-Yongguk’s POV-

I was completely out of it the entire first week at the camp. I felt terrible. What was I thinking?! How could I suddenly turn my back on Jayde when she most needed our help? How could I turn my back on Youngjae?

Those thoughts had haunted me in my sleep and lingered with me throughout the day. So when we were finally released to train I was glad. I was glad that I could do something that could keep my mind off of it temporarily. I trained as hard as I could and was focused on getting better. I have to make it up to Jayde…we have to win this war…more than ever.

“Somebody is working hard.” Jiho said, sitting down on the bench next to me as we took a break. I nodded wiping my sweat off with a rag. “We have to win this war.” I breathed. “And we will.” Jiho assured. I looked at him. “Why do you sound so confident?” I questioned.

“Because I am. I’m sure we’ll win. We’re all close and we’re all working together. No one can defeat a team that works well together as we do.” Jiho said confidently. I looked down shamefully. Maybe we would have won. “Yeah…unless something goes wrong.” I murmured. “Even if something goes wrong you still have to trust one another, and you’ll overcome it. In order to work well trust is important.” Jiho shrugged.

I felt my shoulders slump even more, he was making me feel even more terrible without even knowing it or having a clue. “Yongguk…are you okay?” Jiho asked.

I straightened u and nodded, “Yeah. I’m going to do better.” I promised to practically no one. If Jayde was here the promise would have been made to her. The younger gave me a strange look. “Okaaay~…well, I’m going to get back to training.” He said, standing up. I just nodded.

One of the mages had placed a spell on me, to allow me to be in the sun without being affected. Which I was honestly thankful for, it would have been hard to fight with a bunch of clothing. But it’s supposed to last for only a few days. “Yongguk.” Somebody suddenly said.

I looked up to see that it was Lee. “We’re going to have our first so-called meeting.” He informed. I nodded, standing up, and followed behind him.

We walked all the way to the back of the large camp to a large white tent. “Is this it?” I asked. The vampire nodded entering the tent. I followed behind.

Kris and Zelo were already there, standing around a large circular table covered with an oversized map. “Hey Bang.” Kris greeted. “Hey.” I returned the friendly greeting. Zelo didn’t say anything, nor did he dare to look at me. He was mad at me, and I wasn’t going to make him forgive me.

He has every right to be angry. I just wish he wouldn’t stay upset. He should at least be enjoying himself, instead of being quiet and too himself. “Alright, everyone is here.” Kuam said seeing us enter the tent. “Let’s begin shall we?”

Lee and I stood on the opposite side of the table from Kris and Zelo while Kuam and Yang occupied both heads of the table. Kuam observed the four of us. “So these are the new leaders of your guys’ group.” He noted out loud, a friendly smile on his face.

“I wouldn’t call us the new leaders. Jayde is still our leader.” Kris corrected. Kuam nodded in understanding before getting straight to business. “You guys weren’t when you said that Karina was on their side. She’s making her appearance more often now.” Kuam began.

“And?” Kris raised an eyebrow, knowing that there was more to what he was saying. “And she’s wiping us out.” Yang was the one to answer. “All these red circles here, mark everywhere she’s hit all within this week.” Kuam said, referring to the map. I looked down at the map to see that there were several red circles scattered across the map.

“None of our soldiers are a match for her. Not even our strongest mages or demons can match up to her.” Kuam continued. “Well, duh she’s a Sphinx.” Lee muttered. “And with every win, the Dark Magic armies become stronger to where our armies can now barely stand against them.” Kuam finished.

Zelo’s eyes slightly widened at this as he looked shamefully at the ground. I felt my heart clench, only now realizing how important our mission was. “The Dark Magic is spreading out fast. From what it looks like they’re going to start heading overseas. We’re thinking about sending those seven boys to lead a group overseas to confront and counterattack the Dark Magic when they get there.”

Mine and Zelo’s eyes widened at the mentioning of Jiho and the others. “No.” Zelo gasped unconsciously. “Excuse me?” Kuam said, not hearing him clearly. But the younger didn’t respond, he was in too much shock and worry. “It’s nothing.” Kris answered for him.

