Yena wiped the tear from her cheek with the back of her hand, the motion sharp and final. Her breath came in slow, deliberate pulls, as if she were reassembling herself piece by piece. The ache in her chest hadn't faded, but it had shifted, hardened as it became something she could use.
She rose to her feet, brushing the dirt from her palms, the night wrapped around her like a cloak—cool, quiet, and watching.
Romance stood as well, fluid and composed, his cardigan catching the breeze like a shadow with its rhythm. He didn't speak. He didn't move. He watched her, eyes gleaming with that unreadable expression that made her feel like she was being studied and remembered all at once.
Yena turned to face him fully. Her voice didn't come immediately. It hovered in her throat, tangled with hesitation and pride. But she forced it out.
"Can you take me there?"
Romance's head tilted slightly, the movement slow and feline. "Where?"
"The place you saw Jinu and Rumi meet."
His gaze sharpened, not with surprise, but with interest. The kind that flickers when a game shifts unexpectedly. "You want to see it for yourself?"
Yena insisted, eagerness sparkled in her eyes. "I need to."
He stepped forward once, just enough to close the distance by a breath. "That's a bold request coming from a hunter."
She didn't flinch. "I'm done waiting for answers."
Romance studied her for a moment, eyes flicking from her face to the tension in her shoulders, the way her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides.
He smiled, slow and deliberate. "I could, but you know how this works."
Yena's stomach tightened. Of course, there was a catch.
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"
Romance tucked his hands into his cardigan pockets. His voice dropped half a register. "Something simple."
"Define simple?" Yena repeated as she crossed her arms.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "I'll do anything. Except give you my soul."
Romance blinked once, then chuckled softly. "You always ruin the fun."
She raised an eyebrow.
He leaned in slightly, voice low. "A date."
Yena blinked. "A date?"
He nodded, staring deep into her eyes. "One evening. No weapons. No masks. Just you and me."
She stared at him, unsure if he was joking. "That's it?"
Romance smirked. "Almost."
"Almost?" Yena's eyes narrowed.
He stepped even closer, the space between them now charged, electric, like the moment before lightning strikes. Yena instinctively stepped back from the closeness, only to hit a wall, trapping her with his frame.
"A date," he said, "And a kiss. Since we got rudely interrupted last time."
Yena's breath caught as her heart thudded. Her cheeks flushed instantly, heat rising to her ears. She looked away, then back at him, trying to read his expression. He wasn't teasing. Not entirely. There was amusement, yes—but also something else. Determination within his eyes.
Yena swallowed hard. "You're serious?"
Romance nodded. "I don't ask for much, but I ask for what matters."
She stared at him as the silence stretched.
She thought of Rumi. How would she react once she finds out her friend was here making deals with a demon, and then she thought of this moment. The risk and cost after making such a deal with none other than Romance himself, who was her rival among all things.
She straightened her shoulders. "Fine," she said. "One date and a kiss on the side. After you take me there." Her hand raised to receive a handshake from him.
Romance's smile widened, slow and satisfied. "I'm true to my word, sweetheart." He takes her hand, but instead of shaking it, he lifts it to his lips and kisses her knuckles. Sealing the deal.
Then, without warning, his other arm slid around her waist. Yena stiffened, instinct flaring, but before she could speak.
"Hold still," he murmured, his velvet voice low and close to her ear.
The world fractured. A rush of wind, a shimmer of light, and the rural subdivision vanished in a blink.
They reappeared at the edge of the city, where the skyline loomed like a jagged promise and the air buzzed with distant traffic and neon ghosts. The ground beneath them was cracked pavement, half-swallowed by weeds. A forgotten place. A perfect vantage.
Romance released her waist, but didn't step away. He noticed Yena swaying in her movements.
Her knees buckled slightly, and she reached out instinctively—only to find his hands already there, steadying her.
"You should've warned me," she muttered, breathless.
Romance's brow lifted, amused. "I did. I said, hold still."
She shot him a look, one hand pressed to her temple. "That was... very specific."
He chuckled, soft and unrepentant. "I'll be more poetic next time."
Yena tried to step back, but the dizziness clung to her like fog. Her balance faltered again—and this time, Romance caught her fully, arms firm around her.
She froze as his gaze met hers, lingering longer than necessary. The city lights painted her skin in gold and shadow, her hair tousled from the jump, her lips parted in surprise.
Romance's breath hitched. "You're beautiful," he randomly said. The way it was spoken was unfiltered and unintended.
