Yixing is worried that Jongdae has hurt himself during his fit of rage, but when he looks the mage of lightning over, there's not a single scratch on him. He looks like he always does; dorky and mischievous. There's something about the look in his eyes that says differently, though. This haunted look that hides emotions that had only barely reached the surface when Jongdae released his anger. Jongdae locks himself in his room for days and not even Minseok can get in- no one can.

Not like they try. The newly shown side of Jongdae has frightened the mages to the point that they just can't seem to bring themselves to ask if Jongdae was okay. They didn't even know what happened, not really. Jongin doesn't say anything about it, and when it's brought up, he looks off in the direction of Jongdae's room and his eyes suddenly look so empty.

Chanyeol and Baekhyun may just be the worst when it comes to Jongdae's fit of rage- like they know something the others don't. It's unnerving to Yixing. He's always thought he knew his brothers inside and out- yet there he was, Jongdae who was considered to be transparent, full of secrets and full of pain.

Yixing runs into Luhan, who had been standing outside of Jongdae's room hesitantly. The three of them aren't the closest of friends, but they still consider themselves to be brothers, so why wouldn't they worry for one another? Luhan glances back at him, then once more at the door. He releases a sigh as he steps back, but something in the way Luhan's shoulders deflates has Yixing step forward and place a hand on his shoulder.

"It's time we knew," he says, his voice calm. Luhan turns to him once more, and his voice holds for just a moment before he nods, and with a flick of his fingers, the lock to Jongdae's door is unlocked, and the two of them barge in there to see what Jongdae's up to.

Jongdae's laying in bed, and Luhan shifts on his feet as if he's unsure if Jongdae's awake or not, but Jongdae's head turns and there's the slightest quirk of his lips into a grin.

"I'm not going to blow up on you, you don't need to look so scared." Jongdae's voice is at a forced calm, and even his aura screams fear. Yixing's not used to this, of course- Jongdae's been the bravest of them even when the whole world turned against them.

"How are you? Does your side still hurt?" Yixing asks, avoiding the statement that's come out of Jongdae's mouth. He may be a little more serious now, but that doesn't change the fact that Jongdae sometimes deserves to be ignored.

Jongdae sits up slowly, a hand grazing at his left side. It wasn't from Yuna, but from Jongin, when the younger of the two had gone looking for him. Yixing still wonders why they had let Jongin go looking for Jongdae alone knowing how they get along.

"I've had worse," he says, and he's more calm this time as his eyes flicker to the door behind them. Yixing looks back from the corner of his eyes and find Chanyeol there. There are questions dancing in his eyes, a pain that maybe only someone who is close to Jongdae would understand.

"Are you okay? Mentally?" Luhan asks, and Jongdae's demeanor shifts automatically. He loses the brightness that the two mages have come to get used to from him, and he looks... well, different.

"No," Jongdae tells him honestly, and Yixing holds back a sigh.

It's not like Jongdae needed to say anything for them to know that Jongdae was fighting something that only Jongdae could know about.

"Why didn't you tell anyone what you were going to do?" Luhan asks, his voice curious but there was no masking the worry in his tone.

Jongdae laughs a little, and it sounds bitter, "What would that have changed, Lu? Either way, we need to find a way to save Yifan. I thought Yu- she would have answers."

Yixing stills, and his blood boils for a moment. Why did Jongdae sound so bitter and resentful when speaking of her? Why did it make him so disgusting even though they were all brought together by Yuna: Yuna, who Yixing knew so well to be such a brilliant and loving woman?

"You really don't like her, do you?" Yun Seung's voice asks, and Yixing is caught off guard as he watches his former master walk into the room.

"Why would I like her?" Jongdae practically shouts, and Yixing notes the way his hands shake at his sides. Luhan does, too, and he steps back in case he has to call one of the leaders to calm Jongdae down,

"It's because of her that all of this keeps happening to us, and to you! Her being alive is the reason you're dying!"

And Yixing gets it. In his own way, Jongdae was trying to protect himself and the others. Though he had asked for his powers, he had asked to find a place to belong- not for such a curse to be placed on himself or on the others he was grouped with. He didn't want to risk getting close to Yuna again, because Yun Seung was all he and the others had ever wanted, and he wasn't ready to lose that.

Yixing doesn't think twice. He just lunges forward and wraps his arms around a shaking Jongdae. The mage of lightning doesn't waste a single moment and sobs freely. Yixing just chuckles and rubs his back, because Jongdae sure had his moments of being cute. It seemed Luhan had the same thought, for he had stepped forward and despite being three mages that barely knew one another like they knew other mages, they connected during this moment.

"Alright, alright. Break it up. The amount of ugly in this room is giving me an eye sore." Baekhyun's voice calls in disgust, and all three mages and Yun Seung turn to him with the same annoyed expression on their faces. Despite his words, Baekhyun has a gentle smile on his face and his eyes are on Jongdae. Chanyeol is beside him, looking just as anxious as he was earlier.

"You guys mind if we take Dae for a bit?" Chanyeol asks, forced smile on his lips. Yixing raises an eyebrow, but he can't complain. They are the trouble making trio, after all.

"I guess that's my cue, huh?" Jongdae asks, wiping his eyes and trailing to the door where both of his closest friends wait for him.

When he leaves, there's a thick silence between Yixing, Luhan and Yun Seung that ensues. Yixing thinks of what to say, but when he looks at Yun Seung, all he can think of is how unfairly he had thought of her. Especially where Yuna was involved. He may have known Yuna centuries ago, but Yun Seung had proven to be a greater ally in such a short period of time.

