Yoongi spent a long time applying his herbal medicines to every one of her injuries. Hobi and Jimin stood by him, providing him with everything he needed. Once all of her injuries had been covered in medicine and bandages, he told the two spirits to go rest, telling them that he would stay with her. They had nodded sleepily as they left, both of them exhausted.

Yoongi turned off the lights in her room, letting the full moon illuminate her room, making her look paler than she actually was. He frowned as she groaned in her sleep, obviously still in some discomfort from her injuries. He smoothed her hair away from her face. “Bear with it a while longer. The medicine will work quickly.” He said, his voice a gruff whisper in the darkness as he leant down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you.” He whispered.

Hundreds of miles away, on top of a tall mountain, the machinery of an archaeological dig lay lying around like the carcases of dead animals, the moonlight reflecting off of the shiny, metallic surfaces. Work had ended for the day, all the workers returning to their temporary accommodation at the base of the mountain. A crack appeared in the ground, almost slicing the area in two, the staff tomorrow would blame rising gases released from the dig, none of them would know the true cause.

A figure encased in what looked like black glass lay beneath the crack in the ground, the researchers had barely discovered the tip of the statue when all of their machinery had given up, the electronics fried like they had been overloaded. The bosses had yelled at their subordinates trying to find the cause of the problem as they screamed that they were on the verge of a scientific discovery that could give them the funding and recognition that they so desperately craved. But no matter what they tried, the machines all refused to work.

They worked late into the night, until the moon was full above them before they had called it a night. The moon glinted off of the statue as a hairline crack appeared through the glass. The crack expanded and spread, resembling a spider’s web before a hand shot through the top. Long, claw like nails protruded from the tips of the fingers as they clawed at the black cage they were encased in. After several minutes of clawing, an arm emerged, grasping at the cold ground as the figure heaved itself from its prison.

The figure lay panting on the cold ground, a low laugh making its way past his lips as he sat back on his haunches, bathing in the moonlight. “How many years has it been since I last saw light?” he wondered aloud. He sat there long after his legs had cramped up, enjoying breathing the fresh air around him. Only when the sky started to lighten did he move. He rose to his feet and let his energy spread, sending a message to his most faithful servant who appeared by his side only moments later.

“Master.” The newcomer said as he dropped to one knee. “I have been awaiting your return for many years.” He said, his head bowed low. The demon flexed his long, tan fingers, enjoying the feeling of the bones cracking underneath the skin. “How long has it been Taehyung?” he asked. His servant bowed his head. “Master, it has been almost one hundred years since you were sealed away.” The demon laughed, “A hundred years, huh?” he said, bright red energy collecting at his fingertips. “And where is the demon filth that sided with the humans to seal me here?” he spat, his golden eyes almost glowing with anger.

“He resides at the shrine with the family of the priestess that sealed you.” Taehyung said, his pose unchanging. He knew better than to move without his master’s permission. Even when he was not at his full strength, he could still kill him easily. The demon snarled, “He lives with the priestess? How degrading.” The swirl of red energy disappeared from his fingers. He lifted his hand with a frown. “It appears I have lost a lot of my powers during my unplanned hibernation.” He mused.

“I have a safe place in the demon world where you will be able to regain your energy master.” Taehyung said as he opened a portal which led to the demon world. The demon smiled down at his servant. “Very good Taehyung. You have served me well.” He said as he stepped through the portal. “Thank you master.” Taehyung said as he finally stood and followed his master through the portal which closed up behind him, leaving no trace.

The next morning, Yubin slowly blinked herself awake. She stretched her sore limbs, her leg connecting with something. She looked down and was surprised to see the top of Yoongi’s head. He had pulled a chair up to her bed, his arms were folded on top of her bed, his head resting on top of his arms as he slept soundly. She smiled down at him, her hand subconsciously reaching out and running through the silky strands of his hair.

She noticed all the bandages covering her body but noticed that she was not in as much pain as she thought she would be. She inspected a few of the wounds that hadn’t been covered, surprised to see that they looked days old instead of only hours old. “Wow…” she breathed. She heard rustling and saw Yoongi raise his head, his eyes still half shut, his hair ruffled from sleep.

When he realized she was awake, he quickly rubbed his eyes and got to his feet, hovering over her like a worried parent. “How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice still rough from sleep. She smiled, knowing that he must have spent a lot of time caring for her wounds the night before. “I feel surprisingly good. Your medicine is fantastic.” Yoongi smiled down at her as he perched on the edge of her bed. Taking her hand into his as he inspected her wounds.

He said nothing for several minutes as he carefully checked each wound. “They're healing up quite nicely. They shouldn’t leave any scars. They should be completely gone in about a week or so.” He said as he carefully re-covered her wounds. “About yesterday…” he started. “About what you said to Yoona, about my contract…”

“I’m sorry.” She said. He looked up at her with a confused expression. “I should have talked to you about that instead of just butting in and saying what I wanted. It just kinda sounded like the right thing to say.” She said, looking embarrassed. He let out a small chuckle. “I was trying to say thank you.” He said. “To be honest, having my contract moved over to Yoona would have been such a pain. I like my life here.” He admitted. “Even though you had to sacrifice your freedom?” she asked quietly.

