TAEIL QUICKLY TOOK JIHOON'S wallet on the floor and placed it on his chair. He turned his head to look at Jackson to check if he saw it too, but it seemed like he didn't, so Taeil sighed and closed his eyes in relief.

     Then it sank in.

     PYO JI HOON WAS THE GUY IN HIS DREAMS?! 

     It didn't make sense at first, but then Taeil remembered how Jackson would change the topic whenever he talked about it. Sometimes he even got mad when Taeil keeps on talking about it. Is it because Jackson knew that it was Jihoon all along? Now it made perfect sense! Jackson didn't want Taeil to get close to Jihoon again because he found out he was an Arc!

     But wasn't that unfair? He could have Mark all he wants, but Taeil can't even reunite with his childhood friend? Ever since the day Jackson made "friends" with an angel, everything changed between the two groups. Like simply talking to them wouldn't be a big deal anymore like before.

     Well, Taeil needed to know what to do first. He needed to know how they became close, how they separated, why Jackson hates the shit out of him, and why he can't he remember a thing. But first, why DOES Jackson hate Jihoon? It's obvious that Jackson hated him even before he found out he was an Arc, so what could the reason be? 

     Taeil's been having these dreams even before he met the Arcs and the rest of his brothers, so why does Jackson hate his guts? Is it because he was somehow involved with Taeil's so-called hospital scene?

     "Hey!"

     Taeil was brought back to the real world when he saw Jihoon handing him papers.

     "Your paper's on top, pass the other papers at the back," said Jihoon as he was handing Taeil their previous test papers. But Taeil looked at Jihoon and accidentally started staring at his face like a pervert. He was trying to remember his face but there was nothing, and it made Taeil's head hurt instead.

     "Hey Mr. Lee, are you going to get the papers, or am I going to throw it at your face?" Jihoon suddenly asked with a low voice, making Taeil flinch. 

     "Oh, yeah. Sorry." Taeil quickly took the papers and passed the rest of it at the back. Then he looked back at Jihoon and thought, "I can't fucking remember your face!"

     Taeil was thinking hard, but then he realized something that surprised him as well. Could it be that because of that accident in his dream, he lost the memories he had with Jihoon?

     "Is that it?" Taeil asked himself before resting his chin on his table. While he was staring at the back of Jihoon's head, Taeil forced himself to close his eyes and fall asleep. And like the sleeping expert that he is, he did fall asleep.

     "Hey Taeil, listen to this." A familiar voice stated.

     "What is it this time?" Taeil asked without opening his eyes. He was sitting under a tree when someone suddenly placed an earset on his left ear. When he opened his eyes, he saw the faceless man sitting beside him.

     Without saying anything, the music played...

You look so bad, I was wrong...

I don't know written English but I'm silent, cause I'm a Trouble Maker

You can slap my face; I'm not pretending to lose

Even though I lay out plenty of poor excuses, I'm in your hands

Look at me, stop turning your head

I just want to watch a movie tonight

How is it that even your sulking is cute

Hm? Looks like you just smiled a bit, I'm right..

I'll do better next time, I won't make more excuses

So that curses don't come out from your pretty lips again.

     "What was that all about hyung?"  Taeil asked the moment the music ended.

     "It's a song." The man answered.

     "I know it's a fucking song. I'm not stupid."

     "Yeah, but it's a song...that I wrote for you." The man continued, surprising Taeil. His reaction made the man look sad, "I'm sorry,"  he said instead.

     "Don't be." Taeil immediately answered.

     "I know that you're hurt okay, so stop putting a tough act. I know that you're mad at me that I chose this dream of mine over you, but you need to understand that I'm doing this for us." The man explained, but it only left Taeil feeling irritated.

     "Can you just shut up?! You talk too much."  Taeil answered instead, making the man sigh.

     "Taeil, I don't want us to fight again." He told him. But when Taeil closed his head, the man touched his hand and said, "I love you. You know that, right?"

     Taeil was surprised when he heard the bell ring. His eyes were red, and when he looked around the room, he realized that the Arcs and the rest of his classmates were gone except for his brothers.

     "H-Hyung?" Taeil confusingly asked himself.

