Her mind was hazy. Heavy exhaustion prevented her from moving even a bit. It was as if she hadn’t moved her limbs in weeks, as if they were melded to the ground. This foreign sensation worried and scared her. Breathing cost her a lot of effort, and for a moment she was terrified, thinking she would choke. Knowing that she was in a precarious state had her panic, and then she suddenly remembered all that had happened and why she felt this way.

Fear hit her, struck her hard. Where was Baëkhyun? Was he still alive? Hadn’t he been as good as dead when she last saw him? She couldn’t hold back the rising horror within her and opened her eyes abruptly, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. It was shrouded in shadows, so dark she couldn’t even make out its color.

Her eyes frantically moved around the room, not recognizing it. The furniture was modern and looked rather expensive. She didn’t know anyone who could afford anything like it and wondered where she had ended up. Had someone abducted her? The longer she thought about it, the more restless she became and eventually, she sat up, the blanket that had covered her slipping down. She moved to the edge of the bed, feeling dizzy and therefore hesitating to get up. Her magic seemed to be replenished, but her wounds were aching and stinging, prompting her to touch her neck and shoulders only to realize that they had been bandaged carefully. Who would have done this for her?

The moment she wanted to get up, the door was opened from the other side. She flinched, fearfully looking at the intruder, only to relax when she recognized him. It was Chanyeøl and he seemed astounded to see her awake, his features morphing from disbelief to happiness in a few seconds.

“Minji!” he said and approached her. “Are you okay?”

His voice lured another demon into the room, that being Kāi. He joined Chanyeøl and stood in front of the bed with him, gazing at her with his piercing white eyes.

“You’re finally awake, sleeping beauty,” Kāi teased with a grin. “We’ve been waiting impatiently.”

“Where am I?” she asked, feeling somewhat relieved to see her friends here.

They exchanged a glance and hesitated to answer her. “Well, you see… how do we say it…?” Chanyeøl mumbled until Kāi had it with his slowness and just blurted it out.

“We’re in hell. Baëkhyun’s house to be exact.”

“W-What?!” she gasped, her eyes going wide and fearful as she was gripped by cold dread. “Am I dead?” she breathed in panic.

“No, no! You’re not!” Chanyeøl cut in before she lost her mind in horror. “Kāi, this is why I was hesitant to tell her. You idiot can’t keep your mouth shut!”

“Huh, what’s your problem? I was just honest!”

“It’s not the best moment to be honest, though.”

“Guys!” Minji chimed in when they started bickering. “Where is Baëkhyun?” she asked, scared to hear their answer.

“He’s… in a room nearby,” Chanyeøl answered, the hesitant tone of his voice terrifying her. “Unfortunately, he’s still unconscious. It’s been that way since we brought you here two days ago. You both were so drained of magic that we had to ask Taeyøng and Taëmin to lend you some of their light magic. Otherwise, you would have both died.” The fire demon became serious, his bi-colored eyes narrowing.

“It was a ing close call,” Kāi added. “Läy took care of your wounds, but you should take it slow for the next few days.”

“I see,” she mumbled, trying to wrap her head around all they had revealed to her. She was glad that Yixing had found her and Baëkhyun in time. “Where is Baëkhyun? I want to see him.”

“You should eat first, you’ve been unconscious for too long,” Chanyeøl said, watching her pale complexion doubtfully. “You humans are fragile. Don’t be careless about your health. Baëkhyun will kill us if he finds out we didn’t take care of you.” He shuddered and looked scared for a second.

“Please, Chanyeøl! Just for a minute? I will eat afterward, I promise,” she pleaded and used her big puppy eyes on him that made him cave in fairly quickly.

“Okay, okay,” he sighed. “Come with me.”

“There’s not much to see, though. The idiot is just lying around,” Kāi nagged.

She got up and followed them through a door to a long hallway with dark tiles and grey walls. Baëkhyun’s preference for dark colors was prevalent in the entire house. While she was curious about his home and wanted to discover more of it, she was anxious to see him and didn’t have the patience for detours. The two demons showed her to a room just two doors down and told her to enter. She was scared, her heart beating nervously in her chest when she walked in, finding Baëkhyun motionless on the bed just like they had told her. She nearly stumbled over her own feet in her haste to get to him and stopped right next to him.

Outwardly, he didn’t have any injuries, but he was unnaturally pale, his skin almost matching his hair color. He appeared weak and ill, nothing like the proud, loudmouthed demon she was used to. Her heart sank and she frowned worriedly, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Maybe he’ll wake up if you ask him nicely,” Kāi teased and earned himself a slap from Chanyeøl.

“Shut up, you ,” the fire demon hissed and dragged him out the room so she could have some privacy.

Minji leaned over him and laid her hand on his cheek, shocked at how cold he felt. Her fingers caressed his head, brushing over his silky white hair. She was worried about him, wondered how dangerous it was for a demon to be in a comatose state this long. After all, demons normally didn’t need sleep or rest. She had never seen him like this, not once in the entire three months she had known him.

“Baëkhyun, I don’t know if you can hear me,” she said sadly, continuing to caress his head. “I miss you, please wake up soon. It’s lonely without you… and I’m worried about you too.”

