“KyungHye-unnie! I’m going out to see a friend, I’ll be back later!” EunMi announced loudly as she wrapped her scarf around her neck and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

“Okay! Don’t be out too late or I’ll give YongGuk a personal call to find you!” KyungHye called out from the kitchen.

“Please don’t do that!” EunMi screamed back as she closed the door behind her. She shivered from the sudden breeze that swept by her. “I hate the cold…”

With a sigh, she placed her hands in her pockets and wandered down the streets. She stopped by the grocery store to pick up a whole chicken. As she walked out with the frozen meat, she stared at it.

“…damn it, I should have bought this sooner so I could let it thaw. Now he’s gonna whine at me. Ugh, I really don’t want to deal with his whining right now,” EunMi mumbled to herself. Her eyes darted over to a little accessories shop near the grocery store. She smiled, stuffing the chicken into her backpack as she ran into the shop. After a few minutes or so of browsing, she settled on buying a pink-knitted beanie with a fluffy pompom attached to the top. She placed it into the backpack on top of the chicken and left.

It was common knowledge that the Wall served to keep demons out of the city. However, not many people actually understood how it worked. The Wall was a force field created by all the mages in the city. Like a puzzle, each mage is responsible for a portion of the force field. The force field is actually a spell that repels anything with magic. So wandering humans can get in and out of the city as they please. Considering it was demon territory right outside of the city, you would have to be either extremely stupid or planning a suicide to wander out of the Wall.

EunMi was one of the few people that knew how the Wall worked and was currently in the middle of wandering out of the Wall.

Now, EunMi was neither extremely stupid (…maybe a little stupid, but not extremely) nor was she planning her own death because this wasn’t the first time she had done this.

Putting her backpack down, she sat herself under a tree just a few meters outside of the Wall. She took out the flashlight from her backpack and shined it out into the dark forest. A few moments later, she heard rustling through a nearby bush. She jolted up and shined her flashlight at the bush.

“Get that thing out of my face. It’s painfully bright,” groaned a somewhat high-pitched male voice. EunMi turned the light off as said male revealed himself from the bush. He growled at her as he swished his wolf tail dangerously at her.

“Would you stop that? You’re not fooling anyone, Sungjong,” she told him with a roll of her eyes.

“Can’t you at least be scared to humor me?” he whined.

“No.”

“No fun.”

“Who is the one bringing you chicken?”

“I love you, EunMi, my dear friend~” he flattered, tilting his head to the side, placing his hands next to his cheeks as he laced his fingers together. He even smiled sweetly and batted his eyelashes for added effect.

“Yeah, you’re not cute,” she told him as she took out the chicken she had just bought for him. The sparkle in his eyes disappeared when he saw that the chicken was frozen. He looked up and pouted at EunMi, but before he could whine, she whipped out her secret weapon. The sparkle returned in his eyes.

“Did I mention I love you~? Wow, this is so cute!” he squealed, taking the beanie from her and placing it on his head. She pulled out a mirror for him to look at himself so she didn’t have to compliment him and could let him brag on his own.

…which he did.

“Eat your chicken,” EunMi finally reminded after a minute of listening to Sungjong exclaim how cute he looked in his new hat. She didn’t miss the dirty look he shot her before turning away from the mirror and taking a large bite out of the chicken.

“So what’s going on in the demon world?” she asked in excitement.

“Not much,” he mumbled through a mouth full of chicken. “Oh! Seems the Stymphalian birds are brewing up some trouble. Their numbers are growing too much again for their resources, so Sunggyu-hyung is worried they may go after a human city, probably yours.”

EunMi stared at Sungjong as he chewed calmly at his chicken.

“That’s…kind of important. Aren’t they those things with the nasty feathers and beaks and talons and…pointy, painful things?”

“Don’t worry about it. You have plenty of mages in your city to protect you. So how has school been?” he asked EunMi casually.

“Sungjong!”

“What?”

“We’re talking about the safety of all those people in there. Don’t change the subject!” EunMi yelled as she gestured wildly at the city behind her. The werewolf sighed with attitude while rolling his eyes.

“Don’t you trust me? You’ll be fine. Just be sure to stay in the force field the next week, okay? I’ll be gone the next few days anyways to take care of this mess, so I’ll let you know I’m back by hanging my hat on that branch over there,” he answered confidently.

“Will you be okay?” she asked, worry evident in her voice.

He smiled at her, “Of course. I’m Sungjong the werewolf. Cutest werewolf in town, but also deadly~”

EunMi broke out laughing as the flamboyant werewolf flipped his head in an attempt to flip his hair, only to flip the pompom on the top of his hat instead.

“Yeah, you’re cool.”

~

SuMi hummed to herself as she tapped in the order of table 4 into their touchscreen menu, ‘Humans may be really weak and scrawny, but they sure are creative when it comes to coming up with these things. This thing is so interesting~

The bell rang, indicating new customers.

