Sunghoon couldn't help but feel a little proud. He had played a part in saving someone's life from a spirit.

Even if it wasn't a big part.

...

Time: 05:56, October 19

"Can you tell me what would happen..." Sunghoon told Chaewon.

"Huh? About what?" She asked.
She was lounging on the couch, and her head was leaned back, her eyes closed.
The others were already in their rooms, but Chaewon had to stay outside for a bit, because she had accidentally walked into and spilled the vanilla latte that was sitting outside Eunchae's door.
She had stayed outside to clean it up.

"Can you tell me what would happen if we used normal blades against possessed humans?" He said.

Chaewon opened one eye, and stared at Sunghoon.
But then she closed it again soon after.

"Easy. They'd die." She said.

"The human or the spirit?"

"Both."

"Oh..."
Sunghoon started to regret asking.

"That's why we use our special Damascus daggers. We're here to save lives, not to end them." Chaewon finished.

She stood up, and bid Sunghoon a quick goodbye.
And then she left.

...

Garam was happy.
So happy.

"Eunchae, where's my sock?" Garam asked.

She and Eunchae were both in Garam's room, having fun and joking around together.

"I don't know..." came a voice.
It was Eunchae's.

But also not hers.
It was almost like she was watching a film. Only, the film was her memories.

Eunchae was standing in the room, but could see herself also on the bed. A younger, happier version of her. Behind her younger self, she was holding Garam's socks, hiding them as a joke.

"Hey... give them back!" Garam said, laughing, once she realised young Eunchae's smiling face.

"No-" young Eunchae replied, laughing and grinning widely.

The two were like toddlers. They were a great match for each other. Like pencil and paper. They were drawn to each other as friends, as playmates, and as comrades.
Their bond was inseparable.

Until they were faced with death.

"Such a strong bond... It's sad to see it destroyed... isn't it?" The monster snarled.

The scene changed once again, and it was back to the dark alleyway.
The alleyway Eunchae had seen too much.

Garam was stabbed.
Again.

Eunchae could see the pain all too well. She saw the fear in Garam's eyes. Every single moment with her was precious, like a priceless gemstone.
But she'd never get to experience the same feeling again.

Garam was long gone. But she wouldn't accept it.

...

Time: 14:23, October 19

Kazuha exited her room, yawning and stretching.
Everyone else was already awake, and eating food at the table. They stared at her awkwardly.

She stared back at them, confused.

"What?" She asked.

Yunjin chuckled.
"Kazuha, do you know what time it is?"

"I don't know, half past eleven maybe? I literally just woke up." She said.

Everyone else started laughing.
"You're a really heavy sleeper, Kazuha. You've been asleep for almost ten hours. We thought you were already awake, but you didn't go to eat breakfast." Sakura said.

"What do you mean? Aren't you eating breakfast right now?" Kazuha said, scratching her head in confusion.

Yunjin replied to her,
"No, of course not! We're having lunch... it's half past two."

"Oh..."

Everyone started erupting in laughter, including Kazuha.

"I needed all this so badly. I haven't laughed in a while..." Chaewon said, her voice broken between chuckles.

"Kazuha, come on, you're probably hungry, come eat." Sakura said, still laughing, but containing herself enough to control herself and usher Kazuha to the table with her hand.

Kazuha came to the table and sat down, a red flush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

"Yunjin made this. It's potato wedges and sandwiches." Sunghoon said.

Yunjin slapped him on the shoulder.
"It wasn't only me, you also cooked with me, even if you're terrible at it."

Kazuha chuckled.
"I'll try one, then..."
She picked one up with a skewer, and placed it into her mouth.

It was crispy, as a potato wedge should be. The flavour was nice, yet just a little bit dry, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

"It's good." Kazuha stated, giving a nod to the two chefs.

"That means it's okay, but not great. Doesn't it?" Yunjin said, perfectly reading Kazuha.

Kazuha flushed red.
She was exactly on point.