She remained at his side for a while and watched him with a frown until Chanyeøl opened the door and stuck his head inside. He sighed, approaching her.

“Why don’t you eat something now and come back after?” he asked sternly and crossed his arms, not letting her out of his sight until she nodded reluctantly.

“Fine,” she mumbled and got up to follow him.

Since demons didn’t need food to survive, there was nothing edible around in Baëkhyun’s house. Therefore, the demons had improvised and briefly paid a visit to the human world to get something for her. She ended up with Chinese takeout that she scarfed down in record time. Minji hadn’t eaten for days and her stomach had been painfully empty, so she was grateful to Chanyeøl and Kāi for taking care of her.

They had talked for a while, but both had quickly noticed how impatient and unconcentrated she was, knowing that she wanted to go back to a certain someone as soon as possible.

“You’re so whipped for him,” Kāi snickered when she started drumming her fingers on the table in the kitchen. “It’s not like you’re missing out on anything, he’s still unconscious.”

“You don’t get it, Kāi,” she replied and grimaced.

“Then explain it to me,” he smirked, prompting Chanyeøl to roll his eyes.

“We’re not having a conversation about romance in this house,” he cut in annoyedly and stared Kāi down with his creepy bi-colored eyes. “Why don’t we go and tell the others that Minji woke up? Then she can have some alone time with him, and we can talk more when we are back.”

“You’re no fun,” Kāi sighed but complied with the fire demon.

“Shut it,” Chanyeøl retorted before he glanced at Minji. “We’ll be back in a while. Just make yourself at home, Minji. You’re safe as long as you don’t leave the house.”

“O-Okay,” she said and got up. “See you later.”

They both nodded at her and then Kāi teleported them away, leaving her alone in the kitchen. She wondered for how long they would be gone but didn’t dwell on the thought. Her legs had already started moving, carrying her back through the hallway to Baëkhyun’s room.

She closed the door behind her and walked to the bedside, sitting down and watching him quietly. His eyes were still shut, but something in his expression had changed compared to earlier. It seemed like he wasn’t feeling well, scrunching his brows and curling his lips downward. He was unconscious, but his lips parted as if he wanted to say something.

“Are you having a nightmare?” she mumbled and laid her hand on his cheek, the pads of her fingers gently touching him. She hoped to calm him down like this, but her attempt was fruitless. Whatever he was dreaming about couldn’t be anything good—he let out a low groan, clenching his jaw.

“Wake up, Baëkhyun!” she said in a louder tone, leaning over him in worry. Yet again he didn’t react. The nightmare seemed to cause him distress since he became even more restless. He grimaced and even looked scared. She had never seen him display this emotion before, so her concern only grew. Minji didn’t know what to do. She grabbed Baëkhyun’s shoulders, tried to get him to wake up, but he didn’t react to her touch. Feeling helpless, she kneeled next to him on the mattress and shook him, called out to him.

“Wake up, you have to wake up! Calm down please!” she shouted frustratedly. “Baëkhyun!”

While the shaking didn’t seem to help, her loud voice on the other hand reached him. He stopped moving around and stilled. She bowed lower and cupped his cheek with her hands. He was so cold; it was frightening.

“Wake up,” she repeated once more and looked at him when his eyelids fluttered. A low groan left his throat. He scrunched his brows and then he opened his eyes so suddenly that she flinched back.

They moved searchingly through the room, his breaths quickening in a panic until he spotted her next to him. Minji was astonished at how fast he moved when he sat up and hugged her, nearly crushing her with the inhuman force he used. His arms were like a vice, keeping her body close enough to his that she struggled to breathe for a moment. As soon as his brain caught up with his actions, he loosened his grip and she relaxed.

He didn’t say a word, and he didn’t need to for her to know that he was far from alright. They didn’t require a bond anymore to understand each other’s feelings. She felt the rise and fall of his chest as he took a shuddering breath and hid his face at her neck, warm puffs of air fanning over her skin. Her hand came to rest on the back of his head and moved over his silky white hair soothingly.

“It’s okay, Baëkhyun. Calm down,” she whispered, and he responded to her words by hugging her waist and clutching her t-shirt with his hands. She wished she knew what was wrong with him since his unusual behavior seriously worried her. Never before had she seen him act like this. He radiated crushing sorrow, and his erratic breaths told her that he hadn’t recovered from his nightmare yet.

When wet drops of water touched her neck, she was shocked and faltered. “Are you crying?” she whispered.

“No,” he replied hoarsely. “Demons never cry.”

“I see,” she said quietly and wound her left arm around his torso, wanting to offer comfort. Her right hand continued to brush over his hair as he rested his head on her body, just below her collarbones. Whatever he just went through, it must have shaken him up so much that his shell cracked. She’d never thought she’d see the day he would cry in front of her. And to be honest, she never wanted that either. It pained her, the sight of his crushed form in her arms sending a pang right through her heart. Her hands moved through his white strands of hair, his body relaxing a little more with every second that passed. He held on to her for dear life; like he’d expect her to vanish into thin air if he let go.

“I missed you,” she said softly, hearing him sigh in response, but he didn’t speak. She took it upon herself to fill the silence with her voice, believing it would offer him comfort and distract him from whatever had been bothering him. “I was lonely without you,