Chapter 26: The Plan

When Jeonghan had gotten home from school, Seungcheol explained the situation once again, with just a bit more hesitation. On one hand, Jeonghan wanted to kick Seungcheol in the shin for not calling him right away, but he understood that right now, logic was out the window. And if he had, Jeonghan wouldn’t have made a very important discovery of his own.

But now, they had to think of a way to convert this information into a solid plan.

The three sat together in the basement, where they’d dragged an old couch over for seating. Seungcheol and Woozi sat side-by-side, staring forward at Jeonghan incredulously.

“Where did you even buy this?” Seungcheol questioned, gesturing towards the blackboard Jeonghan stood next to, obviously confused.

“Where I got it is hardly an issue, is it?” He pouted.

Woozi sighed. “You stole it, didn’t you?”

“I stole it.”

Seungcheol ran a hand down his face. “Haven’t we broken enough laws yet!?”

“Fine, then let’s say I barrowed it.” He smirked. “There was an extra one in the janitor’s closet… And I thought, hell, if we’re gonna come up with a plan we might as well do it properly, right?”

Woozi raised his hand, confused. “Can’t we just… make a plan? What’s this thing even for?”

Jeonghan tsked. “Seungcheol, remind me later that we need to watch a heist movie with Woozi.” He slapped his hand on the front of the board for emphasis, a cloud of chalk dust wafting past his palm. “All good plans start with this!”

The meaning behind the dusty board remained unclear, but Jihoon had to assume it was another weird human thing he didn’t understand. He sat back in the couch, huffing. “Okay, so let’s make a ing plan then.”

“Okay,” Jeonghan started, sketching against the board with white chalk as he spoke. “Here’s what we know so far.”

He drew a few stick figures, adding a ‘K’, ‘W’, ‘S’, and ‘J’ above them. “It’s pretty obvious that the guy from this weekend was Kyungsoo, and based on previous events, we’ve deduced that even before getting the black magic book, Seungcheol had been on his radar.”

Seungcheol felt a shiver crawl along his spine. He still couldn’t fathom the fact that he’d been stalked without ever realizing… and by Kyungsoo, of all people.

Jeonghan drew a number of other figures, with a question mark above the lot of them. “Now, we know that there are people other than Kyungsoo involved, we just don’t know how many there are, or who they are, for that matter. But luckily-” He drew a line connecting back to K and S. “We know that whoever this ‘guardian’ person is, they’re our biggest lead. And more important than that, we know they’ll be out to get Seungcheol in the future.”

“How do we know for sure?” Seungcheol gulped.

“Why would they exhaust so much energy trying to curse you till now, Seungcheol? It’s obvious that they see you as a threat. And now that Kyungsoo is dead, their vendetta is personal.”

Woozi nodded. “Before I showed up, you were never attacked, right?”

“yeah…” Seungcheol thought back. He was stuck in the public eye a lot, mostly because he got involved with things he shouldn’t a lot. However, the attacks were new… “It started because of the book; do you think they’ll be after it still?”

Jeonghan drew something like a book on the blackboard. It was looking less like a plan, and more like a mess of doodles, but he digressed. “Yes, but I don’t think that’s too important now.”

“Do you think they know about me?” Woozi questioned.

Jeonghan hummed. “Based on the carnage at the scene of the crime, it’s possible that they know a demon was responsible, but I can’t imagine they know more than that.” Jeonghan circled ‘S’ on the board. “The reason they’ll be after Seungcheol, is because he knows too much.”

“Um, but I don’t know anything?”

Woozi punched him in the shoulder, scowling. “That’s the point, .”

“Ow! What’s the point? I didn’t even know they existed a few days ago!”

He sighed. “Neither you nor those bastards know much of anything. For all those black magic freaks know, you’re an ultra-powerful wizard with a man-eating demon by his side, and the secrets of their cult in the palm of your hand!”

