s.c.s. ☆ j.jh ☆ ayakashi series | ✔

jaehyun [thirty-four]

After sending Mark and Ten off down the mountain with the presumption that Kun and/or Doyoung would be down at the bottom waiting for them, the rest of you were able to return to your focus to finishing the task at hand. Jungwoo and Sungchan led the way to the back of the shrine, and Jaehyun fell into step beside you.

"Who's Kun and why is he at your beck and call?" He murmured to you, and you detected the slight hint of jealousy in his tone.

"Another Ayakashi. Oni Ogre," you replied just as quietly, lacing your fingers with his. "I'll tell you the story later, Jae."

"Ah, okay."

Jungwoo and Sungchan stopped in front of the altar, a stone slab with worn but ornate carvings along the sides, and the point of the greatest concentration of evil energy. Petrichor still plagued your nose, and you opted to purposefully breathe through your mouth instead. Jungwoo and Sungchan knelt down on opposite side of the altar, backs to the line of trees. Sungchan had sheathed his broadswords, getting on one knee to bury a large hand in the grass beneath him. Jungwoo was doing the same, sitting on both his knees as he laid his own hand to the ground.

"All the goodness that runs through this earth, lock away this great evil once more," Jungwoo spoke clearly, assured but not demanding.

And you felt it, felt the positive energy being pulled from all sides, seemingly from the very core of the Earth beneath your feet, all being drawn to one area, a line directly connecting the two brothers' hands, running right underneath the altar. The evil feeling faded as the goodness swelled, until you could sense it no more.

"Is that it?" Jaehyun broke into the silence, and you remembered that he was the only one who couldn't sense what had just happened.

"Yeah, Jae, it's over," you told him as the brothers stood up once more.

The relief that washed over your group was tangible in the air, but you couldn't focus on that when you were suddenly pulled into a chest, a yelp escaping your mouth. Jaehyun was squeezing you so tightly that you might have been afraid that you'd burst, but you didn't care, this was exactly what you wanted. You wrapped your arms around him too, just as tight, breathing in heavily, both to relieve the tension in your body, and also to help chase away the terrible scent of petrichor that still lingered.

"Oh, I was so scared, Y/N," he whispered to you, pecking your forehead. "I didn't want to show it earlier, didn't want to make you worry too much. But I was scared, Y/N, I really was."

"It's okay, love, it's okay," you murmured reassuringly, rubbing a hand up and down his back like he had done for you plenty of times before. "I'm here, it's over, we're all okay."

"Thank you, for saving me, and for saving yourself. That second one means so much to me..." he continued pecking your forehead every few words. "I love you so much."

You felt tears rising up in your eyes, "I love you too, Jaehyun."

The soft chatter of your friends in the background became full conversations as you and Jaehyun turned quiet. Taeyong was fretting over Yuta's state, the Kitsune basking in the attention from the Nekomata as Sicheng filled him in on the multiple injuries that he had healed them of—fractured collarbone that Sicheng sustained from leaping away from a Wraith and hitting the ground at the wrong angle, broken finger on Johnny, a torn ACL on Renjun, deep slice across Jungwoo's chest, and several broken toes on Sungchan (apparently he had drop kicked a Wraith and it didn't take that very well). It was a wonder that Yuta was still sort of upright, so of course he didn't have enough in him to heal Ten and Mark too. Though you were sure they hadn't exactly been a priority for him.

Jungwoo complimented his brother on a job well done before Johnny and Renjun joined them, reliving some close calls they had on their way up the mountain. Jeno suddenly cut in to boast about his own victories—not forgetting to mention how "stupid" you were for "trying to jump out of his arms a hundred feet in the air"—before mentioning how Jaehyun could punch Wraiths back into their true forms—"he is a human, right?" Earning a guess from Jungwoo, "Maybe some residual power from Lady Onmyoji had transferred into him from activating the charm"—before gushing over just how "fucking badass" you were with your fire manipulation. It was the most you'd ever heard Jeno say at once.