trapdoors," which are basically concepts or things that, if brought up in conversation, will cause whoever is talking to you to tumble into an abyss of information that you are duty-bound to provide. Beatles biopics happen to be one of mine, so if you would like to join me in the abyss, the trapdoor is under the cut.

I actually have a few working directors that I think would do a great job with a Beatles movie, including Sofia Coppola, Peter Greenaway, Park Chan-wook, and even, potentially, Martin Scorsese. But the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that the best-suited director working today for making a Beatles movie is actually David Lynch.

I think a lot of this ultimately comes down to what you want from a Beatles biopic, and what you haven't liked about Beatles movies in the past. For me, I'm tired of Beatles-biopic-as-hagiography and I want more stories that approach them as fully-rounded people. And one thing that is very specific to me personally is that I'm interested in the moments when the Beatles story has occasionally tilted toward the magical and mysterious, for lack of better phrasing. So an ideal Beatles biopic, for me, would be one that is dedicated to showing the Beatles themselves as holistic human beings and doesn't shy away from showcasing their bad behavior, but also one that is concerned with portraying those magical realist elements that I find so fascinating.

Enter David Lynch. Lynch has a well-documented fascination with the pop culture of the mid-20th century and an interestingly sumptuous eye toward production design (I'm thinking about the ambiguously midcentury setting of Blue Velvet in particular here), so I think at the bare minimum, if he were to make a Beatles movie, it would look right. But I'm more interested in Lynch's directorial choices and pet themes than I am in how his films look.

Much of his work is concerned with fame, be it the attainment of it or what it means to have it (ex: Mulholland Drive, Inland Empire), and also with the production of art and what it does to our psyches to create (ditto the above examples). These themes would obviously come to bear in any serious film about the Beatles, but I think David Lynch has historically had interesting things to say about these topics.

Lynch's films (and work in general) often veer into horror in their sudden depictions of graphic violence and sexuality, but that would actually be a more realistic depiction of the Beatles' history than most of what we've gotten. I think a gritty, Wild at Heart-style Lynch movie about Hamburg could be very fun. The leather and the 50s and the weird sex stuff of all of it is very Lynch, but all very true to the reality of what the Beatles' lives were like. Their story is full of these seemingly random spurts of violence (Stu getting kicked in the head, the Bob Wooler incident, the cherry bomb at the concert, John's murder, George's stabbing, just to name a few), to the point where reading about them can feel occasionally Lynchian in itself.

For me, though, the biggest draw of having a Lynch-directed Beatles movie is what Lynch is best known for, which is that dream-(or nightmare) feeling that so much of his work has. Something that drew me to the Beatles as an overeducated adult with lots of music listening behind me now is this strange sense of the mystical that hangs over so much of the Beatles narrative. The story of Paul's premonition of the dream with the gold coins, the John and Paul being mirror images of each other, people in the Beatles circle being visited by dead loved ones in their dreams, John and Paul claiming to have SHARED dreams, the whole Emperor of Eternity thing; like I could go on and on and on. These stories are all so fascinating, but often get underexplored in the (legitimately) very rich text of the Beatles story, so I get it, but I also know that Lynch would see these moments and do something really fucking cool with them.

Primarily, I see a Lynch-directed Beatles biopic going one of three ways: a Blue Velvet-style gothic set during the Beatlemania years about a naive black-Irish twink biting off more than he can chew in the pursuit of fame. David Lynch loves doubles and doppelganger imagery (Mulholland Drive, Twin Peaks, Inland Empire....), so I think he would get a lot of mileage out of the matching Beatle suits and haircuts and all the merch with their likenesses on it. I also want to see some real horror mined out of the hiding in meat vans and getting mauled by girls with scissors trying to cut off your hair for relics. Shit is crazy.

Option two would be a Mulholland Drive-style psychological horror set during the height of the Beatles' Swinging London decadence, like around 1967, potentially including India. It would definitely 100% include the Emperor of Eternity acid trip and would be primarily focused on the strange relationship and identity sublimation between John and Paul. Again, Mulholland Drive-style. Gayest potential option imo.

The last option, and the one that makes the most sense with where Lynch is in his career rn, is a Twin Peaks: The Return-style meditation on nostalgia and memory and time. I think this one would probably be getting a little too close to the present day to be feasible, but I think a lot could be done with the idea of current-day Granddude Paul constantly seeing reproductions of his own younger self and dead friends and lovers everywhere he goes. As much as I love Now & Then, the whole thing does how a weird techno-gothic, Black Mirror sheen to it, one that I think Lynch would recognize and have something to say about. Would this make Paul Coop and John Laura Palmer? Hard to say and much to unpack there, but still.

Regardless: I think David Lynch is the only one out there doing it in a weird, fucked-up way that the Beatles would deserve. (Also he literally got into transcendental meditation because of the Maharishi, so there's definitely some six-degrees-of-Beatles happening there lmao)

If you read all of this, thank you, and I'm sorry, and here is a picture of Kyle MacLachlan as Paul from the David Lynch Beatles biopic that is currently screening in my heart for your trouble

#thanks for the question love!!#i hope this was even remotely close to what you were looking for!!!#i have Much To Say on this topic lmao #lynchian beatles

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jadethest0ne · 1 year

Note

O.M.G!!!! Did you see the new mutant mayhem trailer yet??? Please give us your thoughts!!

I DID!!!

I get more and more excited about this movie as more is revealed! As for reactions/thoughts, here are the main points (in no particular order):

Lots of cool team shots/poses, and I think I detected an homage to the Mirage Issue #1 cover in there as well

I like where they're going with the plot of trying to be accepted - I feel like that was always sort of beneath the surface of most of TMNT, but this is the first time they're bringing the concept to the forefront.

I'm betting this shot from the beginning of the trailer links up to the later shot of Mikey, so I put them together here

The lighting and the textures of the film are just VISUALLY ASTOUNDING! I can't get enough of them! Everything feels so tangible and real and, to borrow a phrase from a friend and fellow fan, "lived in"! I wanna eat up the art style of this film. It's unlike anything I've seen before

Love how murderous and manic the boys look at various times in this trailer. Yes, one can point out Raph's anger issues, but Donnie looks ready to kill someone here (maybe he already has? XD)

Speaking of Raph's anger issues: "You've got a rage problem, Raph" "IT'S NOT A PROBLEM!!!"

I know he's his own villain, but Superfly is somewhat giving me Lord Dregg vibes (at least in terms of intimidation factor). Mostly 1987 Dregg, not so much 2012 Dregg, to be clear. '87 Dregg had that "I'm pretending to be your friend" but had nefarious schemes underneath that made him interesting so I'm curious to see how Superfly compares (is this a thinly veiled excuse to get y'all to watch TMNT '87? maybe!)

Also SPLINTER!!! I love how dad-ish he looks/sounds! Hearing Jackie Chan's voice coming from him makes me a little choked up

Ok but seriously, I actually didn't watch much TMNT growing up, but Jackie Chan films were my main martial arts inspired media as a kid. To me, he is the martial arts dad, so to hear him voicing Splinter is kinda hitting a specific and personal chord in me

THEIR ROOM!!!

Love this set up! The Raph and Mikey bunk bed. Donnie has a tent. Leo has a piece of calligraphy that says "ninja" in Japanese in his nook. It's the perfect location for late-night heart-to-hearts, which they absolutely are doing in this trailer and I adore it!

And last one, but I zoomed in on this little sunshine duo interaction cuz it made my heart happy :3

I am so incredibly fired up to see this film!

Thanks for the ask! Have a turtley day!

#tmnt #tmnt mutant mayhem #tmnt mutant mayhem spoilers #tmnt spoilers #mutant mayhem spoilers #mutant mayhem #teenage mutant ninja turtles #ask #jadethest0ne #reaction

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ray-elgatodormido · 1 month

Text

Proper Rot3k OC introduction.

Hey! So if you’ve been scuttling around in my den for a while you’d know I love making characters and releasing them into the wilds to inevitably cause havoc. I was given a character creator in Wo Long and here I am making stories for my creations. So let me briefly introduce them with older doodles of their classic Dynasty Warriors designs. Their stories vary on the game so consider this a general summary that leaves me room to adapt their lore into the games for example. (There may be some retconning down the line)

Xiao Sheng (Faction: Wei)

Xiao Sheng is a young man whose origins and name have been lost. (His father’s surname was Sheng and he is the youngest among his siblings hence the nickname, kinda like Xiao Qiao) All that is known from his early life was that he was conscripted into the fight against the Yellow Turbans when he was barely a teenager. Impressed by his deadly prowess at such a young age, Cao Cao recruited Xiao Sheng as a personal bodyguard and assassin. He is the one to deal the killing blow on Sun Ce. Circumstances vary, sometimes he’s mind controlled and sometimes he’s simply ordered, sometimes he goes with arrows and sometimes he’s up close. Regardless, his guilt over the kill eventually lead to his death after the battle of Chibi. He surrenders to Sun Quan, confessed to the murder and is either executed, killed on the spot or he takes his own life.

Despite being an assassin, Xiao Sheng has a rather gentle nature. Always looking to only kill the strict minimum and doing so in the most quick manner available. He prefers to remain out of sight and doesn’t like to speak much, he’s shy, lacks confidence and is very obedient (mostly due to him having a hard time standing up for himself). He is hopeful, always looking to find the best in everyone. He has a particular attachment to small animals and always feels safe around them. He sees Cao Cao as a father figure and is always striving to make him proud. Even if he silently doubts him at times, his loyalty remained.

