"What happened?" Jae-ha asked, opening the doors so Hak and Yona could enter. He was still trying to make sense of the situation as he led them to his bedroom, ignoring Kija's wide eyes as Hak put the wounded man down on the bed. "Is that Soo-Won?"

"Yes, we'll explain later. We need to do something about this," Yona said. Jae-ha had never seen her like this, with tears streaming down as she tried to remove the bloody clothing that stuck to Soo-Won's chest with trembling fingers. The demon had his eyes closed tight, his body twitching with spasms every now and then, pain written across his face.

"Let me do this, Yona dear," Jae-ha gently pushed her hands aside and finished the task. "Oh, fuck," he swore when he saw the gaping hole of a bullet dangerously close to Soo-Won's heart. He threw a questioning look at Hak, who still hadn't said anything. His body was rigid with worry as he watched his boyfriend grow paler with every passing second.

"Demons," he explained. "They had heavenly weapons. The bullet is made from heavenly steel."

Jae-ha wondered when all the surprises would stop. Even for him, the past hours had held way too many of them, and it was only his first night back in the city. He still had a lot of questions, but it would be better to ask them later. Right now, he had to focus on the demon dying in front of him; it almost felt like déjà-vu.

Before any of them could do anything else, however, they were interrupted by Kija's scream.

"Is he... a demon? What did you do to him? What did you do?"

He struggled against the handcuffs that bound his wrist, eyes flickering red even though he was still too weak to fully transform. Hak grabbed hold of his arms, stopping him from reaching Jae-ha's neck. Summoning a key, Jae-ha tossed it to Hak, not even bothering to look at Kija.

"Take him to the living room and make sure he doesn't escape. Yona and I can handle this."

He knew Hak had done as he was told when the room became suddenly quieter. Jae-ha raised his eyes to Yona, motioning towards the first aid kit that lay on the floor.

"Get that for me, will you, Yona dear? I'm gonna need your help with this. Can you do it?"

Even though she was still crying, Yona's expression hardened in determination and she nodded. Getting the supplies Jae-ha had asked for, both of them set to work on Soo-Won's wound. It was more difficult than treating Kija; the bullet remained lodged in his chest, and they had to get it out before they could do any more. If it were a regular bullet, a demon's body would be able to dissolve it easily and it would be healed in mere moments, but this was the first time Jae-ha had seen one made from heavenly steel; the damage was considerably worse.

"I'll hold him down while you get the bullet out, okay?" Jae-ha asked, moving so he was resting his weight on Soo-Won's legs, keeping him from moving them as he pressed his arms down on the mattress. He wished the demon would faint already; this would be a lot less complicated if he was unconscious like Kija had been. "He has to stay quiet. We don't want to alert the entire building."

"Okay." Yona whispered something in Soo-Won's ear, running her fingers through his sweat-plastered hair. Whatever she'd said, he seemed to have understood; his muscles tensed under Jae-ha's grip as Yona prepared to take the bullet out.

It didn't take long for Jae-ha to lose track of time as he helped Yona stop the bleeding and close the wound. He had to admire Soo-Won's strength; he stayed conscious during most of it, not a sound leaving his lips even when it was clear that he was in pain. By the time they were finished, however, his body had gone slack, his breathing the only sign that he was still alive.

Yona collapsed by his side, shaking with the sobs she'd been holding back. Her hands gripped Soo-Won's tightly, and she raised teary eyes to Jae-ha.

"Thank you," she said. Jae-ha simply nodded, feeling his heart constrict at the sight of his friend. With the excuse of getting Hak, he left the room, passing through the bathroom first to get rid of the blood on his hands. He looked in the mirror, at the red spots that also dirtied his skin and pants, and sighed. He'd need another shower.

On the living room, Jae-ha found Kija sitting on the couch, with Hak standing across from him. Both of them looked exhausted, but as soon as Jae-ha cleared his throat, they turned to look at him. Hak got up immediately, his eyes going straight to the blood all over his body.

"It might take a few days," Jae-ha said, "But he'll be fine. He's asleep now. Yona's still with him, if you want to go in there."

"Thank you, Droopy Eyes," Hak said, relief etched across his face. "We'll leave as soon as he wakes up."

Jae-ha shook his head, smiling.

"It almost sounds like you don't know me, Hak. Stay here for as long as you need. I'll take some clean clothes and sheets for you later."

Hak threw him another grateful look before he left the room, leaving Jae-ha alone with Kija. The handcuffs lay on the table along with the key, but Jae-ha made no move to get them.

"You should be thankful that the blood in your clothes is dry, or I'd be really mad about my couch," he said, but there was no response. "Thought you'd try to escape."

"I did," Kija admitted, bitterness lacing his words as he traced the bandages on his side. "That demon," he added, "The angel - Hak, is it? - said he's their... boyfriend."

