𝐴𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡𝒉𝑖𝑛𝑒 // 𝐿𝑒𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝒉𝑜

thirty two.

     She was floating in a kaleidoscope of color, light refracting off of the others as she let her head fall back in pleasure, a sound of satisfaction releasing from her throat. Nothing she'd eaten before came close to tasting this good.

     "Oh shit, did you just eat that?"

     Haneul tried to turn her head to answer whoever had spoken, but the music changed tempo, distracting her–it wasn't just teasing her now, it was her partner. Taking her hand and guiding her to the center of the dancing bodies.

     Seungmin appeared in front of her, knocking the rhythm off kilter. "Haneul, we need to find Minho. You probably aren't feeling very good, that food is messing with you."

     "Get out of my way," she said, the words dripping slow as molasses. "It's my turn to dance."

     The demon huffed in frustration and tried to take her arm, but he wasn't there a moment later, and her legs continued to sway to the music.

     Haneul lifted her arms, twisting them and turning her feet as she began to melt into the crowd. She could feel the beat in her bones, her hair, it encapsulated her.

     Time didn't seem to move as the crowd danced with her, soft brushes of other bodies whispering against her skin. Haneul's bare back suddenly felt very warm, and she shifted her sleeves off of her shoulders just a bit.

     A man stepped close to her, or a demon, she wasn't sure. He slipped his hand across her waist with a hazy smile and matched Haneul's movements.

     "I don't think I've seen you at any of Iseul's parties before," he muttered into her ear.

     Unbidden bubbles of laughter filled her chest. "You wouldn't have. This isn't my usual scene."

     A tendril of caution cut through the dreamlike atmosphere as the demon bared his teeth in a full grin, his elongated canines glinting.

     "I can show you some other scenes if you want."

     The air next to Haneul moved so fast it blew her hair in a wide, sparkling arc. The demon was gone, but the bodies around her were packed tightly and she fought to observe her surroundings.

     He was in one piece, but maybe not for long. The demon gripped the arm that had slammed him into the nearest wall, snarling at his attacker.

     Minho was deathly still, the muscles in his forearm looking as if they could snap. Even from the back, she knew his eyes were molten red.

     There must have been some kind of signal, because Changbin was at her side, refusing eye contact as he hauled her to the side of the room. Seungmin had rushed over to Minho, whispering urgently into his ear with baleful glances at the crowd.

With agonizing effort, Minho released the demon, pivoting to stalk towards her. The demon spat something that Haneul couldn't quite hear, baring his teeth in challenge.

Her hands shot up to cover her mouth as Minho wheeled around to punch the demon square in the jaw.

Nasty cheers erupted as he took the demon's shirt to hold him steady and continued beating him. Haneul watched on in horror while Seungmin began yelling at his friend.

"Well, what's a party without a little violence," Iseul said absently, tipping her glass back as Haneul jumped. She hadn't been there a moment ago.

Finally Seungmin managed to pull Minho off, scowling down at the bloodied creature. Minho tossed Seungmin's hands off as he met Haneul's eyes with unrestrained wrath.