They were the most controversial group to have ever come out from the Academy.

Lee Seokmin was a man who had a lot of intelligence. He was known to be gifted with reading and understanding knowledge quickly compared to most people. In his spare time, he would often read books or talk about what he had learned to others. Contrary to his intellect, he was childish and loud, often getting involved with hanging in random groups. People liked him—he was very likable. Amongst the three childhood friends, he was the approachable, the easiest to talk to. To most people, he was considered to be like a reliable brother.

Choi Yuna was the sole female student in their team. As someone who was always ranked second, she, too, had the brains. However, most of her skills came from agility and flexibility. In dire situations, she would always be one of the first to figure out a solution. Guys crushed on her, but they never dared to approach her because of her cold and feisty attitude. For her, having Jungkook by her side was enough, and having Seokmin next to her was tolerable. Girls despised her since she would never let anyone get close to Jungkook, and she thought that it was the only right thing to do since she was ranked second and the second place should always stand next to first place.

Jeon Jungkook was the all-rounder, someone who was perfect at everything. Academics, sports, popularity—he was always at top. Teachers and staffs respected him for his top grades and students admired him. Everyone—regardless of age—aspired to be like him. He was always accompanied by his best friend, Seokmin, and his childhood friend, Yuna. There was rarely a moment when neither of the two were at his side. He was well protected, but everyone knew that he didn't need protection. He could protect himself. However, his standoffish character made it hard for people to talk to him, especially for the girls who squealed every time he passed by. 

As if on cue, a few girls from the side giggled and shot Jungkook a flirtatious look as the three and the other students went down the hall. They were being celebrated for being one of the lucky few who were chosen to be in a group and were successfully assigned to an Instructor. Only the top grades would be able to be selected, and the Instructors had to accept the group as their own. The groups were only selected in their final year at the Academy, so it meant a lot for those who had been in the Academy since their youth. Not being selected meant being expelled, and life was much more difficult outside of the Academy since they weren't compensated for anything. No one in the Academy had a family to go to, either—they were all admitted as orphans.

"Wow," said the trio's Instructor, who turned her head. Her bobbed-style haired swayed a little and she grinned. "Looks like someone is popular."

They all looked at Lee Jieun, who grinned like a dumb doll. 

Lee Jieun was their Instructor, and her accepting the three as her own students was something worth gossiping about. Jieun was infamous for having gone to court against the Ministry when the Ministry accused her of possessing the Mythos of Kreo. They had demanded her to turn in the Kreo in order to preserve the betterment of humanity. During the long, painful process, Jieun had continually claimed that she did not have the Mythos of Kreo. The case went on for a long period of time until it was declared that Jieun, indeed, did not have the Mythos of Kreo due to the Ministry's lack of evidence. Instead of charging her for possessing the Mythos of Kreo, the Ministry then charged her for trespassing territory, which she had done to save someone's life. The results of that trial ended up having Jieun become an Instructor at the Academy who was forced to accept anyone who wanted to be in her team.

In short, this was a set-up planned by the Ministry and the top three students. Jungkook, Yuna and Seokmin were told that they would be heavily rewarded if they could steal the Mythos of Kreo from Jieun. At first, the three were all skeptical of the situation, but the Ministry finally convinced them after talking about all the rewards: money, an award, and a position to be part of the Ministry. Becoming a part of the Ministry was big news and something that wasn't a joking matter. It meant that an individual received the honor of contributing to making the world a better and safer place. Only the most qualified ones could be part of the Ministry. 

Once the three had accepted, they were informed that Jieun would be attending the Academy as an Instructor, despite not being an alumni of the school. Only alumni of the Academy could become an Instructor, but in Jieun's case, the Ministry argued that since she had attended majority of the Academy before being expelled, she should be given an exception.

And she was.

The moment she became the Instructor, the three had rushed to her and demanded to have her as their Instructor. It was quite a surprise from most of the students since no one really wanted a potential rebel to guide them throughout the graduation process. 

But when Jieun had seen how anxious the three were to get her as their Instructor, she had made a small smile and accepted them without much thought. From then on, it had been declared that Jieun would be their instructor and that one group would hold the top three students, which came out to be a huge surprised. 

And now, the four were walking down the hall with other Instructors and selected students, heading towards the stadium. Jieun was trying to start up a conversation with the three, but it only Seokmin who responded. Neither Yuna or Jungkook seemed interested in having a pointless conversation with their Instructor. All they wanted to do was find the Mythos of Kreo and get their reward as fast as they could.

