“Will you protect the others as you would me?”
“My seraph blade glowed the other day,” the older man said in a low whisper.
His dong saeng’s eyes widened to their fullest extent. “E-eh?”
“It lit up.” He ran the cloth back across the glass-like knife. “When I was cleaning it, it suddenly burned in my hand, and you know what that means.”
“B-but…hyung.” Slowly, Changmin sank onto the couch beside him. “If it glowed…then that means a demon was around. Why didn’t you tell us? Did you get attacked?!” he suddenly yelped.
“No. Otherwise, this apartment would have been in ruins and that would have been the first thing I’d have told you all when you got home.” He held the object up for both of them. “That’s the weird thing, Min. It glowed, but when I checked the hallway and then the apartment, no one was around.” He paused. “Well, minus Jaejoong, and I gave him quite a fright. Almost got caught with the blade.”
He bit his lip. “What does this mean? Are there demons here with us?” His eyes went large again. “Hyung, if there are demons here, and they’re close to us…wouldn’t they sense us? And wouldn’t we sense them? I mean, you can track a lower demon just as well as Yuri and Yunho. If there was a lower demon—”
Yoochun interrupted him. “Then that means a much more powerful demon was nearby, at least for a short period of time. The weapons of Heaven—”
“Don’t expire,” the younger man finished. “We could be wrong about that, you know.”
Almost immediately, Yoochun stood up and drew himself to his full height, looking just a tiny bit daunting—but the waves of anger crashing around him made Changmin press back into the sofa. “God is infallible,” Yoochun hissed between clenched teeth. “Proving him wrong would undo all of reality. So no. They can’t expire. It’s not defective. It works. And that means there was a demon nearby, and…” He trailed off, looking over Changmin’s head. “Oh. Hyung. What are you still doing here?”
“Felt like taking a nap in my old bed.” Jaejoong slumped onto the back of the couch, looking positively exhausted. “I heard someone come in…where are Yunho and Junsu? Probably still at practice,” he mumbled to himself. “They always stay over there later than everyone else. Freaking perfectionists.” He ruffled Changmin’s hair, making the maknae look more like a little boy. “Anyway, I’m heading out. You guys should go to sleep, too. We have that breakfast thing tomorrow with those fans or whatever.” To Yoochun’s surprise, he appeared to be rather excited about the prospect of coffee with fans. “I didn’t get to meet them last time, so I’m looking forward to meeting them tomorrow morning. Ta-ta,” he said, half yawning, as he opened the front door and left.
Changmin waited for the door to completely close before he gave Yoochun an odd look. “You said that you spooked Jae-hyung, right?”
“Mmhmm.” Yoochun went back to staring down at his weapon. “Why did you glow? You have me stumped…”
He spooked Jaejoong…no one else was in the hallway…Changmin pursed his lips together but remained silent. Making accusations would only look bad with the fragile reunion between the boys. I shall keep an eye on that guy…the odds are against him, if he was the only person outside the door, but…he would act differently if he was possessed by a demon…wouldn’t he? “I’m going to bed,” he briefly told the other man. He walked past the couch, still mulling over the possibility of a demon among them. Impossible…the weapon’s acting up…anything that’s over thousands of years old is bound to act weird eventually…
~~~~
Who the hell is knocking on my door at this godforsaken hour?! Yuri glanced through the peephole. Oh. Just him. “It’s late,” she said a little too coldly.
“Happy to see you, too,” Yunho mused as he stepped into the apartment. He held out a small cup of coffee and a brown bag to her. “Stopped by the café on my way here. I thought you might be up to share a treat or two with me.” His eyes twinkled. “But I think I caught you at the wrong time.” When she tilted her head in confusion, he motioned to the towel draped over her arm. “Were you getting in the shower?”
“Huh? Oh!” She hastily tossed it onto the floor. “No, I was actually going to stick it in the hamper…but then…oh, never mind.” She waved him toward the kitchen. “I have some plates in here. What’d you bring me?”
“Your favorite,” he sang before pulling out a large buttered croissant. “Fresh out of the oven.”
“Have I ever told how much you rock?” she teased as she reached for the bread. “No one else spoils me half as much as you do.”
“And I intend to keep things that way,” he said jokingly, taking a sip of his coffee. “What have you been up to? Siwon told me that the stones are…” He scratched his head. “Either they’re ready or they’re about to be ready or he’s working on them. Something along those lines.”
