“We are going with you.” Irene spoke in a demanding tone making Leeteuk raise an eyebrow in surprise.

“No, you’re not. You two can’t be part of this any further. It's too dangerous.” He answered and continued his path.

“Seungwan is our friend, we’re the ones who asked you to do anything to help her, and we’re not going to stay home and wait until all of this is over.” Irene took a deep breath when she felt Seulgi’s hands on her shoulders, giving her a light squeeze in hopes to calm her down. “We have to do this, there’s no way that we can just do as if all of this never happened. So please, let us come with you.”

Her pleading voice and sad eyes made the blue ones give her a sad smile. “If things turn out wrong your lives could be in danger.”

Irene began to frown, looking cute but scary as hell. “If things go wrong, then we can’t save Wendy. I don’t mind dying along with her.” Siwon’s eyes shone brightly for a second.

“Wendy is our light, she’s always giving it all for us, so we can’t fail her. Please, let us go with you.” Her friend spoke, braveness and love could be detected in her words.

Leeteuk was about to turn them down when Siwon interrupted him. “Let them come.” Everyone turned to them. The girls, as much as they loved her friends, supported Leeteuk in his decision, so they wondered what in the world was going through Siwon’s mind.

“We can’t!” Leeteuk said, his face showing distaste and confusion.

“They won’t ve coming to that place with us, they can stay inside the shrine with the rest.” Siwon put a hand on Leeteuk’s shoulder and smiled. “If I were them, I would risk it all for her as well. ”

Their leader was taken by surprise for a second before he caressed his forehead. “Yuri and Yoona, get inside the car and find Ms. Choi as soon as you get there so she can check on that wound.” He spoke and turned to the two girls who were still standing their ground. “You two, go with them.”

Their eyes lit for a little before thanking him and running towards the car. “Siwon.” The man gave him a nod which he mirrored and turned towards the rest. “Let’s go, we’ll meet them there.”

The rest of the walk was quiet, no one said a word. The blue ones were actually thankful because they knew that it would be hard to explain but all the good things come in short terms.

“Were you ever going to tell us about what really happened if it wasn't because of this?” Tae asked him, her voice was soft and a little lost, like a kid being told that Santa doesn’t exist.

Donghae, Kangin and Leeteuk noticed the girls’ lowered faces, visibly upset and disappointed.

“We always thought that you were the ones who saved us. We believed it but it wasn’t true. The most important part wasn’t true. And, now, we were saved by another demon? Since when do Wardens pact with those things?” Tiffany’s voice was stern, she was pissed. Those things killed their parents in front of them and now Wendy’s life depended on one of them. 

“It was the only way out.” Kangin calmly answered, his gentle eyes never changed even when he noticed the discomfort. “You girls wouldn’t believe the horrors that walk in the darkness. What you experienced that night is nothing compared to what they can be capable of doing.” That made the girls halt their steps and Sunny to noticed the pain in his eyes. “You haven’t seen anything yet. We were just like you when we first found out the truth. We couldn’t believe it but with time we understood that it has been the only the only option for them as they had to keep everyone safe.” He gave them a sad smile. “You know, I would pact with anything that could keep you girls safe because we love you and love makes us do the unthinkable. Like your friends, they’re willing to risk their life just for that girl to be safe. So don’t hate us too much, we did what we could. Sometimes there are things that are better to be left unsaid.” His eyes turned into crescents before resuming his path along with his other friends.

The girls stood there for a little, processing each word before Tae spoke. “Thank you, for protecting us the best you could.” The three men turned around and saw the girls beaming at them and running to give them a hug.

When they arrived at the shrine, they noticed Irene and Seulgi standing by the entrance apparently waiting for them. They told them that on their way there Yoona’s wound began to turn purple, and so Mrs. Choi was still checking up on her. That worried them until the two pranksters approached them with a grinning deer hugging their poor beings.

Leeteuk looked at the time and sighed. “Girls, take your friends with you. Watch a movie, and show them your home. We’ve a lot of time left before the awakening, so go and enjoy yourselves.” The girls smiled and began dragging their two friends away. “Dinner will be ready in an hour!!” He yelled as he noticed that the girls were too busy in their own things.

To be honest, Irene and Seulgi were amazed. They didn’t know about their friends living in a shrine, as the girls would always dodge any invitation that could compromise inviting the three of them to their home. It was absolutely beautiful, you could breathe peace there and the architecture was beyond imagination. They let their friends dragged them away again introducing every inch of the place, telling stories about something funny or memorable that happened in that particular space. They didn’t notice the time ticking away nor the sky darkening, it was their growling stomachs that finally made them realize that it was almost 9:00 pm. Yoona and Sooyoung pushed them in a hurriedly way towards their dinning room.

“Finally you noticed the hunger.” Spoke Ms. Kim setting down some dishes at the table “Come on and eat, you’ll need it for later.” She smiled but Hyoyeon knew well that her mother was worried. She was about to speak with her when she got squeezed by the giants as they fought for territory. She made a reminder that she would talk to her mother later.