Seungcheol thought for a moment as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm. If that were all true, that’d honestly be pretty sick. Well… most of it was true, right?

Jeonghan chuckled. “He’s right. And since they left you that message, it’s obvious that they’re trying to make themselves known. It was probably a warning, since if you start blabbing about what happened, they’re not the only ones who are going to be in trouble.”

“How do you get all that from ‘thanks for being his friend’? It sounds like they’re making a fool out of me more than anything…”

Woozi leaned back again, yawning. “So, what should we do?”

Jeonghan smirked. “We’re going to wait.”

A beat of silence fell, until Seungcheol was standing up, exasperated. “What was the point of the blackboard then, Jeonghan?!”

“It makes it seem more official!”

“What are we waiting for?” Woozi questioned, feeling tired. It was way too late in the evening to be dealing with the dummy duo’s endless shenanigans. “For them to try and come after Seungcheol again?”

Jeonghan shook his head. “Seungcheol, how have they been keeping an eye on you till now?”

He crossed his arms, annoyed. “Kyungsoo was in the same class as me, I guess it wasn’t that hard for them to-oh.”

He drew a new figure on the board, right beside ‘s’. “Exactly. I doubt they’d run into this blind. They’re likely to strike somewhere unexpected. A classmate, a teacher, a friend of a friend… So, we’re gonna watch and wait. If anyone new shows up, or someone approaches you in a suspicious manner, it’s safe to assume they could be a new spy.” Above the figure, Jeonghan drew a target. “In the meantime, we’re gonna start preparing.”

~

For the following few days, that’s exactly what they did. Seungcheol and Jeonghan were on high alert, looking out for any new figures brave enough to rear their heads. Except, after days and days of being ruthlessly cautious… nothing happened. The weel following Kyungsoo’s death were obnoxiously quiet.

Although, they couldn’t help but feel this was the calm before the storm.

Jeonghan put Woozi to work studying the many black magic spells in the book. Since in the past they’d been able to get out of dilemmas by reading through it, if they prepared for a curse ahead of time things would go much more smoothly.

Unfortunately, like the demon summoning spell, many of the more important or deadly spells in the book had a reversal spell written in code. And despite their best efforts, they weren’t linguists. Even with his years of tutoring and self-study, Woozi couldn’t even figure out where to begin with deciphering the jargon throughout that book.

Seungcheol sat at his desk with a huff. Before, he’d avoided looking at the back of the room because of Kyungsoo’s incessive glaring. But now, that empty seat which nobody else dared to take, sat as a haunting reminder.

From the corner of his vision, Soonoung skipped over with a grin, leaning over Seungcheol’s desk. He quirked his head towards him with a mischievous expression.

“What’s up?” Seungcheol chuckled.

The boy raised his eyebrows, but Seungcheol remained confused.

Finally, Soonyoung sighed, explaining with a passionate tone. “Beaches! Drinking! Girls! Does any of this ring a bell?”

He blinked a few times, leaving Soonyoung to slap him across the shoulder with a distressed expression.

“Summer, Cheol! Vacation! After finals we’re gonna party, right?”

He stared at Soonyoung with wide eyes, as time and information caught up with him. With so much going on, Seungcheol hadn’t payed even a of attention to his classes, let alone to the date.

He breathed, trying to ignore the anxious tightening of his chest. “Soonyoung? Uh, when are finals?”

Soonyoung blinked. “Friday?”

After staring into Seungcheol’s expression, Soonyoung seemed to grasp the situation, gasping in shock. “Oh , don’t tell me you forgot.”

“I forgot…” He lowered his head to his desk, sighing.

Soonyoung patted him on the back in a comforting motion. “Well, it’s not like you’ve ever cared about your grades, right? Don’t worry too much!... Plus, after tests we’re gonna have our annual beginning of summer party! Right?”

Passing wasn’t the issue… But Summer break was. How the hell were they gonna prepare for the inevitable if he’s getting dragged around by his friends all summer? Not to mention, without school an excuse, his parents could pop on by without warning any time they wanted.

