"Come on, daddy, a snail moves faster than you! I want to introduce you to Mingi!"

Against his will, Seonghwa was dragged off by his hyperactive son. He had been in the kitchen preparing some snacks and a salad for the party later just a minute ago, and now he stumbled up the stairs behind the boy. They joined Hongjoong in the bathroom of all places, where the demon already stood with a broad grin playing around his lips.

Suspicious, Seonghwa looked around, searching for the pentagram they probably drew on the ground in blood or something.

"It's easy! See, I can do it myself!"

Wooyoung jumped in front of the large mirror and cleared his throat. When Hongjoong motioned Seonghwa to stay back, he nervously tensed his hands. Was this safe? Hongjoong would never endanger Wooyoung, but what if it failed? Would Wooyoung be trapped between the mortal plane and the demon world? Seonghwa wasn't ready to lose his son like that.

However, all that Wooyoung did was spin on the spot and call out a vaguely familiar name three times. As he did, Seonghwa narrowed his eyes at Hongjoong.

"Bloody Mary? Isn't that like... a thing from the media?"

With a lazy hand that was prettily adorned by some rings today, Hongjoong waved it off.

"More like your media did it, and we found it so funny that we actually made it a thing to spook some people. It's harmless," the demon assured Seonghwa as if summoning a demon was the most normal thing to do. Tense, the man sat down on the edge of the bathtub to watch his son.

Wooyoung finished with a striking pose just when the bathroom mirror clouded over. Its surface darkened as if a storm took all the bathroom light that reflected in it away. Then, a man appeared in its centre. A man with a completely regular hairstyle, normal features, and not a hint of anything demonic on him.

"Wooyoung!" He exclaimed as soon as he saw the boy, and Wooyoung waved at him cheerfully before he turned to Seonghwa.

"See, daddy? This is Mingi!"

All that Seonghwa managed concluded in a stiff nod. The man in the mirror smiled sunnily at him. Maybe he had forgotten his spooky purpose since he knew this mirror already? If he were the one who appeared at this spell, then Seonghwa wouldn't have to fear anything.

"Bloody Mingi, as long as I'm on the job." Mingi nodded at Seonghwa politely.

"Ah... hi. Why were we chanting Bloody Mary, then?" Seeking answers, he turned to Hongjoong, who just sighed deeply. Then, he sent a sympathetic smile Mingi's way before he elaborated.

"See, Mary worked there until recently and from the beginning ever since this tourist attraction was founded. Recently she became a dungeon master, however, and someone needed to take over. The official term would now be Bloody Mingi, but even if it has been seven years, the damn lazybutts from the office still haven't gotten his application to change it through. Hence why we are stuck with this."

Mingi copied the true desperation of Hongjoong's smile. Once more, Seonghwa was left to wonder just how he had to imagine their world. By now, he was sure that it wasn't hell as the bible described it.

"I wanted him to be part of my birthday party!" Wooyoung clapped his hands to dispel the downtrodden mood. Promptly, Mingi's grin returned to his face.

"Sure, but he needs to duck whenever someone walks in here that isn't us. I don't want to scare poor Changbin." Seonghwa ruffled the boy's hair when he jumped over to hug him. This settled the presence of Hongjoong's friend, and Seonghwa was allowed to resume his work. Full of questions, he just chose to accept the inevitable and merrily chopped away on the carrots.

He knew that Wooyoung had run off to model his presents for Mingi, but Hongjoong's presence behind him went over his head for a while until he noticed him. The demon sat on the kitchen table - knowing that Seonghwa hated that - and had crossed his legs to watch him. Only when Seonghwa finished the colourful vegetable salad and turned around to put it on the table with the rest, he startled at the man's sight.

Hongjoong chuckled at him deviously.

"You evil demon," Seonghwa called him as he leaned over him to put the bowl down. Immediately, Hongjoong shifted to press his thighs against Seonghwa's hips on each side. The action had Seonghwa falter when he had just wanted to step away. Instead, he towered over Hongjoong, not knowing where to put his hands.

"Why, thank you. You don't give me compliments often."

Hongjoong had to tip his head back to look up at Seonghwa. Judging from the way his eyes were lidded and lips parted slightly whenever he didn't speak, he knew exactly what he was doing. The urge to grab his hair was enormous, but Seonghwa withstood it. There was no time for him to play with Hongjoong. He also feared the consequences of his own reactions when he thought too much about their shared night. Hell, he even had to meet Yunho later! How was he supposed to explain that?!

"What did you come to haunt me for?" Seonghwa crossed his arms in front of his chest to clarify that he had no intentions to play. Humour crossed Hongjoong's pretty face. As he spoke, his fingers found Seonghwa's belt innocently, as if he were playing with whatever was in sight.

"Ah, you know. Just wanted to tell you how great your legs look in those pants. I felt like the compliment was needed." With a rough jerk, he pulled at Seonghwa's belt until the buckle centred exactly in the middle. The action brought them closer together, and Seonghwa's thighs pressed against the table.

The demon fiddling with his belt of all things and manhandling him around sent a burst of flames igniting in Seonghwa's belly. Still, he didn't hesitate to step back finally once Hongjoong's fingers dropped.

"Alright, thank you."

Seonghwa turned to set up a few more chairs in the living room and get Wooyoung's night light in case the kids wanted to play cave. Before he could leave the room, Hongjoong slipped from the table, too. Mischievous, his fingers sneaked between Seonghwa's legs mid-step and appreciatively squeezed his inner thigh. Then, he ran off giggling before Seonghwa could throw his pan at him. He was a little demon in the truest sense of the term.

