The dorm was quieter than it had any right to be.
After a concert, it was supposed to buzz—members high on adrenaline, fans still singing in their heads, the faint smell of hairspray and sweat lingering in the air like proof of victory.
But tonight, silence pressed over everything.
Zayn sat at the kitchen table, hands wrapped around a cup of tea he hadn't touched. His eyes tracked the faint steam like it might spell out answers.
Kai was sprawled on the couch, his usual grin nowhere to be found. He tapped aimlessly at his phone, scrolling through the flood of fan posts. Every third one mentioned the same thing: the shadow.
EO paced the living room like a caged thing, arms crossed tight. His voice cracked out sharp when he finally spoke. "We can't just say it was some lunatic rushing the stage. Everyone saw what that thing looked like."
Min, sitting cross-legged on the floor, hugged a pillow to his chest. "But what are we supposed to tell them? That demons are real?" He gave a bitter little laugh. "Yeah. That'll go over great."
The room tilted when Jiwon finally emerged from his bedroom. His hair was damp, like he'd tried to wash the night off but hadn't succeeded. He stood in the doorway, gaze heavy, shoulders tight beneath his loose hoodie.
For a second, no one spoke.
Then Zayn's calm voice broke the stillness. "You saw it the clearest. What do you think it was?"
Jiwon's answer came slow, deliberate. "Not human."
EO froze mid-step. Min's arms tightened around the pillow. Even Kai's tapping stopped cold.
The weight of Jiwon's certainty dropped into the room like a stone.
Zayn leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing just slightly. He didn't push, didn't demand more—but Jiwon caught it. The unspoken question. The one Zayn was too careful to say aloud.
How do you know?
Jiwon lowered his gaze, jaw flexing. He could almost still feel the heat of Yul's lips from nights ago, a ghost memory against his skin, shame and longing knotted together. His chest ached with the weight of it, with the knowledge that some part of tonight had been about him.
He clenched his fists, nails biting into his palms. "Whoever—whatever—it was, it won't stop. Not after tonight."
Kai exhaled, half a groan. "Great. So what, we start carrying silver swords with our in-ear monitors?"
EO shot him a look, sharp but not unkind. "It's not a joke."
"I know it's not a joke," Kai snapped back, sitting up straighter, frustration bubbling over. "But what the hell are we supposed to do? We're singers, not monster hunters."
The silence after that stretched too long.
Until Zayn finally spoke again, voice low, steady. "Then we'll become both."
Four heads turned toward him, startled.
Zayn's eyes, usually calm, burned with something harder tonight. "If shadows are chasing us, then hiding isn't an option. We learn. We fight back. Together."
EO swallowed, nodding once. Min's fingers tightened on the pillow before he slowly let it go, like releasing a fear he couldn't hold forever. Even Kai, after a moment, huffed out a shaky laugh. "You're insane," he muttered. Then, quieter: "But fine. Count me in."
Jiwon said nothing. He only sat down heavily on the arm of the couch, staring at his hands. His thoughts were a storm, every memory of Yul and every flash of tonight's demon attack colliding in a way he couldn't untangle.
Make sure he survives.
The words weren't his. But somehow, they felt like they were meant for him.
Outside, the city lights kept burning.
Inside, Monarch had made their decision.
They wouldn't just sing about stars.
They would fight to keep them burning.