Season one, chapter twelve

"Love language"

THEA WALKED HOME, her thoughts swirling as she tried to relax. SuHo's words echoed in her mind: "I'll confess three times if you reject me those three times then I'll give up, I like you, this is my first confession" She couldn't tell if he was joking or if he truly meant it. It was a strange feeling, one she hadn't experienced before. She'd rejected plenty of boys in the past, especially high schoolers. Most only approached her because of her looks, hoping to gain more than just her attention. She had never felt bad about turning them down—her beauty was in her mind, and she wasn't interested in their shallow advances.

But with SuHo, it was different. Rejecting him left her feeling a twinge of guilt, as if part of her wanted to say yes, just to make that uneasy feeling go away. Should she turn around and apologize, explain that she was stressed and didn't mean it? But that would be ridiculous. She didn't owe him an apology, yet the guilt still gnawed at her.

Sighing deeply, Thea forced herself to relax, feeling the familiar sensation of her eyes glowing blue for a brief moment before Hyun-ki's concerned voice cut through her thoughts.

"Thea..." His tone held a note of urgency.

"Yes, Hyun-ki?" she replied, pulling out her phone to check the time.

"The others at Yung are thinking about firing Mun from his job as a Counter," Hyun-ki said, getting straight to the point.

"What?" Thea's steps faltered, her heart skipping a beat.

"They're discussing it right now. I thought you should know." Hyun-ki continued, his tone grave

"Do the others know yet?" Thea asked, her mind already racing with worry as she picked up her pace again, her legs moving with urgency

"I believe SuHo has told Ms. Chu."

"Okay," she nodded, determination settling in. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

Her pace quickened, almost breaking into a run as she closed the distance to the restaurant. The glass doors loomed ahead, and without hesitation, she pushed them open, drawing the attention of her teammates inside.

"Did they already tell you?" she asked, gripping the strap of her bag tightly.

As soon as the words left her lips, Ms. Chu began explaining the situation. The tension in the room spiked as everyone started losing their composure. Hana had already called Mo-tak, and though he was taking his time, Thea's gaze kept drifting toward Mun, the boy who was on the verge of losing his position if they didn't act fast.

"What's up? What's going on?" Mo-tak's voice boomed as he finally arrived, breathless from his rush.

Hana responded, quoting one of their sacred rules, "Do not use the powers to get revenge. He violated that."

"To get his revenge?" Mo-tak looked incredulous. "Because he beat up those punks? They came at him with steel pipes! Should he have warded them off with a cross?"

Mun stood up, his face pale but resolute. "I can't lose my job as a counter. She promised me I'll meet my parents if I do well"

Ms. Chu frowned. "Wi-gen said that? That's what she promised you in return for taking the job?"

Mun nodded, his desperation plain. "Yes, that's why I can't get fired."

Thea's heart clenched as she glanced up at the ceiling, wondering when this tense meeting would finally end. "How long will this take? Are we just going to wait until they make a decision?"

"I'll go up there and figure it out" Mun muttered, sitting down heavily, his hand clutching his chest in stress. As his head began to droop toward the table, Thea instinctively reached out, cushioning it with her hand before he could hurt himself.

"An anti-bullying committee? Up there? How creative" Hana scoffed while Thea carefully laid Mun's head on the table.

"This isn't good. I should go up there too." Ms. Chu fumed. "How dare they talk about firing my baby?"

"I'll go with you," Thea said firmly, placing a hand over her chest. Her hand began to glow softly as her powers activated. As Ms. Chu and Thea closed their eyes, Mo-tak caught their heads just before they could fall forward, preventing another collision with the table.

"Hold your head high" Ms. Chu urged as they opened the large white doors above.

Thea stepped through first, her expression calm but resolute. "Hello, everyone," she greeted, her eyes catching Mun's as she approached him. His hand, tightly clenched in frustration, relaxed as she took it in hers. The warmth of her touch seemed to calm him, and he didn't pull away as she intertwined their fingers, offering him silent support.

He looked at her, startled by the gesture, as if he hadn't expected anyone to stand by him in this moment, let alone hold his hand. His heart raced at the contact, but Thea's steady presence helped ground him.

"I'm here too," Hana chimed in, raising a hand and taking her place beside Thea, her demeanor as composed as ever.

Moments later, Mo-tak made his usual dramatic entrance, appearing on top of the table. "It's been years, and he still hasn't gotten the hang of it" Ms. Chu muttered, embarrassed by his antics.

"Get down," she ordered, and Mo-tak sheepishly complied.

