We said our goodbyes, but not before we took a bath to cleanse ourselves physically and spiritually.

Separate, not together.

Daesung was prohibited from ever coming closer to me as long as I could read minds. His obscenities and other images that sometimes transformed into words were too much.

We dressed light despite the weather outside and both of us got painful shoulder tattoos from Jessica. She made sure no ghost would try to possess us. The ink was still drying in my skin when Yuri wrapped my upper body with bandages. We didn’t talk much, other than a few advices from Yuri, who apparently had been before in the world Between. She searched for me in those three years, afraid I might be trapped somewhere in limbo after the demon’s ritual. I looked like a freaking mummy when she was done. If that wasn’t enough, she painted various symbols over the white bandages and explained not to trust quite everything I see there, not to split from the group and most importantly, not to lose myself in any emotion I might experience. I assured her none of that would happen. We’d go there, stay for a couple of days, then wait for Jessica to summon us back through another portal and things were going to be great.

After Yuri finished with the painting job, I went back to the living room and saw Daesung received the same treatment from Jessica. We were officially luxurious mummies.

Yuri unlocked her necklace and placed it around my neck. She softly touched the medallion.

“It was yours before, I’m giving it back to you,” my hand grasped hers and I nodded. I knew that inside was Jung Min’s feather, but none of us dared open the medallion to see if it had withered or not. We hugged after for a long awkward minute until Yuri gave me her blessing through a cheek kiss. I joined Daesung and Byung Hee outside in the snow, freezing my and trembling from every fiber.

It was becoming difficult to keep a straight face with Yuri waving at us and breaking in forced smiles. She slowly closed each finger over her palm and lowered her hand until she remained a beautiful statue in the snow. Jessica came behind her with something resembling a magic staff in hand. Red jewels shone on top with a couple of feathers quivering under the breeze. Jessica cut the air with the staff while loudly shouting “open”.

A gush of wind almost took me away if not for Byung Hee. He grabbed both me and Daesung and kept his wings tensed so we wouldn’t move from our spot. Jessica’s black aura appeared and it surged through the staff. That energy compacted until it transformed into a thin line that seemed to go through air like knife through soft butter. Jessica pulled the staff to her chest and bowed at us. The thin line slowly grew and in a couple of minutes, it became a black door leading to who knows where. From the screams inside and the twisted voices whispering in my head, I knew we weren’t allowed in that world.

Daesung took my hand.

“It’s alright...” he grinned “We’re in this together, no matter what happens.”

I nodded and watched Yuri getting closer to Jessica and nodding too.

It was time to go.

Whatever waited on the other side, we’d have to fight it until we could return.

I pressed my thumb over the medallion.

It was what Jung Min would have wanted. And as his daughter, I was not going to give up. More importantly... as Yuri’s daughter, it was my duty to stay strong and clean my mess.

Byung Hee went ahead and Daesung followed him.

Our hands were still together when I took one last glance at Yuri and Jessica. With every step inside and every last look, I could swear, despite the chaotic weather and my poor vision, Jessica’s eyes flashed green. The darkness swallowed me.

End of case 7! Thank you for still hanging with me OTL seriously, I’m grateful for all of you OTL even if... most of the times... nothing makes sense anymore OTL All I can say for now is... JUNG MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN *cries* Next case will be more like a side-story and will change POV to Yuri. I’m sorry. I’ll come back to the three musketeers with case 9 OTL

And Give Me Your Heart is totally Jung Min’s theme song in this story (with Yuri or/and Sooyoung) T-T check the lyrics if you don’t believe me (warning: video starts automatically)... or I've been relistening to Midnight Theatre too much these days DX it's been almost one year since its release OTL