c032

Seokga buttons the jacket of his sleek black suit as he waits for Hani near the apartment's front door. Perhaps he is overdressed for a night in New Sinsi's largest nightclub, but a good suit is equivalent to armor. And Seokga plans on entering this battle fully armed.

Tonight, they will lure out the eoduksini.

He tightens his grip on his cane as a noise sounds from the stairwell. Seokga turns, and his breath catches in his throat as Hani descends the flight of stairs, clad in a skintight black dress with a sultry glint in her eye.

A dark color is swept over her eyelids, enhancing the warmth of her gaze as she strides over to Seokga, her stilettos clacking on the floor below. Her hair, impossibly, is larger than ever as it bounces with every step she takes. Hani cocks her head under Seokga's gaze, her glossy lips curving into a smile.

And that smile.

Shit.

Seokga blinks before its radiance. The way that she smiles at him—it ignites something powerful within his chest. If sunshine were a feeling, he thinks, it would be the feeling he gets when Hani smiles like that.

You're ridiculous,that cranky voice snaps. Absolutely ridiculous.

He ignores it. "You look—nice," he says, his silver tongue stumbling over the foreign words. Hani's smile grows and she steps closer to him, fixing his tie.

"You clean up well yourself," she replies, glancing up at him with those fox eyes.

Seokga allows himself a small, pleased smile. Yes. Yes, he certainly does. He offers Hani his arm. "Can you fight in those heels?" he asks curiously—not skeptically. He has a sneaking suspicion that the answer is yes, of course.

She gives him a look of amusement. "What do you think?"

That fact that he's right fills him with a stupid sort of pride.

A stupid, dangerous sort of pride.

The Emerald Dragon is a creature of pounding music and blazing strobe lights, shitty drinks and even shittier company. Standing in the middle of the dance floor, Seokga whacks more than a few people with his cane as they come far too close for his liking, gyrating in a way that makes him wonder whether the eoduksini's world of darkness would truly be such a bad thing, after all.

He knows he should try to act carefree. That is the plan, after all.

The eoduksini has been hiding cleverly. Shim still has no leads, but Seokga knows how the minds of demons work. That thing inside of Dok-hyun's body still hasn't crossed Seokga's name off his list. And what better way to draw a wrathful demon out than to pretend you have no clue it's coming? If the eoduksini sees Seokga and Hani having fun—not hunting it for once—it might choose to strike. Which is exactly what they want—for the eoduksini to show itself.

It's a gamble, of course. The demon might simply send another gwisin. But after the Slit Mouthed Woman incident, Seokga believes that Hani and he showed, simply put, that simple Unrulies do not quite faze them. So perhaps the eoduksini will try a different tactic.

In approximately an hour, Hani and Seokga will stumble out of the Emerald Dragon into a nearby alleyway, laughing and displaying typical carefree behavior as, hopefully, the eoduksinifollows. Because it's watching—certainly watching. The Slit Mouthed Woman's little visit proved that.

Seokga scowls as a dokkaebi covered in glow-in-the-dark jewelry twirls toward him, her eyes sparkling with a lewd invitation. He jabs his cane in her direction with a cruel sneer.

A camera flashes. Damn it. Trust a paparazzo to be here—most of them are dokkaebi, after all, and he's in a nightclub. Godly Gossip's next title will read: sexy seokga attacks innocent dokkaebi! what does hottie hwanin have to say about this? Undoubtedly some nosy reporter will shout up into the heavens until they convince Hwanin to agree to an exclusive interview regarding his estranged brother.

He always agrees to those.

"My little brother, Seokga," Hwanin once said, "has always been troubled. I assume it has to do with Mireuk dropping him on his head when he was young. He never did recover."

And then another: "Seokga was terribly jealous of me, even when we were small children. One time, he snuck into my room and shaved off my eyebrows while I was sleeping. Of course, soon after I was spotted sans eyebrows, that became the trend around Okhwang, and Seokga seethed for days. Then he shaved his own eyebrows off right when the trend was dying down, and he was mocked relentlessly."

"The moment Seokga emerged from Mago's womb, he tried to attack me. I swear it on my son. I was holding him, gazing down at my new baby brother, when he started punching me with his tiny fists. It's really not a surprise that he ended up trying to seize my throne."

"One time, for my birthday, Seokga left a beautifully wrapped box outside my door, complete with a red bow. I was excited to open it, to see what it was. Do you know what Seokga had put in the box? My brother had tracked down a chollima, one of those breathtaking winged horses who also happen to have monstrously large, ah, defecations. It was by far the worst gift I have ever received."

Seokga scowls, twisting around and trying to find that damned cameraman.

"Dance," Hani shouts over the bass, waving her hands in his face to capture his attention. "You look like a grumpy old man! We'll never pull this off if you don't dance!" She laughs, throwing her head back, and moving to the booming music with such ease. Seokga feels, admittedly, awkward next to her litheness and grace.

"I am trying," he shoots back, discomfort sharpening his tone. He immediately regrets it—but Hani tilts her head, eyes lighting with understanding.

"It's easy," she says encouragingly. "Just…dance to the beat. It's fun—I promise." She places her hands on his shoulders, trying to loosen him up as she moves to the music. Seokga, as still as a rock, tries to ignore the wave of heat that rushes to his groin with an immense amount of difficulty. He grits his teeth.

If the eoduksini is watching, it is probably also laughing.

Hani grins. "Let's get a drink," she hollers.

"Mortal alcohol," he retorts, "does not have an effect on me." It's true. Human alcohol—while pleasant to drink—is much too weak, much too watery. He has not gotten drunk in centuries. A pity, that.

But Hani is already dragging him over to the bar. He plasters on a scowl, but he enjoys the feeling of her hand around his wrist—it's almost possessive, in a way that he doesn't quite mind at all. And godsdamn it, maybe he does need a drink. Seokga's mouth dries out as Hani deposits him beside her at the bar and grins—such a happy, glowing grin that he suddenly feels faint.

"We need to stay sober. For the eoduksini." His voice comes out hoarse. Hani quirks a brow.

"I thought that mortal alcohol didn't have an effect on you?" She snaps her fingers at the bartender. "Shot of soju for me," she shouts over the music, "and the strongest shit you have for him!"

The bartender obliges. Hani downs her shot of soju as Seokga stares warily at the shot of what looks like vodka. He pinches it in between his fingers and makes a face of disdain, but swallows it down all the same—just to amuse Hani, who is cackling next to him.

"At the very least, maybe it'll loosen you up!" She's still laughing as she grabs his hand again. A rush of pleasure flows through him as she does so, even as she pulls him back onto the floor. "What do you drink in Okhwang?"

"Alcohol that would make mortals go blind."

Hani snorts, dancing again, her eyes sparkling. Seokga admires the way her bouncy hair flies through the air, the way the strobe lights catch on the angles of her face, the way that despite everything, the gumiho looks like she's enjoying herself. A sense of pride pricks at his heart again, pride that she's enjoying being here, with him, despite the murderous monster on their tail.

"Just let go," Hani suggests, tugging at his hands, urging him to dance. "Nobody's going to laugh at you, not when they've witnessed you smacking people on the head with your cane! We need to do this," she adds softly, barely audible as she pulls closer to him, close enough that he can see the tiny birthmark above her right eyebrow. "We need to pull this off."

She's right.

This music is impossible to dance to—but Seokga will try.