She nudged his shoulder. “Yeah, pretty much. He’s secured a modern sniper rifle for me so I can pick Bayne off from a distance. He’s making it relatively easy for me to finish this guy off. We’ll be back in Heaven in no time. Hopefully, this assassination doesn’t righteously piss off the morning star.” Her eyes took on a worried look. “You don’t think he’ll come here looking for us, do you? If he thinks that his lieutenant is in danger…”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. You and I will have no problem sending his ass back to Hell.” Casually, he wrapped a reassuring arm around her shoulders. “Besides, everyone knows that the big bad wolf won’t come sniffing if he doesn’t know we’re here. As long as we stay incognito, alarm is pretty much unneeded. So don’t worry.” He rubbed her arm when she made no response. “Hey, look at me.” She did. “You and the others mean everything to me. I will never let any harm come to you, Yuri.”
To me…? “What about the others?”
“Hmm?” he hummed absently as he stroked the soft skin her cami revealed. “What?”
“Will you protect the others as you would me?”
He gave the smallest of frowns. “Of course I would. Why would you even question that?”
“I’m not questioning it. You said that you would never let any harm come to me. I was just making sure that the ‘you’ encompassed the others too…” She stopped talking when his stare suddenly became intense. His hand stopped moving, though his arm remained wrapped around her. His gaze darkened slightly; the look he was giving her made her feel slightly uncomfortable. “Yunho…” Her breath quickened when he leaned closer, eyes completely fixated on hers. “Yunho…what are you—?”
His mouth was upon hers before she could properly finish her sentence. For a few moments, they sat very still. His eyes had shut, but hers stayed open; she felt too shocked to remember to blink normally. His kiss grew deeper, lips moving slowly across her plump ones. His tongue traced her bottom lip; instinct told her to open her mouth for a better feel, but her mind screamed curses at her from every direction. Should she give in, bad things would happen. What the…what is happening? Gradually, he pulled back, briefly pressing his lips to hers once. “Ah,” he sighed, eyes still closed.
“What…?” She touched her lips.
Abruptly, his eyes snapped open. “Yuri. I…”
“I’m really sleepy,” she quickly said before he could say more. “Can you please leave?”
For one neverending minute, he stared at her blankly. He seemed to gather his wits after a while, though, and stood up. “Good night,” he murmured while flushing and hurriedly left the loft.
Her hand went back to her mouth. He kissed me. This…I need to lay down. This is just too much. I don’t even know how he feels toward me. But his kiss spoke louder than any words would. And she had suspected for quite some time that he felt something more than friendship toward her, but…they were not to act on it. He knows that. He knows the rules. Suddenly, another story came to mind—a memory from way back when, before written words have ever been conceived in a human’s mind, before man had ever walked the soil of the earth.
Is that why…he fell? The Bible was written by man. Man invented and wove the tale of his cursed pride, which was indeed true…but not the whole truth. That cannot be the complete truth. Part of the story was revealed to everyone, but not all of it. I wonder…she glanced at the shut door. “Is that what happened?” she whispered softly to herself. “Is that why you fell, brother?”
~~~~
A restless and jittery barista greeted the four men as they put two tables together to make room for the supposed seven of them. Junsu wrote down their orders and approached the counter while Changmin and Yoochun gathered as many available chairs as they could. Their newly instated bodyguards surrounded the outside of Java City, assuring complete privacy minus the windows (Jaejoong’s monstrous form of a guard would arrive with him, rounding the total of six to a staggering eight and a half, if the man’s size and weight were taken into account). Yunho neatly arranged them around the table so the fans would sit in the middle of them.
“Hyung,” Junsu called as they took their seats. “You said you wanted a caramel macchiato?”
“Ew, no.” Yunho scrunched up his nose. “Small eye-opener.”
“The caramel is mine,” Changmin said calmly as he violently punched numbers in on his phone. When Yoochun raised his eyebrow at him, he sighed. “Jessica texted me the other day. She wants to…” He gulped. “Go out.”
“Ah,” Yoochun chuckled, nodding. It was common knowledge that the youngest member had no taste in any of his labelmates; in fact, he remained to be the only one who absolutely refused to date within the company, preferring “people from the outside.”
“I don’t know what to tell her…I mean, I’ll feel like a villain if I turn her down, but you know my dating policy!”
“Hmmm…well, just go on a date or two with her. Be as boring as possible. Psychotic never works, and it has the potential of getting you arrested.” He looked over at the counter. “Junsu, get me one of those raspberry-orange teas that Jaejoong raves about.” When both Yunho and Changmin gawked at him, he winked. “Better than Junsu’s sissy Javalanche.”
