Jongin had tried to leave the moment Baekhyun fainted as he had no desire to get dragged into whatever trouble was brewing because of Baekhyun’s sudden attainment of the ‘sight’. Chinsun however, being the meddlesome person that she was, forced Jongin to stay, insisting that it was their collective duty and responsibility to look after the poor male. To make matters more frustrating, Chinsun had used her infamous puppy face that no one was able to refuse — not even Jongin. It was the same puppy face that throughout their childhood, Jongdae would use as secret weapon whenever he needed to convince Jongin to go along with his mischievous pranks.

Sighing in resignation, Jongin helped carry Baekhyun towards the bench. The moment they touched him though, the male jolted awake, his eyes snapping wide open. The first thought that came into Baekhyun’s mind was that it had just been a very realistic dream. However, when his eyes landed on the bloodied tissue Chinsun had used to clean his wound, Baekhyun knew that it was all very much real and he shrank back, wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into due to his undying curiosity and inability to mind his own business.

Sensing how Baekhyun was growing increasingly agitated, Chinsun mastered the most reassuring and calming smile she could offer, and it seemed to be effective because Baekhyun’s shoulders visibly relaxed. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Chinsun sat on the bench by the counter and patted the space next to her, signalling Baekhyun to join her. The weary male did as he was told, though he still did not dare utter a single word. His eyes did however wander all over the bookshop, suddenly seeing the shop through a whole new perspective — both literally and metaphorically.

“We owe you an explanation don’t we?” Chinsun hummed, her voice gentle and melodious, like that of a nightingale.

“We don’t owe him anything.” Jongin rolled his eyes.

Jongin bit his tongue to stop a yelp of pain from rolling out of his mouth, and then glared at Chinsun who had just kicked him in the shin. The two then fell into another one of their silent exchanges and Baekhyun found himself growing increasingly amused by their ability to have fierce conversations through the wiggling of their eyebrows and movement of their pupils alone.

Baekhyun had to fake a cough to cover up the chuckle that managed to escape from his throat when he saw Jongin’s shoulders deflate. He knew that the tall male had just lost whatever wordless argument he was having with Chinsun. Baekhyun was now more convinced than ever that whatever unbelievable story there was about the spiritual world, nothing could compare to the complex and indecipherable workings of Jongin and Chinsun’s relationship.

・・・

“So let me get this straight,” Baekhyun said slowly, his head hurting from the sudden overload of information that had just been dumped on him. “The Kim family has been exorcists since ancient times, dating back to the Joseon era. They were so influential and powerful that they served the royal family. But then with the fall of Joseon and the political shifts, there was a crackdown on anti-science organisations and practices and the only surviving branch of the Kim family escaped to Jeju island. They then settled here and opened a funeral home as a front cover to integrate with the normal society while still passing down the spiritual practices and traditions.”

Baekhyun paused, giving Jongin and Chinsun a tentative glance. Jongin was the one who had explained everything and Baekhyun assumed that he did so only because he had lost the silence argument against Chinsun. Seeing Chinsun nod at him, Baekhyun took in a deep breath and continued summarising everything.

“Over the years, the Kim family established themselves as exorcists in the new world order and expanded their network to include those who do not have the Kim blood but have the ‘sight’. However since they also married locals who had nothing to do with the spiritual world nor had spiritual power, less and less people were born with the ‘sight’. Jongdae’s mum is an example of a muggle marrying into a family of wizards. But she knows about all of this?”

“The moment uncle decided to propose to her, he told her everything,” Jongin replied, ignoring the Harry Potter reference. “Even if she doesn’t have the ‘sight’ she could still help with the normal funeral stuff.”

“Does this make Jongdae the half-blood prince? The inheritor and successor of it all?” Baekhyun questioned, trying to wrap his brain around everything.

“Yes and no,” Chinsun tried to explain. “He can’t see spirits, so he’s taken over Mama Kim’s position in overseeing the normal business. Jongin’s