Seohyun found herself staring more and more often after her eldest sister as they planned, with Taeyeon occasionally losing herself as she gazed out of the window more often than she should have always.

Something was bothering her.

Guilt rose in her chest as she watched Taeyeon gaze blankly outside the windows with a almost dead to blank expression.

She still looked perfect.

Of course, it was a given.

After all, she was the most angelic and beautiful girl that resided in the Citadel.

The Kim Taeyeon that everyone knew was one that was perfect. It had always been that way since Taeyeon's father had introduced his daughter to the citizens and nobles.

Taeyeon herself had trained herself to impress that way to others. It was a convenient and difficult mask to penetrate, unless you were truly her friend.

But inside, the Kim Taeyeon was nothing but an empty shell.

Seohyun gritted her teeth.

Ever since coming to the realization of how much she needed Jiyong in her life, Taeyeon had never been the same. Perhaps coming to terms with the amount of love and need she had of the most consistent person in her life had finally taken the last bit of what was left of Taeyeon out of her.

It was open news to everyone in their folds before, that Taeyeon had never truly accepted the fact that Jiyong was gone.

It was confusing to put into words, really, the feeling that probably filled Taeyeon's chest. Seohyun had felt that overwhelming feeling when she brushed her consciousness against her sister's fleetingly. The strong powerful feeling of loss and heartbreak that had surged through their bond had floored her to the ground.

It was as though what made Kim Taeyeon Kim Taeyeon had been forcefully ripped apart and haphazardly pieced together all at the same time. If Seohyun were to try and assess how much of Taeyeon  made up Taeyeon herself, she would have probably been quite sure of this:

20% For Family

10% Just Taeyeon

70% Kwon Jiyong.

It wasn't until she has taken the courageous step to sink into her sister's memories of the past that she had truly realised the deep impact Jiyong had on Taeyeon.

Her earliest and happiest memories were linked inexplicably to him, as well as her saddest. All her emotions, were linked truly and manifested mostly because of him simply being there in her early life.

He taught her to love, taught her forbearance, understanding, and many other emotions simply by being the rock by her side that never changed and never went away.

It went on until he was so integrated into Taeyeon's own personality that she never really fully understood the gravity of losing the person she had unknowingly loved and treasured the most.

Perhaps, she had always simply taken him for granted as he stayed by her side, steadfastly and silently, watching her with proud and supportive eyes.

Seohyun sighed in tandem with Taeyeon's own sighs, drawing a surprised raised eyebrow from her older sibling.

“You're sad. And you miss Jiyong Oppa.” Seohyun sniffed slightly as she glanced at her older sibling, a little miffed at the extreme feelings she was currently feeling from her close proximity to Taeyeon. “You make me want to cry.”

Her words wiped the raised look off Taeyeon's own face, and she merely gave her a sad but stiff smile, before turning her eyes to the orange horizon.

“I'll get over it soon, I promise. We've got other things to do.” A flicker of reluctance flashed through Taeyeon's own eyes. She smiled reassuringly at her youngest sibling. “You'll see me smile again, don't worry about that. I just need some...time.”

Seohyun gave her a sharp brief nod, but she never uttered the hidden truth of the words that floated in her own mind.

