Minji stood in the kitchen, about to get the pizza from the oven. “Stop,” Baëkhyun interfered, and she flinched because she hadn’t even heard him arrive.

“Why?”

“We all know what’s gonna happen when you touch that burning hot pizza pan,” he said and shoed her away. “Let me do it and save us both the trouble.”

“Hey, you’re acting like I’m made of glass and clumsy as hell,” she whined, stepping back and letting him get the pizza. It was huge, covered in salami, tomatoes, and other ingredients they had both put on it earlier.

“That’s because you are,” he taunted with a cocky smirk that never failed to annoy her.

“No!”

“Yes!”

“Ugh, getting on my nerves is your only hobby,” she grumbled, watching as he put a few pizza slices on a plate for them to eat. Minji grabbed two glasses and a bottle of soda and walked into the living room, where the tv was already on. After Taeyøng’s and Taëmin’s unexpected visit, they had agreed to spend the rest of the evening at home.

Minji had used reverse psychology to trick Baëkhyun into helping her make the pizza. Getting the stubborn demon to do what she wanted hadn't been hard. “I thought you were good at cooking, but it seems you at it,” she had said. “That’s not true! I’m better at it than you!” he had answered, to which she simply said, “Then prove it!”

And that was how easy it had been to convince him to help her. She smirked, sitting on the sofa and leaning against a pillow. He sat next to her, grabbing a slice of the pizza and trying it. Minji found it very amusing how he suddenly found his love for regular human food after refusing to eat it. Initially, she had never seen him eat, but now it happened often.

He was focused on the TV show they were watching and didn’t pay attention to her. It was one of those weird game shows where people made fools of themselves, the kind that Minji didn’t enjoy too much. Baëkhyun, however, laughed his off whenever something unfortunate happened to one of the participants, to which she could only roll her eyes.

“Did you see that idiot human fall on his ? Damn, how stupid are these people?” he snickered in evil joy. Minji shook her head at him, not finding it funny in the slightest.

While his general dislike of humans was still there, she had noticed a change regarding his behavior in her presence. Baëkhyun had been less condescending and mean to her in the past week, making Minji wonder if he started getting used to her. They bickered a lot, and he never let an opportunity slide to tease and fluster her; even so, he had become more thoughtful. Meanwhile, Minji was getting used to the supernatural world. The fact that creatures like demons were real was becoming normal to her, and she no longer lost it when she encountered a ghost hanging out on a street corner.

Minji wasn’t sure what Baëkhyun thought of her since he never bothered calling her by her name. There had only been one single instance when he had done it, and she didn’t want to remember this particular moment...

“Will you stop staring at me?”

She was torn from her thoughts, only to realize she had been looking at him this entire time. He sighed dramatically. “I know I’m handsome, but you’re overdoing it a bit,” he added with the smug smirk he usually wore when he said things like that.

“I have never in my life met someone as conceited as you,” she mumbled.

“Human, how many times do I have to tell you not to insult me?” he growled, glowering at her with dark and sinister eyes. She swallowed, admitting he could be pretty intimidating if he wanted to.

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he then said, turning serious. “The witch bonded to Sehůn mentioned something interesting I keep thinking about. She told us that a blood mage could break our bond.”

“But Baëkhyun, Jangmi warned us about this! It’s too risky, and we don’t even know any blood mages,” she said worriedly, not liking the stubbornness she saw in his face.

“You’re just scared I’d kill you if the bond is gone.”

“Well, I can’t deny that,” she admitted, fidgeting with the blanket on her legs. “But I want to return back to my old life too.”

“That is impossible. You would still be able to see the supernatural, with or without me doesn’t matter,” Baëkhyun replied, his words making her skin crawl in fear. Of course, he was right… Minji had to face it as it was; things would never return to normal unless she somehow magically broke the bond, lost her sight, and got amnesia or something… Yeah, highly unlikely…

“Will you really kill me once the bond is gone?” she asked after a long pause and reluctantly glanced at his face, scared of what she might find. He looked at her for an endless time, observing her without answering. His eyes met hers, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. A trace of red colored the blue of his irises. He gnawed at his lower lip, tilting his head. Minji got more nervous by the second and deeply regretted posing her question until he finally answered her.

