Footsteps that were neither too hurried nor too slow resounded in the room. Mine, covering Addai's mouth with one of his hands, tried to peek through the crack in the wardrobe.

Standing in the center of the room was a slender figure. Mine knew very well who it was. Still covering Addai's mouth, whose eyes were glued to the figure, Mine realized that the host was speaking on his cell phone in a different language. Although he didn't know what his pursuer was talking about, Addai apparently knew because a vein popped out on his forehead.

The conversation was interrupted when the bedroom door opened again and was left wide open. A hunchbacked gargoyle dressed in a black suit with a red tie entered. It was holding a scroll, and upon seeing the host, it bowed and began to say something that Mine had to strain to hear carefully.

“Mrs. Lilith received the information,” the gargoyle said, its voice flat.

Agarath snickered and said one more thing before he put his cell phone in his pocket. "I told her I was reliable," he bowed and took the scroll from the gargoyle. "How's the pipsqueak's search?”

Pipsqueak? Mine glanced at Addai, whose eyes were overflowing with a murderous aura.

“Mrs. Lilith will take her time finding him,” the gargoyle replied vaguely.

“Tsk,” Agarath clicked his tongue. “How is the Dutchess from the North hesitant to take the snooty brat?” He crossed his arms, and Mine felt Addai take a step forward.

That step made a noise that, although very low, was enough for Agarath to turn his attention to the wardrobe. His thin eyes glittered, and Mine held his breath as he felt their eyes meeting – unlike the troublemaker he was trying to silence. Addai's hands were tense, and Mine saw that he didn't have an ounce of worry once he was blind from that bubbling feeling.

“Mr. Agarath?” The gargoyle called, and Agarath turned his eyes to them. “Is there something wrong?”

"…" Agarath looked again at the wardrobe and took a few steps in its direction.

No! Wicked demon, go away! Mine cold sweated and closed his eyes, hiding in the darkness – and pulling Addai to do so.

Agarath stood three steps from the elegant, ancient, and pompous wardrobe. His hand tried to reach the door, touching the wood full of reliefs and arabesque designs, elaborate plants, and flowers. Mine covered his mouth and felt a hand on his waist and another on his head. Still, he refused to open his eyes and only felt himself getting closer to the person who shared that cramped space-

🎶MONEY, MONEY, MONEY! MUST BE FUNNY-🎶

"I told them to do whatever they wanted with the humans! Why are they calling me again??” Agarath angrily took the cell phone from his pockets and approached the gargoyle. "I'll fetch the Chronos, then give Mrs. Lilith a piece of that beauty.”

“I see…” The gargoyle arched an eyebrow. “Mrs. Lilith wants a piece of his cloak or… his eyeballs. They’re precious.”

Mine's breathing hitched, and he looked at the small space between the wardrobe’s doors. What will that woman do?!

"Don't worry," Agarath bowed. "Maybe I'll have some fun with my dear Chronos... he's wearing my chosen outfit after all," he chuckled wickedly, and Mine saw how weirdly his cheeks blushed.

Mine couldn't help but try hiding even more in that wardrobe, but it was the maximum he could do. He felt dirty again.

“Mr. Agarath, I think Lord Addai is fond of the Chronos. You better be aware,” the gargoyle advised respectfully.

"Ah? The pipsqueak? With my dear Chronos?!" Agarath slammed the nearest dressing table. "Absurd! But... if Lord Addai has my dearest in his hands… I'll let him enjoy the beauty I built only tonight."

Mine's mouth dropped open in shock. He had already heard a lot, but this was awful. He instinctively removed the hand on his waist and constantly fixed his dress... but there was a missing piece in his outfit. Mine quickly peeked outside and gasped.

Agarath turned towards the bed and raised an eyebrow. He approached the bed and picked up a pink, fuzzy fabric, giving it a nice sniff, and then a mischievous smile appeared on his face. He took another sniff, and Mine's vision was blocked by a hand, and his ears could no longer hear the sighs of ecstasy coming from outside.

"Don't look," Addai whispered, his voice stern and harsh.

Mine felt frozen for a few seconds but nodded and covered his ears while Addai covered his vision.

“Ahem,” the gargoyle coughed.

"My apologies," Agarath grinned, placing the fuzzy scarf around his neck. "Everything that belongs to my dear Chronos is so mesmerizing,” he chuckled, and Addai's eyes glowed red. 

When Addai's eyes glowed that hue, a faint, thick miasma trace formed in the room, and both Agarath and the gargoyle felt it. The gargoyle was in awe, but Agarath... oh... he was insane for that.

