♥BuBeRa♥

You didn’t see it coming. You might have if you hadn’t blindly trusted Jinwoo. You regretted that now that you were standing in the kitchen of your apartment after the Jeju Island Incident. “Excuse me?” You asked. “I think that we should break up.” Jinwoo answered. You leant forward on the counter that separated you, your head dropped as you tried to figure out what it was that had brought him to this decision. “I…” It wasn’t you, you hadn’t changed but he had. There was nothing left for you to figure out. “Leave.” “You don’t have anything else to say? To ask?” You took a deep breath leveling your voice before finally looking at him. “Is it going to make a difference?” You asked. “Do you think it’ll make me feel better?” Jinwoo looked at you before sighing and turning towards the door. He stopped for a second before opening the door and leaving. When the door closed the tears fell freely as you dropped to your knees, your arms pressed against the doors of the island cabinets “he’s better then you now right, S rank hunter with his own guild, what the hell does he need you for?” You pulled your knees into your chest as you tried to regulate your breathing and stop the crying but in the end the only thing that you succeeded in doing was getting to the couch to cry yourself to sleep.

---

The next morning you woke up with a banging headache and an even worse neck ache. You groaned as you rolled off of the couch and trudged into the bathroom to get ready for work. Being part of the Hunter’s Guild meant that there was always work to be done. You were an A Rank healer after all. Your mum had been friends with Jinwoo’s so when his father disappeared, your mother helped her with Jin-ah and Jinwoo, which was why you both spent so much time together and often why you ended up healing him after his mother got sick. There were always times he’d come back with injuries that the healers at the dungeons couldn’t heal for him so you healed them. You had never once left him behind, you checked on him and his sister all the time even now that his mother was better. “That’ll change now.” You mumbled to yourself as climbed out of the shower. You felt your eyes tearing up again so instead of thinking about it anymore you just got dressed and headed out to work.

The first thing that you were faced with when you walked into the building was Hunter Cha, who had seemingly been waiting for you. “Miss (L/N) can I ask you something?” She seemed nervous, something you didn’t really understand considering she could lay you out in seconds if she tried. “How many times do I have to tell you to call me (Y/N)?” You sat in the chair next to her welcoming a distraction from your personal problems. “How can I help?” “You’ve known Hunter Sung for a long time right?” It was like someone had thrown cold water over you, why would she be asking about him now? Logically you knew it was because he saved her and much like everyone else was curious where that power came from. “(Y/N)?” She looked at you. “I have.” You finally answered. “Do you think that if I asked him that he would let me join his guild?” You closed your eyes as you leaned forward, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions but Jinwoo had a reason for leaving, he had said as much when he asked if you were going to ask why. She could be the reason, he saved her, he’s been watching her (something that you never addressed assuming he just saw her as someone to watch). You could tell her no, stop her from going to talk to him entirely but that wouldn’t be fair, it’s not her fault you got dumped. “The only way you’ll know is if you ask.” You shrugged “but shouldn’t you talk to Hunter Choi before doing all that?” “(Y/N)!” You looked over to where your name had been called from “Boss wants to talk to you.” “Be right there!” You called back more than happy to escape this conversation too.

It took no time for you to make it to Hunter Choi’s office knocking before being called in. “(Y/N) please sit.” He invited you to sit on the sofa opposite him. “Is there something that I can help you with?” You could tell that he was tense almost as if he expected for this conversation to go badly. What could you have possibly done or need to do that has made him so tense? “I’ll be direct. Do you plan to leave this Guild to join Hunter Sung?” You tensed and then relaxed in seconds as you realised what the concern was. “You don’t need to worry about that.” You looked down at your clasped hands clenching and unclenching around your knuckles. “No one would blame you for wanting to work with your partner.” Choi didn’t seem to believe you. “You really don’t have to worry about that, we are no longer together.” Your worlds came out bunched and fast it was a miracle he even heard them clearly enough to understand them. “You aren’t? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to pry.” He leaned forward, his hand placed on top of yours. “I’m glad you are not leaving, you would have been missed here.” “I’m glad that I’d be missed somewhere.” You should have said that in the presence of your boss but you couldn’t stop the words from coming out so before you said anything else you stood and left.

