Hi! I am back. Sorry about the short hiatus. Things got really crazy for a couple of weeks, but things have finally calmed down a bit so I am back with a new chapter. I'm really excited to get into this one. The story is progressing and we're meeting some more characters. I won't make this note any longer and just get into it. Enjoy!

Then: Men of Letters Chapterhouse

"Hyung!" Seungmin exclaims as Wonpil marches towards the exit of the chapterhouse with two duffel bags thrown over his shoulder. Wonpil doesn't answer his younger brother, continuing to walk on as if he never spoke. Seungmin huffs and reaches out to grab onto his brother's shoulder. "Hyung!" Seungmin states, yanking him around to face him, "What the heck is going on?!"

"Nothing," Wonpil says.

Seungmin scoffs, "Do you expect me to believe that? You haven't been back here since-,"

"Don't say her name," Wonpil mutters.

Seungmin sighs, "Fine....you haven't been back in months and now you come over asking for my help on this hunt that you won't tell me anything about!"

"You just need to trust me," Wonpil states.

"How do you expect me to do that when I don't even know what we're hunting?" Seungmin retorts.

"For the record, it's what I'm hunting..." Wonpil says, "I just want you on the comms when something goes wrong..."

"When?" Seungmin questions, "You make it sound like you expect things to go haywire." Wonpil looks his brother in the eyes for a second before shrugging off his hand and heading towards the door again. Seungmin's eyes narrow, "Hyung."

"What?" Wonpil says, turning his head back.

"What are you doing?" Seungmin asks, "What is this hunt and why is it so dangerous that you expect for things to go south?"

"The less you know the better," Wonpil states.

"How am I supposed to do my job if I don't know anything?!" Seungmin exclaims. Wonpil falls silent for a second and his gaze flits towards the floor. "Hyung," Seungmin states, staring at his older brother.

Wonpil slowly looks back and sighs, "I got myself into something that I don't want you anywhere near...I won't let you get hurt because of me...not you too...."

"And what about you?" Seungmin questions, "What if you get hurt?"

"Then, I get hurt," Wonpil states before exiting the chapterhouse before Seungmin can say another word.

──────●◎●──────

"Why don't we have a Men of Letters in Australia?" Felix asks, "I feel like they would make hunting so much easier."

Chan shrugs, "I think there was a proposed branch, but they shot it down..."

"Of course, they did," Felix murmurs. Chan turns the wheel as he pulls the car into the garage of the chapterhouse. Felix looks out the window with intrigue at the huge area where a variety of other vehicles are parked. If the rest of the chapterhouse is anything like the garage, it was sure to be impressive. Chan pulls into an empty spot before pulling the key from the ignition and exiting the car. Felix gets out as well and whistles under his breath, "This is pretty cool."

Chan nods and points to the other side of the garage, "My car is over there, so we can finally ditch this crappy rental." Felix looks over and chuckles when he sees the black Impala. "Really?" Felix questions.

"I heard that it's a pretty good car for hunting," Chan says.

"Someone else drives this thing?" Felix asks.

"Yeah, some hunters from America," Chan says.

Felix sighs, "Okay then...at least it's better than the rental..." Chan opens the back door of the rental car and grabs the bag from inside. Felix follows suit, unloading the trunk of their hunting gear. The two lug their stuff towards a set off stairs that lead to a large metal door. Chan drops one of the bags to the floor and slams his fist against the door. The cousins wait for a second before the sound of metal grating echoes and the door is pulled open. "Hyung!" A young man with a puppy-like smile says. He wears a short sleeved black dress shirt over form fitting black pants. Wire framed glasses sit low on his nose and his brown shaded hair falls over his forehead neatly. "Hey, Seungminnie," Chan says with a smile of his own.

"Come on in," Seungmin says, reaching for one of the bags in Chan's hands before stepping to the side to allow the hunters in. Chan and Felix enter the chapterhouse one after the other. They walk onto a balcony that gives them a good view of the entire area. Felix looks around with awe as he takes in the high ceiling of the chapterhouse and the vintage, but modern feel of the area. He can see high-tech technology and shelves stuffed with an abundance of books. There's a bunch of tables in the space near the bookshelves and chairs situated at each one. "Welcome to Seoul's Men of Letters Chapterhouse," Seungmin says as he leads the two down a set of curling stairs, "Led by yours truly..."

"You're in charge?" Felix questions.

"My family is," Seungmin says, "But, yeah, this is pretty much my domain."

"Cool," Felix says as he comes up to a table. He places his bags on top of it before wandering off to explore the rest of the chapterhouse. Chan frowns and opens his mouth to call out to his cousin, but Seungmin stops him. "Don't worry about it," The man of letters says, "Let him look around."

"If you say so," Chan says, "How have you been?"

Seungmin sighs, "I've been okay..."

"How are you taking...?" Chan questions.

Seungmin shrugs, "As well as I can...I mean...he was a hunter...it was bound to happen eventually..."

"It doesn't make it any easier," Chan says, "He was your older brother."

"Yeah," Seungmin says with a sigh before changing the topic, "What are you doing back here anyway? Not that I mind having you back in Korea, but I never expected for you to come back anytime soon..."

Chan scratches the back of his head, "I wasn't planning on it...but after what happened to Wonpil hyung...I couldn't just stay away..."

"Whatever the reason is, it's good to see you again," Seungmin says.

