He bid goodbye to Sora and to his mother before walking out and gently closing the door behind him.

He walked out from the building and drove his way towards the quiet neighborhood, where Armina was patiently waiting for the boy.

It took him almost an hour but he finally arrived; his heart was beating strongly and rapidly against his chest where his level of anxiety kept climbing up inside him.

As he stepped outside his car and turned to face the house, staring at it, trying to calm himself down before stepping closer to the main door. It took him a few minutes but he finally stopped hesitating and marched to the witch.

Just as he reached the end of her porch and was ready to knock, the door creaked slightly open by an empty presence. He pushed the door wider and walked inside where he met Caleb who was quietly sitting up and looking back at the boy with his light blue eyes.

Just like last time they faced each other, the wolf sprung away from the boy forcing Yongguk to follow behind.

It led him up the stairs, to the attic, where he found Armina alongside her centerpiece and her thick book of spells. Caleb stopped as he sat back down, next to the woman, as she lifted her head up and welcomed the boy.

“Are you ready for the hunt?”

“Not really, but its not like I have a choice, right?”

D a y  E i g h t y - N i n e ^(#89)

After the green card from her doctor, Sora was finally discharged.

She spent another night at the hospital, by her mother’s side, before bidding her goodbye and making her way back home.

With much reluctance, Cheondung was obliged to leave per Sora’s begging request, but promised him that she’d meet him later the same day.

Once she had stepped out from the hospital, she wasn’t surprised anymore when she spotted her favorite pet waiting for her with his tongue hanging out his mouth while sitting down. The moment Caleb spotted her, he happily let out a bark and rose to his paws with his tail wagging left and right.

A giggle came out of the girl’s lips as she crouched down and welcomed the pup.

Since the first day she had seen that wolf at the cemetery, she couldn’t help but feel a strange connection, as if she had known him all her life.

Forgetting for a moment where she was, she sat down on the ground while petting the white wolf and softly spoke to him; his only responses were either a bark or a kiss.

The only emotions she could feel had nothing to do with pain or anxiety, or anything that left her heart to ache; she doesn’t remember the last time she had smiled so much.

Caleb was doing wonders for her mental state.

He was the exact medicine she needed.

“Come on, let’s go home~” She ruffled his set of fur on the top of his head and stood back up on her feet with Caleb in tow as she started walking her way back to her broken home.

An hour or so passed and she was finally standing in front of her worn out looking building. She took one deep breath in and let it out before making her way inside, always with the wolf next to her.

She walked through the hallway from the lobby until she reached the other end of the building where a few doors lead to neighboring apartments. She kept on walking until she reached the door that led her on the outside of the building; just a few feet away, a converted warehouse was waiting for her.

Another happy bark from Caleb made her giggle; he quickened his steps and ran towards the entrance where he waited for Sora to join him and let him in. Once she found her keys from a potted plant, she opened the door and let him walk in first where he jumped on her white couch and settled comfortably. She walked to the living room and threw the keys on the coffee table before falling on her seat next to the wolf.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head backwards, staying silent for just a minute before she gazed down to the wolf, softly caressing his white fur.

He nestled further towards her, snuggling his nose against her neck as he tried climbing his way into her lap. She watched him be and laughed at his childish behavior; once he deemed himself comfortable, that’s when her eyes found the leather photo album that rested on the coffee table in front of her.

She tried reaching out for it but the dog did it in her place, grabbing onto the book with his teeth and giving it back to her before taking his place back on her lap.

She thanked him and laid it on his back, staring at the cover before taking a breath and opening it to the last page she had left it at.

She stayed quiet and flipped through the pages where her eyes danced from one photograph to the other, until she landed on a particular one.

“What the…” She stared at a younger version of herself, the biggest smile plastered on her face while she held in her arms a puppy: white fur and sparkling blue eyes. The little dog was nuzzled against her cheek where hints of his pink tongue could be seen.

She had no recollection of ever owning a pet; she picked up the picture from its confines, closed the book and placed it aside, and held the photograph next to Caleb. “Am I going crazy? I swear to God I don’t remember you…”

The wolf barked again and jumped out of her lap before he disappeared.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

She got up from her seat and ran after him until she found herself in her bedroom; she spotted his furry white tail wagging left and right while the rest of his body was in her closet, rummaging through old memories.

She stood by the entrance of the room, looking at what the dog was trying to do when he came out with a small thin metal collar hanging by the sides of his mouth as he was holding onto it with his canines.