Lady Yan/Merah (Faction: Other-Lü Bu’s forces)

Merah is a woman hailing from a land far down South (Malaysia to be precise) and has always been fond of battle since childhood. Due to unknown reasons, she found herself in China as a child and was adopted by a rich family and became known as Lady Yan. She’s somewhat related to Guo Jia, being either his cousin or his half sister. She was sent to Cao Cao as a concubine so her family gets to be on his good side and she quickly started hating the man. At the battle of Hulao gate, she disobeyed Cao Cao’s orders to stay put and ran into the battlefield to fight. There she came across Lü Bu, circumstances vary, but essentially she gets captured after a swift defeat. She is then married to Lü Bu shortly after and participates in the plot against Dong Zhuo. She follows Lü Bu around in his campaigns as his terrifying wife and displays formidable prowess. She mets her end at Xiapi, refusing to bow down to Cao Cao and remaining loyal to Lü Bu until the bitter end.

Merah is self assured and confident, but often to the point of cockiness. She often charges in weapon at the ready, eager to fight. She’s known for having a bit of a short fuse and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Despite her intimidating exterior, she has a noticeable soft side around those she allows to see it. She highly values skill, honesty and style. She got along incredibly well with Lü Bu (matching his freak), submitted to him and ONLY to him and was either at odds with Diao Chan or also had a liking to her (aka they kiss, and Lü Bu is perfectly fine with that)

And that’s that I guess. Things may not exactly line up timeline wise but hey, it happens, timelines hard. There’s a lot I want to ramble about but I think it’s best I just gave the TLDR and hope I get the pictures across.

#oc #myart #wo long: fallen dynasty #dynasty warriors #romance of the three kingdoms #oc ramblings #oc: xiao sheng #oc: merah #Glorious glorious oc lore for all #Because I decided not to keep everything in my head this time #san guo

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armageddon-generation · 1 year

Text

Justice for Brandon Routh: Everything Cut From Superman Returns that makes it Great

Ultimately it's good Superman Returns didn't get sequels because of Bryan Singer & Kevin Spacey, but I'm kinda obsessed with the forgotten middle-child of Supes' movies, and it's infuriating how the movie's thematic spine and most of its best character-beats got cut.

The Theatrical Cut of Returns is literally half a movie. Brandon Routh deserved so much better.

Sources:

Deleted scene compilation (+Return to Krypton)

The Shooting Script (available to buy)

Superman Homepage deleted shots Page 1 and Page 2

Novelisation by Marv Wolfman (this, the graphic novel & junior novelisation all used the 2005 shooting script.)

Superman Returns: The Visual Guide (available to buy)

Chew Chan comic art

Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns

Prequel Comics (based on scenes from early drafts, with stories by writers Singer, Dougherty & Harris):

Prequel Comic #2: Ma Kent

Prequel Comic #3: Lex Luthor

Prequel Comic #4: Lois Lane

Comic book recap

‘78 opened with a boy narrating an issue of Action Comics. Returns pulled back red theatre drapes on a comic narrated by Clois’ son, Jason.

Actor Tristan Lake is recording the voiceover in Requiem for Krypton

From the Script (p.1):

RED THEATRE CURTAINS, drawn shut. The kind found in classic movie houses of yesteryear. The slowly open ... the film flickers to life, fading in on an old comic-book

SUPERMAN. A BOY'S HAND reaches into frame and opens it.

JASON (V.O.): On a distant planet orbiting a red sun, a wise scientist predicted his world's imminent destruction. Despite overwhelming evidence, his pleas to evacuate the planet were ignored, leaving him and his wife no choice...

He turns the page to a panel of JOR-EL and his wife, LARA

JASON (V.O.) (CONT'D): ...but to place their only son into a spaceship and launch it to another galaxy, in hopes of finding the child a new home. A child destined to become Earth's greatest protector...

“In Golden Age style art, Kal-El is placed in the rocket by Jor-El and Lara, comes to Earth, grows up with the Kents, & learns that he possessed amazing powers.”

The script cuts the Smallville part because it’s covered later in flashback.

5 years on, Superman has been mythologised. In-universe, to kids he seems as make-believe as comic books are to us.

This develops Jason’s POV of Superman. He was supposed to have this comic (from 'Uncle Jimmy') when he meets Clark in The Daily Planet

This could be why Smallville was cut; the public only knows about Krypton

The opening scene of Gertrude Vanderworth’s death was originally replaced by:

Prequel: Lex in prison

Lex’s cell is covered in Daily Planet clippings. He nonologues to henchman Stanford

LEX: I didn’t get you visiting privileges to my private suite so I could repeat myself … My work was more than mere greed … It’s a calling. Why can’t they see the danger? He’s a vanguard for an invasion of super-powered beings. I knew. I always knew. Making sure there was a line of defence against him. The Conquistadors carried a plague that decimated entire civilisations. Who knows what kind of spaceborne diseases he carried? Oh, they may not appreciate my genius now, but they will worship me for delivering them from this menace they so affectionately embrace.

Kitty Kowalski & Gertrude Vanderworth

Lex has a medical exam before his release. His henchwoman Kitty is the nurse. She flirts with him but complains Superman is all Lex thinks about

Lex burns his old toupé to “cleanse” himself

In flashback, Kitty sees Lex kill an inmate in self-defence. Lex threatens her to protect his perfect record. But Kitty says she’s his “biggest fan” & anger becomes lust

This is in The Visual Guide (p.26):

"She witnessed Lex murder a fellow inmate. Kitty refused to squeal to the guards, and she and Lex made clear their attraction for each-other."

Kitty is the Vanderworth widow's maid & suggests Lex write to her

She doesn’t like the name Kitty: “My name is Katherine”

An imaginary Superman hovers above, watching Lex leave prison.

Gertrude Vanderworth is waiting outside:

LEX: Gertrude! I’m dying in here. I’m dying without you. Please, take me home. If only you could imagine the grotesque living conditions I’ve been exposed to, dear, sweet Gertrude. You’ve rescued me from Dante’s Inferno, from the depths of human depravity.

Shows how prison changed Gene Hackman’s Lex into Returns’ philosophical maniac

Characterizes Kitty as Lex’s ‘Harley Quinn-lite’ & makes her more active

Stronger explanation for Lex's escape than Clark missing his court date

The comic's final panel is Lex looking up at the imaginary Superman in the sky, zooming out into space, then leading into...

The Opening Titles as Clark’s journey to Krypton:

(from the Script):

“Stars interspersed with DAILY PLANET HEADLINES tracing Superman’s history, many by LOIS LANE;

“METEOR SHOWER BAFFLES SCIENTISTS”

“CAPED WONDER STUNS CITY”

“I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN”

“SUPERMAN STOPS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND, LEX LUTHOR”

“LEX GETS LIFE THANKS TO MAN OF STEEL: SWEARS REVENGE”

“ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER KRYPTON INTACT – SIGNS OF LIFE FOUND”

And then the biggest headline of them all:

“SUPERMAN DISAPPEARS”

More headlines follow as the world is besieged … war, famine, crime. Soon, these headlines push Superman to the back pages. Within years, he’s all but faded from public consciousness. Finally, one last headline:

“WILL HE EVER RETURN?”

IS IT KRYPTON? (p.12), LUTHOR GETS LIFE (p.24) & VANDERWORTH TOPS THE FORTUNE 500!! (p.22) are in The Visual Guide

This gives the indulgent title-sequence a purpose. It sets up the consequences of Clark leaving, his history with Lois & Lex, Krypton’s discovery, and the Vanderworth fortune Lex will steal

This transitions into:

Return to Krypton

Concept art by Ben Proctor

The script describes “the remnants of this great civilisation… cities, monuments… all made from the same crystal technology” not in the filmed scene

Clark finds the House of El crest in the “VALLEY OF THE ELDERS . . . a VAST CANYON OF CRYSTAL MONOLITHS arranged in a circle” with more family crests.

Clark's escape is more visceral (Script pp.2-3):

“GIANT SLABS whiz by ... thousands of pieces of glowing kryptonite are hurtling towards him ... Parts [of Clark’s ship] shatter and break off ... The crystal immediately GROWS BACK ... more kryptonite smashes against the window, cracking it. Crystals work quickly to repair the damage, but it keeps coming.”

The filmed version puts Vibes over story:

The Valley of Elders returns on Lex’s New Krypton in the finale.

Without the other House crests the El one feels random

Showing Krypton's achievements validates Lex’s plan to resurrect it.

Clark’s ship self-repairing introduces ‘growing’ crystals immediately

Opening an action beat is important because the next one isn’t for 40 mins

Famously, this scene cost $10 million. Videographer Rob Burnett said:

“This was always meant to be the original opening [it] explained why he was so weak when Martha found him [&] that Kal-El sweats in the presence of kryptonite which Luthor notices later ... It wasn't cut until some last-minute test screenings … people unfamiliar with Donner's Superman films & Kryptonian crystals/tech found this dialogue-less opening confusing & uninteresting”

To solve this dialogue problem it was suggested Clark bring his mother Lara's memory crystal with him. She would narrate Krypton's history as Clark explored, contrasting its past glory with its current ruin. But the scene was already finished & Singer decided:

I didn’t feel it ... No-one told me to do it. I had no time restrictions or pressure whatsoever. I just felt the movie doesn’t need this."