Once back to work, Seonghwa finished up all the decorations he had put around the house. Wooyoung hadn't been able to let go of the idea to cover the whole furniture in glitter, and Seonghwa's soul suffered as he placed it all over. He knew that even in twenty years, if he were sick with fever and had to throw up, he would still cough out the devilish fairy sprinkles.

Yunho was, unsurprisingly, the first to arrive. He rang the doorbell once, and before Wooyoung's thundering steps upstairs would end up with him tumbling down from the second floor, Seonghwa went to open it. The bright smile on Yunho's face that greeted Seonghwa once he stepped in let all of the stress of having to organise the perfect party for Wooyoung melt away from him.

"Hey, honey." Yunho's long arms wrapped around Seonghwa in a soft embrace when Seonghwa neared him. Humming against his chest, Seonghwa let his head drop onto his shoulder as he held the man close. When Yunho tilted Seonghwa's head up with his elegant fingers to leave a faint kiss on his lips, Seonghwa reciprocated it genuinely.

Where did people go who loved one person but desired another? What were the rules around seductive demons? He needed to contact Yeosang soon.

"Am I early?"

Seonghwa stepped back from him to help Yunho out of his jacket. Once it hung prettily next to Seonghwa's, as usual, they wandered to the kitchen together. Yunho had another present tucked underneath his arm, but this one was a bottle of wine, and Seonghwa sure hoped that it wasn't for Wooyoung. As expected, Yunho handed it over a second later and murmured 'present for you' under his breath. Seonghwa put it in the forbidden closet to the other items that Wooyoung wasn't allowed to touch.

"No, the others are just late. Wooyoung and Hongjoong are upstairs. Be careful, though. We also have another demon in our bathroom mirror. He's called Mingi if you want to talk to him."

Yunho's interest in the demons had been no surprise either. After all, few humans would casually accept them around and ask no questions. Now that the man knew about them and guardian angels, Yunho didn't hide his curiosity about them. He loved to learn and get to know people, after all.

"Got it. Mingi. I'll go say hi, then."

Promptly upon his departure, the bell rang three times in quick recession. He threw a grimace over his shoulder that Seonghwa responded to with a fond roll of his eyes.

Changbin and Yeonjun had come together, and they held hands as if afraid to lose the other forever if they didn't. They carried the presents for Wooyoung under their arms clumsily, and Seonghwa received them from them before he let them in. Like a knight in shining armour, Changbin knelt to help Yeonjun with his shoes when the boy struggled to open the laces.

"Wooyoung is upstairs in his room; join him if you want." Seonghwa handed the presents back to them and hung up their little yellow and blue jackets. They ran off as soon as he had ended.

Now, only San was missing since Seonghwa was pretty sure Yongguk and Jongho were around already. Late as always, San even appeared with his pyjamas still on, but Seonghwa didn't mind.

Once they were all gathered, they piled in the living room to wish Wooyoung a happy birthday and get feedback or overbring their presents. The grumbling of Wooyoung's stomach was audible through the entire room, but gifts were more important than food in his book.

Changbin and Yeonjun had brought more toys for him to play with, and San put down two more bags of sweets next to the designated corner. While the room filled with warm conversation and giggles, Seonghwa was busy making his rounds and snapping pictures to add to his photo album. Everybody was too busy to notice him, and he was too busy to notice anybody else since he was staring through the lens. Inevitably, he bumped into someone upon moving back too far because he tried to get the right angle.

"Careful, tiger." Yunho's chuckle vibrated in his chest when he pulled Seonghwa in with one arm. Blushing, Seonghwa looked around to apologise to the person to his right he had run into. Hongjoong's cat-like features looked mightily amused at his antics.

What were those two doing next to each other?

"I thought I might just use my guests as bowling pins while I was at it," Seonghwa murmured to Yunho as he let his phone sink. He was keenly aware of Hongjoong's radiant body heat on his other side. A heat that he knew to be just as burning on his skin as it promised.

"A good idea, but I would recommend using Wooyoung as a ball since he is getting rounder and rounder from all the cake he eats." No malice carried in his words, and Seonghwa also had to chuckle at the truth. He was glad that Wooyoung ate well.

"Maybe I should order more salad later instead of pizza. Imagine their faces."

Willingly, he leaned into Yunho's side when the man smoothly pulled him in more around his waist. His soothing smell tickled Seonghwa's nose to breathe in more.

Neither of them expected Hongjoong to appear by their side. Seonghwa startled when he pushed his hand in Seonghwa's back pocket and crossed his arm with Yunho's around Seonghwa's body without appearing suspicious to the room. His hand cupped Seonghwa's behind warmly. Flushing a deep red, Seonghwa dropped his head against Yunho's shoulder.

Yunho giggled into Seonghwa's hair knowingly as he made eye contact with Hongjoong. Seonghwa believed to feel the air crackle between them.

They were not fighting, though. No hate or jealousy passed between them. Rather, they seemed to acknowledge each other's tastes.

"Mind sharing all the sweet devotion he has for you?" Hongjoong asked innocently like a cloud of candy floss.

"Only if you share whatever you two have," Yunho replied with a charming smile.

Seonghwa felt weak and tiny between their combined energies. Thankfully, everybody in the room was too busy to notice their odd contract in the corner.

"Could you two not sell me to each other at the birthday party of my son?"

The whisper that escaped Seonghwa's lips was halfway panicked and halfway helpless. He wanted them to continue to see where it would go, but at the same time, he feared being seen standing between the two of them like a poor lamb ready to get sacrificed to the higher gods any second.

"Hmm, no problem, Hwa."

Seonghwa shuddered at the way Yunho's warm breath brushed his ear. It showed an entirely new side of him, a side that Seonghwa wasn't sure he wanted to meet.

"We can continue this talk in private sometime."

With that, both stepped away from him to leave him his space. For the next half an hour, every picture that Seonghwa took was slightly shaky.