For a brief moment, nothing happened but then the air rippled, shimmering like sunshine on water, and two people appeared in front of their disbelieving eyes - one of them a very familiar face.

"Jun," Jisoo breathed before he flew down the hallway into the Warrior's awaiting arms. He got greeted by warm laughter, half-breathless from the tightness of the hug, half-choked by tears that threatened to fall, and he burrowed his face even deeper into Jun's shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent. He had missed him so much.

Looking up when he felt warm breath tickling his temple, Jisoo was met with a gaze that spoke of regret and asked for forgiveness, and he smiled brightly despite the dark occasion for their reunion. The Warrior returned it, visibly relieved, and it only took seconds for their lips to connect, soft and loving, and not even the tears could make it taste any less sweet.

Their little moment of bliss ended abruptly when someone behind them cleared their throat. Jisoo's stomach immediately plummeted when he remembered that Seokmin was one of the people watching - Seokmin, the one he had shared a kiss with the day before. Slowly he turned around, Jun's hands still on his hips, and faced the group, his eyes searching for the Healer. He expected anger, jealously, maybe even sadness, but all he found on Seokmin's face was his usual sunny smile. Confused he checked his bonds but even there the Guardian radiated happiness - very much unlike Mingyu, who was a wild mixture of annoyance, confusion and relief.

His musings came to a halt when Shownu spoke. "Based on the greeting, I guess you know each other?"

"You could say so," Mingyu said dryly. "That's Jun, Vernon's brother. The one who's gone AWOL. And who are you?" His eyes had moved from the hands on Jisoo's hips to the girl next to Jun, who sent Seokmin a scared look.

Apparently the Healer's smile was enough to give her courage to talk in front of the group, albeit quietly. "Minzy." Her voice was almost a whisper and I.M furrowed his brows.

"What? Speak up," he commanded impatiently, his arms wrapped around Kihyun's still unconscious form, but Seokmin saved her by filling the rest in.

"She's the sister of my old Wielder; her name is Minzy. Why are you here though? It's dangerous."

"I found her wandering around near the mansion. Apparently they took her Wielder away, you know, the y one we met a few weeks back? Seems like she got involved with the Organisation and then refused to fulfil their demands. Well, I guess it also didn't help that Chaerin's father is a big shot and pretty rich; they're probably blackmailing him right now," Jun explained, completely carefree, while Seokmin immediately looked troubled at the news. "Well, we decided to team up and sneak in. I didn't know it was you who caused the ruckus at the door," he finished and Jisoo shivered when the Warrior's hair tickled his cheek, Jun's chin resting on his shoulder.

"That's great, but we're still standing in the middle of the hallway with Seunghyun on his way. It's a miracle he's not here yet," Wonwoo interjected, his stance and tone still completely relaxed, contrary to his words.

"Yeah, we need to get out of here quick," Hyungwon agreed at once. "If he catches us, it's over."

"Do we just go back to our rooms and pretend nothing has happened? And what about Seungri?" Minhyuk asked. "As soon as he wakes up, he's going to talk."

"We could kill him and make it look like an intruder did it," I.M proposed, earning himself appraising looks. Only Mingyu seemed to like the idea.

"Let's move everyone to one of the rooms first," Jisoo said, feeling the hands on his hips tightening slightly. "We need to get them back on their feet before we can do anything else."

The others nodded and while Wonwoo unlocked one of the doors close by, they moved the limp bodies on the floor.

"How much did you see?" Jisoo asked Jun, both of them struggling under the weight of Hansol. The Wielder had insisted on helping but he could already feel his muscles straining after the first few steps.

"Not much. Everyone was already unconscious when we arrived. What exactly happened?"

Jisoo gave a quick review and the Warrior's face darkened. "Of course I've heard of Seungri before, but I thought it was just some sort of rumour to scare us, like the boogeyman, you know? So you got rid of his hold on Mingyu by forcebonding him?"

"Yes but he was already unbonded back then. I have no idea how we're supposed to get Hansol back without confronting this GD everyone is talking about." With a silent groan, Jisoo set down Hansol next to Zelo, who was getting healed by Seokmin, and started massaging his aching arms. It didn't take long for the Guardian to reach over. The soreness vanished with a soft caress over the Wielder's cheek before Seokmin turned his attention to Hansol while Jisoo tried to forget about the butterflies in his stomach by looking around the spacious room they were in. To his disappointment, it looked just like a regular office, equipped with a desk, a chair and several file cabinets. The only difference were four black screens at the wall across from him, close to Shownu's group.

Jun turned towards his brother as well after he had watched their short interaction with something akin to wistfulness. "Will he be alright?"

"Well, I can heal the physical wounds but I can't really do anything about the state he's currently in."

The Warrior sighed and leaned against the wall while Seokmin got to work. "It's something, I guess. Thanks."

With a jittery feeling in the pit of his stomach, Jisoo moved next to him and leaned against the wall as well. Entwining their fingers, Jun shot him a small smile. "How have you been?" the Wielder dared to ask after a few seconds.

"Don't ask," Jun groaned, running his free hand over his face. "The last weeks were hell, especially the last few days without Hansol. I thought I'd go insane."

"You could've contacted us; we could've helped you." Jisoo tried to not sound accusing, but instead of answering, the Warrior only smiled sadly. Silence was weighing heavily on them while they watched Seokmin run his hands over Hansol's arms, checking for injuries. After a few seconds, Jisoo couldn't bear it anymore. "So, uhm, did you find a n-new Wielder? You used Minzy's ability earlier, right?"

"Yeah."

At Jun's confirmation, Jisoo's stomach immediately dropped and he looked down to hide his watering eyes. It was stupid and selfish, he knew that, but the thought of his former Bonded accepting another Wielder hurt.

A warm hand grasped his chin and forced him to meet Jun's eyes. The Warrior's gaze was filled with affection. "Don't look like that. I only did it because I couldn't think of any other way to save that idiot. It's nothing more than a partnership of convenience with an old acquaintance and I'll find a way to get rid of it as soon as we're out of here, okay?" Jun's lips twitched into a grin at the rapidly spreading blush on Jisoo's face.

"Y-you don't have to- If you p-prefer the other-"

"Nah, it may sound super sappy but I only want you as my Wielder."

Jisoo's blush darkened and he squeezed Jun's hand, who returned the gesture. This time, the silence between them was comfortable.

Not long after, excited voices caught their attention and they peered towards the other group which was crowded around Kihyun. "What's going on?" Jisoo had to raise his voice to be heard by Mingyu, who was sitting next to the door a few meters away. The wide smile the Warrior sent him caught him off-guard and caused a warm tingle to run down his spine.

"Kihyun woke up and he's completely fine, no trace of Seungri's ability."

Hope immediately flared up in the Wielder's chest, not only his own but also the hope of his Bonded and it was also clearly visible on Jun's face who immediately kneeled down and began shaking his brother. "Ya, nap time's over!"

They all waited for a reaction with bated breath but nothing hap