But Marv Wolfman did something similar when retelling Jor El and Lara sending Clark away in Chapter 1 of his novelisation:

“It had been a timeless city, strong and powerful. It survived the vast armies of three great nations waging war on its bloodied streets. It stood proud as the signing place of an everlasting peace . . . [Lara] spent her early years dreaming of living where Krypton’s earliest founders had once walked, did not want to believe that this magnificence and all it stood for would soon be gone. She had spent her first year out of university touring the city . . . She trekked out to the Valley of the Elders . . . the fabled roads that Sor-El, Kol-Ar and Pol-As, the chosen representatives from the three warring nations, must’ve taken when they created the original laws of humanity that governed Krypton. From the ground, those crystal monolith towers, reflecting the full spectrum of light, looked to Lara like hands raised in reverential prayer. Kryptonopolis had been grown from a single crystal more than 10,000 years before ... shaped by the earliest Kryptonians into vast cities millions of buildings strong"

The Visual Guide also explains the Valley of the Elders is “Where Sor-El, Kol-Ar, and Pol-Us established the laws that governed Krypton" (p.79)

This is a great parallel to ‘78's opening. That was Clark’s origin. Returns is him mourning

Seeing Krypton contextualizes Clark’s arc. We understand his alienation instead of being alienated by him

It bookends the movie with New Krypton, and gives Returns’ oft-mocked climax ‘Superman Lifts a Big Thing’, thematic weight: Clark is excising the grief that drove him from Earth

Lara's narration about the wonders of Krypton both heightens the tragedy & establishes what their tech can achieve, crucial to Lex's plan

Writer Dan Harris said:

“Lex Luthor’s trying to turn this world [Earth] into the dead world, the place [Clark] can’t live, so it becomes a person’s search for identity and home and their place in the universe.” (The Shooting Script interviews p.27)

Martha Kent and Ben Hubbard play Scrabble

Martha spells ‘Alienation’ (THEMES!!) & touching Clark’s name carved into the table is lovely visual storytelling

Ben is there when Clark crashes. Martha stops him calling the cops.

BEN: Martha-

MARTHA: (firm) Tomorrow. Bingo.

She looks at him, stonefaced. He takes another look outside – and at her, and realizes what’s happening. He sighs and shakes his head.

BEN: A meteorite?

She nods.

BEN (CONT’D): Martha Kent, I knew you’d be trouble

There’s a blooper of this scene in Requiem for Krypton & it's mentioned in The Visual Guide (p.20)

Gertrude Vanderworth's death, and Lex stealing her fortune, is shown after Clark passes out in Martha’s arms when he crashes, followed by Lex taking the yacht to the Arctic

Lex Finding the Fortress

Cool details about the Fortress' warm crystals & creating protective weather patterns, explaining the storm around New Krypton in the finale

While exploring the Fortress they find Clark's garage:

From The Visual Guide:

"Lex lingers in a cavernous chamber he dubs 'the garage', where he sees evidence of the construction and launch of Superman's spaceship"

KITTY: So did he?

LEX: Did he what?

KITTY: Take off for his homeworld?

LEX: (looking at Stanford) Well… We gave him a little push.

In the novelisation (p.89)

Lex’s First Experiment

After plundering the Fortress, Lex would test the crystal immediately- “he created a kind of giant Fortress of Solitude in the ice” (Script interviews p.28), destroying the original. Such a great way to raise the stakes!

Extended Clark waking in his childhood room

Clark waking to his starry ceiling & the Kent family photos give his return more emotional heft

Extended Young Clark’s first flight,

Which leads into…

“Little Secret”- Clark finds the Kryptonian ship as a boy

From The Visual Guide (p.11): “When he holds the Father Crystal, Clark feels a primal connection to the vanished world of his ancestors”. Martha’s prequel comic shows Jor El & Lara reflected in the crystal.

The Father Crystal is the key to Lex’s plan, so it's important to see its importance to Clark.

'Little Secret' leads into:

Martha Kent Prequel: The Kents tell the truth

The Kents find Clark on the cellar steps with the Father Crystal, staring at his ship.

They talk in the kitchen:

MARTHA: … I wish we could tell you more… well, anything about your real parents

CLARK: You are my real parents. Those other people, the ones that gave me away… They mean nothing to me. [he bends a fork in half]

JONATHAN: I understand that you feel that way now, Clark. But I have something to show you. [He leaves the room to get something]

CLARK:Ma, I- I… Am I even human? Am I some sort of monster?MARTHA: Clark Kent, bite your tongue! You are our son and we love you. That’s all that matters.

JONATHAN: Clark? This is yours. You were wrapped in it when we found you.

He gives Clark the cloth he was wrapped in when they found him - blue fabric with the “S” shield

This is a big change from ‘78, where Clark didn’t find the Father Crystal until after Jonathan dies. Martha wasn’t there & they didn't discuss it. The Fortress of Solitude made his suit.

Clark's anxiety is more in-line with MoS (“Can’t I just keep pretending to be your son?” / “You are my son.”). Rejecting Krypton is important, as his adult desire for a home drives him from Earth

Here we see Clark feel the alienation he fears for Jason in his final speech ("you will be different..."). Parenting is a big theme of Returns

Clark reads Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman in the Kent barn

In the script, Clark taking the tarp off his ship leads into the Little Secret flashback- which the deleted scene cuts around. The shots following him back to farmhouse include this voiceover (Script pp.13-14):

LOIS LANE (V.O.): For five long years, the world has stared into the sky, waiting, hoping, and praying for his return. We have spent our days asking where he went, debated why he left, and wondered if he’s even alive…

People have always longed for gods, messiahs, and saviors to swoop down from the sky and deliver them from their troubles. But in the end, these saviors always leave, and we are faced with the same troubles that were there from the beginning.

So, instead of facing them ourselves, we wait for the savior to return. But the savior never does, and we realize it was better had he never come at all.

Reading WTWDNS is referenced in The Visual Guide (p.29)

Articulating Lois’ POV makes her more than a bitter ex. Even the Junior novelisation has this!

In the Theatrical Cut Clark returns to the Daily Planet trying to reclaim the old status quo, until he learns Lois has a family. Here, he faces consequences for leaving before learning Lois has moved on, so he’s less selfishly motivated, and returns to the Planet to actively reconcile with her

Parallels Young!Clark finding the Father Crystal- the inciting moment of ‘78’s plot

Martha encourages Clark to return to Metropolis / Clark meets Ben Hubbard

This is a cute scene, humanizing Clark

Martha is selling the farm & moving to Montana

(Script p. 76), cut dialogue in purple

MARTHA: Clark, dear… No one will ever replace your father. But, Ben and I have found something special. Together. And, well, this might all come as a shock…

Clark gives her a look. Just level with me.

MARTHA: I’m selling the farm. We’re moving to Montana.

CLARK: Montana?

MARTHA: The lakes are great. And we love the fishing.

CLARK: Fishing?!

MARTHA: Clark, you’ve been gone a long time. And not even you can stop the world from spinning.

In the novelisation (p.76)

Building this subplot from a background character from ‘78 is neat.

It expands Returns’ narrow emotional scope: It's not just Lois moving on

Superman suit in Clark’s case & changing in The Daily Planet closet

As Clark puts his suitcase in the janitor’s closet he opens it, revealing his Superman costume & a Kent family photo.

So, when he rips his shirt open there’s "NOTHING. Where's his suit? He panics, then remembers." . He must change in the Daily Planet janitor’s closet. As he leaves he "catches a glimpse of his reflection in a window -- he's still wearing GLASSES" (the Script p.44)

Love Superman in glasses as a metaphor for the transition from Clark to Supes.

The Theatrical cut emphasizes Lois’ POV of Superman’s return but this is more balanced & impactful for Clark

Lex and Stanford discuss Superman’s return

When Lex learns Superman is back he & Stanford discuss luring him away. You can see Stanford running to catch up with Lex before the Theatrical scene cuts away. Deleted dialogue in purple:

STANFORD: So, what are we going to do?

LEX: You’re going to modify it and attach it to the stern, I don’t care of the instructions are in Russian

STANFORD: You know what I mean, Lex. He’s not stupid. How long do you think it’s going to take him to trace all that stuff back to me– and you. He was supposed to die up there.

Stanford paces. Lex clenches, obviously stressed. He hears the WHIMPERING of Gertrude’s dog.

Infuriated, Lex hurls the newspaper at it but misses. Enraged, Lex snatches a heavy crystal off the desk, when he STOPS. He stares at something on the NEWSPAPER

Lex bends down and picks up the paper. He smiles, and hands it to Stanford.

LEX: Stanford, you worry too much.

Stanford looks at the article, intrigued.

“WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF METEORITES TO EXHIBIT AT METROPOLIS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY”

Lex & Stanford faking Krypton’s discovery makes all Clark's problems his fault. Clark did nearly die, & it makes Lex a more formidable villain

It makes the plot more cohesive

Clark being tricked by his nemesis > ‘he just left lol’

Lex’s desperation gives him depth. Stealing Kryptonite is now a response to Superman, where in the Theatrical cut it’s so underplayed it seems like just the next step of his plan.

Stanford and The Daily Planet

I can’t find it, but Mr. Sunday Movies cites an interview where the actor revealed Stanford was a disgraced Daily Planet science correspondent, & wrote the articles about Krypton.

More plot cohesion, connecting The Daily Planet & Lex plots. If Lois recognises Stanford when she’s on Lex's yacht, she could figure out Clark was tricked, helping her forgive him.

Extended Clois outside The Daily Planet

Deleted dialogue in purple, (Script pp.58-60):

CLARK: Well … Maybe saying goodbye was so hard because he didn’t know whether it would be goodbye for a little while … or goodbye forever.

Lois doesn’t seem to be listening

CLARK (CONT’D, QUIETER): And maybe he had to go and he wanted to say goodbye, but he couldn’t find the guts to do it, because maybe if he saw you, even one last time… Well, maybe he was afraid that if he even looked at you just… once… he would never be able to… leave (beat) Maybe it was too difficult for him.