---

You looked down at your phone as it rang, Jin-ah. You thought you’d have more time than this, you had just gotten home. You couldn’t bring yourself to ignore the call, she might need your help. “(Y/N)?” “Hey kid.” You sat on the sofa kicking your feet up, already feeling like she was a million miles away. “What happened?” He must have told her. “I don’t know.” You answered honestly, there was no point in lying or trying to justify something that you still didn’t understand. “Jinwoo said that you weren’t going to work out, what happened? You guys were together so long.” Tears welled up at her confusion and sadness, you wished that you could explain it to her since it seemed that her brother wasn’t willing to. “I…” You couldn’t tell her what really happened that was just going to make Jinwoo look bad. Why do you care? Because you still loved him, you can’t turn that off, you don’t even know if you are angry at him. “Does this mean everything is going to change? We can still watch movies together right?” She asked. “Of course.” You looked at the wall, thinking of all the new excuses that you were going to have to come up with so you didn’t have to sit in that living room and possibly bump into him all the time. “I’ll come to you now though.” The determination in her voice made you smile. “That’s okay right?” “Yeah that’s okay.” You laughed, your heart settling slightly as you realised that not everything had to change, that you weren’t completely alone. “Now get some sleep, you have school in the morning.” “You promise that you're okay?” She stopped you dead in your tracks as a tear slid down your cheek. “I promise I will be. Good night Jin-ah.” You hung up the phone after that, letting the phone rest on your chest. “I will be.” You said to yourself again as you got up to make yourself something to eat before bed.

---

Movie night came faster than you thought it would. You had just about finished getting ready when Jin-ah knocked on the door. You opened the door and smiled as she jumped into your arms. “I missed you!” Jin-ah squeezed you tighter “There’s this new movie that I wanted to show you!” “Oh yeah?” You asked, stepping to the side and allowing her into the house. Jin-ah walked over to the sofa, opening her bag and pulling out some snacks that she seemed to have brought with her as you walked into the kitchen to get two cups.

The movie had gotten about half way through, Jin-ah had laid her head on your lap facing the TV but she rolled on to her back to look at you. “How are you?” “Same as I’ve always been.” You gently ran your hand over her head. “You're not lonely?” Jin-ah asked. “I’ve lived alone for a long time but you’ve come to visit me right now, so I’m not lonely.” You said softly. “I will always come see you.” Jin-ah’s eyes drooped as she fell asleep, you smiled as you leaned back and grabbed your phone dialing her mum’s name. “(Y/N) is there something that I can help you with?” She asked. “No, I just wanted to let you know that Jin-ah has fallen asleep here, she can stay here or I’ll drop her back when she wakes up, I just didn’t want you to worry.” You shifted slightly making sure not to wake her. “Thank you for looking out for her after everything that happened.” Miss Park said but all you can do is smile. “I’ll always be here for her, I grew up with you and Jin-ah too, so if you guys need anything just let me know.” You said. “How are you?” You knew that this question was coming but you still didn’t know if you could lie to her. “I’m fine.” You settled for something that wasn’t a lie. “Just fine?” She asked. “I’ll get better.” You said softly “it’ll just take some time.” “Well if you need anything then let us know.” Even though you had offered the same thing to her, you knew that you’d never actually ask anything of them; they deserve the time they have as a family. “Thank you.” You both said your goodbyes before you carefully carried Jin-ah to bed and then went to bed yourself.

---

The next morning you woke up before Jin-ah so you got some clothes ready for her to borrow and then started making breakfast. “Thanks for the clothes.” Jin-ah came into the kitchen taking a seat on the stool behind the island. “No problem, I was thinking we could have breakfast then I’ll drop you home.” You turned, sliding the plate in front of her. “Yay!” She cheered her hand flung up in the air before she started eating. “Are you sure that you want to drop me home? You might run into my idiot brother.” “Don’t call him an idiot.” You shoveled food into your mouth as you cleaned up after yourself. “He is an idiot.” She argued. “He’s not an idiot, he just wanted something different. People are allowed to move on.” You shrugged, finally turning to look at her “your brother loves you and you love him so don’t hate him for my sake, I will be okay, he hasn’t killed me. Don’t do that to yourself.” “But-” “You don’t love me any less, if you still love your brother. It doesn’t make you my enemy and I won’t be angry with you.” You leaned on the island knocking her nose “eat your food.”

After Jin-ah finished eating you drove her back home, you walked her up to the apartment. “I’ll speak to you later alright.” You hugged her and squeezed tighter. “I can come over next week right?” Jin-ah asked and you nodded. “Of course you can.” Before you could turn to walk away the door opened and the once person that you didn’t want to see today stood there. “What are you doing here?” Jinwoo asked. “Just dropping your sister home, she was with me last night.” You turned to walk away only to come face to face with Hunter Cha. “I’ll see you later Jin-ah.” You stepped around Hunter Cha before anyone else could say anything.

