You know that moment when you realize that something has gone horrible wrong? That moment when your mind blanks out and you feel like punching a wall? Okay, maybe that last part is just me but I have a better idea of where to throw my fist. Right there, right into Mr. Demon’s, Bang Yongguk’s jaw.

Because ever since I met him my violent tendencies have increased. And I want to hit him. I want to hit him because at this very moment, there he was. There he was in the living room, grinning like the devious man, or rather devil, that he is. There he was, drinking morning tea with my grandmother.

And here I was, standing halfway down the stairs in my pajamas, my hair disheveled and my face blank as I looked on at my grandmother smile back at him as though all was right in the world, both spirit and human.

And what’s that? What’s that she just did? She laughed. No. She giggled like a high school girl who was talking to the attractive guy in her class. My wish to pummel him grew then. Why? Because he was flirting with my grandmother. Who cares if he’s technically older? As she curled a piece of her short hair behind her ear timidly, my fists clenched.

I suppose that said demon, Bang Yongguk, felt my rage from behind him as he turned just then, his face breaking out into a smile at the sight of me, “Well good morning, sleeping beauty.” Sleeping beauty? Really? For the sake of looking good in front of my grandmother, you’re not going to say something rude?

Another blonde head poked into the living room from the kitchen, a fox like grin on his face, “Breakfast is ready.” He didn’t notice me until he saw that Yongguk wasn’t looking towards him. I rather it stayed that way because then I wouldn’t have had to hear his subsequent greeting as his eyes landed on me. As the Gumiho’s eyes, Kim Himchan’s eyes, landed on me, “Sora baby, did you sleep well?”

I ignored his words as I focused on Yongguk who looked at me with a tilted head, his smile unfaltering. He was messing with me. I refused to respond as I walked down the rest of the stairs, approaching my grandmother who was looking at me in adoration. As though I did something wonderful. I had no idea why until she spoke up, “Your grandfather told me you would have friends over for a little while. I had no idea they’d be so charming, Sora.”

Friends? That’s what grandfather told her? That these two were my friends? Excuse me while I stop myself from laughing outright. And charming? Exactly what have they done while I’ve been asleep in order to make her think that? All of this is ridiculous.

“Oh Sehun also stopped by a little while ago, though he left when I told him you were still asleep.” My grandmother finished, causing me find that this situation was past ridiculous at this point. Sehun came and didn’t stay until I woke up? Sehun came and didn’t end up stomping up to my room and sitting on me until I woke up? Sehun the crybaby, that clingy best friend of mine, left without a single word of protest? How in the world did that happen?

As I turned to look towards the door, completely confused as to why he wouldn’t even call me to tell me he came, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Something that caused this ridiculous situation to make sense. Mr. Demon’s knowing smile. It was him, the reason Sehun didn’t stay. As for what he did, I’ll have to interrogate it out of him later because right now was breakfast time. Breakfast time with my grandmother, my playboy Gumiho, and my conniving Demon.

They were taking too long. They were taking too long so I decided I’d come upstairs and find out what they were doing. Either they were doing something that would piss me off or they were doing something that would, well, frustrate me to no end. So overall, I figured they’d be doing something I wouldn’t like in the least.

So, when I found out what they were doing, what they were doing when we were supposed to leave the house twenty minutes ago and I ended up waiting downstairs for them, I was amazed. That’s right, something they did was actually amazing instead of annoying for once.

I stood there, watching as Bang Yongguk faced himself in the mirror, his hand running through a strand of his hair. And slowly, following the path down that his fingers took, it changed. His hair changed from bombastic blonde to an earth toned brown. He took each strand one by one into his hand the same way, changing the color of his hair that made my nickname for him that was Blondie number 1 become unfitting.

I didn’t realize I was watching intently with my shoulder leaning against the frame of the bathroom until he turned to me, his expression neutral and actually not joking for once. But, that look of seriousness didn’t last for long as his eyebrow rose upwards and his rough, husky voice questioned me, “What? Mesmerized by me?”

I rolled my eyes as I pushed myself off of the doorframe to which he simply turned back to his reflection and readjusted his bangs. I saw Kim Himchan then as a flurry of hands to the right caught my attention. He was sitting on the edge of the bath, his hands fluffing up his hair as he disheveled it. And in an instant, much faster than Bang Yongguk had managed to do, his own hair became the same shade of brown. He looked up at me and grinned, creases forming beside his eyes. Beside his eyes that I could actually see.

Which was weird considering his bangs were so long that sometimes I wasn’t able to see both. Which was even weirder because now that I looked again, his hair wasn’t as long anymore. He had gotten a haircut. And the realization hit me.