. . .

CLARK: So… Do you want to grab a quick bite? Catch up? My treat.

LOIS: Oh I’d love to, but Daddy took the car and it’s my turn to ‘cook’ the family dinner, which means I’ve got just enough time to get back to the ‘suburbs’ and order the Chinese

CLARK: Suburbs?

LOIS: Yeah, we have a really nice place on the river. You should drop in sometime.

CLARK: I’d love to.

Brandon performs this dialogue for a screentest in Requiem for Krypton

Much better reason for Clark not saying goodbye. Corny, but if your gonna justify an OOC decision, do it with the romance at the heart of your movie.

Lois is much nicer & less dismissive of Clark. Theatrical Lois seems to actively dislike him.

Hints Lois feels stifled as a suburban mom

Lois Prequel: Writing Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman

The ‘Lois at home’ scene begins with a flashback:

Perry tells Lois to write a piece for the 5th anniversary of Superman leaving. She struggles with writer’s block at home, & goes out to smoke. She thinks Clark blows out her lighter, but she’s imagining it & realizes she must move on. That night she writes WTWDNS

Then Richard asks about I Spent the Night With Superman, then Clark is revealed to be watching at the end of the scene.

[After Clark flies away, Script p.63]

Lois picks up some food, then suddenly stops and turns to the window, staring into their backyard. Beat.

RICHARD: Lois? You okay?

Lois snaps out of it.

LOIS: Yeah, sorry. Hey, didn’t I have four won-ton’s?

Jason stuffs a won-ton into his mouth.

LOIS (CONT’D): JASON!

Lois & Richard dive, trying to snatch it from his mouth

A cute Jason moment, & Lois ‘sensing’ Clark makes his spying a little less creepy, selling their 'stracrossed lovers' connection

Superman On Patrol

Two scenes are omitted from the script (p.64) before the ‘Bulletproof’ bank robbery. Presumably they formed a full crime-fighting montage, like in ‘78.

The Visual Guide describes two cut sequences that perfectly fill that gap (p. 60):

“In Switzerland, he saved 12 stranded climbers from the peak of the Matterhorn. In Venice, he prevented the famous canals from flooding the city streets. Superman seems to be everywhere at once, but nowhere is he more prominent than in Metropolis…”

Full Deli Robbery Segment

MONTAGE REPORTER #3: Sir, after he captured the men trying to rob your Deli, did he do or say anything?

DELI OWNER: He tried the hummus. He said he liked it – and Superman never lies!

More action! More wholesome Superman! Expanding the scope of the movie beyond Metropolis!

Lex’s Plan

Higher-key Kryptonite heist where Lex’s gang fool guards and witnesses

The movie needs more energy. Like the stolen missile earlier, in the Theatrical Cut Lex’s plan is afterthought bullet-points

When Kitty returns to Lex after Superman saves her, the stolen missile is being disassembled. Lex takes its explosive & the kryptonite he’ll stab Clark with

Lois Prequel: Why she resents Superman and meeting Richard

After Perry demands Lois interview Superman we flashback to him doing the same thing after Krypton was found:

But Superman never shows. Months pass until “the world had to admit” he was gone.

The world turned to Lois as their 'Superman expert.'

JIMMY: Miss Lane. You okay?

LOIS: I will be once Perry lets me cover something over than Superman. He left. He's gone, and maybe he's never coming back. How many different ways can I write that?

JIMMY: I know Miss Lane. I miss him too.

The world refusing to let Lois move on by pigeon-holing her as ‘Superman’s Girlfriend’ is important context.

Now Perry refusing to let Lois cover the blackout is part of a sexist cycle she’s fought for years

Lois escapes to the roof for a smoke: "Even as the days kept passing, I held out hope. I mean, he never disappointed me before, right?'

Richard White introduces himself just like Clark:

RICHARD: Those things will kill you, you know. Hello, Lois. I'm Richard White.

LOIS: White, huh? Did Perry even read past your last name on your resume?

RICHARD: I won't deny what it looks like, but my uncle hired me because I'm damn good at what I do. And with you I see wasted talent. The Superman story is old news. The Planet's best reporter should be used elsewhere.

LOIS: You're certainly more insightful than you look, White.

Directly parallels Richard and Clark

And contrasts the rooftop interview with Superman immediately afterwards; we now know she waited here for Clark to return every night until she met Richard

Clark Visits the Fortress of Solitude

When Clark visits the Fortress of Solitude he has cut voiceover (Script p.89):

SUPERMAN (V.O.): Father... It’s been a long time since I’ve come to you… But I’ve never felt so alone.

EXT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - SAME TIME

Superman lands & approaches the console. The crystal has been taken. WITH A VOICE ECHOING THROUGH THE ARCTIC LIKE THUNDER:

SUPERMAN: FATHER!!!

FATHER!!! Is OTT but important when Superman has so little dialogue

Clark is now clearly driven to the Fortress by Lois’ rejection. In The Theatrical Cut, he just checks in because it’s time for Plot to happen.

Losing Jor-El emphasizes the theme of parenthood- Clark loses a father as he gains a son- & justifies Jor El’s voiceover later

Lex's Fortress

In an earlier draft, Clark found the new Fortress Lex grew in his first experiment, and "Clark sunk it and put it underwater"

Originally “Richard & Lois flew there with Clark to investigate & take pictures" (Script interviews p.28) but later on these became satellite pictures that were delivered to the Planet. Lois saw them & understood what Clark had lost.

Lois seeing & understanding Cark's losses is important

Clark destroying Lex's Fortress would be an impressive action beat & Returns is desperate for those. Showing Lex's impact through action!

Extended dialogue on the yacht explaining Lex’s plan

LEX: It’s not just an island. It’s an entirely new continent. Virtually indestructible and self-sustaining. For lack of a better name, it’s Krypton. An extinct world, reborn on our own.

LEX: I’ll have ADVANCED alien technology thousands of years beyond anything anyone could throw at me. Weapons, vehicles, you name it.

Gives New Krypton more credibility & makes Lex's plan more concrete, especially after Return to Krypton showcased Kryptonian tech

Saving Metropolis

Earlier drafts of the ‘Saving Metropolis’ sequence had “monster waves surging in every direction” (The Visual Guide p.70) Dan Harris also mentioned "waves coming in" and Clark “pulling a subway train out [of the ground]”. (Script interviews p.28) The script omits several sections that could fit these moments.

The script includes Clark saving people from cars set on fire by the gas explosion.

Again, Returns copies ‘78, but that earthquake was way bigger - a dam explodes, a bridge collapses, a train derails. Clark shifts tectonic plates to stop it.

Perry White meets Superman

I understand why this was cut but it’s still cool

The Missile Explosive

After Jason kills Brutus, the deleted scene of Lex finding Brutus’ body is followed by (Script pp.113-114):

INT. YACHT - PANTRY Lois & Jason sit against the far wall, exhausted & worried. The door swings open, revealing LEX. He looks at Jason & winks.

LEX: Catch.

He tosses SOMETHING into the room, wrapped in the handkerchief. It rolls towards Jason’s feet. LOIS CHARGES just as Lex slams the door. Jason removes Lex’s handkerchief, revealing the EXPLOSIVE from the missile.

LOIS: Honey… don’t move.

Lois is panicked, searching for any way to get rid of the explosive. Finally; a SMALL AIR DUCT. She kneels & pulls at the VENT COVER. It won’t budge. She looks around & finds a LARGE METALLIC SOUP LADLE. SHE JAMS THE LADLE INTO THE VENT, using it like a crowbar.

JASON: Mommy?

LOIS: JASON DON’T MOVE!

Lois strains to pry the vent away. After what seems like an eternity, it finally pops off. She approaches Jason VERY CAREFULLY.

LOIS (CONT’D): Okay Honey, stay still…

Lois THROWS IT into the air duct … grabs Jason & rushes him to the other side of the room. The explosive drops down a series of air ducts … Silence. Lois and Jason open their eyes, relieved.

Then – BOOOOOOM! THE BLAST ROCKS THE ROOM. A burst of flame shoots from the vent. Lois shields Jason. The flames are followed by a GEYSER OF SEAWATER. The room is tipped upward. Water is streaming in. Lois tumbles backwards into the water, struggling to reach Jason, but she’s STUCK.

ANGLE UNDERWATER: Lois’ leg tangled in a LIFE PRESERVER.

LOIS: HELP ME! Oh God…

Water floods into her mouth. She disappears under the surface when the DOOR is RIPPED OPEN, AND THE SILHOUETTE OF A MAN STEPS INTO THE ROOM. He dives underwater.

The man rips Lois’ leg free from the cables and pulls her to safety. Lois finally opens her eyes and comes face to face with… RICHARD. She and Jason are stunned.

LOIS (CONT’D): How –How did you get here?

RICHARD: (obviously…) I flew.

Lex’s response to Superman’s son here is more appropriate & threatening.

Another setup & payoff with the missile explosive gives the film more structure. Plot, y'know?

Makes Lois more active

Richard/Clark parallels

Jason recognizes Clark

[in the seaplane after Superman saves them from the yacht]

Jason curiously looks up at Superman.

JASON: Hey, you look just like–

SUPERMAN: (Cutting him off) Can you fly?

For a moment, it looks like Superman is speaking to Jason – then he turns his head to Richard.

Also in the novelisation (p.285)

More Jason/Clark connection & more payoffs (Jason suspected Clark's identity after seeing him next to Superman on TV earlier)

Context: New Krypton

The script describes it as “almost identical to the ruins of Krypton ... Unlike the ruins, this place feels like it could be full of life – what he hoped to find when he went to Krypton,” with buildings “resembling the Fortress of Solitude”. made of the Fortress’ glowing white crystals, presenting the facade of life.

