Only a day after Minji and Baëkhyun had been in the creepy mansion, Chaeyoung came over for a visit. “Minji!” she said excitedly. “You’ll never guess what happened last night!”

“No, I’ll never guess,” Minji replied, but her sarcastic tone went unnoticed by her bubbly friend. They sat down at the kitchen table and she offered Chaeyoung coffee since she looked pretty tired.

Minji had to listen to her longwinded rambling about what had happened to her and her friends. It was a bit difficult to act like she didn’t already know everything her friend told her, but she kept shut and nodded from time to time as she listened. When Chaeyoung had finally ended her explanation, she glanced at Minji with wide eyes.

“What do you think? Sounds pretty crazy, right? I just remember following a stranger to the basement, next thing I know is that I woke up on the ground,” she shuddered, holding her coffee cup with both hands. “Maybe Jisoo was right all this time… maybe ghosts and demons do exist.”

“Yeah, suure,” Minji said sarcastically. “If demons existed, they would be conceited, self-centered, rude, annoying, ill-tempered…”

She didn’t get to finish her sentence because Baëkhyun had heard her comments and came through the door, glowering at her with a sinister glint in his eyes. It was rare to see him without the face chain, leading her to assume he had lost it somewhere in the mansion.

“What did you just say, human?” he grumbled.

“Nothing,” Minji replied innocently before her attention moved back to Chaeyoung. “This is Baëkhyun, the new housemate I mentioned a while ago.”

“O-Oh, hello,” she said, clearing . Her eyes went wide and she gaped at him like he was out of this world. Which was kind of true. “Minji, you didn’t tell me you have… uh… such a… hot housemate.”

“Thank you for feeding his ego,” Minji retorted when she saw the smug smirk on Baëkhyun’s lips. The bastard was enjoying the attention, she could see it in his eyes.

“I was just surprised,” Chaeyoung said. “Are you an angel?” she added jokingly.

Now he looked very offended, clicking his tongue. “No, I’m a demon and you have no idea how many souls I have sent to purgatory before,” he said with a deadpan face.

Chaeyoung obviously didn’t get it, laughing at him. “Oh, I see.”

“I’m serious.”

Minji choked on air, her eyes so wide they almost fell out of her head. “Baëkhyun, shut the up!” she hissed, ready to strangle him, but he ignored her deliberately, his lips twitching in amusement at her exasperation.

“Does that mean you have wings? And horns?” Chaeyoung asked in an attempt to humor him.

“No, only angels have wings and I don’t like those. Some demons do have horns, but I personally think they look overdramatic,” he explained in dead seriousness. Minji couldn’t believe the ridiculousness of this conversation, how they completely talked past one another.

“Damn, he takes this roleplaying thing seriously,” Chaeyoung commented, smirking at Minji. “So that’s the kind of stuff you’re into. .”

Minji’s mouth fell open. “T-That’s not… I’m not…!” she stuttered, blushing bright red.

“How do you stay in character like that?” Chaeyoung gushed, her eyes glued to Baëkhyun. “This is amazing.”

“Because what I said is true,” he answered, annoyed at the human that didn’t get it at all.

“Baëkhyun, don’t you have something else to do?” Minji cut in and shot him a look that could have killed.

“No,” he drawled. “Entertain me.”

Chaeyoung giggled. “Ohhh, I see how it is. You are so cute, I can’t!” she gushed, prompting Minji to hide her face in her hands, groaning and grumbling at these two idiots.

The shopping streets of Myeongdong were especially crowded today since it was Saturday afternoon and Minji had to be careful not to get separated from Yixing in the chaos. They had agreed to meet today to spend some time together outside of work. A whole week had passed since she had entered that creepy house and sometimes she had nightmares of the visit. It had scared her more than she wanted to admit, but she was careful to hide this from Baëkhyun since she suspected that he would only taunt her if he found out. Yixing on the other hand had been quite understanding when she had told him about it. He was a little angry at her friend for being so stupid, but he was glad that none of them had been hurt.

“Are you getting along better with Baëkhyun?” Yixing asked when they passed several boutiques and shops.

“I don’t know, honestly. We’re bickering a lot but… it’s okay, I guess.”

“If he annoys you too much, tell me,” Yixing said, smiling slyly. “I know exactly how to get on his nerves!”

“I don’t doubt it,” she grinned. “I can always count on you!”

He snorted and nodded.

Minji had a good reason to go shopping today, though she wasn’t sure if she would find what she was looking for since it was a little special. Nonetheless, she wanted to try her luck. She entered a jeweler store, seeing Yixing grin knowingly.