You'll smile in time, but it won't reach your eyes.

~~~~~~

Wendy fought off the urge to vomit in Hyoyeon's face as the boxes gave another violent lurge, trembling and jostling all over the place. As pre arranged, thanks to Sooyoung and Joy's accurate description and reports, they called in a few favours, and we're currently transported into the Kim Family Mansion along side the bolts of clothes that were supposed to be transferred into the manor.

Sure, they were a little more heavier than usual and cramped than usual, but hiding under bolts of fresh silk in a huge box seemed like the best and only option they could currently choose.

And to be frank, if Wendy had any other way to choose to travel, she would never choose the box way of travelling.

“I feel sick.” She groaned lowly to her mentor, who squirmed away from her as much as possible, her unbelievably flexible body almost folding into the corners of the box. Wendy knew she shouldn't complain, since the one most uncomfortable would be none other than Hyoyeon, who had to nearly fold herself in half just to assure enough space for Wendy's inflexible body.

“I don't care. If you vomit on me, I'll thrash you, who cares if we're in the box or not.”

“Hurmp..!” Wendy blanched, swallowing back a mouthful of vomit before shuddering. “Oh God, please let this nightmare stop soon.” She heard Hyoyeon's irritated sigh beside her.

“I can't believe you're travel ill so easily.” Her mentor grumbled grudgingly. “You were fine on a horse before.”

“But this is claustrophobic! Stuffy! And there's a lack of air!” Wendy hissed at her mentor. “Which is in every way the worst kind of travel buggy to be in!”

“Well, it'll be over soon.” Hyoyeon grudgingly comforted her disciple. “We've at least two more turns. So hold your puke projectiles till later on. “ The box gave another vomit inducing lurch before shuddering to a standstill.

They'd reached.

Wendy could feel it from the malicious charge of feelings that Taeyeon had warned her mentor they would sense quite blatantly if they even neared the mansion filled with demons.

“Be careful with the clothing! If they're soiled the demons will have our head!” The low hiss of angry voices sounded outside the enclosed box. Wendy clenched her teeth as the box gave a mighty lurch, then begun to swing from side to side like a pendulum between the two workers.

Around forty steps later, inclusive or the bumping up and down the steps leading to the store rooms, their box finally came to a standstill, clanging to the ground resolutely.

Silence ensued for a moment, before the lid creaked open slowly, and Wendy growled beneath her breath, her hand sneaking to the small sharp knife she kept at her side.

A pale face peered down, and Hyoyeon's strong hands pressed down on hers, stopping her from drawing the knife and slashing upwards.

“Lady Hyoyeon!” The young boy hissed lowly, holding out a hand for them to take. “You need to be quick. They'll be around to check the items soon.” Wendy's mentor nodded briskly, forgoing the outstretched hand to leap out nimbly from the box, turning around quickly to help the other children out of the boxes holding them. Wendy gratefully took the outstretched hand of the handsome teen, before bowing respectfully.

“Hans.” Hyoyeon turned bossily around, catching the pile of clothing thrown at her.

“Servants clothing. They'll help you blend in better. There's always new demons coming in with different kinds of human skin everyday, so just put some make up and change your clothes to disguise yourselves. Hyoyeon nodded briskly, making a quick work of her shirt and breeches, much to the horror of Wendy and the embarrassment of the teenage boy beside them. Wendy flushed at the clothing in her hands.

“What are you waiting for? Change.” Hyoyeon rapped the back of her head sharply, and Wendy whipped around, slapping her hands over her own mouth to stop herself from screaming as a Hyoyeon dressed simply in a bralette and underwear swam into her view. went dry, before she flushed deeply and pulled her own shirt off her body quickly, rushing and fumbling to put on the large smelly shirt tossed to her. She made a quick work of the simple clothes that had been handed to her, finishing her dressing the quickest and helping the younger children with their dressing.

“Wendy.” She turned, cheeks flushed still at the memory of a nearly Hyoyeon in her face before a gasp tore from at the multiple jagged and ugly scars that lined her mentor's body. Some were sword wounds,crudely stitched together, with clear signs that it had festered before healing together.

“That's a lot of scars.”

“Having scars are the Him Clans pride.” Hitsune sauntered up to them, roving his eyes up and down the intensely scarred body of her mentor. “ The more the scars, the more battle worn, the more status.” He grinned proudly.

“So you guys like to carve scars into yourselves just for pride and status?” Wendy raised an eyebrow, intent on annoying the boy.

“Arrgggghhh no!” Hyoyeon slapped her hand over Hitsune's mouth harshly, tying the worker breeches deftly with a single hand.

“Shut up.” She snapped sharply. “We need to go.” The other children nodded briskly, the younger and smaller statured children climbing up the taller and older children's shoulders to sit on them. Because of their short heights, the children were at the most risk of being found out, hence their plan of letting the younger children wear the same clothing and sit on the older children's shoulders. That way, it would boost their height to one of a more acceptable range.

“When we go out, I ask you to turn a blind eye to anything and everything happening in the house. “ The teen, Hans, was sweating profusely. He was one of the old servants of the old Kim Households that had been employed so as to maintain a more...human facade to the now demonised household manor. They had reached out to him immediately upon learning that information, and he had been willing to help.

A tad too willing, perhaps. Wendy thought. It was suspicious of how willing he was willing to help them get into the mansion when he was one of the first servants that had turned to the Demon Sha and knelt his knees, turning his loyalty to keep his head. People like him we're sly foxes, never to be trusted.

But...if Taeyeon trusted him, Wendy supposed he could be trusted. To a certain extent. She'd put her faith in Taeyeon, not this boy who seemed a tad too eager to change allegiances.

“Why? Running illegal businesses here?” Hans managed a nervous laugh.

“S-something like that?” His voice had shrilled with nerves, and instinctively, Wendy felt a sense of foreboding rise in her bones. Her mentor didn't seemed very much bothered by Hans’ oddly large bundle of nerves.

“What?” Hyoyeon grumbled at her stare. “Hans has always been a nervous jittery person. It's normal for him.” Wendy sighed, following her mentor out of the store room door tentatively.

She hoped her intuition was wrong.

