The next month is full of riots and protests by the Kado youth. Jin told me that all his peers were livid after their memories were uncovered, turning against the elder members. At first, the adults were baffled. Why were their children so upset about Lucy? She was simply a rogue sorcerer. There was no way she could be let go free. She’d killed, destroyed, maimed. People were starting to prod at Jimin’s story, poke holes in the lies he’d fed to the banquet.

And that’s when Jimin struck again.

Captain Cardozo publicly corroborated Jimin’s story that the Kado council conspired with the Hado. A lie, of course- but if she didn’t say it, Jimin would have exposed her division for supplying Lucy with illegal amphetamines. The night of the banquet, Tom had informed her of Jimin’s intention to blackmail her. He had successfully carried out the second prong of attack that cemented Jimin’s position as Hado Captain.

Absolute chaos ensued within the Kado after this revelation. Now, even the older members of the Kado were livid. Taehyung’s father, Jungkook’s mother, and Jimin’s parents are currently in holding cells somewhere in New York City. Their trial is taking place in a few months. Mrs. Kim has been in the city ever since this was announced, preparing with their lawyers and handling pre-trial proceedings.

The people wanted change. Jimin was their shiny new leader, poised to take that place.

“I still can’t process it,” I whisper to Dev over the phone. I’m sitting on the carpeted floor of my closet. It doesn’t feel right living at the Kims’ house- especially since I was the reason their family has been destroyed.

But I can’t be alone. The thought of living in Lucy’s condo, isolated and lonely, was terrifying.

And when I was heading out of the house with my bag, Taehyung had uttered his first words to me in weeks: “You better not be moving back.”

“I feel like I’m going to throw up constantly.” Dev’s voice is hushed, shaky. “My mom forced my dad to make me see a psychiatrist.”

“That might help.”

He snorts. “What am I supposed to talk to a psych about? How we orchestrated the downfall of the Kado’s current regime? Or the nightmares I have about monsters trying to destroy us?”

I am silent. My fingers idly pick at the fluffy threads of the carpet.

“We leave for college in a week,” Dev finally says after a long stillness. “We need to see them one last time. Then we end this all.”

The cottage looks so serene. Its peaceful exterior belies the chaotic secrets it holds.

“Ready?” Tom asks.

Jin, Jungkook, Dev, and I nod solemnly. Taehyung doesn’t respond, his dull gaze fixed on the woods surrounding us. My heart aches painfully- I want to reach across the space between us, squeeze his hand so he knows I’m here for him.

But that would be a pathetic attempt at consolation when I’m the one who took his entire life from him.

The cottage is quiet, only the faint hum of a washing machine echoing through the air. Jimin is sitting at the dining table in the kitchen. It’s only been four weeks since we’ve seen him, yet he looks so much older. So much more important. The way he carries himself, the assertive look on his face- it’s as if his arrogance was taken and tripled, then given real weight to back it up. A shudder runs down my back as I watch him from the hallway.

“Jimin,” Jin growls.

Jimin’s eyes flicker up from the papers in front of him. He gestures to the empty chairs around the table. “Sit.”

“Having fun playing Captain while my dad’s rotting in jail?” Taehyung spits acerbically.

“Your dad’s a criminal,” Jimin responds calmly. “So are my parents, and Jungkook’s mom. Let’s not act like they haven’t done terrible things-,”

“And you haven’t?” Jungkook cuts in, his voice rising.

“I can do better. If you listen, you’ll get to-,”

“Oh, the fun’s started without me?” a dry voice says from behind me. I whirl around. Lucy is leaning up against the doorframe, a cold smirk on her face. Her face still looks ragged and hollow, but holy , she’s lucid. Tom, Dev, Jin, and I jolt out of our chairs.

“Luce,” Dev breathes.

Her gaze softens when it lands on us.

“Hey,” she says, her voice hushed.

I throw myself onto her, my arms wrapping tightly around her body. Lucy lets out an oof! as Dev, Tom, and Jin pile onto the hug as well. For a moment, the five of us are in a cocoon of relief and warmth and love- a small circle of our most trusted friends. We’re all battered but we’re all okay.

“I missed you,” I whisper into her hair.