"Yeah... How are all of you able to read my mind? It's like you know my next move, or my thoughts." Kazuha said, slightly in awe.

"Not all of us can do it, you know. It's only Sakura and Yunjin, really." Chaewon said, clearing her name.

Sunghoon nodded.
He'd already had his experiences.

"How do you do it?" Kazuha asked, looking straight at Yunjin.

"Don't ask me, ask Sakura." Yunjin said, nodding at Sakura and shifting the gaze off herself.

Sakura leaned back in her chair, being thrown under the bus by Yunjin. She scoffed under her breath.
"It's magic, Kazuha. And magicians never tell their secrets."

Kazuha rolled her eyes.
"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You won't tell us?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I think it's pretty obvious."
Sakura shrugged her shoulders and leaned back, almost making a fool of Kazuha in a friendly way.

"How? If it's so obvious, you may as well tell me-"

"You'll find it out some day." Sakura interrupted, evidently wanting to end the conversation.

Kazuha slinked back, reading the room.
The conversation had to end there; she was becoming a little bit irritating.

...

Eunchae sat helplessly on the ground, the grey smoke almost forming a sort of cage around her, encasing her in its darkness.

"They haven't come to save me..." Eunchae stuttered.

The spirit came up to her, and caressed her face with one shadowy hand.
"Yes. They abandoned you, Eunchae. Nobody's come to save you."

She gripped her fist in a tight ball. Her knuckles went white with rage.

"They... ab- abandoned me... No- no, they can't have... they would never." she said.

"Yes... they did. They even blame you for Garam's death..."
The spirit swirled around her, Eunchae nearly being blinded by its satanic red glow.

It talked to her in its serpent-like voice,
"What do you think, Hong Eunchae?"

The monster stopped in front of her once again, staring her straight in the face. It's eyes were a deep, soulless black. It was like staring into death's orb, a specimen of which caught her eye.
It almost called out to her, and sort of asked her whether she wanted to accept its gift, or push it away.

But she chose to fight it's temptation.
She was Eunchae, and she refused to let the spirit take over her.

"Don't they deserve to die?" Said the spirit.

Eunchae backed away.
"No. They don't."

"Let's see about that."

A knife materialised into her hands out of nowhere, and she stood up in alarm.
"What-"

The knife seemed to move on its own, a force pulling it to the side.
She tried to stop it moving, and it took all her strength, as she planted her feet into the ground.

"Everyone... everyone will die at your hands!" The spirit screeched.

A body of Sakura came up from the shadows, standing right near the knife.
The blade was moving. Inching ever closer Sakura.

Eunchae gritted her teeth.
Even if that body wasn't actually Sakura, she wouldn't dare to see what happened if she stabbed it.

...

Yunjin sat up in her chair, and leaned forward to talk.
"I've been starting to grow worried." She said.

Sakura instantly turned to face her.
"What? What is it?"

"It's just... Eunchae... she hasn't even talked to us. It's making me concerned. I don't know about you guys, but I feel like we should try and sort things out between us, you know?"

She suddenly smacked her hand on the table, which made Sunghoon retract his arms, as they were dangerously close and nearly got hit.

"You know what we could do though? We could give Eunchae some gifts. We really need to talk it out with her. She can't be in there for much longer. She hasn't even drank or eaten. And she has a wound, for crying out loud!" Yunjin exclaimed, a sort of desperation in her face.

"That's... a good idea, actually." Chaewon said, yet her voice was sort of mellow.

"I agree. We need to talk with her. So, what gifts are you thinking about, Yunjin?" Kazuha asked.

She pondered for a bit, rubbing her chin.
"Maybe... maybe some food?"

"She didn't drink the latte I gave her... slim chance she'll accept food." Kazuha said, staring at the brown stain on the floor, where Chaewon had spilt the very same drink.

Sakura butted in her suggestion.
"We could get her... plushies... maybe. So, we could go inside the room with the plushies, and talk it out. That way, if she ever thinks about hitting us, at least it won't be with food." she said, shrugging.

