THE ARCS ARRIVED AT the campus without Junhyung and Mark beside them. When they got to the gate, everyone was staring at them, whispering at each other. Maybe because the Arcs were absent yesterday and now they went to school incomplete. But the Arcs didn't mind it at all, they were kinda used to it at this point.

     Mark was a part of the Demons now, and that's something they can't change. Junhyung was temporarily not part of the Arcs until his order was finally over. It was already two days since then, but for Junhyung and the rest of the holy sons, it felt like forever.

     "Man, I missed the attention," Lay stated with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, making Seunghyun glare at him so he could shut his mouth.

     While Junhyung was away, Seunghyun became the leader, making the whole Arcs disciplined as ever.

     "I can't wait for Junhyung to be back. I miss him already," Jihoon stated. And then Woohyun looked at him and continued, "I know. But I miss Mark even more than our stubborn leader. If it weren't for him then-"

     Seunghyun quickly stopped walking and angrily looked at Woohyun, making all the attention of the students shift to them. The Arcs were surrounded by students, but they didn't mind scaring them away like what the Demons would usually do.

     "Didn't I already tell you that we should never talk about Mark? Whether the Demons did something to him or not, he still decided to leave. So he's a betrayer, and we don't talk about betrayers, so this isn't Junhyung's fault, understand?" Seunghyun asked, and then he pushed Woohyun away and walked past the wave of students.

    "Seunghyun!" Jihoon called out, quickly following behind him while Sungjae, Woohyun and Lay were left in the middle of the crowd.

     "What the fuck are you looking at!?" Woohyun finally shouted, scaring everyone and making them run away.

     "Are you alright?" Lay asked Woohyun. Then Sungjae went to where he was and added, "Didn't we already tell you to stop talking about Mark? We know the two of you are best of friends compared to the five of us but you gotta learn to move on."

     Woohyun fixed his uniform and took a deep breath, "I wish moving on was that easy Sungjae. I hope it really was."

     Sungjae patted his back to comfort him, and then the three angels went to the lobby so they could head to their class. When they got to the lobby, they were welcomed by a large crowd at the gate. The three holy sons went inside the crowd and squeezed themselves in so they could see what everyone was looking at. When they were finally standing in front, they saw a limousine parked right in front of the school's main building.

     "What the hell is that?" Lay asked. And like someone answered his question, the door of the limo finally opened. One by one the Demons went out. First was Sunggyu, then Hyunseung, Suho, Minhyuk, Taeil, Jiyong, and lastly it was Jackson.

     The sons stood in a horizontal line formation like before. But Jackson stood in front of the limo's door and showed his hand to the entrance. The Arcs were curious about what Jackson was doing, but everyone else knew that he was waiting for Mark.

     "Hey, little angel! You coming out or what?!" Jiyong shouted as he turned to face the limo.

     A hand finally went out and grabbed Jackson's hand. And like he was some kind of princess, he grabbed the hand of his prince charming as he went out of the limousine.

     "M-Mark?" Woohyun asked when he saw his brother. He wanted to run to where he was but Sungjae quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.

    "Remember what Seunghyun said to us Woohyun," he reminded him.

     Woohyun clenched his fist because he couldn't even do anything. He just watched like the rest of the bystanders.

     Suho, like what he did yesterday, took out a megaphone. It seems like they have another important announcement.

     "Well, about the articles yesterday, we weren't really planning to tell everyone about this matter, but what the heck. Because of the stupid article and the assholes who just can't leave our personal life alone, we were now forced to tell everyone the truth," Suho started.

     Everyone started whispering and taking out their cellphones. These announcements were always video worthy.

     "The article about Jackson and our new member is true. They've been together for a few days now, that's why Mark is with us. So if you assholes talk about this matter again then expect us to hunt you down. Got that?" Suho finished, and then he threw the megaphone away, hitting a student.

     Everyone was shocked by what the Demons just announced. They looked at Jackson and saw that he was expressionless, but his hands were holding Mark's hand tightly.

     Woohyun couldn't take it anymore so he pushed Sungjae and Lay away from him and ran to where the Demons were. But before he could run to where Jackson was standing so he could punch him, Lay grabbed his arm. Now the three Arcs were in front of the Demons.

     Everyone became quiet as the Demons stared down at the angels.

     "Look who we have here. Oh, it looks like Mark and Junhyung aren't the only ones missing in your group. Kicked out Jihoon and Seunghyun too?" Jiyong teased.

     Woohyun ignored what Jiyong just said and stated, "What's this about? What kind of lie is this now?"

     Sunggyu went in front of Woohyun and asked him, "Lie? Well, Mark told us not to tell you but I guess it's about time that we did. When Mark went missing? Yeah, he was with us. And do you know who he was with?"

     Woohyun looked confused, so he slowly looked at Mark who wasn't even interested in what they were talking about. But when he felt Woohyun staring at him, Mark looked his way.

