"I didn't know your health was already this dreadful. You should've asked for help already." Taemin said, watching as Hongbin replaced the towel on Jae Ren's forehead. "Or did you go out yesterday?"

"I did. Only for a while. I didn't know either..." She admitted. "Hongbin, did Jaekyun tell you what to do?"

Hongbin nodded. "I think so. There was something that she drank, too. She would ask me to make it instead of N and then put it in her tea. I think that one would help."

"The effects of a potion differ from each person." Onew reminded. "This might not help at all."

"I think it will." Hongbin pressed. "Right now, Jae Ren is showing the same side-effects of when Jaekyun forgets to drink it. Basically, she's showing the vitals of an 800 year-old witch."

"That's mean." She retorted.

"It's normal." Taemin waved it away. "This happens when you get an illness. We may not die from age, but our weak health compensates for that. Especially as you age, if you're not careful. Start drinking vitamins."

"Why did you stand in the rain in the first place?" Onew asked.

"I forgot to lock the doors to the terrace. The strong wind blew it open along with my homework. Of course, I had to chase them..."

"That's so careless." Hongbin sighed.

"Aren't the others allowed in here?" Taemin asked, noticing the quiet atmosphere. There was only the four of them in her room. He expected the others to barge in any moment. Being with them the whole night made him realize how restless and fussy they were when it came to Jae Ren. Last night, she had accidentally dropped her glass and they acted like she just contracted a brain tumour.

Onew shook his head. "Not when she's sick or the disease transmits to them. Only Hongbin was made immune." It seems like fate is strengthening her point. He thought, remembering their conversation last night. "Taemin, we should leave for now."

"But I can help."

"You know you can't. Not right now. With your equally poor health, you might even get sick." Onew reminded. He was aware of the setbacks of Time Magic. "Besides, Key would be waiting. He'll be worried."

"Fine. But I'll be back." The younger promised. "See you, Jae."

"I'll come back, too." Onew said. "Goodbye."

After they left, the room grew even quieter. Only the sound of Hongbin looking through the enchanted bag was breaking the silence.

"He's nice, Jae. I like him." Hongbin suddenly said. "Even N hyung seems okay with him."

"Really? I kind of feel like he's doing that for my sake." Jae Ren weakly laughed. "The whole Leo thing is like a big elephant in the room. I feel like everyone's acting happy for me."

He sighed. "Sometimes, that's true." He didn't see any point in lying. They all felt the missing presence in their lives. He just couldn't believe how well everyone was acting. "Though I feel they're getting used to it. Living for so long helps you cope with change."

"The change is too big. I don't think I ever can." She admitted, smiling bitterly. "I pushed him away because I thought the sooner the better. Nothing's happening, though."

"So last night, you were crying. That's why you went outside." He knew enough. He saw her.

"Yes. It's embarrassing to admit it to someone like Onew and Taemin." They were two new people in her life. She was comfortable with both of them but not enough to openly admit her weak moments. They had helped her enough already. "It's true I feel calmer around Taemin, but I feel at home when I'm with you guys." So why am I pushing all of you away, too? She didn't know anymore.

Because I don't deserve you.

"It still feels surreal for me. Leo hyung, leaving... it's almost impossible." Hongbin shook his head. For a while, he stopped rummaging through the bag. "I keep thinking he's going to come back."

"Maybe he will." He wont. They all knew that. Onew already informed them that Seohae would like to make contact with him first before taking him 'home'.  "2 days from now, only he can really decide."

"And if he's being taken against his will, we'll rescue him, right?" Hongbin grinned.

"I'm sure Sanctuary will brand us as criminals if we do that. After all, Seohae will be his master. She's allowed to do anything she wants."

"But Seohae's a criminal. I don't understand why they're allowing her to actually come here."

"She's kind of in a parole. Sanctuary doesn't keep criminals locked up. They watch from afar and act accordingly." Jae Ren explained. It made her feel like Sanctuary just didn't want to do the dirty work. After all, they didn't even try to approach Seomin. Key told them it was because she was too powerful, but Jae Ren saw nothing more than a woman with 13 guardians. They beat her with 8 against 14. Since Sanduel did help.

"Sanctuary isn't a military institution. We don't want unnecessary violence." Mr Lee said when someone asked why there were a lot of black-listed creatures under monitor that flashed in the local news every day. Everyone in class wondered why they were kept alive and roaming free if they were such bad people. "We don't act unless our society is provoked. So far, they've kept their oaths to not mention this place."

Right. Not a military institution but is preparing for war. The longer she stayed here, the more she hated the place. They have the power to stop them from terrorizing the other world, but they don't want to get involved. They don't care about violence. They just don't want the attention.

"Jae. I know you hate the higher-ups right now... and not only because of what they told us yesterday," Hongbin zipped the bag closed. "But you don't have to blame them. They just want to keep this place safe for creatures who have nowhere else to go to. I mean, that war they told us about must've scarred whoever is left alive from then. Try not to be so mad."

"It's just that they're doing absolutely nothing. We incapacitated an S-marked fugitive for them and the best they could do was send a letter months after. And now..."

"Now they're letting another criminal-branded witch take Leo away." Hongbin continued. "But Jae Ren, I didn't want to be the one to say this but Leo hyung doesn't seem like he minds. He hasn't kept in contact ever since he left. He even left the phone you gave him behind." He avoided looking at her. He wasn’t trying to make her cry but he knew he had to help her face the truth. "He doesn't want to stay."

"Don't say that, Hongbin. Please."

She was just too mad at Leo to talk to him. She was mad because Hongbin was right. Leo didn't want to stay. If he did, he would've at least talked to them about it. He would at least not act like they were strangers. Like he forgot them already.

At the very least, he should've had said goodbye.

"I'm sorry." He sincerely apologized. He rubbed her back to keep her from choking in her tears because she kept holding them back. "But you still have us, Jae Ren. You won't mind having only 5 guardians, right?"

"It's not that... I just feel like it's my fault. If we had never stayed here in the first place..." None of this would have ever happened.

"But that would just be sad. Sure, Leo hyung would be with us, but I'm not sure he'll be really happy. If Seohae is who he belongs with, we should wish him luck. Maybe we'll meet him someday again." He comforted her. It was his first time seeing Jae Ren so low. It was N who comforted her and Leo who advised her. Right now, he needed to be both. "We'll all miss him. But you have to let go."

She just continued crying until she fell asleep. Hongbin felt bad about making her cry. Last time he checked, neither N nor Leo ever did that when they were trying to guide her.

But she needed it. It wasn't the closure she was looking for, but still. With his strange eyes that saw some things that his brothers couldn't, he knew how much she needed to let it out. Her soul looked like it was dying.

It still did. He could see it flickering so weakly sometimes. He went back to making her medicine, adding a few more ingredients to help her fragile emotional state.

It was all he could do for her. He wondered why he felt so powerless around her.