"So I heard that you three are the top students. What made you three want to be in a group? Historically, if all three of the best students are in one group, it tends to not work out for them in the end," Jieun remarked.

"We've been friends since we were young. We were all admitted to the Academy at the same time. Jungkook and Yuna were friends first, and I later joined their group after playing with some other kids. We're all good friends and we respect each other while making up for each other's weaknesses," Seokmin said.

"Right, like you talking for them and these two keeping quiet?" Jieun asked, eyeing at Yuna and Jungkook.

"They're good people at heart," Seokmin said in their defense.

"They should learn how to talk, too. It'll be difficult if you're the one who's always talking," Jieun said. "Being social is a good aspect to have if you want to find the five Mythos. Getting information about the Mythos is hard if you're just eavesdropping. It might not seem like it, but a lot more people know about the Mythos than what you would think. Talking to them and getting them to open up to you will help you find The Keepers real quick."

"Don't worry! These tw0 are really smooth talkers. They'll be able to get information out of people in thirty seconds flat," Seokmin boasted.

Jieun laughed. "You're quite a cute one. It'd be nice if the other two are as cute as you."

She turned her head back to the front. Seokmin chuckled, but stopped when he saw Yuna and Jungkook staring at him.

"What?" he whispered.

"You're being too friendly with the target," Yuna said in a low voice so that Jieun wouldn't be able to hear them. "Stay on your guard, Seokmin."

Seokmin pouted. "At least I'm trying."

"This school is pretty big, isn't it?" Jieun remarked, grabbing the trio's attention. "I remember when I was a student here. I never would've thought that I would be wearing an Instructor's uniform."

She glanced down at her outfit. The Instructor's uniform consisted of a black double-ed overcoat with golden stripes on the cuffs. On formal occasions, Instructors were forced to wear a black captain's hat with golden embroidery. On other occasions, they were free to not wear their hats as long as they carried some sort of identification with them at all times. 

"Did you guys ever hear the story of why I was kicked out?" She closed her eyes to reminiscence. A small smile appeared. "I was engaged to this guy who was three year's older than me. The Ministry set us up, you know? We were both fine with each other, so there wasn't a lot of fuss about our engagement. On the night when we were supposed to seal the deal, he was found dead. The Ministry didn't want to take the blame, so they claimed that I was 'bad luck' and suggested that I was thrown out of the Academy. The people of the Academy listened, and I was tossed in the streets." Her eyes grew cold. "My, those were some dark, dark times…" 

"Right, I heard of that story before," Seokmin said, snapping his hand. "Then years later, there were some rumors that you had the Mythos of Kreo. The Ministry wanted to take the Mythos of Kreo from you because they wanted to keep all the five Mythos in a safe place, but you didn't have it."

"Yep! In order to not embarrass themselves, they decided to accuse me of trespassing territory when I went to save someone's life. Who would've known that it was all staged!" Jieun exclaimed.

"You shouldn't talk bad about the Ministry. They were generous enough to let you stay here," Yuna remarked.

Jieun looked at her. "Oh, one more person spoke." She looked at Jungkook. "I guess I just need one more person to talk!"

Jungkook didn't say anything. He scrunched up his nose as if he was disgusted over the idea of talking to her. Jieun made a small face, showing that she didn't appreciate the way he looked at her. Still, she let out a sigh and stretched her arms.

"Well, I guess I need to handle some brats," she muttered under her breath.

Jungkook felt peeved. 

He couldn't wait to steal the Mythos and get rid of her as soon as possible.

* * *

From the outsides, at the back of the gates where there was little surveillance, four mysterious figures were standing and staring at the stadium. They were all wearing black outfits that mimicked the same ones as the Instructors were wearing. A few bodies were dropped to the side, stripped of their uniform.

"Remember: We're here to check up on the Kreo. We aren't here to steal it, okay? We just want to make sure that the rumors are correct," said the one with a deep, husky voice.

"Blah, blah, blah." A young glamorous woman tied her hair into a ponytail before wearing the Instructor's hat. "We get it."

"It's been a while since you two were here," the oldest said, looking at the woman with dead eyes and the tall man. "How do you feel?"

"Nostalgic," said the second woman in a small, sarcastic voice.

"And what about you, Leo?"