---

Jinwoo watched you leave with a sigh, he hadn’t meant to see anything this early, he honestly hadn’t meant to sound so harsh when he asked what you were doing there. He was just caught off guard. He took a moment before turning to Jin-ah “did you have a good time?” He asked. “Great.” Jin-ah attempted to walk past him, he frowned, gently catching her arm. “Are you mad at me?” His head tilted to the side as Jin-ah pulled her arm away. “We should talk about this later.” She answered walking into the apartment. Jinwoo turned back Cha scratching the back of his head. “Sorry about that.” He closed the door behind him as he walked towards her. “It’s not a problem, is something wrong?” Cha asked as she looked towards the door. “Nothing that you need to worry about.” They fell in step together as they headed out of the building. “Are you sure?” Cha asked. “Yeah.” Jinwoo answered “Come on, we’ve got a whole day ahead of us.”

---

By the end of the week a dungeon break in Jin-ah’s school brought you to the hospital. Miss Park had called you when she had gotten to the hospital Jin-ah had been taken to. “How is she?” You asked. “She’s okay, not injured, Jinwoo got there in time to save her.” Miss Park answered. “I am calling because I was wondering if you would come down to the hospital. I think Jin-ah would like to see you.” “Yeah, I’ll come see her.” You said softly “is she awake?” “Not yet.” She answered. “I’ll be there soon.”

When you got to the hospital Miss Park met you at the doors and brought you up to her room. By the time that you were up there she was already awake. “Hey, how are you doing?” You sat down next to her. “I-i’m okay.” She answered. “I’m not just talking about the physical.” You leaned forward on the bed. “How do you do that all the time?” She asked. “I do it so others don’t have to.” You wrapped your hand around hers “This feeling is not something that you should be ashamed of, I don’t think there’s anyone out there that doesn’t feel this when they are faced with monsters like that. It won’t go away but I’ll be here when you need me. Not to mention your mum and your brother will be there too.” “You promise?” She asked and you squeezed her hand in response. “Always.” You leant your elbow against the bed, you’d leave when Miss Park came back but for now you just scrolled through stories and made sure that you weren’t called in for anything. You heard someone walking into the room and your eyes widened as Jinwoo stopped just inside. You should have known that this would happen of course he came to see his sister in hospital. “I didn’t expect you to be here.” Jinwoo looked at his sister. “I heard what you said to her, thank you for saying that to her.” “I wasn’t just saying it.” You looked at her before standing. “I meant it, it doesn’t matter what happens between us, I’ve been there as much as you have for her and I’m not abandoning her because of what happened between us.” “I didn’t mean to-” “I know that you didn’t mean to.” You stood from where you were sitting and walked towards the door “but this doesn’t change the fact that you did it anyway.” “You don’t want to stay until she wakes up again?” Jinwoo asked. “I don’t think that she needs to be subjected to us awkwardly tip-toeing around each other.” You attempted to walk past him, truly only wanting to get away from him. “Wait-” “Jinwoo I have to go.” You continued past him.

---

“Are you sure that you want to do this? We have another healer that we can ask.” Hunter Choi asked softly. By now there had been reports of Hunter Cha and Jinwoo dating and by extension your break up. “I’ll be fine.” You answered, continuing to get ready. “You're sure?” Choi asked one more time. “I don’t think we have time to be figuring this out.” You pointed to the red gate and shrugged “I think we should head in there and make sure that he’s not dead right?” “You think he could be dead?” Choi asked, you noticed Cha glancing over from the corner of your eye. “Knowing Hunter Sung probably not.” You could see the confusion in their eyes you assumed because of the way that you had addressed him but you needed to put some distance between you and him especially if he was dating someone else. “Are we going or what?”

Honestly walking into this place was a mistake, these were the statues that Jinwoo had described when he had come out of the hospital, you were sure of it. All you could do was heal the people that needed it, stay behind the Tank and hope for the best. Choi stayed as close as he could to you. The larger statue had turned to Cha “I will give you the chance to witness this glorious scene, the rest of you will die.” The moment that you walked into this room you weren’t sure that you would make it out but now that you were actually faced with you thought about all of the things that you’d promised and all the people you were letting down. “According to whom?” Jinwoo’s voice broke through the panic, you saw everyone around you physically relax as Jinwoo took charge of the situation. You took a second to heal the people that needed it. Choi and Cha being the two that needed healing the most.