Yena blinked. Her cheeks flushed, a soft pink blooming across her face. "You... what?"
Romance's eyes widened slightly, as if realizing he'd spoken aloud. He cleared his throat, releasing her with a practiced ease that didn't quite hide the tension in his jaw.
"I meant... well. You should move quickly," he said, voice clipped. "If you want to catch them."
Yena was still watching him, but didn't press further on his sudden compliment. She nodded, finally, letting the moment pass like a breath held too long. "Lead the way,"
Romance turned quickly, cardigan sweeping behind him like a curtain falling on something unsaid.
The trees rustled softly overhead, their branches swaying like they were trying to whisper secrets to the wind. Yena crouched low behind a crumbling wall, its stone slick with moss and the passage of time. The wall curved just enough to give her cover, and the line of trees behind it masked her silhouette from view.
Romance stood beside her, unnaturally still, blending into the shadows like he belonged to them.
Ahead, on the cracked staircase lit by a single flickering streetlamp, stood two figures. They were standing close, too close. Not touching, but angled toward each other in that way people do when the space between them is familiar.
Yena leaned forward slightly, peering through a gap in the stone. She couldn't hear them, but she could see enough.
Rumi's posture was relaxed, her arms loosely on her sides, her head tilted in a way that made Yena's stomach twist. Jinu was speaking, his hands on his hoodie pockets, his expression calm.
Yena rolled her eyes at the sight of them. "What are they even talking about?"
Her mind filled in the blanks with dramatic flair—pet names, whispered confessions, maybe even a secret pact sealed with a kiss. She nearly gagged at the mental image.
Ugh. Gross.
She forgot Romance was beside her until he leaned slightly closer and murmured, low and dry, "They look like they're rehearsing a bad drama."
Yena jumped slightly, then instinctively slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Shh!" she hissed.
Romance raised both hands in mock surrender, eyes gleaming with amusement. She glared at him, then slowly removed her hand, turning back toward the scene.
Rumi shifted, stepping back as if preparing to leave, but then Jinu reached out. His hand closed around Rumi's arm—not harshly, but firmly. She stopped mid-step, turning back to him with wide eyes. They froze for a moment, like two teenagers caught in a moment neither of them had planned.
Then, slowly, Jinu released her. Rumi looked down, then up again, her expression unreadable. They parted. No hug. No kiss. Just a lingering glance before Rumi walked away, her steps quiet and deliberate.
Yena turned away from the wall, her heart thudding. She'd seen enough, more than enough.
Romance was watching Jinu's retreating form, one brow raised. He rolled his eyes. "Jinu looked like a clueless Romeo. I can't believe he had the guts even to be a romantic idiot."
Yena didn't respond. She shook her head, eyes distant. Her mind wasn't on Jinu, but on Rumi. Why didn't she tell me?
Romance turned his gaze toward Yena, who hadn't said a thing. He could see it in her face —the shift in her loyalties, the fracture between them. He slowly moved closer to her, his footsteps deliberately soft, like he didn't want to startle her or perhaps like a predator easing into striking distance.
He didn't speak at first. Just stood beside her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him, but not so close as to intrude.
Then, in a voice low and velvet-smooth, he said, "She didn't choose him to hurt you."
Yena frowns at the statement but says nothing, too upset to even counter the sentence. Romance tilted his head, watching her profile. The way her eyes stayed fixed on the ground, the way her fingers dug into her sleeves.
"Maybe she just wanted someone who could understand her. Someone who sees the parts she hides from everyone else."
Still no response, but her breathing hitched. Romance's gaze softened, his tone shifting—less coaxing, more contemplative.
"You know... sometimes companionship between two people from different worlds, different genders... it creates a kind of bridge. A way to understand each other that others can't. Maybe that's all she wanted."
Yena's lips parted slightly, but no words came out. Her throat was tight. Her heart was louder than her thoughts. She didn't speak, but she moved.
It was slow and tentative. As if her body was acting on instinct, bypassing the walls her mind had built. She stepped closer to him, her shoulder brushing his arm. Then, without warning, she leaned in and wrapped her arms around him.
Romance froze. For a heartbeat, he didn't move. Caught off guard by the rawness of it, the vulnerability.
Then he responded. His arms came around her, firm but gentle. One hand settled on her back, the other smoothing over her shoulder in slow, soothing circles. Her sob was muffled against his chest, so fragile, broken, and real.
