Dami watched as the earth was in the final hours of darkness before the sun rose. Her knee was bouncing as she waited for Yoohyeon to get up. Who she noticed was tossing last night.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump slightly.

“Woah, sorry didn’t mean to scare you.” Siyeon’s deep voice said.

Dami was waiting for Siyeon to but it never came. With a confused look Dami faced Siyeon to see her strangely serious.

“Two demons tried to attack Sua last night.” Siyeon voiced.

Dami was surprised the same thing happen to Sua. The rogue demons must be confident to be attacking multiple humans.

“Usually demons only target weaker mortals. Why would they be attacking healthy girls.” Dami questioned.

“Ya, I think there must be a bigger number of demons than the higher ups told us.” Siyeon paused for a second. “Wait you said girls, was Yoohyeon attacked too?”

“Ya just a small demon.” Dami replied, leaving out the fact that she talked to Yoohyeon.

Siyeon nodded her head and started pinching her hands. A sign that easily told Dami she was nervous.

“It’s okay Siyeon they’re low level demons. They’re no match for us. Sua will be safe.” Dami tried to comfort her friend.

With another slight nod Siyeon kept pinching her hand. “I know. I’m not worried about them. I will make sure I protect Sua. I won’t let her get hurt while I’m around.”

Dami hummed, “so why are you still nervous?”

“I- I talked her.” Siyeon said under her breath. Dami wouldn’t have caught if not for her super senses.

A guardian talking to their assigned human wasn’t uncommon. Some guardians liked seeing their humans up close. Like a proud parent who was eager to see their kid at work. This wouldn’t be the first time Siyeon had interacted with her mortal.

“Oh-“ Dami went to say until Siyeon interrupted her.

“It was after I saved her. I meant to go back I really did. But she- I couldn’t just leave. I had to talk to her. To see her up close. I know it’s not really recommended to interact with humans if we feel too invested because it will only hurt us in the end. But I couldn’t resist. It was like she was pulling me. So I approached her and asked her to dinner” Siyeon confessed.

With another pinch of her hand Siyeon continued. “We talked for hours and I had a really good time and I think she did too. It made me want to spend more time with her. Being around her just feels really good.”

“Siyeon,” Dami didn’t know how to respond. Siyeon has told Dami of her interactions in the past. This time however, Siyeon was oddly nervous about telling Dami what happened. It sounded an awful like Siyeon had feelings for Sua. Romantic feelings for her.

Guardians were created to be neutral towards humans. Having romantic feeling for things caused biases. The most common feeling guardians felt towards humans was protectiveness. Which insured they watched over their assigned humans well. Many guardians also felt proud towards humans and tried to help them the best they could to ensure their human was good. But romantic feelings was too unstable. Being a proud parent was one feeling but love and lust lead to emotions far from being unbiased.

Dami had never considered looking at a human with a romantic intention. Honestly speaking Dami never entertained the idea of love.

Humans were so emotional. Love and lust drove them to do crazy things. Dami couldn’t fathom letting emotions and physical contact control you so much.

Some guardians were romantic partners. Just like Irene and Wendy.

Dami has always known Irene as one of the most prominent guardian. She was quiet yet fierce. She was nicknamed the Ice Queen.

Then one day she introduced a new guardian named Wendy. Wendy was practically the opposite of Irene.

A friendly ball of sunshine with an Ice Queen and Dami had never seen Irene happier.

The day Irene introduced Wendy, when all the other guardians were gushing over Wendy. Dami stood next to Irene watching the group from a slight distance. Away from the crowd Dami asked Irene where Wendy came from.

 With a soft smile directed at Wendy. Irene simply said, “she was made for me.”

Looking at Siyeon, Dami couldn’t understand how Siyeon could be having romantic feelings toward a human. Was that even possible? Humans were so weak and temporary compared to guardians and their life span.

Even though Dami couldn’t understand her friend she wanted to comfort her.

“Listen Siyeon, in the end you will be the one left with the memories and pain. A human life span is so short compared to ours. I don’t want you to set yourself up for pain. Also protecting Sua is your assignment I don’t want you to become unfocused because of these… feelings” Dami honestly told her.

She tried to steer clear of bringing up romantic feelings. That was a topic Dami could not handle having with Siyeon. Surely Siyeon doesn’t have those feelings, its probably more of an infatuation.

