こんにちは!

“Look out!”

Kyungsoo had barely time to process everything as he felt his wrist instantly tugged by someone. Unfortunately, he had to be dragged along with the one who grabbed him. The hollow voices that ran from their backs were slowly creeping up to them through the dying city lights and darkened passageways that only those who knew the heart of the city and its secrets were familiar with. He was at loss for words; split thoughts were flying over his mind as he was whisked away.

He hadn’t meant to be swerving himself into the pits of the city. His head was only caring about how to get away from the paparazzi that instantaneously led him here. He only wanted to visit his old parents, yet the ravishing flashes of cameras interrupted his peaceful walk, which ultimately led him to where he was. His heart raced, almost feeling like it was beginning to get out of his throat while surrounded by men who looked like they could just take away Kyungsoo easily by his breath but then were snatched like a lightning bolt that hit the earth.

As his body was doing the actions taken for the situation at hand, his mind was slowly adapting to the sudden changes in his environment. From the blinding neon beams to the person who somewhat ‘saved’ him, he now ended up sitting in the shotgun seat of his rescuer’s car.

“W-who? What?” Kyungsoo barely managed to form a proper sentence as the car violently made a turn, slamming himself against the windshield.

“Sorry,” his rescuer placed him back properly against the seat. “You alright?”

“Alright?!” Kyungsoo glared at his rescuer, whom he found to be a woman. Her eyes were pretty much occupied on the road, the speed of the car almost like that of a bullet train in Kyungsoo’s mind. “How can I be alright? You just plucked me out of nowhere!”

“That ain’t just nowhere, Mr. Doh Kyungsoo,” she butted in.

“How do you even know me?” Kyungsoo continued to glare daggers at her to which she seems unfazed.

She scoffed, followed by a chuckle. “Probably the whole of South Korea knows you by name, Kyungsoo-ssi. You’re literally everywhere.”

She rotated violently the steering wheel, almost sending him to slam against her.

“Sorry again,” she said, although the tone in her voice seemed she wasn’t at all.

“Where the hell are you taking me?!” Kyungsoo bawled as his grip against the compartment tightened.

“Not to be rude but I’ve eavesdropped on you,” she had her hand on the gear shift and moved it smoothly like a pro. “I’m just near the area where those fuckers are.”

“I…I just had to visit my parents,” he explained. “Without anyone following me.”

She clicked her tongue. “Newsflash pretty boy, but you came to the wrong side of the fence.”

Kyungsoo looked at her in disbelief as she erupted in laughter. While part of him was grateful she had somewhat saved him, the other part was wondering how probably crazy she was. The environment outside was nothing but lines in Kyungsoo’s vision.

“But don’t worry,” she smirked as she stepped on the pedal, making the car go against the speed limit set by authorizes, and then it dawned on him.

Street racing.

“I’ll get that pretty face of yours back to your mommy and daddy.”

I hadn't meant to burst out a satirical laugh and a shout at the same time. I didn't even intend to pound my hand against the table and slam my laptop closed. I couldn’t expect myself to suddenly shove away all my aircraft blueprints to the side, crumpling some in the process and pens falling on the ground. However, my actions were all seen by Chanyeol, who jumped from his seat from my sudden somewhat negative temperament, and was now looking like a surprised little puppy.

“J-jagi?” his deep voice croaked. I brushed up my ruffled curls out of my face before looking up at him, placing a small tired smile. He had his headphones hung around his neck while looking at me expectantly as if he was trying to decipher the codes that rung in my head.

“You alright, darling?” he spoke again. This time, standing and took a few steps towards me, leaving his music in progress behind. I held a hand while shaking my head.

“It’s fine,” Chanyeol displayed his signature smile before plopping down across from the low table that was set inside the studio of our home, which was now filled with paper works and blueprints of mine. His hand took hold of mine while the other rubbed smooth circles in my lower back, seemingly making me soothe in his touch. I soon guessed he caught sight of my weary features and decided to lean in closer.

Words weren’t needed to be said at the moment of silence and tiredness as I laid my head on his shoulder for support. I bask in the warmth of Chanyeol’s arm that was now wrapped around my shoulder, which calmed my tense body from earlier. But for all that, Chanyeol knew I wasn’t the type to confide in easily in terms of stress and physical closeness yet my body begged to differ right now at the situation, so he easily make known his love language by hugging me tighter under his wing and pressing a kiss at my side of my head.