The three stared at the tall man, who only lowered his cap in silence. His thin eyes would pierce through anyone who tried to look at him.

And no one dared to look at him except for his allies.

"Nothing," he said. He started walking in, blending with the crowd as the three parted ways to look.

* * *

The first thing Jungkook noticed when they were about to sit down was that Jieun seemed hesitant on taking her seat. Her friendly smile turned ice cold and she stared at the ground in an odd manner. It was like something had happened she didn't like it. She glanced at the other Instructors, seeing if they noticed something odd.

They didn't seem to be reacting.

Jieun let out a soft sigh and sat down uneasily. Her eyes kept wandering, but her head faced forward.

What's she doing? Jungkook wondered.

Jieun's eyes rolled over to Jungkook, who was slightly surprised to make eye-contact with her. She gave him a small smile.

"Did you notice?" she asked.

Notice what? he wondered. He was about to ask her, but the Head Master of the Academy approached the stage. Everyone rose from their seats, politely clapping. The Head Master raised his hand, silenced everyone, then lowered it to gesture people to sit down. Everyone took their seats in silence.

"Congratulations, ERA 97, for being in your final year," said the Head Master. "My name is Kim Jaejoong, and I am the Head Master of the Academy. For the past five years of my presence here, I have discovered how wonderful it is to have such talented and skillful orphans. You may have been abandoned by your blood, but you have form new bonds of blood here in the Academy." Jaejoong stared down near the front row, where Jieun and her team was sitting. He made eye-contact with Jungkook and smiled. His dark gaze was almost hypnotic. "We have plenty of talented and young individuals preparing to become Mythos Hunters, preparing to become people who will help save the world…"

He continued with his speech. Jungkook wasn't really listening. He didn't really need to listen. His mission was to focus on stealing the Mythos of Kreo from Jieun. 

After all, it was Kim Jaejoong, the Head Master of the Academy and the Ministry, who had personally asked him along with Yuna and Seokmin to steal the Mythos of Kreo.

Jungkook's eyes rolled down to Jieun's clothes. He was trying to figure out where she would put the Mythos of Kreo and how it looked. He had a strong mental image of what it could look like: an antique crystal colored in black.

He just didn't know what else it could look like. Only the strong, black crystal marked his mind.

"Hey, Jungkook," Jieun whispered. Her eyes were still glued to the stage. Then, she slowly turned her head. "Do you hear that?"

Jungkook blinked. Hear what?

"It kind of sounds like a clock," Jieun said.

He listened carefully, canceling out the noise from anywhere else. As the Head Master's voice deafened, he could hear a faint ticking noise 

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock…

Jungkook widened his eyes and stared at Jieun, who finally faced him a little. shaped a dangerous word: bomb.

A second after, an explosion erupted from the outside of the stadium. Everyone started to stand up and turn, shocked to hear such an unusual loud noise. Before anyone could react, someone from the outside came running in.

"Invasion!" someone yelled. "There is an Invasion!"

One of the Instructors got up. "Everyone, stay ca—"

Another explosion, this time closer to the area where the Head Master was standing. Jaejoong flinched and a few of his guards hurdled around him, quickly guiding him to safety. The rest of the Instructors told their groups to either fight or run. People started moving—left, right, left, right, forward, back, back, forward.

Jungkook was about to lead Yuna and Seokmin out of the stadium until Jieun grabbed his arm. He turned and looked at Jieun, who gestured above. The four looked up and saw four figures dressed in Instructor's uniform. Their faces, however, were covered by the hats.

One of them jumped off the stadium, twirling in the sky for a brief second.

"Up there!" someone yelled.

Before anyone else had time to react, she threw her ribbon wand down on the ground. The ribbon grew rapidly in size and wrapped itself around several students and some of the Instructors. A strong electric current ran through the ribbon, electrifying everyone who was in its grasp. They yelled and screamed in pain, feeling hot and shocked. As soon as the girl landed, the ribbon released itself from everyone, causing them to collapse. The wand flew back in the hands of the girl, who giggled and embraced the ribbon with ease.

"People in the Academy got weaker, hm?" said the glamorous woman.

Jungkook was prepared to fight, but Jieun pulled him away to stay hidden. Seokmin and Yuna followed, confused.

"What are you doing?" Yuna whispered. "We need to fight!"

"We don't know what they want," said their Instructor. "If anything, it could be that they don't want anything from us."

The beautiful lady walked over to an Instructor, who was half-conscious.