Once you were all finally out of the gate, you made the rounds but got half way because Hunter Cha pulled your attention to Jinwoo who had collapsed. “What happened?” You asked as you kneeled next to him. “He said that he felt tired and then collapsed.” Cha answered, your hand hovered over his chest and began healing, your eyes roving over his body as you looked for any wounds but there was nothing visible. “I think it’s just fatigue, he was fighting long before we got there. Hunter Sung doesn’t have any wounds on his body and my Mana isn’t sensing anything physical throughout but maybe I can help him along a little.” You muttered. “What do you mean?” Cha asked her hand wrapped around his, you moved your eyes away focusing on healing. “Fatgue has physical effects that my mana can heal then hopefully when he does wake up it’ll be easier.” You explained, you only got about half way through before your body started telling you that it needed a break. Choi stepped forward to stop you. “You’ve done enough, like you said he has no physical wounds, the hospitals can give him somewhere to rest. Just like you need to rest.” “Right.” You nodded, slowly standing Choi led you away from Jinwoo, who was loaded into an ambulance. “Here.” Choi handed you a tissue “you’ve got some blood.” He pointed at the corner of your mouth, you wiped your mouth noticing blood when you pulled it away. “Will you be able to get home?” “Yeah.” You answered with a nod. “Then make sure to get some rest, we won’t need you in tomorrow.” Choi smiled. “Thank you.”

---

You had been laying on your sofa with your arm over your face when there was a knock at the door. You took a moment and then kicked yourself up walking to the door to open it. “Jin-ah what are you doing here?” You asked leaning against the door for support. “I wanted to check on you, I heard that you were at the raid with Jinwoo.” She said as her eyes travelled over your body, catching on the bruises and scraps that you had gotten. You could tell that there was something else going on though, the way that she seemed to be swaying on her feet and looking for the fastest way to get past you into his house. “Anything else that you wanted?” You raised an eyebrow. “No…” She answered. “So what’s the bag in your hand?” You lazily lifted your hand to point at the plastic bag in her hands. “Peace offering.” She lifted it to you. “For what?” You tilted your head, she hadn’t done anything that needed apologising for. “I wanted to make sure that you were okay but I also wanted to stick around for a little while, maybe for the night.” She scratched the back of her head. “Well you didn’t need a peace offering for that.” You stepped to the side, allowed her into the house and placed the ice cream in the freezer for later, you walked back over to her and handed over your phone “you wanna choose something for dinner?” “You haven’t eaten?” She asked. “I was probably going to fall asleep on the couch and then continue to lay there for the next 24hrs.” You admitted with a shrug. “Oh well then let’s get something to eat.” She nodded.

It was only a few hours later that Jin-ah headed into your spare room to lay down, you were slowly cleaning up after eating when there was again a knock on the door. You frowned looking at the clock, there shouldn’t be anyone knocking on your door at this time, especially since Choi had told you that you weren’t to work for at least the next day. Your eyes widened when you opened the door “What are you doing here?” Jinwoo scratched the back of his head, his eyes trained on the floor. “I was hoping that I could speak to Jin-ah, mum said that she was staying here.” He answered. “Oh yeah, she’s in the spare room, you know where it is.” You stepped to the side and walked back to the kitchen to continue cleaning up. “Thanks.”

15 minutes later he walked back out into the main area, you fully expected him to leave and not acknowledge you further but instead he stopped in front of you “thank you for letting her stay here.” “I told you already I’ll look after her no matter what.” You said leaning against the counter to keep yourself up. “Hey, are you okay?” He finally looked at you and frowned “no one healed you?” “There was no one to heal me, I was the only one that could heal people.” You answered “plus it’s just a couple of bruises and scratches, I wouldn’t have anyone waste mana on that.” “It’s not a waste, you can barely stand.” He moved over to your hands hovering over your arms as if to support you. “That’s just because I used all of my mana, a day's rest will fix that.” You waved him off before attempting to move away from him and towards the sofa. “Surely you have somewhere that you need to be.” “Just… Rest.” He muttered, stepping away from you and heading towards the door. “Look if you need something you can still call me.” “Yeah sure.” You said as you finally sat down on the couch, it was almost like he was waiting to see you sit down before leaving because after you were safely seated he left. Only a few seconds later Jin-ah was back out of the spare room and burying her face in your chest tears pouring down her face. “W-what happened?” “I asked him not to go but he’s still going…” Jin-ah curled into herself tighter. “Where?” You asked. “The dungeon break in Japan.” She answered. “Jin-ah I know it’s scary but you should know that he’s not doing it because he doesn’t care about you, he’s actually doing it because he does. If he doesn’t do it I don’t think there’s anyone that can… Unfortunately you’ve got the brother that everyone needs.” “He’ll be okay right?” “He’ll come back just fine.”