With a defeated sigh Siyeon finally let go of her hand. “I know, I’ll try to look from a far. Not only is it my assignment but my priority is to protect Sua.”

Siyeon got up to leave before looking down at Dami, “Good luck watching over Yoohyeon too. These demons are pesky. It almost seems easier to watch our humans from earth.”

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Dami watched as Yoohyeon got up a couple of hours later to get ready. The conversation with Siyeon had left her with a funny taste in . Dami reprimanded herself for having her mind distracted as Yoohyeon walked the streets to her university.

Dami noticed Yoohyeon was more sluggish today but she wrote it off as a bad night of rest. Dami couldn’t pondered any other possibilities at the moment. Yoohyeon went to class and had to meet up with a study group afterwards.

Dami watched carefully as Yoohyeon left her study group in a good mood. The group had meet in a quieter floor of the library where they could use projectors. The red head had cheered up from laughing with her classmates. Dami noticed she was quietly singing to herself. It wasn’t loud but Dami had to admit her voice could put sirens to shame. As she admired Yoohyeon’s voice she noticed the shadows move in a dark room Yoohyeon was about to pass.

Demons preferred to attack at night or in dark places. Some higher level demons could attack in daylight. The guardians in charged of watching portals and borders to other realms and dimensions typically did a good job making sure demons didn’t cross over.

Not even a second after Dami saw the movement, she appeared in the room. This demon looked liked a giant bird that Dami easily grabbed by the beak and wing as she pulled the dark creature apart in a swift motion. The same shadows and ambers appeared. 

As Dami got to leave the door suddenly opened.

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Yoohyeon had woke up in a bad mood. For some reason the beautiful stranger she meet last night turning her down had really affected her.

She had spent all night trying to forget the stranger’s face. It was still so vivid for Yoohyeon. She had heard something from the alley and when she peeked in she could only make out a slender figure. If the figure was big or if there were multiple figures she probably would have walked away. But she couldn’t help but wonder why a small figure was in the alley alone.

When the girl had stepped into the light. Yoohyeon’s breathe had caught in and her legs felt like jelly. Luckily she was able to catch herself. The stranger had short soft brown hair that framed her face well. The stranger had a soft jaw line with round cheeks that Yoohyeon wanted to squeeze.

Yoohyeon was taken back by the suit the stranger was wearing. A dark red suit with pinstripes and fashionable cut outs on her sides. The suit dawned her lean body perfectly. Finishing off the look with some combat boots. The stranger gave off a prestige aura. Somehow she was the most beautiful and handsome person Yoohyeon had ever seen. The softness of her cheeks and the strong presence somehow went together.

Soon the stranger cleared and Yoohyeon gained her senses back. After knowing the stranger was okay Yoohyeon couldn’t help but want to get to know her more. Atlas, the stranger shot her down and walked away before Yoohyeon could at least ask for her name.

Through out the day the stranger would pop back into Yoohyeon’s mind. The only real distraction came from her group mates. A younger girl named Gahyeon who could rival Sua’s loudness and two other girls. Jiu, who had a strong aura around her that slightly reminded Yoohyeon of the handsome stranger. Jiu was the self appointed leader who actually lead the girls in getting a good amount of work done while having fun. The other girl was a transfer student from china who was quite but had plenty of sassy replies. Yoohyeon felt really happy after hanging out with them and didn’t even notice she started singing.

As she passed one dark room, Yoohyeon noticed what looked like sparks. Thinking there was a fire, Yoohyeon imminently opened the door. Ready to, well she doesn’t know what she would do but she was ready to yell for help and make sure no one was in there. To her surprised she came face to face with the stranger who she had finally shaken from her thoughts.

Yoohyeon looked at the mysterious girl to see she was also shocked that Yoohyeon had just busted open the door.

“Are you okay? I thought I saw some sparks, I was afraid there was a fire.” Yoohyeon rushed out.

The stranger rubbed their neck like they did last night. Cute, Yoohyeon thought.

“Ya, no I’m good. It wasn’t a flame, it was… my phone!” The stranger seemed oddly excited to say her phone was the culprit. But Yoohyeon didn’t pay much attention. She was too busy wondering what to say next.

