Jungkook let the hairpin slip from his fingers and fall on the bed. Putting down the magnifying glass, he used his newly free hand to rub his eyes. He didn’t want to think about Kangmin and his schemes anymore, and he truly wished forgetting his existence was a genuine option. Too bad the world didn’t work that way.

“Do you think Vio…” he started, wincing when he realized what he was about to say and quickly correcting himself “Yeeun knows anything useful?” He looked at Taehyung who met his eyes with an indecipherable expression on his face. It was a bit unsettling and Jungkook decided to deal with it by averting his gaze, glancing over the demon’s shoulder at Hoseok instead. He was still standing by the door, his stiff muscles somewhat relaxing now that Taehyung’s attention was no longer on him. Jungkook couldn’t blame him - if Taehyung had been staring at him the way he had been at Hoseok, he would have most likely sprinted out of the room without a moment of hesitation.

Taehyung - typically – focused on Jungkook’s blunder instead of answering the question. “Does everyone get a nickname?” he asked, quirking his brow. The amusement in his voice was unmistakable, and Jungkook responded to it by pressing his lips into a thin line. He had almost called Yeeun Violet – as he had done once before – and of course Taehyung couldn’t just let it go.

Jungkook slightly narrowed his eyes. “I met her while I was sick.” he said, although the excuse sounded weak even to his own ears.

The only response he got from the demon was; “Hm” He still seemed way more amused than he had any right being about something as insignificant as a nickname.

Jungkook suppressed an urge to grind his teeth together. “You’re a hypocrite.” he pointed out. “You gave me a nickname immediately after I told you my real name.”

At that Hoseok somehow managed to choke on his spit, his cough a perfect reminder that he was still in the room and that Jungkook probably shouldn’t have said that in front of him. Actually, scratch that - he definitely shouldn’t have said that in front of him. He buried his face in his hand, wondering how the hell Taehyung managed to lower his defenses to an almost nonexistent level. A month ago, he would have thought twice about every single word he said, and now he apparently didn’t think at all.

Taehyung let out a sigh. “If I wanted to tell anyone your name I would have already done it.” he said. Which… yes, Jungkook had to admit that he had a point. But what if he was just waiting for a better chance? What if Hoseok - or Yoongi who was probably listening to this from the room next to theirs - told someone else? Someone who could convince Taehyung to tell them Jungkook’s name? Jungkook didn’t know enough about his past to be sure such a person didn’t exist. There would have to be very specific circumstances for them to even be interested in his true name, but… He shook his head, sternly telling himself to focus. All of this worrying was completely irrational, not to mention pointless. Apparently, the situation with Kangmin and the hairpin affected him more than he had thought.

“Anyway…” he said, looking at Taehyung. “You still didn’t answer.”

Taehyung returned his gaze with an unreadable look in his eyes, his head slightly tilted, and Jungkook had an unpleasant feeling he had been staring at him for a while. “The hairpin?” he wondered, motioning towards it. Jungkook followed his gaze, trying to ignore the feeling of dread the mere sight of it instilled in him. Kangmin had won – Jungkook would never be able to look at it again without associating it with the cold blooded murder of his sister.

“It was Iseol’s.” he said. “I’m pretty sure she was buried with it.”

Taehyung’s eyebrow almost disappeared under the hair on his forehead. “Wow.” he said, stepping forward and grabbing the pin off the bed before slipping it into his pocket.

“What are you doing?” asked Jungkook.

“I’ll keep it safe for you.” said Taehyung nonchalantly, and Jungkook didn’t even think about arguing. He didn’t want to see it again, and he didn’t care what happened to it either. It might have been Iseol’s favorite, but she had received it as a gift from Kangmin when she was officially named the crown princess, so it would not have been her favorite now.

“As for our dear wasp” said Taehyung “I doubt she knows anything useful.”

Jungkook nodded. That was his opinion as well - Kangmin would never let a demon know more than it was absolutely necessary for the successful completion of their job. They had all been told how untrustworthy demons were, not to mention Kangmin absolutely hated them – even more so than he hated Jungkook, which truly said a lot. He wouldn’t tell any of them more than he needed to, and he was too smart to actually send someone with important knowledge after Jungkook.

Even so, Kangmin was still a human - it wouldn’t be impossible for him to make mistakes, so Jungkook still thought it was worth asking Violet a few questions, just in case she actually did know something. He looked up at Taehyung to tell him that, though he apparently didn’t have to. The demon returned his gaze with a hint of a smile on his lips, before saying; “Hoseok, bring the jar and meet us in Yoongi’s room.”

