Yoseob let out a sigh in defeat. They had them, yet again. The spellcaster already had a hunch on who the culprit was behind this. There was only one person they knew with the ability to teleport. Just in case he used his vision again to track the presence traces. His eyes trailed along the countless lines scattered over the corridor and the rooms. After half a minute he managed to find Paro’s, the only one detached from its owner, and followed it towards the middle of the circle. Just as he expected, the thread of her trace was discontinued, as if snipped with scissors. It dangled lifelessly floating in the air. Yet another sigh escaped the male’s lips as he ruffled his hair. With a blink of his eye, he cancelled the spell. He had a single moment of eye contact with Doojoon, who already anticipated his teammate’s observations. With a nod he ordered the half-fairy to speak.

“It’s the same one. The guy who also took Hana and Saenan with him during the mission. The traces he left behind are the same.” Yoseob explained.

Eight pairs of eyes fell on the boy, one of them restlessly scanning their surroundings, as if looking for a trail, a hint, or even the presence of the girl and the man, whose bones he’d love to demolish piece by piece. Looking at the illusionists’ behaviour, Chaima and Junhyung glanced at each other, both demanding the other to do something about their friend’s fidgety behaviour. Neither of the two wanted to take the initiative, aware that they will most definitely be bombarded with the man’s icy glares and death threats, telling them to piss off. The last thing they needed was another one of Hyunseung’s tantrums. The one able to calm him down and distract him had been snatched in front of their eyes. So angering him was naturally an even worse idea than normally. In the end both gave up on the idea and left the anxious illusionist be.

Hyejoon regrouped with the rest in silence, awaiting their course of action. Judging from their expressions this girl was quite important to all of them. She knew of their different opinions on the matter, Carlo had told her briefly, but she had yet to find out the details. She knew exactly who would tell her what she needed to know, as Carlo assigned her to work with the group as soon as she returned from her three month long solo mission. It must have been important enough for him to delay her well deserved vacation. She spent less than ten minutes with the group and was still quite unable to grasp the situation. The matter concerned her. Why would they recapture an abandoned experiment? It confused her, but she didn’t know the answer to the question either. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a male voice.

“It’s no use standing here. Let’s go in and discuss our plans.” Doojoon spoke.

Following his words everyone stepped back inside the lounge. Everyone took their seats, leaving the games, drinks and snacks untouched. A planned evening that was supposed to be filled with fun had been ruined this easily. And there was  nothing they had done about it, leaving them to drown in their own misery and confusion. All waiting for one to say the words.

“I’m going after her.” Both Dongwoon and Hyunseung spoke at the same time.

In a soft mutter, Chaima and Gikwang agreed to the exclamation. Others remained silent, wondering whether to agree with the decision or not. Although everyone knew, that they would have to step in either way. If the enemy found out about Paro’s abilities, not only she, but the whole world would be in danger. They just hoped they had enough time to find them, before any damage could be done. The group remained silent, some in deep thoughts, others filling their minds with the possible worst case scenarios. The leader, Doojoon, was deep in thought brainstorming about possible strategies. Slowly as minutes passed and the alchemist was still lost in his mind, discussion had started among the group. There were enough eager mouths itching to speak and probably twice the amount of opinions to share.

Not being able to take the noise produced by his friends, Doojoon eventually rose from his seat, heading outside the room. The rest noticed his exit but left the man be, knowing that he probably needed a quiet place to think. Though some of them stole glances at Hyejoon, sitting in the armrest of the couch. Her eyes had followed the leader’s leave and were locked on the door, completely unaware of the others observing her. Slowly the girl grew conscious of the stares she received and the smirk on Baeri’s face. The girl wore a sneaky smile, Hyejoon would have loved to slap off her face, knowing exactly what it implied. She let out a puff of air, with an exaggerated sound as she as well rose to her feet. Stepping towards the door with hasty steps, Hyejoon made her leave as well.

Once outside the room, the girl finally had a chance  to breathe without the judgement and cheesy expectations of her friends. She hadn’t seen them for over three months and they were already being bothersome. She was happy though, that the group was so supportive. Even though they were practically teasing her with it every second. Hyejoon sniffed the air around her with a deep breath, assessing the several scents and trying to identify the one she needed. Once she was able to differentiate the scent she was looking for, the girl followed her nose to trail the steps of the man. The scent lead her towards the staircase, reminding Hyejoon of his habit to take the stairs whenever he had something on his mind, because the elevators were too crowded. The dark haired found herself walking to the top floor and eventually reaching the roof of the building.

As she stepped through the door her eyes scanned the limited place for the person she anticipated to see. Her eyes soon recognised his familiar back side and trailed his muscled bare arms up to his shoulders. The more she approached him, the closer she got to his defined jaw line, catching all of her attention. She took in his features, craving them into her mind since she didn’t know for how long they would be separated again. It took him longer than usual to take note of her presence and when he did, he turned around. His eyes peered at her in surprise. When he recognised her and realised who was standing before him, a smile adorned his face welcoming her. Hyejoon cautiously smiled back, as she grew more confident in approaching him. She halted right beside him, leaning with her back against the railing as he stood, staring at the girl for a while. He was turned to her with one arm on the fence, while she returned the gaze from her side.

