Baekhyun stirred from his restless sleep, shivering at the cold breeze that glided across his face. With great effort, he forced his eyelids to open, struggling to focus his eyes due to the ceiling light that glared at him.

“He’s awake.” A muffled voice echoed in Baekhyun’s ears as he tried to sit up.

Soon a pair of strong arms held Baekhyun firmly by the shoulders to help him get into a more comfortable position. That was when Baekhyun realised that he was laying on the sofa. Sehun was the one who was holding him while Jongdae was slouched over the backrest of the sofa, his eyes glued on Baekhyun. Jongin stood firmly by the kitchen door, his eyes following Chinsun’s every movement as she approached Baekhyun with a mug of chamomile tea.

“This should help.” Chinsun handed the mug to Baekhyun who accepted it gladly.

Mark was walking in circles around the living room, though his eyes were focused on the spot where Sehun said the egg ghost stood before disappearing. The sound of his heels against the wooden floor resonated in the silent room and Sehun’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

“Will you stop that?” Sehun hollered at the golden haired male. “I’m getting dizzy from watching you.”

“Then keep your eyes off of me,” Mark snapped back before an arrogant smirk graced his face. “Or am I too irresistible?”

Groaning loudly, Sehun grabbed a cushion from the sofa and threw it at Mark though the latter easily avoided the hit by tilting his head to the side. Much to Sehun’s horror, the cushion ended up smacking Jongin straight in the face. Oblivious to what had happened, Mark winked at Sehun but sensed something was not right upon seeing Sehun’s eyes doubling in size while Baekhyun, Jongdae and Chinsun were stifling a fit of laughter.

The cushion had fallen on the floor and Jongin kicked it out of the way as he took a step forward, his footsteps so heavy that Mark could have sworn the ground was shaking. Sehun gulped loudly and shrank his neck inwards like a turtle trying to hide inside his shell as he felt Jongin’s glare dig into him. Then, the tapping of delicate steps that contrasted with Jongin’s waltzed past Sehun and he found himself shielded by Chinsun who had her arm extended up with her palm open, like a traffic police telling a car to stop.

“Behave yourself,” Chinsun ordered as though talking to a puppy. “We’ve got some serious stuff to discuss.”

Jongin’s expression twisted uncomfortably before finally settling for a disgruntled pout that triggered a wave of giggles and teasing hums from the onlookers — Sehun included. Swallowing his embarrassment, the only thing that gave away what Jongin was feeling were his glowing red ears which he forced himself to ignore. Coughing into his hand, Jongin returned to leaning against the wall by the kitchen door, deciding that it was best to maintain distance — both to stop himself from punching both Sehun and Mark and to not be within Jongdae’s clutches as it was clear that he was dying to poke fun of his cousin.

“Right then.” Sehun hurriedly moved the conversation forward. “Serious stuff. Evil spirit that tried to attack Jongdae, egg ghost visit, Baekhyun fainting.”

“That evil spirit was weak,” Jongin grumbled. “Either it was a random spirit attracted to Jongdae — which would be nothing new — or it was Kim Sungil’s minion.”

“Did the egg ghost do anything to make you faint?” Mark glanced at Baekhyun.

Not expecting to be thrown in the spotlight, it took Baekhyun a few moments to process the question and formulate a proper answer.

“No.” Baekhyun shook his head, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. “It just stared at me like usual. At least it seemed like it was staring at me since it has no eyes and stuff…”

“Your body is responding to it much more strongly though.” Chinsun frowned while biting her thumb. “That can’t mean anything good.”

“Either way what’s for certain is that Jongdae and Baekhyun are never to be alone. Though that's nothing new,” Jongin stated with certainty. “We’re been saying this a lot but this time you two will never be out of our sights. Ever.”

“Get ready for group showers roomie,” Mark mused while wiggling his eyebrows at Baekhyun who scrunched his face at the thought.

“You’re in luck,” Sehun snorted. “I’ve got a great body.”

“Guys,” Baekhyun yelped into his hands. “Serious discussion.”

Sehun and Mark glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders while Jongdae stared wearily at Jongin.

“I demand privacy while I shower at the very least.”

“Just don’t accidentally drown,” Jongin deadpanned which Jongdae responded by poking his tongue out.

“So what do we do next?” Baekhyun questioned though he regretted asking when everyone immediately fell silent.

Jongdae glanced at Sehun who turned to look at Mark. Mark in turn shifted his attention towards Chinsun while she locked eyes with Jongin, the two of them falling into yet another one of their silent conversations. Used to their process, Jongdae poked at the tattoo in the palm of his hands to entertain himself, knowing better than to try and decipher what the two of them were doing.

“We need something stronger to create more powerful talismans,” Chinsun finally spoke up. “I need to make a trip to the mountains to gather ingredients.”

“I’ll go with you,” Mark offered immediately, trying to make up for what had happened at the abandoned temple.

“No, I’ll go,” Jongin interjected, no space for protest in his tone. “You and Sehun stay with Jongdae and Baekhyun, and make sure no one faints again.”

What Jongin really wanted to do was to throw an accusatory comment along the lines of ‘you couldn’t even protect her last time’ but Chinsun threw him a harsh stare that promptly shut him up and stopped him from saying anything further.

Sehun bit his tongue to hold back a snarky remark. Mark crossed his arms over his chest, not exactly content with Jongin’s attitude but following his orders nonetheless. Baekhyun and Jongdae sighed in unison as they did not have much of a say.

・・・

Not wanting to waste any time, Chinsun and Jongin immediately set off for the mountains, with the former leading the way as she was the most familiar with the mountainous paths and how to avoid the traps and tricks set by the spirits that inhabited the mountain.

Jongin’s senses were on high alert as they ventured into what for him was completely foreign terrain. Catching something from the corner of his eyes, Jongin darted his attention towards a tree not too far from them; specifically the branch that was closest to the ground where what appeared to be a child’s legs dangled, the body hidden by the dense leaves. A dainty hand poked out, motioning Jongin to come over. Without realising, Jongin’s feet strayed from the direction Chinsun was going in. Before he could take one more step however, Chinsun grabbed Jongin’s arm,  pulling him close to her.

“Don’t. That’s a spirit of the forest. They are playful types that seek out entertainment by trapping humans in labyrinths and hallucinations,” Chinsun warned a low