For the third time during the past thirty minutes, Jisoo asked himself why he was here. He could have stayed home, eaten the can of soup he had bought earlier and made himself comfortable with a nice book and some more tea. It could have been such a nice, relaxed ending to the stressful day.

Could have.

But instead, he was in the backseat of a taxi, jammed between two arguing fae on their way to find a missing guy Jisoo basically knew nothing about. Well, apart from the fact that said guy almost fainted every time he laid eyes on him.

Everything had happened very quickly. Soonyoung had ordered the person at the other end of the line to pick him up before he had disconnected, his forehead deeply furrowed. "We need help," he had declared. "Wait here." And then he had left and only had re-emerged once the taxi had stopped next to Jisoo, carrying a massive bag.

The monk winced when Seungkwan screeched into his right ear, his round face beet-red, "I told you: It's not my fault!"

"Oh yeah?! You were the one keeping an eye on him," Soonyoung hollered to his left, just as loudly.

"I went to get something to eat; do you want me to starve?!"

"You could've called me to take over!"

"But you-"

"You are bothering the driver." Mingyu's voice from the front seat wasn't loud but it held a certain authority that immediately silenced the two fae. "Please turn left at the next intersection," he said to the taxi driver, a heavy-set man nearing his fifties, who nodded wordlessly. "We have almost reached him."

In an attempt to relax between the two sullen Beings, Jisoo leaned back, ignoring the uncomfortable sting of Seungkwan's elbow poking his rips and how Soonyoung's thigh pressed against his. A question had been plaguing him ever since they had embarked on their rescue mission - apart from the question why he had been forced to join in the first place - but he wasn't sure whether it was a good time to ask, given the current atmosphere.

After about a minute of uncomfortable silence, he decided to try his luck anyway. "So, uhm, I don't really get it. Why would Dokyeom run away? Tao was taking care of him, right?"

Next to him, Soonyoung sighed. "Remember that I told you that he doesn't like humans?" he asked, indirectly answering the question. "He has a pretty severe head injury right now. He probably woke up, was confused, saw Tao and got scared." The Being sighed again. "At least that's what I hope."

"Stop being so negative. We'll find him and he'll be fine," Seungkwan grumbled but his shaky voice gave away that he wasn't as confident as he pretended to be.

Silence once again filled the car.

Jisoo was itching to know what exactly they were so afraid of but it wasn't his place to ask and he was sure that they wouldn't answer anyway. Both fae seemed highly protective of Dokyeom - he wondered whether it was only because they were partners or if it had some sort of underlying reason.

"Please stop the car," Mingyu suddenly said. "We've arrived."

Curious, the monk peered out of the windshield but to his surprise, he was met with the sight of plants. A meadow, thick with grass and weeds, stretched along the right side of the street while the other side was littered with dilapidated and overgrown houses. They had left Seoul behind without him noticing.

As soon as Seungkwan opened the car door, the smell of wildflowers hit the monk. The air was much cleaner than in the city and Jisoo drank it in; he had missed clear, unpolluted air ever since he had left the monastery.

"Alright," Soonyoung said after the taxi had left, rubbing his hands. "Can you locate him, Mingyu?"

Blond hair glistening in the late afternoon sun, the tall Being shook his head. "This is as far as I can trace him. He should be around here somewhere." He looked serious but not concerned, unlike the two fae.

"Hiding, probably. Oy! Dokyeom!" Seungkwan's voice rang over the meadow but only silence answered. He shrugged. "Worth a try. I'll cover this side, you go and search those huts over there."

The monk looked at him as if he had lost his mind - one person searching an area bigger than a football field? - but to his astonishment, the other Beings nodded without complaint. While Mingyu and Soonyoung moved towards the overgrown buildings, Jisoo lingered at the edge of the meadow, watching as Seungkwan sat down between the weeds, his back turned towards him.

What was he doing? Wasn't he supposed to search for his friend?

"Are you waiting for something?" the fae suddenly asked and Jisoo jumped in surprise.

How did he know? Could he smell him or something?

"Uh... I thought maybe you need some help?" he stuttered before he flushed, secretly grateful that Seungkwan wasn't looking at him.

A chuckle reached him and when the fae replied, his voice held a mocking lilt. "I'm faster without you."

The monk's hands tightened into fists. So much for helping his teammate. "," he muttered before he raised his voice. "Alright then." He wouldn't bother the Being any longer with his presence.

As soon as he turned to leave, his foot got caught in a bramble and he stumbled, almost falling flat on his face. At his surprised yelp, Seungkwan snickered and when the monk turned back to him, the plants surrounding the fae were swaying in an entirely unnatural way, given that the air was still, without a sign of wind.

That had definitely been the Being's doing. As far as Jisoo could remember, there hadn't been any brambles or any other similar shrubs near him earlier. The monk shot daggers at Seungkwan's back but the fae ignored him, much to his chagrin. Most fae species were widely regarded as troublemakers, they liked to play pranks, and, apparently, Seungkwan was part of that group as well.

"Jisoo, are you coming?!"

Soonyoung's voice reached his ears and with a last glare at Seungkwan's back, the monk disentangled his leg and made his way towards the old buildings.

"Okay, so I think it would be easiest to split up. You need to search everything but especially cellars and stuff underground, alright? He likes to hide there."

Soonyoung looked as if he was ready to go to war: armed to the teeth with a shovel, a massive flashlight, coils of rope and - to make matters completely ridiculous - a hard hat.

"Are you, by any chance, planning to bury someone?" Jisoo asked, still staring at the bright blue helmet.

"You're joking now but you never know when you'll actually need this kinda stuff." The fae's face was dead serious while a barely visible smile played on Mingyu's lips. The latter was dressed in his usual white and light grey clothes and looked like he had simply decided to take a lazy stroll in the park, not go on a rescue mission. Although, to be fair, he had had even less time to prepare than Jisoo since Soonyoung had simply marched up to the Being's flat and had ordered him to help - which, to Jisoo's surprise, he had immediately complied with. The monk wondered whether it had been because Soonyoung had been the one asking or because a member of the unit was missing. Would they do the same for him?

Probably not. Dokyeom was an established member of the group after all - unlike him, the human newcomer.

He could feel Mingyu's eyes on him and for a split second, he wondered whether the Being had heard his self-deprecating thoughts somehow. Who knew? Maybe he could read minds.

But after mulling it over for a moment, the monk disregarded the thought. There weren't many species who were able to use telepathy - and even if they were, most of them at least needed some sort of body contact.

Jisoo glimpsed at the Being, unsure what he wanted, and flinched when dark eyes caught his. But then the Being shifted his gaze to Soonyoung, who clapped twice.

"Okay, let's get going, guys! We'll meet back here in an hour."

Nodding, the monk turned to the building Soonyoung had chosen for him to search. It looked like an old farmhouse, two stories tall, grey walls overgrown with ivy, the empty, dark windows staring at him like eyes. Additionally,