08.

“Since Sahyun is a mortal currently, I think your best option might be to travel to the Outskirts and see Wonwoo.” 

Jihoon sighed at Seungcheol’s words, the action of which made something sink in the bottom of Sahyun’s stomach. Seungcheol made it sound like an easy solution, but the way the silver-haired man acted, as well as the expressions everyone else seemed to wear, it wasn’t so simple.

There was always a catch.

“That’s a two-week mortal-time journey, Seungcheol.” Ruvi finally spoke up, voicing her opinion. “Maybe even longer since Sahyun isn’t used to all of this. It’ll exhaust her, and they would have to travel through the Black Alleys. That’s asking for trouble all on its own.”

Seungcheol let out an exasperated breath, knowing the truth behind her words all too well. But, he knew it would be the only plausible solution. “Wonwoo is in charge of the Mortal Overview. If anyone knows a potential way to return Sahyun safely to the Mortal world without getting caught, it would be him.”

“Yes, but we’ve already been caught, haven’t we?” Seungkwan piped up, raising a brow. “Why would Walkers come for us out of nowhere if it weren’t because of her?”

Once again Sahyun realized the weight of what her being there meant, and she looked down at her feet, guilt beginning to fill her again. It wasn’t even her own fault she was in this mess, but she still felt like she was responsible for everything.

Perhaps the best option would be for her to simply… disappear.

Jihoon shifted on the sofa beside her, his shoulder bumping against hers gently and so briefly she wondered if it even happened to begin with, but when she her to the side to look at him, she saw him looking back and frown on his face as he shook his head.

“If you’re blaming yourself, then don’t. It’s not your fault.” He commented bluntly, his eyes shifting to the other side of her, where Soonyoung sat. “It’s his.”

Soonyoung didn’t even bother to reply, his acknowledgment of those words shown in his silence.

“Yeah, even I agree it’s not your fault.” Seungkwan muttered, throwing a feeble glare at his mentor.

Taken aback by the Subordinates sudden- could she even call it - kindness, Sahyun bit her lip and nodded, her eyes once again returning to her feet.

It was Jun’s voice that spoke up next, bringing each of them back to the important details of their conversation. “Wait. If he’s already found out and is the one targeting us, then why hasn’t he just killed us already? He’s plenty strong enough to do that, and considering Soonyoung’s position, wouldn’t he be extra keen to do so?”

Before Sahyun could even ask who “he” was, Soonyoung exchanged a look with Jihoon before placing his hand on her back. “I don’t think now is the time to discuss this, Junhui.”

“But, why not?” She couldn’t stop herself from speaking up that time. After everything that had happened, she felt she at least deserved some answers, even if it weren’t all of them. She met Soonyoung’s sharp gaze with a defiant look of her own, showing that she wasn’t going to back down until she knew. 

He challenged her briefly, hoping she would drop it quickly, but sighed when she remained firm. “He likes to play games. He’ll toy with us until he’s had enough fun, and that’s that. End of discussion.”

Sahyun found herself frowning, not pleased with how little information she got, but she supposed it was better than nothing and turned her gaze back to Seungcheol, Ruvi and Seokmin.

“I want to say thank you for helping me. I’m very grateful.”

Ruvi gave her a warm smile and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Dear. I just hope we’ll be able to fix this and put it all behind us one day.”

Seungcheol gave a pointed look to the men sitting on either side of her as he spoke his next words. “The Black Alleys are dangerous places, as you know. Keep her as close as possible.”

“Obviously, idiot. You think we’d just let someone run off with her?” Jih