Ch. 18 was uploaded Sunday 21/8.

”Jinwoo!” Seungyoon called just as he and Taehyun were half-way up the stairs.

“Are you sure about this`?” Seungyoon hissed at Taehyun who was right next to him.

“Yes, I’m sure. He’s been gone for a long time! Perhaps Mino finally lost it.” Taehyun grumbled in a low voice.

“Jinwoo!” Seungyoon called again as they came closer to the top.

They cleared the top and saw that Jinwoo was glued to Mino and that they were kissing deeply.

Flustered both men hunkered down on a step with their backs to the stairs and facing the forest.

“What the-?!” Seungyoon whispered.

“What? You got a problem with that?” Taehyun asked, trying to be funny but there was a sense of desperation in his words.

“No, I just wasn’t… expecting it?” Seungyoon seemed to still be thinking about it as he replied to the question.

“After all the things that have happened today this is what leaves you dumbfounded?” Taehyun laughed sarcastically.

“I thought Jinwoo was gonna sock him or something…” Seungyoon admitted in a low voice.

“Depending on Mino’s answer he probably would have.” Taehyun wondered aloud and looked at Seungyoon.

“I didn’t think you’d be ok with violence.” Taehyun mumbled shifting his gaze from Seungyoon to the forest.

Seungyoon looked at Taehyun “What do you mean?”.

“Huh?” Taehyun looked back at him surprised and then blushed as he met Seungyoon’s piercing gaze.

Taehyun paused for a moment before he replied as he looked down.

“I’ve just happened to see you around… seen the way you take care of everyone around you, people, plants and… animals…” He threw a quick glance at Seungyoon who was still looking at him.

“Not many people would do that. I respect that.” Taehyun continued in a low voice after looking away.

“Well, thanks… I guess…” Seungyoon hesitated slightly and looked away from Taehyun.

Seungyoon got to his feet and looked over the top of the stairs.

“Still at it.” He sighed and sat back down.

“But seriously, I still don’t know anything about what’s going on.” Seungyoon pressed and looked at Taehyun again; just in time to see him twitch.

“Taehyun?” Seungyoon tried being stern.

Taehyun seemed to be arguing with himself before he took a deep breath.

“OK. So Mino saved Jinwoo from dying as a child, granting that a deer be sacrificed so that he could live, but obviously it can’t last forever. So Mino had to set up a limited lifespan, not too long nor too short.  Normally the contract holder will maintain distance, as I said earlier you humans aren’t supposed to know about us. Messing with peoples’ memories is risky business, so when their paths kept crossing, Mino couldn’t risk turning Jinwoo’s brains into scrambled eggs so he let his memories be.” Taehyun took several breaths.

“As time went by, I suppose Jinwoo got attached and Mino got scared that he’d be robbing him of what little life he had.” Taehyun continued.

“Wait, how do you know all this?” Seungyoon interrupted.

“Oh, well seeing as me and Mino are the only gods this powerful on this island he confided in me, and asked me for advice. We both helped each other out.” Taehyun looked out at the forest and sighed.

“So Mino put a memory block on him just before Jinwoo had to make a decision to leave the island and go to school.” Taehyun sighed again.

“But you said his memories could’ve been erased why did he just block them?” Seungyoon seemed confused.

“Isn’t it obvious when you look at that scene up there?” Taehyun snorted and jolted his head towards the top of the stairs.

Seungyoon took a moment, but as if something said ding, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth but quickly closed it again.

“Yeah” Taehyun laughed at him.

“It’s not that funny!” Seungyoon complained and shoved Taehyun a little.

The other man put his hand to his face and wiping a tear from his eye.

Seungyoon watched Taehyun as he seemed to relax and become more comfortable.

Seungyoon felt his heart skip a beat, he frowned and put a hand to his chest thinking it odd.

“So what’s going to happen now then?” Seungyoon shook himself out of his train of thought.

“Oh who knows… it’s up to them to figure out, I guess.” Taehyun chuckled and shrugged.