“Want to rant or find a solution?” Chanyeol suggested, which brought another faint smile to me. This was something we both had to do in times like these or when problems arise; asking each other first this very question before proceeding to take the next best course of action that saves us a lot from actually arguing pointlessly.

“It’s stupid,” I muttered, and Chanyeol nodded, signaling me to continue but I shook my head.

“We’re sometimes stupid at some point in our lives,” he cracked and I chuckled.

“Accidentally deleted my computerized blueprints,” I groaned as I sat properly and held my face in my hands, rubbing my palms against my cheeks.

“All of those blueprints?” Chanyeol’s eyes widened.

“Only the most important,” I stated.

“I see,” he pondered on what I said. “What do we do then now?”

“Restart.”

I had no excuse if I decided to just sulk and contemplate on what I had done with idiocy. I adjusted my sitting position, getting nearer the low table and opening my laptop again as Chanyeol did the same gesture. I slightly jolted when he then slightly squished his face between my shoulder and back as the two of us waited for my laptop to turn on.

“Whoa,” he expressed once seeing my blueprints of these aircraft that I drafted. “I do see you sometimes working but seeing your works up close…they’re awesome.”

I placed a hand over his knee and gently squeezed it as if to say ‘thank you.’ I motioned for him to go back to his music but he refused, making me raise my eyebrows in confusion.

“I’m almost done anyways, jagi, let me watch,” he spoke with firm tenderness. “It’s amazing to see how much an airplane is made.”

My only reply was courtesy of a bobbing my head to him as I continued to work on re-designing the aircraft with my tablet that is connected to my laptop. From the drawings to the calculations, I made sure to produce equations that perfectly fit the intended design and outcome of the pieces of the aircraft. Each piece of the aircraft had to be meticulously drawn in every blueprint that I had and check whether it fit or not.

“What’s next?” Chanyeol asked while turning his head to the left and right like a ping pong ball, focusing on my face then back to the design and vice versa.

“Simulation,” I simply replied as I brought the design to life in 3D on my laptop.

“That’s so cool, jagi,” he grinned while I absent-mindedly smiled at him. “And then what happens?”

“If my equations are correct here in the simulation phase, it can be approved. Otherwise, go back to scratch,” I bit my lower lip as I focused. “And it’s not easy. Usually, it takes up to four years to make up the design and planning process.”

“What? Really? That’s a long way to go!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

“Mhm,” I agreed. “This is already the designing stage. We’ve come up with this design like 2 to 3 years ago.”

“There are also a lot of things to consider in designing and building such as the aerodynamics, propulsion, controls, mass, and structure. What you see here right now is an aircraft for aviation, like planes you ride when going on tour with the members.”

“However, there are compromises to be made when building an aircraft, depending on the type of plane to be made. Some planes may not be the most comfortable despite their efficiency, or cheap planes may not be the fastest, but the main point is, these compromises are constructed once the right measure is given. There will always be a balance of pros and cons but the important thing is if the airplane is capable of flying in the air and its safety.”

While I rambled on, I slowly took notice of the solitude lingering around the two of us. My eyes averted down towards Chanyeol’s frame, who had a foolish grin on his face while supporting himself with his elbow. I blinked to realize that maybe he got tired of understanding what I was sputtering, so I gulped and lowered down my head, reverting to my quiet, introverted self. Who the hell knew what I was even vocalizing about when I’m being such a nerd? I sighed internally. While I enjoyed the two of us talking, mostly one-on-one, Chanyeol was more loud and expressive than I do, so to see myself almost talkative I felt I was overstepping in sharing what I knew and was passionate about, these little voices in my head telling me ‘you talk too much and ‘shut up.’

“I’m so sorry,” I instead concentrated on rotating the 3D design on my tablet. “I…I’m saying nonsense. Don’t mind me.”

“What? No!” Chanyeol grabbed my hand and massaged my knuckles in rotation. “I find it cool. No really, jagiya. I just…I find it amazing to see when you talk about the things you love. And this? This is one of them. The way your face lights up and your eyes sparkle? Goodness, I could listen and look at you forever.”