"Yes," Jae-ha agreed, looking curiously at him.

"That can't be."

"Why not?"

"Because," Kija said, his hands closing into fists on his lap, "They're angels, he's a demon. It's obvious that something like that could never work out."

If it were a while ago, Jae-ha might have agreed with Kija. He'd said something similar to Hak the previous night, when he doubted the existence of a village where both races lived in peace. As much as he was against the war, that didn't mean he believed everyone could suddenly get along with each other. However, after seeing the way Yona and Hak had been desperate while Soo-Won was dying, Jae-ha had started thinking that maybe there could be more than one exception, if only strong feelings like theirs were involved.

"I think they'd disagree," he said, "after being together for years."

Kija shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word Yona entered the room. She looked wearily at Kija, but Jae-ha made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"I've got him under control, don't worry," he said, to which Kija mumbled something unintelligible. "Why don't you sit down, Yona dear? You must be tired."

She shook her head, motioning to her blood-soaked clothes.

"Hak said I should get out of the room for a while," she said, her voice still raw from crying. "And you probably want an explanation, Jae-ha."

Jae-ha couldn't deny that she was right. Curiosity was eating away at him, and none of the possibilities that had been running through his head seemed to make sense.

"Hak said you were attacked by demons."

"We were."

"But how..."

"I don't know," Yona interrupted before Jae-ha could finish his question. "I have no idea how they found out about our relationship, since we were careful about where and when we met. But somehow, they knew. And they must have followed Soo-Won - I'm afraid we were a bit... careless today." She glanced at Kija, and Jae-ha was sure there was something she wasn't mentioning on purpose. "There were five of them... and they all had heavenly weapons."

During all his years on Earth, Yona and Hak had been some of the strongest fallen angels Jae-ha had met. They were skilled in battle, and taking on five demons shouldn't have been that difficult for them, especially if they had Soo-Won fighting by their side. Jae-ha guessed that the shock of seeing the demons using weapons designed to kill their own kind must have put them in a disadvantage; even he was still trying to accept that turn of events.

For a moment, he'd forgotten that Kija was still in the room, but was reminded of his presence just in time to block his path towards Yona. Kija struggled against Jae-ha's hold, suddenly desperate in contrast to his rather calm demeanor until then.

"You're lying," he hissed. The anger Jae-ha had seen in his eyes earlier had returned, but there was also something else - fear, perhaps. "We would never kill any of our own, angel, what use would we have for those filthy weapons of yours?"

"We never thought it was possible either, until Soo-Won was shot. " Yona looked at Kija with something akin to pity. "By one of you."

Kija's nails dug painfully in Jae-ha's arm and he gritted his teeth, but before he could protest again, Jae-ha asked, "How did you escape?"

"Hak managed to kill the one with the gun. I don't think... I've ever seen him angry like that." Yona paused, her eyes unfocused as if she were remembering the scene. "They got sloppy after that - I don't think they expected us to put up so much of a fight - and we took the chance to get Soo-Won and run. We might've been able to kill the rest if we stayed there, but if we did..."

"Soo-Won would have died," Jae-ha finished her sentence and Yona flinched at his words, nodding. "Didn't they follow you?"

"At first, but we lost them before coming here."

Jae-ha felt relief wash over him. He knew that Hak and Yona would never put him in danger deliberately, but in such a chaotic situation it was hard to be as careful. Nevertheless, he was glad to know there wasn't a chance of a bunch of demons breaking into his apartment anytime soon. Having two of them there was already more than enough.

They had a problem, though. Heavenly weapons were already rare enough to come by; a few angels still had the ones they brought with them from Heaven, but most had been lost over the years. Jae-ha knew there to be some angels who made a living by finding and selling those weapons, but it didn't explain how demons had gotten their hands on them.

While Yona finished her explanation, Kija had stepped away from Jae-ha, his body tense as he paced back and forth. Now, he stood in front of them, head raised in a silent challenge.

"Is the body still there?"

For a moment, neither Yona nor Jae-ha understood, so he asked once again.

"You said you killed one. Is his body still where you left it?"

"I don't know. They could've come back for him."

"Still, there's a chance he might be there, right?" Kija turned to look at Jae-ha. "I want to see him. If you want me to believe that what they're telling is the truth, take me to the place where they were attacked."

Jae-ha was taken aback by Kija's request. He was even more surprised that the demon was considering the possibility of believing them; based on the way he'd acted so far, it was unexpected, and Jae-ha couldn't help but suspect that it might be nothing more than a plan to help him escape.

Kija must have guessed what he was thinking, because he pointed to the handcuffs on the table and said, "Use those if you want. I don't care as long as you take me there."

Jae-ha looked questioningly at Yona, but she only shrugged.

"Fine," he agreed, "But we can't go now. It's broad daylight, so I can't fly there, and there's no way anyone is going out in this state." He motioned to their bloodied clothes. "We'll leave by nightfall."

