DARK SIDE 🔞❤️‍🔥 {The Uncanny Counters 2}

Ceremony (1/2) ☘️

ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪғ ɪᴛ's ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ
ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ
sᴏ ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ sʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ 'ʙᴏᴜᴛ ʏᴏᴜ, ʙᴀʙʏ
ᴏᴏʜ, ᴡᴇ ɢᴏᴛᴛᴀ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ɪᴛ
-ᴄᴏɪ ʟᴇʀᴀʏ

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ ᙭L:🍂

【🔸Ｓｏ　Ｍｕｎ】

"When were you planning to let us know? Huh? Next Christmas?!"

Mo-Tak's voice rips through the air, thunderous and furious. I've seen him angry before, but never like this. His face is flushed, a deep crimson spreading up his neck as his blood pressure skyrockets.
Beside him, Hana's silence feels more dangerous than any words she could say. Her eyes are cold, cutting into me with a heat that feels like I'm being burned alive from the inside.
Mae-Ok, on the other hand, doesn't seem angry—just deeply disappointed. Somehow, that feels worse.

I feel small, crushed under the weight of their disappointment, surrounded by the council's scrutinizing eyes. Wi-Gen sits at the head of the table, serene but grave, her expression unreadable. The others—Gi-ran, Su-ho, and the rest—are all gathered around, some staring at me with hard eyes, others lost in thought. I feel judged, as if their gazes alone are enough to find me guilty.

"I was going to tell you all..." I start, my voice low and brittle. "But with everything going on—Joo-seok, Adrian—" I falter.

Adrian...
He's been the only thing on my mind lately, an ever-present shadow in my thoughts.

Before I can finish, Mo-Tak slams his fist down onto the white table with a force that makes me jump.
We're here, in this sacred space, to talk about Adrian—his disappearance, his captivity, and the dangerous reunion we're about to face.
Wi-Gen has managed to track him, discovering that he's been held by Joo-seok for the past two days, with some kind of twisted subspecies ceremony looming.

"Don't be so hard on him," Wi-Gen interjects gently, her voice a calming anchor in my defence.
"He's been overloaded with too much information. It's not been easy for him."

But her words do little to cool the fire in the room.

"It's important, Wi-Gen!"
Gi-ran snaps, her temper as fiery as Mo-Tak's.
She and Mo-Tak are a great pair, their tempers igniting quickly and often in unison.

"He's putting you—and himself—in danger!" Her accusation hangs in the air like smoke.
There's no denying it.
She crosses her arms defiantly over her chest.
"It's true that we should've caught onto Joo-seok's moves sooner! As gatekeepers, it's our responsibility. But we were all blinded by Adrian's bond with So Mun."
Her gaze hardens as it lands on me. "But So Mun—he should've told us the moment he knew!"

I sigh, too exhausted to fight back.

The panic attack from yesterday still clings to me like a shadow, my chest tightening with every reminder of Adrian, of the connection I can no longer make.
It terrifies me how helpless I feel.

"We don't have time for arguing,"
Wi-Gen cuts in, her patience thinning.
"Y'all need to go to the ceremony. Now. We'll give you suppressants to mask your energy, to hide your identities as counters. The place will be swarming with evil spirits."

Hana raises her hand slightly, catching Wi-Gen's attention. Her voice is calm, but there's something in her gaze, something distant. She still won't look at me.
"I think Mun should go in alone," she says, her words cold and measured. "It's too risky for all of us to enter. Even with masks, there's a chance they could recognize us."