What now? What was he supposed to do?

The demon kept convulsing, re-arranging, and Luhan was utterly helpless. He wasn't a witch, had never consciously worked magic before, and there was no way he could fend off this monster.

The demon made a rumbling sound, and Luhan knew it was wounded and angry.

Panicked, his head flew around to look at all the runes still lining the walls. Only parts had been set off earlier by Minseok, leaving plenty of symbols behind, none of which he could read. Technically, these were condensed and completed spells though, and Luhan needed nothing but a spark to activate them, right?

The demon crawled towards them, alternating between slow and fast movements, and the adrenaline had Luhan jump to his feet, slapping his hand on a familiar symbol. One he had seen countless times before, because the exact same version was taped to their store front.

It activated without a hitch and just in time for the demon to hit an invisible barrier, moving so fast that Luhan's heart only skipped a beat well after it collided. Out of sheer instinct, he threw himself down to cover Minseok's body. The barrier seemed to hold up, a few other, identical runes starting to light up as the demon threw itself against it with a muted sound.

This time, too, Luhan felt the strain before it was visible. The net of magic around them was solid, but it wouldn't be able to stand this assault for very long.

Help, he had to get help-

Struck by an idea, Luhan frantically slipped his fingers beneath the other's collar, grabbing for the necklace. He fisted the ring Minseok had used to enter the Walpurgis, hoping it would react to someone who wasn't Minseok. Hoping his magic was strong enough to activate it at all.

Please, anyone, he begged internally, flinching when the demon rammed against the barrier.

There was a flash of warmth, too fleeting to be sure it ever happened, and when the net creaked in protest, he let go of the ring to cradle Minseok closer.

Did it work? Would anyone even come? Minseok had never seemed too confident, but Luhan was sure someone would come to their aid - if they weren't all caught up in their own fights, since the city seemed to drown in chaos-

Another hit against the barrier, and even the last protective runes in the alley were lighting up like fireflies.

They couldn't stay here, Luhan thought, looking around in a frenzy, looking for anything that could help him defend them - but there was simply no way to harm demons physically, Kyungsoo had said that-

It struck Luhan right then, a flash of realization, burning through the panic.

Kyungsoo.

He looked down at Minseok, biting his lip, and making a decision.

As quickly and cautiously as possible, he turned Minseok until he lay on the ground, right next to the wall.

"Wait here," he whispered, despite the other being fast asleep still. "Don't get hurt, okay?"

Then he slowly got to his feet, looking at the demon and trying his best to swallow his fear.

He took a deep breath, and stepped out of the barrier.

For a second, he came to a halt, waiting for the demon to register what happened. When it did, Luhan turned and ran.

He ran as fast as he could, spurred on by fear and the crackling sound of the demon following him, easily giving up on Minseok. It seemed tattered and worn-out, moving just fast enough for Luhan to stay ahead, but he didn't have much time to check. He only knew that he was still alive, and that he had to trace back the way he'd come from. The rain was beating down on him, softening while he skidded through spell-protected alleys and flaring back up as soon as he left them. At some point, Luhan tumbled and fell, jumping back to his feet like it was nothing, frantically looking along the walls. Somewhere around here, he'd seen it-

He came to a halt, panting hard, steadying himself on the wall he'd seen earlier.

The one with the black symbols.

Spells were not supposed to be black, unless they were tainted by demons. These symbols, however, were not the usual, familiar runes tinted black. From up close, they looked foreign and Luhan thought back to what Minseok had said - there was only one witch using black ink.

He slapped both hands on one of the spells, feeling the magic sticking to the brush , but nothing happened. He tried it again, breathing picking up as the demon rolled into the alley, movements choppy and disturbing.

With a frustrated whimper, Luhan pressed down harder, willing whatever pathetic spark of magic there was inside of him to activate the rune - but in response to his pushing, it only pushed back like invisible thorns boring through his palms.

Overcome with a cold wave of dread, Luhan backed away from the wall, but the demon was already too close, and it was picking up speed.

Luhan tried to turn, but only ended up tripping when something flashed up, filling the air with darkness. He landed on the ground, head turning to see the demon caught in what looked like spider webs spun of pure darkness. The spells were glowing, still strangely devoid of color. Of course. They had posed as a trap all along. Luhan crawled away from the winding mass, watching the strings envelop it, pressing down, consuming the demon. There was a strain, Luhan could feel it, but the demon caved first, all but melting into the webs, which turned thicker, shimmering like it was made of tiny, crushed stars.