Yoongi was not happy to see them. Not at all. Although his expression was as indecipherable as always, the forceful way he closed the book he had been reading made his feelings perfectly clear. Taehyung slightly tilted his head, a corner of his lips turned upwards. “We’re happy to see you too.” he remarked with obvious amusement in his voice. Yoongi replied with an impassive look which prompted Taehyung to return it, and that in turn caused a few seconds of intense staring between the demons. Jungkook awkwardly cleared his throat. He had an unpleasant feeling he was missing something important, and even though he wasn’t entirely sure that the quiet communication between the demons was actually antagonistic, he decided it was safer to break it up.

“We’re going to question Yeeun.” he said. Yoongi slowly averted his gaze from Taehyung, and looked at him, his eyes as unreadable as ever. After a few moments he nodded, picking his book back up and  hiding his head behind it.

Jungkook automatically glanced at Taehyung, but the only thing he got in response was an amused smile and a shrug. Clearly, he wasn’t any more prepared to explain what all the staring was about than Yoongi. Jungkook forced back a sigh. Yoongi’s and Taehyung’s behavior almost – almost – made him prefer Hoseok’s and Taehyung’s interactions. It was true that Taehyung bullied Hoseok, but at least it was all clear and to the point, while watching Yoongi and Taehyung communicate was like listening to a podcast in a foreign language. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

He massaged his temples, trying to push the whole thing to the back of his mind and forget about it. The Orders were working fine, so the demons probably weren’t planning his downfall, and really, as long as they weren’t doing that, this was none of his business.

Hoseok brought the jar with the – now less angry – wasp with him, hesitantly glancing at Yoongi before offering it to Taehyung. The way he went about it was a bit comical, although perfectly understandable considering the circumstances. He rose on the tips of his toes while holding the jar with two fingers, leaning as far as he could without losing his balance, clearly trying to stay away from Taehyung.

Taehyung watched the whole thing with a raised eyebrow, his expression a mix of amused and disapproving. He wasn’t making any effort whatsoever to receive the jar, and Jungkook couldn’t hold back a sigh, wondering whether he should just take the jar and give it to the demon. It seemed they were going to be there for a while if he didn’t, Taehyung clearly having a bit too much fun messing with Hoseok to finish it quickly. The only problem was that it might not be safe for him to touch it. He didn’t know enough about magic to tell for sure, although he doubted it - Hoseok had to put the jar on the conveyor belt at customs, and one of the officials had picked it up without suffering any kind of unpleasant consequences for it. Then there was the fact that - considering that the demons were under Orders that prevented them from directly or indirectly hurting other people - they wouldn’t have let anyone close to the jar in the first place if it had the potential to cause harm. That was why, after a few more seconds of Taehyung not moving a single muscle, he decided to just go for it. The orders worked, so if it was dangerous after all, one of the demons would stop him.

He stepped forward and reached out to grab the jar and pass it to Taehyung, but before he got anywhere close, Taehyung gave him an oddly sharp look and pushed his hand away, grabbing the jar and holding it as far away from Jungkook as possible. Hoseok responded to that by jumping back, looking at Taehyung with wide eyes, while Yoongi communicated his displeasure by loudly turning the page of his book. Jungkook involuntarily glanced at him, noting that he somehow managed to radiate disapproval despite hiding his face.

“It’s dangerous?” asked Jungkook, turning his head towards Taehyung.

He planned to follow the question with ‘what about that official at the airport?’, but changed his mind when Taehyung’s answer was: “Probably not.” The demon didn’t even look at him, thoughtfully turning the jar around in his hands, staring at the wasp with a highly unpleasant smile on his lips.

“Then why…? Jungkook started, his voice trailing off. He might have been prepared to believe Taehyung was just messing with him if it hadn’t been for that sharp look right before he'd stopped him. Since there was, he wasn’t entirely sure what to think.

Taehyung flashed him a grin. “Better safe than sorry.” he said, explaining nothing at all.

Yoongi turned another page, this time forcefully enough that it teared, and the sound prompted Jungkook to look in his direction. Taehyung and Hoseok followed his example, Taehyung’s eyebrow quirked while Hoseok seemed even more unsettled than before. Jungkook could relate. Yoongi let out a sigh and put down the book. “How do you plan to interrogate her?” he asked, motioning towards the wasp. It clearly wasn’t having a good time, trying to keep itself as far away from Taehyung and his creepy smile as possible.

