Changbin's eyes slowly fluttered open, gradually adjusting to the brightness of the room he was in. He then blinked, internal alarms blaring in his head when he realized the position he was in.

Throughout the course of the night Felix's limbs had managed to get even more tangled with Changbin. The half demon didn't know how or when that happened, because it wasn't like he'd been able to catch some sleep with how close Felix had been to him.

Changbin bit back a gasp, before gently prying Felix's arms off him. It was hard, but he didn't want to wake Felix up just yet. It was still early, as far as Changbin could see. After he did so, he sat up on the bed and watched how Felix basically grabbed for the nearest thing to him, which happened to be a pillow.

Changbin chuckled at Felix's cuteness, but then stopped, because he didn't want the Australian to hear him. He slid off the bed, and silently made his way into the nearest bathroom, hoping that no one else was around.

As soon as he entered, he pulled off his mask and quickly washed his face to get rid of any tiredness that could've been left.

Then he looked up at the mirror in front of him, and for once he didn't experience the brief feeling of digust he usually felt when he saw his face. He looked at his face from a neutral point of view.

He still looked the same, safe for the tiny blotches of red tinting his cheeks due to the cold water he'd washed his face with. His fangs weren't that visible, since he wasn't talking or smiling, and his eyes were red.

Really red. It was so recognizable, that Changbin almost scared himself by looking at them. Why were they so vibrant and noticeable? He wasn't angry, and he wasn't threatened either. He felt fine, his heart was beating steadily, and he was even trying to hide his smile, all because of a certain Australian.

Were his eyes red because of something else entirely? Despite being a demon hybrid, Changbin didn't know a lot about people like him except for the basic information that his mother graced him with when he was younger. He'd never looked up anything else about half demons on the internet to know more about his kind, because he didn't want to embrace that part of himself. He'd always been shamed for it, so over the years he started to loathe what he was. He suddenly remembered Chan, a fellow half demon, and wondered if the taller had the answer as to why his eyes were being like this.

Several knocks snapped Changbin out of his thoughts. "Is someone in there?"

The half demon could recognize that deep, raspy voice anywhere. "Uh, I--I'm inside."

"Oh," Changbin could almost hear the smile in Felix's voice, "well, good morning, Changbin."

"Good morning." Changbin quickly brought his mask up his face, shielding his nose and lips from view, but his bright red eyes were still visible. He disn't know what he could do about them. "Tone it down, goddammit," he mumbled.

"Did you say anything?" Felix asked.

Changbin shook his head. "I-I didn't. Uh--" he walked up to the door and quickly opened it, making sure that Felix would not be able to see his eyes. "You can use the bathroom now."

Felix gave him a thumbs up. "Okay. Just wanna brush my teeth." His head slightly cocked to the side and his eyebrows knitted together. Gently nudging Changbin's shoulder, he asked, "Hey, Changbin?"

"Uhm, yes?"

"Why are you avoiding my eyes?" Obviously Felix had noticed, just like how Felix always noticed whenever something was off with Changbin.

Changbin shook his head, before he started walking away. "I'm not avoiding your eyes."

To the shorter's surprise, Felix suddenly spun him around until their faces were just mere centimeters away from each other. Felix's neutral expression switched into one of clear wonder when his eyes fell on Changbin's own.

"...Woah."

Changbin was too stunned to move for a couple of seconds, but soon enough he realized the situation he was in and unattached himself from Felix's grip. "Why...why did you do that?"

Felix's eyes widened in momentary panic. "I'm--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pull you like that. I just...wanted to know why you didn't want to look at me."

Changbin knew Felix hadn't meant any harm, and he was just being curious, but that didn't stop Changbin from feeling that his privacy just got invaded. He was ready for Felix to feel afraid of what he saw, and realize fully that he was in fact, friends with a demon. One that could be dangerous and unsafe to be around when provoked.

"I...I bet they creeped you out, right?" Changbin questioned. "I'd understand it if you were. They creeped me out too."

"I wasn't creeped out."

