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The moment he landed on the ground, right under the bright light of the glistening sun, a content smile spread over his face. Sungmin took a deep breath and exhaled as he scanned his surrounding, watching people and cars passing by, the busy roads, the tall buildings, and the clear blue sky above him.

How he missed seeing all this.

“Welcome back,” he told himself.

He had been going in and out of the human world for quite a lot of times, but he just couldn’t get enough of this wonderful place. It was totally different from the world he was living in. The air was fresh, it wasn’t always dark and cold, and more importantly, there was light here.

“Where should I go first?” he mumbled, calmly making his way through the crowd of pedestrians crossing the road.

He had too many things to do in mind, but a stall selling waffles and sweet corns caught his attention right away.

“That looks good,” he grinned.

He was practically skipping his way to the stall, until his eyes landed on a boy standing at the roadside, alone. He would’ve just ignored him and looked away, if he didn’t see the tears streaming down his pale cheeks and his bleeding knee.

Some people would throw glances at him, but they just walked away without a second thought. But there was something peculiar about that kid.

His scent.

It was strong and fragrant, almost intoxicating. If it wasn’t because he was a noble lord, he would’ve gone crazy because of that smell.

He had to think twice before finally making his way towards the boy, who immediately noticed his presence.

“Umm…” Sungmin scratched his head, trying to come up with some proper words to strike a conversation. “Are you…alright?”

That was a stupid question for sure. It was obvious enough that the boy was not alright.

Clearing his throat, he asked again, “What happened? Why are you hurt?”

“Mom,” the boy said, another drop of tear fell down his cheek.

“What?”

“I can’t see my mom.”

“Are you lost?”

The boy nodded. Sungmin frowned, trying to think of a way to help the boy. He seemed to be in his early teens, but still, what was his parents thinking? Wait, what was he supposed to do anyway?

“Where do you live?” he asked. He was willing to send the kid home, it was the least he could do.

“I don’t know.”

Seriously? Sungmin nearly said it out loud, but he managed to stop himself. Now that he was here, he couldn’t just left the kid alone. Or he’d officially be labeled the cruelest being ever. He might be a devil, but he always had this huge soft spot for kids.

“Let me treat your wound first,” Sungmin finally made up his mind, “Then I’ll take to a police station.”

He doubted the boy could actually understand what he had just told him, because he only gave a nod, without any word. If he was a kidnapper, this clueless boy would be done for.

“What’s your name?” Sungmin held out his hand, and the boy hesitated at first, before slowly reaching out and their hands touched.

“Hyukjae.”

Sungmin took a slight peek behind the curtains, taking another look outside through the opened window. After making sure his newly rented apartment was safe enough, he locked the window and went back to Hyukjae, who had been observing him with so much interest in his eyes.

He had stopped crying, much to his relief, but he still had so many things to worry about.

“You have to be more careful next time,” he said as he kneeled down in front of the younger, and took out some ointments and bandages he had bought earlier. “Don’t you remember where you last saw your mom?”

“No…” Hyukjae shook his head, “We just moved here.”

That makes sense, Sungmin thought. He carefully put a few drops of the ointment on the boy’s knee, before wrapping it with the bandage. Hyukjae flinched a little, but he immediately calmed down when he flashed him a reassuring smile.

“There,” Sungmin said, “You’re fine now.”

“Thank you…”

“How old are you?”

“13.”

“What happened actually? How did you get lost?”

Hyukjae once again shook his head, and Sungmin could only sigh in frustration. How in the world could he help this super clueless boy when he practically had no idea of what he was doing?

The only option left now was to take him to the police. Which would be something he wanted to avoid at all costs, because hell, cops would be way too annoying.

“So pretty.”

Sungmin was snapped out of his thought when he felt a soft and small hand on his cheek, startling him. “What?”

“Your eyes are so pretty,” Hyukjae said, a small smile crept across his face. “Golden color.”

, Sungmin thought. He completely forgot to change his eye color. But it seemed like Hyukjae was too innocent to find it weird, and he couldn’t be more thankful.

“Thank you,” he forced a smile. “Now, it’s time to go home. So…” Sungmin stopped, his expression automatically changed as he looked around his empty apartment. He could feel the cold wind blowing, even though the windows were all closed.

“Damn it,” Sungmin muttered.

He was certain there was another presence near them, and to think that he was too distracted to even notice it earlier, this Hyukjae kid must be something. Taking the boy’s small hand into his, he pulled him inside the room, and sat him down on the bed.

“Stay here,” Sungmin said, “Don’t ever come out until I open the door, okay?”

Hyukjae nodded. Giving the younger a light pat on his head, Sungmin rushed out of the room and whispered a spell, placing a barrier around it. He couldn’t risk a life of an innocent boy who had nothing to do with him.

And right after he had finished putting up the barrier, a dark shadow emerged at the door step, slowly turning into a shape of a man. Sungmin eyed the intruder cautiously, he was prepared to attack if something were to happen.

“What a way to greet an acquaintance, Lord Sungmin.”

“Jenos?”

“I’ve been searching for you. You didn’t attend the last meeting, His Majesty was quite upset.”

“I told you, I’ll be staying here for a while. Now leave, you’re invading my personal space.”

“More importantly my lord,” Jenos stepped forward, his eyes narrowing at Sungmin, “What is this very pleasant and strong scent I can barely smell lingering around you?”

, , , Sungmin muttered under his brea