“Either that or we were thinking about retreating and falling back and just having everyone hid undercover until we can find another chance to fight them.” Yang finished.

It was silent for a little bit as we took in the heavy information. “Why are you telling us all of this?” Kris suddenly asked.

“Because we want to know what you guys want to do.” Kuam answered. Kris studied the Council of Five leader. “You’re asking us?” He questioned. Kuam nodded. “That’s a really big decision.” The shadow said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Whatever decision you make concerning the war is a big decision. Whether it’s choosing to train or not, or deciding on how you’ll fight in a battle…they’re all big decisions.” Kuam told him.

“I don’t think we should back down.” I spoke up, earning everyone’s attention, including Junhong’s.

“If we back down, we don’t know when we’ll have the chance to fight back again. If Karina is a Sphinx, then she’ll know when we’ll try to rebel. Even though she can still read our every movements she’ll be busy. A lot will be going on…al we have to do is find that loophole and take her down.” I explained.

Lee and Kris nodded, looking impressed. “But how do we find that loophole?” Kuam questioned. “She’s going against her nature…so she has to have a weakness.” Junhong thought aloud, thinking mostly to himself.

Kuam nodded, “So how do we find that weakness?” He continued to quiz. “Is there a way to study Sphinxes? Like is there any books about them or anything?” Zelo asked hopefully, but Yang sadly shook his head. “Sphinx rarely show themselves, nor do they hardly talk about themselves. When people do try to write about them the works end up being destroyed. I don’t think they want the world to know too much about them.” Yang sighed. Zelo echoed, sighing as well.

“Maybe it’s not so much finding her weakness, but it’s about playing the game differently.” Kris spoke up, sounding as if to realize something. Lee raised an eyebrow at this. “We know that she knows what we’re going to do, so we’re trying to come up with the unexpected…but that’s the obvious. She’s looking for the unexpected. So what we need to do is plan regularly as if we were fighting a normal person, but change things up, play by ear when it actually happens.” Kris explained, only to have Kuam and Yang look at him in confusion. “Just leave it to us.” Kris said. “We’ll deal with Karina.”

Lee smirked, nodding in agreement. “Okay, so you guys want us to keep pushing forward with this?” Kuam clarified. Lee looked at each of us, receiving a head nod from all three of us. “Yeah…don’t back down. We’ll deal with it. We just need to take down that and this war is over.” Lee told him.

“Please Lee, do not call her any foul names. She’s already against us, let’s not make her mad.” He said. Lee scoffed at this. “That pissed me off first. I can careless of how she feels.” Lee growled through his teeth.

“If we go on with this then…does that mean you’re going to send Jiho and the others overseas?” Zelo asked quietly. Yang nodded. Zelo’s face contorted to one of worry, but didn’t say anything else.

“Alright well, I leave tomorrow morning, so Yang and Lee will be in charge of this camp. Then Yang leaves in a week. So Lee you’ll be the only one running it.” Kuam informed. “Yeah, Yeah. I know.” Lee said.

“I guess that ends our little meeting. My hope is in you guys and I believe that you will succeed, so don’t doubt yourselves.” Kuam went on. Yang nodded in agreement. Zelo, Kris, and I bowed. “Thank you sir.” Kris said. “We won’t let you down…or anyone else…again.” And with that the three of us left the tent. Lee stayed to discuss the placement and replacement of their troops.

Zelo walked ahead of us, walking a few feet ahead. My heart sunk watching him. He was really taking this hard…and he was handling all of this alone. This was my fault. “Are you okay?” Kris suddenly asked me, throwing me a bit off guard.

“Y-Yea.” I lied not really attempting to sound convincing. “I may not be Jayde, but something tells me that you aren’t telling the truth.” He said.

I didn’t say anything. The Shadow Seeker studied me then looked over at Zelo. He tapped his chin. “You’re worried about Zelo…aren’t you?” he asked. I nodded, “I think all of us are.” I said. “That’s true, but you also blame yourself for it.” He said. I only sighed. “It is my fault.” I said already knowing that he was going to tell me otherwise.