"She still might not let us inside." Kazuha mumbled.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No."

"Then plushies it is, then."

And, with Sakura's decision, the plan was made; they would go out to buy plushies with whatever remaining money they had left, and come back to try and talk it out together with Eunchae.

"When are we leaving?" Sunghoon asked.

"We could go out now, if we can." Yunjin suggested.

Sakura nodded in reply.
"Sure, so bring your sheaths just in case." Sakura said, standing up from the table.

One by one, they each disappeared from the table, going into their rooms.
Sunghoon made his way over to the bed, where he kept the two belt sheaths; one for his crimson blade, the other for his Damascus.

His crimson blade had a very worn down leather sheath, which seemed to be chipping in some parts, yet it was only mere cosmetic damage. The overall structure was completely fine.
His Damascus, on the other hand, since it was new, had a very sleek, very rich black velvet coloured shealth, carefully made by Sakura. There were very intricate patters etched on it, a similar shape as the sserafim pattern he had seen earlier, yet not quite the exact same.

He clipped the belts on, one on top of another, and positioned them on top of his uniform.

Sakura came out of her room, with all her gear ready, and a black coat to match. She was holding a little black fabric in her hand, which looked to be another identical coat, only in a bigger size.
"All done?" She asked.

"I am." Kazuha said as she left her room.

The others soon followed, and they stood near the door.

"Sunghoon, have you got your Damascus blade with you? Make sure you don't forget it." Sakura told him.

He nodded his head and patted the sheath at his waist.

"Good. Take this, by the way."
She threw him the coat that was in her hands.

Sunghoon peered at it.
"What's this for?"

"It's so that nobody sees your blade. Remember, humans can't see our daggers, but they can see Damascus. And, I don't think walking outside with a very obvious knife around your waist isn't going to help us be low key." Sakura told him, as she put on her hat and mask.

He put it on. The material felt soft and breathable around his shoulders. It was lightweight, and didn't restrict his mobility, which was a relief to him.
He didn't fancy fighting in something heavy, for it would slow him down.
Like the jeans he used to wear. He still didn't like recalling the thought.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

Sakura placed her hand on the metal panel, and the hatch slid open.

"I'll go first." Yunjin said, exiting.

They followed her right after. The group made their way down the mountainside, going a little faster than they had done on their previous shopping trip.
Yunjin peeked her head through the gap, and, once the coast was clear, made her way through, making way for the others to follow after her.

"Yunjin, you know where the shop is, right?" Chaewon asked.

"Yeah. I do." she replied.

"Okay then, let's keep going." Chaewon said, pointing her hand forward to tell them to continue.

They all made their way through a few roads, and soon enough, thanks to Yunjin's help, found the store in no time.

"It's there. Let's go." Yunjin said whilst pointing towards the shop.

The others nodded, and they followed her inside.

...

"Sakura..." Eunchae mumbled.
She was holding a knife to the older one's throat, the blade just mere inches away. It glinted an evil red, the same as the spirit's eyes.

The monster came up behind her, and peeked it's head next to hers. It hissed in her ear, coaxing her on.
"Stab her..."

Eunchae held back. She hated Sakura. She hated everyone for leaving her alone.
But she would never kill them.
She refused to let the spirit win over her.

"STAB HER..." the spirit hissed more angrily.

Her hand was shaking, yet still not edging any closer to the older one's neck.
The spirit let out a hiss of frustration, and snapped the body of Sakura away, the form turning into smoke once again.

"I- I won't..." Eunchae stuttered.

The knife dropped to the floor, also turning into smoke as it hit.
The monster stared her in the eyes, it's red glow so fierce it made Eunchae's face tingle.

"Such impudence... they deserve to die. Each one of them, yet you cannot bring yourself to do it... They have not come to save you. And they never will." It told her.

It swirled around, and disappeared.

Then, the dust all around her formed into a new scene.

