“What the are those?!” I screamed as Jung Min speeded in air. Halcyon Hotel wasn’t far from us, but from the way those women slash spirits slash WHAT ARE THEY? were flying towards us, they’ll catch us before we could hide.

“Mercenaries! They’re fairy mercenaries!”

“LOOK OUT!” I cried as three of them appeared out of nowhere before us. Jung Min wrapped his arms and wings tight around me. He twisted enough to dodge them. I couldn’t see much, but I felt we were heading fast towards the ground. Before we hit it, Jung Min spread his wings again and we were able to land safely on our feet. He let go of me as I rushed to the building. Jung Min ran after me with his wings vanishing behind him. He dashed towards and plunged his shoulder onto the front door to open it. I came afterwards and we stopped when all of the elderly guests were gathered in the lobby. They all had and menacingly blue eyes. I stepped backwards and hit Jung Min’s chest. He grabbed my hand and frowned.

“They’re all possessed, aren’t they?”

“Correct!” a voice came from behind. We turned around, Jung Min still holding my hand, to see the other reaper. Since he no longer was hiding, all of his features were visible – from the eyes, to the feathers and that faint glow that only reapers had. I watched as the fairies landed one by one around the reaper and morphed back from their spirit form to their psychical womanly one. Jung Min tensed. He obviously didn’t like them one bit. “Good, I didn't lose my touch,” the reaper said as he came closer. Jung Min pulled me closer to his body. “You, Madam Park, are a priestess.”

“ you!” I yelled and was ready to use everything I had. One of the ladies growled at me. She snapped her fingers and two of the elders came forward from the massive group. They were Daesung dragging along. His arms and legs were tied with ropes, while his mouth was muffled. The kid looked at me desperate and was struggling to release himself.

“Now, now, you don’t want your friend here to die, do you? Though, we would love to exchange his body with one of our old customers.” The reaper explained.

I felt useless at that point. I could very well try and fight it, but those fairies were crazily strong and fast. I wasn’t sure what Jung Min had in mind, but I could feel he was extremely agitated about the whole situation. I also knew, from the way his fingers tightened around my hand, that he felt guilty for everything. I wanted to assure him that he couldn’t have known, that there are load of reapers out there who just want to see the world fall to their feet and that he wasn’t one of them and he never will be.

I owe everything to Jung Min.

Everything.

And I couldn’t bear to see Daesung’s pleading eyes.

“The kid has nothing to do with this,” I said and freed my hand from Jung Min’s grasp. He gave me a confused look as I approached the other reaper. “What do you want from me?”

The reaper motioned to the fairies. They all looked at each other, then nodded and snapped again, this time in unison. All of the elderly dashed with great speed and grabbed onto Jung Min.

“Stop it!” I said as Jung Min was put down by brute force. He hit his face on the floor and didn’t move. I knew why – he wasn’t supposed to hurt ‘normal’ humans. That would label him as a rogue reaper and put the entire higher squad after his . I could argue in his favor that they were possessed, but who would listen to me? Reapers had their laws, we had ours.

“Look, honey dearest,” I wish I could punch the rogue reaper for that “We have a very good business here. Why don’t you help us?”

“What kind of business?”

“And I’ve thought you priestesses are smarter,” can’t I just punch his face into oblivion or something?

“Humor me,” I rolled my eyes and stiffened when all the fairies growled. They obviously didn’t enjoy another female around their domain. Well, one that looked around their age.

“Well, you see, being a reaper is kind of boring,” he started and I figured he wasn't that bright. I felt weaker and weaker again. That building consumed my energy. “But a rogue reaper, now, that’s another story. You see, there are so many ghosts,”

“Spirits,” I corrected him.

“Ghosts,” he ignored me “that want to reincarnate. But for that, they need to pass over and get recycled. Well, not all of them are that patient or willing to have their memories erased.”

“So what? You offer them a free pass?”

“Ah, not really,” he motioned to the fairies behind that were trying hard not to grin “these ladies here help me with everything. I extract the ghosts’ souls and these ladies implant it in their new host without damaging the one that’s already there. Isn’t it perfect?”

