It was a peaceful morning, unlike how it was the day before. Kyuhyun had somehow managed to ‘get rid’ of Victoria, and Hyukjae couldn’t be more thankful towards the latter. It seemed like Donghae was telling the truth that they weren’t exactly lovers, but it didn’t mean that he could let his guard down around her. She was just like a predator hunting its prey, and it kind of scared him.

“You’re making that face again.”

Hyukjae was startled when suddenly Donghae appeared in front of him out of nowhere, wearing a black leather cloak. There was a long sword hanging on his back, and even though it wasn’t that obvious, he could still see the stain of blood on the silver-colored sword.

“Did you just come back from a war or something?”

Donghae chuckled. “You can put it like that. I was going hunting, but those homeless devils were being too persistent so I had to crush them all.”

Hyukjae could feel shiver run down his spine at the mention of the deadly creatures that had almost taken away his life. If it wasn’t because of Donghae, he was probably living in new world right now, six feet under the ground to be precise. There was no doubt that this place meant nothing but danger to a human like him, but still, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Donghae alone.

“Did you get hurt?” Hyukjae asked as he watched Donghae throwing his sword aside, before lying down on the couch. He then took a seat beside the latter, wiping the sweat dripping down his forehead with his hand.

“Of course not. Who do you think I am?”

“But the homeless devils are still devils, right? So why would they attack their own kind?”

“Homeless devils are different. They are savage, and because they are weaker, they seek power,” Donghae explained, “Unlike us, they are no different than predators who feed on other living beings. Don’t underestimate them though, they are fast.”

“That’s kind of scary.”

“What are you scared of?” Moving closer to the blonde, Donghae took his hand and placed it on his chest. “I’m always here to protect you.”

Hyukjae smiled. It was just a simple sentence, but he would always feel at ease whenever he heard those words. It was indeed dangerous for him to be here, but with Donghae at his side, he always felt safe and protected. He was just like a shield that was covering him from any kind of danger.

“I know.”

“That’s good then. So why don’t we have a round of tonight?”

“What?”

“You can think of it as a thank you gift for me, for being your knight in shining armor.”

“You’re funny,” Hyukjae playfully slapped the latter’s cheek, amused seeing how Donghae frowned right away at his rejection. The latter seemed a little down before, so he was glad to see that he was back to his usual self today.

“Come on,” Donghae whined, “I promise I won’t be too hard on you. I’ll be gentle, I swear.”

“Don’t make me feel like punching your face, Lee Donghae.”

“You’re so stingy,” with an unsatisfied look on his face, Donghae scooted away from Hyukjae and closed his eyes, his back facing towards the blonde.

Hyukjae sighed. Dealing with Donghae’s childishness was actually a lot more tiring than handling the grumpy side of him. He knew the latter would be sulking for hours if he’d just let him be, which was something that he didn’t want to deal with. He quietly moved closer towards the latter and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. Donghae quickly opened his eyes out of surprise, and was greeted by the sight of the blonde smiling brightly at him.

“Was that enough?”

“No,” Donghae said as he sat up and leaned back against the couch, “But I guess that will do for now.”

“You seem to be in a good shape today,” Hyukjae said, caressing the latter’s cheek gently with his hand. “Did you have enough rest?”

“As long as my life charger is here, I’ll be fine,” Donghae said, chuckling as he lightly pinched the blonde’s nose.

“Life charger?” Hyukjae frowned. “So I’m a charger now?”

“Yeah, a cute one.”

“But a charger will be thrown away once it’s damaged. It doesn’t make feel good at all to be called a charger.”

“Hey, are you saying that I’m that heartless of a person?”

Hyukjae laughed. “Of course not, I told you I’ll always believe in you, didn’t I?”

“That sure makes me feel a lot better,” Donghae smiled. He leaned closer towards the blonde, but stopped right before their lips were about to touch.

Hyukjae looked at the latter questioningly, feeling a little anxious when he stared into those silver-colored eyes. Was Donghae trying to tell him something? “Donghae, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Donghae lightly touched the blonde’s cheek with the back of his hand, before slowly pulling away. “I’m just feeling tired.”

Hyukjae knew Donghae was lying, but he didn’t say anything. The best thing to do right now was to stay by Donghae’s side, because he was too scared that the latter might crumble to pieces if he’d leave him alone. He wasn’t used to this side of him. It made him feel like everything was changing between them, and he hated this feeling.

“I’m going to take short nap,” Donghae said as he slowly stood up and walked towards the king-sized bed, “So don’t you ever leave my room until I open my eyes.”

_____________________________

“I wish I could see the stars.”

Minho glanced to his side, his eyes searching for the owner of the voice. And there was Jia standing near him, staring at the dark sky above them. Despite the fact that she was smiling, Minho could clearly see the sadness in her eyes, unlike how cheerful she usually was. Putting aside the book he was reading, he stood up and approached Jia, his eyes never left her.

“Why don’t you visit the human world then? You like it there, don’t you?”

“I do,” Jia said, “But I don’t think I have the right to be there.”

“Why?”

But there was no answer from Jia. Ever since she was young, she was one strange devil who had alwa