“So you’re working on school work down here too?” Yoohyeon finally was able to come up with a question instead of staring at the stranger and hoping they didn’t leave again.

“Ya, just finished up.” The stranger said before wincing almost like they said the wrong thing.

Yoohyeon smiled at hearing that. “Great! I was just walking out myself want to walk together?”

Someone must have answered her prayers because the stranger stiffly nodded their head.

Yoohyeon beamed as she moved aside indicating she wanted the stranger to follow her. With a slow pace the handsome girl walked towards Yoohyeon. It was then that Yoohyeon noticed the girl was wearing the same outfit as last night.

“So what’s your name? Are you on your way to work?” Yoohyeon questioned.

With a stoic face the girl replied. “Dami and why would you think that?”

Dami, Yoohyeon thought. It fit the girl so well. Strong yet soft.

“Dami” Yoohyeon said quietly to herself. Testing the name out on her tongue.

For a second Dami face soften and Yoohyeon thought she saw a faint smile but it was quickly gone.

“I was wondering because you’re wearing the same suit. I thought maybe it was a uniform for wherever you work at.” After hearing herself out loud, Yoohyeon was afraid she asked something too personal. So she rushed to say whatever her next thought was. “I mean you look totally handsome in it either way.” She quickly realized what she said and looked away as a blush formed on her cheeks. She cursed her habit of rambling when she was nervous.

If she had kept looking at Dami she would of saw her also lower her gaze to her shoes. As a light pink hue coated those cheeks Yoohyeon wished to touch.

After a beat of silence Dami spoke up, “ya they’re sort of my work uniform.”

Calming herself down Yoohyeon looked straight ahead, still a little shy to look at Dami after her compliment. “That’s cool what do you do?” She continued to question.

“You could say its kind of a… a body guard position.” Dami replied.

“That explains the combat boots.” Yoohyeon added.

“huh.. oh ya!” Dami said as if she surprised her self. “So what’s your name?” Dami continued.

With a slap to her forehead Yoohyeon turned towards Dami to introduce herself. She was so caught up with Dami she didn’t even realize she never told Dami her name.

With an apology on her tongue Yoohyeon must have whipped herself too fast because she tripped on her foot and started falling to the ground. She closed her eyes and prepared to hit a hard surface. But instead felt two strong but gentle arms around her torso. Yoohyeon opened her eyes to see Dami looking at her concerned. The sight made Yoohyeon’s heart skip a beat. The way Dami looked at her made her feel warm.

Dami and Yoohyeon stayed staring at each other for a few seconds that felt like serene minutes to Yoohyeon. Until Dami looked away and helped Yoohyeon stand up on her own. Yoohyeon legs felt weak, she’ll blame that on her legs moving at weird angles from the fall. Certainly not from being in Dami’s arm and staring at her. Yup definitely not that.

“Uh, you okay?” Dami asked.

“Ya, thank you for that. I’m kind of clumsy.” Yoohyeon awkwardly chuckled.

“I know.” Dami said almost absentmindedly.

“What?” Yoohyeon asked.

“I mean, I know. You just tripped right now so I know you’re clumsy.” Dami hastily let out.

“Oh right.” Yoohyeon said. Of course that’s what Dami meant. Yoohyeon mentally scolded herself.

“So anyways….” Dami looked at Yoohyeon expectedly.

It took a second for Yoohyeon to click it together. “I’m Yoohyeon! I’m 19 and majoring in music. It’s very nice to meet you!” Yoohyeon finally introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you Yoohyeon.” Dami said.

Yoohyeon was a little sad Dami didn’t tell Yoohyeon her age or major. But she didn’t dwell on it since they were already outside around the area they meet yesterday.

When did we even leave the library. Yoohyeon thought to herself.

Dami waved bye and turned to leave until Yoohyeon called out to her.

“So I’ll see you around Dami?” Yoohyeon asked as she fidgeted with her shirt.

Dami turned to her and seemed to sigh as if she was making an important decision. “Ya, I think so.” Dami replied with a slight smile, that Yoohyeon didn’t get to appreciate long enough because Dami turned and walked off.

Yoohyeon proceeded to walk home not realize she was singing to herself. Not realizing she wouldn’t stop singing until she laid in bed that night.