☦︎︎ 𝘿𝙀𝙄𝙏𝙔 [𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙆𝙃𝙔𝙐𝘾𝙆]☦︎︎

☦︎︎ 36 ☦︎︎

"DONGHYUCK!"

"JAEMIN!"

The two boys stare at each other with wide eyes and beaming grins for just a moment before throwing themselves into a long embrace. Kun mimics their reaction, his face beaming with happiness as he hears Donghyuck begin to sob quietly and sees streams of tears begin to fall from Jaemin's eyes.

"Is- is it r-really you, Jaemin?" asks Donghyuck through his now ferocious tears, his voice muffled from his face being buried in Jaemin's shirt.

Jaemin nods and rubs the back of Donghyuck's hair gently. Then, through his own tears, he speaks. "I missed you so much Donghyuck."

The two are caught in an embrace that lasts for an eternity. When they pull away, they hold each other's shoulders and scan each other's faces before smiling once more.

"Jaemin, your skin is so cold," Haechan laughs through his tears, "I never noticed before."

Jaemin smiles widely and wipes the tears from Donghyuck's face. "You look older Hyuck, I never noticed that before either."

The two chuckle to themselves before giving each other one last hug and sitting down on the bed next to Kun.

Haechan turns to Kun and smiles at him, seeing his eyes slightly bloodshot from tears he must've shed whilst they were hugging. He holds his arms up and hugs Kun warmly, which Kun returns instantly.

"This is the best surprise ever," says Haechan, pulling away from Kun, "thank you."

"Well, I had to bring him along," starts Kun, leaning over to the coffee table on the side and handing the box of tissues to the teary-eyed boys. "He needs to know more about humans, considering he is the new Protector of People."

Haechan whips his head to Jaemin, who is softly wiping his eyes with the tissues, with his eyes wide and his mouth agape in shock. "You got promoted!?!"

Jaemin nods with a small smile, his eyes still watery and his face still reddened. "Yep, I'm now a Second."

"Wow!" Haechans smile beams so wide again, "So do you have a Second body? Or are you still Third sized?"

Jaemin shakes his head before pointing to himself, "I got the Second body."

"No. Way," says Haechan in jealousy, "they never gave me that!"

"I am well and truly your big brother now," says Jaemin, pretending to act cool for Haechan, for which Haechan smiles warmly at.

"Do you have the room to yourself?"

"No," starts Jaemin, "I share it with the new God of Light. He's called Jeno, he's alright actually, you'd like him."

"What!? You don't even get your own room!? I should go home and make them give you one!"

Kun pats Hyuck on the shoulder gently, "I think you've done enough, Hyuck."

The three laugh together before Jaemin tells Donghyuck the story of his new title.

"They had the title dormant for a while, just like after Taeil had it. I think Ten or one of the other Firsts was dealing with it but eventually, they called me in and said they'd like me to give it a go.

"I was apprehensive, seeing that having the title did destructive things to you and Taeil, but they assured me I would be fine and I'm capable. They let me keep God of Darkness too, so now I have the dual-title - just like you did," Jaemin winks at Haechan.

Haechan's dog, who had been quietly sleeping by Kun's feet, suddenly wakes up and greets the new guest Jaemin, by sitting in front of him politely. Jaemin carefully and apprehensively strokes the dog once on the head before continuing his story.

"They said it would be good if I had a trainer to show me the ropes and fully prepare me for what I'm getting myself involved in. They want me to have the role for life - they said they were fed up of constantly giving the role away to a new person every few years. Of course, the best person to train me would have been someone who has had the role before but, that's obviously impossible.

"So, they sat there and thought, 'Who is the next closest person who knows lots about the Protector of People role by, hmm I don't know, being roommates with the original title holder,  and also knows lots about being a Second and about Earth travel?' And..." Jaemin signals to Kun, "I have my new mentor."

"YOU'RE mentoring Jaemin!?" shouts Hyuck with his eyebrows raised.

"Am I that bad at being a mentor!?" scoffs Kun.

"But you hate mentoring!"

"Well," Kun starts, "I like it now. It's nice. I can see why Taeil liked it." Kun looks at Jaemin, "It's nice training him. He's a quick learner, your brother. He likes learning too. Was a bit too formal with me at the start but he's warming up to me now."

The trio smile again before Haechan sighs deeply. "You've all been so busy - I am so happy for both of you. To be honest, I never thought I would see you two ever again. Please, will you visit me again sometime soon?"

"Of course," Jaemin quickly responds, "we'll come to see you all the time!"

Haechan beams with delight at the proposition.

"Well, we'll try and see you as much as possible, once Jaemin gets the hang of Earth travel a bit more," winks Kun.

The three smile before Haechan stands up quickly, making the dog stand and stare at him. "Right," he speaks, staring at his family in front of him, "Who's ready to celebrate my dog's birthday?"

"Me!" The two chime together.

"Well, let's get back to the party then!"

——————

A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the story. Honestly, it took me soooo long to finish it because I forgot all about it but hopefully you guys appreciate it!!!