"Ha ha ha ha! Look who's around here!!!" Agarath laughed out loud, opening his arms and welcoming the suffocating energy. "Once you're here, My Lord, I allow you to have fun with my Chronos. Just hand me over when you're done."

Mine heard that even though he was covering his ears. It was muffled, but he still could hear the piercing voice from the entity outside and feel Addai's energy surrounding him.

It was truly suffocating.

"Luring Lord Addai is a dangerous business, but be as crazy as you want," the gargoyle bowed and headed out of the room. Mrs. Lilith must pay me more for all the painful scenes I've witnessed.

Mine felt that the space between Addai and him widened, and he immediately opened his eyes to witness a very angry Addai trying to open the wardrobe's door. Mine grabbed Addai's arm, stopping his imprudence.

"No! Are you crazy?!" Mine whispered.

But Addai wasn't responsive, so Mine had used force to hold him back. All he got was a glaring, and, for a few seconds, Mine felt his legs tremble as Addai stared at him with his eyes glowing bright crimson like fresh blood.

Outside, Agarath continued to tease in all ways, from simple phrases to bold gestures and courageous insinuations that Mine couldn't identify, as he spoke in that same language he spoke on the phone earlier.

Addai took a step, and Mine grabbed him, pulling him back and stopping his imprudence.

"Let me rip that grin off his face," Addai glared at Mine, then fixed his gaze on Agarath. 

That mad demon was spouting a lot of nonsense at once and oh... oh no... Addai began to growl. The sound was enough for Agarath to hear, and he was ecstatic about the provocations and royal miasma in the room. The more Addai growled, the faster Agarath shouted incomprehensible things into Mine's ears, but he understood the last sentence clearly.

"Your slut is mine! Ha ha ha!"

Those were the scissors that cut the thread that held Addai in that wardrobe. Mine had five seconds or less to act, he just didn't know how. In desperation, he grabbed Addai's face and, on his tiptoes, he whispered euphorically:

“I’m sorry!”

And Mine pressed his lips against Addai's, who immediately stopped growling and releasing miasma. Mine didn't dare to open his eyes and see if Addai had stopped or if he was stabilized, but he had to pray that Agarath - with no one left to provoke - would soon leave.

I’m nuts! Mine cried internally when he deepened the kiss.

The last thing Mine heard before the room turned silent was Agarath's huff when the cell phone rang once again.

“I TOLD YOU TO DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THE HUMANS!! NOW I LOST TRACK OF THAT PIPSQUEAK!!" Mine heard Agarath yelling at his cell phone as he walked out of the room, closing the door right after.

Mine broke the kiss and looked at the small space between the wardrobe doors before sighing, relieved. Grabbing Addai's hand and going out of the wardrobe, Mine ignored how much his legs were shaking, as well as his hands.

He took two steps outside the wardrobe before falling to the carpet, and the person he held hands suffered the same fate.

I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Mine couldn't stop apologizing, but his body wasn't cooperating. 

Mine's legs were still shaking, but he needed to stand! He held on to the bed sheets —so well tidied that they didn't even come off or slip— and finally managed to get up. His "partner in crime" had already gotten up a little earlier and was watching the show Mine was putting on trying to get up, perhaps embarrassed, perhaps not knowing what to do because of the shock. Who knows? But one thing Mine knew: Addai didn't even respond or make any noise. 

That made Mine even more anxious!!

When Mine turned to Addai, he saw that his lips were as crimson as the lipstick still on Mine's lips. A little blurry, but Addai still had his lips painted red.

"Y-Your..." Mine gasped.

Addai touched his lips and saw the reddish hue on his fingers. He was dismayed, wide-eyed, and blushed even more. Mine also started to feel everything getting hot and desperately rummaged through the drawers of the dented dresser, looking for makeup remover wipes or regular tissues next to the condoms – which he pretended not to have seen.

“L-Lemme c-clean your l-lips- I mean. HERE!” Mine gave Addai the tissues.

"T-Thank y-you…" Addai stammered, his hands barely holding the tissues.

“Ha ha ha ha… I-I was crazy back when. Really nuts! Ha ha ha ha ha...” Mine felt his mind turning into jelly, so he covered his face with his hands. Above all, it was a terrible kiss!

But there was something even worse! Mine was wearing that costume!

“D-Don’t look at me!!!” Mine shouted, and Addai wasn't looking at his clothing, but he turned his flushed face anyway. "I n-need to change t-this... Ah!"

The wardrobe! 

It wasn’t empty, so there would be some suitable clothing.

“Go over there and watch the door!” Mine pulled Addai to stand next to the door, facing the wall.