It was an enclosed room, with overhead lights. There was a chair, and two seats on either end.

Eunchae went up to the walls, and felt them. She had expected them to crumble into dust, but they did not. They were solid.
That meant that she was trapped.

"HEY!" She shouted, banging on the walls.
But there came no answer.
She kicked the wall.

"LET ME OUT!" She screamed.

But there was a voice next to her, which made her stop.
"Eunchae. It's me. Garam."

She stared at the table. Garam had materialised out of nowhere. And she was sitting on one of the chairs, relaxing as if it were just a normal day.

Yet, it was not Garam.
It was the spirit's trickery.
And the monster was going to use it against Eunchae.

"You're not Garam." Eunchae snarled.

"Eunchae? How could you say something like that? I'm here, with you."
Garam stood up, and tried to caress Eunchae's face, but she swatted her away.

"I can't give in. I won't. You're not Garam. And I know it."

"But Eunchae-"

She brought her fist down upon the table, and it split in half, collapsing down onto the floor with a metallic clash.

"YOU'RE NOT GARAM! YOU- YOU'RE NOT! GARAM IS- SHE- SHE'S DEAD! AND SHE'S NOT COMING BACK!"

Tears fell from Eunchae's eyes. She drove her back against the wall, and slid down to the ground in defeat.
"Garam's dead..." she whispered.

The scene around her faded to dust, and she sat there, crying.
As much as she didn't want to accept the fact, it was true.

Garam was dead. And she wasn't coming back.

...

"Do you bet Eunchae will like this one, Sunghoon?"

Kazuha held up a small brown bear plushie to his face.

"Or this one?"

She held another one, a big yellow duck.

Sunghoon tried standing back. He couldn't recall how many times he nearly had his face squished by plushies, because Kazuha would not stop. She wanted to pick out the best one for Eunchae.

Sakura was sitting next to him, rubbing her head.
"Kazuha, you've been at this for nearly half an hour... surely you've found something she'll like." She mumbled.

Kazuha just kept searching, her eyes darting up and down the shelves full of plushies. They had already searched half the store, and everyone but Kazuha was getting tired, despite Kazuha actually being the only one searching the entire time.

"Just get the yellow duck, Kazuha. I'm sure she'll love it." Sunghoon said, his head starting to ache.

"Are you sure?" She asked, eyeing the duck plushie.

"I'm sure. It's fine... she'll like it." Sunghoon said, also starting to rub his head.

"You're not the one paying anyways..." Sakura mumbled under her breath.

Kazuha picked the plushie up, and said, "I guess so..."

She held it high above her head, and the little duck face just stared into the distance.
Sunghoon even thought it was silently pleading for its life behind those beady fabric eyes.
He could relate.

"Sure. We'll get it." Kazuha said, placing it under her arm.

Everyone else sighed in relief. They stood up and made their way over to the counter, and the cashier placed the duck in a bag and told them the price.
"One hundred and thirty thousand won. That's your total. Anything else?" The young woman asked.

"One hundred and thirty thousand? What?" Sakura mumbled under her breath her eyes widening in shock.

Yunjin calculated the price in her head. The total was the equivalent of one hundred dollars.
"It's expensive even in America..."

But, she took out the wallet anyways, and gave it to the cashier.

"Have a good day. Here you go."

Kazuha took the bag in her hands, and they all followed her out the store.

"Plushies are getting expensive nowadays..." Sakura said.

"Yeah. But anything for Eunchae, right?"

"Mhm."

"Also-"

A familiar loud ringing sound in their heads made then cover their ears in pain. Kazuha dropped the bag to the floor, while the others had to use the wall to support them.

Sunghoon closed his eyes tight.
He could see a man on a rooftop, smoking a large cigar. He was leant back, and his legs were kicked up.

However, on his free hand that hung off the edge of the chair, there was blood.
And on the floor directly below, a bloody knife.

There was no black aura around him, but there was a red glaze in his eyes.

He was a spirit.