“Not entirely. It was all of our fault.” He reminded. I sighed again at this feeling a bit frustrated, because it wasn’t true. It wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t Tae or Min’s fault, it wasn’t Daehyun’s, it wasn’t Zelo’s, and it wasn’t Jayde’s. “But then again it wasn’t entirely our fault either.” He continued. This time I looked at him, not understanding what he was saying.

“A mood spell was placed on us that day everyone was arguing. And those who were affected the most had the spell on them the longest up to the day we fought.” He explained. “A mood spell?” I repeated He nodded, “Jayde and I had figured it out after the whole argument happened.” He said. “Then how come you, the twins, Dae, Jae, and Zelo weren’t affected?” I questioned.

The Shadow Seeker thought for a bit taking into account the question. “Well, Youngjae and Zelo weren’t there when the argument began, so they probably didn’t get affected by the spell that much. And Daehyun was already under a spell so I guess that one reflected off or something. Me? Well, probably because of my powers. It probably wasn’t strong enough so it must’ve went passed me, similar as the fire incident. And the twins, I really don’t know maybe they just had too much hope and trust in Jayde to be swayed.” He finished.

All I could do was nod, only feeling a little better. Even if we were under the spell, it still wasn’t okay to leave Youngjae hanging, or even consider it. I had made a promise to Mrs.Yoo and I almost broke it…I practically did.

I felt my fist bawl up at the thought of this, “I really am an idiot.” I muttered to myself. “It’s not too late.” Kris said. “We still have one more chance…and this time we definitely have to have unity. Last time we didn’t know, it was just a learning lesson….now this is the real test.” He emphasized. I nodded. “I’m not going to mess up again.” I promised with much determination. “Good.” Kris said hanging his arm over my shoulders, “Now you can go and make Zelo not mad at you anymore.” “What?’ I was caught off guard by this.

He nodded knowingly. “We all know he’s mad at you.” He simply informed. “Well it’s not much of a secret.” I remarked. “I’m not going to make him forgive me.”

“Well, at least attempt to apologize.” Kris said. “He should be mad at me.” I sighed once more. Kris removed his arm from over my shoulder, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Zelo is hurting a lot. The rest of us have tried to comfort him, well, all of us except Lee. And all we can do is make him smile and laugh, but we can’t change what’s going on, on the inside.” He said.

I didn’t say anything, knowing exactly by what he meant. “And I believe once he forgives you, he’ll be able to forgive your other two friends as well.” He finished. I nodded, “I guess I’ll try.” “No rush of course. Do it when you feel more comfortable. You have to forgive yourself before you can get others to forgive you.” He smiled.

Silence fell between us for a few seconds. “You were close to Jayde weren’t you?” I asked him, changing the subject. He shrugged, “I like to think that way.” He smiled. “Why?”

“You seemed to be taking the situation pretty well.” I admitted. He laughed a little. “Honestly, I feel like .” He confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. “But the war isn’t over, we still have a chance. We have to be an example to those who are fighting with us, the soldiers fighting against the DM. Their eyes are all on us. They all know we lost. But if they see us giving up…they’ll give up. But if they see us fighting fiercer than ever then they’ll fight even harder.”

I was struck by his words. I hadn’t even thought of that. “People are still depending on us.” I whispered to myself. The Shadow Seeker nodded. “And I want my revenge.” He admitted, embarrassed a little. I chuckled. “I want to kick Karina’s more than anything, I want to make sure that Jayde didn’t die for nothing.” He said. I looked up at him. “Let’s work well together Kris.” I said. “You bet.” Kris winked and with that he left to join his Shadow Seeker friends.

I looked forward again to see that Zelo was gone. What Kris had said actually really helped. He was right.

I felt more encouraged. I can’t dwell on what happened. I need to focus on this new chance we have. I have to make up with Zelo.

I couldn’t help but smile at this…I honestly really did want to make up with him. I wanted him back. “Hey! Prince Yongguk!” Somebody suddenly called, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see that it was Jiho. He was standing in the middle of one of the fighting rinks, leaning against his sword. “I heard before you guys left on your journey that you were one of the best human fighters here.” He said.

I raised an eyebrow at this. A sly smirk grew on his face. S”I guess you don’t own that title anymore.” He said. I scoffed a little, “Are you challenging me?” He just shrugged. “I’ve beaten many vampires before…but never a new born.” He smirked.