“What do you got there?” She crouched down just as he approached her; he gave her the necklace, leaving her to stare at it with a frown on her face before her eyes went up to stare at the wolf. “Was that… yours?” A subtle cry came out of his mouth; she took it as her response, leaving her dumbfounded. “I can’t believe this… How come I can’t remember this?”

She looked back down at the picture, half her mind in shock and the other half still battling a rusty childhood to figure out why she couldn’t remember such a vital part of her life.

“I think its time to pay the old lady a visit, what do you think?~”

With a knock on the door, the witch welcomes Sora by letting her walking inside her house.

“What can I do for you?”

Sora looked down at the quiet wolf before lifting her head back up to Armina. She fetched out the picture from her pocket and handed it over to the older woman. “Is that Caleb when he was a puppy?”

“Where did you find this?”

“In an old photo album of mine…”

“How about I make you a cup of tea and we can discuss this?”

“Hmm, yea, sure.”

She followed Armina to her kitchen and sat down at the table. Sora had her eyes on the picture, still trying to jog a hidden memory but it only brought her a slight headache. “Can you at least tell me if it’s him or not, because I can’t remember ever seeing him before.”

“It’s him when he was just a few months old. You had found him in the forest during winter and brought him home to your parents.”

“And how do you know all this?”

“Because I’m your Godmother.”

“Huh? Like in Cinderella or something?”

“You can say that~” A soft smile appeared on the woman’s lips while she kept her gaze on Sora as her blue eyes were scanning the picture once again before she lifted her head up. “Then how come I don’t remember you either?”

A breath came out from Armina while her mind was at work to come up with a fake story. “A few years ago, you were caught up in a accident and the damages affected your brain, which also affected your memories; it’s the main reason why you can’t really remember your childhood.”

“Really? Then how come Caleb lives here now?”

“Oh, your younger sister became allergic to his fur, so your father thought that it was a good idea to keep him here so you could visit whenever you wanted.”

“And the accident was after that?”

“Yes.”

“Does he… remember me? Is that why he’s so friendly with me?”

“This particular wolf doesn’t forget that easily.”

“W-wolf? He’s not a dog?!” Sora has her eyes wide open in shock

“Sweetheart, you found him in the part of the woods where there are packs of wolves wandering around. He was injured and just a little puppy, I thought by telling you this, you’d think that he wouldn’t be a normal pet.”

“H-he was injured?” Sadness filled every part of her facial expression; she was heartbroken at the idea that her own pet was left abandoned and broken. She looked at Caleb – who had been sitting by her side all this time – and gently caressed the top of his head, catching his attention.

“The first thing you did when you found him was to run to the vet; Seungho was with you that day.”

“Really?” By hearing his name, a sense of calmness and comfort took over her body, leaving her relaxed. A smile made its way through even though she still couldn’t remember that day. “It’s been eighty-nine days but I still feel like it was just yesterday that he… p-passed away.”

“I know the feeling sweetheart, but don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Grief just takes a long time to process.”

“I-is it okay if hmm, I keep him?” She bit the corner of her lip with her shoulders rising up in shyness.

“Of course dear! He is technically yours after all~” A chuckle from the witch made Sora relax, though she was still left with uncertainty. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take him away from his home…”

“Sweetie, don’t worry. Plus, I don’t think he would mind; he’s very attached to you.” She had leaned her head to the side with her arms crossed over her chest as she warmly smiled to the girl.

“Yea… I’m pretty attached to him too.”

By now, he was wandering in the woods, quietly searching for his prey.

He knew he was there from the locator spell the witch had casted.

He was wearing his amulet for protection and had his weapon in his hand, ready to use it when the time called for it.

He was scared but he knew he had to it up and get it over with; he had to vanquish the heir to the throne no matter the cost.

He couldn’t fail, because if he did, that meant the loss of his sister and the rest of his family.

The pressure was high enough as it is; if he failed, it would be the end.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here~”

Yongguk spun around at the sound of Joon’s voice. He felt chills running down his spine while staring at the dark eyes of the demon; a cynical smirk painted his lips with his red hair flowing over his forehead.

He cracked his head and started approaching the boy causing a mirroring action where Yongguk started stepping backwards. He strengthen his hold onto his weapon and took several deep breaths; the sight left the demon to snicker, amused by the hunter.

“So! From what I can see, you’re here to kill me, right?” Yongguk stayed silent, not wanting to involve himself in a word game with his adversary. Joon huffed through his smirk. “Do you really think that you’ll succeed? I mean come on~” With his arms, the demon gestured between him and the other boy while looking at him with a smug face. “You’re only human, and I’m the demon! I’m the Prince, which means I am way more powerful than you’ll ever be!”

“Why are you still talking? Are you stalling or something?”

