“So why are you here while Aunt Kwon is next door?” Baekhyun stared at Mark who was settled comfortably behind the counter of Naesae. “Shouldn’t it be the other way round?”

“Thought you might miss me too much.” Mark winked at Baekhyun.

“As if,” Baekhyun snorted. “You’re the first person I see when I wake up and the last person I see when I go to sleep. There’s no opportunity to actually miss you even if I wanted to.”

“Jongdae’s mother is probably glad there’s finally another adult around,” Mark commented, a shift in his tone to match the more serious topic being discussed. “And Chinsun’s aunt probably wants to make up for all the years she was gone travelling.”

Baekhyun fell silent. Although Mark generally flaunted a borderline conceited persona who’s hobby was to irk Jongin, he still had these moments of maturity and sensitivity. Suddenly, Baekhyun was reminded of Sehun who despite their brief interactions, had shown a deep level of emotional quotient and ability to adapt to any given situation. It seemed that all the people with the ‘sight’ that Baekhyun had met — albeit few and limited — were highly perceptive and had a flair of reading the atmosphere and knowing exactly what to say and do to ameliorate the situation. Whether that was a biological trait or learnt skill it was yet unclear, but Baekhyun was pretty certain that it was the latter.

“Do you know Sehun by any chance?” Baekhyun blurted out.

He was not sure why he had the urge to ask such a question. From the look of confusion Mark was giving him, it was clear that he was not familiar with Sehun’s name. Maybe it was because Mark’s playfulness and cheeky behaviour reminded him very much of the model. Furthermore, both males enjoyed ruffling Jongin’s feathers though Baekhyun did question whether Sehun and Mark would actually get along since they both had such large and inflated personalities. However, if those two were to ever form an alliance, then Jongin had torturous days awaiting him.

The door of Naesae swung open in that moment and in came a tall figure who’s broad shoulders blocked the sunlight that was trying to infiltrate from outside. The image triggered a sense of deja vu in Baekhyun who recalled seeing the same scene not too long ago and when he noticed the mouth mask matched with the cap that the tall male was wearing, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

“Speak of the devil.”

“So I’m the devil now?” Sehun sniggered, removing his mouth mask. “Missed me?”

The model showed his billion-dollar smile at Baekhyun while his eyes travelled towards the counter only to see someone sitting there who was definitely not who he expected to see.

“Did I inadvertently travel to a parallel universe where Chinsun is a rebel male into biker leather jackets?” Sehun uttered in a flat tone that made it hard for Baekhyun to deduce if he was being serious or joking.

“No way Chinsun would be as good looking as me if she turned into a male,” Mark snorted.

“Do you make it a habit to visit randomly without giving advanced notice?” Baekhyun questioned Sehun, successfully distracting the latter from Mark’s statement.

“I like to be spontaneous,” Sehun replied while swaying his arms dramatically in the air. “Actually yesterday I had a shoot scheduled here in Jeju last minute, so I decided to extend my stay by a few days and have some time off with my favourite people.”

“Why thank you devil stranger,” Mark chirped happily. “I’m Mark Tuan by the way.”

“Oh Sehun…” Sehun responded uncertainly.

Staring at Baekhyun, Sehun arched his eyebrows as if demanding for answers. Sighing, Baekhyun patted the space next to him on the bench, signalling Sehun to join him there.

“It’s a long story.”

・・・

“No way you could have become a priest while looking like that,” Sehun stated monotonously, his eyes scrutinising Mark from head to toe.

“Ever heard of not judging a book by its cover?” Mark countered in an equally monotonous tone.

“Hmmm…” Sehun hummed, still feeling sceptical before quickly switching gears. “Still, I’m glad this whole Jongdae ordeal is done and over with. It was infuriating to see Jongin mother him so much.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” Mark nodded even though Sehun was not speaking to him.

“But what’s up with you and the egg ghost?” Sehun continued. “You really got yourself into something troublesome.”

“Real troublesome,” Mark echoed.

Baekhyun shook his head. He was a sociable person who never struggled interacting with others, but when facing Sehun and Mark, even Baekhyun had to think twice before opening his mouth. Baekhyun could not tell whether they were in agreement because Mark went along with whatever Sehun said or in disagreement  because Sehun kept ignoring Mark. Nonetheless, despite the two of them meeting for the first, it would appear that they were already on the same wavelength and Baekhyun was convinced that their alliance was just a matter of time.

“Anyway, where are my best buddies at?” Sehun abruptly stood up. “They better not be hovering over Jongdae like moths around a lightbulb.”

“They’re in the archive,” Baekhyun answered. “Researching into ways of tracing the spirit that scratched me.”

“And something about the egg ghost,” Mark added. “Though I doubt they’ll find anything. We’ve already gone through those books and found nothing practical, just legends and witness statements.”

Ignoring Mark yet again, Sehun sauntered towards the archive in large strides. When he entered inside, he had to pause to take in the sight in front of him. Chinsun and Jongin were sprawled on the ground and surrounded by books. While Chinsun was lying with her stomach downwards and resting her chin on her arms, Jongin was lying down with his head on Chinsun’s back, using her as a pillow. Both of them had a look of utter concentration, completely oblivious of Sehun’s presence.

“They look cozy,” Sehun mumbled, taking out his phone to take a snapshot of the moment.

Checki