---

Jinwoo stood atop a building in Japan “maybe I should check in on Jin-ah she was upset before I left.” He mumbled to himself before tapping into Beru’s vision. Jinwoo didn’t expect for her to still be with you. You were both laughing something that brought a smile to his face, as the vision cleared he could see that you were both having a pillow fight that devolved into a laughing fit. “How is she Beru?” “She's okay, my lord. (Y/N) has helped her forget about her sadness.” Beru answered. “Good.” “They seem very good together, your mother was here yesterday, (Y/N) seems like the best candidate for a Queen, does she not my liege?” Jinwoo didn’t answer him, instead thought back to the times that you would play hide and seek. You would always find him first and then Jin-ah after. “I’m sorry I spoke out of place!” Jinwoo came back to himself smiling at you now instructing Jin-ah on what you needed to do to make whatever you were making. “No, don’t worry about it Beru.” He finally said because honestly he wasn’t sure that he was wrong. “They seem to be safe enough. I'll need you here.” “As you wish my liege.” Beru answered. Jinwoo watched his army cleaning up the streets of Japan while he tried to get the image of you and Jin-ah out of his head.

Jinwoo stood in your kitchen. It was the first week of you moving in, you had invited him and Jin-ah over for the night. You were in the kitchen with them, he had been put on vegetable cutting while you had Jin-ah stirring. “Those chunks are too big!” Jin-ah complained. “No they are not, you just don’t want to eat vegetables.” Jinwoo argued, as he cast a glance at her, something he probably shouldn’t have. Jinwoo hissed as he sliced his finger, you seemed to appear out of nowhere cradling his hand as you looked at it. “Oh nothing I can’t fix.” You said softly, the warmth of the mana knitting his skin back together was something that he would never forget.

Jinwoo shook his head looking back at the carnage below, his fingers gently rubbing together where the cut used to be. Jinwoo started thinking through all of the time that he had been spending with Hae-in but he couldn’t get his mind to leave all of the memories that he had made with you. Even with them being in a relationship he didn’t find himself thinking of the next time that he would see her. More often than not he was thinking of the look on your face when he walked out, how much he missed you healing him and the time that you would spend together. He couldn’t help but notice that the shadows that did know you missed you too.

---

“Mum, I'm home.” Jinwoo closed the door behind him walking into the apartment “where’s Jin-ah?” He already knew where she was because there was only one other place that she would be when she wasn’t home. “She’s with (Y/N).” She answered as she turned to him. “You just missed them, they left 15 minutes ago.” He also knew that he waited until they left because he wanted to talk to his mum before he talked to you. “Actually I wanted to ask you something.” His mum turned to him, giving him her full attention. “I think I made a mistake.” “Are you talking about (Y/N)?” She walked over to the kitchen table and sat down patting the chair next to her. “How did you know?” He asked as he sat down with her. “When I woke up, I expected to see her there with you. The day that you came home and said that you weren’t together anymore, I knew what was happening.” His mother took his hands “your life was changing, you were getting stronger and everything was getting more dangerous. There was one thing that you could control.” “But that doesn’t sound like something I can fix.” Jinwoo pulled his hand away and ran it through his hair. “Be honest, I’m sure that she’s not ready to let you go either. Talk to her Jinwoo and take the time to prove that you are serious this time.” His mum said. “But what about the other girl?” “I spoke to Hae-in already, we both agreed that we’re better as friends.” Jinwoo answered with a shrug. “What if she doesn’t want me back?” “Jinwoo, you were both so close and that doesn’t just go away, it will take time but you can build it back up.” There was a crash at the front door before Jin-ah appeared. “You're going to speak to her right!?” She leant against the door frame. “I-is she with you!?” Jinwoo asked, all colour leaving his face at the idea that he would have to do this with everyone there. “No, she dropped me off, she didn’t come up.” Jin-ah smirked “ but you're going to talk to her tonight and tell her that she doesn’t have to be lonely anymore!” “Lonely?” Jinwoo turned to her now “what do you mean?” “Why do you think that I am spending so much time with her?” Jin-ah asked. “She says that she’s not lonely but she got a place closer to us because she wanted to help you, her family isn’t here, we are all that she has.” Jinwoo hadn’t even thought about that, you’d only ever really had them, that made him feel even worse, he needed to talk to you. “I’ll be back later."