It didn't take long, just a few seconds, really, but then the alley was empty save for black webs that were soundlessly gliding to the ground.

Luhan just sat there, panting for air, his mind wiped blank.

It was gone.

No, not gone, but probably sealed. Like the demon Minseok had sealed into the stone. Yes.

He shook his head, trying to snap out of it. Now that the immediate threat was gone, his body allowed the shock to settle in, making him tremble all over. He got to his feet, trying to ignore all of this, to hold onto the adrenaline a little longer. He had to make sure Minseok was safe.

Feeling numb, he dragged himself back the way he came, suddenly acutely aware of the pain in his ankle. He'd probably sprained it. Not like it mattered - he just had to drag Minseok home, find a witch to help him, and then he could go see a doctor-

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he slipped into the alley he'd come from, seeing Minseok covered in black.

"," he hissed, stumbling over, knees painfully hitting the ground as he swatted at the black mass that had settled on Minseok's face, arms and chest. They were feeding off him, that much was obvious; small, cut off shreds of limbs crawling up to Minseok to eat away at him as long as he was helpless. Disgusted and with the panic rising up again, Luhan swatted at them, wincing when they stuck to his own hand instead, shaking them off like insects.

The matter seemed to react to his touch, hissing and burning, and Luhan kept going, blindly swiping at every patch of black. They felt weird under his fingers, not at all as solid as they looked. No, they reminded him of cotton candy, slightly coarse, but loose, giving way and simply vanishing upon pressure. Without thinking, Luhan kept pressing on the black spots on the ground, squeezing whatever he could get his hands on, feeling it sizzle away. He could make them disappear. He could keep Minseok safe.

When everything in their reach had disappeared, Luhan slumped together. Just for a second. Just for a second, he'd rest-

Behind him, ominous sounds announced more demons.

Luhan turned sideways to see them swarm the alley. They were small, barely more than a shred of the thing they'd faced, and yet Luhan wanted to cry.

He couldn't keep going any longer, everything ached and he was all out of ideas.

Despite everything, he slid before Minseok, weakly shielding him.

"This would be a fantastic moment to wake up," he whispered, but there was no response.

He lifted both his hands in defense, realizing that they were stained black almost up to his elbow, when a bolt of white light flashed up, temporarily blinding him. The smell of something burnt was lingering in the air, and when Luhan's vision returned, there was nothing but ash left of them.

Harsh breathing caught his attention, and he whipped around to see Jongdae standing in the alleyway, chest heaving and sweat clinging to his face.

Immediately, the tension left Luhan's body.

Minseok's ring had sent a call for help, and Jongdae had responded.

He swallowed noticeably before looking down at Luhan, gaze quickly wandering to Minseok. There was absolutely no telling what he as thinking, expression tense and unreadable, but Luhan only slid away to make room for him.

"He got hurt," he began, voice hoarse and words tumbling out without any coherency. "He used a spell with strings and they snapped - I think the magic hit him, I don't know-"

Wordlessly, Jongdae pushed him aside, attention focused on Minseok as he knelt down, checking his breathing.

"Please help him, please-" Luhan babbled, only for Jongdae to glare as he stared ahead.

"Shut up."

Luhan bit his lips, hands clawing into his thighs as he forced himself to stay still.

It gave him time to look down at his hands. They really were stained, splatters of black looking like spilled ink, making the markings on his throat look like nothing but smudges of dirt.

Minseok would probably scold him for getting himself dirty like that, Luhan thought deliriously.

Good thing he wasn't going back to the store - working with gloves would be nearly impossible.

"He'll be fine," Jongdae said, ripping Luhan out of his borderline hysterical thoughts. It sounded like he was trying to convince both of them.

Jongdae heaved Minseok up with him, steadying him, shooting an expectant look towards Luhan, parting his lips-

"You! Witch! Don't move!"

Luhan flinched. Suddenly, they weren't all that alone anymore, with a handful of soldiers pointing spears at him, quickly coming closer.

They didn't seem to see Jongdae, who was standing there, looking alarmed as he held on to Minseok. It was probably the pendant around his neck keeping them invisible. He seemed tempted to reach out, to do something, but Luhan only shook his head.

"Take care of Minseok," he insisted as he was tugged to his feet, hands getting bound behind his back.

"Who is he talking to?" someone asked, clearly afraid, but another soldier only tugged the restraints tighter with a grunt.

