"-So like I was saying, he's nice and caring to me one second, then suddenly he's cold like the North Pole! What is it with some guys you know? Can't they just give me some sort of warning? And then he's all smiley in front of obvious COUGARS! I'm only younger than him by 2 weeks! 2 Freaking weeks!!"

Ari had a... few more drinks after failing to get Chanyeol to dance with her. Chanyeol fidgets, answering her since he can't exactly leave.

"Ah, is that so" Chanyeol replies nodding his head and Ari takes another sip of her drink. Her head coming down fast on her arm on the table. Kayri, where are you;; Chanyeol called out to Kayri in his mind.

"And you know, my boyfriend, he's really tall. Do you know how hard it is to find pants for someone with legs that freaking long??! Last Christmas was a nightmare I tell you! I had to custom order the matching pajamas I got for us. Next year I'll just get him a sweater. A bunch of ugly sweaters!!" Ari continues her rant, her voice cracking on the verge of tears at any moment.

"I think that's enough alcohol for you." Chanyeol carefully takes the alcohol from Ari's hand.

Her head bobs up to say no, but goes back down on her arm as she loses energy. At this time Kayri returns.

"Hey guys I'm ba-," Kayri gets cut off by Chanyeol shushing her, pointing at the very drunk Ari.

Chanyeol whispers so Ari doesn't hear. "What took you so long Kayri? I thought my ears were going to fall off. I almost wanted to go beat her boyfriend up for her for making me listen to all that! What took you so long!?"

"Thanks for being so reliable Channie, and me? I was just-" Kayri doesn't finish her sentence as her body goes limp and begins to fall towards the floor.


 

I woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the air. My head pounding. I groaned at the pain.

"Kayri? Are you in pain somewhere?" The sound of Minseok-oppas voice made me open my eyes.

"Min-Minseok-oppa?" I said, trying to get up when the pain in my head spiked. Luckily Minseok-oppa helped me get upright. I looked around and realized I was at Minseok-oppas coffee shop, on a couch in the Customer Lounge. "My head, it's pounding" I groaned.

"Here have some of this, it'll help you sober up" He handed me a cup of warm coffee. I took it gladly, Minseok-oppa's coffee is always delicious. Sipping the warm coffee, he continued.

"Your friend Ari, and Chanyeol are in the Staff Lounge. Both of them are passed out on the couches there. Luhan is watching over them" He began.

"Do you know how worried I was when Chanyeol called me? Chanyeol looked like he was about to lose his mind when Luhan and I got to the bar. How much did you drink to pass out so suddenly?? Someone didn't spike your drink did they? You didn't even move, or make a sound for the passed few hours, if you didn't wake up soon I was going to take you to the hospital!"

"Wait, hours? What time is it?" The coffee was doing it's job, but my eyes still took a while to focus on the faraway clock on the wall. It was nearly 2AM.

"That doesn't matter now, did you accept any drinks from anyone at the club? Answer me" Minseok was angry, but his worry overshadowed that, and it showed in his voice.

"Drinks? I-"

 

"So did you get what you wanted? You were gone for a while", Chen says to Kyungsoo back in the car. This time he was driving.

"Of course, nothing beats getting life energy from an innocent girl", Kyungsoo says, looking out the window, the flashing lights reflecting in his now black eyes.

"You shouldn't be so public about it, what if you were seen", Chen says, stopping at a red light.

"Don't worry, who'd be suspicious of two people sharing a kiss at a club. Plus I erased her memory, as usual, and sent her on her merry way. You know what, you should go get some too, you're starting to get wrinkles Chen. I'll gladly erase their memories for you. 'Forget me, forget what i did, forget anything supernatural that happened to you, nothing happened' always works like a charm" Kyungsoo says with a trained tongue.

"Wow, how generous of you to offer. But we should figure out where we're going from here first", Chen says as he weaves through the traffic, the offer tempting him at the back of his mind.

"Let's just find a place to sleep, all that life energy taking has made me so relaxed I could pass out any second." Kyungsoo yawns, and Chen turns into the next street looking for a hotel.

 

"Drinks? I..I didn't drink much. I had one at the restaurant and then one from Chanyeol at the bar. I'm fine, I'm not drunk, just a headache. Ari's in the Staff Lounge right, I'm going to go check on her" I said putting the coffee on the table and getting up. My head started to pound again and my vision blurred. I stumbled, my knee hitting the table.

"Kayri!" Minseok-oppa quickly caught me in his arms. "I think you should rest for a little longer" He told me this with his gentle yet worried voice. I've been avoiding hugs like this with Minseok-oppa for I don't know how long now. The feeling of his rapid heart beating against my ear was unfamiliar to me. I don't know if it was the pain in my head or the warm coffee but I hugged him back.

"Thank you Oppa" I said, then quickly let go. He was a bit shocked at my response, I think, because his hold on me eased a little. I used that hesitation to let go. Then I sat back on the couch, layed down, and closed my eyes.

The last thing I remembered was him leaving, then coming back shortly after to put a blanket on me.

 

Luhan comes out of the Staff Lounge to see Minseok cleaning the counter.

"So Kayri, is she ok?" Luhan asks. "Chanyeol was mumbling in his sleep, I think he was having a nightmare. Tonight must have really stressed him out".

" -sigh- I don't know. She was only awake long enough to tell me she doesn't remember drinking anything, so she wasn't drugged" Minseok drops the cleaning cloth he was using. Letting out another sigh he places his hands at the edge of the counter, drooping his head slightly and staring holes at it's newly polished surface.

"You don't think.. it's because of-" Luhan lowers his voice even though it's just him and Minseok in the room, "her change?".

"Let's not talk about that right now Luhan, it's not safe." Minseok says back in a whisper, leaning down to pick up the cleaning cloth. "I'll try finding out what happened, later, when it's morning. You can go home and get some rest." Minseok says, raising his head up and tossing the cleaning cloth in the washing bin.

"No, I'm staying. We're in this together. You should be the one resting. I'll go grab an extra blanket for Kayri. Now go take a nap, you'll have customers in a few hours. I'll take the first watch." Luhan says, making his way back to the Staff Lounge.

"Thanks Luhan. Wake me up at 4 then?" Minseok says attempting a reassuring smile. Of course Luhan wouldn't leave, he was his friend as well as his partner for 8 years now.

"Sounds like a plan" Luhan says, before disappearing into the Staff Lounge.

 

back to the past

Taekwoon is finally on Earth, on his first mission. A few minutes ago Kira, his new Trainer told him the details.

"Your first mission is simple, basically guard duty, observe your surroundings and if you happen to see any Evil Spirits or Demons call me and I'll take ca