---

You were drying off your hair when there was a knock at your door, you walked over and opened it “Jin-ah’s not here, I dropped her home already.” You assumed that was why Jinwoo was here. “Oh that’s not why I’m here.” Jinwoo waved you off. “Oh, is there something I can help you with Hunter Sung?” You asked, tying up your now damp hair. “Why are you calling me that?” He frowned but you didn’t seem out of place saying it. “That’s your name.” You leant against the doorframe. “Can we talk about something?” He asked. “Sure.” You waited for him to say something but instead he looked around as if trying to figure out how to say whatever it was that he needed to say. “Do you mind if I come in?” You stepped aside and allowed him into the apartment. “I…” He shoved his hands in his pockets as he paced the living room. You remembered something like this the first time that his mum went into hospital and it was just him and his sister. “I want to apologise for everything and to tell you that I was wrong.” “Wrong? About what?” You stepped forward to stop his pacing by placing a hand on either shoulder. “About thinking that it would be better if we were apart, in all the time that we’ve been apart I’ve been missing something, I didn’t realise it was you until…” “Until?” You prompted. He looked like he was torn between telling you something and slightly lying. “If I tell you something, do you promise not to freak out?” He asked. “I reserved the right to freak out if it’s weird.” your folded your arms over your chest and narrowing your eyes, something that made him relax slightly. He remembered that look on your face on more than one occasion especially the ones where he had done something that he shouldn’t and gotten hurt because of it. He chuckled softly before speaking again. “Do you remember my shadow soldiers?” You nodded “I can assign them to people to alert me if anyone that I care about was in danger. I have one assigned to Jin-ah and sometimes I check in to make sure that everything’s okay and that means watching through my soldiers eyes.” “You know that’s very you… You could just pick up your phone.” You rolled your eyes “what does this have to do with anything?” “Oh well I checked in on her while I was in Japan and saw the way that you distracted her. You guys laughing and messing around reminded me of all the times that we would all be here, cooking or messing around and you’d heal me. I realised that what it was that was missing was you. Being able to come back to you and be the Jinwoo before the reawakening.” “You couldn’t do that with Hunter Cha?” “She fell in love with that version of me, she didn’t know me before that.” Jinwoo looked at the ground “I talked to mum and I don’t know how to explain it without saying what she said so bare with me. Everything in my life was changing and that change was dangerous, for some reason I thought that pushing you away was safer than keeping you close. That’s no excuse for the pain that I caused, I took everything away from you and you never asked for anything back.” “Jinwoo, don't blame yourself for choices that I made.” “Would you have made them if I wasn’t here?” “I would have been wherever you were.” You answered honestly, Jinwoo reached out wrapping his arms around you pulling you into a tight hug. “Please give me the chance to make this right.” Jinwoo pleaded.

---

Jinwoo had spent some time away from gates leaving the other Guilds to pick up the work. That meant that you were working more than before, you rolled your shoulders as you walked out of the guild office. “Do you need a ride?” You jumped as you looked where the voice came from. Jinwoo was leant against his car “I also have dinner.” “What are you doing here Hunter Sung?” You walked over to him and he poked your forehead. “Stop calling me that.” He moved to the side, opening the door of the car and offering you the seat. “Would you prefer My Liege?” “Get in the car and hold this for me.” You could see the smirk on his face but he seemed to be listening to someone else. “Do your shadows talk to you?” You asked when he sat down in the car. “Only one of them really. I can kinda feel what the others want to say.” Jinwoo answered. “Has anyone else met them?” You leaned back in your chair. “No, they learn a lot about the people that I assign them to. Igris, one of my strongest soldiers, liked you.” You looked at him. “He was assigned to me?” “Yeah a few times, all the shadows that met you liked you.” Jinwoo answered as he pulled up to your apartment building. “Do you want to come up?” “Are you sure?” “I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t sure.” You climbed out of the car and waited, it only took a few seconds for him to follow after you.

You had both just finished eating when you finally decided to broach the subject that you wanted to talk about. “Can I meet them?” Jinwoo looked at you for a second. “The shadows.” “You don’t have to say yes.” You leaned back against the sofa arm with your legs tucked close to you. “They’re a bit much sometimes.” He scratched the back of his head “but you can meet some of them. A lot of them are too big to be summoned here.” “Okay.” You nodded. The first to appear was at night, he was tall and skinny he was holding a great sword. “This one was my first shadow, his name is Igris.” Jinwoo leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Oh I recognise him, you usually have him fight with you.” You leaned forward pressing your cheek to your knee as you looked at him “he’s really good.” The shadow turned to you and bowed as if showing gratitude. “He actually stopped talking to me for a while after we broke up.” Jinwoo looked at the knight who now stood in front of you. “There’s someone else that wants to meet you, he’s the only shadow I have that can talk.” “Okay, Is there something wrong with that?” You asked. “He’s intense… He’s been with you a lot because he’s usually assigned to Jin-ah.” Jinwoo prepped you and you smiled. “It’s okay Jinwoo.” You said softly and a second later there was a humanoid ant knelt next to you. “My Queen, it's nice to finally meet you.” He said, you smirked slightly. “Queen?” You asked. “Is there something that you need to tell me Hunter Sung?” “Stop calling me that! He…” Jinwoo looked away from you blush covering his cheeks as he tried to find the words. “You would make a good queen. You are kind, gentle and strong.” Beru said. “But wait you are together alone-” Igris reached forward, booping the ant on the head before he could say anymore. Jinwoo took the moment to send them away before looking at you. “I’m sorry, he’s been watching all of Jin-ah’s K-dramas.” Jinwoo scratched the back of his head. “I don’t blame him, they’re pretty good.” You nodded, you shrugged “they’re cool, your soldiers, I’m glad that you still have them no matter what.” “I’m hoping that I will have more than that.”

