I watched the feisty leprechauns stand in front of me and Sehun, and a lot of other people growling. They didn’t seem scared and they were all intensely looking at each of us. I could see that they were ready to attack anyone who would tell them otherwise and Sehun let out a breath, crossing his arms.

“I think we need a plan,” Eunhyuk told Sehun who nodded, rubbing his head. I saw how stressed out he was for a moment and I placed a hand on his shoulder, Sehun pulling me closer to hug me before resting his head on mine. I could see people around us clear their throats, Baekhyun turning away with Chanyeol as if they weren’t used to seeing Sehun like this.

But he did it so naturally, his lips finding the top of my head as he began to brood. We stood there still for a while when the leprechauns began to grow impatient.

“We gotta!”

“Go now!” They chirped.

“We all have collectively!”

“14 brain cells! When we are! Complete!”

“Incomplete… You do the math!” They yelled out, waving their small weapons.

“They have four brain cells!” One of them said before getting hit by another beside him.

“Three-point five!”

“I forgot Avocado Green has half a brain cell!” The purple one said, scratching his shoulder.

“Alright. Calm down. Can someone tell me what happened?” Sehun asked, finally speaking out. They looked at him and before I knew it, they all huddled into a tight group, whispering. Straining my ears, I heard the words “rap”, “sing” and “dance” and almost like a switch, they turned to us.

“We will choose who speaks!” The white one said. “Baby Blue! Drop the beat!”

I blinked when the smallest blue little leprechaun began to make sounds with its mouth that was nowhere near beatboxing but every one of them formed a circle and began to dance, all looking at us hopefully. What did they want to do? Rumpel let out a sigh, scratching the back of his head.

“You just got to let them do it,” he said to us. “It’s how they decide on important decisions.”

And after a good five minutes, they all stood in line in front of us, Sehun still stunned at how they worked. He cleared his throat and looked over to Rumpelstiltskin who leaned forward and told him to choose who was the best dancer. Sehun nudged me and I nudged him back. As much as I wanted to choose, they all looked like they were ready to attack anyone who wouldn’t choose them.

“Uh, the clear-colored one,” Sehun mumbled and suddenly was rebutted by an angry yell from the rest.

“He doesn’t know how to dance!”

“This is!”

“UNFAIR!” Pumpkin Orange screeched.

“Alright, alright. That’s enough, brothers and sisters,” Rumpelstiltskin said out loud sternly and they all turned to him. He faltered and took a step backward. “We don’t have time to lose, don’t we? Crystal Clear, you speak. You are the oldest.”

Crystal Clear cleared his throat and I saw that indeed looked much older and much mature than the other colored ones. He took a step forward and swayed, the leprechauns sitting down on a circle.

“When the night was still young, we were all trying to mine for energy. The wind was brushing past all of us when we all then heard galloping from a faraway distant land,” Crystal Clear said dreamily before continuing. “Avocado Green saw a male and began yelling out “Elf!” “Elf!” and when we looked over to him, he seemed like an elf! But he wasn’t… Because Elves are no longer in this world.”

“Okay, and then?” Sehun asked impatiently.

“He had silverish hair and looked much like an elf,” Crystal Clear told us. “And Avocado started running over to him! That foolish leprechaun! Banana Yellow ran after him… Then Rambutan Red and Peach Pink because they believed him! In front of our eyes… Avocado Green was… SACKED!” He yelled out as if he was into the storytelling. “Banana Yellow bit him! But she… was SACKED TOO!”

“And all of them were sacked because of Avocado Green,” Eunhyuk said to wrap up the story.

“It must be Taeyong,” Doyoung said out loud and we looked at him. “Taeyong has elven blood.”

“This is all Avocado Green’s fault,” Yam Purple mumbled and I sighed. “They have! Three-point five brain cells!”

“Alright. You all need rest. We leave first thing in the morning. The sun is setting—,” Sehun began but they shook their heads.

“We need!”

“To go now!” They yelled and growled, Sehun letting out an exhale.

“I bet you wish you were asleep right now,” I and he rolled his eyes.

“If you don’t help us!”

“We’ll do it!”

“OURSELVES!”