NOTE: 'Hyung' is what a younger male calls to an older male. It can also mean older brother, but you don't necessarily have to be siblings to call each other that.

     "Man, I'm so hungry," Suho stated as he and the rest of the Demons stood up from their seats.

     Jackson stood up as well and went to the others. Taeil quickly fixed his things and followed, and then all of them went out of the room and proceeded to Minhyuk and Hyunseung's classroom.

     "Hey, I just noticed that the two of you haven't been talking recently. What's the matter? We're brothers here, we should talk about things that bother us," Suho suddenly stated out of the blue while they were walking down the hallway.

     "What the hell are you talking about? We talk all the time," Jiyong blurted out.

     Sunggyu face palmed himself, irritated that his brother didn't get it, "He wasn't talking about you, you idiot."

     Jiyong looked at Taeil and Jackson and finally understood what Suho was trying to say. But before he could say anything, they finally arrived in front of Hyunseung and Minhyuk's classroom.

     "Hey guys," Minhyuk said as he saw his brothers arrive. Then Hyunseung went to Jackson and held his shoulder, "Mark said he'll visit you later. He and his brothers are going to do something today."

     Jackson didn't answer but nodded his head instead.

     "What's wrong with you?" Minhyuk asked as he saw Jackson's dark aura.

     "He and Taeil are having an argument about something that we don't know about," Suho answered for them.

     Hyunseung and Minhyuk looked at each other, and then they looked at their leader who only shrugged his shoulder as an answer since he also didn't know why the two were arguing.

     "Anyway, let's grab some lunch," Jiyong stated, and everyone agreed. While they walked their way to the cafeteria, Sunggyu – the guy in the middle – suddenly stopped, making the rest of the Demons stop from walking as well.

     "Where's everyone?" He asked with a confused expression.

     "Aren't they in the cafeteria?" Hyunseung answered calmly. It was obvious that he was hungry and didn't want to waste any more time. But Sunggyu disagreed and said, "No, there should be noises coming from downstairs. But listen closely. Nothing's there."

     Everyone followed what Sunggyu said. They listened to the environment around them. And it was true. Nothing was there to be heard.

     "He's right," Taeil stated.

     "Something's off here. Did someone stop time again?" Minhyuk then asked. But before anyone could answer, Jiyong's eyes suddenly widened from shock when he saw something approach them. Without any hesitation, he shouted, "Look out!"

     The Demons quickly ducked on what seemed to be a dislocated naked human. Jiyong then summoned his demonic scepter and pointed it towards the creature. Electricity and fire came out of the scepter that quickly made it unconscious.

     The seven sons stood straight and backed away on the frightening image in front of them. It was the first time they saw something as ugly and disturbing as that. Its flesh looked like it was melting, and it seemed to be covered in slashes and bruises. The face was disoriented too. It didn't have a nose, its all-white eyes were popping out. Its jaw was also pulled down, making it look like the mouth was forcefully opened.

     Black liquid went out of its mouth, which the Demons suspected was blood.

     "I-Is that a fucking ghoul?! Because when Kharon described it during our lessons, that fucking fits the description!" Minhyuk shouted as he stared at the unconscious ghoul in front of them.

     "Looks like it," Jiyong answered as the scepter vanished from his hand.

     Sunggyu patted Jiyong's back and said, "Thanks Jiyong. You did great there."

     "No problem. But where the fuck did that thing come from?" Jiyong asked while staring at the unconscious ghoul. He wasn't really expecting an answer, but when he heard a voice, the hair on his skin stood up.

     "L-looks like t-this shit hole...followed me h-here. T-that King...really doesn't know how to...g-give up." Someone stated.

     Everyone lifted their head up. Their eyes widened from shock when they saw who the owner of the voice was.

     "Kharon!"

     The sons couldn't believe what they saw. Their usual strong and arrogant guardian was now weak and covered in blood. They couldn't say a thing that it made Kharon chuckle. "N-Nice seeing...y-you again...k-kids," he stated. But because of how weak he was, he almost fell down. Good thing Hyunseung immediately ran to him so he could assist him.

    "What the hell happened to you?!" Suho shouted as he and the rest of the Demons ran to where their guardian was.