"Did you show him the journal?" Felix questions, returning to the main room. Seungmin flashes Chan a confused look and the Aussie holds a finger up to signal he needs a moment. He grabs one of the bags from the table and unzips it. He digs through it for a bit before pulling out the leather-bound journal. "This is what I got from Wonpil hyung," Chan says.

Seungmin nods, "My brother never kept a journal before...imagine my surprise when I read his will and it said that is supposed to go to you..."

"Did you read it?" Chan asks, flipping the journal open. Seungmin shakes his head as Chan passes the open journal to him. The man of letters takes it and begins to read the first page. His eyes slowly widen, "I...don't know what to say..."

"We didn't just come back to pay our respects to Wonpil," Chan says, "We're going to try and find out exactly what happened to him leading up to his death..."

Seungmin looks at the two with intrigue, "You're planning on retracing his steps."

"Exactly," Felix says, "Chris wanted to continue Wonpil's journey, but I convinced him that it would be best if we found out exactly what his plan was in the first place before jumping into anything else."

"That is unless you already know what Wonpil hyung was up to," Chan says, looking to Seungmin.

The brown-haired boy chuckles and shakes his head, "I have no clue. I'm as curious as you are. hyung...he started hiding things from me..."

"What?" Chan questions, "Since when? You two have always been so close."

Seungmin signs, "A lot has changed since you left, Chan hyung."

──────●◎●──────

"He left this life!" Chan exclaims with wide eyes. Felix has a similar surprised expression on his face, although not as extreme as Chan's. Hunters don't get to leave this life. The only break they get is when they bite the bullet. They die on the job. That's just the way it is. The fact that Wonpil left and actually stayed out of hunting for a bit of time is impressive. "For a time," Seungmin says, "He fell in love. They were going to have a kid...they were going to get married..."

"She was expecting?" Chan questions.

Seungmin nods, "My brother was happy. The happiest that I've ever seen him. He had a future with Areum noona."

"But, it didn't end well," Felix states.

Seungmin sighs, "No...it didn't...a demon came after them one night. It killed Areum and their unborn child....hyung was devastated...." Chan pursues his lips together as pity floods through him for his fallen friend. He can imagine it now. His friend with a wife and a child. Living a normal, happy life. It's a beautiful image. He wouldn't doubt if Wonpil saw the same thing before leaving the life. "After that...he came back different," Seungmin says, "He would hunt endlessly, but refuse assistance from anyone whether it be a fellow hunter or any of the Men of Letters."

"He didn't even ask you for help?" Chan asks, "You two would always work together on hunts...you researching and him killing the monsters..."

Seungmin shakes his head, "That's the way it was before, but after Areum he didn't even talk to me. I had no idea where he even was half the time. I had to find out from friends, if they ever happened to pass by him, if he was alive."

"Why would he do that?" Chan questions, "You two are brothers...."

"I know," Seungmin says, "But, as I said before, he was different. Harder, more driven..."

"I mean...I would be the same way," Felix says, "I did just lose a future..."

"I know...that's why my family and I just let him be," Seungmin says, "But, he was up to something...I knew he was keeping something from me when we last spoke...."

"You talked to him before the incident, right?" Chan questions.

Seungmin nods, "It had been months since I last saw him face to face...I was so surprised when he came to the chapterhouse asking for help...not that I really gave him any..."

"What do you mean?" Felix asks.

Seungmin huffs, "He wouldn't tell me anything about what we were hunting. He was being all secretive and he said he didn't want me too involved. He just needed me to be listening in when something went wrong."

"What?" Chan says with a confused look on his face.

"As in like a witness?" Felix says, "Did he know he was going to die?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Seungmin says, "I'm not stupid...I know he was up to something, but I don't have a clue what it was. That journal you have...I'm sure that it has something to do with what he was doing...."

"We'll figure it out," Chan says, "I promise you that."

Seungmin nods, "I don't doubt you will. You've never been one to let me down, hyung. If you guys need anything, I'm just a phone call away. I want to help you get to the bottom of this."

"Thanks," Felix says, "For starters, we could use some weapons. We only brought the bare minimum with us to Korea. Chris says that you've got some cool toys."

"Definitely," Seungmin says, "Follow me." He starts to head towards a separate hallway, but before he even gets very far the sound of loud grating echoes throughout the chapterhouse. The three stop and turn to look at the source of the noise. "Shut up and get inside!" A voice bellows.

"Just kill me!" Another hisses.

"Why didn't we knock him out?" A different voice questions. Three figures enter the chapterhouse from another entrance. Two are garbed in similar leather jackets and combed back hair giving them the look of bikers. In between them, they hold someone with a brown sack over his head and cuffs over their wrists. "Jaebum hyung? Jinyoung hyung?" Chan says, staring at the two leather-garbed figures.

Jinyoung looks at the blonde hunter with surprise, "Channie? I didn't know you were back in Korea. Look, hyung, it's Bang Chan."

"Hey," Jaebum says as he yanks their captive into the room.

"What are you guys doing here?" Seungmin questions.

"Sorry to stop in unannounced," Jinyoung says, "We were on a hunt that proved to a bit more of an issue than we thought."

"No problem," Seungmin says, "What do you need help with?"

"Demon," Jaebum states, "We need to know how to kill it."

Seungmin is in the building! Our first SKZ member aside from Chan and Felix that we have seen. I also am sticking some Supernatural references in when I can. If any of you can catch them, let me know in the comments below. We also have our first appearance of demons, so you know we are in for a wild ride. Please leave a comment, vote, follow me, add this story to your library and check out my other stories here on Wattpad! I'll see you all next time ❤️