Changkyun returned to the bedroom half an hour later, Jooheon following closely behind. Changkyun's face was closed-off, but Jooheon watched him closely, worry lining his brows, and not just for Hyungwon.

"There's one more witch we need," Changkyun announced.

"Just one more?" Hoseok asked, frowning lightly. "That makes, what, six total? Seven if you count Taehyung who is - sorry Taehyung - a powerless vulnerability? Against thirteen?"

"This one witch may make all the difference," Changkyun answered stoically. "Which is why it's absolutely paramount that we get him to join us."

"Who is it?" Hoseok asked.

***

"Yoo Kihyun," Hoseok said in distaste, his lip curling at the sight of the witch. "Of course it would be you. What a joke." He looked over to Changkyun with pleading eyes. "We can't get anyone else?"

"Nobody else has his power," Changkyun answered calmly, keeping eye contact with Kihyun, who was grinning as though he'd just been offered a human soul to eat.

"What exactly is Im Changkyun and his band of misfit toys doing in my humble abode?" Kihyun purred, batting his eyelashes.

"I need your help," Changkyun replied, and Kihyun's eyes widened dramatically.

"Say that again," he commanded, a sly smirk on his face.

"I need your help," Changkyun repeated, resisting the urge to grit his teeth. He knew how Kihyun worked from centuries of butting heads with him. While Hoseok seemed to be driven by goodwill and Minhyuk by compassion, Yoo Kihyun was driven purely by entertainment. There was nothing funnier to him than watching other witches lose their cool. In doing so, they revealed their inferiority, which only aggravated the superiority complex Kihyun carried with him.

"What could I, Yoo Kihyun, have that you, Im Changkyun, could possibly want?" Kihyun asked, tilting his head.

"Your power," Changkyun replied steadily. "I have use of it."

"For what purpose?" Kihyun set a finger on his chin, pretending to look disappointed. "You know that boring answers won't work on me."

"Because I'm going to be going against the head coven, and I need your power to balance out the odds."

Kihyun was stunned for a moment before he began laughing without restraint. "Go against the head coven? You?" He cackled once more, but his eyes were calculating as they ran over each of the faces before him. "You certainly have some interesting schemes, Changkyun. When I heard that you of all people were assembling a coven, I thought it was but laughable gossip. But it turns out that you're rather serious indeed, aren't you?"

"Imagine how bored you'd be if you were left out," Changkyun replied dryly, and Kihyun's face twitched, just slightly.

"Maybe I'll go straight to the head coven," Kihyun taunted, resting his chin on his palm. "Tell them about your little plan. Maybe join their side instead."

"That wouldn't be very entertaining at all," Changkyun guaranteed. "They've been in power for hundreds of years. Don't you want to shake things up a bit?"

"Hmm," Kihyun mused, tapping his chin. "The idea is intriguing, but what's to stop me from ratting you out? That would shake things up, too."

"For a day, a month, a year, maybe," Changkyun said, gesturing vaguely. "But then what? I'll be dead by then, likely. And then everything will go back to exactly how it was before, only the world will be a good deal more boring without me in it. Who will relieve your boredom then?"

Kihyun exhaled, pouting as he crossed his arms. "You make a good point. I don't really care either way, but it wouldn't hurt to tag along for a bit. But." He held out a hand. "If it looks like you're going to lose, then I'm cutting and running. I won't go down with you. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Changkyun said, not in the least bit bothered nor surprised by Kihyun's behavior. "I'm looking for cheap loyalty. I don't expect to get much more than that."

He gestured for Kihyun to kneel and they quickly performed the ceremony, Kihyun watching with intrigue and keeping his sharp mouth shut for once.

Once they finished, Kihyun stood up and took closer stock of the group, his eyes coming to rest on Taehyung, a predatory glint in their depths.

Taehyung shivered, stepping closer to Minhyuk.

"And who's this?" Kihyun asked, a small smirk gracing his lips. "I thought I sensed a human, but I had assumed that it was just lingering scent from Minhyuk's tainted aura."

Minhyuk frowned, crossing his arms as he resisted speaking back, agreeing to let Changkyun handle it.

"A human," Changkyun acknowledged. "One you need not concern yourself with."

"I heard you were keeping a human as a pet," Kihyun continued, tilting his head as he studied Taehyung. "This is him, then? How odd of you, Changkyun. I don't much see the appeal."

"He's none of your concern," Changkyun repeated, his tone darker this time. A warning. "You may have joined us for fun, but this is not a game to me. If you interfere with my plans or directly go against me or any of those in my care, there will be consequences."

Kihyun smiled sharply at Taehyung before looking over at Changkyun with innocent eyes. "I'd never."

"Touch the human and you die," Changkyun said, and Kihyun just chuckled.

"Someone's getting rather unfriendly," Kihyun said, grinning before looking back at Taehyung. "That's interesting, though. I heard that your little pet had an interesting curse, and yet this human appears to be normal. And he lacks magical energy." Kihyun looked over at Changkyun to watch the effect of his words. "Have you been keeping a whole house of humans? Different ones to match your outfits?"

Changkyun said nothing.

"Well, if this one isn't your pet, then where is it?" Kihyun asked, and Changkyun slammed his fist against the wall, baring his teeth at Kihyun.

"Enough. Gather what you need. We leave soon," he growled before leaving the room.

"Fiesty, fiesty," Kihyun murmured, but a grin split his face as he looked over at Hyunwoo. "He got you too, huh? What has the mighty Im Changkyun so shaken that he wants to shake the foundations of our world?"

"I understand that you don't have any interest or investment in this," Hyunwoo said slowly, his voice soft and thoughtful. "But some of us do. Please consider that, if there's any part of you at all that perceives us as friends."

"Witches don't have friends," Kihyun snapped, the amusement in his eyes gone as the grin disappeared.

"Maybe that's something else that needs to change," Hyunwoo replied.

"How can it?" Kihyun asked. "People like Changkyun and me can't have relationships. We can no more belong to another than they can belong to us."

"Changkyun changed his way of thinking," Hyunwoo said before placing a hand on Kihyun's shoulder. He dropped it when Kihyun flinched. "Maybe you can, too."

He turned, giving Kihyun a final nod before following the others.

Kihyun, left alone, gave a bitter chuckle. "Friends?" he asked the empty room before shaking his head. "What does that even mean?"