     "I j-just escaped from the...K-King. I g-guess...he found out...I was g-gone...so he sent these g-ghouls to chase after m-me. I've...been a-attacked by 50 of that just...earlier so I look like...s-shit right now," Kharon struggled to answer.

     "Fifty?!" Everyone asked in unison.

     "Yeah, I'm out of e-energy...s-so can I ask you a favor and bring me to... some s-safe place? Your F-Father's told me...t-their massage for you...s-so please h-hurry," Kharon stated, then he suddenly coughed some blood out from his mouth.

     "Our Fathers?" Hyunseung asked in confusion, and Kharon weakly nodded.

     "We'll look for a good spot. Minhyuk and Jackson, help Hyunseung carry Kharon," Sunggyu commanded. Then Jackson and Minhyuk went to Kharon and helped him stand up.

     "But what about him?" Taeil asked as he was still staring at the ghoul.

     Kharon looked closely at the ghoul on the floor, and then his eyes turned red as he shouted with all his might, "Begone!" Then the ghoul was suddenly set on fire before vanishing in thin air.

     Sunggyu then looked at Suho and said, "Suho, get us out of here and bring us to where we tortured Mark."

     Jackson looked uncomfortable by how Sunggyu described it, but the leader ignored the reaction as Suho nodded his head in understanding. Suho closed his eyes, and the demons were instantly teleported to an abandoned warehouse. 

     Minhyuk, Jackson, and Hyunseung placed Kharon at the chair that brought memories back to Jackson, but he didn't say anything about it anymore since he knew that the situation that they were in didn't need it.

     Kharon coughed blood as soon as he sat down, worrying everyone even more.

     "Want some water?" Sunggyu asked as he was patting Kharon's back.

     "N-No...we don't...h-have...much time," Kharon stated. He was forcing himself to speak for the sake of the Demons.

     "Y-your conversation w-with...Ruler Satan (Sunggyu's Father)...t-that was the...l-last one. T-they were locked up b-by the King. T-The king is very mad at...all of you. Not just b-because of the incident...with Jackson...but with Hyunseung as well..."

     The sons became serious. Their hearts started pounding fast. They finally saw how cruel the King is. They just took it for granted since they knew they were princes.

     "What does he want from us!? Is he a psychopath?!" Jiyong shouted.

     "Y-You might be wondering...w-why it's happening o-only now. Your fathers...t-tried their best...to stop him."

     The atmosphere changed and the Demons looked at each other with sad expressions. What could they even do? They can't just go to hell and defeat their King. They can't even defeat Kharon!

     "P-please be careful...from now on...my princes." Then out of nowhere, Kharon slowly went down on his knees and bowed in front of the seven deadly sons.

     "W-What are you-" Sunggyu was cut off when Kharon spoke again, "Y-You have made me...and your fathers...very proud...I am v-very happy...to s-serve you." Right after that, Kharon started vomiting black blood. But when the demos looked closer, it was actually leeches.

     "Kharon!" Everyone shouted in unison.

     "O-Oh no...I-I need to...h-hurry," Kharon stated as he wiped his mouth with his trembling hand.

     "Kharon, what's going on?! You need to rest! Let's talk about this tomorrow okay?!" Minhyuk insisted. He was about to approach their guardian, but Kharon only pushed him away, "N-No...your fathers...your fathers told m-me that...you should....y-you should..." But before he could finish his sentence, Kharon suddenly looked upward and started screaming, making everyone cover their ears by how loud it was. It was like the sound Kharon was making came from thousands of birds.

     Soon after his eyes started to turn black, and then veins in his face appeared.

     "What's happening to him!?" Suho shouted, still covering his ears. 

     Kharon was still screaming his hearts out. Black smoke started coming out from the floor, and that smoke slowly turned into hands that grabbed hold of Kharon's body.

     "Fuck, what should we...what should we..." Minhyuk didn't know what to do. This never happened to them before.

     Jiyong was about to summon his weapon once again, but Sunggyu quickly grabbed his hand to stop him, "No, we might get affected by what's happening to him. I don't want to say this but...it's better if we do nothing."

     The sons were shocked at what their leader said, but they can't help but agree. If something happens to them now, then they can't do anything for Kharon or for their Fathers anymore.