~~~~~~

The Kim Family Mansion was nothing like she had imagined it to be. Wendy had thought it would be simply dark and terrible, with so many demons populating within it's walls, but it seemed that Sha had left the house untouched, simply using it like a huge storeroom instead.

With it's large beautiful gardens and hints of the old household that used to live within it's walls here and there, it was beautiful.

Wendy felt her mentor stiffen as they passed a set of huge house rooms, formed neatly in a U shape. She clearly knew what this place was. It was familiar to her.

Feeling an aching loss for her mentor in her chest, Wendy impulsively grasped Hyoyeon's hand in comfort, who immediately turned back, surprised at her actions.

She smiled gently, shaking her head.

“Those used to be our living quarters.” She murmured quietly to her disciple, tender moments gracing her hardened eyes. “See that? The house in the middle is Taeyeon’s living quarters, then next to hers on the left are Jess and on the right Fany’s. We arranged the houses and quarters according to order of which we came. We each had our own quarters, but none of us ever stayed in it.” Hyoyeon chuckled. “Every night all the girls would sneak into Taeyeon's quarters after lights out to crash in the same room. It eventually became so frequent that she even built multiple rooms in her quarters with our names hanging outside each door for us.”

Wendy suppressed a snicker at the pink house that stuck out sorely to the right of the middle house.

“Yeah, that’s Tiffany’s house alright. “

“Stop dallying!” Hans hissed, sweating dripping profusely from his brow. “In here.” His hand glided smoothly to open another storeroom door.

“Thank you. We’ll take it from here--”Hans snapped to attention suddenly as a group passed them, and Wendy in a deep breath.

Children, too young to hold a sword or have run for a couple of years of their life were being tossed into the furnace, clearly drained fully of blood.

Monsters.

Wendy felt her mentor stiffen beside her as they watched the demons toss a feebly struggling child, barely alive into the burning furnace. There was a shrill scream of horrendous pain, then silence filled the air alongside the repulsive smell of burning flesh.

“How can they do this? We should slaughter them--”Hyoyeon caught the raging Hitsune by the neck and threw him roughly to the floor.

“Don’t.” She warned darkly.

“You’re asking me to turn a blind eye to something wrong!”

“Listen. I know its wrong and repulsive to leave this alone, but unless you want to die without having made a single difference in helping these children then by all means charge to your death!” Wendy heard her mentor snarl, before her breath caught in her chest at the sudden appearance of a floaty white skirt from a hanbok near the door.

“Hans?” A soft tentative but angelic voice echoed out nervously. Hyoyeon stiffened at the sound of the voice, and Hans gave a sound mixed between a nervous whine and unintelligible mumble. Wendy frowned slightly.

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