It took him a moment to sense how warm the inside was despite the snow and the broken windows.  He tried to relax as he made himself a spot between his bags. “Where are we going?”

“Hyung will fix the time loop we used to live in and meanwhile we will go somewhere and hide.” Hak Yeon explained as he gave Jae Hwan the directions. Taek Woon rested his head on the car and prayed the nightmare will end soon. The three sitting in front of Taek Woon didn’t say a word, neither did Jae Hwan, so it made Taek Woon even more uncomfortable and worried. He never felt that worried in his life.

They reached a new time loop and for once Taek Woon was happy to be hidden inside the house. “Now, what?” He asked the boys who just fell down on the clean floor, resting. “What I’m going to do about myself?”

“What do you mean?” Taek Woon was lost but he wasn’t stupid, they avoided talking about him. “Let’s sleep now. I’m tired.” He rested his back on the floor, as Hong Bin covered him when he held the man’s hand.

“What is going on?” He whispered to Hong Bin who seemed confused before sleeping next to Taek Woon.

It took him a hint to understand as he sighed. “Nothing; He is just as confused as all of us.” Taek Woon looked away when a hand holding his made him look back to Hong Bin. “Don’t take it too seriously. The reason of your worries may end up a silly thing that we were so worked up to notice it.” Hong Bin’s words made Taek Woon smile. “I’m sorry for the trouble I made you live. I bet your life was so peaceful.”

“Peaceful and boring.” Taek Woon stated. “I’ve never loved it, to be honest. I knew I needed something.” He looked at Hong Bin who blinked at him. “and you showed up.” Hong Bin blushed but didn’t move and Taek Woon rested closer. “Do you know that I find you dazzling?”

“Hyung…” Taek Woon shushed him with a finger on his lips and Hong Bin’s blush went deep red.

“I may never get the chance to speak up again.” Taek Woon leaned closer. “If I get to repeat this last two days, I would still stop you in your run and offer you my pullover.”

“And your shower and ramyun?”

“Everything.” Taek Woon smiled. “I’ve done it because I wanted to.” Hong Bin nodded to him, smiling as well. “I wish we got to know each other in better setting.”

“What’s wrong with this one?” Taek Woon gave Hong Bin a raised brow. “I think you wouldn’t befriend me if it wasn’t because of this.”

“You think?” Taek Woon smirked but somehow he knew that his escape from his place to Hong Bin’s was what made him stay by the boys’ side. “I hope it means you won’t avoid me.”

“Nobody does.” Hong Bin closed his eyes as he made himself close to Taek Woon as they both drifted to dreamland. When they woke up, the others were sitting in the table, silently eating. “Good morning.” Taek Woon noticed that they seemed more tired than before.

“Hi.” He said softly. “Didn’t you sleep well?”

“The floor was hard.” Jae Hwan complained. “I feel like I was hit by a truck.” Sang Hyuk mumbled the same while Won Shik sipped from his coffee with a serious expression.

“Now that we are all up and together, I want to tell you something I discussed with Hyung. As long as we don’t know what Taek Woon’s gift, we will make mistake so I’m sending him with Hong Bin to the Wong’s mansion.” They paused from eating and looked at Hak Yeon who nodded. “She is a witch, so she may have a spell for this.”

“But why Hong Bin? Why not me or Jae Hwan?” Won Shik asked with concern but Taek Woon expected the answer somehow.

“He’s the only one strong enough to beat a tracker if needed. Even if I doubt they will reach them as long as Taek Woon hold on Hong Bin.” Hak Yeon noticed how Taek Woon reached for Hong Bin’s hand. The two men looked at each other, both smiling reassuringly to the other as a promise to protect him. The other four observed with no words. That afternoon, Hong Bin and Taek Woon left the loop, holding hands, while the others waved to them good bye. “I hope I’m right at this point.”

“We hope it too.” Jae Hwan mumbled as well. Taek Woon felt happy to walk this close to Hong Bin and even asked him personal questions which made Hong Bin relate more about his life and the trip to the Wong’s mansion ended up being shorter than in Hong Bin’s memory.

“Hong Bin, Taek woon, I expected you.” Taek Woon nearly had a heart attack as the woman showed up from nowhere, when they tried to knock. “Get in.” they followed her to a living room where a sofa was encircled with strange circles and symbols. “Taek Woon, sit here.”

