Demon and the Mage (Jeongcheol)

Jeonghan

The club had been closed for an hour already, but that hadn't stopped Vernon and Joshua from raiding the bar. I'd followed the sound of their laughter to find them sitting in the VIP area with their mates, where I'd met them that first night.

Seungkwan and Joshua were dancing to Taylor Swift, bellowing the lyrics to 'Don't Blame Me,' while Seokmin and Vernon watched their mates from their respective sofas. Toby was there, but Blaise was nowhere to be seen.

I waved to the others before dropping down next to Toby. "Where's Blaise?"

He was picking the label off his beer bottle, frowning in concentration. "I tried to persuade him to come in, but he thought he wouldn't be welcome."

Joshua stopped mid-lyric, clearly having heard us. "I told him I wouldn't do anything."

Seokmin stood, pulling Joshua to him and kissing the side of his head. "No, Joshua will behave if Blaise wants to hang out. He's your twin, Jeonghan. We know he's going to be around, and we're fine with it."

Joshua's grumpy expression suggested fine was a bit of a stretch, but I was touched by the effort they were making. "Thanks, guys, seriously. I'm not sure if I'd be so forgiving if the situation was the other way around."

"Don't worry," Seokmin said, leaning down to nuzzle at Joshua's neck. "I've got ways of keeping him in line."

"He means sex," Joshua supplied helpfully.

Everyone else groaned, Vernon going so far as to cover his ears. "None of us wants to hear that."

"And I didn't wanna see you fucking Seungkwan in the bookshop, but here we are," Joshua said breezily, grabbing a shot from the table and knocking it back.

Seungkwan turned scarlet, retreating to Vernon's lap. The look Vernon shot Joshua implied he was only one comment away from more blood being shed.

Eager to keep the peace, I pulled the conversation back to me. "I'll let Blaise know he's safe to hang out."

Toby waited until the others were distracted, their noise covering the sound of his voice. "Not sure that'll make much difference."

"What do you mean?" I frowned at him.

Toby put the bottle down and shrugged. "I mean, he's clearly depressed. If you ask me, he's using the whole Joshua thing as an excuse to not be social. He couldn't get away from here fast enough. You're his twin. Surely you've noticed?"

I thought back to his odd behaviour since we'd rescued him from the ghasts. Sure, he'd not gained as much weight as I'd expected. And he'd been more lethargic than usual...but that didn't mean he was depressed, did it? "He's been a bit down, but..."

Toby peeled off the final part of the label, putting the bottle on the table before shooting me a penetrating look. "When was the last time you saw him outside of his house? Before tonight, I mean."

I searched my mind, guilt slamming into me when I realised I hadn't. Every time I'd seen him recently, it had been because I'd invited myself to his house. If I hadn't made the effort, I wouldn't have seen him at all. "Fuck, how could I miss this? I've been worried about him, but I figured he was laying low to avoid Joshua."

"And that might be all it is," Toby said slowly. "But I think there's something more going on. There was a moment tonight when..." Toby's voice trailed off. He grabbed the bottle from the table and took a long swig. "You know what? Never mind. All I'm saying is you need to keep an eye on him. Okay?"

"Of course," I said, irritation flaring at the implication that I'd leave him suffering now that I knew. "He's my brother. I'd do anything for him."

"Good," Toby said, standing to leave.