The bell from the tavern dinged as Chanyeol and Kyungsoo entered. Minseok’s warm embrace immediately welcomed them.

“I’m glad you’re both alright. I was so worried,” Minseok whispered.

Kyungsoo tapped his general manager’s shoulder as the latter pulled back to look at him with questioning eyes. “Did you manage?”

“I only need the soul’s essence. You captured it, right?” Minseok continued to ask, but he noticed the awkward air around Chanyeol and Kyungsoo as questions went out of his lips. “Oh… Please tell me you got its essence.”

“She got in the way,” Kyungsoo said. 

And as if it answered all the questions in Minseok’s mind, the general manager looked down with a defeated look. He was already gritting his teeth, holding in the anger that was boiling inside him.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, couldn’t help but pour his attention on Chanyeol who has been quiet from the moment they left the barren area that they were at. He was supposed to take care of Chanyeol, but he couldn’t uphold his end of the promise. There was so much that he wanted to say but the words hung in his mouth, unable to leave.

But as much as Kyungsoo and Minseok brooded over the white lady's interruption, Chanyeol was thinking about something. Piece by piece, he tried to connect the dots that could solve the dilemma he was in. Seeing how Minseok was trying his best not to lash out and the sorry expression on Kyungsoo’s face, he knew there was something important that they were forgetting.

“Minseok-hyung… If you get that soul’s essence, would you be able to fix my eye?” Chanyeol suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

Minseok let out a sigh to release the frustration boiling inside him. He bit his lip before looking at Chanyeol, “We could.”

“When we were outside, trying to chase the evil soul, there’s this woman who appeared and told us that she needed to get my eye because the evil spirit’s essence infected it… So I was wondering if—“

“Chanyeol you’re a genius! I’d kiss you right now, but I’ll leave that to Kyungsoo!” Minseok clapped, his voice was filled with hope as he beamed at the taller.

Chanyeol wasn’t sure what he should do, but when Minseok poked his forehead, he felt a warm feeling overcome him, and darkness swallowed his consciousness.

“W-wait… Are you going to remove his eye?” Kyungsoo asked, concerned about the way Minseok was holding Chanyeol.

“Hmm? No, heaven’s no! I’m extracting the essence, and then the other Spirits are going to help me,” Minseok explained, though he could see that there was more to the worry that was etched in Kyungsoo’s face.

“Don’t worry! Once he wakes up, I’ll make sure to remind him of that kiss!” He winked as he snapped his fingers to make Chanyeol float, leaving the reddened Kyungsoo to stare at the floor.

With the tension in the room, it would seem like something bad has happened. Their eyes unfocused, and their hands tightly clasped together as if reciting a prayer. 

Kyungsoo, especially, had another one’s hand in between his while sitting beside the bed. His shoulders slumped while his forehead was leaning on his hands that were on the bed. Whispering, pleading, hoping.

“He’ll be fine,” Minseok assured before Kyungsoo could even say anything. Due to their connection for staying together for a long time, Minseok understood Kyungsoo the most. They were partners who will always have each other’s backs.

Kyungsoo let out a sigh after hearing what Minseok said. He believed his partner, his friend, the only one who has been with him from the start. Minseok would never lie to him, but he still worried. He was still anxious because it’s been hours since Chanyeol last opened his eyes.

Following the events of Hallows Eve, Minseok and the other Spirits managed to extract the essence of the evil soul that penetrated inside Chanyeol’s eye. Though they managed to pull it out of him so his soul wouldn’t corrode and die, they had yet to provide him with the antidote. Due to his current state of unconsciousness, they couldn’t administer the antidote without his consciousness intact. The soul needed to be cleansed just as much as his body, but they had to both be cleansed simultaneously.

Kyungsoo let out another sigh before kissing the back of Chanyeol’s hand. “Please… wake up soon.”

As time ticked along, Kyungsoo felt movement between his hands. He immediately looked at it before shifting his gaze to look at Chanyeol’s face. He gasped when he finally saw Chanyeol looking straight back at him.

“What happened?” Chanyeol asked, confused. The room looked familiar, Kyungsoo’s he thought. But as he looked around, he noticed that the room was filled with the tavern’s employees. The Spirits and the Deities surrounded him as he felt a warm hold on his hand. Looking down, he saw Kyungsoo with teary eyes as he bit down his lip.

“I’m so glad you woke up,” Kyungsoo said.

“Since he’s awake, he needs to drink the elixir now.” Minseok urged. “Chanyeol, you have to listen to me carefully. This is an elixir that will cleanse the evil soul’s remaining essence that merged into your soul. Though we managed to extract most of it, a part of it had already seeped through your soul. So it would be best if you drank this in order to cleanse yourself of that essence. It’s going to be painful, but I need you to stay conscious. If you lose consciousness… no, let’s not talk about that. I need you to stay conscious, understand me?”

Though he just woke up, Chanyeol could see the desperate look on everyone’s faces. He looked at Kyungsoo, and as their eyes met, he understood the worry that filled the tavern’s owner. “I understand. But… I have a request…”

“What is it?” Kyungsoo answered since Chanyeol was looking straight at him.

“Will you stay by my side?” 

Kyungsoo nodded after hearing C