It came to the point where he thought that he might’ve been wrong about his own assumptions, about his own beliefs on making her fall in love with him; that maybe after all, Armina was right and that Sora definitely didn’t feel the same.

That in the end, whatever they had never held deeper meaning.

He hated feeling like this.

To him, having a soul, feeling his heart beat and break was the worst.

He couldn’t wait until his punishment was over; he was in dying need to get his powers back and to lose the weak and vulnerable humanity he had gained ever since he first met Sora.

He missed the heartless demon he used to be; not giving a ing care in the universe and about the universe.

He was free.

Why not go back to it and move on from feeling the ache lingering inside him?

He was barely paying attention to where he was going, not having a care in the world.

But that’s not until he saw her.

He didn’t even realize how close he was getting to her until they bumped shoulders. She was holding onto her hat as she tilted her head back towards Cheondung, who was looking back at the stranger.

One glance was enough for him to simply call her beautiful.

They lingered with their gaze until she showed him a subtle smile from the corner of her lips before turning back and walking away, leaving the boy to stand frozen as he watched her distance herself from him.

Light brown hair with faint blonde highlights, short to her shoulders; her gaze showed the depth of her brown eyes; her lips were painted in red, in contrast to her white porcelain skin that was exposed with her outfit.

Though he admired her for her appearance, he couldn’t help but take notice on so many faint and yet present features that had him hooked right that second.

All he needed were those damn dark blue eyes and he would have his consolation prize.

From standing on his two feet, he turned back and started following her quietly.

Step after step, he watched her go and stopped when she crossed the street, rushing her way over to the other side to meet a few other people. He paid close attention to the surroundings until he realized that she was a student; a college student.

He kept his eyes on her until she was completely out of sight.

He crossed the street and made his way across campus, simply out of curiosity.

Slowly, word spread that a students party was going to be held tonight at a chapter housing. He picked up on the details he needed and left, simply hoping that she was going to make an appearance.

To his luck, she did.

95.

96.

97.

D a y  N i n e t y - E i g h t ^(#98)

No names where given.

But he called her Sora.

Did she care? How could she when he barely talked? Everything went through his head and stayed there, creating echoes and headaches.

He spent those past days lying in bed with her where their bodies stuck together through sweat and heavy breaths.

He drove her to complete bliss. Maddening desire poured out of his body as he marked her, tainting white with red and purple.

God was she exquisite.

Her screaming voice, her trembling body, her tight grip; it was the cherry on top of a sundae. He could feel the drums of his heart beating against his chest. It traveled through his veins, leaving his own skin to shudder under pure lust.

Reaching bliss for the nth time, he pulled himself away from the woman and lied back on the mattress while catching his breath. He picked up his pack of cigarettes from the nightstand and lightened one up. He took in a sip and breathed out calmly while focusing his mind elsewhere.

He felt pressure on his left side and glanced, from the corner of his eyes, to see the stranger laying her head on his chest.

He kept breathing regularly, paying no mind to whatever she was trying to do.

Random patterns were drawn from her fingertips to his stomach.

It left a strange soothing sensation across his skin, relaxing him even more.

He was holding onto his smoke while his other hand mindlessly slipped through her hair; he remembered of a time where he had woken up next to her, where his heart stopped when his eyes looked at her sleeping figure.

His body turned stiff.

The woman felt him. She lifted her head up to look at him, wondering. “Are you okay?”

He was staring at the ceiling, taking a moment before tilting his head towards her. “Do you have color contacts?”

She frowned at him. “Yea, why?”

“Do you have them with you now?”

“No, there at my dorm.” He turned his head back to the pillow, looking up at the ceiling once again. “In blue?”

“I think I do…” She stretched her arm, as an anchor, and held onto the bed sheets to cover up her upper body.

“Dark blue. Go get them.”

It was more of an order than anything else.

“But why?” The crease on her forehead grew, confused by whatever he was trying to do.

She didn’t like it.

“It’s my favorite color.”

She pushed herself away and sat up while still holding onto the sheets. “You want me to get out, get the contacts and come back?”

“Yes.”

She breathed out through her nose. She was starting to get annoyed by his behavior. “I’m going to be late for class.” She slipped out of bed and quickly got dressed; her back was facing him all this while. Once she was done, she picked up her purse from the ground and made her way towards the door. “Who ever that girl is… fight for her instead of asking someone else to be her.”

