“Why are you here?” Minji asked the four demons sitting on her sofa in the living room. Kāi, Chën, Chanyeøl and Suhø had arrived without prior warning, as they usually did, but she guessed that they had a reason for coming by.

“We heard about your new bond,” Chanyeøl said, waggling his eyebrows. “Thought we should come over and check in on you.”

“You didn’t need long to make a new one,” Chën said slyly.

“Someone must have been impatient again,” Suhø added. The red-haired demon kept his eyes on the couple on the opposite sofa, his gaze lingering on their intertwined hands.

“Shut up, Suhø,” Baëkhyun growled. “You don’t have a say in this.”

“Were you scared someone else would steal her from you?” Kāi cackled, earning himself a death glare. “Minji knows lots of attractive guys, I bet she wouldn’t have waited for you forever.”

She knew that the silly demon’s only objective was to annoy her boyfriend who was fuming in anger. The lamps above them kept flickering madly; a clear warning that Baëkhyun was about to explode. Which meant that she needed to do some damage control.

“Kāi, that’s not tr—” she began, but she was cut off when Baëkhyun interrupted her.

“ off, Kāi! I wouldn’t let anyone take her from me,” he hissed, his enraged red eyes burning a hole through Kāi’s head.

“Look how obsessed he is with her,” Chanyeøl laughed, exchanging a glance with Chën who was grinning in amusement.

“Are you guys only here to poke fun at us?” Minji asked, raising her eyebrows. While she was nowhere near as hot-tempered as Baëkhyun, even she didn’t have infinite patience. So far, the other demons hadn’t done anything except barge in unannounced and tease them.

“That was indeed part of the plan,” Chanyeøl admitted shamelessly, “But we also wanted to see how you were doing. Haven’t met you since you left hell a few weeks ago.”

“Sehůn told us you were on a double date with him and Jangmi,” Suhø said. His deep blue eyes darted from Minji to Baëkhyun, a hint of curiosity swimming in them.

“Oh, yes that’s true!” Minji smiled. The memory of that day never failed to make her happy. She loved recalling Baëkhyun’s wondrous expression when he had tried cotton candy for the first time. He’d been delighted by the snack but hadn’t wanted to admit it. “You guys should come along next time, it would be fun!”

“Definitely,” Suhø nodded.

“Hell no!” Baëkhyun shouted and glared at Minji. “Why would you say that? They wouldn’t let us have a minute to ourselves.”

“But they’re our friends, don’t you want to spend time with them?”

“No, I only want to spend time with you!”

“That’s so rude of you.”

“What? Why?! You should be flattered!”

“Your logic is twisted,” she nagged.

“No, yours is! Not everyone gets to enjoy my presence daily,” he retorted smugly. “Be grateful.”

“You’re so damn arrogant.”

“But you love me,” he countered. When she fell silent, the smirk on his lips widened, overflowing with arrogance. “See, I knew it! There you have it.”

The four demons opposite them tried hard to hold in their laughter, and in the end, it was Chanyeøl who lost it first. He bent over in laughter, hitting Kāi who snickered madly. Minji and Baëkhyun returned their attention to them, finally remembering that they had had spectators for their little argument. She blushed in embarrassment while Baëkhyun looked mildly annoyed, his lips twitching.

“You’re a bunch of clowns,” he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Chën wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, “You two are just the same as usual. That’s great.”

“Bickering like an old married couple,” Kāi cackled.

“Will you shut up? One day you’ll get payback, mark my words.” Baëkhyun crossed his arms, glowering at the younger demon who didn’t care about the rather obvious threat in his words.

Kāi simply shrugged. “Oh well, I’m ready for it. But first, I’ll annoy you some more.”

“I’m interested in seeing that,” Minji said.

“No, you’re not,” Baëkhyun sulked. “You’re on my side.”

She grinned, putting a finger on her chin as she pretended to ponder over it. “Hm… am I?” she said teasingly, but she couldn’t maintain her façade for long and broke out in chuckles. “I’m just joking, no need to look so glum.” She leaned in and gave him a peck on his lips, inching closer to him so their bodies were touching.

“You’re lucky because I decided to forgive you.”

“Oh why thank you! That’s so generous, you mighty demon,” she said sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the other demons’ wheezing in the background.

“Minji, stop it right now, or else I’m going to punish you later,” he growled.

“,” Chën howled.

She blushed bright red and glared at him, but her embarrassment was impossible to hide at this point. “I swear, one day I’ll go mad with you demons around me,” she mumbled.

“Let her breathe for a second, you idiots,” Suhø thankfully interfered and glowered at Kāi who looked like he wanted to counter something, but the evil stare of the older demon made him change his mind. Minji wondered whether Suhø was the only person Kāi ever listened to. It certainly looked like it.

“Alright, fine,” Chanyeøl sighed, leaning back on the sofa. The demons finally calmed down.

“Didn’t you want to tell them something, Kāi?” Chën reminded him, and Kāi’s demeanor changed instantly. The grin on his lips vanished as red overtook the green of his iris. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room became heavy. Minji suspected that something was wrong, uneasily gnawing on her lower lip.