“No, if you go there and are kidnapped then they’ll be able to force you to make portals for them,” Sehun warned but they weren’t listening, already turning their backs on Sehun and whispering on when to make a rainbow to get their siblings. Rumpelstiltskin shook his head, grabbing a big sack from the side and before I knew it, he had sacked them—their little bodies being put into the bag.

He did it to most of them but Pumpkin Orange and Yam Purple were fast to figure out what was going on. They began to run around, screeching out on top of their lungs. I watched as Rumpel tied the sack filled with eight leprechauns and tried to run after the remaining two.

The bag that was holding the leprechauns moved around and I saw a few hands and feet try to punch the sack when I heard them talking.

“Why is it dark!”

“Who turned off the lights?!”

“Idiot! You’re just closing your eyes!”

“No, you try it!”

“Oh no. We’re kidnapped!”

“COME BACK HERE!” Rumpelstiltskin yelled at the other two leprechauns as they ran with their hands in the air. Eunhyuk seemed to have seen that they needed his help, the mage dispelling mist out of his fingers as the mist went straight for Pumpkin Orange. Sehun used his powers and the mist was directed to only the leprechauns. In one single strike, Pumpkin Orange fell asleep on the ground, plopping down limply.

When Yam Purple saw it, he lost his .

“OH NO!” He yelled out dramatically, pausing. “When one of us dies, we all die! My time is here! I feel it!”

Rumpelstiltskin took this chance to grab Yam Purple and a sleeping Pumpkin Orange into the sack. When he tossed them in and tied the sack, we all heard the rest of the leprechaun’s scream.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

“Brother!”

“He’s DEAD!”

“WE WILL ALL OBLITERATE!”

Rumpelstiltskin sighed, dragging the sack over to us, sighing. “Leprechauns, like elves, don’t sleep,” he told us. “That’s why they are freaking out right now. They think Pumpkin Orange is dead.”

“Reminds me of Tao’s passive,” I said to Tao who made a face.

“Hey, I’m the time mage,” he reminded me. “Besides, don’t you think it’s a bit harsh to leave them in a sack?”

Rumpelstiltskin looked at him and for a moment I realized that Rumpelstiltskin and Tao seemed to have a mutual understanding between them. Tao stared at Rumpelstilskin and Rumpelstiltskin shrugged, dragging the sack over to him.

“You take care of them,” he said to Tao and Tao shrugged, grabbing the sack. “Well, come and get the sack from me when you need them. I don’t sleep anyway so I’ll guard them.”

“Sounds good,” Sehun said, grabbing my hand. “Before I go to bed, I need a hand on who’ll go get the leprechauns. I should go. I haven’t been much help since I’ve been awake.”

“Me, of course,” Eunhyuk said, shoving a hand into his pocket. “I can just make everyone fall asleep.”

“Me too,” Kai said, raising his hand. “And maybe, Haechan.”

“It’s best to keep the circle small,” Rumpelstiltskin said and I nodded, agreeing. “Doyoung—”

“I’m going to scout out for more information when the sun rises,” Doyoung said to us. “I need to see who is uncharmed and who I should bring back to base. If I bring someone who’ll betray us….”

“Of course. I understand,” Sehun said and I smiled at Doyoung who gave us a bow. “Let’s go to bed. Sleep for a few hours. Tomorrow is a new day.”

I nodded and began to walk towards our small shack. Everyone was doing such a good job, our places to sleep now similar to little cottages. Jaehyun and his father, Master Jung, were apparently in the furniture-making business. They owned the Jung tree farm and Master Jung Hae-in could make furniture from the wood. He had added roofs, doors and was having a blast with his son, the two seemingly bonding over the shared work.

We reached our little place and I sighed, rubbing my head. I had no idea what would happen, what we had to do and Sehun could sense my worry; my fake fiancé coming behind to place his hands on my shoulders to massage them.

“I don’t know what to do,” I told him and looked up to him, Sehun chuckling. He was fixing our place to sleep and I watched him from where I stood. This Sehun was the Sehun I enjoyed. At times we fought like dogs but whenever it was time to sleep, he always made sure I had a comfortable place to sleep in. He never let me go to sleep mad at him.