"I'll tell Hak," Yona said, but Jae-ha shook his head.

"You two stay here with Soo-Won. I'll go with Kija."

Yona looked like she was going to argue, but she gave up at the last moment. Jae-ha was glad he wouldn't have to insist. It would be pointless for them to come with him; more people would only attract more attention, and Kija wasn't fully recovered yet, so keeping an eye on him would be easy. It would be better for her and Hak to care for Soo-Won until he woke up.

"I'm going to check on Hak and get clean clothes for everyone," Jae-ha said, "Can you watch Kija for me, Yona?"

She nodded, staring at Kija as if daring him to try to escape while she was there. Jae-ha laughed; he didn't think Kija would do it, not after his failed attempt with both him and Hak. Leaving the two of them in the room, Jae-ha went to the bedroom, getting the things they'd need from the closet. Hak was sitting on the chair by the bed, his eyes fixed on Soo-Won, but he moved to help Jae-ha take the bloody sheets from under the demon and replace them with clean ones.

"The clothes won't fit any of you perfectly," Jae-ha said, handing Hak pants and a shirt, "But it's better than nothing. You can use the bathroom to wash yourself if you want."

Hak thanked him, but he wasn't focused on Jae-ha. It was visible that he was struggling with something; it had never been easy for him to just stay still and wait, so Jae-ha knew just what was going through his friend's mind.

"I'll go back to the place later today. If I find anything that will help you figure out who did this, I'll tell you," he said.

"I can..."

"You can stay here with Yona and watch over your boyfriend. I can handle it."

They held each other's stares for a moment, until Hak sighed and shook his head.

"You're too stubborn, Droopy Eyes. But fine, I'll stay here. And I'll get someone to take care of the club for the night."

"Stubborn, me? You're one to talk," Jae-ha teased. It brought the tiniest of smiles to Hak's lips, though it was gone in a second. Satisfied that he'd at least gotten a reaction out of him, Jae-ha left the room, carrying clothes for Yona and Kija in his arms.

A while later, they were feeling refreshed after getting rid of all the blood. Kija had been a difficult case - first, he'd refused to wear an angel's clothes, but had reluctantly agreed after Jae-ha threatened to leave him behind that night if he didn't change. Then, when Jae-ha had followed him to the bathroom to guarantee he wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity to escape, he'd turned red and spent a good time stating that he couldn't strip with someone watching him. Jae-ha solved the problem by turning his back to Kija, though the demon kept muttering complaints under his breath as he washed himself.

As the evening drew near, Jae-ha had Hak and Yona explain where they were supposed to go. The place was nearly on the other side of the city, so he planned to leave as soon as the sun set. Even though it would've been better to wait until the middle of the night, when there were fewer people on the streets, the chances of them being attacked at that time would also increase, and Jae-ha had had more than enough confrontations in the past twenty-four hours.

Aside from the incident in the bathroom, Kija hadn't said a word to any of them during the whole afternoon. He sat on the couch, lost in thought, and Jae-ha found himself raising his eyes from the book he was reading every now and then, trying to imagine what the demon was thinking. He didn't try to start a conversation until a few hours before they were bound to leave, when he set a plate of food at the table in front of Kija.

"You're going to eat that," he said to the frowning demon.

"Why do you even care?"

"You nearly died from blood loss and you haven't eaten anything since then. I don't want to have to deal with you fainting when we're out there. It'll be troublesome in case we get attacked."

"I'm not that weak," Kija protested, but after a while he reached for the plate, refusing to meet Jae-ha's eyes.

Jae-ha tried to hide his smile behind his own food. He was curious about Kija, but he was sure none of his questions would be answered; perhaps, if their search was successful, he could break through some of those walls. There seemed to be more to his attitude towards fallen angels than blind hate, and Jae-ha was determined to find out what it was.

By the time they were ready to leave, Soo-Won still hadn't woken up. Hak and Yona emerged from the bedroom with exhausted looks on their faces, repeating the directions for the last time and warning Jae-ha to be careful.

"You should try to get some rest," Jae-ha said after dismissing their worries. "You look like you could use some beauty sleep right now. It's good for the skin, you know."

"Shut up, Droopy Eyes," Hak said while Yona just laughed, giving Jae-ha a quick hug.

With Kija properly handcuffed, they stepped onto the balcony. As expected, the demon was against being carried, but Jae-ha reasoned that he wouldn't be able to climb any buildings with his hands shackled. Besides, it would take way too long for them to walk there; flying would be the fastest way. Eventually, Kija agreed, reluctance clear on his face as Jae-ha gathered him in his arms.

Even though Jae-ha had done the same before, it was strange to carry Kija when he wasn't unconscious. He was aware of how close they were, and the way his body felt warm against the cold air reminded him of their kisses the previous night. Even now, knowing what he really was, Jae-ha still felt tempted to bend forward and press his lips against Kija's.