They all sat and ate although Irene seemed to be lost in her own world. Tiffany noticed it and poked her cheek, making the girl look at her. “She’ll be okay. Now, you need to eat so you can be strong enough to smash her into a hug when she comes back!” Tiffany smiled and placed a rice cake on her plate. Irene smiled but she was still sad. When the girl noticed it she placed down her chopsticks and motioned her to follow her. She walked towards the wall right behind them and Tiffany slide the doors open.

Never in her life had she seen something as beautiful as that, well, only Seungwan’s smile. But this, this left her breathless as a gush of wind and the moonlight enhanced the beauty of a full bloomed cherry blossom tree. She was speechless as she knew for sure that a cherry blossom wasn't supposed to bloom at that time of the year.

“This is our little miracle, it has been here since many years ago.” Tiffany loved this tree as much as she loved pink. “It stays like this the whole year; let it be winter, summer, fall or spring, it never changes. When I see this tree I see hope. I think that God gave it to us so we could know that he’s always here. I always ask him to please keep us all safe and to take care of our parents be-“

“Wow! That’s beautiful!” Seulgi who was lost in her gut finally found her voice, she approached Irene with a mustache that seemed to be made of chilli sauce. “It’s like magic.” She said in a whisper.

Irene noticed the lack of warmth on her side and looked at Fany walking back to her seat. “It’s hope, Seulgi.” She said leaving the bear to keep on mumbling about its beauty.

When it was almost 12:00, the girls were instructed to start preparing some protecting charms just in case they needed them, with an additional hour of prayers.  While they were busy, Seulgi took a quick nap thanks to all the food she consumed while Irene sat down staring at the tree. The cold breeze wasn’t doing anything to her even though she was always the one to rant about it. Seungwan always held her closer to keep her warm or lend her that beautiful jacket that was her favorite just so that she wouldn’t be cold. A lonely tear ran down her cheek.

“Why are you crying?” Said a voice that turned out to be Siwon’s, who approached her and sat next to her. “Is it because of your friend?”

Irene only nodded, she couldn’t speak. She was known for being the stronger one among her friends, never cried in front of them but right now she was feeling helpless.

“You love her.” He stated, making it feel like water being thrown at the poor girl. She sat up straight and was about to deny it when he beat her to it. “I know that you love her.” He leaned towards her in a playful way as if to tell her a secret with a mischievous smile adorning his face. “It’s in the way your eyes shine when you speak about her, how you can’t focus on anything else because you’re too worried about her, how you could give your life or stand up to anyone just to make sure she is okay.” He winked at her and Irene blushed. “Even if I was blind I would be able to hear the love in the tone of your voice.” He started to hum a song. “Love is in the air…” And then he broke into a laugh when Irene covered her red face with her tiny hands.

“I-I haven’t told her, yet.” Her silent whisper stopped his laughs in an instant. “That I love her since the first time I saw her.” She looked up and saw Siwon asking why with his eyes. “I’m afraid that she doesn’t feel the same, that she just sees me as her best friend, and that I’ll lose her even as that. I need her in my life.” She quietly spoke, her eyes focused on her shoes. “And now, I’m afraid I don’t have the chance.”

“Life’s too short, you notice it at times like this but I promise you that we’ll save her.” Siwon’s voice was soothing. “And you, you’ll tell her how you feel. I’ll haunt you everyday after school if you don’t. I’m not risking my handsome face just for that.” He smiled and Irene let out a giggle. “I want a happy ending for you, just like I want it for the others.” His hand patted her head softly. “But you already found yours, so grasp it and never let go.”

Irene nodded with her eyes b with tears that Siwon helped to wipe away. “Now, I’ve got to go, need to prepare my y being for later!”

Saying the girls were nervous was underestimating it, they were terrified. All of them grasped their amulets and lined up in front of a very old bookshelf that was inside a room that had always been remained locked up. They had to bid goodbye to the rest, who wished them luck and hugged them as if it was the last thing they would do, which could happen if things went wrong.

Tiffany had a weird feeling but she wasn’t afraid, and so was Taeyeon. She was rather curious to see what kind of thing they conjured that night.

Leeteuk took out a book and a passage began to reveal itself. Little bye little, the once dark place began to light up; the girls could only see never-ending stairs. “Let’s go girls.” Leeteuk and Kangin descended first followed by the girls with Tiffany and Taeyeon at the front with Siwon and Donghae on the back keeping an eye open.

They noticed it, the more they descended, the colder it got but thankfully they were prepared. Their legs were almost giving up and the stairs didn’t seem to come to a stop until Kangin spoke. “Careful with your steps.” That’s when Tiffany noticed a somehow big room, it had a bunch of lamps everywhere, and in the middle a huge crack could be seen. She heard Tae gasp right behind her and she knew why, it looked like somet