Another day passed and Minji’s life mostly returned to normal. She busied herself with work while she and Baëkhyun waited for news from the demons. Yixing had given her a few tasks she needed to take care of and she was grateful for the distraction. Baëkhyun sat next to her on the sofa and peeked over her shoulder, watching as she typed the last lines of her article. Opening her email account, she quickly sent the finished article to Yixing. The deadline had been approaching, but she had managed to get it done in time.

And now, Baëkhyun craved her attention again. He curled his arm around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder, breathing a kiss on her neck. The sly demon knew exactly how to get her to notice him, and of course, he used it to his full advantage.

“Are you done, sugar?” he murmured right into her ear, brushing its shell with his lips.

“Yes,” she answered, closing her laptop and putting it on the coffee table. “What are you up to again, huh?”

“Nothing,” he answered cheekily, stealing a brief kiss from her when she turned her head his way. She smiled, returning his embrace and shifting on the sofa so it was more comfortable. Laying her head on his shoulder, she stretched her legs out on the sofa.

“I’m not your pillow,” he commented amusedly.

“Yes, you are,” she mumbled, glancing up at his face. “It’s only morning, but I’m already tired. Writing this article was exhausting.”

“Well, you are done now, so you can finally spend time with me,” he said, sounding content with the situation. His hand caressed the outline of her waist, prompting her to close her eyes.

“Continue doing that and I’ll fall asleep,” she mumbled.

“Okay, then I better stop,” he replied and did just that.

Minji groaned and glared at him. “Why?”

“You sleep so much, Minji, it’s boring! Last night you slept six hours!” he complained, making it sound like that was outrageous.

“That’s normal for a human though… I think most of my friends sleep longer than that too, so you really have no reason to complain,” she said, raising her brow. “Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

“As I said, it gets boring. When you sleep I can’t talk to you. I can’t do anything, actually,” he whined, and his  sulky expression made her smile. He gnawed on his lower lip, gazing at her with reddish eyes that held a hint of annoyance.

“You’re such a big baby,” she whispered, giggling. “We can spend more time together now, okay? That should make up for it. I have an idea, actually. Give me a moment.”

She left his embrace and walked to the bathroom, his curious gaze following her. Minji fetched a comb and returned to the sofa.

“Last time I did your hair, you were ecstatic,” she said, waving the comb so he could see it. “Let’s do it again. Your braids are a bit messy.”

He sat up, the gloomy expression fading instantly. “I see you finally chose to do something meaningful this morning.”

“Work is meaningful too, Hyunnie,” she insisted, sitting behind him and undoing the braids one by one. Her fingers raked through the silky white strands, getting rid of a few small knots she found. He shot her an amused look over his shoulder, studying her concentrated expression as she worked on his hair.

“By the way, do you know what day comes up soon?” she asked while she braided the long white strands of hair.

“Hmm, what do you mean? It’s the end of November,” he muttered, tilting his head as he thought about it. “I don’t know.”

“Thought so. We never talked about this after all,” she said. “My birthday is on the 26th, that’s next Friday. I figured I should let you know since I wanted to have a little party.”

“Your birthday?” he repeated, surprised.

“Yeah,” she grinned. “You’re invited.”

He chuckled. “Thanks, I guess,” he said, lowering his head to stare at the floor in thought. He had no idea what exactly humans did on their birthdays, but he could have sworn he heard something about gifts…

“I’m looking forward to it this year,” she continued to explain. “I’ve made many new friends, and I’m considering inviting the other demons too. What do you think?”

He wasn’t sure what to answer since this topic was entirely foreign to him. Demons didn’t pay attention to their birthdays since most of them were quite old and didn’t care about their exact age. Not that he would tell her, of course.

“Sure,” Baëkhyun answered. “Don’t expect them to follow your human customs, though. It might get chaotic if you invite them.”

“I don’t mind that. They’re always fun to have around,” she smiled as she secured the end of the braid she had been working on. “I haven’t figured out the time or place yet, but when I do, can you contact them somehow?”

“Yeah, I can pay them a visit in hell. And Läy and Sehůn live here in Seoul anyway,” he said. “If you had brought it up when they were here yesterday, we could have just asked them then.”

“I know, but I forgot because I had other things on my mind,” she said sheepishly. “Great, then I can start planning the party soon!”

She beamed, radiating joy. He felt her happiness and wondered how important her birthday was to her. This was something he needed to get behind as soon as possible, and there was only one way to do it, even if he didn’t like it very much. He would have to ask Läy for advice. If anyone knew, it was him.

Not much later, Baëkhyun made up an excuse about having to take care of something and left the house. Minji thankfully didn’t question him, but he could tell she was a bit confused about his sudden departure. When Baëkhyun arrived at Läy’s home, Läy opened the door, surprised to see him.

“What do you want?” Läy asked.

“I need to ask something,” Baëkhyun said and walked past him into his apartment without waiting for an invitation. Läy only sighed, closed the door and followed him to the living room. It was no use to get irritated over Baëkhyun’s rudeness, it wasn’t like he would change his behavior. Läy sometimes wondered what Minji saw in him—he certainly lacked manners.

“What is it?” Läy asked and leaned against the wall, gazing at the other demon with a raised eyebrow.

“What do humans do when they celebrate their birthdays?” Baëkhyun asked without beating around the bush.

