You form a ball of flames in your palm, watching as your magic gathers at your skin; you throw it from one hand to another, playing with it like it's a toy. Choco definitely seems to think so, as he's barking every now and then and running from the couch to the armchair, back and forth, staring at the ball of fire and probably hoping he could catch it. He's hit the coffee table several times already, but it's not making this game any less enjoyable for him. Jessica watches you closely, curiosity written all over her face. She's really pretty. You've forgotten how pretty she is. She looks like a model with her long legs, delicate features and perfect hair. It's a bit unfair.

You throw the ball to her. She catches it easily, smiling right away. That's the difference between her and the Jessica you've met in the other universe - this one smiles quite a lot. She does have an air of confidence around her, but it's not as...hostile as the other Jessica's. It's weird, because you feel like you're talking with the same person, but someone who's changed during the time you haven't seen them.

"So," Jessica says suddenly, as if reading your thoughts. "How was the other me like?" she asks, throwing the ball back at you. You catch it, throw it up; the flames make very distinguishing sounds in the air.

"Cold," you reply. "Completely different from you, if I'm being honest." You graze the ball with your fingers, serving it towards Jessica like a voleyball. She catches it with both hands, starts to play with it like it's a volleyball indeed. She lets it bounce off her fingers a few times.

"When you tell me about her, I feel like I've met you in my previous life but forgot," she admits.

This Jessica is more open. You fell into an easy relationship with her quite quickly; she's really curious about your world and she seems to get particularly drawn to you. Daehyun spends lots of time with the rest of the boys; Krystal seems a bit unsure in this whole situation. You all thought that Jessica would be the hardest one to get along with, and yet, here you are, playing with fire together.

You hear someone entering the loft and you panic, looking at Jessica. She quickly throws the fire ball back at you, but it's too late to take the fire out - Kai enters the living room, his eyes widening at the sight, and he lets out a loud yell.

"No magic in the loft, you ing es!"

*

"How you feeling?"

You look up from your book on spirits. Baekhyun quirks a brow at you. He looks serious.

"I'm good. You?" you ask.

"I'm serious, Dal," he replies, rolling his eyes. Chanyeol is playing the guitar on the couch next to you, grazing the strings with his fingers and creating a soft, quiet tune in the background. "A lot of stuff's happend lately. It's a lot to take in."

"You mean the possibility of that evil mage being my dad?" you ask gruffly. Baekhyun makes a face.

"Well, if you put it that way."

"Baek, you ," Chanyeol grumbles. "Give her some space."

"No, we're gonna talk about that!" Kai calls from the kitchen. You look up to see him walking towards you with two plates. Kyungsoo follows him out of the kitchen, carrying three plates, and then Chanyeol goes rigid at the thought of food, so he stands up to get something too. You put your book back, making grabby hands at Kai, who hands you your food. 

You all sit down on the couch - your whole pack. Including Sehun, Suho and Chanyeol, who dropped by for the weekend. Your original clique. You snort at the thought. 

"You'll choke on your food," Suho tells you, pointing an accusing fork at you. 

"You will, if you talk," you reply. "Okay. So I get this is an impromptu pack meeting?" 

"Yeah," Kai says, chewing on a fry lazily. "We need to think about what we're gonna do." 

"Amber is working on finding out more about these guys," Baekhyun says. "She's doing her best, using the police computers. She says she's contacting people from all over the country. Apparently, there's some kind of an online magical community that talks about this stuff on the internet." 

"Yeah, there are some," you admit. "I used to belong to one myself. There was a time I even asked some people for help there."

"Okay," Kai says. "What else can we do? What did Father say?" 

"Nothing," you reply. "Literally nothing. He told me that we should be prapared to fight, that's all." 

Silence fills the room.

"Are we sure we trust that guy?" Suho says, probably voicing everyone's thoughts. "I mean...he showed up one day, completely out of blue, and helped us out. We still don't know what happens to all the people that he...takes. Imprisons. See, that's the point: we don't know what he does to them. Does he have some kind of prison there? Wherever it is that he actually lives. What if he's using them somehow?" 

