Minji was wrapped in Baëkhyun’s arms, her heart still soaring from his confession. A joyful smile had settled on her lips. She rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady beats of his heart. Floating on cloud nine and snuggled up to the person she loved most, she was the happiest she could be. Her vibrant emotions were passed on through the bond and he sensed them, got drunk on her happiness—he could never get enough of it. After the situation with the blood mage had been resolved, he had been feeling her joy more often, and now it seemed as though it had reached a new high. Baëkhyun gazed down at her, letting his hand trail over her side. It came to rest on her hipbone, his thumb drawing circles on her body.

“I could stay here all day,” she whispered. Her eyes were closed. She was completely relaxed and at peace.

“I’m not complaining if you do,” he said amusedly as he watched her. With her black hair being slightly messy and her cheeks rosy, she looked delectable. Overtaken by the urge to kiss her, his hand cupped her cheek, gently tilting her head up. She blinked at him, surprised when he closed the distance between their lips.

His mouth moved against hers, hungrily kissing her. A wave of hot passion and a strong sense of want washed over her. Despite his undeniable desire for her, he was holding himself back, keeping his hands on her hips to avoid touching the injuries on her back. He growled lowly when she bit his bottom lip.

“Are you being a tease, sugar?” he whispered huskily against her lips. He elicited a gasp from her when he dominated the kiss, their tongues touching. She gave in easily, enjoying the way he made her feel. His possessiveness came back to light when his embrace became tighter. He over her bottom lip, and when they separated, a string of saliva connected them. Ruby eyes trailed over her face, taking in her pink cheeks and swollen lips. He gave a devilish smirk upon noticing her breathless state and feverish gaze.

“Did you like that?” he asked slyly.

Minji caught her breath before she answered, “Of course I did. You should know best.”

“True,” he chuckled, running his hand through her black hair, combing it with his fingers. The repetitive motion felt calming to her, so she closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest.

“I’m glad we got bonded, Baëkhyun,” she mumbled. “I can’t imagine how life would be without you.”

“Less dangerous, but also less fun.” His voice took on a seductive tinge, making her blush.

“Typical demon,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You think of all the time, don’t you?”

His eyes widened. “Huh? Me?! But you keep bringing it up!” he defended himself. “Just half an hour ago you pretty much begged me to—”

“Shut up, Baëkhyun,” she grumbled embarrassedly, pouting.

“It’s true though,” he gloated, oozing confidence. His ruby eyes were glued to her face as he studied her reaction. “Well, I guess it’s my fault for being absolutely irresistible.” It shouldn’t be possible, but he somehow managed to look more arrogant than before, raising his chin and smirking at her. She was torn between being flustered and annoyed—he was so good at getting under her skin.

Still pouting, she lightly tugged at the end of his silver chain. “Don’t get too full of yourself, demon.”

“Too late,” he smirked.

“Right,” she sighed. “It’s too late to save you from your own arrogance.”

“Don’t pretend to be annoyed. I know that you love me,” he said haughtily, reminding her an awful lot of a cocky cat. Damn him and his ego—if she possessed half the confidence and stubbornness he had, she would probably argue with him all the time. But thankfully, she was more patient than him and less adamant about being the one in the right.

“I can’t win a single argument with you,” she said amusedly. “You’re so stubborn, Hyunnie.”

“No, you are stubborn! You’re still using that cursed nickname,” he complained. “I told you that it destroys my—”

“Demonic pride?” she ended his sentence, giggling. “So cute.”

“What the ?!” he complained, offendedly glaring at her. “How was anything about what I said cute?” He scrunched his nose in utter disgust. “If you were anybody else, that would not have stayed without consequences,” he proclaimed.

She smiled, playing with one of his braids that dangled right in front of her face. His hair was very soft. “I can do whatever I want because I’m special,” she reminded him.

He snorted and the corners of his lips curved up. “I’m rubbing off on you, sugar.”

“I’m around you all the time,” she whined. “So it shouldn't surprise you.”

He chuckled again, shaking his head. “You are something else, Minji.”

She smiled softly as she rested her head on his chest. Silence settled over the room as each of them got lost in their thoughts. Minji peered out the window, seeing the sky slowly turn red as the sun set. The muffled noises of traffic outside reached her ears. She heaved a sigh, enjoying the calm—but it was quickly shattered when she remembered something crucial. Her heart nearly stopped and her body turned cold.

How could she have forgotten to mention this until now?

“Baëkhyun,” Minji said, the graveness in her voice prompting him to look at her in alarm. He sensed a change in her emotions; her joy was tainted with fear and unease. These dark emotions snuffed out the warmth of her happiness and left him feeling cold.

“What is it?” he asked sharply.