"Nobody. He's insane."

"Don't- I didn't do anything wrong," Luhan pressed out, wincing when a shove made him put weight on his injured ankle. "There was a monster-"

"The only monster here is you," someone hissed, grabbing his upper arm to hold him up by force. "Your dirty tricks won't work on us."

As Luhan was dragged away, he couldn't help looking back towards Jongdae and Minseok one last time, but none of the soldiers even thought to check the area further.

Jongdae stared after him, looking conflicted, and despite everything, Luhan felt reassured.

Jongdae wasn't a bad person. He'd help Minseok. Surely.

With soldiers framing his front, left and right, Luhan couldn't do anything but wait until he saw an opening.

What he had not anticipated was them leading him straight to the square, up the wooden stairs of the execution platform. 

The sky was still cloudy, but a few sunrays managed to sneak through, making every wet surface blink at the right angle. A constant buzz filled the square as more and more people gathered.

Yes, it was a cloudy afternoon, kinda nice and peaceful, really, and Luhan was sitting there, awaiting his own execution.

His knees and feet hurt from sitting still, but he barely felt it over the pulsing pain in his hands. It seemed like they didn't intend to execute him straight away, letting him sit there like a chained dog, waiting for the public to gather. And gather they did.

The square was pretty crowded already, and Luhan wanted to think of a way out of this situation but his entire being was focused on not bursting out of his own skin.

Ever since he'd sat down, coming down from the high, the weird feeling in his hands had been growing steadily. At first, it had felt prickly, like sand running over his skin, like the blood flow was simply restricted due to the shackles chaining him to the ground. By now, it was downright pulsing, feeling like something was moving beneath his skin. It was disgusting and downright terrifying. Was that a fraction of the demon inside him? One that was so big it was still... alive? Luhan felt entirely helpless, but panicking made the feeling grow worse, made it crawl up his forearms, and so he simply sat there, fully focused on not breaking down, but there was no denying it - he was awaiting his death, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was going to die for everyone to see, for a crime he did not commit. For a lie. And Yixing had been right - no one was going to help him now. His eyes had wandered over the crowd around him, revealing Baekhyun as one of them. He didn't show any sign of recognizing him, looking mildly interested at best. Minseok would have helped him, but he was still out cold.

Nobody was going to help him.

And the next day, Yixing would see it in the papers, would mourn the loss and blame the witches, and maybe even himself.

And Minseok? Would he mourn him, too? Luhan didn't want to be arrogant, but he liked to think so.

When an officer stepped up next to him, raising his voice to shush the crowd and rattle down the formalities, Luhans vision started to blur.

He felt lost and scared, put on display before countless people, with a demon pulsing under his skin. Thinking clearly was becoming impossible, everything had simply been too much-

Dark, familiar eyes met his.

Right before the platform, in the second row, stood Kyungsoo.

Luhan couldn't help staring at him, silently begging him to help. The people around him kept turning their heads, looking uncomfortable at the possibility of being stared at by a witch, but Luhan was desperate to cling onto the tiniest flicker of hope.

Kyungsoo only stared at him, blank, but not derogatory. Patient, even. Like he was waiting for Luhan to do something. But what? What was he supposed to do? Minseok had managed to escape a similar situation, yes, but Minseok was a top tier witch, and Luhan was... nothing.

Kyungsoo's eyes flickered down to his hands, and Luhan followed his gaze, thoughts racing as the officers kept talking about the supposedly tragic events of the day. His hands, the demon, what about it? Was Kyungsoo simply waiting to catch the demon upon his death?

No, Luhan thought. He was missing something here.

Minseok was an amazing witch, yes, but he also seemed to have nothing but mundane answers to most of his questions. Someone had called him crafty before, too. Maybe there was an obvious way out of this.

Luhan racked his brain for the memory of that day. Minseok had done nothing, and then, when he was about to die, magic had filled the entire air, stunning everyone, and Minseok had made his escape. The paper had stated that the swords had bounced off the witches' skin, but how?

If only he hadn't turned away at the last second-

Very faintly, Kyungsoo nodded towards his hands again, a little more insisting, and all of a sudden, Luhan understood.

He put together all that he'd seen, experienced, and heard, and it all fell into place.

But could he do it? He didn’t need to be a witch to know that this could go horribly wrong, that he might end up dead either way.

Someone stepped up to his left, and the tip of a sword blinked up in the corner of his vision, effectively chasing out every doubt. It was this or death.