My cheeks were quickly dusted in pink as Chanyeol peppered baby smooches on them. I could not help but be internally on heat due to his honey-glazed words that were very much assuring to the things I have a devotion for.

“Thank you,” I glance at him in adoration. “I have to be very conscientious in designing these aircraft, especially for aviation because…I'm not only doing this just because I love it but also because maybe someday or one day, you'll be riding one of them when going on tour and that if they're out of harm’s way in the air.”

I sighed before ongoing and fix my gaze solely on him. “And if I failed to do that, I didn't only fail as an aerospace engineer...but also as your wife in keeping you safe.”

Chanyeol let out a chuckle before playing with my left hand with his respective left, especially the golden band around my finger, our wedding rings clinking together. “I know. And I thank you for that.”

He careened his face closer to mine before pulling in to caress my lips against his. Chanyeol then tilted his head, further deepening the kiss and savoring every corner of my mouth, not leaving a single untainted spot in each of my folds as if to say an infinity of I love you’s in just one action. If my lips were his heaven, then touching it was bliss for him.

When he slowly let go, I gave a small gasp, catching my breath from just kissing him. He repeated a chuckle and pressed a tender kiss on my forehead.

I slightly slapped him on the arm. “What time is it though?” I asked as I turned my head to where the clock was, surprise painting my features. From the crafting to the loose talk, we hadn't noticed how much time we consumed.

“I guess, it’s time for a break. A real one,” Chanyeol chided, stretching and helping me get up but I frowned.

“I’m almost done,” I tried to protest but his arms wrapped around me.

“Nope, look at the time! It’s almost 1 in the morning.”

“But—”

“Y/N.”

“Chanyeol.”

“Jagi,” he sternly said, scrunching his eyebrows and trying to look stern, but the upward direction of his smile proved otherwise, looking like a mischievous puppy that was caught. “I know this is heavy work but we need to rest too.”

I stared at him, then, later on, snickered as I leisurely gave in to his request, wrapping my arms around him in answer to his embrace. I usually wasn’t an affectionate one but with this giant of a man, my iron walls slowly melted.

We got a continuation of last month's very vague Father backstory, now with a bit more context. It looks like both of them fell off the cliff, but only Father survived, and that was what gave him his current-day mindset--you have to fight to stay alive, and if you're weak you're crushed. If you watch while others suffer, you're even worse.

I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed that this is Father's outlook. I feel like someone as smart as him (at least, as emotionally manipulative as him) would have realized it's a very two-dimensional worldview. After all, he's the one doing the crushing.

Although, it is EXTREMELY self-centered, so that is in line with the Father we know and hate.

Also, he brings up a good point--heaven either didn't notice, or didn't care, about all the people that he and Yato and Nora have killed over the years. There need to be some reform, but I feel like telling it to them as you crush them underfoot isn't the best impetus for change.

Amaterasu finally breaks her silence, and it's to tell Father that Yato is the necessary evil here, not him. Get his ass.

Still, poor Yato is trying so hard NOT to be a murderer, I did feel a bit sad at her statement.

Okay so this was all just preamble to get to my main Thing That's Making Me Scream here: Amaterasu can summon shinki, as we saw with the covenant, and now we see in this chapter she can release them too. Since noras are hated, she decides to strip all the excess names from the Nora we know, which, ouch.

To Nora, her names in plural are her identity. So to have them all taken now is like having her identity stripped away, bit by bit.

And Yukine, trying so hard to tune this entire exchange out, reacts to the cry of a distressed child and unleashes his power on the entire surrounding world.

So. uh. Amaterasu's gonna look at him next and see that he has two names. And we can see there's a good ending and a bad ending from this scenario: There's a chance she's going to release the Yuuki name from him and free him from the name of Hagusa (we know Father won't), but she might also, since he's going to be excommunicated, choose to release Sekki instead. So if he loses Yuuki, congrats, Yato can snatch him up and take him to the therapy they both desperately need (assuming Amaterasu forgets about his punishment ahahahahaha I'm fine). And if he loses Sekki, I'm going to take a road trip into the Pacific 💕

I'm gonna be optimistic that Amaterasu is on our side again here (after all, she did say Yato is the necessary one here, not Father), but Adachitoka does love to throw surprising conclusions at us so we might have to do the rest of the manga with Yukine no longer being Yato's shinki. Who can say.