She rests her chin on my shoulder. “I missed you, too. Thank you.”

“You... you...,” Dev takes a deep, shaky breath in. Lucy looks at him, her eyes full of tender understanding.

“I know,” she says.

“You... owe me $25 on Venmo, dickhead,” Dev chokes out. Tom, Jin, and I groan.

Lucy punches him in the arm. “ off. I don’t even have a phone.”

“Can you ing finish this up?” Taehyung snarls. “I want to get out of here.”

My face falls in embarrassment. Lucy’s gaze darts to me, and then to Taehyung.

“Relax,” she sneers. “What are you in such a rush for?”

Lucy strides over to the chair across the table from Jimin. His eyes haven’t left her, an unreadable intensity burning in them.

“Alright, Jimin,” she says, her tone deadly. “Let’s start.”

A flash of some emotion- regret? sadness?- flashes across Jimin’s face, but he steels himself.

“Here are the terms of the Kado’s settlement. You get an annual payment of $3 million in perpetuity. You won’t be prosecuted for your murders of the council members. And you’ll have access to C-grade magical weapons and a permanent license to practice magic.”

There is utter silence. Lucy holds Jimin’s stare.

And then bursts into cold laughter.

“You’re joking, right?” she drawls. “You steal my life from me, and those are the terms you give me? What did you think, I’d get on my knees and thank you for being so gracious?”

Lucy leans over the table, her eyes blazing.

“$5 million a year, access to A-grade magical weapons, and the right to practice magic. I’m not a ing junior sorcerer. I don’t need a license for . Also, don’t think I didn’t see that I’m required to come in for monthly check-ins,” she adds, tapping the piece of paper on the table. “I’m not doing that.”

Jimin’s face tightens. “You just got clean. The monthly checkups are to make sure you haven’t relapsed-,”

“Why do you care?” Lucy retorts. “You just wanted me off drugs so I’d stop attacking council members.”

Jimin’s commanding expression slides off his face, replaced by blank stillness.

“You know that’s not why,” he utters quietly.

His vulnerability is so tangible at that moment- Lucy cruelly chooses to pounce on it. She jeers, “Oh, so you wanna take care of me. You think you’ve saved me.”

“That’s not- we have to legally check your drug levels because-,”

“You want me so badly that you’re making it a part of my deal to see you.” Lucy tilts her head. She is radiating a frigid, poisonous condescension- so strong that it’s almost suffocating. “Get it through your head. I’m never going to love you back.”

Jimin jerks back as if he has been slapped in the face. We are all silent. Even Taehyung, who has been nothing but reproachful, looks surprised. Lucy’s smiles triumphantly as she realizes she’s managed to wound Jimin. For a few moments, Jimin can do nothing but blink back at Lucy.

And then his face hardens.

“$1 million a year. A probationary magical license for the next five years. And if you push it, I’ll make your check-ins daily.”

The smug look is wiped off Lucy’s face. “Wha- you can’t do that!” she sputters.

“I’m a Hado Captain,” Jimin says, power resonating in his voice. A strange, tingling sensation brushes over my body- when I look down, I realize that wisps of chi are floating around us. “I can do whatever I want. If you continue disrespecting me, I promise your terms will be even less generous.”

I open my mouth to loudly protest- but Jungkook grabs my arm. He silently shakes his head.

Lucy slams her hands on the table. Her body’s shaking furiously as she hisses, “Are you ing serious?”

“Jimin-,” Dev begins to say, but Lucy shouts over him.

“I should’ve been Captain. You stole that from me. You stole everything from me- and now you want to sit there and withhold terms I deserve... because I don’t respect you?”

Her voice cracks on the last sentence; for an instant, pain flashes over her face, raw hurt that was hidden under her angry exterior. Jimin stares at her impassively. I think about the way he held Lucy, the tenderness in his voice when he whispered in her ear. His pain as he watched her desperately beg for another pill. The ding-ding! of the finished laundry machine tinkles in the background as Jimin and Lucy stare at each other, one calm, the other fuming.

“Fine.” Lucy’s voice is low, like if she was any louder, we’d be able to hear it trembling. “I don’t care what your terms are. I just want to be free.”

Jimin’s eyes are dark, unreadable.

“Very well.”