“You really can’t think I’m that stupid.”

I stared on at him, one of my eyebrows raised upwards. Did those words just leave his lips? Really, Oh Sehun? You’re actually saying that? You’re just about as oblivious as a boy can come and you’re saying that? Though I do contest you are not stupid, you certainly do sound stupid just saying that sentence.

Sehun took steps towards me where I leaned back on the kitchen counter, “Come on, Sora. They’re your grandfather’s friends? Really? No offense but your grandfather is old and they, they well, aren’t.”

I turned away, mumbling to myself so that my statement was heard by my ears alone, “They’re actually older than you think.”

Technically, Mr. Demon was nearing three thousand, wasn’t he? Yeah, definitely older than my grandfather by a long shot. Though, in Zelo’s case, perhaps he was younger than Sehun thought? Either way, my best friend was in no way buying my explanation. An explanation that was the complete and utter truth, if you looked at it from a subjective viewpoint anyway.

As I drew my eyes back towards Sehun, I found that he wasn’t looking at me. No, he was looking past me. Looking past me at something that seemed to garner from him a loathing gaze. I reached up, patting his cheek softly, delivering a light smack to his cheekbone, “What’s with the look? I’m telling the truth, you know.”

“Hey.”

A new voice had entered the conversation, allowing me to now realize that it wasn’t me that Sehun was currently throwing a fit at. It was a certain handsome faced Tokebi named Jung Daehyun.

“Can’t you leave us alone for a second?” I asked him, not at all looking forward to dealing with Sehun when he was in his temper tantrum state. The Tokebi disregarded my statement and instead entered the kitchen fully, approaching me as though the glares filled with distrust and suspicion that Sehun was giving him didn’t bother him in the least. Though, it probably really didn’t. Rather, it definitely didn’t.

“I’m starving.” He reported to me, not at all pleased that we had put off dinner today by an hour now after Sehun arrived.

“Get Himchan to make you something.” I said in reply and not even a second later, as though waiting for his invitation to enter the conversation, the Gumiho named Kim Himchan came bounding into the kitchen.

“What should I make, Sora baby-,” He froze mid-sentence and mid-skip though as he caught sight of Sehun who I must say was looking quite murderous at this point.

“Can you stop it?” I groaned, delivering a much harder and definitely well deserved smack to his stomach. He buckled over, a moan of pain escaping his lips as he gripped onto his stomach. Still, those narrow eyes of his caught sight of Himchan and his ferocity was back. I really don’t get what was getting him so worked up, “Just come on will you?” I grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him out of the kitchen and into the living room.

And in retrospect, such a decision wasn’t exactly the best thing I could have done in order to improve Sehun’s mood. Rather, it was proactive in doing so.

“Miss Sora, will your friend be staying over for dinner?” The Haechi, Moon Jongup, asked from his upright position on the couch.

“Not the best idea,” the Dokkaebi, Yoo Youngjae, flipped a page of the day’s newspaper that he was unable to read due to the trip to the Namsan Tower this morning, “in my personal opinion.”

“What do you think, Zelo?” Mr. Demon, Bang Yongguk, wrapped his arm around his “son’s” shoulders, the shoulders of a Xiezhi nicknamed Zelo, “Does he look like he wants to eat dinner with us?”

“Could you all stop talking like I’m not here?” Sehun replied, his irritation obvious in his tone. “And no, I don’t want to eat dinner with you all, whoever the hell you all are.” My hand found its way to the back of his head immediately.

Sehun doesn’t cuss. Not to say that he does it rarely or that he doesn’t like to do it, I simply disapprove of it. His mom even went so far as to ask me to keep his words from becoming impure when I first met her, cursing apparently a problem in the lisp plagued twenty year old.

“You shouldn’t lie.” Zelo spoke up, his words and his dark, ocean blue eyes directed towards Sehun whose jaw dropped in alarm.

Was that the face I had made when Zelo read my mind earlier? A look of utter shock and slight annoyance that I had been caught in my lie? I really hope not because Oh Sehun looks positively laughable right now. And before he could from his mouth spew another curse word, I dragged him further away from the demon and the spirits, all the way outside to the small front porch of the house before closing the door behind us.

He was seething in his anger and I swear I could see the smoke rising from his ears. He refused to say a word, already beginning his silent war on me. His silent war in which he would literally do just that, go silent. As though not having to hear him talk would be punishment for me.

Okay, admittedly, it does piss me off quite a bit when he does it.

The silent treatment is unfair. Completely unfair. It should be outlawed.

“Stop it.” I commanded, only getting a slight twitch of his mouth as he held his lips even tighter together. “Oh Sehun.” I snarled as I said his name, and still, still he persisted. “If you don’t stop I’m just going to go back inside, eat dinner with my grandfather’s friends, and pretend you never even came over today.”

Lies. All of it. I couldn’t just pretend he didn’t come over after not having seen him in so long. But, it seemed the lie did the trick as his stubborn expression faltered.

“Well?” I asked, already knowing that I had caught him as I slipped my fingers onto the handle of the front door to the house. He stared at me, his eyelashes fluttering as he probably wondered if he should give in. Oh Sehun, you already had the moment you even started to contemplate doing so. “Fine.” I shrugged my shoulders, turning the doorknob only to have him snatch my hand away from it almost immediately.

“No.” He blurted out, catching me by surprise. He gulped down, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down just once, “They’re,” he paused again, causing my eyebrows to raise upwards on reflex, “they’re really just your grandfather’s friends?”

“That’s what I said.” I reiterated, my expression not changing in the least, “And tomorrow, I won’t have to bother with them anymore.”

“Then, we can hang out together tomorrow? There’s somewhere I wanted to go with you.” He pursed his lips, looking as though he wouldn’t take no for an answer. And he wouldn’t have to.

“Sounds great.” He breathed a sigh of relief, as did I.

I had gathered all of them now and tomorrow, when we went to visit my grandfather again, this would all be over.

The end was in sight.

Just a little bit further to go.

And afterward, I would spend a peaceful afternoon with my friend Oh Sehun.

“Come again?”

You must be joking. I didn’t hear what I just heard. No way. No way on earth or in hell or whatever world spirits came from. Though I guess they just call that the spirit world right? Whatever! That’s not the point. Just, no. I refuse to take what just left my grandfather’s lips to be the truth.

But there he went, repeating that sentence that had the ability to send me falling farther down into my deep, deep, deep pit of despair.

“Until I’m out of the hospital, you’ll be watching over the shrine with the help of them.” And he gestured to them as he had done before when he said this ill-boding sentence the first time. The funny thing is, not a single one of them look surprised. It was as though this is what they expected all along.

And in truth, so did I. I expected it wouldn’t end so easily, a reason Zelo so easily called out my bluff yesterday. But, I was hoping it would. I was really hoping it would end as easily as that.

How was I supposed to continue on with my life with five spirits and one demon hanging around for an unspecified amount of time?

I’d surely go crazy within a mere matter of seconds.

And, I did.

I did as I found all seven of us piled into the hospital’s elevator and I held not a single punch back.