𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑒 // 𝐿𝑒𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝒉𝑜

twenty eight.

     The demons had failed to mention just exactly what her living situation would look like during her short time in the Underworld.

     Haneul crossed her arms, glaring at her bedroom with an appraising eyes. The room itself was okay—clean, bare walls lit by two warm lamps, a tidy desk with random scraps of paper, and a plainly furnished bed.

     Immediately, Haneul jumped on the mattress, the springs vibrating momentarily as she began ripping all the pillows away from their designated spots and arranging them to her liking. A terse knock on the open door interrupted her hurried actions.

     Minho leaned against the doorframe, an openly judgmental expression spreading across his face. "Now why are you doing that?"

     Huffing, Haneul masked the pounding in her chest at the sight of the demon with a scowl. "I can't stand being touched in my sleep. I'm making a barrier for you."

The girl gestured animatedly to the pillows, stacked neatly in a line to divide the mattress into two sections.

A smirk ghosted his lips as Minho's demeanor turned sensuous, unable to resist the opportunity. "What, afraid something will happen to you in the dark?"

In spite of herself, a shiver ran down Haneul's spine, tinged with a hint of fearful curiosity. "Only my throat getting torn out."

     "That's actually pretty valid."

     Way to soothe her crippling fear. Hanuel scoffed, having already seen straight through his humor. It wasn't news to Haneul that Minho used his strangely honed skill of flustering her to avoid acknowledging how he really felt. And that moment, he obviously wasn't overflowing with a chipper attitude.

"Remind me why we have to stay in the same room?" Haneul shot at him accusingly. "I'm only respecting it because it was your idea, it's not like this is my ideal setup."

Minho shrugged her off and reclined on the bed, not bothering to crawl beneath the blankets as his eyes closed in contentment. "In the mortal world, demons are fast and brutal, sure. But the Underworld is our homeland, it's almost impossible to be prepared for an attack or unexpected scenario. Trust me, this is the safest setup you're getting."

There was a slight pause. "We also don't have a guest room."

Haneul rolled her eyes as that sultry look surfaced in Minho's gaze. The demon leaned up on his palms, not bothering to hide the gleam in his eye. "Besides, it's a queen sized mattress. Plenty of room for both of us and your little hedge of protection."

     "I'm not really in the mood for this, Minho."

     Her objection did nothing to diminish the demon's snark. "What, you aren't on this level of comfortable with me yet? I would have thought at this point that..."

Trailing off, Minho fully sat up, looking bored to tears as Haneul abruptly left the room. Ignoring whatever nonsense he was spewing, she freely explored the cozy house, peeking around to find the closest bathroom.

Once spotted, Haneul squeezed inside and locked the door, her hands bracing the sink as her body threatened to buckle beneath her.

     Haneul had done a pretty splendid job of hiding her true emotions so far, and she was not about to let one of her precious few moments of solitude go to waste. Of course, it was already wasted by attempting to piece her mask of calm back together.

     She would not cry in this place. Would
not let the demons see evidence of her lack of composure, not when she was already so vulnerable.

     Haneul glanced at her weary appearance in the mirror, squeezing every last bit of self control into steadying her breathing.