Taek Woon sat inside the circle and observed as she pulled a clock. “I want you to focus on it; keep your mind on the clock; don’t look away.” Taek Woon himself feeling dizzy as he did so but soon a scream of pain made him look at Hong Bin, noticing that the woman pulled off a saber filled with blood. Hong Bin’s blood.

“What? Hong Bin!” He stood to rush toward Hong Bin but felt unable to move. Standing there, he observed her stabbing Hong Bin over and over while pain went through his vein. Why? Why did he get killed? Why? She faced him with a smirk.

“Easy, right? To kill someone in front of you while you can’t even move to protect him is easy.” The woman’s tone was poisonous and Taek Woon felt anger replacing the pain, and he tried to break free. His anger rose to the point he felt something break inside him and he stopped moving, looking at the woman with dagger eyes. “Finally…”

The dagger was thrown to him and in his shock fell back to the sofa only to wake up in the darkness. “Hyung! Stop it! Hyung!” In a blink, the darkness faded and Hong Bin showed up, holding on the chair for dear life. “Oh god.”

The woman however didn’t seem scared of the darkness but feared Taek Woon. The man could sense so. “This is why the trackers don’t touch you. You are a master of darkness, the descendant of their maker.” Taek Woon rushed to Hong Bin side, ignoring her but her last words made him look up, curiously. “The legend say that a master of darkness hated people like him so he created an army to kill them to the last one.”

“How true is the legend?” Hong Bin asked her and she looked away.

“100% true.” The woman admitted. “He was one of the wizards in my school, a year behind me, but we all knew how evil he was. He rarely spoke to any of us, and had a peaceful life until he started killing people like him, one by one.” Taek Woon stood up.

“Then if I have the same power as him,  I’ll may conceal the spell he used to make the army with, no?” He asked them. “I’ve read many books and many said that a spell can be concealed by a similar powerful wizard.”

“You are way stronger than he was.” She said with worry. “But it is worth the try.” Taek Woon nodded to her hopeful and followed her as she led them to a carriage. “Get on.”

The drive was short for Taek Woon, but Hong Bin seemed to find it long and boring as he played with his fingers with an absent pout. They reached an old castle, somewhere in Russia, before landing in a very cold area. “I wish Hyung was here, he would warm us.” Hong Bin whined, getting a hug from an equally shivering Taek Woon. They ran inside the castle, following the woman who didn’t seem to notice their state. Soon enough they got in a ruined part of it.

“The spell is still here.” The woman said before freezing at the door. “It’s too evil for me to get in, but you can go in. Alone.” Taek Woon nodded and got in. “Wish for the spell to disappear. It’s the only way for it to stop.” Taek Woon didn’t just wish for it to disappear. He had little idea of what would happen but he wished the spell never existed. He wished it so badly the darkness wrapped him, warming his body up. He didn’t know if he had closed his eyes or not, the darkness was still the same.

“Disappear!” His roar made the ball expand and explode before he fell back to the ground. He soon noticed Hong Bin unconscious by the wall and ran to help his friend. “Hong Bin! Are you ok?”

“Your power knocked him back but gladly the spell broke.” The woman voice behind him made him look up, alert. “Yet, the trackers aren’t your only enemy, Jung Taek Woon. Once they know that the power of Darkness is back, none of you will be safe.”

She disappeared, while Taek Woon picked Hong bin and made him walk out to the carriage that automatically took them back to the east sea. Once there, Taek Woon shook Hong Bin a little. “Hong Bin, wake up.” The man opened his eyes before blinking and smiling to Taek Woon but the last just weakly smiled. “Let’s go home.” Hong Bin frowned and held him from moving.

“What happened?” Taek Woon smiled wider.

“You are free now. I broke the spell.” Hong Bin almost jumped in surprise, sitting up with a cute expression that made Taek Woon chuckle. “That is said, what do you think about going back to the city and drinking a warm coffee?”

Taek Woon had pushed the woman’s last words in the back of his mind, because he knew he will protect his newly found taste of life. “Is it a date?” Hong Bin’s excitement made him blush.

“Only if Hak Yeon allows it.” Taek Woon chuckled amusedly as Hong Bin pouted to the tease while they naturally held hands.

They went into dates, Hyuk, Won Shik and Jae Hwan also, which shocked Taek Woon to know they were together, the three of them. Living with the boys in a normal house ended up fun, the small flat is not fit for six people but they manage the space with Hak Yeon observing them in the ceiling. “I truly don’t know what to do with you guys.” Hak Yeon let out an exasperate sigh but he was still happy that their life was finally trackers free.