I walked over to the rink, hopping over the wooden fence, grabbing one of the swords that laid flat on the ground. “Don’t get full of yourself now. You might have been here longer and trained longer, but you forgot that I actually fought in a battle.” I reminded. “Yeah, one that you lost.” He teased. I couldn’t help but laugh at his clever remark. “Now you’re asking for it.” “Bring it on.”

 

-Zelo’s POV-

I walked all the way to the stream all the way down the creak as fast as I could without getting lost.

It felt weird training alone, it didn’t feel right. I didn’t even have the motivation to try other parts of my powers.

I squatted down and tried to move things with my mind, without moving my hands, remembering that Jade told me that I could do it without even lifting a finger.

I was able to move several leaves and small rocks with ease. I was even able to skip a pebble on the water. “This won’t do.” I sighed, standing up. “I have to be able to move more than just rocks and leaves to be any help.” I felt my heart sink even further at this.

I ignored the feeling and attempted to snap a branch off of one of the trees. It was somewhat of a struggle, but after a few tries I was able to snap it off. However it wasn’t satisfying. I didn’t feel accomplished at all. I sighed, it wasn’t the same.

My heart remained in the pit of my stomach as I turned to face a small tree. I focused on it, causing it to bend over as far as possible. But it ended up snapping in half, falling into the stream. Simultaneously I fell onto my knees.

It just wasn’t the same. I felt terrible. “She didn’t deserve to die.” I sat down and hugged my knees. “She didn’t do anything wrong.” I sniffled as tears forced their way down my cheek. “She trusted us…she depended on us.” I buried my face into my knees, unable to control myself, and cried.

My chest hurt, my head hurt, and my heart ached. It was too much. It was all too unfair. Why do the good people have to die? I thought of Youngjae’s mother as well and her story of how she was poisoned. I couldn’t stop crying. The thought of Youngjae and what he’s been through and how he was almost left behind by the people who really claimed to be his friends. I sniffled wiping my eyes with my fist. I know it wasn’t completely their fault, they were affected by a mood spell. But…still…

I hugged my knees tighter, crying into them. I couldn’t stop. I felt so lost and so empty. “Jayde…come back. Come back please.” I cried alone. “You can’t die. Y-You just can’t.” I sobbed. Just then I heard the sound of footsteps head my way, from behind. I quickly lifted my head, wiping my tears as quick as possible. “Zelo?” It was Youngjae. “Oh…hey Youngjae.” I said trying to sound as strong as possible…but failed miserably. “Zelo are you okay?” he looked down and his eyes widened, “Are you crying?”

“I’m fine Youngjae.” I forced a smile, but he didn’t buy it. “Zelo...” He said. I didn’t say anything. He sighed. “I’m not going to ask you to do anything.” He said.

I was honestly relieved by this, I didn’t want anyone to tell me that I should move on and forgive because, I know. Which makes me feel even worse, because I just can’t. “But I will ask you not to cry alone at least.” He said.

I paused for a little before nodding. He let out a small smile. “We’re about to eat.” Youngjae informed. I nodded, standing up and together we walked back to the camp.

 

 

 

To my surprise everyone was outside sitting on long blankets, talking and eating. “What is this?” I asked stunned. Youngjae shrugged, “it was Kris’s idea to have a picnic. He says it’s for ‘team bonding.’” He explained. I couldn’t help but give a small chuckle. Of course he’d come up with this. “Zelo-ah!” Tae waved. “I made you a plate of food.” He announced proudly.

“Oh wow, thanks.” I thanked as Youngjae and I sat in between the twins and Daehyun. “You’re welcome.” He smiled brightly as he handed me the plate that was stacked with food.

“Um…this is a lot.” I said. Tae scrunched his brow. “Really? I was afraid that it was too little.” He stated. I looked at his mountain of food that was nearly twice the amount of mine. Youngjae and I chuckled at this. “If it’s too much you can give some to me.” Daehyun offered, his cheeks full. “And me to!” Min offered as well. “I’ll keep that into consideration.” I laughed.

