They slept a night to digest the newest developments. Jongho stayed up for the first guard, and San did the second. Only after he woke feeling capable as ever, Seonghwa remembered that he could have offered himself, too.

Being healthy felt amiss. Like an illusion, jinxed by the magic of the witch that enchanted these lands. Seonghwa expected it to break and to be swamped by pain any minute, but it didn't happen. He ate breakfast with his friends, feeling great. He bathed in the river, not risking drowning because of a cramp even once. And he walked with the others around the camp without his knees giving in.

At least his body felt great. Guilt gnawed at his heart and wrapped it as if in thorns, but that pain was unlike the curse he had felt. This time, his heart suffered for Hongjoong and for his companions. His distress reflected on the others. They had spent most of the chilly night in silence, exchanging wary glances whenever they thought Seonghwa wasn't looking.

He understood their nervosity. He was nervous himself.

When the morning came with a new chance to fix things, Seonghwa was relieved to find the group less apprehensive. Wooyoung handed him the cheese chunk without a second glimpse, and Jongho refilled his bowl when the stew inside emptied. At Seonghwa's compliment on their cooking, the two smiled.

Now that the sun bathed the woodlands in their wintery glow, there was one other thing Seonghwa had to check on.

"I will see how Hongjoong is doing. Leave the dishes to me," he said when he rose to his feet after he finished his food. Wooyoung's brows were drawn into a line but nodded. He piled the dishes together, so Seonghwa had an easier time carrying them later. Including Seonghwa in the workload was a first for the lutin.

"Shall we wait here?"

San's voice was still careful, as if he spoke to a frightened animal. He rarely let Seonghwa out of his sight, as he believed he would cave in any time as well. Though San thought that not because of Seonghwa's heart, but because of the impact Hongjoong's verdict had made on the priest.

"Yes, please. Let's discuss later how we will proceed from here on. I don't mind you conferring with each other. We're going to do this as a team," Seonghwa smiled. Distrust clouded their features, but they allowed him to leave with stiff nods.

With eyes full of reverence, the trio that had known only an impaired version of Seonghwa watched as he strode off. None of them had suggested picking up their journey, and Seonghwa knew they needed time. A lot had happened last night, and he had asked something unfathomable of them. The Seonghwa they saw now was the Seonghwa whom they had fought to bring back. They didn't need to see the witch now if not to lose him again. Didn't need to risk their lives in case she wanted them in their stew. Without Hongjoong as their guardian, meeting her was dangerous. Yet Seonghwa was dead set on marching into her swamp to ask her for a favour. Death hadn't scared him and she wouldn't either.

Seonghwa waded through the thicket. From this angle, it looked far less thorny and gnarly than it had when he had dangled from Hongjoong's shoulder last night. A brisk wind bit at him, but Seonghwa huddled tighter into his coat and watched his feet as he hopped over treacherous roots and rocks. His vitality - no matter how fabricated by something that wasn't his own - had returned to him. Through Hongjoong's heart, he could jump and skip while the demon sat trapped in place. He didn't feel pain, but he didn't feel the joys of life either.

Seonghwa chuckled to himself.

His sadistic joys.

The clearing looked the same as they had left it. The patterns their feet had left in the grass squished the pretty flowers, and Seonghwa crouched to free them and straighten their stalks. They stood tall and tilted their little heads at the patch of open sky above by the time Seonghwa dared raise his eyes to Hongjoong's frozen visage. Grey and unmoving, he perched in the same position as last night. The fire of purgatory in his eyes had died out, and they emptily stared back at Seonghwa.

Moderate in his approach, Seonghwa neared him until he could sink to his knees in front of the gargoyle. Mindlessly, he cradled a flower with a broken stem in his fingers. Since it had been beyond saving, he had taken it along. He twirled it around, unable to look at the gargoyle.

"Usually I would speak two prayers for you right now. One thanking you for your sacrifice and another one wishing you well for what is to come. I know you don't want to hear either of them, so I will skip that part."

Sweet and innocent, the flower with the broken stem spun in his fingers.

"I can't thank you for what you did. I still haven't grasped half of what you told me. As revenge, I will talk to you now and hope full of spite that you don't hear me either."

Seonghwa chuckled to himself when he imagined Hongjoong's mocking scoff replying. These past few weeks, the gargoyle had become predictable.

"I hate you as much as you hate me, if not more. Whatever urged you to change your mind about me and wished to save me, it's not mutual. Yet, I-" Seonghwa gathered his thoughts when he came up barren.

"I am not one to accept alms. Not from you. If you get to decide over me, I will also decide over you. And now I even get to talk over you. Who is cornering whom now, huh?" Seonghwa lifted his chin to stare down at the gargoyle in contempt, but it provided no satisfaction. Unresponsive, the statue in front of him made Seonghwa feel as if he had gone mad.

He deflated. His gaze dropped back to the flower.

"We will go to the witch and ask her to heal my heart in your chest. If she can't do that, she will switch us back. I won't let you die for me. And you can't stop me. With my heart, you are too weak for that. Don't you dare complain. You did the same to me."