Clark confronts Lex in “an exact reproduction of the Kryptonian VALLEY OF ELDERS" (where we saw the El Crest in Return to Krypton). Flickering x-ray vision reveals “IN THE GROUND AND WALLS are pockets and veins of kryptonite”

From The Visual Guide (p.79):

“New Krypton recreates its planet of origin according to an ancient blueprint, beginning with the vanished capital of Kryptonopolis ... [it] will eventually replicate the towering face of Mount Argo, the bottomless depths of the Xan Chasm, & the polished dome of the Krypton Science Council”

Superman hears something else in the wind, coming from inside the structure: a VOICE. Faint, but familiar. Maybe JOR-EL? LARA? It’s joined by other ghostly whispers before another familiar voice calls out:

LEX (O.S.): See anything familiar?

The ghostly whispers are a cool detail

Now New Krypton is literally a ‘dead world resurrected’, not just some land, & will terraform the whole planet. It brings the movie full-circle- Krypton followed Clark home

After beating a powerless Clark, Lex reveals the truth

LEX (CONT’D): Look, buddy. We sent you there to die, but ya’ had to come back…

Superman looks at Lex, his expression turning from agony to realization.

LEX (CONT’D): Oh yeah. All those photos? Those stories about Krypton still existing? It was me. (Beat) And him.

ANGLE ON: Stanford.

LEX (CONT’D): Thankfully the press doesn’t check facts like they used to. (Beat) Hey, you took away five years of my life. I just returned the favor.

In the novelisation (p.297) & literally every other adaptation of the story. Why the fuck would you cut it?

As Clark drowns:

“Crystals are growing towards him from every direction. ALL GLOWING GREEN from Kryptonite. He tries swimming to the surface, but he’s too weak. He’s trapped ... A mesh of crystal walls are closing in around him, over him like a tomb."

The tomb is a thematically resonant image (New Krypton = graveyard) & heightens the crystals’ threat

Jason ‘senses’ Clark instead of seeing him from the plane window

In the script, Jason wants to help Clark too- not just Lois & Richard deciding.

Jason looks out the window, pointing down to the water.

JASON: There.

He turns to Lois. Beat. She can’t see anything.

LOIS: You’re sure?

Jason nods. He’s certain.

While Clark in hospital, Lois names ‘New Krypton’

it's gone “into orbit somewhere between Mars & Jupiter. Supposedly it’s laced with Kryptonite & still growing”.

Again, creates a thematic bookend with 'Old Krypton' in the beginning

Outside the Hospital

Ben Hubbard waits with Martha Kent- you can see his shoulder next to her in the Theatrical Cut

There are shots of Lois, Jason & Martha talking while they're in the crowd- presumably Martha offering support without Lois knowing who she is

Martha meets her grandson! The two mothers of Kryptonian sons talk!

Bringing Martha & Ben back ties the Smallville section of the movie back into the plot

Final Clois Exchange

SUPERMAN: Thank you, Lois.

Tears well in her eyes, struggling for something to say.

SUPERMAN (CONT’D): It’s alright.

It’s what she’s wanted and needed to hear for years.

It’s such a small thing, but gives Clois closure, and Clark more lines

OTHER CHANGES

Color-grade: Returns’ drab sepia look ruins beautiful cinematography. The original color-grade in the teaser trailer (which is like 70% deleted footage) is much better, as is this color-corrected shuttle sequence

A tighter edit to compensate for the action-light script. They went for a classic, unhurried edit, but you could shave multiple seconds off most shots without losing anything. The Superman Restored fanedit re-inserts 25 mins of deleted scenes and is still 8 mins shorter than the Theatrical Cut

Tldr;

Returns is inherently slow-paced. Even with a faster edit, adding all this would push it past 3 hours. Regardless, Singer shot his own film in the foot because his priorities were wrong: Outlined above is a more balanced, cohesive story with richer themes. The Lex and Krypton subplots are complete. Clark feels like the main character, & Lois is more sympathetic.

Brandon deserved so much more.

#superman #superman returns #brandon routh #clark kent #lois lane #clois #cbm #richard donner #superman: the movie #superman ii #deleted scenes #krypton #lex luthor #martha kent #dc comics #dc movies

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hyunbunlix · 1 year

Text

Paragon [hitman!Jeongin]

Characters: Jeongin, Bang Chan, older fem!OC, Lee Know (mentioned), Felix (mentioned), Hyunjin (mentioned) Rating: A/O for Adults Only Content Warnings/Tags: violence, murder, mentor/mentee to lovers, switch Jeongin, blowjob, fingerbanging, riding, raw dogging, power bottom Jeongin, cock-warming Word Count: 7,383 Summary: After years apart, a contract from Bang Chan puts Jeongin back in contact with the woman who established him in the underworld. He's forced to confront his feelings for her, not all of which are negative. Note: This is part of a larger John Wick AU, which can be found here.

Crimson Fox. But most famously, Gumiho. Names Yang Jeong In had earned across the world doing his job. And he was very good at his job. Because he was so good at it, very few people knew his face or his name, and instead knew him only by the aliases, by the names people whispered when they found the remains of his contracted kills.

One of the few people who did know Jeong In’s name was Chris Bang, though few people called him that, either. Likewise, Chris knew Jeong In’s real name and never used it, not unless they were face to face.

Which, right now, they weren’t.

“I’ve got an interesting one for you, I.N,” Chris said. He had been in charge of negotiating Jeong In’s contracts for years, all to help Jeong In preserve his anonymity. In return, Chris could ask Jeong In to take people out at Chris’s discretion, and Jeong In wouldn’t ask questions.

“What is it?” Jeong In asked, leaning back in the hotel desk chair. The call was voice only, as always, both of them using burners.

“It’s an extraction,” Chris said. Jeong In frowned.

“I don’t really do—”

“I’m not done,” Chris said. “I know the target. They’re part of another operation that went sideways. Deep cover, all that. Their guys haven’t been good enough to get them out. You are.”

Jeong In leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.

“Is it really worth it?” he asked. “I mean, if their guys aren’t good enough to pull them out, then what’s the point? Couldn’t this just happen again?”

“It could,” Chris allowed. “But that doesn’t matter to me. I have a personal interest in keeping this one alive. This isn’t part of our annual arrangement, so don’t worry. You’ll still get paid. All you have to do is get in, send a message, and free the mark.”

Send a message. That was Chris speak for “no restrictions.” Jeong In could kill anything and anyone other than the mark.

He got a certain thrill when everything was a target. It felt good to let off steam and be indiscriminate sometimes.

“I’ll do it,” Jeong In said. Chris chuckled on the other end.

“Thought you might. See you in Seoul.”

Before Jeong In went into the field, he made sure to style his bangs back off his forehead. There had been a time in his life when he’d kept them short and out of the way, but he rather liked the shaggy look these days and didn’t want to cut them.

For the first part of the infiltration, Jeong In went for stealth. Chris had briefed him thoroughly in person, and according to his intel, whole teams had fallen by the dozen trying to reclaim the mark, so clearly “guns blazing” wouldn’t work here.

Chris had given him permission to send a message, and Jeong In intended to do exactly that before the night was out. He just wouldn’t be stupid about it. His first few kills were quiet with little resistance. A quick, clean shiv here. An easily snapped neck there. He didn’t go out of his way to hide the bodies (he didn’t have the time), but he wasn’t trying to alarm the entire compound, either.

Eventually, though, they caught on, and he was ready. Hand-to-hand wasn’t his favorite, but he was still perfectly competent. There were so many ways a body could break, and he was versed in nearly all of them. He snapped bones, used men as shields to thwart each other, put bullets in brains and knives in organs.

Send a message. Leave no witnesses. He had his anonymity to preserve.

Finally, with blood on his hands and face, very little of which belonged to him, he found the door he was looking for, and the last man standing to guard it. Without ceremony, Jeong In fired from the hip, two in the body, then one straight-armed shot in the head, and the man collapsed. Jeong In exhaled, ejecting the magazine from his handgun to count the remaining rounds, before putting it back in and priming. He fished through the last guard’s jacket for the badge to get into the room. He scanned himself in with his left hand, gun still in his right.

He needn’t have bothered. Whereas the prisoners he’d passed on the way here had been kept grouped together and casually guarded, this one was in solitary. All the muscle had been outside; within the walls, only the prisoner, strapped to a chair, was present. They—she—appeared unconscious, slumped forward in the seat. Unlike the others Jeong In had passed on the way, beaten and brutalized, the woman wasn’t in great shape but at the very least didn’t appear to have any broken bones.

Jeong In didn’t have time to puzzle the treatment out, however, because, at that moment, she lifted her head, and his heart about stopped.

“Blackbox?”

There was a layer of blood and grime on her exposed skin, her clothes torn and hair filthy, but it was unmistakably her.

The woman that had set him up in this world, crafted his reputation. The woman who had given him his name. He’d always been a magnificent marksman, but when he first started out as a teenager, no one had wanted to take a chance on someone so young and untested. She had helped him craft his mythos, made him into one of the most prolific killers of his generation, and instilled in him the need to always keep his identity—both face and name—separate from the work.

It was thanks to her that the world knew who the Gumiho was. All he’d ever had to do was live up to the hype she generated.

And he did.

She lolled her head back as though she couldn’t believe it either, a parched laugh slipping through cracked lips.

Finally, she leveled her gaze, a smile that looked a lot like a grimace on her face. “Hey, Kit,” she said.

