s.c.s. ☆ j.jh ☆ ayakashi series | ✔

jaehyun [eight]

At the shrine that afternoon, you were able to look Taeyong in the eye a bit more, especially because you had dabbed some concealer over your hickey. No way were you about to have Jungwoo—or god forbid Sungchan for some reason—question you on it. Apparently you had the nosiest friends on the planet, so you weren't taking any chances this time.

Stepping through the cloaking charm was a little easier than last time, but still jarring when there was suddenly a shrine in your view that wasn't there one second ago. Sungchan was sitting on a ledge at the front and looked up, brows furrowing and eyes squinting to look at you against the bright sun overhead. In his hands was some kind of metal contraption or machine, and he was using the tiniest screwdriver you'd ever seen to make adjustments to it. The tool looked even tinier in his giant hands.

"Hey, Sungchan," you greeted him politely. "Where's Jungwoo?"

"Tea patio," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the back of the shrine.

As you thanked him and went to take leave of him, he muttered to himself, "Onmyoji..."

Walking around to the back of the shrine, you found the aforementioned tea patio, which did indeed contain Jungwoo. He was seated on a mat in front of a low table. A pot was in the middle of it, as well as a dish of sugar cubes, and three cups were laid out.

"Hi, Jungwoo," you announced your presence, and he stood up to greet you.

"Hello, Lady Onmyoji."

The Tsukumo-gami pulled you into a gentle hug, and you were reminded of just how tall he was, feeling rather small in his arms, but in a comforting way. The pale green yukata he donned was soft against your skin, and smelled of flowers—not overpoweringly so, just a gentle scent.

Pulling back, Jungwoo then went to hug Taeyong as well. The Nekomata stiffened for a moment until the other Ayakashi rubbed behind his ears, and he immediately melted into his arms. You watched them with an amused smile until they broke apart and everyone sat around the table.

Jungwoo kneeled to begin pouring tea, first in Taeyong's cup, then yours, then his own before sitting back down. "Sugar?"

Taeyong's ears twitched at this, "Please."

"How many, Yonggie?" You questioned as Jungwoo reached over to begin depositing the cubes into his drink.

"I don't know, until it stops tasting like bad hot leaf water," he shrugged. "I haven't really been offered tea that often."

"You are more than welcome to come by for tea anytime, Taeyong," Jungwoo offered, dropping cube after cube into the steaming cup for him.

"Thank you."

You counted eight sugar cubes before Taeyong had him stop. Jungwoo next turned to yours, and you held up two fingers when he looked at you questioningly. He then dropped exactly ten in his own cup. An even bigger sweet tooth than Taeyong.

Finally, you addressed why you were here, "So, my powers are activated."

"Yes, they are," Jungwoo nodded. "That is how I knew you were coming; I can sense you a lot better now."

"How far away did you know I was coming?"

"When you were at the base of the mountain."

"Wow, will I be able to do that?"

"Yes, once we begin training your powers," he blew on his tea before taking a small sip. "May I ask how you got your powers?"

You shrugged, watching the ripples across the surface of your tea as you cooled it down as well, "I literally don't know. They just happened."