“So… what are you going to do now?” Seungyoon seemed concerned, he peered at the other as he waited for his answer.

Taehyun sighed “I guess, I’ll go back to work… after spending 20 or so years I’ve grown rather fond of the job.” Taehyun smiled as he looked down at the ground.

“I know that my mother is quite fond of you, as are many of the bar customers.” Seungyoon added after thinking about it for a little while.

He smiled sheepishly at the other man and Taehyun gave him a warm smile full of affection.

“Thanks” He mumbled in a low voice, his expression mellow and absentminded, relaxed.

Seungyoon couldn’t help but feel like Taehyun was actually a good guy, he just made a mistake, which he learned from and he was now working towards a good cause.

“You-“ Seungyoon began but was cut off when Jinwoo towered over them.

“Hey!” He smirked at the two men who’d turned their bodies sideways to gaze up at him.

“Getting friendly are we?” He leered at Seungyoon, who felt annoyed at Jinwoo’s suggestive tone.

“Shut it” He snarled making Jinwoo cackle with a hand in front of his mouth.

“What about you?” Seungyoon shot back at his friend whose smile was spreading all over his face.

   “Oh, most definitely!” Jinwoo exclaimed with a smug look on his face; behind him Mino was covering his face with his hands, what could be seen was tomato red.

Jinwoo reached up and grabbed Mino’s hand, entwining their fingers forcefully.

“Isn’t that right?” He gave Mino a flirty, sideways glance; batting his eyelashes at him while leaning on him.

Mino looked at him, if possible his face was growing a darker shade of red as he gaped a few times making Jinwoo pout unhappily.

“Work in progress” Jinwoo looked back at the other two who were simply watching them as if finding them silly.

“How about a round of drinks to celebrate the… happy reunion?” Seungyoon suggested, a bit uncertain of what to call Jinwoo and Mino’s sudden progression.

However, Jinwoo beamed at him.

“Best idea I’ve heard all day!” He exclaimed and started to drag Mino down the stairs.

“Onwards!” Jinwoo exclaimed loudly.

Mino cleared his throat “It’s that way” He gently pointed off to the left of where Jinwoo was heading.

The other two laughed as Jinwoo pouted a little while they walked towards Seungyoon’s work place for a drink or so.

As they were walking Jinwoo and Seungyoon fell behind Mino and Taehyun who were now chatting animatedly like old friends.

“So everything worked out alright then?” Seungyoon peered at Jinwoo who had a big grin on his face.

“Yeah!” Jinwoo threw a quick look at his friend.

“What about your parents then?” Seungyoon asked cautiously.

Jinwoo’s smile turned thoughtful before he seemed to lighten back up and smiled just as brilliantly.

“Well, I don’t think I can be mad at them for trying to first of all save my life and then to try and keep me alive.” Jinwoo seemed determined.

“So it’s OK then?” Seungyoon asked just to be sure.

“Yeah” was all Jinwoo said, he marched ahead to catch up with Mino and Taehyun; when he caught up with Mino he reached out his hand and Mino took it absentmindedly.

Even from behind Seungyoon could see how happy his friend was; all he could do now was to wish them happiness and look out for them.

His eyes feel on Taehyun who was frowning cutely before he started laughing at something being said and he kept laughing.

Seungyoon ran up behind them and joined on Taehyun’s other side.

The four men walked happily along the dirt road towards the town center where they would be joined by a few more of Jinwoo and Seungyoon’s friends as the evening progressed.

Happily drunk Jinwoo snuggled up with Mino as he fell asleep leaning on the man.

“I’ll take him home I think.” He said tenderly as he Jinwoo’s face; Jinwoo’s eyes opened slightly and when he saw Mino’s face he smiled lovingly before he relaxed and closed his eyes again, breathing peacefully.

And so here we are. I hope everyone is satisfied with this, if not then yah need to tell me.

It took a bit longer than expected and I'm sorry about that, I suddenly had a lot of things to think about.

This will be it for this pairing for now for me. 

Thank you to all those who commented on this fic and to all those who have subscribed as well!