His options were simple; follow Yifan around like he had been doing in order to keep an eye on him and protect him, or trail after Yun Seung, who had walked right past their group with a cape and a basket in her hands. Some of the others had stopped to watch her walk away, but hadn't steered from their duties, as there was much to be done before they were able to leave the town.

Being the first leader of EXO, Joonmyun was glad that he pushed a majority of the responsibilities onto the younger mages, since he had become too curious to let Yun Seung go on her own. Joonmyun glanced over at Yifan for a moment, and a small relieved smile made its way to his face as he watched Yifan interact with the others. After whatever he had done with Jongin, the two were a lot closer and Yifan was in turn a lot happier. Yifan being happy caused for some of the others to cling to him eagerly, and Yifan didn't say a thing to stop them.

They would be just fine if he stepped away for a little while, wouldn't they? They weren't children, and Yifan's aura was intimidating enough to keep people away. If he were to go after Yun Seung and make sure she was okay, he wouldn't feel guilty about leaving the other mages. With a nod towards himself, Joonmyun stepped away and quietly left the group to find their former master. He might have been leader, but the others wouldn't be pleased with his disappearance while they worked.

He kept up with Yun Seung easily, keeping back by a few meters so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. If Yun Seung wanted someone to go with her, she would have asked, but after all of the recent happenings, he wasn't sure if they should leave her alone any longer. He remembered seeing her stumble towards them while Yifan was gone, and how she had been missing prior to that. She didn't remember anything that had happened to her, but something about her disappearance and reappearance was... well, fishy, to be honest.

Joonmyun followed her for what he thought felt like hours. Did she know he was behind her, or was she completely oblivious to his presence? She tripped a couple of times, as well, but kept going as if she imagined whatever she had stepped on. Was she really okay? Where was she going, anyway, and why hadn't she told anyone where she was going?

In the end, they walked right up to a cliff. At first, Joonmyun was worried. He recalled that she did dangerous things to claim him and his brothers and wasn't sure if she was planning to do something stupid then, but that's when he noticed the pile of rocks at the edge of the earth. Joonmyun knew what it was immediately, and it wasn't just because of the many picture frames sitting by the burial ground. He had seen many graves like this in his lifetime, but he didn't understand what importance it had to Yun Seung until she got down on her knees and began shaking.

Crying. Yun Seung was crying.

As if upon instinct, Joonmyun got down onto his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms. She lost a lot more than she had to due to a war that started way before her time. It was his own fault, as well as his brothers', for not stopping the war before it had even begun.

"J-Joonmyun!" She sobbed and latched onto him like he would disappear. He wouldn't be surprised if that were actually how she felt, considering past events and how many times they had been separated from Yun Seung.

"It's okay, Yun Seung. I'm right here." He knew it wouldn't be enough to calm her down. What would, when she was someone who lost everything she had lived for and for no reason?

"I'm so sorry." He didn't think it were possible, but she started crying harder. What was she blabbering on about, anyway, and why was she apologizing to him?

"Lately when I've been thinking of all the people that died here, I can't help... I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn't left that day."

Joonmyun felt his heart crack at her words. Not only was she mourning for the people she lost, but she was regretting finding him and his brothers. They all knew they had impacted her life in a negative way, but for it to go this far?

"It's not your fault." He whispered in her hair, covering his own face so she wouldn't see the tears that were beginning to form in his own eyes. It's ours, he wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out.

"That's what makes it so hard, Joonmyun. It's not my fault, and it's not your fault, but why are we all suffering so much?"

His tears stopped immediately. Although he believed Yun Seung had it worse than himself and his brothers, she was concerned about them as well? He and his brothers caused her nothing but misery so why was she so fond of them? Why did she bother to think of them while she was miserable?

"And then the nightmares..."

"Nightmares...?" He asked, but he didn't receive a reply. When he looked down, Yun Seung had fallen asleep in his arms. It was then that he noticed the deep bags under her eyelids and he traced them with his thumbs. There was a lot she was keeping to herself, and most likely so that she wouldn't worry any of the mages. She was one of the bravest women he had ever met, and cared for people that only caused her harm. Without realizing it, he had leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry." 

By the time he carried Yun Seung back to where he and his brothers were staying, Joonmyun realized two things. The first was that the other mages knew he was gone. It was obvious, since the second he had gotten into their view, their irritated gazes were fixated on him. The second thing Joonmyun realized was that there were tears falling from his eyes, even without him being aware of them. He had figured the tears stopped when he talked to Yun Seung, but memories and thoughts in his head had brought them right back.

