“Come on, noona, hyung,” Zelo called, rushing ahead of Mi Sun and Daehyun, “you have to see this.”

“We’re coming,” she laughed lightly as she followed the excited boy. Daehyun followed closely behind her, holding onto her hand so he didn’t lose her in the crowded mall.

“Here,” Zelo pointed at an old antique store, finally stopping long enough for the other two to catch up.

“What’s so interesting here?” she asked, looking through the store window and not noticing anything that caught her interest for long. Zelo rolled his eyes dramatically before heading inside. Mi Sun mocked the action by doing it herself before she led Daehyun into the store.

“Here,” Zelo finally stopped in front of an old scroll that was lying on a shelf, partially rolled out so people could read the last few things written on it, “that’s your parent’s names, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, looking over the scroll herself, “but what are the chances this is actually them and not someone else?”

“I see you three have an eye for ancient demon scrolls,” the shop’s owner smiled, coming up to them.

“Demon scrolls?” Mi Sun asked, looking from the old man to the scroll, “what’s that?”

“Legend says that the family this contract belongs to, the Jung family, made a deal years ago with twelve immortal beasts to protect their family,” the old man explained, “at least, that’s what the last owners told me. I used to live next to them and when the husband died, the wife gave me this before she vanished. She said that her daughter would come for it one day and buy it. A few people have tried buying it in the past, but it always shown right back up here by the end of the day.”

“Noona,” Daehyun whispered, hugging Mi Sun’s arm and pressing his face into her shoulder. He hated stories about ghosts and demons.

“Then Mi Sun noona must be your neighbour’s daughter,” Zelo smiled, pointing at the scroll, “that’s the name of her mom and her dad. Her last name is Jung, too.”

The old man looked Mi Sun over once before handing her the scroll.

“You look like my old neighbours. You have the same eyes,” he nodded, “and I’ve wanted to get rid of this thing for years. Even if you don’t turn out to be its rightful owner, maybe you can find her.” With that, the man waved to group out of the store and locked the door behind them.

“Weird,” Mi Sun shrugged before stuffing the scroll into her shopping bag. She could always burn the darn thing or hand it over to its real owner.

“Noona,” Daehyun whined, glaring at the scroll peeking out of her bag, “please get rid of that thing.” It might just be a piece of paper to Zelo and Mi Sun, but Daehyun got a creepy feeling from the scroll. Some part of him just knew that there was something special about it.

“It’s fine, hyung,” Zelo laughed, “hey noona? Maybe this can help you find out about your family.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she shrugged, “but I’ll keep it if you think that’s important.”

“You never get excited about these things,” the maknae pouted, “Doesn’t the idea of finding your parents interest you at all?”

“Why should it?” she blinked in confusion, “from what that shop owner said, this guy who could be my appa is dead and my umma took off. That’s all I need to know about people who dropped me off on the steps of an orphanage.”

Daehyun simply hugged his noona tighter. He and the other boys were the only family that she needed. No one else – much less the parents who gave her up – mattered.

“Well,” Zelo frowned, “can you at least sign your name? Maybe it will summon demons and they can tell me things about your family.” Mi Sun looked at him blankly for a moment before pulling out the scroll and a pencil.

“To keep you happy,” she muttered before writing down her name.

As she had learned in the years she’d known Zelo, it was better to do what he wanted then try denying him. At least, if you wanted to avoid conflict in the form of a sulking Zelo.

The moment Jung Mi Sun signed her name onto the scroll, twelve beings felt a surge of power flow through them.

“So our master finally found the scroll, huh?” Suho smiled down at the three figures surrounding the old piece of parchment. From his seat atop a nearby building, he had a clear view of Mi Sun, Daehyun, and Zelo’s every move since they left the antique shop.

For the past eighteen years, he had been keeping an eye on the scroll, making sure it was kept safe. His last master, Mi Sun’s mother, had made that her last request before her fate became unknown at all who once knew her. As she had told him, it was not possible to hide the identity of the scroll from those who wanted it, so he had to watch it. Her child, on the other hand, could be hidden much easier.

Suho had been the one to leave Mi Sun on the orphanage steps as her mother could not leave her dear child like that.

As Kris had said to her mother that day, keeping Mi Sun with her put the child at great risk. Even knowing this, her mother couldn’t make herself hand over the three year old. That was why Suho had been given the task. He had been the one who left her with nothing but her name and a note that he requested be opened on her seventeenth birthday that told her the names of her parents and nothing else. Anything else would put her in harm’s way. The note alone could lead to her death, but he needed her to know the names of her mother and father. To know the names of the parents who loved her and would never have given her up if there had been another way.

He could still remember looking into the young girl’s dark brown eyes and trying to explain to her why she couldn’t come with Su-Su oppa. It killed him inside to watch her sit there, waiting for him to come back until the doors behind her opened and the kind, old woman who ran the orphanage brought her inside.

When he returned, her mother was gone and watching over the scroll had become his task. While his brothers searched the world for their master, he waited at home in South Korea watching over the scroll. More than once, the old man had given it away to someone, trying to rid himself of the burden, but Suho always brought it back.

It was torture for the immortal water demon. All he did was sit and watch over the scroll. And he was forbidden by his last master to ever seek out her daughter. No, his master didn’t want him to draw attention to young Mi Sun by visiting her. He often found it painful, not being allowed to see the young child grow up as he had done with the rest of her family.

Over the years, Suho had often wondered how Mi Sun was doing. Where her grades in school? Did she have any friends? Did someone care for her like he wanted to? Knowing he had to wait for her to find the scroll before he could see her was irritating.

But now there she was in front of him. A beautiful young woman. He was more than pleased to see she had grown up strong and healthy.

Now, he could start protecting her, just as he had done with her family for the past thousand years.