All of them - not including Hyungwon; Hyungwon had ceased to be part of all - were gathered in the living room. Changkyun was calmer than before, but it was a dark calm, a lost calm. Hoseok had called him out after speaking with Hyungwon, and now they were all waiting to hear what the next step was. If there was.

"We have to do something about the collar" were Hoseok's first words, met with soft murmurs. "It's obviously Seungcheol's doing. It's likely how he adapted the original curse to force Hyungwon to maintain both forms which - now that we're on this topic - we need to fix."

"Why?" Taehyung asked, leaning forward. "I mean- it's fine, isn't it?"

"It's not," Hoseok said curtly, his lips thinning in a restrained frown. "Maintaining both forms is constantly draining a small amount of his energy, for one. He replenishes it easily, but it's a worm constantly nibbling away inside of him. Additionally, from what I observed in him and the others at nyayana, plus some research I did, it's likely painful for him. Hyungwon maintains his human consciousness no matter which form he's in, but suddenly he's being forced to send neurological signals to appendages he didn't previously have on this form. Psychologically, it's a lot to bear, but it's also likely physically painful for him, even if the pain has dulled. But the longer he's in this state, the harder and more confusing it will be for him to change back. It's simply unnatural, and it's taking a toll on him psychologically and physically."

"The collar," Hyunwoo said, resting his elbows on his knees. "If it's Seungcheol's magic, we can't just break it. None of us have the ability to remove curses. And have you considered what will happen to Hyungwon if we're able to break the curse? Will he still be under the original curse? Is that any better than how he is now?"

"If Hyungwon is in pain, then we don't have a choice," Changkyun said softly.

Hoseok nodded toward Changkyun in acknowledgement. "That was my thought. And I was able to heal his finger - his stomach still needs a bit more time - but his ear..."

"What exactly happened to his ear?" Kihyun asked, leaning closer with narrowed eyes before throwing his hands up defensively. "Look, if I'm stuck here, then I want to be in the loop," he justified, but nobody was fooled by the tough exterior he continued to present.

They all knew how he'd had the chance to leave them defenseless. With Jooheon obligated to bringing Taehyung back, they'd had no barrier to protect them while Hoseok had healed Hyungwon. And yet Kihyun had stayed, applying his nullification magic to ensure that no one would retaliate with a magical attack. It was thanks to him that they'd gotten out unscathed.

"I can't say for sure because I didn't want to press Hyungwon, but the injury appears to mimic that of a burn wound," Hoseok explained slowly.

"You're saying that Seungcheol burned his ear?" Minhyuk asked, his eyes shadowed in fear. He'd been the most reluctant to join their coven due to his fear of Seungcheol, and while he'd come to sympathize with them, his fear hadn't diminished.

"It looks that way," Hoseok confirmed, nodding sadly. "But Seungcheol used a flame imbued with magic rather than a normal flame, which means that healing it would take a lot longer than a normal burn injury, only..."

"Only what?" Jooheon asked, frowning at Hoseok's hesitance.

"Well, the collar prevents magical interference. I'm not sure what the limits of that are - I was able to heal his stomach and his finger just fine, but because it's a magical injury rather than a normal one...I don't think I'll be able to heal it," Hoseok said. "Not until the collar is off. But he said that it isn't painful," Hoseok rushed on. "The nerves are dead, so he can't really feel anything."

"He talked to you?" Taehyung asked, biting his lip. "He didn't...say anything to me..." Was this Hyungwon's way of placing blame, of letting Taehyung know that he hadn't forgotten his betrayal?

"That's another thing," Hoseok said, sighing. For the ten minutes he'd spent in Hyungwon's room, he felt as though he'd aged a century. "Judging from how Seungcheol ran nyayana, I'd say that the head coven treated their humans like pets, training them to be obedient. I think Seungcheol had some sort of rule of silence for Hyungwon. He responds quickly to any commands you give him, but if you want him to respond, you have to tell him to do so. That was the only way I was able to get anything out of him, and even then, he only gave me short answers."

So maybe Hyungwon didn't hate him, after all. Taehyung could hope, right? He knew he didn't deserve anything but bitterness and vitriol, but his selfish heart wanted more.

"I think Seungcheol also capitalized on his abandonment issues," Hoseok continued. "He said something about being thrown away."

"We'll just have to overwhelm him with our care then," Jooheon said, nodding firmly to himself.

"It's not as simple as that," Changkyun spoke before pausing as though he hadn't wanted the words to leave his lips, but now that they were out in the open, he had no choice but to continue on. "We have to basically reprogram him. That's what Seungcheol accomplished, in effect. He twisted Hyungwon's mind, made him doubt what he thought was true. When I first found Hyungwon, I spent years trying to convince him of my sincerity, of his safety, of his worth. It will only be harder this time because he's been made to doubt everything that he knows."

"We'll see," Hyunwoo said before looking over at Changkyun. "I assume that you asked me to join your coven because you knew this would happen, and that you wanted me to use my ability to help cleanse Hyungwon's mind of Seungcheol's influence."

Changkyun didn't respond.

"But with the collar, I can do nothing," Hyunwoo continued. "There are other ways to break the collar than to try and find someone who can break curses, correct?"

"We could direct all of Hyungwon's stored-up magical energy into the collar in order to overload its capacity," Changkyun said dryly. "The only downfall is that doing so would destroy Hyungwon himself."

"So that's out," Jooheon remarked. "Anything else?"

The room was quiet.

Jooheon sighed. "We'll figure out something. For now, all we can do is keep him comfortable. Slowly force him into more interaction. Make sure he eats well and rests up. Try to get him to talk more. Introduce him to his old habits. Whatever we can do to get the old Hyungwon back."

They all nodded, but none of them voiced their thought. What if the old Hyungwon isn't coming back?