"I can't really tell," you say. "I trusted him because Jaejoong trusts him. I don't usually ask him questions; he teaches me how to use magic and control the pain. That's all. He's really mysterious. He's not as easy-going and grandpa-like as the Father I met in the other universe." 

"Maybe we should talk to him?" Chanyeol says. "All of us." 

"Not sure that's possible," you point out. "He's...intimidating, sometimes. He meets with me because he trains me. I'm not sure if he'd be willing to meet with all of us. Sometimes I feel like he still wants to be pretty in cognito in this whole situation. Even Jaejoong doesn't know what he's up to, most of the time. We just don't ask, I guess, because it feels like we shouldn't. It's weird." 

You eat the last bit of your food and place the empty plate on the coffee table, next to Kai's. You lean back on the couch, picking up your book again, when Kai places his head on your shoulder, snuggling close. 

"I'll talk to him," you say, rubbing your cheek on the top of Kai's head a little. "And I just learned to set up new kinds of wards. It won't hurt anyone, it's practically imperceptible, but it'd inform me of anything crossing the borders if I don't feel them approaching first."

"Why did it suddenly get so hard?" Sehun questions, also finishing up his food. "Here I thought that we can't have it worse anymore and now it can only get better. And now, we suddenly have a secret organization on our backs, and some crazy spirit mages walking around the city." 

"Well, at least no one is dead yet," Chanyeol deadpans. You all shoot him nasty looks at first, then Suho snorts, and you find yourself relaxing. Four seconds in and you're smiling. Kai snorts next to you and facepalms, shaking on your shoulder like a maniac. 

"Oh my God," you whisper, throwing your head back in a laugh. "Well, yeah, I guess we can count that as a win."

"Okay," Kyungsoo says, shaking his head. "Death jokes aside, what are we gonna do?" 

"Dal will set up the new wards," Kai says, taking his head off your shoulder. You miss his touch immediately; he puts his hand on top of your thigh. "Amber will look for information. I guess Sulli could help her, too. We should tell Siwon to inform all the magical beings in the city about the possible danger, so that they're more careful than usual. And I guess we should train more, too. All of us. Just in case." 

"I'll make you some anti-magic charms," you add. "They'll protect you from the first magic attack, if it ever comes. If anyone attacks, it'll give you enough time to react and defend yourself. Also, I was thinking about ghostwalking again." 

They send you confused, worried looks at that. "Sulli's powers are great and she knows stuff, but if we're looking for something specific, ghostwalking can come in handy. I haven't used it for a while because it wasn't needed, but I think that now is a good moment, don't you?" 

"I hate it when you go ghostwalking," Kai admits gruffly. You glance at him, but he's looking pointedly away. "Even I feel dizzy after you come back." 

"That's just the blood bond acting up," you remind him. "It's not that bad."

"Yeah, nothing weird about talking to ghosts in a different realm," Kyungsoo chuckles. 

"Is it me or are we really going back to our origins?" Suho jokes. "I mean, look at us discussing strategy together."

You link your fingers with Kai's on your thigh; at least that one thing is different.

*

"Hey," Kai's voice whispers into your ear. "Wake up." 

You open your eyes to see him looking at you. You've fallen asleep reading; your left cheek is plastered to the pages of a book. Kai's face is right in front of yours, a few inches apart, just far enough for you not to be forced to squint. He's sitting in the same position as you, but his right cheek is plastered to the table. You stare at him, sleepy.

There was a time when you were scared to touch him. Now he's right there, next to you, and he's all yours - open, trustful, and warm. He's looking at you with care and love and you know that he'd do anything for you. It's scary, but it's also amazing, because you know that you'd do anything for him, too. It's one of the best things ever, knowing that he has your back at all times, knowing that he loves you just as much as you love him. That he'll never leave you.

Nostalgia hits you like a train. Then comes sadness and memories - he died once, because of you. He saved you from dying by dying himself. He was ready to give up his life just to save yours, even if he wasn't sure if you'd live after. 