It took some time, but eventually, she found what she wanted and bought it. Yixing nearly fell over laughing when he saw what it was and didn’t let her hear the end of it, teasing her until she had a permanent blush on her face. He made it a lot more embarrassing for her than it was, almost acting as if she had bought wedding rings or something like that.

“I wouldn’t have expected that of you, Minji. You surprised me,” he cackled.

“D-Don’t say that! I-I just thought… it would be a… good idea,” she stumbled over her words, unable to look at Yixing. The demon wasn’t done making fun of her yet, much to her annoyance.

“I’ve never seen you buy something for your boyfriend before,” he smirked and she nearly dropped her shopping bag.

“What boyfriend? I don’t have one!” she said so quickly that he almost didn’t understand her.

“Are you sure?” Yixing asked slyly. “You do realize that a bond is the demon version of marriage, do you?” he snickered and his eyes twinkled mischievously when the blush on her face got as red as hellfire itself. “H-HUH?!” she squeaked. “Why hasn’t anyone ever told me?!”

It was 6 pm when she returned home, and after Yixing’s endless teasing she wasn’t so sure anymore if what she was planning was a good idea. She took off her jacket, pulled a little box from her shopping bag, and trudged towards the living room where she heard the muffled sounds of the tv. She discovered Baëkhyun playing another PS4 game and sat down next to him on the sofa. He briefly looked at her, pausing his game and putting the controller on the table.

“Didn’t expect you to come back so soon. Did Läy annoy you?” he smirked.

“You could say that,” she mumbled under her breath, feeling her cheeks get warmer. She fidgeted with the box in her hands, falling silent. He raised an eyebrow at her and observed her curiously.

“What’s up with you? You’re being weirder than usual.”

“And you’re as rude as usual,” she retorted, finally finding the courage to go through with it. “I got you something,” she said and held the box out to him.

“Oh? What could that be?” He took the little box and opened the lid, staring at its content. His lips parted and silence fell over the room. When his eyes met hers, they reflected surprise that soon changed to amusement. “I should have expected it,” he chuckled lowly, taking out a delicate silver chain and weighing it in his hand.

“I… I just thought since you lost your other one… and you never got a new one,” she said, watching him put it on just like he always wore it.

“Thanks, Minji,” he said, and for once he looked happy, the brightness of his eyes catching her off guard. His flirty grin had her heart flutter in her chest and she blushed, unable to take her gaze off him.  

Happy that her surprise had been a success, Minji was in a good mood for the rest of the evening. She had gone to the bathroom to take a shower earlier, and now she was drying her hair, pulling it up in a bun. Wrapping a towel around herself, she glanced at her reflection in the mirror, smiling brightly.

As she looked in the mirror, she saw movement and suddenly she stared into the eyes of a stranger that had appeared out of thin air, standing next to her. He looked just as surprised as her, his piercing eyes widening a fraction.

Stumbling back, she slipped on the tiles and landed hard on the ground, clutching her towel that almost opened. Pain flared through her back. She cursed and screeched loudly, grabbing a bar of soap that she threw at the intruder. He wasn’t sure if he should shield himself or cover his ears and ended up standing motionless, staring at her like she had lost it. Minji grabbed a shampoo bottle and tossed it at him. Next, she got her hands on a bath duck and threw it at his head with all the force she could muster. It made a squishing sound when it hit him.

“Get ooouut! You creep!” she screamed. Without warning, the door was ripped open by a furious Baëkhyun whose eyes widened at the scene in front of him. Minji’s towel had slipped up and revealed a dangerous amount of skin, and it was very obvious who was responsible for all this. Light flashed and struck the intruder that cursed at Baëkhyun.

“It’s not what it looks like!” he defended himself.

“H-He tried to peep!” she yelled agitatedly.

“I’m going to kill you, Kāi,” Baëkhyun threatened and came closer, but Kāi suddenly vanished into thin air, and Minji and Baëkhyun were alone.

“Huh? Where did he go?” she asked suspiciously. “Who was that ert?”

Baëkhyun sighed annoyedly and ran a hand through his hair, the anger in his eyes gradually fading. “It was one of my friends… he has the bad habit to appear at the stupidest of times…” he grumbled. “Get dressed before he comes back, okay?”

She nodded and he left the bathroom. Hastily, she put on her clothes, looking around paranoidly until she was finally done. Just at this moment, the doorbell rang and she heard Baëkhyun walk off to the front door. She heard muffled voices and got curious, leaving the bathroom to enter the hallway where she discovered three men, all dressed in very fancy clothes. One of them was the green-haired ert, Kāi, who she glared at with a ve