"You're lying," Changbin replied, "your eyes widened when you saw how red my eyes were, as if you couldn't believe what you were seeing."

"Yes I was surprised," Felix admitted, taking a step closer to Changbin, "but I wasn't scared. Your eyes don't scare me. I like them. I like red things, remember?"

Changbin exhaled a breath, realizing how dumb his argument was. He'd just revealed just how insecure he was with his looks, and the last person he wanted to show that side of himself to had witnessed it. "I...I should go."

"Wait, you aren't staying for breakfast?" Felix asked, unable to keep the frown off his face.

"No. I live next door anyway. Thanks for making me stay over, and tell your parents I really liked their food yesterday night," Changbin said, before fidding with the sweater he had on him. "...I should probably give this sweater back to you too."

Felix shook his head. "No. You can keep it. I have too many sweaters anyway."

Changbin felt like kicking himself, because now he couldn't shake off the look of disappointment on Felix's face, and he didn't know what he could do about it. "...Okay."

Felix saw Changbin off at the door, since his parents still weren't up, and Changbin hurried inside his house to escape Felix's gaze.

"How was the sleep over?" Changbin's mother asked as soon as she opened the door for her son. "And why are you back so early?"

"It was...okay, and I missed you too much," Changbin replied after he yanked off his mask.

His mother laughed, gently patting Changbin's hair. "I know that was probably not the real reason, but I'll still take it."

"I'm going out today," Changbin said after a couple of moments.

"With Felix?"

Changbin shook his head, suddenly feeling as if someone had punched him in the gut. He was experiencing the cliche butterflies everyone always talked about. "No. It's someone else. I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Don't forget to eat breakfast!" Changbin's mother called out to him while he sped up the stairs.

"I won't!" Changbin must've ran too fast, because he almost tripped on his two feet. Ignoring the embarrassment rippling through his chest, he continued walking, decreasing his pace this time.

_______

Changbin: you wont mind if we meet up today, right

Chan: nope. i wont mind at all :)

Changbin: thank you

_______

"So... Hi," Changbin muttered while taking the seat in front of Chan. The taller male smiled in response, before taking a sip out of his coffee.

"Hi, Changbin. What's up?" Chan asked. He was really friendly and chatty, Changbin realized, with the way he always tried to engage him in their conversation, just like how it was when they first met.

"I'm good."

The coffee shop they were in was nearly empty with customers, and it was location in an area that Changbin wasn't familiar with. Gingerly, he took off his mask, feeling a bit strange. He was so used to covering his face that when he didn't, he felt unusual and exposed.

"Would you like anything to drink? You can get coffee, if you want," Chan suggested, but Changbin shook his head.

"Actually," Changbin started, taking off the shades he'd been wearing, "I need your help."

Chan stopped drinking his coffee when he took notice of Changbin's eyes. "Woah. How did that happen?"

"I don't know," Changbin sighed. "They weren't like this yesterday. I just saw them like this this morning, so I was wondering if you could maybe tell me why they're like this...?"

Chan looked thoughtful as he placed his coffee on the table. "I uh, I'm not that sure, actually. I've never had those kind of eyes before, except when I got really angry at my friend when I was small."

"But...I'm not angry."

"I guess that maybe you're experiencing some other intense emotion? That could be the reason for it."

Intense emotion? Changbin wasn't feeling anything else apart from neutral at the moment, and sure, he was happy this morning, but it wasn't the intense kind of happiness. It was more on the calm, subtle side that snuck up on you when you least expected it.

"Or," Chan continued, a slight frown taking over his face, "it can mean your body's like, trying to process everything that's happening to you all at once, and your eyes are one of the side effects."

Changbin nodded. Chan kind of made sense.

Chan suddenly sighed. "...You know all about us half demon's short life spans, right?"

"Yeah..." Changbin knew all about it, and it hadn't really troubled him before, but now it was starting to, especially with Chan's grave expression.

"So, maybe your eyes have something to do with that. Have you been feeling weird lately? Like, changes in sleep schedules, loss of appetite, or feeling weak and tired?"