Soonyoung watched his friend worry. Although he knew better than to stick his face in his hyung’s business, he really wanted to help in some way…

Suddenly, it came to him. Soonyoung grinned at the boy before him, slapping a hand down on his back excitedly. “I’ve got it!”

“Got what?”

He smirked. “Don’t worry your little head about it, hyung! You just relax and prepare for finals. I’ll handle everything.”

Before Seungcheol could ask, Soonyoung was across the classroom, and their teacher was garnering their attention from the front. But, whatever he was planning…. Seungcheol knew it wasn’t good.

~

After class, Soonyoung ran out the door before Seungcheol could catch him, leaving him to trudge home with an anxious feeling.

Jeonghan left him a text after the bell, explaining that he wouldn’t be able to make dinner cause he’s staying after school to work on his final project.

At first glance, he wanted to shoot his roommate an angry call for not reminding him that summer break was a week away, but Jeonghan must have assumed he’d remembered… Stupid, forgetful brain…

He kicked open the front door, plopping down on the coach face-first.

After whining into the cushion for a while, A Presence approached above him, leaning down. Seungcheol rolled over to acknowledge Woozi, who looked at him with quirked brows.

“Anything today?”

Seungcheol sighed. “Nothing… Bupkis… diddly-ing-squat.”

Woozi pushed him over to make room, taking the seat next to him with a defeated expression. “This plan …”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Woozi skootched beside him with an apathetic expression. He tried to ignore the way his stomach flip-flopped when he felt him brush against his side. But the more he forced his heart to hide in the furthest corner of his mind, the more he felt it ache.

He was exhausted, both mentally and physically. Being Constantly anxious and on guard was taking its toll… Not to mention, the few hours of the day he got to relax; he was stuck burying his emotions in the ground to avoid confrontation. More than anything, Seungcheol wished to forget about everything and run away with the boy before him. He wanted to monopolize his affection and forget about the rest of the world…

But of course, dreams were just dreams.

“What’s wrong?” The demon waved a hand before his eyes, concerned.

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t bring up the courage to smile as usual. Seungcheol gulped back his nerves. “A lot of thing’s are wrong, I guess…”

Woozi shifted, sitting cross-legged to face him. “You seem less mindlessly cheerful today. Are you sure nothing happened?”

Seungcheol smiled slightly, ruffling pink hair with a heavy hand. “If I told you I was having a hard time, would you help me feel better?”

Woozi scowled for a moment, opening his mouth to retort, before clasping it shut again. He looked into Seungcheol’s expression with an almost knowing gaze… As if he’d seen the turmoil burning beyond smiling eyes. He didn’t move from Seungcheol’s touch right away, expression fluctuating as if contemplating whether it was worth it to stay where he was.

He averted his eyes, feeling his face grow red under the incentive of the demon’s gaze. After a moment of hesitation, Seungcheol dropped his hand with a nervous chuckle. “I’m kidding, It’s just-“

“It’s okay.”

Seungcheol whipped his head back in surprise, watching as Woozi leaned the top of his head towards him. He stuttered out a train of thoughts, but nothing conceivable came.

Woozi sighed, leaning a bit closer again, face hidden by the shadow of his bangs. “If it makes you feel better, go ahead.”

“You mean, I can pet you?”

He looked up with a scowl, smacking Seungcheol’s hand away. “I’m not a ing cat, . I mean…” he looked away, and only then did Seungcheol notice the way his ears blushed red. “You’re always patting my head… And it’s not a big deal or anything, so if it makes you feel better, Just…”

He leaned his head over again, biting his tongue to prevent himself from word-vomiting something he’d regret later on.

Seungcheol felt bewildered, but an opportunity like this didn’t come often. Sure, he’d snuggled with the demon for a few nights… That is, until Woozi had gotten fed up and dragged a couch into their room to crash on.

But to be offered?