A few minutes later, the bell above the door rang shrilly. Both of the American girls stepped through into the coffee shop, blinking at the large ensemble of muffins, breads, and coffeecakes that awaited on two joined tables. “Welcome!” Yunho announced, holding out his hand for them to shake. On a whim, he hugged both girls at the same time. They looked taken aback, but pleasantly so. The youngest one—her name was Zell, if he recalled correctly — seemed extremely eager as she took her seat next to Changmin, who greeted her warmly. “I’m so glad you two could make it.”
“No problem, oppa,” Zellsighed, fluttering her eyelashes at him. Beside her, the older girl—Taz?—rolled her eyes before plopping down in a chair.
Junsu walked over with a large coffee carrier. “One macchiato, one juice tea thing, one eye-opener, and a white mocha Javalanche.” He stared down at the two new arrivals. “Oh, oops. I didn’t even see you guys there. What would you girls like to drink?”
“A cookies and cream Javalanche with a shot of espresso,” Zell exclaimed at the same time her sister mumbled, “A peach cream Italian soda.”
“Right away!” he replied, saluting them with a dorky grin before hopping back to order their drinks. He returned shortly with their drinks, and they settled down for a cheerful chat. Their upcoming album was briefly discussed, though they made sure to keep most things a secret, lest their manager ripping them all new ones. The subject of All About DBSK 4 came up, of course; no official plans had been made, but they wanted to shoot the DVD somewhere exotic or foreign. Yoochun and Junsu had a brief debate on either Spain or the Caribbean. Yunho hushed them when they almost revealed a reunion tour, though Zell guessed correctly and sat with a smug look on her face as Changmin berated the two idiots for the slip.
About thirty minutes later, just when they had given up all hope, the bell announced another arrival. They all turned around, expecting Jaejoong to stumble inside, half-awake and grumbling about the early hour. What they received instead was a bit of a shock—in Yunho’s case, a rather nasty one.
Dressed in a long grey-print shirt and skinny jeans tucked into dark boots, Kim Jaejoong practically waltzed into the shop with none other than Ha Yuri right behind him, she in a pretty green peasant top with black leggings and green flats. They spoke animatedly, his attention completely on her though his eyes scoured the menu hanging above the kitchen. Zell and Taz followed their still gazes to the newcomers. Jaejoong leaned against the counter, chuckling at something Yuri had said. She stared up at the menu with a slightly ajar mouth; the boys knew that to be her thinking face. “An Earl Grey tea,” she whispered to Jaejoong, who ordered the drink along with a powerful triple shot of espresso. At her cute glare, he laughed and had them add a shot of vanilla to the drink.
“What the hell?” Yunho growled. Junsu and Changmin exchanged quick glances before turning to their leader, who faced Jaejoong with one of the most threatening glares they had ever seen, save for once—and Changmin had been the only one of the two to see that particular look. As they continued to watch him, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed into slits.
Once they received their order, Yuri and Jaejoong approached the table. “Morning, all,” the singer said quite cheerful, raising his tiny cup to them. “I hope you don’t mind that I brought another guest.” He nodded and winked at the two blond fans; Zell melted in her seat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you lovely ladies.” He placed a hand on Yuri’s back, and Changmin felt Yunho bristle from the simple gesture. “May I introduce Yuri?”
“It’s okay,” she laughed. She smiled at the boys. “I already know them all.”
Sensing that everyone else was watching Yunho to make sure he did not fling the table across the room, Yoochun stood and hugged her. “It’s great to see you, girl.” Over her shoulder, he thought he saw a flicker of annoyance on Jaejoong’s face, but it had disappeared when he blinked again. “Glad to see you’re doing well.”
“Yuri!” Changmin held out his arms for a giant hug. She dropped a sisterly kiss on his forehead and he smirked, winking at Taz and Zell, the latter of whom laughed.
Junsu was too absorbed in his drink for a hug, but he did poke her ribs so she knew he knew she was there.
“Good morning, Yunho,” Yuri said softly and perhaps a little too politely, fixated on a mole just to the right of his eye, avoiding his glare.
He made no move to respond to her through words or gestures, though his eyes drilled into the side of her head since she refused to look at him. His hands gripped the table until they turned white. When Changmin kicked his chair, he finally moved. “Morning.”
“Mmm.” She slowly turned away from him, too embarrassed to fully meet his cold stare. Her eyes swiveled around the chairs. “There aren’t enough.” A quick look around the room told her that she would be left standing. “I guess I’ll stay standing…”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Before she could protest, Jaejoong slid into the chair directly in front of the leader and pulled her onto his lap. None of the guys seemed to be at ease apart from Jaejoong, who quietly took a sip out of his cup. He’s acting like he does this all the time…which he doesn’t, Yoochun thought wryly.