I looked around seeing that everyone was getting a long and having a good time. I was glad to see that everyone was one again and that Youngjae’s friends were here too. And the Shadow Seekers were really nice also. I sighed, maybe I should forgive Yongguk, after all unity is still important.

I looked over at the elder seeing him laughing and talking with Jiho. The two are starting to get close. The two of us made eye-contact but I quickly looked away.

It wasn’t his fault.

“Aish! Junhong. How can you be so dumb?” I scolded myself in embarrassment. “Junhong? Who’s Junhong?” Min perked, hearing the name. “That’s Zelo’s name.” Tae answered matter-of-factly.

“Um no. Zelo’s name is Zelo.” Min said as if it were obvious. Uh-oh. Here we go again. I chuckled. “Yes, Zelo has two names.” Tae explained knowingly. The younger twin’s eyes widened. “Whaaaaat?” He questioned in amazement. I nodded, confirming that what Tae said was true. “What? I want two names!” he exclaimed. “You can’t have two names.” Tae shut down the idea. “Why not?” Min frowned.

“Because, you already have one name. It’s too late.” Tae said. “I can have a second one!” Min argued and the two continued to go back and forth.

 

 

After dinner was done, everyone headed straight to their designated cabins, worn out from their first day of training. Min, Tae, and Youngjae made it first to the cabin while Daehyun and I lagged behind. “Hey Junhong.” Daehyun said stopping in his tracks. “Hm?” I stopped as well.

“Youngjae made me promise not to tell anyone, but I think at least one other person should know, and I figured you’d be the best person to tell.” He began. My eyes slightly widened. Is something wrong? “You can’t tell anyone…or even tell Youngjae that you know.” He said firmly. “I won’t.” I promised, listening carefully.

“You know how we had to go to the healers every other day last week? And how Youngjae had to go every day?” he began. I nodded. He looked around to make sure that no one was listening before continuing. “…She said that Youngjae…He’s not in a good condition.” He said. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“…His body is weak, and right now it’s depending solely on the magic in him…” he said carefully choosing his words. My eyes widened even more. “But he’s always been weak.” I said trying to assure myself that it’s not that big of a deal. But Daehyun shook his head, confirming that it was that bad.

“If he pushes himself anymore, then the magic supporting him will…eventually burn out…and…” Daehyun winced not daring to finish his sentence, but I got the hint. “But there is a way to get better. But she said it will take a while. So she gave him stuff to do and he’s still going to see here twice a week. But for now he can’t use any magic.” He informed.

I nodded taking in all of the information. My heart sank a little. Youngjae. “Why doesn’t he want anyone to know?” I questioned. The elder shrugged. “He said that he didn’t want anyone to worry about him.” He sighed. I nodded in somewhat of an understanding. But that’s something everyone should know though. “Okay, I’ll keep an eye out for him and I won’t tell him or anyone else.” I promised.

He smiled, “Thanks Junhong, I knew I could count o-…Ah-Arg!” he suddenly groaned in pain.

“Daehyun?” “A-Ahh!” he gripped his head. “Daehyun, what’s the-,” I paused, my eyes widened as I looked at him. His irises had swirled to black. “Daehyun.” I gasped. This wasn’t good. “G-G-Get Y-Youngjae.” He gritted through his teeth.

I was hesitant but did as he said anyway.

I dashed into the cabin busting into the room, causing everyone to jump. “Youngjae.” I said looking at the elder who looked back at me with wide eyes. “It’s Daehyun.” I told him. His eyes grew even wider as he dashed out the room, running past me. Tae and Min gave me confused looks. “You guys should come too…just in case.” I told them. They nodded and followed me back out the cabin to where Daehyun was.

 

 

Youngjae was knelt down in front of Daehyun, who was now on his knees. The three of us walked up to them. “What’s wrong?” Tae asked worried, seeing the human struggle with himself. “It’s the curse.” Youngjae informed. “A-Arg…please…” Daehyun groaned. “Daehyun.” Youngjae said with much worry. The elder looked as if he were in pain.