"Go on" he said motioning for Hana and Thea to take their place

Thea squeezed Mun's hand gently, ready to approach the her teammates, but Mun refused to let go. She glanced at him and saw the vulnerability in his expression, the silent plea for her to stay. Without hesitation, she returned to his side, allowing him to hold her hand throughout the heated discussion.

SuHo spoke first once the room quieted. "For Mun's case, shouldn't we wait and see? It was so urgent that Wi-gen jumped the gun without persuading him"

Hyun-ki nodded in agreement. "It's unfair to promise something and then just take it away."

Gi-ran, however, remained stern. "Can you guarantee he won't lose it again? Counter's mistakes can cost us our lives. If they let their emotions get out of control and kill someone, we'll die too. Wi-gen nearly died because of him. You saw that"

Ms. Chu interrupted before Hana could respond. "You're hurting our feelings here. We also risk our lives to do this. So what's your point? Did Mun make a mistake? Did Wi-gen die? Are we dead? Are you dead? As you can see, no one's dead. We're all alive. That's what matters. Cheol-Jung died while working for you. We lost him less than two weeks ago. But we're still working! While risking our lives!" Her voice trembled with emotion. "Wi-gen, you can't do this to Mun. Even if he's in the wrong, you should take his side and stand up for him at least once. He saved you. Gosh" She strolled around the table until she reached Gi-ran's side, who maintained herstare fixedly elsewhere."Must you be so cruel to a kid? Jeez. If he kills someone, it'll cost you your lives? You're all cold hearted. Have you ever thought that he might save your lives? That's what I've observed about him. He's adaptable, brave, and decisive, and he has sound judgment. All you do is gather around this table and talk. I cherish him a lot more than you guys"

Thea felt Mun's hand tremble slightly, and when she glanced at him, she saw the tears pooling in his eyes. She squeezed his hand, grounding him, even as her own heart ached.

"Have we ever complained about anything you told us to do? Even when we were hurt and injured on the job, no one complained! You may have hired us, but we're doing everything in our power to save more lives and capture evil spirits!" Ms. Chu continued on frustratedly

Mo-tak and Hana motioned for Mun to join them at the front, and Thea pulled him along, standing by his side as the conversation continued. "I guess we didn't need to come up." she whispered. "Ms. Chu is standing for all of us"

"Because she knows that we have her back," Mo-tak said proudly. "she can let it all out and fight for us"

"Don't cry," Hana murmured to Mun. "Counters must not cry."

"I will repay you," Mun whispered to Thea, his voice trembling as he tried to contain his emotions.

"For what?"

"The kindness you've shown me today." He whispered with tears of gratitude in his eyes

Ms. Chu took a deep breath in, tears in her eyes  "Wi-gen, I heard you promised Mun that he'll meet his parents if he does well. Then you must protect him to the end. At least we got our lives back in return for working as counters, but what did he get? He gets to see... his parents just once? But that is his only wish. You have to keep your promise, right? You must protect him until then!"

The group sat around the cluttered table at the restaurant, various photos spread out haphazardly across its surface. Mo-tak had just recovered his old phone, and now they were all piecing together the puzzle that had resurfaced from seven years ago.

"Yeonggwang Villa, Doncnam Mart? It's Wolhwa-dong," Hana noted, sitting on the table's edge, her eyes scanning the photographs.

Mo-tak looked at her curiously. "You know this neighborhood?"

"What is all this?" she asked, her brow furrowing as she picked up a few photos and inspected them closely.

Ms. Chu, standing nearby, sighed softly. "A case he worked on seven years ago, apparently."

"You found it?" Hana asked, glancing back at Mo-tak.

Mo-tak gave a small nod. "Oh, right. We could use this." He held up his phone, eyes filled with a glimmer of hope. "This is the phone I had when I got attacked. One of you can see my past through this, right?" His gaze flickered from Hana to Thea, his desperation palpable. "You can see who whacked me."

Hana's face fell into a serious expression, and she shook her head almost instantly. "No, it won't work because your memory is gone," she explained, pointing to her head. "In other words, there is no data to read."

Mo-tak's shoulders slumped in frustration. "So it's useless then," he muttered under his breath.

Thea, who had been quietly observing the scattered photographs, picked one up and studied it. "Was it a homicide case?" she asked, her voice steady but laced with curiosity.

"Probably," Mo-tak responded, leaning back into his chair with a heavy sigh. "I'll start investigating it."

Ms. Chu swiftly interjected, her tone firm but calm, "Don't. You found a lead, and that's good enough. Hand it over to the cops. It's their job, not ours." As she urgently grabbed all the pictures scattered in the table

Mo-tak straightened, his frustration bubbling to the surface. "But it's about me and Mun. Is it not our job?"