---

You hadn’t meant to bump into them, you were actually just out for the day but you had literally bumped into Jinwoo as you attempted to walk out of the coffee shop. “Oh didn’t expect you to be here.” You said as you moved out of the way of the door. “Our guild office is close to here.” The man that was with him said and you smiled. “I don’t think we’ve met before.” You turned to him “(Y/N) (L/N).” “Yoo Jin-ho. You can just call me Jin-ho.” He bowed. “Jin-ho, you're the one that he told me about.” You looked at Jinwoo “How’s working with Hunter Sung?” “I told you to stop calling me that.” Jinwoo leaned closer to you and you shrugged. “I’ll stop calling you that when you earn me using your first name again.” You narrowed your eyes. Jin-ho lifted his arms, waving his hands softly with an awkward smile. “Should I give you guys some privacy?” He asked. “Oh no, I’ve got to go but it was nice to meet you.” You smiled “thanks for looking out for him.”

Later that evening you were on your way home. It was late but you still needed to get home. What you hadn’t expected was for someone to actually grab you. “C-can I help you?” You asked as you looked at them, they seemed to be searching for something on you. “You're one of those hunters from the hunter’s guild you have to have something worth selling!” You raised an eyebrow. “You think that I just carry all the valuable stuff around with me?” You attempted to push the man away. “Then there has to be someone that will pay to get you back.” His hand pulled back as if you hit you but it didn’t make contact instead a hand shot out from behind you catching the punch before it even got near your face. “Do you know this guy?” Jinwoo’s voice sounded close to your ear. “I don’t.” You answered, Jinwoo twisted the man's hand, he cried out, tearing away from the two of you and disappearing. Jinwoo turned you around looking over you. “Are you okay?” He gently cradled your cheeks. “I’m fine Jinwoo so you can call off the shadow soldiers.” You tapped his cheek gently. “I don’t know what you're talking about.” He turned away from you. “I know you know what I’m talking about, if that man is on the news in the morning you lose first name privileges.” You warned him, he sighed before pulling you towards your apartment building. “Let’s just go.”

---

Jinwoo had just gotten back from his trip to America and by now most people had heard about it. You hoped that Jin-ho was okay, you’d only met him once but he had been good friends with Jinwoo so you hoped that nothing had happened.

You had thought about going to see Jinwoo and make sure that everything was okay but he deserved the time to be with his family, get settled at home and deal with any publicity that he needed to. He’d find you when he wanted to and honestly you didn’t want to come across as clingy after having only just forgiven him.

You were startled out of thoughts by a knock on the door, you opened the door and were only semi surprised to see Junwoo standing there. Given the time he was the only one likely to knock on your door but you hadn’t expected him to come and see you tonight. “Hey, I didn’t think that I’d see you for a while.” You leant against the door as you looked at him. “I can go if you're busy.” He took a step back and you lifted your hand. “No you don’t have to leave, I just wasn’t expecting you.” You pulled your hand back before you could actually touch him and stepped to the side to allow him in. “Are you okay?” “I’m okay.” He answered but it sounded hollow as if he said it because he didn’t want to worry you not because he was actually okay. “But you're not, are you?” You attempted to walk past him with every intention to get him a glass of water and talk but instead his arm wrapped around you and he pulled you into his chest burying his face in your neck. “I’m sorry.” It was almost inaudible. You wrapped your arms around him gently, running your fingers through the hair on the back of his head. “For what?” You asked. “Showing up here, I should have waited until tomorrow but you- Nevermind I should go.” He attempted to push himself away from you but you tightened your grip on him. “But I what?” Your hand still ran gently through his hair as his hands tightened where they rested on your waist. “You always knew how to make everything feel better.” It was then that you realised the moisture against your shoulder. “I can’t make everything that you're dealing with go away but we can watch a movie tonight and pretend that neither of us have to go to work tomorrow.” You pulled away from him “come on I have something you can change into.” You walked into the bedroom, crouching to open the bottom drawer of the one that you had placed all of Jinwoo's clothes in, everything that he had left in the apartment. You pulled out a pair of sweats and a shirt. “You still have these?” He asked. “Well I wasn’t going to throw them out, I was going to ask Jin-ah to take them back for you but with everything going on it never seemed like the right time.” You handed him the pile of clothes “you know where the bathroom is.” Jinwoo disappeared into the bathroom while you made your way back out to the living room where you set everything up to watch something.