The realization of what Himchan had intended to do with the scissors he asked to borrow after breakfast this morning. And my eyes trailed down, catching sight of the blonde hair that now covered the floor as both he and Bang Yongguk now had shorter hair. And I looked back to Yongguk who was still fixing his hair as though all was well. As though he were a princess in his own castle.

I didn’t hesitate to walk inside and send my foot stomping down onto that tail of his that moments ago was contently waving back and forth. He groaned out in pain as he collapsed down onto the sink while Himchan beside him laughed. He laughed until I shot him a look and he shut up immediately.

I was a fool for thinking for even a second that they weren’t doing something that would piss me off.

If they will it, they can change their hair color. They can make it grow as long as they want but they have to physically get rid of it if they want it to be shorter again. Their physical features are static, belonging to them since before they became what they are now and are forever unchangeable.

That’s what I learned from that ordeal this morning. Was it worth it? No, not at all. I didn’t clean up the hair, of course. I made Yongguk and Himchan do it. It’s their mess, they clean it up. Or rather, I was halfway into pushing them to clean it up when my grandmother came upstairs to see what the fuss was all about. And that’s when she told them not to worry, complimented them on their good looks, something that caused me to scoff on reflex, and sent us on our way.

Where were we going now? We were going to kill two birds with one stone. At least, that’s how Bang Yongguk put it. I interpreted this to mean we’d be meeting two spirits at the same time. Himchan actively boasted to me that he was the well-behaved one out of all six of them. Yongguk assured he was the fifth.

The two we were going to meet now held the third and sixth positions apparently. Even now, Himchan tried to convince me that he was as obedient as a loyal German Shepard. He was in quite the good mood as he chirped around me, his words unceasing. Not only was he in a good mood, but so was Bang Yongguk. In fact, he was practically skipping down the street as we walked to where he was leading us. Why was he skipping?

Well, that would be the second thing I learned this morning after breakfast when I attempted to force Bang Yongguk and Kim Himchan to hurry up and come downstairs before I went up to get them. I attempted to, attempted being the key word, when I walked outside of the house. Yet, all was quiet, not a single groan or yell of protest to be heard. The answer as to why?

The limit had increased.

The limit to how far away they could be from me increased. And it would only increase even more as I acquired more demons and spirits. That makes them sound like collectable cards or something. I’ll trade you my Kim Himchan for your Charzard. Do we have a deal?

If only it was that easy. Even with the increase in how far away he could be from me, Kim Himchan was sticking to me like glue whilst Bang Yongguk whistled in front of us, enjoying his newfound freedom.

“Why aren’t you like him?” I said out loud, not bothering to hide my words as I pointed forward towards Yongguk. Himchan stopped talking and stared at me, his head cocked to the side as he frowned.

“Because after those two tricksters come, you won’t pay any attention to me.” He whimpered like a puppy, showing me once more that he would be a loyal spirit to me. I wouldn’t say that I’ve been paying attention to him all too much now. But, his words made me wonder. It made me wonder exactly how bad are these two spirits that we’re going to see now that I won’t have time to even pretend to pay attention to the attention seeking Gumiho, Kim Himchan?

Himchan called them tricksters and I’d say that’s about right. When we arrived here, at the park not all too far from my grandparents’ house, there they were. There were the similar yet innately different Tokebi and Dokkaebi. Essentially the same. Essentially different. Why? Well for one, as the two watched on at the sight of a young man who was waddling away with a large rip in his pants for some reason, one of them was laughing manically while the other was standing with his hands across his chest, looking on with utmost seriousness.

What is a Tokebi? Briefly, because for Bang Yongguk explanations are troublesome, is a spirit who plays tricks on the bad and rewards the good. A Dokkaebi in his words was exactly the same. Except, they used different terms that meant the same thing to define the two brown haired males in front of us now. Because the Tokebi was too playful and the Dokkaebi much too serious. So while these two terms refer to the same spirit, the demon Bang Yongguk and the Gumiho Kim Himchan referred to them differently.

It wasn’t hard to tell which one was which. Especially when they caught sight of us and the more playful one of the two caught on in a hurry. And within seconds, he split faster than speedy Gonzales. The one left still had his arms crossed against his chest as he looked me up and down before turning to Yongguk, “You should make her sign it before I change my mind.”

And that was how I easily hung one more spirit on my belt, feeling more and more like Ash Ketchum by the second. That was how I caught the Dokkaebi, Yoo Youngjae.

Anyone want to trade?