"Sweetheart, do you know where I can find the Mythos of Kreo?" the woman asked.

Seokmin, Yuna and Jungkook stared at Jieun, who blinked her eyes.

"What?" Jieun whispered.

"Everyone knows that you have or at least had the Mythos of Kreo," Seokmin said.

"This is your battle. You need to fight," Yuna told her.

"Mm… Not yet, darling. Give them a few minutes," Jieun said.

"Mythos of Kreo? Ha! Even the members of the Academy don't know much about it," said the poor Instructor.

"So you're useless to me, right?" said the woman. The Instructor didn't say anything. "Okay! Well then…" She turned to the three figures who were still looking down from the edge of the stadium. "Any of you three want to end his life?"

There was a short pause. Then, a shorter figure gently jumped off from the building and landed a few feet away from the taller woman. She raised her shoes, revealing iron spikes. Without another moment of hesitation, she stomped her feet on the Instructor's back, paralyzing him permanently by injuring the nervous system and leaving him a slow death to bleed out. She rubbed her spikes against the grass, scraping off the blood.

"Are those two going to stay there forever?" asked the taller girl.

"Yongguk is going to go see if the Keeper of the Kreo escaped outside," said the shorter woman in a tired voice.

"What about Leo?"

"He's going to watch from afar."

"He should join us!"

"He'll join you," said the small woman. "I'm going to go and scout the outside, too."

"Fine, but you're missing out on all the fun, Taeyeon."

Taeyeon fixed her hat. "Everyone knows that this isn't fun for me, Suzy."

The woman walked out of the stadium, trampling over the electrocuted bodies.

Suzy huffed. "She's so not cute." From the corner of her eyes, she saw a figure hiding. She smirked. "But maybe you are."

She whirled around and threw her ribbon wand, with the end of the wand piercing through the air like a knife. It was about to hit Jungkook's eye, but Jieun had stopped it in time when she deflected it with her nails, which had grown oddly a few inches larger. The wand flew in the air and landed back in front of Suzy's feet. Suzy stared, impressed.

Before Jungkook knew it, Jieun was wearing a fluffy white scarf around her neck.

Where did she get that scarf? he wondered. He was too intrigued by Jieun's scarf to feel the fear that he was just about to die a second ago.

Jieun stepped up with the three crowding behind her.

"As these three's Instructor, I am obligated to protect them until they are fit enough for their graduation ceremony," Jieun declared. 

Suzy stared. "It's a little hot to be wearing a scarf…isn't it?"

"I get cold," Jieun said with a smile. She tilted her hat down, trying to hide her eyes. Jungkook could see a sapphire glint from her round eyes.

"Cold? In summer?" Suzy asked. She bent down and picked up the wand. "I don't…" She silently aimed. "…believe it."

The ribbon twirled in the air and reached to grab Jieun. Jieun pushed her students away and tumbled on the ground doing so. She landed back on her feet, but her nails clawed the ground. She growled furiously like a wild animal. She turned to her students, who were stunned.

"Wake up!" she barked.

They snapped out of their thoughts. They quickly scrambled back on their feet and pulled out their weapons: Seokmin with a pair of twin swords, Yuna with a war fan, and Jungkook with a single sword.

"That is so cute!" Suzy squealed. "They all have their little weapons!" She sighed dreamily. "But it doesn't seem like any of those weapons are…fashionable." She made an evil smirk at Jieun. "I think I want your scarf!"

Suzy dashed towards Jieun, who dodged her with ease. Jieun growled and barred her teeth, showing fangs. The more she interacted with Suzy, the more animalistic her behavior became.

Jungkook stared. She's almost like…

A fox, the three students thought in unison.

The two were at it for a while, leaving the three students confused and lost. They couldn't figure out when to join in the fight or if they were allowed to join in. Jieun had told them to wake up, but she didn't tell them that they could fight. Besides, couldn't this be a chance for Jieun to be weakened? If she was weak enough, then they would have no trouble stealing the Mythos of Kreo, right?

As they fought, Suzy noticed that the three were reluctant to help. She looked back at Jieun, who was obviously doing everything she could to protect her students. She smirked to herself.

Pathetic, she thought.