Luhan in a deep breath, and another one, allowing the panic to take over. It bubbled up immediately, bringing forth more tears, fear, and knots in his stomach. It ran up his arms and chest, legs and head as the demon spread, taking over.

Everything moved in a blur after that, colors smudged, sounds and movements delayed and hollow, like he'd been dipped underwater. There were faces, dull impacts on his skin, the sky turning as he stumbled, brick walls and lamps, shoes and coats, someone holding his hand-

And then everything turned dark.

There was something on his hands. Something fleeting. A touch.

Slowly slipping into conscious, Luhan groaned quietly.

Exhaustion was weighing down every part of him, and his head felt strange. Like his mind was sore.

Bit by bit, reality sunk in.

He was alive. Alive and lying down, with nobody yelling at him or putting a blade to his throat.

Right?

He blinked, entire expression scrunching up at the brightness of the room. Even with just a white ceiling, he knew immediately where he was - he was in the back of the store. The tea store.

Someone blocked his vision, and Luhan sighed in relief when he realized that it was Minseok.

Some of his scratches were still bleeding and he was covered in splatters of black, hair and clothes a mess, but none of it mattered because he was alive.

Minseok squeezed his upper arm, looking pretty relieved himself.

"There you go," he assured him quietly. "It's over now, you can relax."

With a small groan, Luhan turned his head, resisting the urge to sleepily nuzzle into the other's free hand.

"Are you alright?"

Minseok actually huffed at this, fleetingly running a hand through his hair.

"Compared to you? Probably. Are you feeling anything strange?"

Luhan hummed in negation.

"My hands hurt," he only muttered, and the light touch returned, palming one of his hands.

"That's normal. Nothing to worry about."

It was shockingly easy not to worry about it, Luhan thought absently, cheek pressed into the cushion, inhaling the familiar scent of tea and Yixing. The blankets he was lying on were dusted in the same scent, and it was incredibly calming.

"Why are we here?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yixing let us in," Minseok explained, voice unusually gentle, accommodating to Luhan's state. "He saw you and Kyungsoo, and took you in."

Warmth spread through his chest, immediately relieving some of the pain. Despite him not approving of his choice, he'd let them in.

It only then occurred to Luhan that he couldn't remember being in the company of Kyungsoo. That he couldn't remember anything happening after the demon had taken over.

"I guess you found out how I escaped execution after all, didn't you?" Minseok asked, a little too light to be entirely natural.

Nodding seemed like a terrible idea, so he only made a sound in the back of his throat.

"Kyungsoo told me that demons cannot be physically hurt," he rasped out, clearing his throat. "So I assumed that neither can I, if it gains control... did I hurt anyone? I can't remember."

"Smart. Just as expected of a student of mine," Minseok hummed, still playing with his fingers. "No one died, I think. It went pretty well, considering you acted on impulse. Kyungsoo took care of you, too, so nothing went down the drain. He helped you regain control and push the demon back down."

"Did you just call me your student?" Luhan asked, suddenly much more awake than before.

It was obvious that Minseok had hoped the statement would go by unnoticed. Now he covered his embarrassment with a small shrug.

"Yixing told me that you decided to follow this path."

That explained a lot, but not everything, so Luhan forced the exhaustion away in order to study the other's expression carefully.

"But... Don't I need to, I don't know, pass a test or something?"

Minseok actually snorted, but the way his fingers tightened around Luhan's betrayed that he didn't feel half as casual about this as he appeared to.

"I think you've proven your worth as a witch by now. Plenty. Luhan," he began, the words coming out slow and measured, "what you did today was... really, really amazing. Without your quick thinking, we might all be in big trouble now. And I'd probably be dead."

Luhan swallowed, feeling uncomfortable at the mere thought.

"I was unconscious, obviously, but I pieced it together based on what Kyungsoo and Jongdae told me. This kind of intuition and quick thinking is not a given, not even for higher witches. Not even Jongdae would deny being your mentor now."

"Oh god, please not Jongdae," Luhan groaned before he knew it, the words tumbling out to mask how flustered the compliments made him. "I wouldn't survive him."

Minseok chuckled breathily.

"Yeah, maybe not him. Though you don't have to take me as a mentor either. There's also Kyungsoo. Don't let me influence your choice."

"You're saying a mentor-student relationship might be uncomfortable?" Luhan asked, and had the nerve to shrug. "It will be fine, I'm sure. There's many things I want to learn, but we were doing a good job so far, regarding the entire mentoring thing, don't you think?"