“I’m just trying to wait and see if you’re going to run away like a wuss or fight like a man.”

“Come after me and find out.” The depth of his low voice showed his anger and frustration towards the creature that stood in front of him.

His mind swirled with thoughts of his sisters, his mother and his father with the words of the witch echoing around them. Soon enough, he thought about his older sister and the pain she has been carried for the past several days; it was going to get worse and he had to make it stop.

The more he stared at the demon, the deeper his frustration grew.

“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

He was playing with his weapon in his hands when he saw Joon approaching him; the demon suddenly disappeared, startling Yongguk until he swiftly turned around just as Joon reappeared with a satisfied smirk on his face.

He was standing dangerously close to the hunter until he sent him flying away with a simple push against Yongguk’s chest.

The hunter landed on his back, a few feet away from Joon. The impact against the ground made him groan from the pain. He was slowly getting up when Joon was suddenly next to him, grabbing his collar before shoving him against the tree. Once again, Yongguk groaned from the ache in his back; he tried to catch his breath despite having his throat caught within Joon’s hand, squeezing his pipes.

“I hear your lovely sister is my brother’s companion, but unfortunately for her, she won’t see the light of day once I get my hands on her.”

“Over my dead body, you little .”

With the strength left in his body, Yongguk lifted his arm and punched Joon right in his face; the blow made the demon back away, giving the chance for the boy to be let free. He searched for his weapon and once he found it, he was going to receive another hit until he attacked first, using the mace to blow it against the demon.

It caught Joon off guard, but it only shook him.

A fireball appeared in the palm of his hand, ready to throw it against the human.

Yongguk pushed himself away just as it reached the trees behind him, leaving a scorching mark against the trunk.

He took this chance to fetch out a tiny vial from his pocket and waited until Joon was close enough before throwing it at him; the effect of Armina’s potion left the demon stunned. Once he shook off the feeling, he tried using his powers only to be left empty handed.

“What the…”

“You can try all you want, you’re powerless now. It gives me just enough time to kill you.”

With the tables turning, Yongguk could feel the confidence flowing through his veins; he was agile with his weapon and was ready to attack whenever the demon was going to step towards him. “You don’t seem so sure anymore, demon. Are you scared now?”

“I’m still stronger than you, human.”

“Then come at me.”

The next moments became critical for Yongguk’s life.

With Joon’s strength and old age, he was much more powerful than Yongguk will ever be; fear was striking again the more they fought against each other.

To this point, Yongguk had lost his weapon and was now using his fists to fight back, defending himself from getting killed. He tried to fetch out his dagger, but noticing what he was doing, Joon stole the weapon, leaving Yongguk completely defenseless.

“Not so tough now, are you?~”

“Fight me.” A snarl formed on the boy’s face. He dismissed the panic that coursed through his veins and built his confidence back with the glimpse of courage of having come so far.

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll kill you.” He threw the dagger away, leaving it out of reach for Yongguk. He tried to think of something to get back to his main weapon, but once again, he found himself thrown across the ground where he came in rough contact with the muddy ground.

He got back up on his feet as he brushed the pain away. He looked from left to right and all around him just to find himself without his opponent.

“You coward! Show yourself!” His chest was heaving up and down from anger and frustration. He was growing restless over the endless hour and it was driving him crazy. ‘Damn it!’

He could sense his presence but the confusion was too immense to be able to exactly pinpoint the demon’s location.

Until now.

“Boo.”

But he was too late.

He didn’t have time to spun around to face the demon.

He felt a sharp pain coming from his back.

His eyes were wide open as his body froze, the excruciating ache traveling through his veins.

He was left speechless; not even the smallest of sounds could come out.

He didn’t even realize that he had lost his amulet.

Magic wasn’t able to protect him anymore and the demon had his powers back.

He could feel a tight squeeze surrounding his heart.

And yet the demon wasn’t touching him.

It squeezed tighter and tighter until the pounding stopped, leaving the boy breathless.

He fell on his knees before crashing to the ground.

The demon was left standing behind, finally reaching the satisfaction he wanted.

“It’s show time~”

She was standing in front of a familiar apartment building when he showed up from nowhere.

He was standing a few feet away and watched her stare up at the top of the edifice, clueless of his presence.

“I never thought I’d see you here~”

She turned her head to the right as she saw Cheondung swiftly walk his way towards her with a smile on his face. “O-oh, hey…”

A slight frown appeared on his forehead, noticing that something might be wrong with Sora. “Are you okay?” He walked towards her until he stood by her side, making her turn around to face him.