Jungkook absentmindedly bit his lip. They could probably make her turn back into a human right here and ask her a few questions, but… “We don’t know what kind of Orders she’s under,” he said. If Kangmin was smart – which he was – he probably included something that would prevent her from giving away any information, either important or insignificant. There was only one way of doing this if they wanted to have a chance to actually learn something useful. “It would be best to bypass them completely.”

A pentagram was the only place where the Orders, no matter how good, didn’t have any effect at all, and putting another magician’s demon inside one was the only way you could get around the Orders. They would be back in full force once a demon was let out though, since no one had managed to figure out how to rewrite another person’s Orders yet.

Yoongi nodded. “There’s a summoning room.” he said. That wasn’t surprising: this was Royal property, and since all royals were magicians (with one notable exception), a summoning room was more or less a must.

“Oh Yoongi, you actually left your room?” wondered Taehyung, his eyes glinting with amusement. Yoongi didn’t answer – or more accurately he didn’t answer verbally. The indecipherable look he sent to Taehyung seemed to carry a meaning though, and Taehyung returned it without a pause, the corners of his lips curled up. Jungkook glanced at Hoseok, but it looked like he was just as confused as him, frowning at the other two.

The summoning room was in the basement. It looked different from the rest of the house, the ceiling high and – just as the walls - completely black and decorated with common pentagram designs. The lights were white and strong, tucked into the corners where the walls and the ceiling met, some of it reflected by the floor – Jungkook didn’t know what it was made of, but he was sure it was a type of material that was easy to draw on. The wall opposite to the door was almost entirely hidden behind a row of bookcases, and the one to its left behind the supply cabinets. There was a heavy table in the middle of the room as well, probably meant to be used to hold the supplies.

Yoongi immediately sat down on it, burying his face back into his book and turning his back to Taehyung who plopped down next to him. Hoseok paused at the entrance, nervously shifting his weight from one leg to another while his eyes darted from Taehyung to the jar and back again.

Jungkook did his best to ignore their presence and focus on inspecting the cabinets, slowly gathering the things he needed. The cabinets were well stocked, and the quality of the supplies stored in them put the store-bought tools he had been using previously to shame. It was obvious that everything was made specifically with summoning in mind, which should make things a bit easier.

Once he collected everything he needed, he laid all of it down on the part of the table that was not occupied by the demons. It didn’t escape him that Taehyung once again moved the jar further away from him, which… what was up with that? He’d said the jar probably wasn’t dangerous, so why was he so determined to make sure Jungkook didn’t touch it? Jungkook shook his head. This was not the right time to worry about that. He had to focus.

Grabbing the chalk, he walked to the right side of the room and let his eyes travel over the floor, picturing the pentagram in his mind. The one he was planning to use was pretty basic and small, so it shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to draw. Once he was sure he still remembered all the details, he carefully kneeled on the floor, pushing his hair out of his eyes before getting to work.

It took him ten minutes in the end, although he did need three more to double check every line. He wasn’t too worried for his safety – there was very little Violet could do with three demons in the room – but he did have to make sure that the pentagram was drawn correctly so that it would serve its purpose. Trying to interrogate Violet would be pretty useless if she was still under Kangmin's Orders.

After he determined the pentagram was drawn perfectly, he quickly laid down the rosemary and the lavender next to it, and covered its corners with candles, lighting them. When everything was set up, he stepped into the smaller pentagram, and Taehyung took that as a cue to jump off the table and walk over. He wasn’t stupid enough to step inside the pentagram, but he got as close to Jungkook as he could before opening the jar and practically throwing it into the bigger pentagram. Although it rolled for a few centimeters, it - thankfully - stayed inside the lines. The wasp gave a few angry buzzes in response to the rough treatment, but elected to stay inside the jar.

“Now, now.” said Taehyung with a truly unpleasant smirk on his face and an even more unpleasant tone of voice. “Are you going to turn into something that can speak by yourself, or do you require persuading?” The way the last word rolled off his tongue implied something truly dreadful, and Jungkook felt a shiver run down his spine even though it wasn’t directed at him.

Violet took the hint, the wasp growing and morphing until it became a human. She crossed her arms over her chest and straightened her back, but it was apparent she was all but comfortable with Taehyung’s presence, her eyes travelling over Yoongi, Hoseok and Jungkook while mysteriously avoiding Taehyung. Jungkook couldn’t blame her – if Taehyung’s words had been directed at him, he’d have most likely fainted on the spot. “What do you want?” she asked.