A small side smirk appeared on his suppressed smile. Not out of cruelty, but out of calculation.
She's getting more vulnerable. She's closer to being mine.
He felt something off with the air and instinctively looked up. There, half-shrouded in the trees, stood Jinu, who was watching them like a hawk. Jinu's expression was unreadable, but the tension in his jaw and the slight narrowing of his eyes spoke volumes. A silent glare towards him.
Romance didn't flinch. He held Yena closer, fingers curling protectively around her.
Jinu's gaze lingered for a moment longer before he turned and disappeared into the shadows, his presence vanishing like smoke.
Romance closed his eyes as his smirk faded. Sadness and fear flickered across his face. He exhaled slowly, composing himself. The mask slipped back into place. A shimmer of red dust coalesced, and he vanished, taking Yena back to the subdivision.
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The subdivision was silent, save for the distant hum of streetlights and the rustle of wind through overgrown bamboo. The abandoned traditional home loomed behind Romance like a forgotten shrine. Its wooden beams cracked, its paper windows torn, its presence a ghost of something once sacred.
Romance stood still, his hands in his cardigan pockets, the scent of Yena's lingering aura still clinging to his skin. He had made sure she returned safely. Not to her dorm, but somewhere close by. Somewhere she could breathe.
He knew what was coming.
He didn't flinch when the air split.
Three figures stepped through the fold, their arrival marked by a pulse of heat and smoke. Abby, Mystery, and Baby—his bandmates, his brothers, his fellow demons materialized with the kind of precision that only came from years of shared pain and anguish.
Instantly, all their human disguises flickered, then fell away like ash.
Abby's form shimmered with bashfulness, his eyes glowing with vibrant yellow. He looked at Romance with a tilt of his head, pity etched into every line of his face.
"You did it, this time around, Rom." He murmured. "And someone isn't quite happy about it."
Mystery's transformation was the darkest. He gave Romance a nod, though his face was covered by his hair.
Baby's shift was the most jarring. His youthful features sharpened, his usual mischievous grin replaced by a grim line. His eyes, normally bright with chaos, were dim.
"You always were dramatic," Baby said quietly. "But this? This is reckless."
Romance didn't respond. He didn't need to.
Jinu arrived without sound—no shimmer, no heat. Just gravity. His presence bent the space around him, like the world itself bowed in recognition.
His human attire dissolved, revealing his full demonic form: tall, regal, terrifying. His eyes burned striking yellow, and his aura pulsed with command. The others instinctively stepped back, forming a loose semicircle around Romance.
Jinu's gaze was lethal. "You brought her there," he said, voice low and sharp.
Romance met his eyes. "She requested it. Who am I to deny her?"
Jinu stepped forward, slow and deliberate. "You knew that was my meeting place. You knew what I was building with the hunter."
"Yena was at the state of breaking. I thought of your advice and took it." Romance's tone was calm, almost bored.
Abby shifted, smirking at the lover boy. "Romance is just like his namesake. Finding opportunities to make a girl fall for him."
"She already has," Romance interrupted. "She'll fall sooner than later."
Mystery's deep voice cut in, cold and precise. "Yet you almost compromised Jinu's position in the grand scheme of things."
Baby scoffed. "It seems like he didn't care. He never does. As long as he gets his little moment with her."
Romance's eyes flicked to Baby. "You think this is about me?"
"It always is," Baby snapped. "You play the tragic, misunderstood monster so well, yet you forget our real mission, you idiot."
Jinu raised a hand, silencing them. He stepped closer to Romance, now face-to-face.
"Your part was to corrupt. Not to protect her."
Romance's smile faded. "I wasn't. She didn't even see everything that happened between you and that hunter, only the last part."
"You think by proving to be the good guy, she won't suspect you, too?" Jinu's eyes narrowed. "If she ruins this, if she sees through your illusions, then everything we've done collapses."
Romance didn't blink. "I didn't think I'd get this far." He admitted, and now he feels regret as his patterns start to glow.
The silence that followed was sharp, electric. Abby rubbed his forehead, Mystery looked away, and Baby clenched his fists. None of them wanted to be here to listen to this.
Jinu stared at Romance for a long moment, then turned his back.
"If we fail this task," he said, voice like ice, "You'll answer to Gwi-Ma instead of me."
One by one, the others vanished into the fold, leaving Romance alone beneath the fractured moonlight. He didn't want to regret it. Though something inside him stirred.
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