Jieun reached in to grab Suzy's face, but Suzy dodged it with ease. She swung her foot in the air, kicking Jieun's head and knocking her to the ground. Jieun collapsed and crashed to the floor, scrapping her skin. She growled, but winced when Suzy slammed down and hit her neck with her elbow. Jieun screamed in pain and clawed the ground. She tried to throw a handful of dirt in Suzy's eyes, but Suzy had already moved. With her ribbon, she tied it around Jieun's hand and sent out an agonizing electrical current. Jieun howled, scratching her nails on the ground in hopes to brace for the pain.

Suzy laughed and unraveled the ribbon, leaving the Instructor helplessly weak. Suzy grinned and turned to the three, who were now prepared to fight her with Jieun on the floor. 

"You guys are the worst," Suzy muttered, "but that's fine with me."

The three weren't afraid. They had trained and practiced several times for moments like these. They were the top three students. If they were having trouble with her, then everyone else would have trouble with her.

Yuna was the first to strike. She pulled out small knives from the back of her fan and threw it towards Suzy. Suzy waved her wand, using the ribbon to grab all of the knives. Yuna widened her eyes in surprised.

I can't believe she actually caught all of my knives! Yuna thought.

"Too predictable," Suzy said. She swung the ribbon in the air and flung back the knives towards Yuna. Yuna used her fan to deflect it, but when she was done deflecting the knife, the ribbon appeared right in front of her face. The female student didn't have time to dodge. The ribbon wrapped itself around her wrist and electrocuted her. Yuna yelled in pain before she collapsed to the ground.

"Yuna!" Seokmin exclaimed, widening his eyes. 

"Too distracted," Suzy added. She released the ribbon from Yuna's hand and twirled it around Seokmin's swords. The two swords flew behind Suzy's back, leaving Seokmin weaponless. Seokmin stood still, unsure of what to do. He wasn't given much time to think about his actions. The ribbon slammed itself against Seokmin's stomach, sending out an even stronger electric current. Seokmin cried out loudly before he, too, was on the ground.

Jungkook stared at both his fallen friends and his Instructor, who looked like she was barely conscious. Even though she was far away, Jungkook could see what Jieun was mouthing:

Run.

"And too scared," Suzy whispered, giving the young boy a look of mischief and pity. Jungkook glared and started to charge, but Suzy danced around him, leaping over him and using her ribbon to wrap his body. Jungkook widened his eyes and looked at Suzy, who smiled, giving him a look that read, "You know what's next."

!

Jungkook shut his eyes, anticipating on the painful shockwaves. He waited for the strike, but nothing happened. Instead, he felt a cool breeze pass by him and something overshadow him. He felt the ribbons come loose as he fell on his bottom, with his palms scraping against the ground a little. He slowly opened his eyes and looked up.

Standing in front of him, he saw a beautiful pale woman with gracious long black hair flowing downwards from a thin braided hairband. She was wearing a simple white hanbok with bold, black seams. The dress flowed graciously and brushed against the ground lightly, but what stood out about her was the nine fluffy white tails that extended from beneath her dress. Jungkook's eyes went wide as he gazed back up at the woman. She opened her eyes, revealing the same blue eyes that Jieun had just seconds before her scarf disappeared.

"Kang Hanna the Gumiho, Nine-Tailed Fox," the fox-like woman said with a delicate voice. She gripped the end of the ribbon tighter. "Reporting for duty."

Jieun let out a bitter laugh as she weakly leaned against the wall. "I swear, I wasn't planning on calling you, but I just had to."

Hanna glanced coldly at her Keeper before she looked back at Suzy, who was shocked to see her. "You had no choice. I was watching."

"Yeah. Looks like I'm depending on you again," Jieun managed to say. 

"So what is it that you want me to do?" Hanna asked.

Jieun looked at Suzy. "You see that ?" Hanna nodded. "Kill her."

Hanna nodded. White fox ears popped from her head and whiskers appeared from her cheeks. Her fangs and nails grew longer and sharper.

"Your wish is my command."

Hanna released the ribbon, allowing Suzy to retrieve it. Suzy stared at Hanna with pure awe before she made a wicked grin.

"It is you," Suzy whispered to herself. She quickly swung her ribbon, hoping to tie up the fox-like creature.

However, Hanna elegantly avoided the ribbon and swiftly jumped over to Suzy. She was about to claw her until someone stood in front of Suzy. Hanna, startled, dodged the mysterious figure and moved to the side. Hanna narrowed her eyes and growled as she remained in a fox-like position.

"Move," she said in a low voice.

"You will not kill her today," said the mysterious man.