     "Kharon! What should we do?!" Taeil shouted, "What did our Fathers want us to do?!"

     Kharon looked at the demons, and blood-tear fell from his eyes before he could vanish.

     The whole room fell silent. Everyone was shocked to the point where they couldn't even say anything. Everything just happened so fast that they don't even know what was happening anymore. 

     "W-What the fuck just happened?" Minhyuk asked, finally breaking the tense aura lurking around the room.

     "So what now?" Jackson asked. When everyone looked at him, he continued, "Do we pretend like nothing happened today? I know what you're all thinking. I'm not stupid. I know that you think that this is all happening because of me. Alright, I admit it. I was a fool to fall in love with our enemy. But don't you see what's happening now? The real enemies aren't the Arcs. We've been blinded from the start."

     "Then what do we need to do? Do you have a fucking idea what our Fathers wanted to say?" Jiyong asked, but Jackson didn't answer him.

     "Let's just stick to what our Fathers first instructed us to do, and that's not to get involved with third parties. Our Father's warned us about what the King could do to the people who would be attached to us. So that's what we need to concentrate on. We also need to be careful for now on. If possible, starting today, we stay at one house until we have a chance to talk to our fathers again. Is that clear?" Sunggyu instructed, trying his best to act strong for the sake of his brothers.

     "Yes, brother!" Everyone answered in unison.

     "So this is the real shit now? This is what we've been training to do for the past months. To hide from our so-called creator?" Suho asked.

     "We're not hiding. We're just waiting for what we really need to do," Sunggyu answered.

     "Well, let's go before those weird black hands arrive again," Hyunseung suggested, and everyone agreed and went back to HAU as if nothing happened.

     The Demons were walking down the hallway like usual, but this time, black aura could literally be seen around them. After what happened to Kharon, the Demons weren't in the mood to even scare anyone because their presence alone made the students move away.

     "Hey! Demons!" Someone shouted at the perfectly wrong moment.

     The Demons looked in front and realized that the Arcs were already standing right in front of them in the middle of the hallway.

     "You alright assholes?" Lay asked as he curiously examined the faces of the Demons.

     "Jackson? What's going on?" Mark worriedly asked, but Jackson didn't answer him either.

     "What the hell do you fuckers want? As you can see, we're not in a good mood to have an argument with you," Sunggyu said with his voice full of anger.

     Junhyung took a step forward and said, "We're not here to fight. We're here to tell you that everyone went missing earlier and then your fucking ghoul attacked us like mad. We almost got hurt you know. If you want to play that game, we can play along with you assholes."

     The Arcs thought the demon would say something back, but the demons looked at each other with shocked expressions, making the Arcs look confused.

     "Wait. Don't tell me you-" Hyunseung cuts Junhyung off and said, "Even though we fucking hate you bastards, we didn't ask that ghoul to attack you. Because for your information, we were attacked as well."

     The news left the Arcs speechless.

     "You gotta be kidding me," Junhyung stated in disbelief. Then Seunghyun went to stand beside their leader and said, "Why would a creature of your world attack you? It's not because we're worried or anything, but it doesn't sound right you know. You're all princes. Why would the servants of hell attack you?"

     "That's a question we're not going to answer. We're still rivals remember? So don't worry because we can handle ourselves. Brothers, let's go." 

     Sunggyu and the rest of the Demons walked past the Arcs, but before they could completely leave, Junhyung told them, "I still made a promise that I'll offer myself to you. Well, angels don't break their promises. And that promise doesn't just involve making homework and projects. We can help you if you're in trouble or if-"

     Junhyung was cut off once again, but this time, it was Jiyong's turn to speak, "We don't need your fucking help, so leave us alone."

    "Put your pride down for once Kwon Jiyong. Something is bothering you and we all know that you don't have a solution for it," Sungjae stated, and Minhyuk went in front of him and asked, "Why? Would you have a solution?" 

     Sungjae didn't back down and took a step closer, "Chaos. Your hell is in chaos, am I correct?"

     Sunggyu clenched his fist and looked at Sungjae angrily, "You know nothing," he stated. But Sungjae continued anyway, "We're angels. There are things that we know before you could even hear about it."