Jeong In wanted to tell her not to call him that, not anymore, but couldn’t bring himself to speak as he freed her from her binds, the core of his being humming with anger and something else.

When she was free, he paused to drag his last kill to the back wall, dipping his gloved thumb in the pooled blood and signing the wall GUMIHO in Hangeul. She didn’t ask what he was doing, because the signature had been her idea first, all those years ago.

He handed her a handgun he’d taken off a body on the way in.

“There shouldn’t be much resistance left on the way out,” he said. “Let’s go.”

On the way to the Seoul Continental Hotel, she insisted they stop at one of her many drop boxes. There she picked up some cash, a set of clothes, an ID that Jeong In could see at a glance most definitely did not have her real name on it, and a stack of gold coins.

“The least I can do is pay for your stay,” she said. “Consider it my thanks.”

“I don’t need your thanks,” he said. “I’m already getting paid.”

“I insist,” she said, and wouldn’t budge. After they arrived and booked their room—since Jeong In no longer trusted her enough to let her out of his sight—the concierge sent one of the hotel physicians up to tend her wounds. She sat in her undergarments while the doctor closed and patched the various small wounds she’d been dealt. Jeong In was still surprised by the lack of grievous injuries. The worst of her condition appeared to be dehydration and malnutrition.

When the physician left, she disappeared into the washroom to take the world’s most careful shower. Once Jeong In was certain her ablutions were well underway and she wouldn’t be bursting out anytime soon, he took the opportunity to remove his blazer and button-up shirt so he could peel his Kevlar vest off his sweaty body. After putting the other two layers back on, he pulled out his phone.

“Did you know?” Jeong In hissed the second Chris picked up, not even giving the older man time to greet him.

“Know what? I take it by the massacre reports I’m getting that it’s done?” he asked. Jeong In fought the urge to growl at him like the animal so many people thought he was.

“Of course it’s done,” he said first. “I know Blackbox. Or knew her, I guess. I never thought I was going to see her again.”

“No,” Chris said, and Jeong In could tell he was being sincere. “I didn’t know. Blackbox and I have helped each other out in the past, and I’m counting on her to help me in the future. That’s all it was. I had no idea it was personal to you. I’m sorry for giving you the wrong impression. I don’t want to risk alienating you, either. I genuinely didn’t know.”

“Okay,” Jeong In said. He heard the water shut off in the bathroom. “Thanks. I have to go.”

“Be careful,” Chris said before Jeong In hung up on him.

After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and hair damp. She looked a lot better just having the layer of grime gone.

“You really don’t have to stay with me,” she said, dropping her old clothes into the trash and liberally applying lip balm. “It’s the Continental. The chances of anything bad happening to me here are slim.”

“But not zero,” Jeong In snapped. “How likely is it that this shit happens all over again? Chris sent me in there because your guys were getting massacred left and right trying. How certain are you this won’t happen again?”

She sighed, a weary, heavy sound that almost made Jeong In feel guilty for lashing out at her. Almost.

“Now that I’m vulnerable, those chances are pretty high. But I know better now, and while I wish my contacts weren’t dead, I have to believe it was worth it. I got too comfortable, I think. They’ll almost certainly try again.”

“Then I’m not fucking leaving you alone,” Jeong In went on. “You know there have been no fewer than three incidents on Continental grounds in the last five years, right? The chances they’ll come for you here are low, but not zero. I’m not going to let my work be undone.”

She looked at him, a knife’s edge in her eyes now. “Why do you care, Jeong In? You did your part. You get paid either way.”

Hearing his name, his real name, on her tongue for the first time in years changed his anger very swiftly into something else, a grievous wound he hadn’t realized she still had the power to inflict. He was practically vibrating as he glared at her, incredulous. How could she say that to him?

“Because I’m not fucking losing you again,” he said. “I’m not. I don’t care if you thought you did it for my sake, because I would be better off without you. Even if it was true then, it’s not now. I’m not going to just walk away now that I’ve found you again, especially now that I know you’re in danger and have maybe two allies left that you can actually trust. You can’t fucking get rid of me again. I’ve had it with you running away from me.”

She stared at him, speechless for the better part of a minute.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I had no idea it meant that much to you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Jeong In said, bitter now. “You never asked me, either. And that hurt me the most.”

There it was. The name of the feeling. Seeing her again, dredging up all those old feelings and memories, pained him. He hadn’t known he could still feel like that. He thought he’d buried it a long time ago.

And now he couldn’t re-bury it.

“If you had just bothered to have a conversation with me, you would have known I didn’t want to go. I wanted to serve with you. I wanted to protect you. But you determined unilaterally that parting was best, that it was too dangerous for me to walk your path with you. You didn’t even give me an option. You just disappeared and let me drown. I hated you. I fucking hated you for that,” he said. What had once been scarred over was gaping again, a wound as raw now as the day she’d dealt it.

“Jeong In, I—”

“You abandoned me. But your reason is gone. I’m capable now. Capable enough to carry us both. So what will your excuse be this time? Or will you not even have the decency to give me one?” he snapped. Now that it was all coming up, he couldn’t stop. He’d held all this inside for years. She could at least have the decency to listen to him now. She owed him that.

“I don’t think I deserve a second chance,” she said finally. Jeong In got up from where he’d been sitting on the bed and stalked up to her.

“Didn’t you hear a damn word I just said? You don’t get to decide that! I do!”

“Then what do you want from me, Jeong In?” she asked, her voice barely a breath, and he was close enough to hear it.

“To be with you,” he answered, the bite gone from his voice. It was all he’d ever wanted from her. “I don’t care about the form it takes. I’ll be your friend. I’ll be your weapon. I’ll be anything, just don’t throw me away again. Stop punishing me.”

She put her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly to her. He was a little taller than her now, as well as broader and stronger. He no longer knew which of them would win in a fight.

But he had no desire to fight with her anymore.

He wrapped his arms around her middle, holding her snugly against him, unwilling or unable to let her go.

“Okay,” she said against his shoulder. “Okay.”

He swallowed hard. “Okay,” he echoed.

When he woke the next morning, Jeong In half expected her to be gone. The trust wound she’d dealt him was something he’d never fully recovered from and would take a lot of effort on her part to heal.

But no, she was still in the bed to his right, sleeping soundly. She had to be exhausted from her ordeal. There was a little cut above her eyebrow, bruises on her cheek and near the bridge of her nose. The lip balm seemed to be working.

He checked the time on his phone and determined it was late morning. Gently, he reached over to shake her shoulder. She whimpered and curled up in the blankets, hiding half her face from him.

“Noona,” he murmured, smoothing her hair away from her forehead and kissing it. A few moments later, she opened bleary eyes that eventually focused on him. “I’m going to have food sent up. What do you want?”

“Something easy,” she murmured, her voice muffled in the blanket. “I haven’t had real food in weeks.”

He hummed a soft acknowledgment and got himself out of bed to make the call down to the concierge. He’d gone to bed in a plain t-shirt and compression shorts the night before, and he pulled his real clothes back on after the order was made. There was no movement from the bed, so he assumed she’d fallen back asleep. Jeong In received the food and started on his portion. He wasn’t willing to leave the room even to take a shower until she was awake.

Was he paranoid? Probably, but if the goons came back for her, Jeong In wouldn’t leave her defenseless. Killing wasn’t permitted on Continental grounds, but not everyone followed the rules.

When he had nearly finished eating, she dragged herself out of bed and came to the table. She reached for a water bottle before anything else and drained it. Jeong In didn’t realize he was staring at her throat bobbing until it had already been way too long.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, as much a distraction for him as it was genuine interest.

“Sore, but much better,” she said, spearing a piece of cucumber with a fork. “I haven’t slept comfortably since I was captured.”

“Why were you down there?” Jeong In asked.

“Chris didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

She chewed the vegetable, frowning.

“That’s a little rude, considering it was a favor to him.”

Jeong In frowned too.

“What was?”

“The deep cover op. I was in there for him. He wanted info on a couple of guys in that outfit, including the boss. He knows them. Or he did. I didn’t think I would get caught. We lost a lot of resources trying to pull me out. His and mine, both,” she said.

“Well, there’s no way he’ll be pulling that shit again,” Jeong In said, uncapping his own water bottle.

“No,” she agreed. “He won’t. Is he in town?”

“I don’t know,” Jeong In answered genuinely. “He was yesterday, that’s all I know for sure.”

She put her hand out, and it took Jeong In a moment to realize she was asking for his burner phone. He got up to fish it out of his bag and put it in her hand. Chris’s was the only number in it. She dialed, put it on speaker, turned the volume halfway down, and placed the phone on the table between them.

“Hello?” Chris greeted in Korean, expecting Jeong In on the line.

“Surprise, bitch,” she said in English. Chris laughed, which Jeong In didn’t expect.

“Hello to you, too,” Chris said, his Australian accent standing out compared to her American one. “You sound better than expected.”

“Did you skip town already?” she asked, getting right to the point.

“Yeah. Looks like our Fox didn’t need any backup,” he said. She snorted.

“Well, you’d better turn around. I expect you in the Continental’s bar no later than 8 o’clock tonight. Don’t make me wait,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” Chris said, chuckling. “Wouldn’t want you taking your anger out on poor Kit.”

Jeong In bristled. Chris wasn’t supposed to call him that. Only she ever called him that.

“Don’t worry, I’ll save it all for you, Bang. You’re the one who almost got me killed, after all,” she said. Chris clicked his tongue on the other end.

“Fair enough,” he said. “See you.”

He hung up, keeping the last word for himself. Jeong In took the phone back.

“Bitch,” she muttered, still in English, though her tone wasn’t exactly sour.