He leaned himself against his elbows, not displaying any kind of distress whatsoever. “Who says it’s about a girl?”

She barely turned her head over her shoulder to look at him. “It’s always about a girl.” She opened the door and was just about to step out when he stopped her.

“What’s your name?” He fully sat up, covering his lower half with the covers, while looking back at her with a strange sense of hope lingering inside him.

“You don’t need to know...”

This wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

It cracked his heart.

She finally walked out with a simple goodbye; not even one glance behind her to see regret forming itself in his eyes.

“Goodbye…”

The moment her son stepped into her room, she looked at him with her eyes wide open, taken aback by the faint bruises that were on his face, and the cast covering his wrist. “Oh my God… What happened to you?”

“Just the job getting rough for a minute, nothing to worry about~” He tried to brush it off but his mother saw right through him. “Sweetie, are you lying to me?”

“Mom, I’m fine, I promise.” He smiled but all she did was giving up with a sigh. She turned away from her son and back down to the wolf that was lying on her lap with her fingers calmly slipping through his fur.

Yongguk closed the door behind him and walked over towards his mother until he glanced at her new companion. “What is Caleb doing here?”

“Sora brought him with her when she visited a few days ago.”

“And the hospital doesn’t mind?”

“Not anymore~”

He sat by the end of the bed, caressing gently Caleb’s back while looking at him. “What’s up with him though? He doesn’t seem to be in a good mood…”

Yumi shrugged while glancing up at her son. “I don’t know. He’s been like this for the past two-three days.”

Yongguk stiffened. Too many scenarios were jumping inside his head; was it because Caleb was missing her or was it because something was happening to her? He couldn’t tell, but it didn’t erase the fear that was quickly climbing up his spine.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“He is linked to Sora… Do you think that maybe… maybe something might be wrong?”

She stopped what she was doing as she lifted her head up, sudden worry come over her. “Yongguk, you’re scaring me. What is going on?”

“I-I don’t know yet, but whatever it is, I’ll fix it. I promise.”

He got up on his feet and made his way towards the door as he fetched out his phone from his pocket.

“Yongguk, where are you going?”

He tilted his head back, over his shoulder and looked at his mother. “I’m gonna make a phone call. I’ll be right back.” She was about to reply but he had already left.

Once he was out, he dialed the number and waited until the other line finally answered.

“I think something might be happening with Sora… I need your help.”

“I know. I’ve been trying to break the barrier but it’s too powerful. Bring me Cheondung and meet me at my house.”

“How can I find him?”

“Check out your sister’s place.”

“Okay. I’m on it.”

He hung up and walked back inside his mother’s room. She looked at his face and knew that something was up.

“I have to go. I’ll call Suzy so she can hang out with you until I come back.”

“No need to call her.”

She was hiding her disappointment.

“I will call her. She needs to see you anyways. When was the last time you two spoke to each other?” He kissed the top of her head before leaving her.

“Yongguk, please be safe.”

“I will. And I’ll come back.”

From the hospital, he drove straight to his sister’s loft.

Just like the witch said, he found the boy wandering around the empty apartment.

Not even a word slipped out of his mouth, Yongguk knocked him out, dragged him out of the house and shoved him inside his car before he drove towards Armina’s house.

He wasn’t thinking anymore; the moment he had seen Cheondung, he became angry.

The drive was over as he parked his car. He got out, opened the door to the back seat just as Cheondung was waking up. “What the is going on?”

“Get out.”

“Not until you tell me what-”

Yongguk didn’t give him the time to finish. He grabbed onto the boy’s collar and violently pulled him out of the car. Cheondung stumbled, almost falling flat on the cemented ground. He turned back around and faced Yongguk as he roughly pushed him by his chest. “What is your damn problem?!”

“YOU ARE! You had to show your face and destroy my sister’s life! You ed her up and now she might be in danger, or worse! She might be dead because of you!”

Yongguk punched him right across the face.

Cheondung received the hit and reciprocated the gesture, leading both men into a complete fight right on the sidewalk in front of the witches’ house.

“Stop it!”

One moment they gripped onto each other’s throat and the next, they were thrown away from each other just as Armina appeared on her lawn.

Both men were slowly getting back up on their feet, despite the injuries they’ve gained.

“Time’s up boys. If we don’t save her, she will be dead.

She walked back towards the house while glancing to them until she disappeared.