“I won’t kill you,” he murmured. “You’re… entertaining, and it would be a waste if you lost your life. Your soul would go to hell since you’re a sinner, and I doubt you would like that place.”

 Ah, that was another problem to be added to the list. She was a sinner now, and heaven’s doors were closed for her, all because a dumb spell had gone out of control. Even so, she was glad to hear he didn’t want to rip her head off anymore…

“Maybe you’re not so bad,” Minji smiled faintly, her eyes twinkling.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, arching an eyebrow while taking another bite of his pizza slice. The TV show had long since been forgotten; none of them paid attention to it anymore.

“Um… demons are usually bad… but you’re not?” she stuttered. “I mean… you are bad, but not that bad? Slightly bad… Half bad?”

“Just stop talking, okay?” he grinned, shaking his head. “Silly human,” he muttered and tousled her hair with his hand just to annoy her.

“Hey!” she complained, trying to save her poor hair from looking like a bird’s nest, but judging by his smirk, it was a lost cause. “You’re so mean!”

“Oh please, you call that mean? I can do so much worse,” he said huskily, the seductive tone of voice not lost on her.

Before she could answer him, her smartphone started ringing, and she pulled it out of the pocket of her sweatpants. It was Chaeyoung, and Minji promptly remembered her friend’s plan for the weekend while sighing to herself. “Hello, Chae?” she said, feeling Baëkhyun’s eyes on her as she spoke.

“Minji, are you coming tonight? We’re already on the way to the house; it will be so much fun!” Chaeyoung said excitedly.

“Please, Chae, I told you this is dangerous. Don’t do it, okay?”

“It’s just a little ghost hunt; what could possibly go wrong? You’re a chicken, just like when we used the Ouija board! Nothing happened back then, and nothing will happen now!” Chaeyoung replied. Coldness seeped in Minji’s heart, and her face fell, dread replacing her happiness. She leaned back on the sofa, glaring at the ceiling.

“S-So what if nothing happened,” she forced out with some difficulty. It was hard to pretend all the time, but Minji didn’t want to drag her friend into this mess. Her obliviousness was annoying, but it was better than confronting her with the harsh truth. “Chaeyoung, you can’t go there! Trespassing is a crime, and you know it.”

“Don’t act like you’re working for the police, Minji! I told you before, nobody will ever find out we were there.”

“Think about this for a minute. The property is abandoned for a reason… if no one wants to live there anymore, something must have happened,” Minji reasoned, but without success.

“You’re right about that; something did happen, and that’s why the place is supposed to be haunted,” Chaeyoung said. “Twenty years ago, a young bride was murdered there, and the people who bought the property later experienced strange things when they wanted to renovate it. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”

Minji couldn’t share her enthusiasm for something so horrifying and creepy. Her fingers were trembling at the mere thought of going there. She had to stop her friend at all costs!

“Don’t go there, please! Trust me on this when I say that it’s too dangerous.”

“You sound like my mom,” her friend remarked. “I’m going with my friends, whether you like it or not! And in case you’re changing your mind, I’ll send you the address. It would be great if you joined us. Remember, be there at midnight!”

And then she ended the call. Minji stared into space, feeling cold. The beeping of the phone next to her ear didn’t register in her brain until Baëkhyun took it from her and put it on the coffee table. He could tell something was wrong, but since he hadn’t heard the whole conversation, he didn’t know what it was.

When Minji got over her initial shock, she took a deep breath. She had to do something since her friend was getting herself into grave danger. Her head snapped around, and she looked at the demon. “You need to help me,” she said pleadingly.

His eyebrows raise at her desperate tone. “Why?”

“My friend is planning to do