     "Mark...w-who were you with at that time?" Woohyun finally asked him.

     Mark sighed loudly and scratched the back of his head in irritation, "Jackson. I was with Jackson at that time because I was fucking tired of your crap. I stayed with him the whole time and made all of you worried on purpose. Now you get it, Nam? Even before the plan, I already fucking hated you guys!"

     When Woohyun heard of Mark's answer, Woohyun's eyes turned white as he shouted, "You're lying!" He was about to hit Sunggyu with his lightning, but Sungjae quickly grabbed Woohyun's arms and immediately whispered, "Jihoon, stop the time."

     A few seconds later, everything stopped. The students surrounding them weren't moving except for the Demons and the rest of the Arcs. Sungjae doesn't have the power to stop the time, but Jihoon does. Other than having the power to brainwash people, Sungjae also has the power to enter someone's mind. It's like a mental telephone.

     "Seriously? Not this again," Minhyuk stated as he looked back at the furious Woohyun.

     Hyunseung went forward and pushed Sunggyu who was in front of Woohyun. Hyunseung was inches away from Woohyun as he said, "Face it, angel, your brother chose us. Not you. So leave us alone."

      Woohyun looked down and clenched on his fist, "Give us Mark back," he said with a low tone, making everyone unable to hear what he just said.

      Jiyong went to where Woohyun was and held his shoulder, "What the hell are you talking about?"

     Woohyun lifted his head and finally shouted, "I said...FUCKING GIVE US MARK BACK!" Right after he said those words, Woohyun's silver ring started glowing. It surprised the Demons because their rings do something similar.

     While the demons were busy staring at the glowing ring, they weren't able to notice that something was appearing in Woohyun's hand. It was a silver sword. But the sword wasn't just a simple sword because it was covered in lightning.

     When the sword was now in full view, the Demons immediately took a step back. Suho was about to summon his hammer to help Jiyong, but Hyunseung quickly stopped him. He went closer to Suho and whispered to him, "Jiyong can handle it."

     Suho nodded and placed his hand back inside his pocket.

     Jiyong, on the other hand, smirked at Woohyun and said, "What are you going to do with that sword you little-" 

     In the middle of his sentence, Jiyong suddenly stopped. He lowered his head and saw that the sword was pierced inside his stomach. Everyone except for Hyunseung and Sunggyu was shocked by what happened.

     "Jiyong!" Suho shouted as he was about to run to him, but Hyunseung stopped him again.

     "JS! We need to fucking-"

     Sunggyu lifted his hand and pointed at Jiyong as he said, "Look closely Suho."

     Woohyun looked confused when the lightning that covered the sword started disappearing. He didn't have a choice but to let go when he noticed that the sword was slowly turning to dust. A few seconds later, the sword was gone, and Jiyong wasn't even hurt.

     "W-What the..." Woohyun couldn't say anything. He was running out of words to say about what the powerful demon just did.

     "Did he just absorb Woohyun's sword?" Lay asked himself, also in shock.

     Jiyong smirked once again. His ring was lighting up this time. Then a weapon slowly appeared in his hand too. It was Jiyong's signature spear-like-ax weapon. 

     The angels backed away, especially Woohyun. Jiyong pointed his deadly weapon at Woohyun and said, "Like that? Well, look at what else this baby could do."

     Woohyun and the rest of the Arcs looked closely when lightning suddenly appeared out of the weapon like what Woohyun's sword could do a few seconds ago. That alone shocked the Arcs to the point where they couldn't move.

     Lay wanted to run away when he realized something. He tugged Sungjae's shirt and said in shock, "E-Empathy...he has freaking empathy. Tell Jihoon to start the time back. Tell him to start the time back!"

     Sungjae was shaking and couldn't even concentrate. But then he saw Jiyong smile directly at him, he couldn't do anything and just close his eyes in defeat. He waited for the impact, but nothing happened. When he opened his eyes back, he saw Seunghyun standing in front of him, holding a silver shield that absorbed Jiyong's lightning attack.

     "Are you planning to get all the civilians here involved Kwon Jiyong?!" Seunghyun angrily asked.

     Jiyong didn't say anything and just smirked. Just in time, Jihoon arrived at the scene. He snapped his fingers to start time. Everything started moving again right after, but everyone was shocked because the moment the time started moving, the Demons were already gone.

     "What the...where are the Demons?!" A student at the back shouted from shock.

     "What's going on here?" A low voice asked. 

     The students turned around and saw their school's priest, Kharon. He approached the Arcs who immediately bowed in front of him to show their respect. Kharon nodded his head to acknowledge them, and then he looked back at the other students and asked, "Are you going to stand here all day or are you going back to your classrooms?!" He shouted, and everyone quickly left the scene except for the Arcs.