     Sunggyu finally went forward and pulled Minhyuk away from Sungjae. He clenched his fist harder and told him, "Fine. We do have a problem, and it's a big one. And you know why we're having that kind of problem? Well, it's because we fucking ruined our plans for the sake of saving your stupid brother!"

     The Arcs were suddenly quiet. Jackson quickly looked at Mark, but Mark turned around so he couldn't be able to see any of the Demons. It was obvious he felt guilty about it.

     "So if you want to fucking help us, leave us alone." Then Sunggyu walked away, and the rest of the Demons followed except for Jackson. Jackson went to where Mark was and pulled Mark towards him. He softly kissed Mark's forehead and told him, "You were the victim. You were the person we tricked. You don't have to feel guilty about anything, so don't worry."

     Mark nodded his head as an answer. Jackson kissed his forehead for the second time before finally following behind his brothers. When he was gone, Woohyun looked back at the Arcs and asked, "What's going on with the Demons? Or rather, what the fuck is their king doing to them?"

    Without looking back at him, Junhyung answered, "I don't know. But if their king can attack his own princes, then imagine what he can do to us."

*****

The low church bell rang. Taeil and Jackson stood up from their seats and went to Sunggyu, Suho, and Jiyong as soon as they finished fixing their things.

     "So, what do we do now?" Taeil asked Sunggyu who was thinking of a plan to work things out.

     "Let's all go home today, and then tomorrow we'll start staying at my house. Pack your things and don't tell your mother's about what's happening to our Fathers. I'll go to Hyunseung and Minhyuk and inform them about this. You four should go first," Sunggyu instructed.

     "Alright," Suho answered.

     Jackson and Taeil were supposed to go home together, but since they were still in bad terms with each other, Jackson went with Sunggyu to fetch Mark. 

     Suho and Jiyong looked at each other. Jiyong sighed and looked back at Taeil and said, "Come on. I'll give you a ride," he stated, draping his arm around Taeil's shoulder and pulling him out of the room so he wouldn't have the chance to complain.

     After Jiyong's generous offer, Taeil safely arrived home. His mother was still at work so he immediately went to his room and locked the door. He threw his bag on the floor before throwing himself in his bed. Then he stared at the ceiling and asked, "What the fuck is happening right now?"

     Taeil's brain was going to explode, so the only way to relax was by...you guessed it...sleeping.

     "Taeil! Wake up!"  The familiar voice asked once again as soon as Taeil's dream started.

     "What the fuck do you want now?" Taeil asked, slowly lifting his head up from the table, only to see the faceless man squatting in front of him.

    The man leaned close and answered, "Class is over. We need to look for Jackson or he might get mad again."

     Taeil wanted to complain, but he lazily stood up from his seat and grabbed his backpack instead. He and the faceless man headed outside to look for their friend Jackson. While walking, the man said, "Hey, remember the audition I took for the new guitarist of the band that I like?"

     "Yeah?" 

     The man stopped walking, making Taeil stop walking too. Then, he suddenly grabbed Taeil's shoulder and shouted, "I got picked!"

     Taeil stared back at him and didn't say anything. His "no-reaction" reaction made the excited smile on the man's face fade.

     "Hey, I just told you that I got in!" He told him again, hoping Taeil just didn't hear it the first time.

     Taeil yawned and scratched the back of his head, "Then what the fuck do you want me to do? Jump around? I'm too sleepy to even smile right now."

     "Well at least congratulate me." The man said with a pout before letting go of Taeil's shoulders.

     "Congratulations," Taeil said back with no hesitation.

     "What the hell?! That was lifeless as fuck!" The man complained, but he smiled anyway and continued, "They said I need to train next month before I really become a part of their band. So by the end of this semester, I'm leaving for Tokyo."

     The news obviously surprised him, but Taeil pretended like he wasn't interested as he answered,"I see."

     "Again with that same lifeless reaction? When the fuck are you going to show me that you're concerned about me? You're not even proud? Come on Taeil." The man asked, but this time, he couldn't contain his disappointment.

      "I'm fucking hurt right now asshole."

     Taeil woke up once again, but this time he was gasping for air. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 11 in the evening, and he still hasn't changed his clothes. He sat up from his bed and looked at his pet snail Acedia who was inside his glass container.