"I...I kinda sleep a lot now, more than I used to. Especially in the afternoon. Should I be worried?"

Chan shrugged, which didn't help matters at all. "I don't know, but I also don't want to give you false hope. A couple of my friends know more about demons that I do. Would you like to meet them?"

Changbin shakily nodded. He didn't like the new information he'd just been given, and he felt a bit unsteady. If bad news awaited him at where he was going, he wouldn't know how to deal with that.

"So, Changbin," Chan started as soon as they left the shop. His tone was oddly chirpy for the news he'd just delivered to Changbin. "Have you noticed more hybrids and otherworldly creatures lately?"

Changbin nodded, remembering the hybrid lady and the Elf. He wasn't in the mood to say anything though.

"Well, there's a side of this town that few people know about. I'm telling you about it since you're a hybrid too. It's nearing the time of year, which is November, when different creatures that aren't human would gather up and have fun and all that jazz. It's at a particular venue called Viribus, and I live around there with my friends. Viribus is latin for strength, if you don't know."

Changbin tried to process everything that Chan had just said, feeling surprised. After all the time he'd lived and grew up here, he'd never heard about a place called Viribus. He'd just assumed that he would be the only non-human creature for a long time, and that he'd never get to meet another demon hybrid who was just like him. "Okay."

"First, we take this bus," Chan instructed as they neared an unfamiliar bus stop. They entered a navy blue bus and sat at the back. That was when Changbin realized that his face was uncovered.

As if Chan had read his mind, he placed his hand on Changbin's when the latter was about to take out his mask. "You don't need to. Nobody cares around here."

"...Oh." Changbin felt incredibly strange. He forgot how it was to breathe without feeling restricted by the thin material of a mask, and forgot how it felt to not worry about people casting second glances at him when they saw him. The people entering the bus didn't even look Changbin's way, and the half demon never thought he'd like it so much.

Chan briefed him on all the buildings they passed, and Changbin noticed the gradual increase of hybrids and other otherworldly creatures the more distance the bus covered. They were walking around freely with their friends and family, without any inhibitions or fear seeping off of them. How hadn't Changbin known about this place earlier?

The bus dropped them off a few minutes later, and Changbin took the time to admire his surroundings. The buildings looked brighter and more abstract, in comparison to the structural and coventional buildings his town possessed.

"My apartment's not that far away," Chan spoke, which prompted Changbin to nod.

Changbin's eyes fell on a little girl hopping next to them, a colourful lollipop inside her mouth. Her face was a bright maroon colour, and her eyes were a striking red. Small horns potruded from her long black hair, and she was grinning, revealing a set of rather sharp canines. When she noticed Changbin's eyes on her, she shyly looked away, and headed the other direction.

She was a full demon, and she was out and about, unafraid to show off her face. Unafraid to show who she was.

She made everything look easy, and it made Changbin wonder why he'd been hiding his face all these years when he could've been like that little girl instead. But then the answer came to him before he even finished his thoughts.

It was all because of the people he was surrounded with.

The little girl didn't grow up where he did, and that was why she was so confident in herself now.

"We're here!" Chan exclaimed, drawing Changbin out of his thoughts.

They stood in front of a rather small apartment that was nicely painted. It was made of brick and looked highly stable. Changbin wondered how many people lived inside it.

He and Chan walked up to the door, and the taller male knocked on it. They waited a few seconds before the door was flung open to reveal a male with a big smile on his face.

His eyes were alert, and his ears made it known that he was an Elf, along with his unconventional clothes. His smile disappeared once he saw Changbin. "Who's this?"

"Seungmin, this is Changbin. He's a demon hybrid, and he wants some answers." Chan dragged Changbin inside the apartment, and Seungmin moved out of the way to let them in.

The apartment looked bigger inside than it did outside. Lots of furniture decorated the place, and pictures of various pieces of artwork were hung on the wall. Everything looked busy, and Changbin swore he saw three other guys running around the vincinity.