“What’s with you two?” Jeong In asked, nudging the conversation back into Korean.

“Begrudging allyship,” she said, cramming an apple slice in her mouth.

She and Jeong In didn’t leave their hotel room until 8:15.

“I want Chan to sweat,” she said tersely, really leaning into the A, and Jeong In was surprised by the personal, almost joking use of the name. How was it that all three of them knew each other, yet none of it had ever come up in crosstalk? What other secrets were they all keeping from each other?

When they walked into the bar, Jeong In half a step off her left shoulder, he felt like the last few years had never happened. This was exactly how it had once been—Jeong In under her wing, deferring to her leadership, being her trigger when she needed him. She sat down across from Chris, and Jeong In sat to her left.

“Congratulations to the happy couple,” Chris said, the beginnings of a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Shut the fuck up,” Jeong In said at the same time that she muttered, “Chris, please.” Jeong In was now unsure whether he believed Chris’s disconnect from the situation.

“The guy you wanted is a fucking rat,” she said, getting to the point. She raised her hand to flag down a server. “I’m not sure you’d want him even if you could separate him from the boss.”

Chris sighed. “I was starting to suspect. He’s two-faced, that one. He wasn’t always that way, but this life changes you.”

“You’d have a better time fixing things with Lee Know than you would poaching the Smiler.”

Chris made a displeased sound in his throat, schooling his features into neutrality as they ordered drinks. The server had the audacity to card Jeong In, and his compatriots had the audacity to snicker about it.

“Poor baby boy,” she teased as the server walked away. She put her hand on the back of his neck and squeezed gently. It took a concerted effort for Jeong In to bristle instead of melt.

He definitely thought he’d left his crush on her in the distant past. Chris tossed a look between the two of them that Jeong In couldn’t read.

“Did you find out anything else?” he asked, steering the conversation back to where it had been before.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “If you’re determined to use somebody, you’re better off going for Hwang. His loyalty can be bought. He’s a lot like this one.”

�� She gestured to Jeong In with her head as she said it, and he scoffed.

“You’re the one who made me like this,” he protested. “I would have been perfectly loyal if you hadn’t decided I was no longer worth the effort. Just ask Chris. We’ve had a working relationship for almost four years and I haven’t crossed him a single time.”

“He’s got a point,” Chris said. “I.N has a moral compass, busted as it may be. From what I hear, Hwang is a fucking psycho.”

“You’re not incorrect,” she relented. “But he’s a psycho that can be convinced, if not necessarily reasoned with.”

“Convinced how?” Chris asked, quieting down when their drinks arrived. He then ordered the most expensive meal on the menu.

When the food orders were taken, she pulled out a phone and waggled the screen in Chris’s face.

“Ask me nicely, and I’ll ask him nicely,” she said. Chris’s jaw dropped in time with Jeong In’s.

“How did you get that?” Chris hissed as she tucked the phone away.

“How do you think? I had to let him murder half my contact list. Hwang fancies himself an artist, though what he could be making with all that red I can’t possibly imagine. Suffice it to say he enjoys a sacrifice to his genius,” she said. “I let him do that, and he kept me from getting beaten into ground beef in there.”

“That’s quite the visual,” Chris said, entirely deadpan. She shrugged.

“Hwang took pity on you?” Jeong In asked. That would explain why she didn’t have any broken bones despite how badly beaten other prisoners had been. If Hwang had taken a liking to her, then pissing him off would have been more than enough deterrent to the others. Like Chris had said, Hwang was a fucking psycho. He’d been known to put a bullet between people’s eyes for the barest perceived offenses.

She nodded, looking a little conflicted about it, herself. “Yeah. I don’t think I can take all the credit for it, though. He was trying to get back at the Smiler for something, and I just happened to help out with it before I got caught. Doesn’t matter, though. If I’m going to keep a working relationship with both you and Hwang, then the Smiler is off-limits, Chris. Whatever’s between the two of them is personal.”

“Lee Know it is, then,” Chris sighed. “Damn it. I really didn’t want to have to talk to him directly.”

“Bad blood?” Jeong In asked. Chris nodded.

“Very.”

The conversation moved to lower-stakes topics as they ate, and Jeong In was grateful for it. He didn’t need any more revelations or threats to their lives today. Finally, a little after 10 PM, they released Chris to get back on the road, and the two of them went back up to their room. Jeong In tossed his blazer over the back of a chair and unbuttoned his dress shirt.

“To the best of your knowledge,” he asked, “did Chris lie about any of that?”

“He didn’t,” she said. “It’s a complicated web with Lee Know. He and Chan used to be close. I don’t know exactly what happened. But I do know I don’t intend to put myself in the middle of it ever again.”

“Good,” Jeong In said. “It might be important to him, but it’s not worth your life. If you weren’t able to cut that deal with Hwang, you might be dead right now.”

She swallowed, looking at the floor for a moment. “I know. I’m lucky to be alive.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but didn’t. Jeong In hung his dress shirt and blazer in the closet and approached her in his dark t-shirt and pants. She looked at him curiously.

“What is it?” he asked, reaching to touch her arm. He’d meant for it to be just a reassuring graze, but feeling her there, solid in front of him, prompted him to wrap his fingers gently around her bicep.

“I’m lucky that you came,” she said. “And I’m . . . I’m lucky that you stayed.”

He wasn’t sure why that of all things made him bashful, but he blinked shyly at her, suddenly unsure of what to say.

“You could have decided to leave me there,” she said. “When you saw it was me, you could have turned your back and left.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said. “And not just because of the payout. I hated you, noona, for what you did. But hate like that is only possible if you really cared first. Hatred, to me, has always felt like rotted love. It’s hard for me to explain exactly how much I cared about you back then, and how I wasn’t able to let go of it after all this time.”

“I shouldn’t have done what I did,” she said. “I shouldn’t have treated you that way, like I knew best and you knew nothing . . . I shouldn’t have shut you out. I’m sorry, Jeong In,” she said, and he knew she meant it.

He hesitated for a moment, reaching to hold her other arm, too. She didn’t move, only watched his face.

“There are people who say everything happens for a reason,” he began. “I always thought that was bullshit, but . . . As much as it hurt, as much as I hated you . . . Noona, I met you when I was seventeen. I think . . . I think if I hadn’t been away from you all these years . . .”

God, was he really doing this? Was he really going to try to say this to her?

His grip on her arms tightened a little, but he was careful not to hurt her.

“I think with the time we’ve spent apart, it makes it less weird for me to confess to you now,” he said finally.

He expected to see her walls go up then, for her to remove his grip and take a step back from him. But instead, she simply held his gaze, looking thoughtful.

“I liked you then,” Jeong In added softly. “And after the events of the last two days . . . It’s clear to me that I still like you now. I’m . . . I’m sorry for putting you in such a strange position. But if I’m going to be in your life again, if you’re going to consent to have me around, I thought you should know.”

“Thank you,” she said. Gingerly, she removed her arms from his grasp, but instead of moving away like he thought she would, she reached up to tenderly trace the lines of his cheekbones and jaw, finally letting her hands rest on his shoulders. “In the interest of getting things out in the open, I suppose I should give my side, too.” He nodded, urging her to continue. “Obviously, there’s no way I would ever be with a teenager. Even working in the shitty half of the world where we literally get away with murder, that shit is disgusting. I’ve had people killed for it.”

“I know,” he said. “You let me practice on some of them, remember?”

Ah, the days of his supervised hits. He was clearly deranged if he was able to look back on those memories with fondness.

“But when you came into my cell yesterday, I honestly didn’t recognize you until you spoke, and even then I thought I had to be imagining until you put your signature on the back wall. Now that I’ve had more time to look at you, of course, the foundation of your features is the same, but my god, Jeong In.” She paused, laughed to herself. “You grew up to be a fucking stunner.”

He gave a surprised laugh, grinning bashfully, avoiding her eyes for a moment. He’d murdered more people than he could count, yet here he was, blushing because the woman he liked thought he was handsome. What a set of priorities.

“Thank you,” he said softly. She squeezed his shoulders, and he met her eyes again.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is,” she said, “if you wanted to kiss me, I wouldn’t stop you.”

“I want to do a lot more than kiss you,” he said, unable to rein in the honesty now that they’d started. She raised her eyebrows at him, but the curve of a smile remained on her lips.

“You’ve only been back in my life for two days and you already want to stick your dick inside me?” she asked with what was hopefully faked incredulity.

“I woke up in the same bed as you this morning. There aren’t many people in the world I trust like that. Believe it or not, I don’t get laid very often,” he admitted. Her smile took on a bit of solemnity.

“Yeah . . . Yeah, I believe it. It’s difficult to make connections way down here,” she agreed. “But you’re sure? This isn’t too weird for you?”

“I’m sure, unless it’s too weird for you,” he said. Her smile broadened.

“Such a gentleman,” she said, wrapping her arms lazily around his neck. Almost instinctually, his hands fit against her waist. “But not a perfect gentleman, I hope.”

“I’ll be whatever you want me to be,” he said, and then his mouth was on hers. It started out gentle, slow as they felt one another out. Despite what he’d said, Jeong In did do his best to at least start out a gentleman, enveloping her lips with just enough pressure and fervor that she would be able to feel how much he wanted this. She returned his kiss in kind, one of her hands moving to cup his jaw, the other splayed across his back.

As Jeong In started to lose himself to the kiss, he grazed her lower lip with his tongue, begging for a taste of her. She opened her mouth to him, deepening the kiss, letting him dip his tongue into her mouth. She tasted sweet, like the fruity drink she’d had with dinner.