Yuri felt her face burning. This new position made it impossible for her to even face the general direction of Yunho. Instead, she bowed awkwardly to the two fans. “Hello, girls. I think I’ve met you before…” She screwed up her face, trying to remember. “Ah, yes! At the fan meeting the other day. You asked me how to get backstage in order to meet these handsome men.” Again, she blushed, but only because she happened to be sitting on one of the so-called handsome men.
For some untold reason, Taz’s mouth suddenly fell open and a strange gurgling sound emitted from her. It took a while for her little sister to notice, but once she had, she tore her gaze away from Yunho. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, pinching her sister’s hand.
“It was you,” the older girl gasped, sliding back in her chair.
The entire table fell silent. Jaejoong raised an eyebrow, thinking that she was addressing him, but almost gasped himself when he realized she was speaking to Yuri. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she said slowly. “What was me?”
“I…” Taz became flustered and took a big gulp from her soda. “Nothing. Just forget it. I’m rambling. I tend to do that a lot.” She grinned at them encouragingly when they continued to look dubious. “Don’t worry about little ol’ me. I’m just a weirdo girl who thinks she’s seen someone somewhere else, and…forget it.” But her long meaningful look to her little sister said otherwise; however, they decided to leave it alone and carry on with the topics they had been discussing before Jaejoong and Yuri had arrived together.
Together. Yoochun watched as Jaejoong handed her a napkin, and their fingertips brushed. She paused for a split second before smiling again and launching herself into the great debate of crocodile versus octopus that Junsu had started. He had better not consider her one of his conquests. Yuri would never do something like that. If he even tries anything to seduce her, she’ll stop him dead in his tracks.
He swirled the remaining ice around in his cup and glanced over at Changmin, who sported the same thoughtful expression. A wordless communication zapped between them, and the maknae nodded slowly. No one else noticed. I know what that means. He’ll be watching them closely. We’re all protective of Yuri. His eyes fell on Yunho, who could not look less enthused as he listened to Yuri and Junsu argue about their ridiculous topic.
Was he upset because of her being there, Jaejoong bringing her…or the fact that she looked mighty comfy, sitting in his lap?
~~~~
The drive back to her apartment seemed to take a lot shorter than it had leaving, but Yuri assumed it was due to the fact that the man beside her had a soft grip on her hand as he drove. Once or twice he asked a question about her past or something she did in the present, and she answered as honestly as she could. “I work for my father. I’ve known the boys for a long time. My work takes me everywhere in the world, and so I’m never in one place for long. My father never plays favorites, since he wouldn’t want us fighting amongst ourselves. I rather like to hunt.”
At the last comment, he burst out laughing. “You like to hunt? What kind of game?”
She hesitated before smiling wickedly. “Pretty dangerous game.”
“What, like rabbits and deer?” He winked at her and she giggled. “Are they dangerous enough for you?”
“Not nearly enough. I hunt lions and tigers and bears,” she confessed.
“Wow! You hunt some pretty lethal game.” He shook their joined hands. “Remind me to never pick a fight with you, or else I might lose.” In his mind, he reveled at the thought of having to track her down and press her back against the ground in order to show his dominance. How thrilling. Perhaps I should make that my way of taking her.
“I know how to use a wide variety of arsenal, so you had better think twice before turning on me, Kim Jaejoong,” she teased lightly; the playful tone of her voice thinly veiled the threat behind her words. Simple enough—he hurt her, and she would track him down like a predator. “Oh…” They pulled in front of her apartment building. She turned to smile at him. “Thanks for taking me along. I had this feeling that I wasn’t really welcome, but you still talked to me.” Technically, everyone but Yunho had spoken to either of them, but he ignored that. “I’ll see you later?”
“Why not sooner?” He cupped her chin carefully, leaning forward.
At the last possible second, she turned her head to the side and his lips pressed against her cheeks. Had anyone passed by at that moment, they would have seen a hilarious expression cross his face. Eyes popped open as he stared at her in disbelief. He pulled back so the full effect of his face could be presented. “Why’d you do that?”
She sympathetically touched his arm. “If this…” She gestured between the two of them. “…develops into something more, I want us to take it slow. Let’s not make things awkward, Jae.”
His look became even more incredulous. “Take it slow,” he repeated in a skeptical tone.
“Yes, exactly.” Her grin turned especially innocent; she knew that “taking it slow” was definitely not his nature.
I’ll be damned. This is going to be a lot more fun than I had originally thought. Very well. “Then is this acceptable?” He pressed her hand to his mouth, making sure his lips lingered on her knuckles.
Her suddenly shallow breathing told him it was highly acceptable and very much appreciated.
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