I noticed Youngjae begin to get somewhat frustrated as he tried to comfort him. He was getting frustrated because he couldn’t use his magic to help him. “What do we do?” Min whimpered seeing that nothing Youngjae did was helping. “He said that Jayde was the one who was able to snap him out of it.” The mage sighed.

“Jayde knew exactly what was going on…but we don’t.” Tae whimpered as well. Both Youngjae and I perked our heads up at the same time and made eye contact. We were both thinking the same thing.

“Do you think you can do it?” he asked me. I nodded. “Wh-What-ever you…guys do. Hurry.” Daehyun said gripping Youngjae’s arm, his irises turning completely black. Tae and Min quickly ran on either side of him, preparing for whatever may happen next. I knelt down next to Youngjae, focusing on Daehyun.

‘No.’ Daehyun’s voice was now present in my head. I was now in his mind. ‘Daehyun~…This is your chance’ a sudden sweet alluring voice was also present.

I was surprised by this, but did my best to keep my thoughts silent.

‘This is your chance. If you don’t do it now then we’ll do it ourselves, and if we do it ourselves it won’t be good for you.’ The sweet voice cooed. I looked at Daehyun, he was still struggling with himself. He was fighting it. ‘You can fight it all you want, but we can still make you do it.’ The sweet voice chuckled. ‘You might not be a slave anymore, but we still have the curse on you.’

I noticed the tension in Daehyun’s muscles lessen. He was losing control.

‘Good~.’ The voice cooed.

I have to do something quick.

‘Daehyun don’t.’ I thought.

‘What? We have somebody else here?’ the sweet voice sang, but I ignored it. If we can’t control him from the outside, then I have to do it through the inside.

The other three watched me carefully. ‘Daehyun please. This isn’t you.’ I pleaded. Daehyun’s teeth clenched battling within himself. Youngjae watched Daehyun sadly. ‘Daehyun…You have a job to do. Do it. This is your chance. No one else is here.’ The sweet voice demanded. “Daehyun. It’s okay. You can do this.” Youngjae assured him, forcing himself to remain calm.

“Youngjae, keep talking to him. I instructed. The elder nodded and continued to speak to him.

‘Who is this kid?’ The sweet voice questioned. ‘How can you get in his mind?’ The voice quizzed curiously. ‘Leave him alone.’ I demanded. The voice laughed, but became silent for a little bit. ‘Are you perhaps…the boy who can control time?’ The voice questioned.

But I didn’t respond. ‘Daehyun…this isn’t you.’ My attention went back to my friend. ‘You are the boy! This is just great.’ The voice laughed. ‘Daehyun. Get rid of the mage and give us the boy.’ The voice ordered. My eyes slightly widened at the sudden order.

Daehyun’s eyes snapped, his irises a deep black. He narrowed his eyes at Youngjae. Youngjae’s eyes widened. Tae and Min looked nervous as they reluctantly extended their fangs. “Please stop Daehyun. We don’t want to hurt you.” Min whispered.

“Youngjae…run.” I ordered. I was going to have to control Daehyun. I really didn’t want to it, but I have to.

Youngjae looked at me, knowing exactly what I was thinking. “No.” He said.

“Youngjae. This isn’t a game. He’s going to…he’s going to…” I didn’t dare finish my sentence. “Zelo, trust me.” He said. I sighed giving in, there was no way of convincing him otherwise anyway.

“Daehyun. Don’t make me do this. I know you can hear me. You just have to try harder.” Youngjae urged.

I looked at the mage suspiciously. What was he planning on doing?

I noticed Daehyun reach for his pocket knife.

“Do you really want to hurt me again?” Youngjae said.

Daehyun flinched at this, his hand stopping at his pocket knife. I raised an eyebrow. But a second late my hope vanished as he gripped the knife tightly. “Do you really want to hurt me? And hand Zelo over?” Youngjae continued. But Daehyun yanked the knife from his pocket. “Are you seriously going to let whoever control you to hurt people? Just like your parents did?” Youngjae said.

My jaw dropped at his words.

Daehyun froze, staring at the younger, his hands trembling. He looked conflicted. Some of the black began to fade from his eyes.

He was about to lower the sharp weapon when… ‘Daehyun!’ The voice spat.

