Kyuhyun checks his pocket watch for what is probably the fiftieth time this meeting, drifting off to the dull sounds of some budget analyst droning on. After a second or two, he vaguely recognizes that the voice has paused in its endless diatribe.

Ryeowook kicks him in the shin, making him bolt upright. It hurts. He’s going to have a bruise there.

“Sorry?” he asks.

A crabby paper-pushing demon is glaring at him through half-moon glasses in disapproval. “If the merger goes through, the assets on our end will have to be shifted around to compensate for any damage to public company stock. My projections indicate that the most suitable assets for this venture include budgets for distribution cost and wiring repair. Is that acceptable?”

Kyuhyun nods, even though his eyes have glazed over already from all the jargon. “Absolutely.” He turns to Ryeowook and Shindong. “Anything else to add, or can I sign the damn contract already?”

They grin at him. Ryeowook shakes his head. “Maybe you should ask your merging partner,” Ryeowook suggests.

Kyuhyun gives an aggravated sigh, but looks across the table solicitously. “Leeteuk?”

He looks amused, with one eyebrow raised. “Kyuhyun, really, even after pushing this merger for so long, you look as if you’d rather be a world away from here than finalize it.”

“That’s not – ” Kyuhyun splutters. “I mean nothing of the sort, I assure you.”

“Really.”

Thankfully, Ryeowook leans in and takes over for him. “Today’s their anniversary,” he says confidentially. Kyuhyun doesn’t know why he bothers, because absolutely every demon at this conference table can hear every word he’s saying. How embarrassing.

Leeteuk smiles serenely at that, sharp eyes turning back on Kyuhyun knowingly. “I see,” he says meaningfully. “Happy Anniversary, dear. How many years today?”

Kyuhyun fluffs up like a peacock. “Eight,” he answers proudly.

“Eight! Already! That’s marvelous,” Leeteuk says with a twinkle in his eye. “Who am I to get in the way of that? Sign the contract and go back to the human world already, Kyuhyun.”

He grabs a pen and scrawls his name down. He passes the paper to Leeteuk who signs the other line.

“There,” Leeteuk says, shooing him with a hand. “All done. Tell Sungmin I said hello, would you.”

“I will,” he promises. Kyuhyun glances at his two lieutenants. Shindong graciously nods his permission while Ryeowook just rolls his eyes at him.

“Get out of here, you love-struck idiot,” Ryeowook says with a laugh.

Kyuhyun dashes out of there before Ryeowook can change his mind.

Jessica is waiting on the other side of the double doors for him with a lint roller at the ready. They walk at a brisk pace down the hall together as she brushes him down with a vengeance.

“Your schedule for today is cleared, no more meetings after this one, they’ve been transferred to Shindong and Wookie, so I won’t call you here back at all for any reason other than all-out warfare,” Jessica lists out, rapid-fire. “That suit is fine, but you should wear this tie instead – ” She hands him one with diagonal purple stripes to replace his tile-patterned salmon masterpiece. “ – because really, boss, I’m going to have to burn this one, I don’t know what you were thinking this morning – ”

They turn a corner and go into their office.

“ – going to have to get you a whole new array of ties, but that’s beside the point – right, here’s your enchanted, romantic bouquet,” Jessica says as she stuffs abnormally colorful flowers into his hands. “And here’s your romantic anniversary card.” She shoves the nicely designed card right into the bouquet, which Kyuhyun hopes doesn’t damage the flowers.

“Do you have the – ”

“And here’s your specially requested anniversary gift,” Jessica finishes pointedly, slipping a tiny, beautifully wrapped box into his front pocket. Try not to raze any more covens or institutions while you’re away, it’ll be a mess to clean up.”

“Right,” Kyuhyun says with relief.

“I’ve been arranging this for weeks, and I had to trade in a favor, so don’t mess it up,” Jessica threatens. “Now get going, boss.”

“Well done, Jessica, really, you’ve outdone yourself,” Kyuhyun says gratefully. Then he turns to the inter-dimensional portal in the back of his office.

He steps through the threshold and into the long customs line. It’s longer and slower than usual, which Kyuhyun supposes doesn’t matter because technically everything that happens in the universal rift stays in the universal rift – the passage of time doesn’t apply, because it’s in between the fabric of space-time. Still.

There’s some irritating, bright orange demon wearing a horribly patterned paisley bowtie at the front of the line that keeps arguing with the poor customs officer about his illegal carry-on bag. Something about the bag holding an ancient cursed object that’s not allowed past the border.

“It’s a pre-paid product for a human customer,” argues tacky bowtie. “I’m just delivering it.”

“All cursed deliveries have to be screened and go through the sanctioned customs office,” the officer repeats, looking harassed and more fed up by the second. “And they’re only allowed to pass the border when delivered by a certified Riftport postman. I’m sorry, sir, but you either have to return to the demon dimension or leave your cursed object with us in customs.”

“This is ridiculous!” Tacky bowtie fumes. “I’m going to complain to management about this!”

He stomps back to whatever demon dimension portal he came from as the customs officer rolls her eyes. “You do that. Next!”

Thankfully, the line moves quickly after that. Kyuhyun passes through the scanner, gets pinged for his few harmless charms on the flowers and such, and gets waved on through. He scans his commuter pass at the turnstile, goes right through the 2B portal door, and steps onto the mansion’s green grass lawn in Seoul.

“ – and lastly, you have to check in every month with a demon support center,” Eunhyuk’s voice reels off. Kyuhyun strides up behind the two demon-children. Eunhyuk is talking to in reception and patiently waits his turn. “The support package and the pamphlet may help you along, and the distress button will be good for emergencies, but we want to make sure you’re comfortable, independent, and treated respectfully in every area of life for your first year here. If there are any individuals that make you feel lesser in any way, let us know immediately by calling the hotline in the pamphlet and you’ll be relocated.”

“Okay,” one of the blond kids says. “And, uh,” he hesitates, and his little brother elbows him in the side. “Where should we go?” he asks in a furtive undertone.

Eunhyuk looks up from his paper-covered des