He gave her a curious look. “I take it those two loud mouth spirits told you about how I ended up here?” he said. She nodded and he laughed. “I think I've been too lenient with those two lately. I think they’re overdue a good kicking.” He mumbled, but there was no venom in his voice, he actually sounded like a father laughing about a prank pulled by his children. “To be honest, I didn’t really give up my freedom when I came here. I’m still free to come and go as I please, unless my mistress commands me otherwise.”

“Your mistress commands you? You mean if I told you not to leave the shrine you would need to obey?” she asked, sounding horrified. He nodded solemnly, “Thankfully none of the priestesses have ever abused their contract with me, I know many demons who are not as fortunate as I am.” The melancholy atmosphere was shattered when Jimin and Hobi knocked loudly on the door. “Yubin, are you awake?” Jimin called through the door.

“Yes, I’m awake.” She called. Hobi opened the door and the two spirits rushed towards her. “We were so worried about you!” Hobi said. “When you collapsed last night we feared the worst!” Jimin added, a tray of food in his hands. “Thankfully Master Yoongi stayed by your bedside all night to care for you.” Hobi said earning him a smack upside the head. “Don’t you two have work to be getting on with?” he grumbled. The two spirits made a quick exit, leaving Yoongi and Yubin alone. “You should eat a lot; it will help you heal faster. We won't train today; you’ve earned a day of rest.” He said as he stood up, collecting his medicine jars.

“Only one day? One?” she grumbled playfully. “Oh, you seem quite energetic, maybe we could fit in some training this afternoon?” Yoongi threatened, his tone playful. She threw herself back against her pillows. “Oh no! It’s getting dark!” she wailed loudly making Yoongi chuckle. “Eat.” He commanded. “Yoongi?” she called hesitantly. The fox demon turned back around to face her.

“Since there's no training today, could I go into town? It feels like forever since I just wandered around town like a normal person.” She asked hopefully. Yoongi weighed up her request. “It would be quite dangerous for you to wander around in your condition. You used up a lot of your spiritual energy last night.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Please? Even just for an hour?”

Yoongi sighed, “Fine, but I’ll go with you to keep you out of trouble.” He said. She let out a little cheer, wincing as her injuries protested her movements. He rolled his eyes at her. “Eat and shower first.” He said before he left to her eat.

Once she had finally eaten and showered she dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans and t-shirt that hid most of her wounds. Hobi and Jimin complimented her outfit, making her blush. “Master Yoongi is waiting for you by the entrance of the shrine.” Hobi said happily. “Have fun!” Jimin called brightly as he waved to her. She hurried to the shrine entrance where Yoongi was leaning against the low wall, in ripped jeans, a t-shirt with a beanie on his head to disguise his ears.

She stopped beside him, taking in his appearance. “Something wrong?” he asked feeling unusually self-conscious under her gaze. She shook her head and smiled at him. “Nope, you look amazing.” She said. “Let’s go.” She said as she slowly started he descent down the stairs of the shrine. She only made it down a dozen stairs before Yoongi swept her into his arms like she weighted nothing. “Yoongi, what are you doing?” she said with a yelp as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You're injured.” He said simply as he started walking down the stairs. “You can’t carry me all the way.” she protested. He grinned at her, “You forget I’m a demon, you weigh nothing. Although maybe almost nothing, I think you ate too much for breakfast.” She scoffed and slapped his shoulder as a chuckle rumbled through his chest. “Just be quiet and enjoy it. This won't be happening again.” he said as he effortlessly made his way down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom, he gently let her down, letting her walk on her own. “Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?” he asked as they started walking. She shook her head. “To be honest I don’t know this area well. My grandma and I lived quite far from here. My mother and I lived even farther away.” Yoongi nodded as he led them to downtown. The town was quite small, but there were more than enough things to distract her.

Yoongi watched her, a smile on her face as she looked at the trinkets for sale in the shops. Taking delight in showing him some of the things she found particularly interesting. He noticed her interest in a particular necklace. It was a thin, silver chain with a small heart pendant attached. She looked at it for some time before moving on, pulling him into the next store.

He took her to an ice cream store chuckling at her indecision as she tried to choose a flavour. They sat on a small bench outside of the ice cream shop, both happily enjoying their ice cream. They sat there, watching the comings and goings of the people around them. Yoongi was lost in his own thoughts until he felt her head land on his shoulder. “Yubin?” he looked down and smiled when he saw that she had fallen asleep. “You must be exhausted.” He muttered as he brushed some hair away from her face. “Maybe I’ll give you another day off training.”

He gently removed her head from his shoulder and crouched down in front of her. He pulled her arms around his neck before gripping her thighs and standing up. Her head fell into the crook of his neck, he could feel her breath curling around his neck, which he found more than a little distracting as he made his way to somewhere with no people so that he could open a portal to take them back to the shrine.

When he arrived back at the shrine, he took her back to her room, threatening Hobi and Jimin to be quiet so that they wouldn’t wake her. He laid her down in bed, carefully removing her shoes before pulling the blankets over her. He stood to leave but felt something pull on his t-shirt. He looked down to see Yubin’s eyes half opened as she looked up at him. “Stay with me?” she asked. He smiled warmly at her, sitting down in the chair that was still there from the night before. He took her hand in his, bringing it to lips, placing a gentle kiss against her knuckles. “I’m always with you.” He whispered as her eyes slipped closed and she once again slipped into sleep.