𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑒 // 𝐿𝑒𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝒉𝑜

eleven.

"I thought by fun you meant an arcade, or even a boring walk," Haneul hissed, scowling as Minho elbowed her in the ribs.

"I had to get you out here, this is important."

She flexed her sore legs, pressing her numb lips together as Minho closed his eyes again. The pair was standing in a small park, the moon casting gentle rays over the empty field that sprawled next to them. The deceitful demon had made her wait all day for some "surprise", and eventually just dragged her out to some deserted walking area.

Minho was reciting some strange words in a language she didn't recognize, and Haneul clasped her elbows as she shivered.

"Well? When you said demon hunting I thought that it would actually involve demons."

Huffing, Minho opened his eyes, glaring hotly at the girl as she shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe if you would be quiet, I could concentrate and find some," he bit out, clumsily reeling his temper in as Haneul glowered. "You should really let me run you through some basic defense techniques while we're at it. You almost let that last demon kill you with a smile on your face."

"Not nearly," Haneul defended herself, turning around to survey the consuming darkness. "It was pitch black and its breath was distracting me, it almost smelled as bad as yours."

A cheeky grin spread across his lips, and he stepped close enough that Haneul could feel his body heat. Minho conjured a wicked dagger out of the air, his dark power curling around his hand as he stepped closer.

"Is that right?" he whispered, blowing warm breath across Haneul's neck. Her hair pricked up and she whirled around to punch his shoulder.

"Stop that."

His arm didn't give way at all, the immortal brute; Haneul flinched away instinctively when her fist met his arm, used to Jisung's brother-like retaliations.

At her apparent expectation of violence, Minho's face closed off, his eyes deadening as he offered her the knife. "I may not like you, but I won't hit you."

"Oh, I didn't—"

"Sure."

Awkwardly, Hanuel swayed from side to side, trying to get her blood flowing. Minho had his back to her again, palms facing the open field as he whispered to himself.

"Shouldn't it be a crime to kill one of your own kind? Or will you not get in trouble?"

The muscles in his arms tensed at the disruption in his concentration. "The Underworld has always been a brutally violent place, not to mention overpopulated. Why do you think humans have so many demonic encounters as opposed to angelic ones? My kind keeps spilling into the mortal realm, I might as well do you all a favor by slaughtering the annoying ones."

She supposed she'd never thought about it that way. "So there's no such thing as law enforcement in the Underworld?"

Fed up, Minho wheeled around, mouth opening in exasperation. "Listen—"

But his attention had been averted, his eyes lighting up as he focused on something over her head. He quickly passed her the dagger, and she accepted it with wide eyes.

"Wait, be quiet. Something's responded to my summoning."

Her head jerked around. "There's a demon?"

His gaze stayed locked on the shadows, but he stepped in front of her to create a physical barrier. "Don't get too close. Just watch."

The second she saw a flicker of movement in the gloom, Minho lunged, becoming a blur of action as he engaged in combat against the hellish creature.