“Ong Harin, there isn’t much to do yet,” he told me. “We’ll take it one step at a time.”

“Your father is an ,” I told him and his expression didn’t change.

“I know he is,” he replied smoothly, climbing onto the elevated piece of wood that had blankets layered on top of it to lessen the roughness of the surface. He settled underneath a big blanket that was summoned by Ten who was putting all his skills to good use before patting the space beside him.

I let out a sigh, knowing I couldn’t blame him. I walked over to him, sliding underneath the mattress, and almost automatically he had settled closer, rubbing his face against my neck. I grumbled, pushing him away, still annoyed at our lack of plans. As much as I spoiled Sehun, he spoiled me in ways I could never imagine and it was making me act up sometimes.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll wake up extra early and write everything down,” he said to me, propping his head on his palm as he looked down on me. “It’ll be detailed, step by step, and thirty pieces of parchment.”

“You’d do that?” I asked him and he nodded, a hand going to caress my face. “I want the tiniest of details,” I warned him and he nodded again, tackling me into a hug as he wrapped his arms around me and held me against him.

“Anything for my fiancé,” he replied and I found my words getting muffled.

“I’m not your fiancé!”

“What? What did you say?” Sehun teased, and I tried to push him away but his grip was a little too strong. “Oh no. I guess I’ll have to get engaged to someone else then!”

“OH SEHUN!” I yelled out at him, sitting up and crossing my arms at him. “Say that again.”

“I forgot,” Sehun replied a little too quickly and reached out for me but I slapped his hand away. I knew it was a joke but the idea of him with someone else burned a hole through my heart and I glared daggers at him.

“Don’t touch me,” I warned him but cheeky little Oh Sehun seemed to enjoy the reaction, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him with much difficulty. “Oh Sehun—”

“Yeah, yeah. That’s my name,” he said, placing his legs on top of mine before kissing my forehead. “Well, if you insist that I stay engaged with you, I guess I have no choice.”

“Oh Sehun, I swear to god—”

“Okay, okay. Sleep time!” He sang and he tucked me under his chin, a hand patting my back. I let out an irritated sigh before closing my eyes.

Oh Sehun, he had his own way of annoying the out of me… But I loved him anyway.

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A few hours had passed and I couldn’t sleep. It was beginning to get hot with Sehun’s arm around me and I pushed him away, my mind still reeling. A part of me had a bad feeling about something that I couldn’t ignore, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I sat up when Sehun stirred and I froze, not wanting to wake him up when he mumbled my name. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw him frown in his sleep and I stood up, knowing I had to take a night walk. My heart was heavy.

As I went out of our small shack, I began to take a night stroll when I heard the leprechauns. Coming closer, I saw that it was Tao. He was playing with them and they were singing as they circled around him. Calling out his name, I saw Tao look up with a smile on his face.

“Tao,” I said and was about to step closer when the leprechauns brandished out their small forks, growling. “Woah. Well, that’s scary. They seem to like you,” I commented as I saw them sit by Tao’s feet.

“Can’t sleep?” Tao asked me and I nodded, scared to even take one step closer because of the small leprechauns growling at me. “Want to join me?”

“Uh, no thanks,” I told him and he laughed softly, a hand going up to caress Pumpkin Orange that was looking up at him lovingly. I heard a sound behind me and when I looked back, I saw Chanyeol and Doyoung together. Doyoung seemed deep in thought and when Chanyeol saw me, he waved. I walked towards them and Doyoung bowed once more.

“You don’t have to bow, Doyoung,” I told him and he blushed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I see the leprechauns have taken a liking to Tao,” Chanyeol said as the leprechauns danced underneath the moonlight.

“They have,” I said and he chuckled, offering me his arm, Doyoung following suit. I nodded, looping both my arms around theirs as we walked down the camp. It was calming and not at the slightest awkward, both of them enjoying the wind and my presence as we made our way through the camp.

“When were you uncharmed, Senior?” Doyoung asked, looking at Chanyeol. Chanyeol gave out a sigh and I saw the heaviness in Doyoung’s features. “I wonder if I can