"I never even tried to teach you anything," Minseok protested.

"And yet you did," Luhan dismissed him goodnaturedly.

The doorbell rang, and sheer instinct made Luhan get to his feet immediately, much to Minseok's dismay.

"You'll be safe now," he heard Jongdae say. Yixing's reply was cut short when Luhan awkwardly tugged him into a hug from the side, sending them to bump against the counter, glass bottles clinking in an accusatory manner.

"And you're back on your feet as well, I see," Jongdae commented blankly. Undeterred, Luhan turned towards him with a bright smile.

"You saved us. Thank you."

Jongdae bristled immediately like a cat being doused with water.

"First of all, I saved Minseok," he snapped, crossing his arms. "And keeping people away from this store also benefits Minseok. Don't think I'd so much as lift a finger for you."

Yixing looked surprised at the harsh reaction, but Luhan couldn't help smiling.

"Sure," he said, and it came out just genuine enough for Jongdae to look suspicious and out of words.

"What did Yifan say?" Minseok asked from the doorway, and Jongdae gladly took the opportunity to not engage with Luhan any further.

"He told me it's not a problem. The store is now listed as a safe place he's vowing for. No one's gonna search it any time soon."

"Hah, their faith in Yifan never ceases to amuse me," Minseok commented dryly. Yixing didn't seem all that pleased at the open display of corruption, but he stayed silent, hand rubbing absently over Luhan's back.

"Where did Kyungsoo go?" Luhan asked, not failing to see the way Jongdae perked up at the other's name.

"Home," he said nonchalantly. "You're lucky he even left his apartment long enough to take care of you."

"Right? I am pretty lucky," Luhan agreed merrily, simply because Jongdae didn't seem used to people agreeing with him.

"I can't ing stand you," Jongdae muttered, but there was no heat to it. Then he made a show of looking around the store, blatantly trying to change the topic.

"So, are you gonna sell me some tea or not?" he asked Yixing, who didn't even flinch.

"Of course," he said easily, prying Luhan off him to lean on the counter with a patient expression. "What kind of tea did you have in mind?"

Luhan bit back on a snicker because obviously, Jongdae hadn't expected the other to react so casually.

"Just... I don't care," he began, shrugging as he looked around the rows of bottles lining the walls, opening his mouth just as Yixing spoke up.

"How about something for a sore throat?"

Jongdae looked mildly stumped.

"Uhm. Sure. Getting many witch customers, do you?"

Yixing waved him off equanimously, already reaching for the ingredients.

"What is it about witches and sore throats?" Luhan wondered out loud. "None of you ever uttered a single spell, so why?"

Minseok looked faintly amused over his outburst, but left it to Yixing to answer.

"It's not about sore throats," he explained, eyes trained on the scale. "They just like Tilia petals, which are a staple in these teas."

Jongdae remained surprised, shooting Minseok a questioning look that remained unanswered.

"How do you know?" Luhan asked instead. For a moment, he thought Yixing was going to ignore the question, but then he caved, sounding a little resigned.

"It's good for your inner balance. I figured it out because it has the same effect on me."

"You're a witch?" Jongdae all but demanded, and Yixing shook his head.

"I'm not."

"You have the potential and you're brewing tea for a living?"

"I rarely brew it, just put it together," Yixing retorted almost sweetly, and when Minseok gently pulled Luhan into the backroom, he wasn't met with any resistance.

"I don't want to witness that cat fight," Minseok sighed, but Luhan only huffed.

"You know what? I have a feeling they'll get along great."

Minseok shot him a doubtful look, but Luhan was pretty certain they would.

"You really gathered everyone around today, didn't you?" Minseok asked after a pause, sitting on the armrest of their couch.

"I didn't do anything," Luhan insisted. "They came for you. And Kyungsoo also came to help me, which impressed Yixing. I'm starting to think the witch community isn't nearly as mean and divided as you think it is."

"It's that kind of thinking that gets you killed," Minseok chided him, while in the same breath, slinging an arm around Luhan when he leaned into his side.

"It's that kind of thinking that kept me alive today," Luhan protested.

"Fighting your mentor before your lessons even started," Minseok sighed. "You'll be the death of me, not the other way around."

"I try," Luhan hummed, slipping into the space between his legs, both arms resting on his shoulders.

He bumped their foreheads together, closing his eyes and feeling nothing but peace.