"Yun Seung, don't you feel any resentment towards Yuna, since she's the one responsible for everything?" Luhan asks, though his voice is a little quiet and unsure as he speaks. He even sounds a little afraid of her answer.

"Of course I do," and Yixing's heart plummets again, even though he knows Yun Seung's resentment is reasonable,

"But what she's done to you in the past isn't grounds for me to resent her now for trying to fix her errors."

Yixing chuckles, and so does Luhan. Yun Seung is the same as she always was. She could never be the kind to use someone's past against them. Perhaps that's why everyone became so attached to her to begin with.

"Lu!" Sehun calls from outside the room, and the three of them look at him slowly to see what he wants,

"It's our turn to make dinner."

Yixing winces, but just slightly. Of everyone that is able to cook in their group, Luhan and Sehun are not part of them. They turn the most simple of stews into ash. Most times, the mages eat before dinner or just skip out on dinner all together.

"Just us? Like the old times?" Luhan calls back, excitedly, and he's practically skipping outside the room in his excitement to have time alone with Sehun.

"Yifan's with us tonight." Sehun answers as they walk away, and Yixing can feel the stomach ache already.

"Why do you make that face, Yixing?" Yun Seung asks, and she's even laughing a little. Yixing smiles, because the sound of her laughter is like music to his ears, and he hopes to hear that sound more often.

"They chose to group together the three mages that are an absolute atrocity in the kitchen." Yixing replies, shuddering.

Yun Seung laughs again, and then her eyes roam around Jongdae and Minseok's shared room. There's a sad smile on her lips, and Yixing wonders what's going on in her mind to make such a beautiful person frown like such. Was it him and his brothers again?

"I wish I didn't let him go alone like that," she sighs, and she even takes it upon herself to fix Jongdae's unmade bed.

"I don't ever want to see Jongdae so angry again. His personality suits laughter so much more."

Yixing agrees, but he doesn't like how she blames herself. Yes, she gave him the idea to go after Yuna alone, but it was Jongdae's choice to go. And, either way, they got their brother back in one piece. Even if he's grown up a little on the way back.

"At least we know he can be serious now," Yixing mutters, and he uses his powers to do a sweep on her life force. It's fading again, though it's how it's been since Yuna was resurrected,

"Your memories. Have they begun fading again?"

Yun Seung goes still, and she avoids his gaze, but Yixing reads her like an open book. Yun Seung tries to be strong, like always, but they know that her strength isn't limitless like theirs. She's only human, after all.

"I didn't want to say anything because Yifan is more important, but..." she trails off, and she glances over at Yixing from the corner of her eye. It's still funny to Yixing, and probably the other mages at that, that Yun Seung cares more for them than she does herself.

"How have you been replenishing your energy? Last I checked, Yifan gave you some of his." Yixing states, though it sounds more like a question than a statement.

"The other week, while I was at the training grounds, Kyungsoo came to me and-" she begins, and her cheeks redden, but Yixing only raises an eyebrow as he remembers that day. He had gone to check on her with Luhan and Kyungsoo, and Kyungsoo had stayed behind on purpose. For even Kyungsoo, who hated the idea of a master, Yun Seung was worth protecting.

"-kissed me. And all of a sudden I felt a rush of his memories and his feelings. His love for Jongin and the urge to protect him, the rage towards my ancestors, the way he feels when he's walking barefoot on the ground and can feel the ripples of life against his feet. It's-- it's just, amazing."

"A kiss?" Yixing echoes, and his eyes roam down to her lips. Something as simple as a kiss is all that's needed to help save their former master? Even temporarily, it was an incredible feat. He'd vowed, when he and his brothers had been betrayed by Yuna, that he'd never fall for his master, and that he'd never let himself feel any kind of fondness for anyone with Yuna's heritage. Yet here he is, looking into the eyes of the woman who now means the world to him and to his brothers, even though she's a direct descendant of the women who trapped him.

"Then... wilfl you allow me to kiss you, as well?"

Yun Seung's eyes light up in surprise and her cheeks are a little red, but when she finds that his gaze is unwavering and full of confidence, she just nods a little. Yixing leans down just slightly, and his magic courses through her the moment their lips meet. It's a little beautiful in a way, knowing that something as gentle as a kiss is enough to save someone he loves.

"Your memories, Yixing... they're so warm." Yun Seung says when they part, her eyes still as bright as they always are, and her lips curled into a gentle smile that says she expected nothing less.

And knowing that Yun Seung never treated any of them with bias, he wasn't surprised.

My boyfriend was in the room while I wrote this chapter. He and his friend were playing a card game called Vanguard and I was like why the hell not. So I'm sitting here writing, a little tired because it's 2 AM, and my brain starts to blank. So I'm at 1,179 words, and I go "Babe, I only have 1,179 words," and he gives me a look. Like really? Only? Are you serious right now? So I laugh and keep writing. My boyfriend's not much of a writer, or a reader, so I understand why he's so done with me right now. Anyway. I finish the chapter at around 2,000 words, and I call him. He gets up, comes over to me, and I tell him I finally finished with 2,000 words. He silently goes back to his game. I'm like "Why?! Aren't you proud of me?!" He turns back to me, with a stink face, and says, "Only 2,000? I can't even get past 300."

If you ever decide to date, do it with someone who makes you laugh. It's the best way to love.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have an amazing day.