Shaking his head, Jae-ha chastised himself for having such thoughts. This was not the time for that, especially because the only thing running through Kija's mind was probably how easy it would be to cut off Jae-ha's head if he could transform. They were almost arriving at their destination, so he should focus on looking out for any enemies that might still be around, not on kissing the one he was holding.

Jae-ha landed a few blocks away from the address Hak and Yona had told him. It was a commercial part of town, which meant that most buildings were empty at this hour; even still, Jae-ha and Kija moved slowly, sticking to a path that the street lights didn't reach. When they were about to enter the street where the ambush had happened, Jae-ha suddenly raised his arm to keep Kija from moving, instead pulling him flat against the building's corner. He leaned forward, peering at the dimly illuminated place, but there was no sign of movement.

"Stay close to me," he warned, releasing Kija and carefully moving away from their hiding spot.

They only had to walk a few steps to notice that the street was empty. According to Hak and Yona, the demon they'd killed had fallen in the middle of it - but there was no sign of a body. When Jae-ha looked closely, however, he noticed a few dark spots that could be dried blood on the asphalt.

"I knew it," Kija's voice startled him, trembling with anger. "They were lying. I knew it couldn't be true."

"Are you stupid? We told you there was a chance the others might have come back for the body already. See, there's still blood here," Jae-ha said, but Kija seemed to have ceased listening to him. His head was bowed down, but through the strands of hair that fell on his face Jae-ha could see that his eyes were red. The handcuffs were enough to keep him from fully transforming in his weakened state, but that didn't stop him from charging towards Jae-ha, who quickly dodged to the side, grabbing Kija from behind and holding his arms close to his body.

"Will you listen to me? If you just start thinking for a moment, you'll see-"

"I don't need to-"

It all happened really fast. Out of the corner of his eye, Jae-ha saw a flash of something gold flying towards them. He screamed "Watch out!" turning around so Kija was shielded by him. Pain pierced his back and his arms relaxed his hold; Kija took the opportunity to get away from him, his eyes fixed on the knife that protruded from between Jae-ha's shoulder blades. The handle was polished wood, but there was no mistaking the golden shine of the steel the blade was made of.

Four figures emerged from the darkness, all of them with red eyes and sharp claws, each one with a heavenly weapon in hand.

"Wait! I'm one of you!" Kija said, raising his arms to show them the handcuffs, but he had to dodge when the demon to his right swinged his sword at him, "Wait!"

In the meantime, Jae-ha had pulled the knife from his back, thankful that the material wasn't harmful to fallen angels. He got to his feet, summoning his dagger on his other hand just in time to stop another attack.

"Kija," he said through gritted teeth, knocking one of the demons unconscious and turning around to block another blow. "They don't care."

"Why are you doing this?" Kija managed to gasp, once again ignoring Jae-ha as the two remaining demons went after him. It was hard for him to dodge their attacks with his hands bound, but he was still agile, using his legs to kick one of them and make him drop his weapon. "I said I'm one of you!"

"Demons do not mingle with the filthiness of angels. You're not one of us," the demon Kija had just unarmed said, reaching towards his back. "You deserve to die."

"Kija!", Jae-ha screamed when he saw the man holding a gun. Pulling out the dagger he'd just pushed into his attacker's stomach, he threw himself against Kija, making them both fall to the ground as the sound of a shot rang through the air. Jae-ha didn't have time to check if Kija was okay; turning around, he barely aimed before releasing the blades he had in both hands. The remaining demons were too slow to dodge, crumbling like dolls when the heavenly weapons pierced their heads.

The street was suddenly silent. Jae-ha got up, making sure none of their enemies were still alive and gathering all their weapons before crouching down next to Kija. He still hadn't moved, his eyes wide in shock, and he flinched when Jae-ha put his hand on his shoulder.

"We should go back before more of them come," Jae-ha said, trying to sound as gentle as he could as he summoned the keys and released Kija's wrists. He waited, but Kija didn't try to attack him, so Jae-ha got up and extended his hand. "Are you hurt?"

Kija shook his head, allowing Jae-ha to help him up. He looked lost, completely different from what Jae-ha had seen before. It made sense that what had just happened would have an impact on him, but Jae-ha was worried about this drastic change. He opened his wings, hesitating before picking Kija up, wondering if he would still be okay with that.

Before he could ask him, Kija wound his arms around Jae-ha's neck, which prompted the other to put his hands behind his knees and back to pick him up. As if Jae-ha wasn't surprised enough, Kija pressed his face against his chest, bringing them even closer than when they'd flown on their way there.

"Let's go back," Kija said, his voice raw and muffled by Jae-ha's shirt. Leaving the questions for later, Jae-ha tightened his hold on the demon before taking off towards the night sky.