“Welcome to---M-M-Ma…maaaaaaaaaaaaa!” SuMi stuttered with wide eyes as she turned around, screaming in her head while biting down on her knuckles. ‘MAGES! Are you ing kidding me?! Why are there six mages here?! Oh my gosh…okay, breathe, keep calm, Su…t-they’re just here to eat. You haven’t done anything wrong. Okay. Breathe. Act natural, act natural.’

After the little pep talk in her head, she grabbed six menus and turned around with a bright smile as one of her co-workers gave her a strange look as he passed by to bring table 1 their food.

“Hello~ Table for 6?” she asked, clearing her voice when it cracked a little at the end.

“Yes please, and could we have a seat outside? We wouldn’t want to disturb any of the other customers with our dogs,” the one in front requested in a deep voice.

“Of course. Right this way,” she said in a sweet voice as she held out her hand, directing them to their outside tables. “Will this table be okay?”

“Perfect~ Thank you, Cute Waitress-sshi~” flirted the pretty face with a surprisingly low voice as he winked at her. SuMi giggled nervously as they took their seats. When she looked at the group, she finally recognized the mage sitting at the edge with the messy blond hair, bangs swept slightly to the side, as the one that came in not too long ago with his girlfriend. Despite her expert fake smile, she inwardly groaned to herself, ‘Oh great. He must have suggested this place to his friends. Am I going to have to find another job, too?’

Once the six of them ordered their food, she took their menus and left to place their orders on the touchscreen. Her happy mask came off once she turned away from them. She hoped they would be quick, especially since those dogs were starting to make her nervous.

The flirtatious pretty boy with the rat face was also getting on her nerves.

When she came back with their food, she was about to put the food down when one of the dogs sniffed up her skirt. SuMi screamed in shock as she jumped back, dropping the tray of food. She gasped as the one mage at the edge, who she assumed is the leader, caught her before she fell and the other mage sitting at the edge “caught” the food using a levitation spell. She saw him his lips as he directed the food onto the table to their proper places and began to eat as if nothing happened. This earned him a smack from rat face as he scolded the hungry mage for being insensitive.

“Are you okay?” the one who caught her asked in concern. SuMi just nodded dumbly as he placed her back on her feet.

“YongGuk, control your dog! You could have really hurt Cute Waitress-sshi there! …it’s a good thing DaeHyunnie thinks with his stomach. Trust him to have the fastest reaction when food is in danger,” rat-faced pretty boy sighed as he shook his head.

The one named DaeHyun turned to the older boy, with his mouth still full of food, and said, “I, for one, am a supporter of animal welfare and believe you should always savor the sacrifice the animals make for making meals so delicious. Now, she’s fine. Food’s fine. Please let me eat, HimChannie-hyung. I’m starving!”

“Yes, yes, I’m so sorry, Bottomless Pit. Please continue with feasting on your weight in food. Who am I to stop you?” HimChan commented sarcastically.

“I’m glad you finally see things my way,” DaeHyun smiled “innocently” as he took another large bite out of his meal. HimChan shrieked in frustration.

“I put you on a diet for your own good!” he complained with a whine. “Bbang! Why aren’t you saying something to him?!”

“Channie, sit down and eat your food,” YongGuk sighed as he patted his canine partner, who he named Tigger, on the head to calm him down. However, the dog stared very intently at SuMi, making her extremely nervous.

“I’m sorry about nearly spilling your meal. How about I get you all a complimentary drink or dessert as apology?” SuMi bowed, watching the canine warily for a moment before looking up at its owner, who also seemed to be staring at her but much less intensely and more curiously. He…couldn’t have figured it out already…could he?

“That’s fine. It was my fault, after all,” YongGuk apologized as he patted Tigger on the head. “Tigger, stand down.”

Once the canine was being referred to, he stopped staring at SuMi and looked up at his master, ears dropping like a puppy. He YongGuk’s hand and nuzzled his head to be petted. With a soft smile, YongGuk patted his partner on the head as he sat back down to enjoy his meal.

SuMi bowed once more before scurrying off to take care of other orders.

She was screaming in her head, praying they would leave soon because she wasn’t sure how much more she could take of this before she exploded and just flew off into the distance.

“Hyung…you okay?” JunHong quietly asked, concern written on his face. YongGuk, who had been staring at SuMi, smiled at JunHong and nodded to reassure the magnae he was fine. He wondered why Tigger reacted like that. The canine companion of his was very obedient and well-behaved. YongGuk could probably count all the times Tigger had misbehaved in one hand. The behavior was very peculiar. He snapped out of his train of thoughts when JongUp asked YongGuk if he could try a piece of his meat.

The six of them enjoyed the rest of their meal in peace while SuMi begged one of her co-workers to take her place serving the mages because she felt “uncomfortable with so many dogs.”

She really hoped this was a one-time thing with these mages because she didn’t want to have to find a new job.

~

HimChan yawned as he cracked his neck.

“Hyung, are you done?” JongUp wondered as he looked from his desk to HimChan.

“Mmm, thanks for waiting, JongUppie. Let’s go home; it’s late,” he answered with a sleepy smile. The younger mage smiled back and nodded. HimChan looked over to YongGuk, who was still working on some paperwork. “Bbang, do you want us to wait for you, too?”