"I'll take Yun Seung to BAP." Jongin had easily taken Yun Seung off of Joonmyun's back and walked away with the others staring at him. He could probably tell that whatever the elders were going to talk about wasn't going to be good, and it gave him the excuse of being with Yun Seung longer.

"We'll come along!" Sehun caught the hint quickly and dragged an unsuspecting Zitao along. The mage of time had actually kept his gaze on Joonmyun as if he too wanted to know what the elder was going through, but he made no protests as he was dragged along.

The remaining elders remained quiet for a few moments. There wasn't an easy way of asking Joonmyun what happened, and he knew it. Even Yifan, who was usually unafraid to speak his mind, had remained in the background and his eyes showed that he wasn't going to push anything out of the first leader.

"Why are you crying? Did you look in a mirror?" Joonmyun couldn't tell if Baekhyun was trying to joke around or offend him, but Joonmyun only shrugged from where he stood, unable to voice a response.

"Are all the chores done?" He asked instead, and the others glanced at each other after hearing his hoarse voice. They nodded, slowly and uncertainly, and Joonmyun returned their nods without enthusiasm.

"You should go take a break, hyung." Yixing suggested, and Joonmyun felt himself nod again. It wasn't like he had the energy to do anything else, anyway.

"Yeol and I will go and get more firewood." Jongdae muttered as an offer, but before anyone could say anything to either agree or disagree, he had pulled Chanyeol by the sleeve.

"Why can't Jongin go get it?" Chanyeol whined as he was dragged along, but the answer was unheard, for they had gotten surprisingly far as the others watched.

"Dinner. I'll make dinner." 

Kyungsoo was the next to leave, and Joonmyun watched as he latched onto Yifan's arm and yanked him away. Usually, Yifan wouldn't go near the cooking supplies, but he didn't have much of a choice now as a human. The last to remain were Joonmyun, Baekhyun, Yixing, and the elders, Minseok and Luhan.

"You boys go and relax. You've worked hard today." Luhan had said, and though it was stated as a suggestion, his tone and his expression said there would be no debate. Baekhyun imitated him and even made a face to go along with it, but without a word of protest, he had left and taken Yixing with him.

"Now that the youngers are all gone, Myun, you'd better start talking." Minseok's serious expression didn't match his young looks or the grin that was usually on his face. It was why the others were always joking around when Minseok was with them.

Luhan had even put a hand on the first leader's shoulder, and gave Joonmyun a reassuring smile when the leader looked up at him, "It's either you tell us or you tell Yifan."

Joonmyun pondered it for a while. Yifan wasn't as intimidating as he was back when he had powers and he wouldn't be able to do anything against Joonmyun as their powers were now unmatched, but he wouldn't test Yifan anyway. After seeing recent training sessions, Yifan had become almost as strong as he was back with his powers, and Joonmyun didn't want to test the second leader.

"Do you ever regret getting close to Yun Seung?"

It's what his lips had conjured instead of an explanation as to what happened. He was surprised by his words, and the other two elders also were. Minseok was found at the same time as Joonmyun was, and Luhan had been one of the last to be found, but all twelve had a connection with Yun Seung that couldn't be explained. Minseok's lips began moving, and Joonmyun could already tell he was going to be questioned, but he shook his head to keep them from interrupting him,

"We're all falling for someone who lost everything because of us. Don't deny it, either of you. This is inevitable, since she's the first woman to give any of us affection or a sense of longing in a long time. Yun Seung was crying earlier, because part of her felt regret. Part of her regretted finding us! When I heard it, I felt so guilty. She... she chose us and we did nothing to deserve it."

And then he was crying again. The other two hadn't said a thing, but had each given their own reactions to his words. It was obvious that what he said would impact them, since it was about their former master. Everyone had started to come to the conclusion that they were falling for a woman they didn't even know well, but to know that she regretted finding them?

"That's not even the worst of it! Even though she's suffering from this- even though she has no part in this war between us and the sorceresses- she's worried about how we're suffering because of it!"

That seemed to have been what was needed to have both of the elders respond . Luhan was wiping tears away with the back of his hand, and Minseok was looking off in the direction the three youngest mages had gone with Yun Seung. Neither of them knew how to comfort the others while they themselves were still in shock and in tears, but Joonmyun had expected this much. Later that night, the youngers had noticed the damp mood between the three elders. They had attempted to find out what happened, but neither of the three said a word. Even Yifan was kept in the dark, since there wasn't anything he could do.

There was nothing that could erase the regret in the air.