Jieun felt her heart throb. Her eyes widened and she looked at the figure who stood in between Hanna and Suzy.

"Jung…Taekwoon?" Jieun called slowly.

Suzy casually hugged the man, cuddling close to him as if they were lovers.

"Oh, Leo! I knew you'd come in!" She leaned her head against his broad shoulders and looked at Jieun. "Is she an old friend? She seems to know you."

The man lifted his hat. Jieun felt a sharp pain through her chest. She stared at the familiar man, completely speechless.

"No way," Jieun whispered.

Jungkook looked at Jieun, then back at Leo.

Do they know each other? Jungkook wondered.

"You're…You're Jung Taekwoon, right?" Jieun asked. She faked a small laugh. "I-I thought you were dead… They all told me that you were dead!"

Leo gazed at Jieun coldly. "Oh. You're still alive?"

Jieun made a strange face. "What?"

"I thought they'd kill you after they found my body." Leo looked away. "I guess that was a mistake. I should've killed you myself."

The Instructor only stared. "I thought you were dead this whole time… I went to bed every night wondering what had happened to you, how you died, what the truth was…and you wished that I was dead?"

"We can kill her now!" Suzy exclaimed. She circled her arms around Leo's. "Just a little more and she'll die. Poof!"

Hanna growled and appeared over Jieun's body, mimicking a fox protecting its child.

"I will not let you touch my Keeper!" Hanna barked. Her nine tails lifted in the air, glowing dangerously.

Leo stepped back. "Not today, Suzy. Let's go."

"But she's almost dead!" Suzy whined.

"We didn't come to kill the Keeper of Kreo. We only came to make sure that it existed," Leo reminded her. "Let's go."

Suzy pouted. "Fine."

"Wait!" Jieun cried out. Leo turned. "You're leaving? Just like that?"

"We have no business here anymore," Leo said.

"You have business with me!" Jieun shouted. "Do you know how much I suffered during the past years when you were gone? I was out there, fending for myself, trying to find a reason to live! I was here, worrying about my future and my health…while…while you were flirting with your new girlfriend? What the hell, Taekwoon!" 

Leo kept quiet. "My name isn't Jung Taekwoon. I go by Leo now."

"Don't change the subject!" Jieun screamed. 

"You look like you're doing fine," Leo said softly. "I'm sure we'll meet again as long as you have the Mythos of Kreo."

Jieun stared at him. "You don't care about me, do you?"

He didn't say anything to her. "Come on, Suzy. Let's leave."

"Okay!" she chirped. She wrapped her hands around Leo's neck and smirked at Jieun, who felt rage boil in her blood. Then, Taekwoon jumped out of the stadium with Suzy, joining Yongguk and Taeyeon. The four made their escape, leaving the Academy in a bad shape.

Jieun felt her eyes water. "Come back here, you bastard!"

She got up on her knees and clawed the ground, spilling tears. Hanna removed herself from her Keeper and watched her Keeper cry. Her ears fell back and her whispers disappeared. Her fangs grew smaller and her nails withdrew in size. Her nine tails, however, were still in place.

Jungkook noticed that people were starting to come in. He looked at Hanna, who seemed wary about this. He looked back at Jieun, who was still feeling distraught about the entire situation. He quickly and awkwardly walked over to Jieun and kneeled next to her. Slowly her short hair, he tried to soothe her to calm her down.

"It's…o-okay," he whispered. Words of comfort wasn't a skill of his—that was Seokmin's job.

But Seokmin was down, and so was Yuna. He was the only one who could say anything to bring Jieun back to her senses.

And that seemed to work. Jieun stopped crying and began to notice that the students and the Instructors were coming in. Hanna closed her eyes and twirled in her dress, transforming into a white fox scarf that magically wrapped itself around Jieun's shoulder. Jieun the soft fur, comforting herself before the fur slithered into her sleeves and disappeared with a blink of light.

Jieun quickly wiped her eyes and made a stupid smile with a small chuckle.

"That has to be the most awkward way of comforting someone," Jieun said, making fun of his attempts to make her feel better. Jungkook's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Then, she made another soft smile. "Are you sure that you want those to be the first words you've ever said to me?"

He couldn't believe that she was teasing him right now. Did she have any rights to make fun of him when he just did a huge favor and helped her hide the fox-tailed lady?

I seriously can't wait to steal the Mythos of Kreo from you, Jungkook thought as he made a bitter expression while she giggled.