YongGuk shook his head, “You guys go home first. I’ll catch up with you later.”

The two nodded, saying bye as they walked back home in the middle of the night. The lonely leader sighed, looking over at the single bed they had in their office in case they (usually YongGuk) needed to stay late for a night.

“H-H-Hi…umm…are you okay? I found you…passed out by yourself. I’m Bang YongGuk. How are you feeling?”

“W-Where am I?” she groaned as she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at me.

“This is…my house. Do you want something to drink or-”

“What is this? What is…what is on my neck?!” she screamed, partially in fear and partially in fury.

“It’s a…collar?” She glared venomously at me.

“I REALIZE it’s a collar. Why do I have a collar and why is it on my neck?!”

“Well…I might have-um-put it on you…because…I need a…f-f-familiar,” I stuttered out quietly, looking anywhere but at her.

“FAMILIAR?! Do you know what I am?! How dare you try to contain me and make me your lazy mage slave!” she screeched, the fury completely overcoming her fear.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing! And you were unconscious! So I was worried, but I also needed a familiar, and you were there…and injured, and I just did the first thing to come to mind, so…let’s…work together…from now on?” I rambled nervously. I didn’t even know what she was until YoungJae flipped out a few hours ago in excitement and disbelief that I managed to get a fae.

“I’m going to tear you limb from limb, Bang YongGuk…” she growled as her eyes began to glow silver. I started backing up in fear. Faes were the extremely powerful version of faeries, according to YoungJae. However, when she tried to release her wings from her back, she winced in pain and held her shoulder where her injury was. As she retracted them back into her back, I slowly moved back toward her.

“Are you okay? I had HimChan heal you, but your injuries are pretty bad, so you should probably take it easy,” he suggested, earning him another deadly glare from Jieun.

“When I get better, you will remove this collar from me and take me back or I’ll kill you.”

I gulped. What did I get myself into?

He chuckled once as he remembered the first time meeting Jieun. YongGuk might be an experienced mage now, but back then, he had no idea what he was doing and certainly had no idea what Jieun was. His eyes darted around the room until they landed on the small clock on his desk. He traced the clock with his fingers as a sad, nostalgic grin slowly appeared on his face.

“You know you really should stop cleaning up after those boys. You’re just spoiling them,” I told Jieun as she walked around the room with a damp cloth, wiping away the dust.

“Perhaps, but if I were to just leave everything how it is, this room would never be clean and I, for one, do not enjoy working in such unsanitary conditions,” she huffed. “Besides, it’s not like I have anything else to do.”

I chuckled as I sat at my desk to begin working. I noticed a desk clock in the center of my desk that I had never seen before. I asked Jieun, wondering if she knew what this was doing on my desk, “What’s this?”

“Oh, I bought it for you,” Jieun informed nonchalantly as she continued cleaning. “You always fall asleep when you work, it’s probably best to have an alarm clock so you don’t nap too long, you know? Besides, I thought it was cute!”

“I don’t need a clock…”

“Yes, you do. You overwork yourself, YongGuk, and it’s no good for your health. Now, the time is right in front of you and it even chimes quietly at every hour. No more excuses that the time just flew by you,” she smirked proudly. “You break it, and I’ll be really mad at you.”

I sighed, placing the clock back on my desk. I had found it was much easier for everyone if I just let the fae do what she wanted.

Besides, it was just a harmless clock.

Finally noticing the time, YongGuk went back to work for a few minutes, yet his mind was still on his former familiar. He pulled open the drawer next to him and pulled out the silver collar he had used on Jieun.

I rushed back to the office as quickly as I can, bursting through the door as HimChan worked on Jieun.

“How is she?” I asked, kneeling down next to her as she lay unconsciously on the bed. Her face looked paler and paler by the day.

“I’m sorry, YongGuk. I’ve tried everything I know. I’ve asked around, I’ve even had other mages come here to see what they can do. I’m…I’m sorry, YongGuk. I really don’t know what to do anymore,” HimChan told me. Those words were the ones I was afraid of. I ran a hand through my hair as I took a deep breath to calm myself. I noticed HimChan shooting an almost guilty look at YoungJae. I turned to YoungJae, who looked down, refusing to meet my eyes.

“What?”

“N-Nothing,” lied the younger mage.

“YoungJae,” I warned in a low voice. YoungJae flinched, looking over at HimChan to help him.

“He…did a little research on faes,” HimChan explained for YoungJae. “They’re exceptionally weak against iron. The collar…the collar might be killing her. And there’s no way of taking it off.”

 I felt my knees go weak as my eyes stared at Jieun’s weakening body.

I was killing Jieun.

It was my fault.

YongGuk continued staring at the collar as he remembered a few weeks after learning that it was his fault Jieun was dying. The rest of B.A.P were shocked as YongGuk stood over an empty bed. There was no Jieun, only her collar remained, as he informed them in a soft whisper that she was gone.

Ding, ding.

He was snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his clock going off.

It was midnight.

The anniversary of Jieun’s passing.

=====================================================================

Longest chapter ever.

I blame my YongJi feels.

/falls over/

~Kira :3