Cheon Sa woke up in an alley.  Christmas tunes chimed faintly in the background, and she frowned.  I swear I was in Suho’s office…

Two shadows appeared at the entrance of the alley, and Cheon Sa hid behind a couple of discarded boxes.  As the two figures passed her, she recognized one of the two to be Chanyeol and the other to be Jongin.

“It’s a cold night, isn’t it?” Chanyeol commented to Jongin as the two continued down the alley.

She could see Jongin nod.  “Definitely.”

“Thanks for offering to walk home with me, but you didn’t have to.  My place is quite far from Suho’s office.”

“No problem, Chanyeol.  I live around here anyway.”

As the two passed her, she made eye contact with Chanyeol, whose eyes seemed to widen and smile began to brighten.

“No way.”

“Hm?” Jongin turned, staring straight at her.  “Are you okay, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol frowned.  “You don’t see…forget it.” 

She watched them continue before coming out from behind the boxes. Cheon Sa followed her brother and Jongin down the alley.  Chanyeol occasionally looked back, and Cheon Sa was confident that he could see her too.  He smiled every time they made eye contact, causing Jongin to frown.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Chanyeol?”

“Huh?” Chanyeol replied.  “Oh…yeah.  It must be my lucky day.”

She increased her pace, hoping that if her brother could see her, then she could somehow prevent what would happen next.  Attempting to find her voice, she called out, “Oppa!  You can’t go.”

“But I have to,” came his reply.

Jongin frowned.  “Chanyeol?  Who are you talking to?”

So he can hear me too?  Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, “Oppa, you have to get out of here.”

“I know.”

“Then why don’t you?” she exclaimed.

Jongin continued to stare at Chanyeol.  “Yah.”

“It’s for you.”

Cheon Sa paused.  “What do you mean?”

“Do me a favor and tell the about human food.”

“What?”

Chanyeol chuckled.  “Hey Jongin, give me a moment, will you?”  After checking that they were alone, Chanyeol continued.  “I must be lucky.  I get to see you before I die.”

“Don’t say that.  If you run away now—”

“I can’t, Cheon Sa.”

“Why not?” She sniffled.

“Aigoo…don’t cry, my cute little sister.”

She sighed.  “But oppa—”

“Look, our time together is limited, so I have to tell you this before Jongin really thinks that I’m crazy.” Chanyeol chuckled.  “I got Suho a coffee maker for Christmas.  Did you know that when demons eat human food, they become weaker?”

“Huh?” She frowned, trying to recall information.  “I thought that they just didn’t like it?  Because the taste was off?”

“Apparently, that’s not the entire reason.”  Chanyeol grinned.  “That guy loves it when people give him gifts, so I know that he’ll use it.”

“But…”

“I have to go.  Jongin and Suho are waiting for me, aren’t they?”

She reached for his arm.  “Oppa…”

“Don’t worry about me, Cheon Sa.  Your Chanyeol oppa will save you, even if it means that I have to die.” Chanyeol patted her head and went to join Jongin.  She could only watch her brother as he travelled further into the darkness.

And everything faded to black.

<:>

Cheon Sa’s eyes flew open, and she struggled to get to her feet.  Scanning the room, she saw a barely-conscious Jongin on the floor and…a frightened Suho.

“Yah…what are you?”

His voice shook, and she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

“Red eyes?  But how?”

She held the blade in her hand.  It felt warm to the touch and glowed.  When she looked down, she realized that the pain she had felt was completely gone.

“Impossible!  You should’ve died.”

“Get off of Jongin,” she said and watched as Suho flew into a wall, as if someone had pushed him into it.  She instinctively took a step back, afraid of what she had just done.

Jongin took this moment to get to his feet, limping over to the frightened girl.  “Cheon Sa…?”

She whirled around, coming face to face with Jongin.  “I…” Looking down at her hands, she noticed that they shook.

He winced.  “You…how did you survive that?”

“I…don’t know.”

“But if a human touches a demon weapon, they—”

She pushed Jongin away just as Suho charged at her.  Avoiding his attack, she drove the knife into his midsection with ease, causing Suho’s eyes to roll back.  She stepped away as he began to disintegrate.

“How…are you so strong?” Suho asked.  He held up one hand, watching it shatter in front of him.  “I…don’t want to die.  Save me.”

To her surprise, thousands of spirits poured out of Suho’s disintegrating body.  She saw men, women, the elderly, children, and even animals.  Some spirits even wore the traditional hanbok, and Cheon Sa wondered how long Suho had been collecting souls.

“Park Cheon Sa?” A familiar voice startled her.  When she saw the owner of the voice, tears welled up in her eyes.

“Oppa…”

Park Chanyeol’s spirit gave her a hug.  “Congratulations.  You did well.”

She couldn’t respond.

“I hid a big part of my soul in that knife, hoping that you would find it someday.”  He smiled.

“But…how?”

He shook his head.  “I have to go.  My soul is too weak to remain here.”

“B-but, wait, oppa!”  She reached out toward Chanyeol, only grabbing air.

“I love you, Cheon Sa.  And thank you for saving me.”

The other souls cheered, and Chanyeol went to join them.  Cheon Sa could only watch as her brother faded away right in front of her.  She fell to her knees and began to cry, not tears of sadness, but tears of relief.

And she had drawn a crowd.  Through her tears, she noticed a crowd of demons gathering.  Some whispered.  Others pointed.  When Cheon Sa got to her feet, with the help of Jongin, all of the demons bowed.

“Huh?” She frowned, wiping her tears away.  “What are they doing?”  Turning to Jongin, she was shocked to see him bowing as well.  “J-Jongin?  Why?  You’re injured.”

“My queen.”

“I don’t—”

Kai straightened his back.  “We are acknowledging you as our leader.”

“But…Jongin?  What about the contract?”

His smile fell.  “The contract stated that once you found and killed the murderer, I’d take your soul.”

“Right.”

“Even though Suho is gone, I’m still alive.”

“But you didn’t—”

He shook his head.  “I am no less guilty than Suho was.”

“Then…I-I forgive you, okay?”  she replied.  “After seeing my brother one last time, I finally feel…relieved.  I spent so much time focused on revenge.”

“You…forgive me?”

She nodded.  “But there’s a difference between forgiving and forgetting.”

Jongin bowed again, and Cheon Sa reached out to touch his cheek, where Suho had cut him.  She watched, amazed, as the cut healed beneath her fingers.

“Yah, human!”

The familiar voice caught her attention, and Cheon Sa turned around.  The crowd of demons parted, and Byun Baekhyun sat up.  She couldn't believe her eyes.

“Baekhyun?”

“Looks like I got lucky, huh?” He smirked.  “I feel horrible.”

“Let me heal your wounds—”

“More importantly, demon queen,” he interrupted, pulling Suho out of the crowd.  “Since I seem to be a human right now, I’d really appreciate it if you could erase my memories.”

Her eyes widened.  “Human?”

Baekhyun grinned, grabbing Cheon Sa’s hand and placing it on his heart.  “See?  There’s a beat now.”

“A-Are you sure you want me to erase them?  They’re your memories.”

“Yeah.  I want to start over again, you know?”

Cheon Sa finally agreed, and with guidance from Jongin, successfully erased Baekhyun’s memories and sent him with directions to the nearest hospital.

“Well?  What’s your first order, my queen?”

She smiled.  “Call me Cheon Sa.”

A/N: This is the last official chapter, but there is still an epilogue and a thank you chapter.