      Lay looked at the ground and saw smoke coming from the area where the Demons were earlier."They teleported again," he thought to himself.

     Kharon took a deep breath and looked back at the Arcs, "All of you get back to your rooms. I don't want this happening again."

     "Yes sir," Seunghyun answered, and the rest of the Arcs left as if nothing happened.

*****

The Arcs arrived at the rooftop where they've recently been hanging out. Jiyong sat on the benches and looked at his brothers with a satisfied grin, "Have you seen their faces when they saw how strong my powers were?"

     "How could we have missed it Jiyong?" Suho sarcastically answered before sitting beside him.

     Taeil, who looked occupied ever since the encounter with the Arcs, looked at his brothers and said, "Shouldn't we already be cautious about this? We've already noticed this before. We shouldn't be flaunting out powers like this."

     Sunggyu nodded his head and agreed to Taeil's claim, "I get Taeil's point. And after what happened earlier, it's clear that their plan involves knowing our powers. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to let you stop using them."

     Everyone looked back at their leader with shock. They were starting to question his decision after what they just heard.

     "What do you mean by that?" Hyunseung asked him.

     Sunggyu chuckled and answered, "Whether they find out about it or not, it will still benefit us. Let's look at it this way. If they find out about how strong our powers are, they'll start becoming cautious. That will give us enough time to execute our plans."

     When the Demons heard Sunggyu's explanation, they all started grinning in excitement, forgetting about their brother Jackson who was sitting beside Mark at the garden downstairs.

AT THE GARDEN

     "Why are you so clingy?" Mark asked while trying to push Jackson away, who was comfortably leaning on his shoulder. Jackson didn't answer, so Mark continued, "This isn't real remember? I only agreed to this because I didn't want your brothers to kill me."

     Jackson sighed and finally sat up straight, "This might not be real but the words that I told you yesterday...those were the truth."

     Mark gulped. He was about to push Jackson away from him, but Jackson quickly pulled Mark even closer so he couldn't move an inch anymore. The angel was about to protest, but Jackson leaned on his shoulder again and said, "Don't move. Just stay like that."

     Mark looked at Jackson and saw that his eyes were already closed, so Mark didn't say anything anymore and just took out a book from his bag and started reading.

     A few minutes had passed. While reading his book, the breeze got stronger, and a leaf suddenly fell from the tree behind them, covering the sentence that Mark was reading. Mark smiled and picked the leaf up. Then he looked back at the sleeping Jackson and placed the leaf on his nose before laughing to himself.

     Jackson crinkled his nose, making the leaf fall. Mark continued to stare at Jackson, and as he did so, the smile on his face slowly vanished. His chest ached, and he didn't know the exact reason why. But there is something that he was sure of; his heart wouldn't stop beating fast whenever he's with the envious demon.

     "Hey, Jackson..." Mark called out, but Jackson didn't respond.

     Mark took a deep breath and looked at the sky. Even though Jackson was fast asleep, he continued, "Others might think I'm insane, but I'm starting to enjoy being with you and the rest of the Demons. Sure it's not something that I'm used to, but the longer I'm with you guys, the more I realize that you're regular people. If it weren't for our fathers, I'd even think that you're all good people."

     The breeze grew stronger as Mark spoke. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "Remember the time you wanted to know information about our plans? I didn't say anything because I was scared. But now that I'm with you guys, then I'm ready to tell you everything that I know. Maybe I'll talk to Sunggyu and-"

     Jackson, who was supposed to be fast asleep, chocked on air and immediately sat back up, "Don't!" He shouted, surprising Mark.

    "You're awake?!" Mark asked as he looked at Jackson.

    "Who would even fall asleep in that position?! I'm not Taeil. And you don't need to tell us your plans. The Arcs might have already changed it anyway," Jackson explained to him.

     Mark looked at him in disbelief and said, "What? That's impossible. God, Himself told us that it was the prophecy. That we were destined to-"

     Jackson quickly stood up from where they were seated and shouted, "Enough!"

     Mark stood up as well and went in front of Jackson.

     "What's wrong with you Jackson?! You approach me and go with your "fall in love with me" shit, and then we become together for some dumb ass reason. And now that I'm doing something that will benefit your brothers, you don't even want me to do it? You tortured me for that reason, you asshole!" Mark shouted as he was angrily pointing at Jackson's chest. For some reason, his confusion turned into anger.

     Jackson didn't say anything, but instead, he grabbed Mark and hugged him tightly.

     "I'm sorry. I know I'm confusing you but at least let me explain," Jackson stated.

     Mark didn't say anything. His arms were at his side and his head was facing the tree behind them. It was obvious Mark didn't want this.

     "I didn't want you to think that we welcomed you because we wanted you to give us information. Do you get it by now Mark Tuan-Yi-En?" Jackson asked, but Mark only pushed Jackson with all his might and succeeded. He then glared at Jackson and told him, "Why are you doing this to me?"