“We still haven’t talked about something very important!” she continued nervously. “The blood mage told me the name of the demon who is responsible for your friend’s death.”

“You mean Lůhan,” Baëkhyun mumbled grimly. The color of his eyes was vibrant red as his fury came back to life. Hatred manifested within him, bleeding into her heart through their bond. She didn’t like this emotion as it was darker than anything she was capable of feeling, but she accepted it as part of him. A demon’s emotions were vastly different than those of a human and the many nuances of hate he could hold for another being often shocked her.

“His name is Krïs. Have you heard of him before?” Minji asked. The shimmer of light around him flickered, the atmosphere becoming tense and unwelcoming. She shuddered when he abruptly clenched his hand to a fist, light exploding around it.

“Krïs,” he echoed darkly. “No, I have never heard of that name before. , if I had, I would have gone to hell myself to find and kill him.”

“So we have no clues other than his name,” she muttered, worry clouding her brown eyes. “The blood mage was very clear about the fact that this Krïs would come for us sooner or later. It would be better to be prepared, but like this, there isn’t much we can do. I don’t want to wait until he corners us.”

“I’m going to prevent another situation like that,” Baëkhyun growled. “He won’t get his hands on you.”

“How about we ask your demon friends for help? They might know Krïs,” she suggested. “I don’t want to be unprepared. He does seem like a dangerous demon and we don’t even know which element he commands and what he looks like.”

“I already considered asking the others,” Baëkhyun nodded.

She nodded, mentally going through a list of people that might be able to help as well. The only people she knew who were aware of the supernatural were Jisoo, her grandmother, and Sehůn’s girlfriend Jangmi. She doubted they could help her—Tao on the other hand sounded like a good choice for this. Since he hunted supernatural beings down for a living and knew a lot about them, he might have heard of Krïs before. It was definitely worth a try! The only problem was Baëkhyun’s aversion to the hunter. He couldn’t stand him, so inviting Tao over wouldn’t be a walk in the park…

“I have an idea,” Minji began slowly and gauged his reaction, inwardly preparing herself for a discussion. “We should ask Tao for help.”

As she had predicted, Baëkhyun’s fury erupted like a volcano. He glowered at her. “You want to rely on a ing demon hunter?” he growled.

“I just—”

“No.”

“But Baëkhyun! He might know Krïs! We could at least try it. I’m not asking you to become friends with him,” she countered.

“I hate hunters. They’re scum,” he snarled. She flinched, unused to have him speak to her in such a way. Sitting up, she brought distance between them and gazed at him with conflict shining in her eyes.

“I understand,” she breathed, her shoulders slumping. Desperation grew in her heart. “I just thought it might be the solution we’re looking for.” Her eyes became glossy. She glanced down on the bed, frowning.

He sighed deeply, sitting up so he could pull her in for a hug. Resting his chin on her head, he held her tightly. “I’m sorry, Minji. I didn’t mean to yell at you,” he muttered. “It’s just that I don’t trust hunters at all and I don’t want you to be close to one of them… even if you consider him a friend, I can’t bring myself to do the same.”

She leaned into his chest and took a deep breath, blinking away her tears. “Please,” she whispered. “Just this once.”

Silence followed her words. He didn’t move a muscle and kept holding on to her, not speaking, not saying anything. She didn’t have much hope for him to give in since she had seen his rage last time he had encountered Tao. It hadn’t been pretty at all. Normally, she wouldn’t have insisted on another encounter between them, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

“Jut this once,” Baëkhyun said after a while. He was still angry, but he had calmed himself down enough to keep his voice even. It didn’t shake with anger anymore.

A weight fell off Minji’s chest. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Minji called Tao that same afternoon and since he was free, he came over immediately when she told him she needed to speak to him about an important matter. The doorbell rang not even half an hour after their call and Minji let him in.

“Hi Tao, thanks for coming so soon,” she smiled at him. He returned her smile, running his hand through his dark red hair.

“No problem, Minji,” he said as he closed the door behind him. Baëkhyun joined them in the hallway, standing behind Minji and wrapping an arm around her stomach as he stared Tao down.

“If it isn’t the lightstick,” Tao growled.

“What did you just call me?” Baëkhyun snapped.

“Your hearing ,” Tao countered. “I said lightstick.”

“Don’t argue, please,” Minji chimed in. She had never heard such a fitting yet offending nickname for the demon. The corners of twitched. Tao was creative.

“Minji, I still don’t understand why you want to be around this idiot,” Tao grumbled as his eyes darted to the demon crest on her wrist. “Look, he is glowing again.”

“He tends to do that when he’s angry,” Minji said and shrugged. It was nothing new to her.

“Don’t talk as if I couldn’t hear you,” Baëkhyun complained. “Let’s get this over with before I kick this worthless human out.”

“How many times do I have to tell you? Where