Of course with Minseok, this kind of peace was usually short-lived, and before he knew it, he was being carefully manhandled against the wall.

"Now we're out of sight," Minseok muttered, meeting his eyes for a split second only, before leaning in for a kiss. Luhan felt the deja-vu as he slapped his own hand on his lips to prevent it.

"What about the stains?" he asked, gesturing at the black sprinkles and his own black fingers. "I thought they're contagious-"

"They're not," Minseok cut him off, leaning in to drag his lips up the side of Luhan's face in order to avoid eye contact.

"I made that up."

"What?" Luhan asked, ready to be playfully offended, when a nip to his ear made him flinch.

"A few years ago, Yifan had a vision," Minseok explained, fingers dancing beneath the fabric, caressing his sides. "He told me that Jongdae and I would destroy each other if we stayed together. I did the logical thing, which was ending things.As you can probably guess by now, Jongdae didn't take well to that," Minseok added, a small attempt at being light-hearted. Luhan hummed, running his palm over the warm skin of Minseok's back, comforting him as he listened carefully.

"Back then, Yifan told me that I wouldn't stay alone forever," Minseok continued, pressing their cheeks together in a surprisingly gentle gesture. "He said that he saw me kissing someone. I just... didn't want to make it official, I guess. I was being a coward."

Hearing this made Luhan want to replay their past encounters in his head, but there would be time for that later.

For now, he cupped the other's face, waiting until he met his eyes. There was so much to read in them, so many thoughts, fears, hopes, all laid out for him to see.

"Thank you," Minseok whispered, quiet and serious, the words so heavy that even just listening to them was a bit overwhelming. "Thank you for saving me."

There was something anxious swimming beneath the surface, something Luhan was picking up so naturally that he wondered whether it had something to do with magic.

"Thank you for kissing me," Luhan stated firmly, and for a moment, he expected Minseok to duck his head, to back away or shove his hands down his pants - anything to resolve the tension.

What he did, however, was close his eyes and softly brush his lips against Luhan’s.

It was easily as dizzying as their first kiss, slow, warm, and trusting.

Time didn't stand still but for a moment, nothing else mattered.

"Anytime," Minseok whispered against his lips.

"Are you seriously getting it on behind our backs?"

Luhan had never seen Minseok flinch so violently, and it immediately sparked his sense of protection, making him pick a playfight with Jongdae as Minseok kept himself in the background.

He didn't mind stepping forth and taking charge for once - in fact, it was pretty reassuring that there was at least one area where Luhan could already support him, witch or not.

Though he suspected that things would only become more interesting in the future.

He was looking forward to it.

Junmyeon looked around the hall, mentally counting. Yifan was absent due to a political meeting but other than that, the white tables were complete. Even Kyungsoo was sitting there next to Minseok, looking somewhat sullen. Junmyeon wasn't deterred in the slightest - he knew that Jongdae had only talked him into attending so he wouldn't have to suffer alone, but anything that filled the tables was fine by him. Running after people was headache-inducing and Junmyeon had better things to do.

"I'm grateful so many of you could find the time today."

The statement was met with minimal reactions, but Junmyeon wasn't deterred.

"As you all know, we are still battling an unseen war against the South, and while its been quiet recently, we have a witch on the loose now."

He could see people starting to talk at this, the sound confined to the respective tables.

"There is no need to be alarmed. The person isn't very powerful, but seeing as she's infected, she might become a threat to us if we don’t act soon."

Even just thinking of the rare, demon-induced sickness people had voluntarily brought to their capital made people anxious, and he could see why. Still, he wasn't all that worried.

"I know we don't usually go after fellow witches, and I would rather not subject this task to anyone but..."

He trailed off, looking at Minseok and Luhan, who had finally stopped tilting his chair in boredom.

"I think you two would be suited for it."

He didn't have to appeal to them, to step down and downright ask or demand them to. For all their mutual enjoyment of danger and overall recklessness, they were surprisingly reliable when it came down to it.

"Sure," Luhan quipped with an easy smile, slinging an arm around Minseok's shoulders, who didn't even flinch. "Leave it to us."

Junmyeon didn't have to add anything, didn't have to tell people to assist them, because there was no need to. People voluntarily assisted them if they asked for it, mostly because Luhan had a way of charming people. It was quite refreshing, really.

It was still true that witches didn’t work in teams.
There were exceptions though. 

...aaand it's a wrap! Thanks to everyone who made it here <3
Love,
Sugary