“Thinking about another girl, when your girlfriend, who has returned after months, is right in front of you?” Hyejoon teased daringly.

Doojoon let out a soft laughter. A short silence fell and he took a step closer to the girl, who patiently awaited whatever the man was planning.

“Don’t worry. It’s not like that.” He assured the younger girl. “Reminds me though.”

The alchemist’s hand moved towards her face, taking her cheek in his palm as his thumb her tanned skin soothingly. Her hand was placed over his, as the space between them slowly became nonexistent. Less than an inch away from their noses touching, Doojoon spoke again in a low, husky whisper.

“I missed you.”

The only response Hyejoon could give him, was closing the distance between them. The Alchemist captured her lips in a soft kiss, welcoming the girl back from her journey, from her solo mission. He welcomed her back in his arms as he wrapped his free arm around her waist.

* * * * *

Three hours after the group reassembled after scattering. Junhyung had informed Carlo about all the details of the incident, while the rest gathered supplies and prepared for a journey. Doojoon had come up with a basic plan and had explained everything. Hongjung would stay behind, since her duty was within the Cube headquarters, while Hyejoon joined the group of eight as the ninth member. Everyone had received a strict warning to follow orders and not to leave the party, unless told otherwise. They had little time and even less information on where to find the culprits or the girl. For now the plan was seeking information and any clue they could find was welcome. They were also ordered to pay attention to any changes in the environments, any proof of Paro’s abilities being used. Yoseob had assured them that they were safe for the moment. He had placed a seal on the girl’s ability. Of course Jeffrey’s pipe fox remained by her side as well and it had control over her raging magic energy. This saved them some time.

The group departed through a portal Yoseob set up, that had brought them into the woods right on the border of the capitol, Shunkan. There was a chance that their foes was within the city and they had no plans of revealing their moves to them. They had set up a temporary camp. Doojoon had used his alchemy to create three tents from the materials he could find near. There was a limited supply of food, that would last them a few days. After that it was Gikwang, Dongwoon and Chaima’s duty to hunt and Baeri and Yoseob’s duty to gather edible vegetation. They had even set up a schedule for watches at night. From now on they were on their own. Contact with the headquarters was only allowed upon Doojoon’s orders and only in emergencies.

The first day passed without any notable events. Yoseob had tried his best to track Paro’s presence or the frequency of her magic, but all in vain. Gikwang had summoned several animals to scout from the ground, the air and even in the water. Junhyung, Dongwoon and Hyunseung had headed for the city to gather information. Chaima and Baeri had set up a fire when the night fell guarding the camp, while Hyejoon remained by Doojoon’s side as he processed all the information into the formation of their next steps. There had been less talking than usual. Everyone was able to feel the bitter pressure in the atmosphere, but no one dared to break the ice. Everyone was anxious, afraid of what would happen, as they reevaluated the dangers of the existence of the girl they had decided to take in. This was also the reason for them to work to the best of their capabilities.

* * * * *

The night had fallen and the group was back in the camp, resting for another long day a few hours ahead of them. The first one to guard while the rest slept was the Healer. She had volunteered, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. She guessed that others wouldn’t be able to either, but her natural instinct as the healer won in the argument against them. The elf gazed at the crescent moon in the sky, as she leaned against a tree right beside the tent she shared with the two other girls. She had removed the hair from her ears, allowing them to perk up at every sound in the night and enjoying the breeze against her exposed elven ears. Baeri’s mind wandered off to her brother. She had to leave him behind at the headquarters in his weakened state. Yoseob had managed to break the curses that were cast on him with the help of Hongjung and other powerful spellcasters, but he hadn’t gained consciousness yet before Paro’s capture.

Baeri heard shuffling noises coming from their tent and soon after the rustling of steps in the grass. The steps seemed to approach her. Different from Chaima’s heavy confident steps, these were lighter and more graceful. Baeri recognised the sound as Hyejoon’s. Her assumption was proven right when said girl took the spot beside her under the tree, staring into the distance. Hyejoon didn’t bother asking for permission to join her and Baeri knew that she’d force it and eventually get her will anyway. So she didn’t even bother to comment on it. The two didn’t speak for quite a while and just enjoyed the silence of the night and the occasional disturbance of that silence by the nocturnal animals. The silence was broken after about half an hour by Hyejoon leaning back against the tree, but it was the Healer who spoke up first.

“Welcome back, Hyejoon-ah.”

The response was a muffled snicker from the youngest of the group. “Thanks.”

The elf finally turned to her friend with an expectant smirk. “Did you catch up with Doojoon-oppa?”

The triumphant smile on the girl’s face was all she needed to know the answer. “Good,” she concluded. Another silence fell.

“The elves. They’re back home, in case you were wondering.” Hyejoon broke the quiet. “As far as I know, there were two deceased and about two dozen of wounded.”

Baeri didn’t reply immediately, allowing the information to sink in. After seeing the scene she had witnessed in the dragon temple, Chaima’s home, Baeri had prepared herself for the worst, regarding the citizens of her hometown. She needed some time processing this information. Her hand moved to Hyejoon’s grasping it and squeezing it lightly.

“Thank you.”