It was something like a miracle. After the week he was having, he’d be an utter fool to turn this down.

“Okay, then…” Seungcheol raised his hand again, planting it flat against his head, before brushing tentatively, running his fingers through strands of soft pink hair.

Woozi didn’t react besides the swishing of his tail, so Seungcheol kept going. He scratched against his scalp by the base of his horns, fingers trailing down, rubbing at the skin behind his ears affectionately. He was soft, and warm in comparison to Seungcheol’s cold and calloused fingers. His head was bowed, but as his body leaned into the touch ever so slightly, Seungcheol could tell he enjoyed the feeling.

After a moment or so, as he was anticipating, Woozi responded to his touch in the form of a low trill, eyes shut in content.

Woozi didn’t flinch when it began, so he could only assume the boy was too distracted to realize. Listening carefully now, Seungcheol realized the sound was less cattish than he’d originally thought. It was an odd, reverberate hum, quiet and charming. Not quite like a cat, but definitely inhuman.

And despite telling himself before that he wouldn’t group himself together with those creeps online, Seungcheol couldn’t help but find the sound endearing.

“Did you know you do that?” He questioned, holding back his laughter with a grin.

Woozi’s eyes shot open, and the purring ceased. He pulled away from Seungcheol with an embarrassed expression “W-what?”

“Nothing… It’s nothing.” He directed his head towards him with a gentle hand, leaning Woozi against his side as he brushed through his hair. They stayed like that in silence, neither acknowledging the intimate tones of the situation. This wasn’t a ‘just some bro’s chilling on a couch being bro’s’ type of vibe. But if he said that out loud, he feared Woozi might snap out of whatever was possessing him to go along with Seungcheol’s antics. He thought for a moment, staring forward at the TV, feeling daring.

“Wanna watch a movie?”

Woozi agreed after little convincing, especially since it gave him a break from Seungcheol’s unrestrained obsession with his head. Seungcheol returned to the Livingroom with a hefty bowl of microwave popcorn, and his Blu-ray copy of ‘7-Kilometre’, the true story of a rapper’s rise to fame. He popped it in the disc-drive, and snatched up the remote before plopping back down next to Woozi.

With his eyes planted towards the opening to the film, Seungcheol slinked his arm around the back of the couch, hand landing on the boy’s head without hesitation.

“Again?” he ducked away a bit, but Seungcheol didn’t budge.

He looked towards the demon with rounded eyes, frowning. “I can’t?”

Woozi huffed as he faced him, expression softening at the lack of distance between their noses. After a moment, he whipped back to stare at the television, refusing to answer. However, when his hand landed against him again, Woozi didn’t protest, so Seungcheol could safely assume he had permission to go on.

While the demon kept his eyes on the screen, willing himself to ignore the way his body tingled at Seungcheol’s touch, the latter paid more attention to doting on him without restraint, Effortlessly finding all the places that made him feel like jello.

Woozi’s face was burning red despite his stubborn scowl. Seungcheol peeked at him, feeling his heart unwind, becoming more and more daring every moment he wasn’t pushed away.

Seungcheol swallowed air, staring forward at the TV as he spoke. “Can I… Hug you?”

“Huh?” The boy sputtered, pulling back from Seungcheol’s hand.

“You don’t have to! I just…” He thought, face burning with regret at his own stupid mouth. “I- uh, I heard that humans need 8 hugs a day to maintain mental wellness!”

Woozi stared at him, eyebrows knitted together. “Are you ing lying to me?”

“No! I’m serious. I read it online…” He pouted. “It’s fine. You don’t have to. I promise I’m not trying to be a , I just haven’t hugged anyone in a while, and I feel like when watching a movie, hugging is like-“

The demon sighed exasperatedly, holding up a hand to cut off his ramblings. “Just hugging?”

“Y-yes?”

Woozi looked to be thinking, turning away from Seungcheol’s desperate expression and staring at a wall. He said nothing, choosing instead to raise his arms towards the human in response, embarrassed.