"Dal?" he asks, confused, probably feeling your sadness. He frowns, lifting his head off the table. You do that as well; the book's page gets stuck to your cheek and you yelp, almost ripping it out. Kai laughs and helps you peel it off, his finger brushing your cheek. "Are you worried about that mage?" 

"No," you say, shaking your head. It's funny, you think. Instead of thinking about enemies and evil people coming after you, you think about Kai and how much you love him. So much it makes your heart hurt. "I just remembered something." 

"What?" he asks, propping his head on his arm and leaning closer to you. You turn on the chair, your knees knocking together. He's looking at you lazily, eyes taking in your face. In the past, if he did that, you'd feel exposed and bare. Now it's the opposite. It still makes you flustered how hard he looks at you sometimes, though. 

You shrug. "I woke up and thought it's a different time and place," you explain. "I felt like a high-schooler again. All the memories came back. Together with the exact...atmosphere of that time, you know? It's a weird feeling." 

"I get that sometimes when I listen to some songs," Kai says. "Are you sure you're okay?" 

"Yes," you say,  laughing, and nod once. "Of course I am. Everyone's safe, right? And we'll soon find out what's the deal with all the...organizations, and other things. We always figure it out." 

Kai smiles a little, his eyes snapping down to your lips. He hums. "Uh-huh. That's true."

You watch as his irises dilate the longer he stares at you, and you smile when he looks into your eyes again. 

"You're doing this on purpose," he says. 

"I'm not even doing anything," you smile. 

"Yes you are," he argues, tilting closer and closer. You find your eyelids heavy, your magic buzzing under your skin like a warm current. "Maybe you don't even realize it, though." He plants a kiss on your eyelid, your eyelashes fluttering at the butterfly-like kiss. He withdraws for a moment just to kiss the corner of your mouth; you blindly follow his touch, trying to catch his lips in a real kiss, but he's already away again, and when you open your eyes, he's staring at you again. You take that moment to stare back and try to remember the exact feeling of now. How the light is so dim inside the loft, how Kai smells, how his magic behaves at his touch. You love it; you love how your magic feels now when it's mixed with his. It's even more lively than before and stronger than ever. It causes you pain, but that's okay. If that's the only price you need to pay for having Kai by your side, it's alright.

Your heart is beating hard in your chest, your pulse picking up. He gets close again, not closing his eyes as he leans in for a kiss. Your lips finally touch, a barely-there peck. Kai forces your mouth to open with his own lips, inching closer, and finally kisses you like he means it. It's warm and soft and delicate. Like pieces of a puzzle coming together. 

You're so busy kissing you don't even hear or sense anyone coming it before Chen shouts "Ew!". You shoot up from your chairs in unison, completely taken off-guard, and as you turn towards the door, dozens of different comments fly your way.

"Oh my God! Go find a room!" Amber screams. 

"Right in front of children?!" Sehun accuses, covering his eyes with his hands. 

"How dare you show so much PDA, you exhibitionist erts!" Chen adds. 

"Bleerrggh," Kyungsoo says, sticking his tongue out at you and shivering. 

"Oh my God," you say, grabbing your stuff and running out of the room like burned, your cheeks burning. "You're awful! Making me feel guilty for something that's not even bad!" 

"Wait for me!" Kai screams. 

"Good, run away!" Chen calls. "And be ashamed of yourself!" 

"My eyes are burning!" Sehun bellows, sobbing. 

"!" Kai screams right before leaving the loft. You two stop in front of the entrance, both red in the faces. A few seconds fly by. "Wait, what's just happened?" 

"I have no freaking clue," you say, shaking your head. Kai looks down at you, eyes you up and down, and leans in for another kiss. This time it's a simple peck. 

"Ah, young love," someone says. You both startle; you look up to see Mrs. Kyunghee, Kai's neighbor, walking down the stairs. She looks at you two like a cat and outward giggles. She walks past you, still giggling, and meanwhile, you're frozen on your feet. Once she's gone, Kai sends you a look. 

"ing ers everywhere," you sigh. 

"We've heard that!" someone hollers from the loft.

"Oh my GOD!" 

RALF reached 3k subs!! Thanks for reading peppermint candy <3