     "It's because I like you," Jackson answered straight on without even hesitating.

     Mark was startled by the answer that he didn't even know how to react.

     "H-How is that even possible?" Mark asked, quickly turning away so Jackson wouldn't see his face. 

     Jackson took a deep breath and moved closer, "What else am I supposed to do so you'd realize that my feelings for you are real?"

     Mark gulped and answered without facing Jackson, "I want you to stop confusing me. How on earth did this even escalate so quickly? If you don't know Jackson Wang, I haven't done anything, in particular, to make you like me. Unless you have a weird thing with your torture victims then you're messed up."

     "What I did to you will never be erased, and I know that. But I'm not asking you to marry me. All I'm asking is that-" Mark stopped Jackson midsentence when Mark looked back at him and said, "I fall in love with you. Like falling in love is as easy as turning a switch."

     Jackson looked at Mark and lifted his hand to touch his cheek, "Then let's take it slow. What do you want me to do for you, my little angel?"

     Mark's chest ached again. But before he could say anything, a third-party suddenly cleared their throat to catch Jackson and Mark's attention. Mark immediately pushed Jackson away when he saw Jiyong and Hyunseung approaching them. 

     "What do you want me to do for you, my little angel?" Jiyong repeated while Hyunseung continued to laugh.

     "Why are you a man with few words when you're with us? But when you're with Mark you say the weirdest things?" Hyunseung asked in between his laughter.

     Jiyong went to where Jackson was and patted his shoulder, "Well, I hate to be the guy who ruins the moment, but it's our lunch break. Sunggyu and the others are waiting."

     "Okay." Jackson simply answered, and then Jiyong smirked and left with Hyunseung. Mark didn't say anything and looked away from the demon. The fact that Jackson didn't even look embarrassed after saying such a cheesy sentence made Mark embarrassed instead.

     "Let's go," Jackson commanded, and all that Mark could do was nod his head and follow behind his supposed boyfriend.

*****

A week later, the seven sons, including Mark, were staying at Sunggyu's house again. Mark and Jackson were still in their room, while the rest of the Demons were at the dining room, talking about something that wasn't meant to be heard by their new member.

     "Why is he still alive? Shouldn't he be dead by now?" Jiyong asked with an annoyed expression.

     "Can you be quiet Jiyong? Can't you see he's just on the other room?" Sunggyu angrily asked while looking at his prideful brother.

     "Then why can't we just kill him? Seeing him with us everyday just pisses me off," Jiyong continued, but with a softer voice this time.

     Hyunseung took a sip of his wine and looked back at Jiyong, "Be patient Kwon, he'll die soon. The transformation isn't something that happens in an instant. And come on, his red hair already turned black. He'll be dying soon so don't worry."

     "Yeah, and let Jackson have his fun while that bitch is alive," Suho added with a smirk.

MEANWHILE...

AT JACKSON AND MARK'S ROOM

     "Jackson! Stop it!" Mark shouted.

     "Come on. You told me that if I tell you where my birthmark was then we'd do it," Jackson said with a serious expression while pulling Mark closer to him.

     Mark was finally able to escape from Jackson's hold as he shouted, "That was a joke you asshole!" Then he quickly stood up from the bed and went in front of the mirror.

     "Shit, I seriously don't look good with this black hair," Mark stated as he was staring at himself in the mirror.

     Jackson looked away; he knew what this meant for Mark. He was slowly dying, and Jackson couldn't take it. Seeing him look like that pained him more and more.

     "What the hell," Mark suddenly said, making Jackson quickly run to where he was.

     "What's wrong?" He asked with a worried expression.

     Mark looked at Jackson and showed him his hands, "M-My nails...they're turning purple," Mark said in horror.

     Jackson tried not to show his surprise as he grabbed Mark hands and kissed them. Mark didn't stop him. Instead, he continued to look at Jackson with a small smile. After a week, the two became closer than expected. Maybe even close enough to make Mark fall in love with Jackson like how Jackson wanted.

     "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright," Jackson nervously stated.

     Mark continued to smile. Then he pulled his hands away from Jackson and said, "Why do you keep saying that? It's not like I'm going to die or anything."

     Jackson was shocked by what Mark just said, so he quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and said, "Didn't I tell you to never say that!" Jackson suddenly shouted at him.

     "J-Jackson, let go...you're h-hurting me."

     Jackson saw Mark's pained expression so he quickly lets go of him. Then he slowly fell on his knees and told Mark, "Please don't say that again."

     Mark sighed and kneeled in front of Jackson. He looked at him with concern as he said, "Alright, I won't. Now stop acting like that. You're scaring me."

     Jackson softly held Mark's cheeks and said, "I don't want you to say that you're dying. Because if you leave me like this...I might just beg our King to just die with you."

- END -