Thea's head snapped up at that. "It's about Mun?" she asked, her eyes widening with interest.

Ms. Chu remained steadfast, her tone sharpening as she spoke. "It's not about catching evil spirits. You saw Mun being summoned and scolded. Have you forgotten about it? How could you try to meddle in human affairs as if nothing happened?"

Mo-tak stood, his frustration turning to anger. "Those bastards are worse than evil spirits!" he exclaimed, turning to face the three women. "They murdered a little girl, whacked me, and kill Mun's parents. After completely destroying so many people's lives, they can still sleep, eat good food, laugh with their families, and have a blast"

Ms. Chu's eyes softened, but her voice remained stern. "Do you want to get fired? If the heavens let us go, we'll revert back to a vegetative state. We managed to help Mun keep his job, but this is different. Gi-ran won't let this slide"

Mo-tak gritted his teeth but said nothing, knowing she was right. Still, his frustration was palpable.

"You're right," he muttered, resigned. "You three stay out of it." He pulled out his phone, his mind still turning over the memories he couldn't quite grasp.

"Mo-tak!" Ms. Chu's voice was sharp, but he ignored her.

He stared at the screen of his old phone, his expression softening as a thought hit him. "The last person I spoke to... Did I ask this person to save me? Or was I trying to tell him something important?" His voice trailed off, filled with uncertainty. "That last call was with So Gwon"

"Mun's father?" Thea asked, her brows furrowed in surprise.

Mo-tak nodded slowly. "Yes. But for some reason, his number... looks familiar. I don't recall anything, but his number... I recognize it"

Without waiting for a response, he dialed the number on his phone. As the phone began to ring, a soft voice answered from outside the restaurant.

"Hello?" Mun's voice echoed through the air, curious and light. "Hello?"

The group turned to see Mun standing outside, holding his phone. He looked back at them with a bright smile, oblivious to the tension inside.

"Hey, Mun. It's me," Mo-tak said, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Mun walked into the restaurant, the grin never leaving his face. "Gosh. What's this number?" he asked, looking down at the screen of his phone and pressing the red button to end the call

"My old number," Mo-tak explained, the weight of the past heavy in his voice.

"Anyway, is something going on?" Mun asked, looking around and sensing the thick atmosphere in the room.

"No," Mo-tak quickly responded, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "Nothing is going on." The others followed suit, quickly turning their attention away and pretending nothing had happened.

Mun, still smiling, walked up to Mo-tak, inspecting the old phone in his hand. "How did you handle this phone? It's all scratched and cracked," he teased, his tone light.

Mo-tak chuckled. "I used to be a detective too."

"Really?" Mun's eyes widened in genuine surprise.

"Yes," Mo-tak nodded, placing a hand on Mun's shoulder. "Just like your mom and dad."

"Wow, what are the chances?" Mun said with amazement, still smiling widely.

Ms. Chu, trying to keep her emotions in check, turned away and announced, "Let's open up." Her voice wavered slightly, but she maintained her composure.

"Is this your first day at work?" Mo-tak asked Mun with a small smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes," Mun nodded excitedly, his youthful energy filling the room.

"Come, I'll help you," Thea said, stepping forward with a calm smile. She was the only one who had managed to maintain her composure throughout the tense exchange. Her gaze softened as she looked at Mun, sensing the unspoken gratitude in his eyes.

Mun's face lit up with a special kind of joy, a brightness that hadn't been there before. Thea knew it was because of what had happened back in Yung. She offered him a shy smile before grabbing the apron next to her and motioning for him to turn around.

As she slipped the apron over his shoulders, Mun's smile grew even wider. Thea's hands gently tied the straps around his waist, her touch careful and deliberate. She could feel Mun's happiness radiating off him, and for a brief moment, she allowed herself to bask in the warmth of the simple, shared moment.

"There," she said softly, stepping back once the apron was securely tied. She smiled, and Mun's eyes sparkled as he turned to face her.

"Thank you, Thea," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but filled with sincerity.

Thea's heart fluttered, but she pushed the feeling aside, smiling at him one last time before turning back to the others. "Let's get to work."

Author's note;

What did y'all think of this chapter? Was it too boring? In my opinion it wasn't that bad but I think it could be better in the future. Anyway, the next few chapters will be more about Thea and Mun, something we've all been waiting for for a long time, right?🥹

I also wanted to thank you all for the 12k views on this book, I didn't think it would have so many views and votes, that's why im so grateful with you guys, thank you once again from the bottom of my heart 💕

See y'all in the next chapter!

Edited: 10/16/24 ✅