“That’s right, there’s something you two need to know,” Kāi said seriously. “I’ve already warned you about that blood mage who was after you in the forest, and I need to do it again.” His words were followed by a tense silence.

“I sensed faint traces of their magic when I was in the city center earlier. Their aura is very distinct—I’d recognize it anywhere. They seem to be lingering here. The problem is that I couldn’t pinpoint their current location. I’m not sure why they would stay in this area for so long, but I think they might be looking for you two,” Kāi went on. “If this really is the case, you should be very careful.”

Minji didn’t like that at all. Kāi never looked this serious… he joked around a lot and was careless. His deeming the blood mage as a serious threat didn’t sit right with her. It scared her. The cold fear building within her filtered through the bond and prompted Baëkhyun to glance at her. Wanting to comfort her, he moved his arm around her back and pulled her closer to him.

“Why is it that you demons are so cautious about a blood mage?” she asked. “What kind of power do they possess?”

“It differs from person to person and that’s why it’s so hard to know who you’re up against,” Suhø replied grimly. “Blood magic is versatile and the ones who use it don’t have any scruples. They’re worse than most demons even though they are human.”

“They gain their power by sacrificing humans and demons alike. It’s messed up,” Chanyeøl spat, his gaze filled with hate and disgust. “Some of them can read your mind, others can create the most realistic illusions I’ve ever seen. They’re strong enough to fool even demons.”

“I met one that was able to resurrect the dead for a brief period of time,” Chën muttered, shuddering. “I’m still not sure if it was an illusion or real. Seriously, you don’t ever want to meet a blood mage.”

“They don’t sound very… friendly,” Minji mumbled worriedly. This guy could be after them now, and it scared her terribly.

“Stop talking about this,” Baëkhyun snapped suddenly, making everyone look at him. He stared the other demons down with scarlet eyes. “You’re making her uneasy. Either talk about something else or leave!”

“Alright, alright. Calm down,” Suhø said and let out a sigh. “Kāi only wanted to warn you.”

“Make sure you stay cautious, okay?” Kāi reminded them. “We don’t know who we’re up against here… this could very well be connected to Lůhan’s death.”

After the demons had left later that evening, Minji made sure to lock the front door from the inside. She was aware that this would hardly keep a supernatural being out, nonetheless, it served to calm her down a bit. Baëkhyun was in the living room, playing one of his PS4 games, but she was sure that he sensed her unease.

In order not to worry him, she attempted to ignore her fearful thoughts. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done and ended in her sitting in the kitchen, staring at a social media feed on her phone. She mindlessly clicked through various posts, hoping they would distract her, but they didn’t.

All she could think of were the demons’ ominous words about the blood mage. She didn’t want to meet them, fearing that she would lose her life. If that came to pass, then Baëkhyun would die too and that was something she had to prevent at all cost. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea to create a new bond with this threat still hanging over them.

She had been so happy when he had proposed it, and she hadn’t hesitated to agree because she loved him wholeheartedly. Had she thought about it rationally for a second, she would have probably decided to wait. Her worry mixed with guilt and made her chest feel heavy as a stone. This blood mage would most likely attack her first since she was the easier target. And being only human, she would die quickly.

The whole gravity of the situation weighed on her—how could she have been so stupid? She turned her wrist and stared at the gleaming star on her skin, running her finger over it. It had been selfish of her to want a new bond. She should have said no for his sake. But… when he’d asked her to make a new one, she just couldn’t have denied him.

“Why is this so ed up?” she muttered bitterly, burying her face in her hands. She felt like crying now.

“What’s the problem, sugar?” his voice interrupted her train of thoughts. Of course, he’d notice her inner turmoil; she couldn’t hide anything from him. She heaved a sigh and got up from the chair, turning to him.

His brows were furrowed and he studied her closely, attempting to find out why she was sad. He knew it was connected to their earlier conversation, but he wanted to hear it from . If he’d learned anything being around humans, then it was that they needed to speak about their sorrows in order to feel better.

Her silence prompted him to walk closer. He cupped her cheek, running his thumb over her skin. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

Minji didn’t know whether she should tell him or not. Would that really help? Would that worry him more? She glanced in his face and met his sky-blue eyes, getting lost in their depths. They were narrowed in concern.

Yes, she should tell him. Then at least he would know what she was thinking about… Her right hand encased her wrist, covering the demon mark up instinctively as another wave of guilt broker over her. She took a deep breath, and then finally told him.

“I’m sorry, Baëkhyun,” she whispered, lowering her head. “We shouldn’t have formed a new bond.”

Minji was met with deafening silence. She heard the clock ticking in the corner, heard the faint sounds of traffic outside.

“Why?” he asked. He sounded hurt, and that only made her feel worse.

“Isn’t it obvious? The blood mage is dangerous and they are after us now. What if they find us and… and what if I die? You’d lose your life too and I… I wouldn’t want that to happen,” she answered, her voice filled with emotions and breaking after every few words.

He stayed silent and gazed at her for a while before he took her hand. His fingers traveled to her wrist, caressing the mark that gleamed brighter at his touch. A pleasant tingling originated fr