Daehyun’s eyes re-narrowed and he gripped the knife getting ready to swing. Youngjae sighed. “I told you not to make me do this.” He held out his hand.

My eyes widened. ‘DAEHYUN! Youngjae is about to use his magic!!’ I screamed in the elder’s head in panic.

The knife immediately dropped from his hand. “Youngjae no!” Daehyun held grabbing the mage’s hand, the black instantly vanishing from his eyes. Youngjae was stunned.

‘Daehyun…you’ve disobeyed us. This was your last chance. Now be ready for the consequences.’ The voice said, before disappearing. My eyes slightly widened at the chilling threat, but Daehyun didn’t seem to care. “Youngjae don’t use your…” But he couldn’t finish as his body went limp and he collapsed.

“Oh no! What happened?!” Tae said nearly freaking out. “He’s fine. He’s just exhausted from fighting the curse. He just need some rest.” Youngjae assured him. Tae made an ‘O’ shape with his mouth in understanding.

 

 

We checked Daehyun for any more weapons and took them off of him, before Min and Tae carried him inside. However, Youngjae didn’t go inside with them. Instead he sat on the steps of the cabin porch.

I sat down next to him honestly worried about him. Was he really going to use his magic? Did he conjure up any magic energy before Daehyun Stopped him? “How are you feeling?” I asked him with much concern.

He looked at me strangely. “Um…I’m fine.” He answered. I only nodded, unsure of whether or not I should really take his word for it. “The question is…how are you feeling?” He suddenly said.

He was referring to when I was crying. “I don’t know.” I confessed. “I’m listening.” He smiled.

“I feel like I should forgive Bang. It wasn’t completely his fault. But I can’t help but wonder if things would have been different if he and the others had listened.” I sighed. Youngjae nodded in understanding. Just then a thought crossed my mind. “How come you aren’t mad at Bang?” I suddenly asked him.

He scrunched his brow. “Mad at him for what?” he questioned.

I was struck by this. “He abandoned you when we were fighting.” I told him.

His eyes slightly widened at the memory. “So that’s why he was acting weird around me this whole time.” He sighed.

“Did you forget about that?” I questioned.

He shrugged. “I guess so. So much happened that day with Jayde, and then coming here, and then I was worried about Daehyun, and I was ecstatic to see my friends. So I guess it was something that got buried in the back of my mind and I forgot about it.” He confessed.

“Oh…I’m sorry for reminding you.” I apologized shamefully. “Don’t be sorry, I would have remembered eventually. It’s better now than later at the wrong time.” He assured you. “So…are you mad at him?” I asked, looking back at the elder.

“I don’t know. It’s honestly hard to believe. But then again, what’s new? I’ve been betrayed so many times in my life.” He said smiling sadly. “But I know it wasn’t completely his fault. He was under the spell that Jasmine set up. So who knows how much of the spell affected him, or if she even put another spell on them, because…everyone was doing fine in the beginning of the battle and then we fell apart.” He explained.

I nodded. “At the most…I’m disappointed. But, I can tell that he and the others are really sorry.” He chuckled at the last part. I couldn’t help but give him a small smile. I’m glad he wasn’t too upset about it. He’s really been through a lot.

“Are you going to tell Daehyun?” I asked, this time out of curiosity. He shook his head. “I don’t know how he’s going to react and right now everyone is getting along. And I don’t want to mess that up.” He said. I nodded in agreement. “So, do you know what you’re going to do?” he suddenly asked me this time.

I thought for a bit before nodding again. “Yeah, it’s the right thing to do right now…and honestly I don’t think I can be mad at him for long.” I admitted. The elder smiled at this. “But…I feel kind of bad now, and embarrassed.” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Don’t worry, you have time.” He assured, standing up, walking over to the door. But then he paused.

“You know…There is one person that I am mad at.” He said. I looked back up at him. “Jasmine.” He said. I nodded in agreement, I still couldn’t believe that she would betray us like that, after everything we had went through.

“You were the closest to her besides Jongup.” I said. He nodded, “She really did seem like she cared about those families hurt by the DM. She actually seemed sincere, but it was all a lie.” He said. “She was a really good liar.” I nodded. “Something tells me that we’re going to see her again.”