Seonghwa exhaled. Ire built in him as his annoyance returned.

"You're so egotistical. We came this far, went through so much, only for you to take the lead unasked. You said this wasn't even part of your oath? Then what mania led you to this? What do you gain? Me owing you my life? What worth does that have if you aren't here to reap the rewards?"

Outraged eyes studied the lifeless demon. He had become what he had always been to Seonghwa, growing up. No more than a statue that watched over the surrounding area. Nonetheless, this state seemed so false on him. Now he looked to be in the chains cast upon him. Seonghwa hated it. He would rather combat the demon in a duel than this.

At least, poor lost wanderers were safe from the demon now.

"I don't even want to consider what you would claim as compensation. My blood to do a ritual with, probably. Or for me to give up my faith."

Something else snuck into Seonghwa's mind. His back throbbed in response, but he couldn't help his blush. Perhaps Hongjoong would have even worse notions of how to make Seonghwa regret and mark him.

"I wonder if you are enraged at me right now if you hear this. You'll have some time to think about your retaliation. Once I return and we are both healthy, we can fight properly. Wrestling with a half-dead man can't have been fun to you."

Seonghwa's fingers itched to pluck the flower petals from its midst, but he withstood the urge. What he wanted to destroy wasn't this flower and he shouldn't let it get to him.

"I... I will also think of a punishment for you. This was a wicked thing to do. You force me to repay you and meet the witch that could have been avoided if I just died. Better be prepared."

Seonghwa studied him, tried to figure out a weakness. Hongjoong probably hated anything pure.

Why did Seonghwa's heart hurt so much, looking at him? He was healthy and yet, his discomfort felt so divergent from the curse. Had guilt always ached so?

Seonghwa's hands cradled the flower. When he shuffled forwards, he balanced his body with one hand on Hongjoong's shoulder. His fingers tucked the delicate stalk in the space between Hongjoong's pointed ear and his horn. Greyed, stiff hair had become a mass to brush his fingertips. Seonghwa wondered what it had felt like before it had turned into stone.

"There, you despise this, don't you? You shove me around so much. What does it feel like to be toyed with?"

It gave Seonghwa no joy. No matter how he smirked in triumph, no matter how he giggled at the tender flower on the glowering demon. No contentment filled his heart. Only upset.

Should he show this Hongjoong to the others and laugh together with them? Could he forget his distress then?

"Nevermind. You must find me pathetic even now. I will return with the witch, and we can fight later. And you better explain your unforeseen gain in keeping me and my innocence alive. I feel that is yet another elaborate ploy."

As Seonghwa talked, he studied Hongjoong's features. He wanted to memorise them so he could remember what cost his trip to the witch had warranted.

He hadn't noticed his eyes got stuck on Hongjoong's lips until he ended. Even made of stone, they looked soft. They contrasted with Hongjoong's entire being and once more, Seonghwa found that if not for his grotesque body, Hongjoong's face could have passed as that of an angel.

What a dangerous thought to think. Especially after the temptation Seonghwa had resisted.

Seonghwa was drawn to him like a moth to a flame when he shuffled forward on his knees. His fingers cradled Hongjoong's jaw as if he had to hold him still. The priest yearned to touch his horns or wings to examine their unfamiliar shapes, but he felt such explorations while Hongjoong didn't allow it broke some code of honour.

"Here, I will take the flower away, alright? Don't pout at me like that."

Seonghwa slid his fingers to Hongjoong's ear to retrieve the flower. However, before he could touch the blossom, the head in his hands moved. It surged forward, right at Seonghwa, to kiss the corner of his lips in a chilly touch.

Seonghwa froze, and Hongjoong did the same. The light in his gaze glimmered faintly as he stared back into Seonghwa's wide-open eyes. Mischief made it shine, but its passion was genuine.

Deliberately, as if he could break Hongjoong with a hasty movement, Seonghwa retreated. He stepped back one step, two, then he halted. Blinked.

In the same position as before and with dead eyes, the gargoyle perched in the grass. Seonghwa lifted his hands to his lips, tried to locate the coldness that lingered on them.

Had that been real? Or an image cast by Seonghwa's mind? No, Hongjoong's heart must have summoned it. He probably wanted to kiss himself. His magic was full of tricks to taunt Seonghwa.

Seonghwa's mind spun, as he didn't understand. He dropped his hand, but his daze remained.

Those lips had been soft.

He didn't dare double-check. The presence of the statue suddenly made him jumpy, and Seonghwa wanted to return to camp. It was never good to be alone with Hongjoong in desolate spaces.

"K-keep the flower. I will be back. And I will bring the witch. So remember to think of a way to oppose me. I will have no mercy on you once we face as equals."

When Seonghwa turned, he tripped over his own feet. Instantly, he turned to check if Hongjoong was laughing at him, but the statue sat as the stone it was made of.

Seonghwa must have gone mad.

As if the devil was on his heels, the priest turned and hastened into the forest. His mind didn't leave him alone as it followed him like his own shadow to whisper words in his ears that made him question everything he had ever known.