The next morning it took you a little while to remember why there were arms wrapped around your waist or why you were still on your sofa. Jinwoo, he’d come over. That was when you forced your eyes open to find that you had somehow ended up lying on his chest. You rubbed at your eyes trying not to wake him as you reached for your phone that was on the coffee table in front of you. Turning on the screen your eyes widened at the time displayed on the screen 12pm, you gently pushed yourself up but the monet that your weight left his body his eyes popped open. “Where are you going?” He grabbed your arm to stop you from moving too far away. “It’s 12pm.” You turned your phone to him, he squinted slightly and you immediately moved the screen “sorry.” “I didn’t think that I would sleep that long.” He pushed himself up to sit but he still hadn’t let go of you so you stepped closer as he moved. “You haven’t been sleeping?” You tilted your head. “I’ve had trouble sleeping.” He started playing with your fingers “had a lot to think about.” “Something happened yesterday.” You sat on the edge of the sofa and he shuffled back to make space for you, his body almost bracketing yours. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, I just… I’ll listen if you need me to.” “The chairman is dead.” Jinwoo still wasn’t looking at you, his hand had now wrapped completely around yours “I’ve worked closely with him but things are changing, people are getting hurt. I had to make sure that you were okay.” That was the first time that he looked at you. “Me? What about your sister and your mother?” You asked with a frown. “My soldiers keep them safe. They don’t follow you.” He sat up now “I didn’t think that it would be fair to have someone watching you when you haven’t accepted me back into your life yet.” “You think I haven’t accepted you back?” You tucked your knee under you so that you could look at him properly “let me tell you a secret, if I thought that I would ever deny you, I wouldn’t have put you through the grovelling.” His eyes widened. “”What?” He leaned forward now, closer than he had allowed himself to be and you smiled. “Jinwoo I never wanted to let you go in the first place, what I was looking for was reassurance so don’t let me down this time.” Jinwoo wasted no time pulling you onto his lap, your legs arranged so you straddled him. “I don’t deserve you.” He knocked his nose against your jaw as your hands lifted to anchor yourself. “You deserve more than me, that didn’t change because you made a mistake.” You wanted to sound stronger then you did but your voice came out breathy as he continued to press soft kisses down your throat. “There’s only one thing I want that I don’t have.” Jinwoo pulled you closer still, anywhere that your bodies could be touching they were. “What do you want?” “You.” He pressed his lips against you relearning the feeling of you against him, as your hands tightened in his hair as you tried to match him. His lipid moved down back to pressing kisses to your jaw and neck “Can I have you?” His thumbs gently ran over your waist as he waited for your answer. “I told you already…” You tried to gather your thoughts as Jinwoo continued to press kisses to your chest. “I never planned on telling you no.” “I was an idiot to let you go.” His knees pulled up behind you keeping you close. “You will always be the first person that I look for anywhere.” “And I will be there.”

---

You stood behind Jin-ho in the Ahjin. Two S-Rank hunters standing in front of you Jin-oh was dialling Jinwoo’s number continuously and he wasn’t answering. You leaned down until your mouth was at Jin-oh's ear. “You should relax, they’re here to see him and they know what he can do, you're safe by association.” “This is very unprofessional.” Jin-oh answered and you smiled. “This is as professional as Jinwoo is ever going to be.” You glanced at the two men in front of you. The larger one seemed to be watching you “is there something I can help you with?” “You're a healer?” He asked. “Why’s that any of your business?” You narrowed your eyes, you would have stepped back if it wouldn’t have been completely obvious. “I’m sorry, I’m sure that Hunter Sung will be here soon.” Jin-oh attempted to pull their attention away from you but before the larger of the hunter Andre you think you remember reading could speak again the door opened and Jinwoo walked in. His eyes found you first as he had promised you, he walked past the two hunters to stand in front of you. “Are you okay?” He asked hands cupping your face to focus your eyes on him. “I’m fine Hunter Sung, you have visitors.” His eyes cast over to the hunters before looking back at you. “I told you to stop calling me that. What happened?” He asked. “I just came by to see you, I was in the area and I had nothing else to do but you seem busy I’ll-” “Wait, you’ll wait. I have time.” Jinwoo pressed a soft kiss to your lips. “You have a job to do, I’ll be home when you're done. Find me there.” You pressed up on your toes to press a kiss to his cheek before stepping around him to leave. Jinwoo grabbed your arm before you got too far. “Text me when you get home.” He said and you smiled. “Of course Jinwoo.” You said softly, he squeezed your hand one last time before finally letting you leave. Finally you had the one person that you loved back and you would do anything to keep what you had safe.