"Who is this?" A calm sounding voice asked, startling Changbin. A brown haired male appeared before him, and he had similar ears to Seungmin. One side of his face was also littered with golden glitter, which oddly worked well with him.

"Woojin, this is Changbin." Chan introduced.

Woojin waved, his hazel coloured eyes regarding Changbin's own pair with curiosity and...worry.

Changbin knew all about how elves could read people really well, and could sense any kind of problem with them when they met them, so that made him a bit wary of Woojin's stare.

Two hyper looking males appeared next to Woojin, and it was obvious one of them was a werewolf. The other one looked very human.

"That's Jeongin," Chan pointed to the werewolf, "and that's Minho, a witch."

"Hey!" they greeted, practically bouncing on their heels due to their barely concealed excitement.

"Hi," Changbin smiled, though he was sure the smile came out as more of a grimace.

"He wants you guys' help to know  why his eyes are so red," Chan explained, specifically to Woojin and Seungmin.

They all gathered up at a table, everyone's eyes focused on each other except for Minho, who was too busy performing spells on Jeongin.

"When did it start?" Woojin asked Changbin.

"This morning," Changbin replied. He blinked, feeling vulnerable under the watchful eyes of Seungmin and Woojin.

"And you get tired easily now, right?" Seungmin asked, "Especially in the afternoon?"

Changbin was surprised by the taller's accurate question, even though he should've expected it. "Yes."

"Do you get frequent headaches? Get irritated easily? Or unexplainably angry, even though you aren't usually like that?"

Changbin nodded. "Yeah, but I don't get frequent headaches."

Woojin leaned in and placed a palm on the left side of Changbin's neck, startling the shorter male. The elf looked at Seungmin. "His heartbeat's slower than usual too."

"Shit," Minho suddenly cursed, his eyes wide. "You're dying."

Jeongin smacked Minho's arm, and the witch hissed in response. "Shut up."

"Minho's...not that wrong," Woojin whispered. He must've seen the dismayed look on Changbin's face, so he quickly added, "Just like how your body negatively reacts to the cold, making your skin red, that's how it's reacting right now. Your cells are kind of...slowly disintegrating due to too much stress and emotions, and your body doesn't like that at all. It's trying to fix everything, and now you're getting unwanted side effects, like your eyes right now."

"O-Okay." Changbin didn't know how to react right now.

"So he can't do anything?" Chan asked after a moment of silence.

"Not that I know of," Seungmin answered this time. "The situation's worse since he's half demon, half human. His chances of dying are way higher now. But...we'll try to find a solution."

Changbin wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

_______

He was dying.

He was dying.

Dying.

Dy...ing.

Different thoughts and opinions raged throughout Changbin's head as he walked home. He still couldn't process anything correctly. He felt numb, as if the situation hadn't sunk in yet.

Changbin was going to die.

Autumn leaves flew and twirled around the half demon due to the strong wind that blew around him, and he hugged himself. At this point, he felt like he was just made up of bones and flesh, and cells that were apparently disintegrating.

He entered his house in silence, glad that his mother wasn't around.

How was she going to react when she found out about this?

He went up the stairs to his room, and immediately found himself walking over to his window.

Felix was inside his room, slaving over different books on his drawer. He was oblivious to Changbin's presence, and the half demon liked it like that.

Changbin took out a piece of paper and a black marker, and wrote out his message.

I'm sorry for always being absent, physically and mentally. Know that your presence brings me pure happiness.

Thank you.

Folding the paper into a plane, Changbin flew it straight into Felix's window, getting the Australian's attention right away.

Changbin didn't hide away from Felix this time, and smiled when the taller's eyes met his, even if his smile was hidden from view. "Hi."

"Hey," Felix grinned, before taking the paper and opening it up. His smile widened after a few seconds, and he grabbed a pen and wrote something down on the paper too. Like Changbin had done, he folded the paper into an airplane and sent it flying into Changbin's open window.

Changbin's slow heartbeat quickened when he read Felix's message.

You make me happy too. Really happy. I can't even fully describe the extent of it.

Please keep on existing, for me.