I frowned.

“I see. You don’t raise suspicion this way.”

“Bingo!” he clapped his hands. “You aren’t as dumb.”

Why I'd---!

“So what’s the catch?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why do you need me?”

“Oh, that. You see,” he came closer and cupped my chin. CAN’T I JUST AT LEAST SPIT ON HIM? “Those ghosts have a limited time in their new bodies. Iele are such selfish creatures, they don’t give me the whole package without something in return.”

“So you’re going to give me in return?”

He let of my chin and whistled his way towards Jung Min. The rogue reaper gave his fellow ‘colleague’ a smile, before he turned to Daesung.

“No, I’m going to give them this boy and your beloved reaper. They do love their men.”

The fairies snickered behind.

It was becoming incredibly annoying to deal with that bunch of lunatics.

“What if I say no?” There was absolutely no way in this world or the other that I was going to leave Daesung and Jung Min in their hands. Something grabbed my attention when one of the elderly in the back acted strange. He fell motionless. A bluish beam of energy emerged from him. One of the fairies rushed to his side, grabbed the energy and swallowed it whole.

They do like their men.

“If you say no,” the rogue reaper placed his hand over my shoulder “The blonde will have the same faith as that elderly man there.”

The fairies snickered again.

---

The usual faint glow that reapers had was shading white the red sky. They were either called forth by Mistress Yuri’s immense force or drawn to it. I was scared it might be the second; scared they might want to put her down if she was deemed dangerous. But I was sure that was not her anymore – I was positive that the one that talked was not my Mistress. She might have put me inside a burning house, but I wasn’t sure anymore if the rest was due to her conscious being or something else.

“Sooyoung, you need to leave,” Jung Min barely uttered. From the tone of his voice, he wasn’t sure about what was happening either.

“I can’t,” I argued only for Jung Min to give me the deepest glared I had ever seen. Not only that, but his warm brown eyes were slowly turning red.

“Go! I’ll slow them down, just go!”

“No!”

“Sooyoung!”

“Jung Min!”

“Stop being stubborn!”

“I’m not stubborn! That is not Mistress Yuri! That’s something or someone else.”

Jung Min’s orbs were brilliant rubies, concerned and constantly analyzing the situation.

“Are you sure about it?”

I nodded. I knew Mistress Yuri. I knew she was capable of laughing, I knew her sarcastic jokes and the way she always gave me her extra blanket for me to feel warm and safe while she was left cold in the harsh environment. She would always take care of me when I was sick, give me medicine and slowly brush her hand over my forehead. She’d smile and assure me everything will be alright and that no matter what, I’ll one day no longer need her. And that day, might be then, but I wasn’t ready to let go. Whatever had spoken to me, that was not Mistress Yuri.

And I had a feeling that same thing was responsible for all of her outrageous actions – and all that talk about a mandala.

“Jung Min,” I hugged him “Save her!” The reaper stared at me. “Please!”

“Lend me your power,” he pressed his thumb over my forehead.  I closed my eyes. I didn’t know what that meant and how I could do it, but I bet my body and my spirit did. Something pierced my chest and made it difficult to breathe. I opened wide my eyes and saw the same red glow now covering Jung Min and blending with his white aura. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in my head. I held onto my heart, then hit the ground.

I was so weak.

My vision turned blurry. I recognized Jung Min’s vanishing figure.

And just like when we first met, his scent was sweet; extremely sweet, like the most beautiful garden in the world.

I tried to stand on my elbows and tried to focus.

The reapers surrounded Mistress Yuri, all with their arms stretched. I knew that position.

They were ready to kill her.

“YURI!” I heard myself screaming my lungs out. “YURI!” Jung Min disappeared “Please...” and I could barely speak, barely breathe, barely think “Please... Yuri... please.”

Mistress Yuri looked at me.

She smiled.

She smiled at me before a powerful flash blinded everyone. 

In the middle of all hovered a reaper with white eyes and the largest pair of wings I had ever encountered.

He was watching me and I was sure that was not Jung Min. I didn't know who he was.