09.

Sahyun’s eyes fluttered open gently, her consciousness returning to her slowly as her thoughts began to form and function once more. Despite time being still in the Middleground, her body still seemed to work off of the clock it was used to from the Mortal world, and after hours of traveling, she was worn out and ready to sleep. The group did not want to stop, however, the dangers of someone coming across them in such a subdued state too great of a risk than Soonyoung or Jihoon were willing to take, and so Sahyun found herself strewn on Seungkwan’s back, the Subordinate’s verbal complaints constant in her ears until the exhaustion finally drowned it out and she was asleep.

She lifted her head slightly as her eyes adjusted, blinking in her surroundings. Seungkwan felt her movement and huffed, shifting his hands out from underneath her thighs, allowing her to fall to the ground. “Thank God you’re finally awake. My arms fell asleep hours ago.”

The girl had barely managed to get a little bit of footing on the ground to help lessen her fall, but she still couldn’t stop her from hitting the ground when her feet slipped forward and her knees gave out. She groaned when she landed, grimacing at the ache that was already beginning to consume her.

“That is no way to treat a lady, Seungkwan.” Junhui reprimanded him, rushing forward to help Sahyun up. He helped her get the dirt off of her before turning to the Subordinate and giving him a firm flick on his forehead. “Stop acting so dramatic and pretentious.”

“I’m not. Why are you taking the side of a Mortal, anyway?” 

“Did you forget you used to be a Mortal too, Seungkwan? We all were at some point. Please refrain from treating her like that, when you used to be the very thing she is.”

“It’s alright, I can understand where he’s coming from.” She sighed, adjusting the cloak Soonyoung had put on her, attempting to tie it as securely as he had, though not quite able to get it tight enough. Jihoon watched as she let out a breath of frustration and stepped forward to help her, gently nudging her hands away from the string so he could do it himself.

It was then that she noticed the absence of Minghao and Soonyoung, the usual chill from Minghao’s presence gone. She was about to open to question it but Jihoon shook his head to stop her, having already guessed what she was about to ask. “We’re coming up on the first drag. They went ahead to scout and make sure it’s clear before we head in. We’ll meet up with them again soon. We don’t want to risk getting ambushed at the entrance.”

She nodded, a flush coming over her cheeks as she watched him finish his knot and fix the hood of the cloak over her head properly. While this maybe wasn’t the closest she had been to him, it was the first time she could properly study his features. He was much shorter than the rest of the men, though taller than her by at least three inches. His nose was small, but with the shape of it and his thin lips, there was something almost feline about his expressions, and his sharp eyes only added to the effect. His hair was a silver-ish blond, a far contrast from Soonyoung’s raven color, but it suited him well, and she found herself thinking that Jihoon was really handsome.

They all were, honestly, but there was something about Jihoon’s presence that felt both rough and soft that drew her in. More masculine than one would believe his stature should constitute. She quite liked it and thought that was perhaps why she managed to trust him so much faster than the others. 

A quiet “Thanks,” left her lips as when he finished tying the knot and stepped back, her eyes going down to observe his work. He didn’t respond to her, but the action - or lack thereof - didn’t come off as rude. He turned and looked back in the direction they were heading, his brows lifting slightly when he seemed to notice something. She brought her eyes from his face to look as well and saw the two figures coming toward them at a reasonable pace, she could tell immediately by the short staff