“Yea, I was just thinking about something. H-hmm, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, what’s up?” A simple shrug from the shoulders, he wasn’t worried at the moment, because somehow, he knew that it wouldn’t be a serious topic. “Do we know each other? I-I mean, before the club?”

“No, why?”

She shook her head, quickly dismissing her thoughts. “It’s nothing, forget I asked.”

He faintly tilted his head to the side, worried and curious about her interrogation. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look awfully pensive…”

“I’m fine.” Her lips were dressed with a thin smile, trying to convince him – as well as herself – that everything was okay.

“If you say so…” A quiet second passed by through them with Cheondung looking around, noticing that someone was missing. “No dog hogging you today?”

A small smile curled her lips upwards. “Not at the moment, but he’s probably walking around somewhere. He’ll find me. It seems like he always does.” She ended up in an opaque reverie where her thoughts were barely pulling her in and out of focus.

“At least it’s something we both have in common~” He showed her a playful smirk as he took another step closer to her. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head up to look at him. “Yea~ I’m still not so sure about that.”

He scratched the back of his neck as he dropped his head down before looking back at her. “Wanna come up for a drink?”

She gazed at him for a moment, debating whether she should accept his invitation or walk away. She decided to go for it.

“Sure.”

The building itself looked worn out, so seeing the inside of his apartment wasn’t something that surprised her for its appearance; she quite liked it actually.

It reminded her of Seungho and his first apartment before he moved out so they could live together in their new home.

She glanced around while Cheondung made his way to the kitchen, before coming out with two bottles of beers in his hands.

“Here’s your drink.”

“Thanks.”

She followed him to his couch where he took a seat while she still stood up, opening the bottle and taking a sip. She glanced around her until her eyes landed on the dismantled motorcycle.

“Nice ride~”

“It’s not mine.”

“Did you steal it? ‘Cause I’m cool with that~”

He chuckled at her nonchalant behavior. He took another sip while his mind was at work to invent a story. “It’s my friend’s apartment actually. While he’s away, he’s letting me stay here.”

“Uh~ I see. You broke into an empty apartment. That’s cool~”

She kept wandering around with Cheondung staring at her moving while he quietly sipped from his drink.

She marched out of the living and made her round across the apartment; from the kitchen to the bedroom. Even though she has been here before, she never paid attention to the details of the house. She didn’t even pay attention to the bedroom, which was the most familiar room to her.

By the time he had finished his drink, Sora made her way back to the living room, holding in her hand a small bag of supplies.

“Jackpot!~”

“What did you find?”

“It’s time for a buzz!”

She sat down on her knees by the wooden coffee table while he was still on the couch, not having taken his eyes off of her. He watched her breathe in the white crystal powder and fetched out the rolls of smoke; the rush of adrenaline crashing in her bloodstream, she climbed up across the coffee table and stepped back down on the floor as she handed him out a smoke and lit it up.

His head was tilted upwards as he breathed in the weed and let it out.

“I’m gonna go get another drink. You want one?”

“I’m good.”

She ran out, just like a child would, and came back with her bottle open and taking in a large sip. She walked to the couch and was about to sit down when he grabbed onto her, making her face him before she sat down and straddled him.

He gazed at her with intensity, his eyes drilling straight to the dark blueness of her irises. His hand found its way to her cheek, softly caressing the skin under her eye; she stole the smoke from his other hand and took in a sip before lifting her head upwards to let the air out of her lungs. His hand followed the movement, letting his fingers graze her neck.

He took the cigarette away from her, throwing it in the open bottle before taking that away and placing it on the coffee table in front of him. She was holding onto him while he moved until he was lying back against the couch, pushing her further against him.

His gaze traveled down her clothed body. He gently grabbed onto her long red sweater, and took it off from her as he placed it next to them. His fingers danced along her arms, up her shoulders until they made their way back down, to the hem of her ripped jeans skirt.

His hands slid down to her legs as he lifted his head back up to look at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yea… Why?” Tilting her head to the side, she bit onto the corner of her bottom lip, waiting to see where he was going. “So, you wouldn’t mind breaking a sweat?”

She felt his fingers move back up slowly until they went under her skirt, his fingers gently squeezing her thighs.

A smirk appeared on her face as she placed her arms around his shoulders, her fingers running through his hair. “What are you insinuating?~”

He grabbed her hips and pushed her lower body upon his, creating friction that rippled through the rest of her body; her head fell backwards as a moan came out of , a birthing pleasure residing in the pit of her stomach.

“Do you really want me to spell it out for you?” His hand held onto a fistful of her hair from the back of her head and pulled her towards him, meeting her lips with his in a feather touch.

“I prefer visual aids, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“No, not at all.”