“To ask you a few questions.” replied Jungkook.

For some reason that didn’t seem to be something Violet had expected. She blinked, quickly glancing at Taehyung before uncrossing her arms and scratching the tip of her nose. “Sure.” she said after a few moments of hesitation. “But I probably don’t know anything useful. Master is pretty… reserved.” Her lips twitched at the word master, almost as if she was fighting back a grimace. Which… fair enough. Jungkook also wanted to grimace every time he heard Kangmin’s name.

“Where were you summoned?” asked Jungkook.

“I’m not sure.” she said, her eyes once again darting towards Taehyung before settling back on Jungkook. Her jumpiness was a bit irritating - even more so because Taehyung clearly found it entertaining – but Jungkook supposed it worked to his benefit. Her fear of Taehyung should motivate her to tell the truth, though her words would still have to be taken with a grain of salt since there was no way to guarantee she was telling the truth. Then again… Taehyung could always tell when Jungkook was lying, could he do the same with demons?

“All I know is that it was in some rundown apartment somewhere in Seoul. We took a taxi to the academy right after.” said Violet.

Jungkook slightly narrowed his eyes. “Did you have any contact with your master or any of his other demons after you arrived at the academy, either directly or indirectly?” he wondered. He hadn’t previously planned to ask this question – or at least not at this point – but it sounded like he already stumbled over something useful. Violet had known about Gara and her connection to Taehyung, which meant she had to have had some kind of a contact with Kangmin. The only question was how? They wouldn’t have used technology since it was too easy to trace, so the only other possibility was Kangmin’s mysterious friend at the academy.

But to his surprise, Violet shook her head. “No.” she said, and it didn’t seem like she was lying. She was either a brilliant actress or something else was at play here.

“Then how did you know about Gara?” asked Jungkook.

Violet blinked in confusion. She didn’t need long to realize though, her eyes widening. It lasted only for a second, and then she managed to get her expression under control, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t…” she started, but Jungkook had no intentions to let her finish.

“Should I leave you alone with V for a while?” he wondered dryly, watching as her eyes once again widened and darted toward Taehyung, who somehow seemed even more entertained than a moment before. His lips curled upwards, and he looked at Jungkook, his eyebrow slightly raised and head tilted. There was an odd look in his eyes - a mix of amusement and something else Jungkook couldn’t decipher - and Jungkook promptly decided the best way to deal with it was to avert his gaze.

“No, no, I’m sorry.” said Violet, with clear alarm in her voice, waving her hands in front of her. Her eyes were jumping from Taehyung to Jungkook and then back again, and she was nervously chewing on her lips.

“She wasn’t lying though.” said Taehyung, slightly narrowing his eyes at her. Violet let out a high pitched noise as he spoke and stumbled a little back. Apparently she could no longer pretend she wasn’t terrified of him. Her level of fear had most likely gone up when Jungkook had called him V. He probably shouldn’t have done that.

Jungkook cast a glance at Taehyung who calmly met his eyes. If she wasn’t lying, then… “How many people were there when you were summoned?” he asked.

Violet swallowed. “Two.”

“Your master and…?”

She didn’t immediately reply, her eyes fixed on the floor. She opened , closed it, and then opened it again, before letting out a sigh. Jungkook was almost entirely convinced he just stumbled over something the Orders had forbidden her to tell. “Kangmin.” she said finally, voice quiet.

Yes, that was how it seemed. Jungkook absentmindedly massaged his temples. Kangmin would never actually share the knowledge on how to summon a higher demon with another person. He would, however, use them as a stand-in for himself – he would prepare the pentagram on his own and then make them memorize the incantation and the Orders. It was incredibly dangerous, but not for Kangmin himself since he wasn’t the one summoning, not to mention he had Gara.

Why would he actually go that far? Jungkook didn’t need to ponder long to conclude that he was most likely trying to get control over a larger number of demons. He wouldn’t be able to manage more than two - perhaps three - higher demons at once, at least not without a significant danger for his person. It was a danger he couldn’t get rid of by using someone else as a master, since that someone didn’t actually know how to deal with higher demons, but that didn’t really matter – Kangmin got more demons out of it, and the danger was directed at someone else in its entirety.

Jungkook gritted his teeth. That sounded exactly like something  Kangmin would do alright.