He moaned into her mouth, his hands trying to press her body closer. She hummed approvingly, kissing him until they ran out of air and broke apart, panting.

“Yang Jeong In,” she said, a soft teasing note to her voice. “I didn’t know you’d be the type to get hard just from kissing.”

She was right; he had started to get hard, the outline of it pressed against her pelvis thanks to how close they were. He breathed a short laugh.

“Only when it’s with someone I really want,” he said. “And I really want you.”

“Then you’ll have me,” she said, and kissed him again.

Jeong In realized then she’d been holding back, letting him lead, making absolutely certain this was what he wanted. Now that she’d gotten confirmation, he could feel how badly she wanted him, too. Her kisses were deep, insistent, teasing him with the idea of her tongue in his mouth but never quite committing to it, the faintest graze of teeth against his lower lip making him gasp a soft moan. All the while, she had a hand creeping slowly up the back of his shirt, exploring his skin and tormenting him with the slightest drag of her nails.

“Fuck,” he muttered against her mouth, which she quickly captured again, both her mouth and her nails more insistent now. He had to break the kiss when his back arched slightly, her scratches lighting his nerves on fire, making him groan.

“Why don’t you take this off for me?” she said, picking at the hem of his shirt. He nodded and obliged.

The way she looked at his body made him shy and eager all at once. She looked like she wanted to eat him alive, and he’d let her. She explored him with her hands—his slim waist, his defined abdomen, his broad chest and shoulders. He felt nearly lightheaded, like he’d been holding his breath for a minute and a half out of fear of breaking the moment.

“God, the job has been kind to you, huh?” she teased, tracing along the ridges of his abdomen, stopping exactly where his waistband did. He wanted her to go lower so badly.

“It keeps me active,” he breathed.

“Mmm,” she hummed, her expression mischievous. “I’d like to keep you active, too.”

“Please,” he said. She bit her lip to keep a fiendish grin from splitting all the way across her face.

“Don’t worry, baby,” she said, pressing close to him to kiss along his jaw. “I won’t leave you wanting.”

She led him to the bed, laying him out. Her hands trailed over scars old and new on his skin, examining them with her hands before she kissed them, every one she could find. Jeong In could hardly believe someone would be so tender with him of all people. When she finally got all the way down to his waistband again, his cock twitched up, straining against his pants.

“Want me to take these off?” she asked, tapping a nail against his belt buckle.

“Yes,” he said automatically.

“You don’t think that’s kind of unfair?” she said, teasing now. “I mean, I haven’t taken off anything yet.”

“I don’t care,” he insisted. “I want you to look at me. I want you to play with me.”

“What a good boy,” she praised as she undid his belt, then his pants. She hooked her thumbs into the waistbands of his pants and underwear simultaneously, and he lifted his hips off the bed to make them easier to remove. She tossed the whole bundle to the floor, then took her time to simply marvel at him.

“Goddamnit,” she sighed, laying a hand on his chest and trailing it down, down, until she held his cock in her grasp. “Every bit of you is gorgeous.”

He fought the urge to cover his face with his hands. Why did her compliments make his head feel so fuzzy?

“I’m happy you like me,” he said meekly, a faint smile on his lips. But then she started to work his cock in her hand and coherent thought suddenly became much harder. He lost his grip on it completely when she lowered her mouth to his tip. She hummed appreciatively around him, the vibration shooting straight through his length. He groaned, bucking his hips up to get a little more of himself in her mouth.

She pulled back, a dab of pre-cum mixed with spit clinging to her lower lip. “Eager, are we?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious,” he said. She laughed softly as she situated herself better between his legs. She put her tongue on his shaft, licking him preemptively before she took him in her mouth for real. Bit by bit, she gradually bobbed her way all the way down his length until he was poking her in the back of the throat. He grunted, and she made an amused sound, muffled thanks to her full mouth. Jeong In couldn’t make himself stop staring. After several slow drags to get them used to each other, she started to move faster. Jeong In gathered her hair in his hand to keep it out of the way, and that only made her even more eager.

Finally, groaning with every pull of her lips and tongue, Jeong In couldn’t take it anymore, pulling on her hair to get her to relinquish his cock. She drew back, split dripping from her mouth and onto his erection, making it slicker than it already was. He choked back a whine at the sight.

“Are you okay?” she asked him.

“Yeah,” he managed. “It just felt really good and I didn’t want to come like that.”

Her gaze switched from curious to coquettish in an instant. “Oh? How do you want to come, then?”

He sat up, reaching to cup between her legs with his hand. She gave a heavy sigh, grinding down onto his hand.

“Get naked for me?” Jeong In asked. She nodded, getting up to do exactly that, dropping her clothes onto the pile with his. She’d barely made it back onto the bed before Jeong In moved up, slipping his right hand directly between her legs, his left pressing against her lower back to bring her closer. As he started a slow exploration of her folds and the wetness that had gathered between them, he parted his lips to take her breast in his mouth. The little whimper she made was all the encouragement he needed, sucking gently while his tongue ran repeatedly over her nipple. Her fingers were in his hair, and he glanced up at her, taking in the way her eyes were blissfully shut.

They sprang open with a gasp, however, when he slid a finger inside her. He moved to her other breast, determined to treat them fairly, while he pumped his finger in and out of her, delighting in the wet sound the motion made. He gave the barest graze of his teeth against her nipple and she whined. He moved back from her chest enough to look up at her.

“More,” she said, and he slid a second finger inside her. She moaned, her eyes shutting. He watched her face carefully as he curled his fingers forward, looking for that delicate spot inside her that would make her squirm. Sure enough, another whine and a flinch of her hips confirmed that he’d found it, and he moved into a combination of pumping his fingers and putting pressure on that spot. She put her hands on his shoulders for stability, grinding down on his hand, her moans growing louder and closer together. Jeong In brought his free hand to her clit, rubbing gently but firmly, and after maybe half a minute more, he felt her orgasm crest, her core pulsing around his fingers. Her moans changed, too, short and gasped, her nails digging just the slightest bit into his shoulders while she rode out her high.

She looked fucking gorgeous. Her eyes had taken on a delirious sheen, and Jeong In bit his lip, unable to resist anymore. He withdrew his fingers, coated in her wet, and put both hands on her hips, guiding her to straddle him as he lay back on the bed again. Despite the pleasure high, she took the hint, positioning his length with her fingers, lining him up perfectly with her dripping heat.

When Jeong In pulled her down, he wasn’t gentle or patient about it. He sheathed all of himself inside her in one deep, sound motion that made him groan and her whine.

“Fuck,” she hissed, still hypersensitive from her orgasm. She put her hands down on the bed to either side of his body, staring down at him. Her pupils were wide and dark, and Jeong In knew his eyes looked the same. It had been a long time since he’d wanted someone this badly, let alone someone he already had a deep emotional attachment to.

A throb went through his cock and she whined again, her pussy squeezing against him in response. He heaved a ragged sigh.

“I need you,” he said, reaching to touch her face with his clean hand. “Please.”

He could have moved himself, but he didn’t want to. He needed her to do it, needed her to wring his orgasm out of him the way he’d done to her. She didn’t need to be told a second time, immediately dragging her core nearly all the way up his length before dropping back down. She kept to those slow glides for a time, getting used to him, and Jeong In was fully enraptured by her. Everything from her face to her chest to the point where they met was utterly perfect, and he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He couldn’t keep them still, either, sometimes holding her hips to help her rhythm, sometimes teasing her breasts, sometimes cupping the back of her neck to pull her down to kiss him.

Her hips stuttered in their rhythm, no longer deep and even, her bucking turning quick and shallow.

“Fuck, Jeong In,” she gasped. “I’m gonna come again.”

“Please,” he groaned. “Oh my god, please, I want to feel it.”

He didn’t mention that he was already so fucking close that feeling her orgasm directly on his cock would probably send him over, too.

She nodded, unable to form words anymore, as she rutted hard against him, panting incoherent moans and whines as she grew closer.

“Yes, fuck, noona, please,” he begged, needing this as badly as she surely did. His voice seemed to be the last straw, and with a high, pitchy moan, her cunt spasmed on him, her hips stuttering, unable to go on. She planted her hands on his chest for stability, her nails pricking his skin just the slightest bit.

Jeong In, unwilling to give her any time to recover, propped her hips up with his hands and fucked up into her, prolonging her high and chasing his own. The way she pulsed around him was so fucking perfect, and with maybe ten more thrusts, his orgasm tore through him, hard enough to make his body tremble while he emptied his warmth inside her. He was not at all quiet during the process, his moans and whines sounding pitchy to his own ears. He pulled her all the way down onto him, his hips flinching against her, trying to get himself as deep inside her as possible. Finally, the height of it started to ebb, and he was able to focus his eyes again, gazing up at her blissfully fucked-out face.

“Fuck, Jeong In,” she groaned. “You felt so good.”

“So did you,” he murmured, drawing her down to kiss her forehead, her cheek, her lips. She settled herself more comfortably against him, distributing more of her weight along his body, leaving his cock embedded in her while it softened.

Jeong In was about to let his eyes droop closed when a sudden spike of panic went through him. “Shit, I forgot to check. Are you on birth control?”

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I was sterilized a few years back.”

He relaxed. The last thing either of them needed was for him to knock her up.

“It’s a great situation for cock-warming,” she said. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to stay like this for a few more minutes before we clean up.”

“I don’t mind at all,” he murmured. “I like this . . .”

She laid on him like that for about five minutes. Then he helped her to the washroom, putting her directly in the shower to clean up and staying in the room until she was done.

He already hadn’t wanted to leave her side again, but now, he simply couldn’t fathom it.

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