Läy’s jaw dropped. He gaped at him before he caught himself and let out an amused snort. “Birthday?” he chuckled. “This is about Minji, huh?”

“How did you know?”

“Who else would it be about?” Läy grinned slyly, much to Baëkhyun’s annoyance. “It’s rare for you to ask me for advice.”

Baëkhyun clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t rub it in my face,” he grumbled. “I don’t know too much about human traditions and she seems to look forward to it. Just tell me what to do and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Well, what exactly did she tell you about her plans? You are too vague,” Läy said, crossing his arms as he observed the impatient demon. It wasn’t hard to see that he wanted to return home as soon as possible. Läy was glad that they got along so well since it was rare to see Baëkhyun care about anyone but himself. He had to fight the urge to about it.

“She mentioned that she wants to invite some friends… that’s all she said.”

“Well, it’s normal for humans to spend time with friends on their birthdays. I understand why you find it weird, it’s not like we demons do that,” Läy answered, trying to remember what he knew about this topic. “Humans receive gifts on their birthdays. You should think of something special for her. She will probably be sad if you don’t gift her anything.”

“Human traditions are weird,” Baëkhyun mumbled, but seeing Läy’s eyes narrow, he quickly added, “I’ll think of something.”

“I doubt that it’s a good idea to let you do it on your own. It’ll end in a disaster.”

“Hey, I’m not stupid!” Baëkhyun shouted, ticked off by his friend’s attitude. “I’ve been shopping in the human world before and I know how this works.”

“I’ll accompany you to make sure you won’t buy anything inappropriate.”

Baëkhyun sighed deeply but didn’t complain. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have help with this.

“Why don’t we start right now? Minji will get suspicious if we meet up too often without her,” Läy suggested. “There’s just one thing that I need to know before we leave. Where did you get money?” Läy asked suspiciously.

“I stole it,” Baëkhyun replied, shrugging.

“What?!” Läy exploded. “You can’t be serious! Minji won’t be happy if she finds out you bought a gift with stolen money!”

Baëkhyun’s brows furrowed in annoyance and his eyes became tinted with red. Läy cared too much about human laws and rules. Baëkhyun doubted the rich asses he got the money from would even notice it missing. They had been ridiculously easy to fool.

“She won’t find out,” Baëkhyun said. “Besides, what does it matter?”

“It’s a crime!” Läy countered.

“Yeah, and? I’m a demon, remember?” Baëkhyun said sarcastically, cocking his brow. “Why would I care?”

Läy scowled at him, crossing his arms. “Of course you don’t care, but Minji will be devastated if she finds out. She will be disappointed in you, and I’m sure that it will make her cry.”

Baëkhyun paused. He glared at Läy with a vengeance, inwardly seething. “I won’t make her cry, what the ,” he grumbled.

“Then come up with a way to gain money yourself! Don’t steal it.”

“But how? Do you expect me to work for these human idiots? They’re below me.”

Läy rolled his eyes, having expected this kind of answer. “You could always get in touch with a witch. They like to ask demons for help with certain errands and they pay well. I know a few demons who earn lots of money this way,” he suggested.

“This is a ty idea. Like I would work for someone else,” Baëkhyun nagged.

Läy smirked to himself. “If you continue stealing, Minji will be absolutely disappointed in you. She will never ever forgive you and she will always be sa—”

“Shut it, Läy,” he snapped. “I’m going to do it, just stop talking.”

His friend grinned victoriously. “Great. I’ll give you the address of a witch who seeks help often. But keep in mind to be polite.”

“I’m always polite.”

“Sure,” Läy answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“You have to distract Minji somehow. She will get suspicious if I’m gone for too long,” Baëkhyun said. “It’s already two pm.”

“Leave it to me,” Läy said, having a plan in mind. “You take care of the gift and the money.”

“I wonder why he’s gone for so long,” Minji mumbled, glancing at her clock. What could he be doing? “It’s unusual for him to leave.”

She wasn’t sure whether his sudden departure had to do with Krïs—maybe he wanted to look for him? Then again, she highly doubted that he would leave her in the dark about it. He would have told her about his plans. As of right now, they didn’t have any new leads and could only hope for another door to open for them. Minji got restless as she thought about it, and she tried to calm herself, but that wasn’t so easy. Her emotions were all over the place. She was scared, worried, uneasy; a nauseating mix.

However, it didn’t last long. Suddenly, calmness overwhelmed her, coming from inside her heart. The mark on her wrist tingled a little bit, and she moved her fingers over it, tracing its shape. Deep conviction filled her along with unwavering confidence that was so strong it could only have originated from Baëkhyun. Even though he wasn’t present, she could almost hear him saying, “It’ll be okay.”

She exhaled, closing her eyes as a smile bloomed on her lips. Maybe he was right. She should stop worrying so much and concentrate on the present rather than on their uncertain future. Focusing on the connection between them, she made sure to let him notice her gratefulness through the happiness that was ignited within her. Her smile became permanent when she sensed a hint of relief from him. He was rather perceptive, having noticed her distress easily despite her trying to hide it. She couldn’t fool him.

Minji lingered in the living room for a while, texting her friends and aimlessly scrolling through Instagram. Tao had recently uploaded a funny selfie, and she left him a comment, but after that, she p