     "Dad, are you alright?" he asked. Then he lazily stood up from his bed and changed his clothes. 

     Taeil's mother was home since the lights downstairs were already turned off. So Taeil sneaked out of their house so he wouldn't wake her up. He went to the mailbox and opened a secret compartment that his a pack of cigarettes. But the moment he took it out, a memory quickly flashed in his head.

     "Stop smoking," a voice suddenly stated.

     "Smoking makes me feel awake,"  Taeil answered.

     "Just stop smoking. It's bad for your health." The man insisted, but Taeil ignored him and continued smoking anyway. So the man snatched the cigarette from him and used it himself instead.

    "Hey! Why would you use it?! I thought it was bad for the health?!"

     "If it can make you stop smoking then I'd use all of it."

    Taeil dropped the cigarette pack on the floor and started slamming his head with his fist. His head started aching because of it, but the dreams still felt more painful than that.

     "What the fuck is happening to me?! It keeps getting worse!" Taeil shouted at himself.

      Images started flashing in front of Taeil that he couldn't help but vomit. The voices grew louder and louder too, so Taeil ended up running away while covering his ears. He didn't even care where his feet would bring him.

     "Stop messing with my head!"  He shouted to himself as he kept on running away. As he continued running, he noticed a dark figure standing just a few meters away from him. Taeil stopped to see what it was, but then the figure spoke as if hundreds of people were talking at the same time, "Are you afraid Prince Lee Taeil?"

     Taeil started having cold sweats as he heard the figure speak. He was slowly taking a step back, but then he saw that the figure was moving even closer to him the more he went backward.

     "W-what are you?" he asked.

     "I was sent by our loving King to help you."

     "Y-You're lying! H-he would never help us!"

     "But he is my prince. Now take my hand and all your worries will be gone. Your memories that were locked away and everything you ever worried about will vanish once you hold my hand. Come Lee Taeil. Take this sinner's hand..."

     Taeil wanted to answer back, but then his eyes widened when he realized something, "This happened before. You took my memories away, didn't you? That's why I can't remember anything!" He concluded. But then the figure's eyes suddenly turned red, and he immediately started running towards Taeil, "Come to me Lee Taeil!" 

     Taeil froze in his place because of shock. All he could do was close his eyes and wait for the impact. But the figure stopped midway. Then, he started swaying side to side, "Then as the King had instructed...die!"

     The figure transformed into a ghoul and came running towards him again. Taeil was still frozen in place. He stood still as he watched the ghoul run towards him like lightning. But when he was only a few inches away from him, the ghoul was cut into two. But instead of blood, it vanished like smoke. 

     The area surrounding Taeil ended up being covered with black smoke. Taeil squinted his eyes and then saw a man standing behind the spot where the ghoul was supposed to be in, "In the name of the lord, vanish evil creature!"

     The man's hands were covered with bright light, and he slowly absorbed the black smoke.

     "W-What was-"

     "Are you alright?" Another voice asked.

     Taeil lifted his head and saw Woohyun holding his sword. Then with a few taps on the floor, it vanished from his hand.

     "That was close. Good thing we were passing by or you might have been dead by now," someone added. Taeil looked back at the man with the glowing hands and saw Pyo Jihoon, AKA the man who Taeil suspect is the person in his dreams.

     "What's happening prince of sloth? Why are these demonic creatures after you?" Jihoon asked. Even though they were supposed to be enemies, he didn't shy away from showing his concern.

     Taeil gulped and hugged himself as a form of protection, "T-thanks for the help, but I need to go."

     "Want us to walk you home?" Woohyun offered, but it sounded more sarcastic than sincerity.

     Taeil was already walking away as he answered, "I'm fine...j-just...leave."

     "What's going on Lee?" Woohyun asked once again as he tried not to laugh at Taeil who looked like he was about to piss himself. But then Taeil suddenly turned around to face them. With blood tears in his eyes, he looked at Jihoon and said, "Hyung...I'm scared."

     Woohyun was taken aback. He didn't expect Taeil to actually cry.

      "H-Hey...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" Woohyun was cut off when he saw Jihoon approach Taeil. He stood right in front of him and asked, "What did you just say? Did you just call me...hyung?"

- END -