He batted an eye, scooting forward. “I can? Really?”

“Just shut up and hug me…” he huffed. “And this is a one-time thing, okay?”

Seungcheol’s mouth clasped shut, suppressing cheers of joy as he pulled the boy towards him ecstatically, falling against his back as Woozi landed on top of him, buried in his arms. He hugged him gently, only firm enough to feel secure, because if he didn’t make a conscious effort to do so, he feared it might get to a point where he never wanted to let go. The giddy feeling in his chest felt unreal, like that of an idealistic dream.

Woozi yelped in surprise, bumping his nose against the human’s chest, arms fallen against his sides. He lifted his head to glare, but the hand which fell upom the back of his head held him in place, fingers digging against his scalp in an affectionate manner.

When he’d said a hug, he’d expected a three second squeeze and a pat on the back, not full-blown ing cuddling! He tensed up, prepared to dig his teeth into Seungcheol’s stupid, big chest, for the lack of warning.

“Thank’s Woozi…” His hand rested against him gently, as if he were to break at the smallest of movements. “Just for today, okay? I promise…”

The demon sighed, fangs retracting back into his gums. Just for today, huh? He supposed it was fine to give in to this doof of a human once in a blue moon… And, if he was going to at least be honest to himself… It didn’t feel bad, per say. If anything, Seungcheol’s arms felt… Comfortable.

He mumbled out a ‘fine’ against his shirt, hiding his expression as he laid, grasping the fabric at his waist. The human his head melodically, closemouthed as the audio from the television filled the silence of the room. The warmth accompanying the rhythmic beating of the humans heart lulled him. Eventually, Woozi’s felt his eyes shutting, and the nervous shuddering of his breath settled.

One of Seungcheol’s hands fell to his side, while the other laid firm on the demon’s back. He snored, finding comfort in the way Woozi fitted against him like the puzzle piece he’d always been searching for.

For the first time in weeks, as the two of them drifted to sleep, Seungcheol’s mind was quiet.

~

Jeonghan stifled a yawn as he threw his books into his bag, exhausted. Although his studies were never much of a hassle, group projects were way too tedious and time-consuming. At least now he could work on the rest of his portion by himself till Friday… Although with the recent lack of events, his nerves made it difficult to concentrate.

He checked his phone, reading the time with a sigh. His mind wandered to a certain pair of dummy’s back home, wondering if Seungcheol had gotten a proper dinner together… That boy had a bad habit of making Jeonghan worry these days.

“Hey, Jeonghan?”

He turned around acknowledging his classmate with a respectful bow. “Oh, Sehun Hyung. Did you need something?”

The boy smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, I know you probably want to get home and sleep. I can just ask someone else if you’re busy.”

Jeonghan smiled. “It’s fine. You helped me out a lot today. I don’t think I would have been able to gather everyone without you.” He chuckled. “So, what do you need?”

He gestured behind him, where a student he didn’t recognize waved. “The teacher asked us to carry this stuff back to the supply closet and lock up before we left. It’ll go quicker with the three of us… Do you mind lending a hand?”

Jeonghan looked around with a hum. Everyone else had scurried out the second they’d got the chance. He brushed his hair back with a smile. “Of course, let’s go.”

Between the three of them, they were able to carry everything in just one trip. Jeonghan reached up to fit a box of first aid supplies onto the tall shelf of the closet, wiping his forehead.

He turned back to Sehun and his friend with a gentle expression. “Is there-“

The door shut gently, darkness encompassing the room at the click of a lock. Jeonghan backed up as he felt the presence of the two approaching, foot-steps heavy against the silence.

“W-Why’d you close the door?”

The boys mumbled a chant, much too quiet for him to anticipate whatever spell they were casting. Not that it mattered, though. After a momentary glow of energy, and the searing pain which followed, Jeonghan had fallen motionless against the tiled floor.