Addai was still silent and just nodded, staring at the door with fervor (even though his red ears gave him away). Meanwhile, Mine opened the wardrobe and looked for minimally satisfactory clothes. His fingers slid over fabrics, fuzzy textures, and a robe meant to be used for other things.

"There!" Mine took an outfit from the wardrobe and placed it on the nearest chair.

Mine finished ripping his pantyhose and threw them on the bed, leaving him with just the corset and skirt. He also took the rose decoration from his head and placed it on the bed - next to the latex gloves. When he attempted taking off the corset, Mine realized that they had tied it so tightly that he couldn't untie it himself. He didn't want to ask for help, so he squirmed around on the bed to get the thread to untie it.

With the effort, he felt the skirts detach from the corset and fall to the floor along with their decorations. Addai hesitated a few times, and Mine noticed that.

“KEEP STARING AT THE DOOR NO MATTER WHAT!” Mine angrily shouted, managing to grab the corset’s thread.

"I am!" Addai shouted back after a brief startle.

Mine pulled the thread and instantly felt relief, and his ribs cracked when they were freed. Sighing a little, he felt his lungs working to their whole capacity, and his stomach was finally comfortable. He tossed the corset onto the pillows and picked up the set that, oddly enough, fit him.

Addai listened carefully to what was going on inside the room and what was going on in the corridors, becoming tense now and then when he heard gargoyles laughing and the sound of shuffling footsteps, probably from the slaves that the demons had just acquired.

"Oof! Now I'm way better," Mine beamed, Looking at himself in the mirror. “You can look now,” Mine touched Addai’s shoulders.

Even though the blouse had a vulnerability on Mine's back, he was minimally decent. Okay, his back was practically bare, and the soft, white blouse seemed to glide over Mine's skin without much effort, and that certainly tickled him a little, but thankfully the blouse was very loose. The pants, also loose, made Mine's movements free, and that's why it had positive points.

Because Mine lost his wig a long time ago, his hair was wavy and a little sweaty. The beautiful makeup was no longer there, but the shade of lipstick remained on his lips.

"…" Addai slowly opened his eyes when Mine rubbed his shoulders again. “You’re p-pretty anyway,” he voiced lowly, and Mine flushed again.

“Ah… Ha ha ha ha ha…” Mine laughed awkwardly. “W-wait, a-anyway?”

“Y-yes,” Addai nodded. “Earlier and now,” he blushed, scratching his neck.

Awkwardness crept into their skin, and everything blurred like a funny mirror.

“I-I’m sorry about the desperate measure," Mine fiddled with the shirt’s sleeves, embarrassed.

“N-no… that’s fine,” Addai didn’t know where to put his hands, but he refrained from touching Mine. "I'm sorry for my behavior."

Mine seemed pensive for a while. "… thank you for being angry on my behalf."

"Don't mind his words," Addai, once again, refrained from touching Mine. "Now, let's find Mr. Younri."

When Mine attempted to take his hand, Addai swiftly placed them inside his pockets and avoided touch. Mine tried taking Addai's arm, but he subtly dodged again. One more try and one more fail.

Addai had never acted like that. He had never avoided him even though he had asked him countless times to do so. Would Addai hate the desperate measure and now get disgusted by Mine?

You're perfect the way you are.

I don't mind at all.

Those words never sounded so bitter, and Mine followed Addai to the door. But wasn't the guy in front of him who told right in his eyes that his feelings weren't fragile?

He's lying, you know that. A bitter and very familiar voice told Mine in his ear. It's all a facade, remember?

Mine shook his head, denying it.

Even if he denied it ten thousand times, the same maniac voice came back, planting weeds of doubt in a green field. He didn't want to believe it but... 

“Mine?" Addai called again and cupped Mine's cheeks, taking him by surprise. "You're overthinking," he leaned, pressing his forehead against Mine's. "I know you're overthinking because your hair turns blue and purple,"

Mine looked at him and blushed when he witnessed Addai's face so close. "I'm not..."

Addai brushed Mine's hair. "What are you overthinking about?"

"..." Mine fidgeted, and Addai gave him the space he needed. "... I'm not the only one overthinking," he grumbled.

"... pfff..." Addai faintly chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Mine touched Addai's hands on his cheeks. "I shoved your hand from me in the wardrobe, but I was just too embarrassed. Those words made me feel dirty, but…" he rubbed his cheeks on Addai's warm hands, "... you can touch me."

Addai exhaled, perhaps relieved, perhaps happy, but what was certain was that he was... radiant. Mine couldn't help but chuckle and wave his embarrassment away as the expecting heterochromatic eyes followed the way his head moved.

For that feeble moment, they forgot their surroundings.