Kai was apologetic when he arrived at our rented beach house in Sokcho the day after. He couldn’t find the bracelet and I find it absurd that he should even be sorry for it. It was my possession, and I should be responsible, but I lost it. The others never said a thing, but I could feel the disappointment looming in the air. It was only a day, and I’m already at being a changed leader.

                Days passed until it became weeks. We couldn’t make a move because we don’t know where to start. At first, we spent hours and hours talking about what might be the last one, “the light who holds both secrets”. I browsed everything that’s in Seijira’s history book but there was not a word about a light that could think for its own. Kyungsoo was on the other book, the treasure enclosed in the deep, but as it is full of nonsensical words to me, it couldn’t be of much help. Plus, he told me himself, it’s the chant that I have to read when we presented the three things to Seijira. It didn’t say anything much on how to find what we needed. All of us put our heads together, thinking of where to find it, but as we’re tight on resources, and of course time, we couldn’t possibly roam the whole world for it. After a while, the subject itself became tiring and useless, and we’ve resorted to absolutely nothing.

                If only I had the bracelet, this wouldn’t have happened.

                And yet again, I feel like the third thing is close to me. Every time I think of it, it seems to ring a bell, but I couldn't remember properly. Was it something that I came across when I was alone?  I tried to talk this through with Kyungsoo, but he couldn’t help me. I’ve approached Kai too, but he said we never talked anything of that kind before. Still, there was this weird feeling in me that I know, that I’ve heard of it. I need to find what I’ve been missing sooner.

                Nowadays, I spend most of the time sitting on the beach sand, just watching the waves. Our place is far from the main playing ground, at least that’s what I call the place where people who go visit the beach swim and play volleyball. So, it was peaceful most of the times. Kris, Tao, and sometimes Chanyeol, go back to Seoul to look around, watch out for the enemy’s movements. Kyungsoo will sometimes sit with me on the sand, but we’d talk of nothing. When it’s Sehun though, he’d just kept pestering me, but at least he doesn't bring up the subject of our quest. In contrast, Kai spends most of his time inside the beach house, probably listening to music. We’d share ideas sometimes, but I’ve been trying to not get too close because I still feel awkward whenever I remember that I responded to his kiss. It was just so wrong on so many levels. Then there’s Xiumin who walks around the place and socializes with other people. All in all, it felt like a well-earned vacation, if not for the alertness that’s in the atmosphere every time night falls.

                Shadows weren’t attacking and I know for a fact that it’s not because they don’t know where I am. Something changed, and not for the better. Instead, I could feel Seo Ji Hye was on something that I couldn't see. It could even be worse than my gut feeling. 

                It doesn't help that I feel restless all the time, and I couldn’t sleep well at night. My brain can rationalize this as a side effect of living on the streets for so long, but it might also be a warning to me by Seijira himself. The medallion, I started to wear around my neck to give me some ease that I have it, and I’m not gonna lose it. I made Xiumin put a shield around it, so that no one else but me can touch it.

                Then, one night, as I was lying on the rattan bed thinking of nothing in particular, I heard a sound in my head, the same sound that had bothered me a lot when we were in Busan. It didn’t take me a minute to realize what was going on. I sat on the bed as I saw the door slowly open. The curtains were flying and I immediately took my coat and stood up. I tried to be discreet and walked out of the beach house where I know someone would be waiting.

                It wasn’t that hard to make out a figure near the water. The guy was wearing all white, like the first time I saw him, which covered him from what he really was. I walked closer and only stopped a meter away from him. I didn’t know what time it was, but it could definitely be midnight.

                “What do you want?” I said rather bravely.

                He took his time and when he finally turned around to face me, he smiled gently and showed me that nice dimple on his face that could fool anyone, “It’s been a long time, Lee Mi Yeon.”

                “Yixing,” I uttered his name.

                “Jumping so fast to the point,” he noted with a mysterious half-grin. I didn’t say anything afterwards and he said, “You’re very brave to come out on your own.”

                “I’m not scared of you,” I stated with a hard edge on my voice. 

                “You don’t know what I can do.”

                “Oh yeah?” I challenged. He laughed. It was not in a mocking way, but I hate to say he reminded me of Kai. They do share a resemblance eventhough I have never really seen Kai laugh evilly. 

                “That bite must have been painful,” he said, looking at my ankle. There were marks of dots there shaped in a crescent moon, from where the mutt bit me.

                “Kai healed it for me,” I said, bracing for his response.

                “My brother has always been smart,” Yixing said. “But he’s fighting for the wrong cause.”

                “I like to think otherwise,” I declared as I crossed my arms around me to shield myself from the strong wind. “So are you planning to kill me right now?”

                “Tempting,” Yixing drawled. “But the honor is for Lady Seo alone. I came here to ask for the medallion and the book, in the most unbloody manner.”

                I clutched the medallion on my neck like suddenly my life depended on it.

                “A truce, I see. And if I don’t hand it in?” I asked calmly and suddenly Yixing was leaning to my right ear. The action was so sudden, I didn’t even see him walk closer to me. I sensed a sudden wave of fear and a cold trickle down my spine which I tried to hide. 

                “You’re going to get so crushed to the ground you'd come begging us to spare your pitiful life,” he whispered so low that if adrenaline wasn’t rushing through me, I would have had a hard time understanding him. His voice turned so cold and evil that the hair on my arms curled up.

                I braved myself to look at him when his face was inches away from mine. He had the same black eyes, but the feeling it gave wasn’t the same with what I feel when Kai is looking at me. His eyes speak of a fury hidden beneath and death, and I realized then that I shouldn’t take him lightly. He’s in a different league, and I don’t want him to use his duire on me right there and then.

                I did my best and whispered back, “I’ll take the risk.”

                “Heir of Seijira,” he almost growled.  “You don’t know what we have, and you don’t know what you have just bargained for. Blood is ready to be spilled.”

                And then I was stuck watching his eyes, and suddenly I’m seeing an altogether different scenario. It was Seijira Academy, and it was on fire and everybody was fleeing, screaming and crying. I could see Krystal, and the headmaster, and Suho and Baekhyun, trying to save the others. Then suddenly I was seeing my old home. My mom was there, sleeping, and then someone with a long hair was raising a knife, and it struck down straight on my mom’s face. Then the vision shifted to my warriors, chained, their bodies dismembered, and then someone was throwing gas, and then suddenly the whole Seoul was on fire, my wings were being cut off, the whole of earth was opening. There were blood screams and people in black, and then the shadow’s face came in view crying blood, and it opened its mouth, and I could smell blood and rotting bodies---

                “Mi Yeon!!!!!!” I opened my eyes. I was back on the beach and it was cold and I could hear my own voice shouting “Let go! Let go of me!” and I was kicking and flinging my arms and slapping everywhere my hand made contact with. My whole body was glowing red and then suddenly, I was blinded by the person in front of me who also glowed red.

                “It’s me!” The person shouted. “It’s Kai! Mi Yeon, calm down!”

                And I stopped, but I still couldn’t see him properly. That’s when I realized I was breathing hard, like I just ran a mile, and I felt like something’s stuck in my throat. I looked around me wildly, and realized soon enough, that we were alone. He’s gone. Yixing was gone like he never was there in the first place.