𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑒 // 𝐿𝑒𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝒉𝑜

twenty seven.

     The dial tone hummed on for a sixth time, followed by a voice asking Jisung to leave a message. The man almost chucked his phone at the wall, he was so flustered.

     Hyunjin placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder, the couch cushion sagging beneath his cautious movement. "Maybe we should just let her turn up, Jisung. I mean, we would know if she were–"

The younger man shrugged his friend's hand off dismissively, a laugh huffing from his chest. "What? Dead? Because that's the most likely scenario considering who she's definitely with right now?"

     Abruptly, Hyunjin stood in a stiff motion, grabbing his coat before turning toward Jisung's front door. Confusion etched across his face, Jisung also rose from the couch.

     "What are you doing? We need to figure this out, she could be anywhere!"

     "She isn't something we need to 'figure out', Jisung!"

     Silence blanketed the room, and Hyunjin sighed tiredly. "Look, I understand just how close you two are, I know it's closer than I am with Haneul. But she is a grown woman, you don't need to ring every alarm bell when she doesn't answer your texts for a few hours. She has a guardian with her 24/7, and–"

"A demon," Jisung corrected, incredulous at how casual his friend was being. What was Hyunjin thinking?

Genuinely at a loss now, Hyunjin covered his face, wiping his eyes to get rid of the glazed fatigue coating them. "Jisung, I think you need to seriously consider why you're doing all of this. She literally told us not to get in the way and only intercede when she wants us to, for safety purposes in case something is horribly wrong. Haneul is still living her life, for now she doesn't need anyone hovering."

Jisung was speechless, arms hanging limp at his sides as he processed Hyunjin's confrontation.  A muscle in his cheek twitched as he drummed his fingers along the side of his leg.

"You should go," he finally muttered, lifting his phone to call Haneul once again. "I'll let you know when she answers."

Knowing there was nothing more he could say to reassure his friend, Hyunjin bit back another jab and reached for the doorknob. "Thanks, and get some sleep tonight, yeah?"

Once he was alone, though, Jisung's mind wouldn't stop spinning, countless scenarios and possibilities of what could have happened playing before his eyes.

She could be stolen, in pain or need and he wouldn't know until it was too late. He should've been the one to be her guardian, someone who actually cared for her instead of a filthy demon.

For Hanuel's sake, Jisung would continue working with the angels; see, it was for her own good, it didn't really matter whether she knew or not.

Once it was over, Hanuel would be so grateful, Jisung could feel it. And then everything would be back to normal.

–

"Would you just tell us what's going on?"

Minho was a bit miffed; in his absence and less than willing stay in the human realm, he had been left out from a large spread of Underworld news.

Setting a few glasses down in front of him and Haneul, Changbin nodded with emphasized willingness. "If you could just let us breathe, then yes. And it's good to see you, too."

Impatiently, Minho raised his eyebrows. "Yeah. Sooo..."

"Do you want the short or long version?" Seungmin questioned, stealing Minho's drink and taking a much needed swig.